"Damn!  Another missed opportunity."  Eliza shook her head and tried to  focus.  She really missed Sofye.  Being with her, during the spring break, had been a real pleasure.  Relaxing and allowing her consciousness to expand over the area she got a flicker of life.  From her perch on the climbing face, she could see much of the area as it was illuminated by the light of the full moon.  She felt the itch of her fangs and the sharp pressure of her hunger.  She'd not been hunting nearly as much when Sofye was home and she was paying the price, now.  She really wasn't performing up to par and she knew it.  Every since the dreams had started, she'd been depressed and "out of it."
    She judged the distance to her quarry and stepped off into space.  Drifting slowly to the ground, she used the cape, almost like a skydiver uses his chute, to aim and focus her descent.  It was a practiced and skilled move, one which she paid no conscious attention to anymore.  It was second nature. 
    Her intended meal was male, but for some reason, that didn't please her.  Normally at the full moon, she was rather randy and enjoyed the more sensuous aspects of her craft.  Tonight it was just a meal.  She took him from behind and rendered him unconscious before he realized anything was happening.  She bit low on the neck and was careful to do as little damage a possible.  The warm blood was physically satisfying, but she wanted more.  More of what she wasn't sure, but she wanted more!
    She carefully healed his wounds, leaving the tiniest scars.  He'd probably never notice them, or if he did, never really give them much thought.  No more than a healed pimple.  As he stirred, she stepped back into the shadows and watched him stagger to his feet.  He looked confused but not really too upset.  Her influence on him remained and fogged his mind and emotions.  His first step was slightly unsteady, but as he vanished in the distance, he was whistling a tune. 
    Eliza sighed and slowly climbed back up the face of the climbing rock.  Reaching the top, she removed her cape and unlaced her leather vest, allowing the chill May air to cool her body.  Her normal body temperature was several degrees cooler than a "normal" person's, and she was most comfortable at 61 degrees.  At 68, she was just beginning to feel too warm.  As a vampire, she could tolerate great extremes, but wasn't happy about it.  "Summer's gonna be bad," she muttered to herself.  She sighed.  "At least Sofye will be home." 
    Eliza fanned herself and watched the full moon set.  Too early.  She wasn't ready to go home and sleep.  It was barely midnight, but once the moon set, being outside seemed somehow inappropriate.  She didn't like it.  "Ok," she breathed standing up.  Shrugging on her cape and tightening her vest laces, she very dramatically soared off the rock face.  In the darkness of the now moonless night, she was darkness against darkness.
    She hesitated as she walked by the Rusty Nail.  Shaking her head, she walked by.  She wasn't in the mood for that, tonight.  She headed uptown.  Maybe something new would be interesting.  Her steps echoed hollowly as she walked.  The shops and buildings began to be more upscale.  She stopped and gazed into the window of a jewelry story.  She like gems, but for obvious reasons, shied way from silver ornamentation, although she liked platinum and iridium. 
    A police cruiser slowed as it drove by, the officer checking her out.  She was vaguely aware of his scrutiny, but was unconcerned.  So far, her opinion of the police in this town was favorable.  While the young officer was doing his job, his personal interest in Eliza contributed to the length of his examination of her.  Eliza was easy on the eyes and attracted more than her share of male attention. 
    Unlike the officer, Eliza didn't see anything she really liked.  Sighing, she turned and continued her walk uptown.  Nearing the business district, passing an alley, she heard the faintest strains of heavy metal music.  She stopped and stared into the dark alley.  At the end, she could see a red glow.  Curious, she turned and walked towards the redness. 
    For a brief moment, she felt a thrill of trepidation as she entered the dark alley.  Realizing who and what she was, that passed quickly and almost unnoticed.  As she neared the end of the alley, the volume of the music increased slightly and she could see the red glow was coming from a small neon sign.  "Blood Bristo" it read.  Turning, she stared back to the entrance of the narrow alley.  "If you didn't know it was here, you'd probably miss it," she thought.  Turning back to the sign, she was facing a solid brick wall with a deep, deep red door set in it.  The slight flicker of the neon sign made it appear almost black.  There was no real door knob, but rather a recess with a lip that could be grasped to pull the door open.
