Page 22 of Taste of Fate

“If they’re human, yes.” Bea smirked. “But if they’re another vampire, a brusang, or a shifter, they already have the long lifespan. So the magic at the ceremony is more symbolic in those cases.”

“What was the last pairing?” I couldn’t stop peppering her with questions. No one in Sapien ever talked about vampire culture. What else did I not know?

“Two vampires, which is the most common, I think.” Bea’s smile grew wider. “But the best part was that it was two females. The first gay blood mate ceremony ever publicly celebrated in Sanguine, so it was quite an event.”

“Aw, how sweet! You were there?”

“Oh yeah, everyone turned out to see it. And it shut up a lot of the ancient bigots who claimed same-sex blood mates was impossible because it went against biology.”

“Were you a brusang then? Or still a human?”

Bea’s smile dimmed just slightly. “I had been a brusang for about five years at that point. It felt like I was still getting used to the experience. Seeing that ceremony was definitely a highlight during that time.”

“I’m sorry.” I’d been asking questions so fast, I didn’t stop to remember what she’d told me. The turning process was a traumatic experience, and she’d been near death before waking up in her new life.

“All good,” she chirped before pointing at a red-bricked building up ahead. “That’s where we’re headed.”

I’d been so absorbed in asking her questions that I hadn’t truly taken in my surroundings until then. The street was lively, with humans and vampires alike going about their business. Tall street lamps illuminated the sidewalks and roads. Businesses were open with bright neon signs affixed to their buildings.

There were multiple clubs, lounges, and restaurants on this strip with their large windows open to the street, along with a smoke shop, a motorcycle mechanic, and a butcher.

It reminded me a bit of Jacksonville, the town in the human world we had sometimes visited for supplies. Apparently it was a popular tourist destination in the summer, and the streets would be teeming with people at certain times of day, primarily lunch time. Those trips had felt exactly like this, only during the day.

“Busy night,” I mused to Bea as we squeezed past people walking in the opposite direction. A vampire exhaled a spicy red smoke that made my eyes water.

“Locals call this area the Cap,” she said.

I looked at her. “Cap as in hat?”

She laughed “As in, short for capillary. We’re just off the Heart of Sanguine. Vampires can’t resist blood analogies, so this neighborhood with all its little side streets and alleyways resemble capillaries. Or just the Cap. It’s one of the most popular areas of Sanguine, which is especially impressive considering these buildings were all ruins decades ago.”

“Someone put a lot of money into this place, huh?”

“Yes,” she agreed softly. “Blood ‘til Dawn did. They own every building you see.”

“Whoa.” That was impressive.

I took in all the details as we walked to our destination. The smoke shop had a sign in the window that said, No drae here! Walk into the sun and burn, assholes. Seemed a little harsh, but okay.

Down a side street stood a square, white building that resembled a small hospital. BLOOD BANK was written on the side in bright, red letters. Above the door was a painted sign that read Donor Entrance.

Before I could ask Bea about it, she shoved a paper menu in my hand. “Let me know what you think of the human menu. If it sucks, we can go somewhere else.”

We were standing in front of the restaurant she’d chosen, a place called Carnassian’s. Upon scanning the menu, I realized that they specialized in meat dishes, many of them rare or raw. Nothing looked too intimidating to me though, and they had some seafood options as well, which I felt better about eating raw than say, steak.

“No, this is good,” I told Bea.

“Great! Let’s grab a seat.”

We got a table next to one of the large open windows facing the street. Our server was a vampire who looked young enough to be a teen. I knew better than to ask if she was old enough to work, but the agelessness of vampires never ceased to fascinate me.

I ordered the ceviche and a Mexican lager. Bea settled on a blue rare strip steak and a blood sangria.

“So vampires do eat food.” I subtly looked around at the other clientele, which I estimated to be seventy percent vampire or brusang, thirty percent human.

“For pleasure, yes. Out of necessity, no.” Bea leaned back and smiled pleasantly while our server placed our drinks in front of us. “Eating raw or rare meat satisfies blood thirst for a short time, so that’s what we usually prefer.”

“Do I ever have to worry about being on the menu?”

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