Another Snippet from book 3!
I had promised another excerpt from my w.i.p. I'm delivering on that promise. In this scene, Julia meets a rather unusual vampire.
Without knowing how active Rome was at night, I wandered down streets until I spotted a lone man at the far end of the road. I didn’t sense any other vampires in the area so I knew this area was all right to hunt in. Briefly, I wondered if all humans in Rome were stupid enough to walk around alone at night. If so, I did not think feeding will be much of a problem, even with their group of vampires.
As soon as I reached the young man, I put my hand on his shoulder to turn him. He spun, knocking my hand aside with a snarl. I glimpsed fangs, suddenly sensed him through the telepathy. A vampire. He was no more human than I was. He had obviously been shielding himself. Yet, I had never seen a vampire outside of my ka-tet shield themselves so well at such a close range. “Bloody hell,” I cursed as I stepped back, instantly dropping my hand to my side. “Pray pardon.”
The vampire was dressed all in black, in an odd combination of clothing. The trousers were of a peasant type but the dress shirt was one of the upper class. And then there was the suitcoat. It was also all black and went down to about ankle length. I had never seen a coat like that before.
I glanced up into the vampire’s face. He had light brown hair, all short, except for his bangs which fell over his left eye, covering that side of his face. A glint of amusement appeared in the eye I could see. I wasn’t sure what he thought was amusing –the fact that I had mistaken him for a mortal or my reaction at finding out he was one of us.
“Why the hell couldn’t I sense you?” I blurted out in bewilderment.
The vampire only stared at me. I wondered if he even understood what I was saying. Maybe he didn’t understand English. Or maybe he was just refusing to answer the question. This situation made me nervous, especially when I was an intruder in another’s territory. I wasn’t very welcome by Resistance and non-Resistance alike.
I sighed. “Are you a part of Rome’s group?” I asked this question in English as well. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember any of the Italian I had learned.
“No. I am not,” he answered, startling me as I realized he understood my native tongue.
“Thank the Lord for small favors,” I muttered. “What are you doing here?”
“Tryin’ to feed.” His accent was unique too. It reminded me more of my own accent than an Italian one, but it was also distinctively different.
I closed my eyes for a second. Stupid question, I scolded myself. “Uh, for the sake of clarity, you have no connection at all with the group that lives here?”
The vampire narrowed his eyes. “No, why?”
For the first time all night, I smiled. “Good. Please do not tell them you saw me. I am trying to avoid a confrontation while I am here. Good hunting,” I answered and turned back the way I had come. I definitely needed a different place to hunt tonight.
Without knowing how active Rome was at night, I wandered down streets until I spotted a lone man at the far end of the road. I didn’t sense any other vampires in the area so I knew this area was all right to hunt in. Briefly, I wondered if all humans in Rome were stupid enough to walk around alone at night. If so, I did not think feeding will be much of a problem, even with their group of vampires.
As soon as I reached the young man, I put my hand on his shoulder to turn him. He spun, knocking my hand aside with a snarl. I glimpsed fangs, suddenly sensed him through the telepathy. A vampire. He was no more human than I was. He had obviously been shielding himself. Yet, I had never seen a vampire outside of my ka-tet shield themselves so well at such a close range. “Bloody hell,” I cursed as I stepped back, instantly dropping my hand to my side. “Pray pardon.”
The vampire was dressed all in black, in an odd combination of clothing. The trousers were of a peasant type but the dress shirt was one of the upper class. And then there was the suitcoat. It was also all black and went down to about ankle length. I had never seen a coat like that before.
I glanced up into the vampire’s face. He had light brown hair, all short, except for his bangs which fell over his left eye, covering that side of his face. A glint of amusement appeared in the eye I could see. I wasn’t sure what he thought was amusing –the fact that I had mistaken him for a mortal or my reaction at finding out he was one of us.
“Why the hell couldn’t I sense you?” I blurted out in bewilderment.
The vampire only stared at me. I wondered if he even understood what I was saying. Maybe he didn’t understand English. Or maybe he was just refusing to answer the question. This situation made me nervous, especially when I was an intruder in another’s territory. I wasn’t very welcome by Resistance and non-Resistance alike.
I sighed. “Are you a part of Rome’s group?” I asked this question in English as well. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember any of the Italian I had learned.
“No. I am not,” he answered, startling me as I realized he understood my native tongue.
“Thank the Lord for small favors,” I muttered. “What are you doing here?”
“Tryin’ to feed.” His accent was unique too. It reminded me more of my own accent than an Italian one, but it was also distinctively different.
I closed my eyes for a second. Stupid question, I scolded myself. “Uh, for the sake of clarity, you have no connection at all with the group that lives here?”
The vampire narrowed his eyes. “No, why?”
For the first time all night, I smiled. “Good. Please do not tell them you saw me. I am trying to avoid a confrontation while I am here. Good hunting,” I answered and turned back the way I had come. I definitely needed a different place to hunt tonight.
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