KITTY
“Wow, look at the sky,” she sighed.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry,” she said. “What an idiot.”
“It’s fine,” Bo said. “I’ve seen plenty of stars. There’s nothing like seeing them from the cockpit of a plane when you’re out over the Olam Sea on a clear, moonless night. You can see layers and layers of them. And colors, like someone took a paintbrush to the dark.”
Bo nodded. “I was Admar’s top pilot before the Silver Wraith came along—until a flash of dragon lightning took out my sight.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You know, I feel like I should be very philosophical about it,” he said.
“Very accepting. And I’m not bitter, truly.
Not anymore. But the truth is, I miss it every day.
It would be better if I’d been born without sight, I think.
But the problem is, I remember it all. How beautiful it was.
The stars. The sunset… The face of a beautiful woman. ”
For some reason, Kitty felt her cheeks flush.
“… I know it’s all right here and… I’m missing it,” Bo finished.
Kitty sighed. “Yeah. I can understand that. It’s not the same, but when I became a vampyre, some things changed.
I don’t have to breathe all the time. Sometimes, I forget to do it for minutes at a time.
And food doesn’t taste the same. I eat, but it doesn’t have much taste, not like it used to.
And blood… when I don’t have it, it’s like this desperation comes over me, this panic.
But I can remember what it was like before. To be human.”
“Well, hopefully when we get to Umsir, this Oracle will have a solution for you,” Bo said.
Kitty gave a weak smile. “If we get there. My feet are killing me.”
Apparently, hiking was not Kitty’s forte.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. She’d always hated PE class.
She’d never had much interest in any of the school sports girls were allowed to participate in—swimming or tennis or running.
Of course, she could dance all night at the music halls, and had even won a few contests.
But somehow, when it came to doing anything practical, like cleaning or walking or even folding clothes, her energy failed her.
Her vampyric strength should have allowed her to walk forever, but it had been quite a while since she’d had blood. Without it, she felt herself wilting like a week-old rose in a waterless vase.
And her feet!
With a groan, she pulled off one of her shoes. It was a boot—of sorts—but it had a three-inch heel. It was the sort of boot one wore to the office on an autumn day, not to go questing across fantastical landscapes. And her socks were sheer and thin. She peeled one off and hissed through her teeth.
“Blisters?” Bo asked.
“Yeah,” Kitty said. “It’s fine. I’m sure they’ll be better tomorrow.”
Bo stood and turned away from the fire. He started walking away, crouching a little as he went.
“Where are you going?” she said, alarmed that he was leaving her.
He probably should have been worried about being away from her, not the other way around.
A vampyre was probably scarier than whatever else was out on these moors at night.
But Kitty hadn’t quite shaken the habit of acting like a waifish girl—even if she was a monster now.
And so, she panicked, rising with one boot on and one off, and limped after Bo.
She found him only about twenty yards away, kneeling and breaking thick leaves off a small plant.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He turned back toward the fire, holding up the sprigs.
“Medicine,” he said.
She blinked at him, surprised. “How did you find that?”
“Here. Smell,” he put the thick leaves under her nose. They did have a fresh, herbal scent that was quite pronounced. Bo offered Kitty his arm, and she led him back to the fire.
“Sit,” he said. “Give me your foot.”
Obediently, she lowered herself down to the log where she’d been sitting, but she hesitated to offer him her foot. He reached out and took it anyway, setting it in his lap. Then, he squeezed clear sap out of the leaf into the palm of his hand.
“You don’t have to—” she started, but he was already finding her blisters with his fingers and dabbing the salve onto them. The pain subsided almost instantly. Then, he rubbed his thumbs down the sole of her aching foot, drawing a moan out of her. “Oh, God. That feels good,” she said.
She studied him, then, looking at him closer than she had before.
He had a quiet way about him that was a nice change of pace from the bossy, fast-talking men she dealt with in Ironberg.
His presence was peaceful. Comforting. But he looked strong as a bull, too.
She found her eyes tracing down his neck, where she could see the thick artery beneath his skin.
“Okay, thank you,” she said, starting to take her foot back. “But you don’t have to… really…”
“Kitty,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to walk tomorrow. Why don’t you take off your other boot?”
She wanted to say no. Wanted to warn him. But instead, she slipped off her second boot and sock and gave him her foot. He dabbed on the salve, then rubbed both her feet as she shut her eyes and surrendered to the euphoric feeling.
She kept her mouth tightly shut as her fangs grew long, her heart beat quickened, and her mind became foggy, dizzy, burning with blood-desire.
Oh, Bo, she thought. You’re playing with fire.