    Reaching and pulling she stepped into a dimly lit foyer.  The door closed behind her and the music was much more audible, now.  Another sign reading "Blood Bristo - Enter" was over another closed door, facing her.  The pull bar appeared to be brightly polished brass.  Opening this door allowed the music to be clearly heard.  It was not excessively loud but the driving heavy metal beat made her vibrate and feel almost alive. 
    Entering, she saw a typical club with a small dance floor at the back of the room.  The music was live and the five musicians worked well together.  The lead singer was a tall blond lady, with a pure high voice, who was also playing an amplified guitar.  She played a simple lead that went well with her voice and was accompanied by two men who skillfully blended with her and provided a gruff, heavy counterpoint that was very effective. At the end of the song, the put down their instruments and walked off to refresh themselves.  Eliza found an open booth not to far from the band.  Live music still thrilled her and seemed to erase all her cares.
    Eliza removed her cape and settled in.  The leather seats where very comfortable, the lighting dim, but not too dim, and since the music ended, the buzz of an upscale and pleasant club seem to complete the atmosphere.  She's just gotten comfortable and was looking for a waitress when one arrived.  "Good evening," she chirped.  "How may we, at the Blood Bristo, serve you?" 
    Eliza smiled.  The waitress was dressed in a cross of goth/metal leather, lace and studs.  She looked the waitress up and down.  "Effective," she thought.  Glancing around, she could see another waitress in an identical outfit.  "Why not?" she thought. Looking back, "Palinca," she said. 
    "Ice?" Her waitress asked.
    Eliza was surprised.  "No thanks," she replied.  "Straight up."
    Her waitress did a noticeable double take.  "Yes, Ma'am," she said, turned and left.
    "Ma'am!!!" Eliza echoed in a whisper.  "Ma'am."  She sighed.  "Didn't know I looked like a Ma'am," she muttered, leaning back to get more comfortable.  Sensing attention being focused on her, Eliza wondered what was going on.  This was not the normal attention of the average male.  Glancing in that direction, she saw her waitress talking to the band's lead singer.  The waitress's back was to her, but the singer was looking in Eliza's direction.  The waitress turned and headed towards her, carrying two glasses.
    She placed a taller than expected glass containing a faintly blood colored liquid on the table and then placed a shorter, fatter glass of ice water next to it.  "Just in case," she smiled.  "I took a sip of this stuff once."  The expression on her face made her opinion of it clear.
    Eliza smiled.  "Thank you.  It is, ah, unique," she said, handing the waitress a bill.  "I'll sip carefully." 
    The band started playing again. Taking a sip of the fiery liquid, she rolled it around in her mouth, enjoying the burn and the distinct flavor.  Leaning back, she closed her eyes and let the music and the brandy transport her into a far more comfortable state.
    Eliza came to her senses with a start.  The lights were up and people were leaving.  The lead singer from the band walked over and put a glass of palinca in front of Eliza and sat, one for herself in front of her.  "Cheers," she said, raising her glass.
    Smiling, Eliza raised her glass and responded "sanatate," and sipped.
    The singer smiled.  "If that's Romanian, I don't speak it.  I just have a fascination with the nation and it's customs.  I know you saw Cindy point you out to me.  That's because of the brandy.  I had it ordered for my personal use and you're the first one to ever ask for it."  She took a sip of her drink.  "I hope you don't think I'm too forward, but anyone who likes this stuff has my attention."  She smiled.
    Eliza took a sip.  "Not at all.  If it gets me a closing drink, I don't mind at all."  She took another sip.  "I'm sort of Romanian, but I wasn't born there.  Like you, I did a little homework."
    "My name is Serophia," the singer said holding her hand out.
    "Eliza," Eliza replied shaking her hand with a firm grip.  The singer was tall.  Eliza had half stood to take her hand and she was still looking up to meet the seated singers eyes.  "Wow, are you tall," she involuntarily whispered.
