History Repeats Itself

Chapter 5 - Bite Slaves

Xander stared at her, so many more questions came to mind. But, then again, she gave up a lot of information. Not that it seemed like they were some big secrets, maybe just more unknown. His eyes glanced back at the building. No, not unknown, just unknown in certain crowds. "What else can you tell me about your life?" He wasn't sure why he asked that in particular though. Fuck, he wasn't sure what she would even say. Maybe a lot of Hollywood was wrong, and these creatures weren't ages old.

He honestly had no clue how old she was, but he would guess she had quite a few years on him. She glanced up at the night sky, and he looked as well. He figured they still had a couple of hours left till sunrise. And he had already asked a friend to clock him out, so he didn't have to leave her, a thought he didn't like, and couldn't figure out why.

"I guess that could be a loaded question. Is there something special you want to know about?" she asked, glancing at him with a look he couldn't quite peg.

"I'm going to assume you have quite a few years on me here, and tonight's death wasn't normal, so tell me about what you do see, what's normal?" She smiled before turning around.

"Walk with me. It's getting late and I need to head to my car. Hopefully, I can find another bite before I head home." She chuckled before she shrugged. "I thought you were going to ask me how old I was."

"No, my mother told me that is not a question you ever ask a lady, no matter how badly you want to know."

"Time for us is not the same thing. If I had to peg it, somewhere over 270 years old though. Trust me, after a certain age, you just lose count. Birthdays don't mean anything other than pang as to what you lost."

"You get to choose in being a vampire though, don't you?"

"Of course, you do. We don't force anyone, at least not in this day and age; might have been different many centuries ago. But still, there are no adequate words for explaining how lonely this life can get, how hard it is to deal with the same thing day in and day out. Sure, some of us are richer, have jobs, and do more, but that still doesn't break up the fact that many of us are centuries old." She paused and he watched her. She had more on her mind, but he could also feel her close up.

"You look good for your age." She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop the smile. "I'm going to assume being that old, you've seen a lot happen in your lifetime, especially working for the council."

"I've seen my fair share of life. Death is death, no matter what or how. It's final, it's harsh, it's brutal. Your form of punishment is a lot nicer than ours, though. It gives someone a lot more time to think, to say any peace that needs it; within themselves or to others. Once the crime is committed, for us, you're taken into custody, stand before the council, and sentenced. Literally, it's all within a twenty-four-to-forty-eight-hour deal.

"There is no time for remorse or for repenting, not that one gets that." She paused and sucked in a breath. "I've witnessed the executions. Of course, from the safety of enclosed buildings. Usually, a vampire is brought out to stand outside right before the sun's rays peek over the horizon, and within mere seconds, the skin is fried and the vampire is turned into ash. It's a painful, brutal, way to die, but it's quick. However, that type of death, death by ice, I've never seen, but vaguely recall hearing about it." He was quiet as was she. She couldn't even count anymore how many of those she had seen throughout her long life. And compared to many other vampires around her, she was still a baby.

"Does being decapitated work for death?" Jade cleared her throat and shrugged.

"Can't say. Never saw anyone pull it off. You have to be fast to be able to do that to a vampire and it's just unlikely. And a law we have is no killing of each other, for no reason. We do not take that into our hands and that is a law any one of us will follow." She tilted her head before shaking it and he wanted to ask what she had thought of, but he had a feeling she wouldn't give him any more details.