Dead King's Sword (Old Draft)

20. The Vampire and the Dimwit

Erin

***

Something knocked on the side of my head as I slept, and when I woke, I found Zeren watching me with a frown. Relief flooded her face, and she said, "I thought you were dead. Mind you, I don't have a problem with you dying as long as I'm the one to kill you." Her picture was hazy, watery, almost like a mirage. She held a knife near her wrist and drew a line, then her blood flowed rich and red down the curve of her forearm. Without thinking, I jerked upright and caught the rivulet on my tongue. 'More.' My tongue traced her arm, tasting the subtle sweetness of her skin and feeling the tiny hairs that waited there. Then my fangs implanted in her forearm, and she hissed in pain.

From those two holes, I drew my meal.

Her blood was as delicious as it had been in my imagination. Warmth filled my abdomen, and my head cleared. The haze surrounding her lifted, and I felt something hitting my head. "Erin! Erin! Fuck!"

After a fifth hit, Zeren pulled her hand free of my teeth. The rivulets of blood racing down her dark skin were hidden by the sleeve of her grey robe once it slid down. She swung her textbook towards me, pointed it at my chest as if it were a sword.

"What the hell was that?"

"You offered me your blood."

"No. I asked for help on my nonmagi biology homework. I wanted to know the parts of a sheep's eyeball."

"You could have checked the textbook."

"It's faster to ask you."

The fragrance of Zeren's blood was still there, in the air and on my tongue, but I felt satiated. I touched my stomach, bewildered. I could control it. My fear of draining her dry had been unnecessary; my control prevailed. I didn't need to read whatever stupid book my brother had recommended. I smiled.

Zeren snapped her fingers in front of my face. "You're not listening, are you?" Her complexion paled; the scent of blood made her nauseous, faint. She held her head, sat on the ground, and leaned against the side of my bed as she waited for the dizziness to pass.

I asked, "Did you bring a First-Aid kit?"

"It's somewhere," she murmured as she tried to fight back vomit and groaned. "Tell my dad I don't feel good. Tell him to come get me."

"It's okay; you'll survive. I avoided your artery." I carefully avoided Zeren as I climbed off the bed.

She sang softly,

"I was lost in a rainbow

But now our rainbow is gone

Overcast by your shadow

As our worlds move on....

"In this shirt, I can be you

To be near you for a while

In this shirt, I can be you

To be near you for a while."

She wasn't half bad at singing. Her voice wasn't perfect, but it was soothing. I knelt and removed one of my suitcases from under the bed, opened it, and withdrew my First-Aid Kit. "Let me see the wound."

Head turned away from me, Zeren held out her left arm, and I rolled back the soiled sleeve.

The metallic scent hit Zeren hard; she pinched the bridge of her nose and held her head down. "What kind of person bites someone like that? No 'good morning', just—" She opened her mouth wide and bit the air, then clucked her tongue in disappointment.

I didn't tell her that I had been obsessing over her blood for the last few hours but nodded empathetically at the rebuke as I pressed cotton to the wound and waited God knows how long for it to ebb before cleaning it with an antiseptic wipe. When I was done, I gave her a cute bandage with a smiling puppy on it, so she wouldn't complain about some bland, sterile, sand-coloured strip.

While Zeren closed her eyes, I cleaned up, tossing the bloodied cotton and wipes into the bin, helping her change her blood-stained robe, then taking the garbage out. When all the blood was gone, I returned to the room and shut the door behind me.

I told her, "It's gone. You can open your eyes now."

Frowning, Zeren opened one eye then the other, rolled back the sleeve of her fresh robe, checked her bandage, nodded at the puppy, then said, "If you don't want me to tell our teachers you attacked me, you have to do my homework for a week." Smiling, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Or... you could do your homework, and I won't tell everyone you're terrified of blood." I stared evenly at her.

"I'm not afraid of it; I don't enjoy being around it for a prolonged period. That's all."

I challenged her, raising my left brow. Her heartbeat changed, becoming irregular. She gritted her teeth, and got to her feet, then brushed herself off. "You stink," she murmured, accepting her loss and finding something else to poke at. "You need a shower."

"I'm going to shower."

"Good."

"Good."

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but finding nothing, marched out the room, muttering, "Should have at least said good morning."

"Good morning," I sang as she stepped into the hall.

"Stupid vampire." She slammed the door.

"Stupid half-vampire," I corrected her, though she was no longer there to hear.

***