    "I am and I have excellent hearing along with perfect pitch," Serophia said, smiling.  "And you are really tiny!  I can't get over you drinking palinca, at least three of them, and being able to walk.  That is amazing."  She shook her head.  "How do you do it?"
    "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Eliza started.
    "Oh don't worry about it. I am tall and very pragmatic," Serophia interjected.  "Look, I'm still wired from the set.  You want to do something?"
    Knowing that bars closed at two a.m. in this town, Eliza responded, "I still have a good couple of hours left in me.  What do you have in mind?"
    "We could go back to my place and listen to some CD's I just bought and do some damage to a bottle of palinca that has hardly been touched?"
    "I could go for that, as long as I'm not in the way."
    "No problem.  If you mean the band, I don't date any of them.  I don't think mixing business and pleasure is a good idea.  Besides, I'm not really part of the band.  I just sing lead for them when they are working this club.  The spend too much time on the road for me.  I like to sing and they are an opportunity, but I don't take it to seriously."

    Serophia set a quick pace.  Her long legs just seemed to eat distance and Eliza had to hustle to keep up.  She took this opportunity to more closely examine her companion.  She was tall, very blond, with good proportions.  Eliza would bet that she was a jogger or runner, or maybe she just worked out.  She was not exactly thin, but she clearly was not carrying a lot of body fat. 
    "Here we go."  She removed a plastic card from a side pocket and swiped it at the door.  At the click, Serophia pushed the door open.  "I live on the fifth floor, but there is an elevator that has never failed me."  The building was modern and the elevator quiet and clean. 
    Eliza rolled the brandy in the glass and sipped it slowly.  She enjoyed the burn and she was getting a nice comfortable glow from it.  Serophia's music was very mellow and very unlike the club music. 
    "Eliza?"
    "Um," Eliza grunted.
    "Are you a vampire?"
    Eliza's eyes popped open and she sat up.  They'd been sitting on the floor and she'd leaned back against a pillow and had been half asleep.  Now, sitting up she faced Serophia, not quite sure what to say. 
    Serophia giggled.  "Am I embarrassing you?  If I was a vampire, I'd be proud of it."  Her smile faded.  "I guess you aren't supposed to tell, are you?  I've sort of goofed, here, huh?"
    "But... but... why do, I mean - what makes you think I'm a vampire?" Eliza finally managed to get out.
    "Oh, it's a lot of little things.  I guess it's not any one thing but it all adds up.  I'm a psyche major, you know, and I'm naturally empathetic."  Serophia looked almost smug at figuring it out.
    Eliza was totally flabbergasted. She wasn't sure of what to say or do.  She like Serophia and she didn't want to lie to her, but because she liked her, she didn't want to endanger her by letting her know the truth.  She'd had really bad luck with people knowing the truth about her.  Serophia's eyes widened.  "Oh damn! You have fangs!  You are really real!"
    Because she was stressed, Eliza had lost her focus and allowed her fangs to descent.  Clapping her hand to her mouth, she shook her head.  "No, no, it's not what you think.  I just have long eye teeth."
    "No, I saw them grow."  Serophia paled even a little more.  "You're going to have to make sure I can't tell, aren't you?"  Her breath was coming fast and Eliza could actually see her heart beating and smell her fear. 
    Eliza sucked her breath in and struggled to control her every instinct.  "Dammit, stop acting like prey!  I'm not going to hurt you.  Stop it!"  In a calmer tone, "Do you always invite strange vampires into your house and try to get them drunk?"  Her smile took any sting that may have been there out of the works.
    Serophia took a deep breath and smiled a shaky smile.  "No, not really.  You're the first.  Oh, the club gets posers every now and then, but they are so obvious that it's only funny.  They have fun and there's no harm, but you weren't posing and you weren't funny.  You just came in and listened to the music.  You are very, very different."  She took a shaky sip of palinca.  "You really aren't going to hurt me?"
