July 18, 1415 – Budapest

The water is cooler than I expected but that is helpful. It distracts me from the fire raging inside. I swim slowly, watching the way the moonlight ripples over the waves my body makes as it pushes through the water. I had come here for seclusion so when a red-haired woman approaches with a wide smile, I am less than thrilled.
    She asks if I would like company in the water and on a typical night, I might have. But this is not a normal night. Tonight, I will come one night closer to gaining my freedom from all of Marcella’s supervision. I tell the lady the partial truth; that I do not want her in the water; that I am, in fact, avoiding people like her. I do not tell her that it is because I made a deal with my mother that I would not bite anyone for an entire month to prove that I am capable of such control, or that I am two days away from completion which is too close for a tart like her to ruin all my progress. Offended by my brashness, she leaves me alone to swim in peace, never realizing how close she came to a real-life boogeyman. As the clacking of her shoes disappears into the night, I continue paddling about letting the water comfort me once more and reminding my burning throat, it is only two more days.

July 2, 1980 - London

    The sound of the music quiets, helping me to hear her heart beating in her chest. She stares at her drink but she can feel my eyes on her. A shy smile spreads slowly across her face as she slides her drink closer, leaving a wet trail across the bar. A thick drop of condensation rolls over her fingers and drips away but I do not watch it splatter on the floor. My eyes only see the way she licks her lips, preparing for a drink. It only lasts a moment, but I notice everything about it. The way her tongue glides across her soft lips only makes them lure me more.
    As she raises the glass to her lips, a light redness flushes her cheeks and I realize that somewhere deep inside she has already accepted that she will let me take her home. That she will let me uncage myself, freeing me to give in to my most carnal needs, the same needs every man has. But what she has not realized is that there is another need inside me. Like an animal raging inside, it makes my heart pound and my throat burn with hunger. And although she does not realize it yet, that need will be satisfied tonight as well.

February 11, 1618 – Madrid

The cobblestone street graciously allows the rain to pool into a dark little puddle between the stones. Barely bigger than my palm, it must suffice as a mirror as I assess my injury. The freshness of the burn on my cheek fill my nostrils with charred flesh. There will be no permanent damage to my skin but for now, the rawness of my exposed muscle and scorched tissue sizzles against the cool night air.
     Marcella will not be pleased. The most essential part of attacking a local is that they die. They can run; they will scream; but they must die. They do not pull a cross from their bag and smash it against my face. And they certainly do not escape, like this one did. My fingers rub over the unevenness of my otherwise flawless face. It is not the pain that causes me to groan but the situation I now find myself in. I supposed I will have to disappear for at least a few months, possibly longer. Perhaps, we will go to Cairo. Marcella has been wanting to visit Egypt anyway.

December 23, 1994 – London

        Spending yet another holiday season in this town is not what I had envisioned for myself. I actually had envisioned someplace warmer, someplace fresh, some young body as a gift to myself; but here am I just the same. The cold air had pushed against me as I walked here as though even the bitter wind had protested my plans to seek warmth with the familiar. However, it was the hushed whispering about someone who knows me all too well that I could not ignore. It brought me to this shady establishment. The type of place where the filth go to forget themselves and the vagabonds disappear quietly. That is why I will find her here, in this hole of a place. A place where the meals come easy. Especially for someone as beautiful as Yen.
    She twists and rolls her body around a pole in ways that has these fools pressing the stage and drooling like dogs. But they have no idea what she is capable of; the horror she would do to them. The things she will do to me.  The sweet elation of her fangs feel ripping through my flesh. She has always been my favorite vice. I flash her money folded in my fingers prompting her eyes to catch mine. It is enough for her to strut toward me with a most devilish smile. Winking, she takes the money from my hand; but it is not the cash she wants; it is the address I have tucked inside. We do not need words. This has, after all, become quite a habit for us. We both know our roles to play in this. Mine is to find some poor sap to be our dinner. After all, fresh blood really does make it all that much more fun. And when she can, Yen will seek me out and then we will begin to relish in a very Merry Christmas for us both.

September 15, 1980 – London

    The red of her dress catches my eye. It is familiar. I saw her earlier tonight on a payphone in the hotel lobby. She was speaking to her husband about the children’s bedtime and sending her love to him. Then she promptly went upstairs and put on the dress the fits just a tad too tight. Her heels have not been out of the closet in some time. They still have a fine sheen of dust in the places she missed while wiping them off so quickly. As I watch her, I find myself wondering whether her blood will clash or blend with her dress should I happen to spill any on it. I suppose I will find out soon enough. 

    She pushes her hair behind her ear, exposing the empty hand that once displayed her set of diamond rings. And she sits a little too close to a man who smiles just a little too much. As he opens his wallet to pay for their drinks, I can see the indention of his own wedding band, tucked neatly away inside the leather folds. As they head toward the elevators, I smile. Neither of their spouses will believe the rumors. Neither will acknowledge the monsters that were lying to them. Only accepting that a monster was assuredly in the hotel room tonight and it was that monster that destroyed their happy families. I will have to leave town for a while. Just a few months. Not long enough for Marcella to find me as long as I am careful. But long enough for the dust to settle some. Perhaps Italy. Or maybe America. I hear California is nice this time of year.