Still in the clubroom. Business has not finished yet.
Remelia is scratching her small, white arms. "Gi—give me the blood already."
I let the smell of blood hang in the air for a while before saying, "I will, but tell me, how can I be sure that you'll be keeping this promise?"
Remelia doesn't like that. She gives me a darting glare. Pew. I glance away. Man, that glare is something else. She's the queen of staring contest all right. She flips her hair and laughs in annoyance, "Oh devil, look at you saying nonsense things. Vampires never lie. We're a noble creature. We're perfection."
I hold the blood higher. "You really need this."
The vampire bits her lips and turns her face away, "No. I don't really need it. But give it to me, anyway."
I act as if I'm putting the packet back in the bag. Ziiipppp…
Remelia shifts to her desperation at me and throws her arms forward. "I need it! I need it!"
"But I thought you said you 'don't' need it?"
"I need it! I'm hungry!"
"So… vampire do lie."
"NO! Vampire… Vampires just…" She glances from up to right to down to right, "Ah!" She snaps as if a light bulb pops over head, "Vampire doesn't lie, we just swindle and make little tricks. That's how we get our food, usually in our cage. Humans are dumb. That's just it. We don't lie. Lie is for the dumb. Like a unicorn."
Ignore the unicorn.
"... So, I'm dumb?"
She shakes her head. "Hey, you're no normal human. You know that, you have no food. You're the man-who-opens-chaos!"
I rub my temple. It sounds like a compliment, but actually, that's just rubbing my worries with reality. "Okay."
Remelia raises her hand. "I pro-MISE. I wouldn't do anything stupid. If anything," she glances at the door, "I can't even get out because of your stupid cross."
That small artifact. That weak cross. Holding a vampire who hasn't eaten for centuries is already a miracle of its doing. And if not for it, the world is already in chaos now. If the vampire gets her power back… it'd take another miracle for it to hold the vampire again. I don't have faith in it. But I have faith in myself. If I am still going to give the vampire blood, at the risk of letting her power back, then I promise that whatever is going to happen next, it'd be my responsibility. The vampire is my responsibility now.
"Please try nothing stupid, Remelia. I too don't want to do something stupid…"
For the first time in years, I let out my stored energy. A flaming white energy slipping out of my skin. I lock my eyes with the vampire. This time I am a threat, too.
If I am to destroy her now, she stands no chance.
"What?" She remains strong. "You can't hurt me."
"I've never tried yet. And I hope we don't come to that." I slump down on my shoulder and freshen my eyes.
Energy intimidation, it's something we use as an exorcist to win without fighting weak hell creatures.
"Okay." She then tries to reach the packet of blood with her short arms. "Now that's out of the way…" Her tongue is stuck out from her lips.
I hold it higher, further.
Remelia groans, "Oh, now what? I've promised. A vampire promise. It's hard to make any of us do so think of it as my sacrifice."
"Then I promise this would be the last. I had trouble getting this blood. Literally. So I'm thinking, maybe you shouldn't drink it in one go. You look like you would. How much blood do you need now?"
I really asked her that.
Remelia shakes her body in frustration, "Argg, come on Human! Why that silly question when the answer is obvious? I ate nothing for centuries. I need A LOT OF BLOOD!"
"The dead mosquitoes are the 'lot of blood.'"
"Th—that didn't count. And also, it may look like a lot, but there was not."
"Yup. We didn't count it because it'd be just like counting sand on the beach."
She furrows, "What? What the heaven is a beach?"
"... You never went to one?"
"the word 'beach' sounds like a dog."
All right, that's a bitch. Anyway:
I pull the blood back and Remelia whimpers. Man, I shouldn't bully her too much. It's funny though… ha ha… All right, now I feel bad. I shouldn't play food in front of a hungry child. Once I've said it out loud, I feel terrible. But then again, we all know she's no child.
"If this is all used up, what do you think you can eat on another day?" I ask.
Remelia immediately answers, "You find me some more blood."
"I… I wouldn't like the idea." It's already a pain to accumulate this much.
"But you have to!" The vampire waves her hand.
Fwoosh.
Anndd… the whole chess pieces are blown once again.
Remelia looks at them. "I—I'll put them back later."
"That's good." She knows how to deal with her own 'mistake' now.
My ring tone chimes in. I pull out my phone and Alyssa is calling. That's my sign that I should go back in the office now.
The vampire is swaying her legs while looking at the blood.
I sigh, "You know what?"
I push the blood to her. "Use it as your own wish. My advice is, just drink a quarter of them and save it for another. I don't know when you need them the most. Because you wouldn't get any again for a long time."
Remelia tilts her head and drifts her body closer to the blood, ready to rob them out of my hand. That isn't necessary. "Human… you want me to… store the rest of it? Wh… where?"
She's right. I glance around the room, "That… should be a place that can keep it cold."
I doubt there's refrige—
"I know a cold box to keep something cool." The vampire moves closer as she points at the corner of the room. At the… conveniently a small refrigerator. I can feel my eyes drooping. Oh wow, since when is it there?
"Since the beginning," Remelia answers.
"That's very convenient. Hey don't read my… mind. What are you doing?"
Remelia is drifting toward the blood… not knowing that she has left her couch already. Anyone would know what she was trying to do. This is not stealthy at all. "Hm? Well, I trying to take what's mine."
"Quietly?"
"peacefully."
I sigh and loosened the packet.
Remelia's eyes gleam and with a swoop, grab the blood and fly away as if she's a bird stealing bread.
She laughs, "Bwahahaa! My blood now, idiots!"
She holds it close to her. And glares at me. "I don't want to share. This is mine."
I shrug. "I don't need them. Remelia, I don't drink blood. It's all yours."
Suddenly her face goes soft and looks back and forth between me and the blood. "It's... all mine?"
I nod.
"No one is going to snatch it away? It's all mine?"
"Y... yeah?"
Her eyes become teary.
What's up with her?
I don't ask. That's a story for another time. And time, we have a lot now later.
Remelia wipes her tear with her incredibly fluffy black sleeve and checks the packet of blood.
When she clears her throat, she flushes all her weak sides down.
"How do I drink from this? Do I just bite them like a neck?"
"No. There's a tube there. Just… suck it."
She tries. Her cherry lips meet the tube of red.
Her eyes closed.
Slurp. Slurp.
And when she opens her eyes back, it's redder than what it was.
I hope this isn't a mistake.
Her eyes meet mine and Remelia pulls out the packet. There's still a lot of blood in the packet. It seems she has followed my advice. She coughs. "Whoever blood is this, it's not bad. Not bad at all."
I smile.
Sarah's alternative method of getting the blood I needed was… me. So that's in Remelia's stomach now is…
I guess… My blood is tasty? Thank you?