    Shaking her head, "No, I'm not going to hurt you.  We are just two girls having a drink and listening to some music.  That's all it is you know.  Besides, I don't normally go around hurting innocent people."
    "You don't?"  Serophia's eyes were wide.  "I'm sorry.  Of course you don't.  I guess that makes sense, but you have to eat, don't you?"
    Eliza sighed.  "In for a penny, in for a pound," she thought.  "Yes, I have to eat, but I don't have to kill, and I don't 'have' to eat that often.  Honest, I have never killed anyone just for the fun of it.  I'd never do that."
    Eliza could tell that Serophia's heart rate was returning to normal and the fear smell had been replaced by the fumes of the palinca, a rather pleasant aroma, she thought.  Downing the last of the drink she held up the glass.  "Could you spare a wee bit more?"
    "Oh!  But of course." She downed her drink and then poured them both a fresh glass. 
    "Do you have a CD of any of your songs?" Eliza asked.
    Serophia's face lit up.  "As a matter of fact I do.  I'm sort of proud of it.  I've actually sold a few locally.  That CD has paid for most of my college tuition." 
    The music started.  It was a plaintiff song with what Eliza considered "gypsy" characteristics.  Suddenly she realized that Serophia had begun singing on the CD.  She blended with the instruments so smoothly that it was sometimes difficult to tell her voice from the instruments.  Closing her eyes, she let the music sweep over her.  "That's curious," she thought.  Opening her eyes, she realized the Serophia was singing with the CD.  Her synchronization was so perfect that the sound was one. 
    As the song ended, Eliza sighed.  They smiled at each other.  "I promise you, I'll never eat you!  All you have to do is sing and I'm paralyzed."  Serophia stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, looked down and grinned.  Her face was fire red.  She was clearly very embarrassed by the compliments.  "Strange," Eliza thought.  "She a stage performer, has a reasonably successful CD out and she's embarrassed by my compliments.  She's a rather strange lady."  Thinking how she'd invite her up to the apartment, "Impulsive and not always too careful," she chuckled to herself.  "You said that you're majoring in psychology?"
    "Yea," Serophia nodded.  "I'm in my final year.  I'm in my final year and I've got sort of an offer from a local clinic.  It's sort of a low pay internship, but it sounds like it would be really interesting.  I'd be training to work with people with eating disorders."
    Eliza thought of Sofye.  She shook her head.  Could all of this really be sheer coincidence?  Life can be strange.  "So, you decide that to treat an eating disorder, tonight you'd try to become food!"  Eliza laughed and, now, so did Serophia. 
    "I guess that wasn't to smart, but I was simply so fascinated by what you are that I couldn't take the chance of losing you.  I really, really, get curious at times and I can really do stupid things to satisfy that curiosity."  She giggled.  "I once did a survey in a biker bar."
    "A biker bar???  And you got out in one piece?"
    "Well, almost," she grinned.  "The leader was nice and good looking too.  I interviewed him last and, well, we sort of came to an agreement."  She blushed again.  "He was nice," she said lamely.
    Eliza frowned.  "Girl, if you're gonna survive on this planet, you have GOT to be more careful.  Damn, you take chances."
    "Yea, that's what I'm told.  Look, can I ask you some questions?  I'm about to burst, you know."
    "Ok, go ahead.  You're not the first normal that has known.  I doubt you'll hit me with anything new."  She smiled a fangy smile, just for effect.
    "Ah," Serophia said shakily again, "ok.  How do you feel about being a vampire.  How has it affected you?"
    Eliza opened and closed her mouth.  That was not a question that she'd been asked.  How old are you, do you like it, what's it like to eat someone, do you like killing: those were the questions she was used to.  No one had actually ask about how she felt about it, how she felt about the change and what it had done to her.  She sighed.  "I wouldn't go back, now, but it's been really hard sometimes.  There's no loving husband, two point five kids or white picket fence for me.  There is the chance of being tortured to death by hunters, shunned by people I love and never forget the infamous outliving everyone you know and love."  Holding up her glass.  "Gimme another one, please."
    Serophia did as requested and Eliza tossed it.  "One more, please."
    "You sure?
    "Yes, I thur.  I mean I'm sure, please."
    The sat and talked till a faint glow of dawn began to show through her window.  "Eliza, do you want to go out and get something to eat?  I wouldn't mind a snack."  She looked out the window.  "Oh, it's almost daylight.  Would that be a problem for you?"
    "Daylight is a minor problem, but no big deal.  The problem is that no restaurant actually has what I need right now."  Eliza sighed.  "One of life's little difficulties, you know."
    Serophia got a pensive look on her face.  "You're here because of me and that's making a problem for you."  She took a deep breath.  "Look, you said you could eat without killing."  She opened her blouse, revealing her neck ad the top of her breast.  Looking up, revealing her throat. "I have what you need."
    Eliza saw the twin mounds of warm flesh and her eyes traced the line of her throat.  Her neck was pale and lean, the blood pulsing just below the surface.  It hit Eliza like an electric shock, and this time, there was no sign of fear.  Just the opposite.  Serophia seemed to quiver with excitement and anticipation.  "I don't want to be one.  It won't make me one will it?"
    Eliza felt her fangs descending, and this time, she didn't have to hide it.  "No, it won't make you one.  And don't worry, you'll like it.  We both are going to like it."  She knelt, facing Serophia.  Running her left hand down her cheek, she marveled a how soft her hair and skin were.  She ran her hand down and felt her warm neck.  She was projecting her excitement and fascination to Serophia, now and it was being echoed back to her.  Leaning forward she put her lips to Serophia's neck.  It was hot and pulsing to her lips.  Gently, she nipped and heard the resulting gasp.  She felt a hand on the back of her neck, pulling her tighter.  The blood was hot, so hot, salty with that wonderful hint of copper in her mouth. 
    Serophia gently lay backwards, pulling Eliza down on top of her.  Her eyes were closed and her chest heaving as she panted in excitement.  She pulled at Eliza.  "More, Oh, God, more.  I want more."
    Eliza had never had a willing partner who was fully aware of what was happening.  Rather than enthralling her, she had totally enthralled Eliza.  Eliza pulled back.  "Not too much," she reminded herself.  "Not to much.  Just a snack.  Just a snack."  She pulled Serophia to her and felt her lips on her neck.  Not biting to bring blood, but kissing, sucking and playfully nipping.  Now it was Eliza that wanted more.  She put her hand behind Serophia's head and pulled her tight.  "Harder," she whispered.  "Harder, it's ok." 
    Eliza felt a shooting pain in her neck.  That hurt!  She arched her back and threw her head back.  Damn!  That hurt but it hurt so good.  She gripped Serophia's ribs and felt her claws draw a little blood.  Pushing her back, she pulled her blouse up and licked the blood from her ribs.  Running her hands down her rib cage, she felt the muscles ripple.  Eliza was sure now.  She had to lift weights.  She was all solid muscle.
    Time passed.  Eliza drifted, totally relaxed and comfortable.  The room was wonderfully dim and the pillow was delightfully soft.  She snuggled down and pulled the comforter tight around her.  She knew she was dreaming, but it didn't matter.  The music was beautiful, so clean, so pure and it soared so high and sailed so free.  She wanted to be the music so she followed it.  Higher and higher she soared with it.  Never had she felt so free, so alive. 
    Never had the coffee smelled so good. 
    Eliza opened her eyes.  "I hope you like your coffee as strong as you like your brandy," Serophia said smiling. 
    Eliza struggled to a sitting position.  "Oh, I do, I do," she said, reaching for the proffered cup.  "Thank you."  Taking a sip she looked around for a clock but didn't seen one.  "What time is it?"
    "It's almost six.  You slept all day."
    Eliza looked around and realized where she was.  "And it looks like I spent it in your bed."
    Serophia smiled.  "No problem.  You are a wonderful guest.  You like my singing!"
    Eliza smiled.  Yes, she did like her singing.  Even better, she liked her.  "And you are a wonderful  host with a beautiful voice.  Thank you for inviting me over."