After I drag the vampire corpse to the back alley behind Clutch, Selene hands me a bottle of lighter fluid and a fancy lighter. I heave the body into the dumpster against the wall and squirt the pungent smelling accelerant all over it. Igniting the lighter, I toss it on top of the body, just before launching Egan’s head in with the rest of him. I run my hands through my hair, watching the fire burn brightly while Selene stands silently next to me.

Neither of us knows what to say. While neither of us was in any kind of trouble ourselves, that visit was dramatic and stressful. There’s no other way to describe it. The Sisters have an aura about them that invokes fear, even when you know you have no reason to be concerned. The sky above us had turned a dark purple and gray, and the city seemed to have lost its usual buzzing sound. Typically I’m tuned into the clatter of the humans as they toured, and the ringing of the slot machines; they’re much like white noise to me. But what I hear is almost a deafening silence.

“Do you hear that?” I ask Selene, breaking our silence.

“Hear what?” she asks.

“The sound of nothing.” I turn my gaze back up to the sky and notice the wind picking up.

Selene also looks up, shaking her head from whatever her thoughts were, and she glances back at me, appearing surprised. “I didn’t realize it until you pointed it out. The power is out in the city.” She pauses before another revelation hit her. “The humans will surely begin losing their shit at any moment. You know how they panic when they have no control over the elements.” My thoughts immediately shift to Fiona. I need to get to her.

“I need to go.”

“What if the Sisters come back?” she asks.

“Then text me to come back, but I need to go. I need to make sure Fiona is okay.”

Selene rolls her eyes. “That human is going to get you in trouble, Roman. You need to check yourself. I know you think you love her – I can see it in your eyes, so don’t even bother trying to deny it. But you are setting yourself up for everlasting heartache if you let this get any deeper. She will die. And you will be alone. Don’t you see that?” She is almost pleading with me, but I just don’t care. Fiona’s lifetime is enough for me to have eternal love. Selene will find hers someday, but you can’t explain that, and it’s not the time. I need to go.

“Selene, someday you will understand. I promise you. But the Sisters have left, and I need to go. There’s no reason to stay for any of us. We were essentially dismissed while they go find the vampire who was foolish enough not to check in.”

Pursing her lips, she shrugs her shoulders. “I suppose you’re right. But for the love of all that is sacred, be fucking careful. I have a bad feeling about things that I can’t shake. I don’t like it, and I think you’d be safer with your kind right now.”

I appreciate her loyalty and her unwavering friendship. While she may be right, I need to go to Fiona. Leaning in toward her, I pull her in for a hug, her very least favorite human interaction. “Thank you, Selene.”

“Ugh, unhand me.” She pushes me away with a grin. “You’re too human. It’s so annoying. Just go.” I know she is teasing me, but there’s also some truth to it. I’ve adapted to living an immortal mortal life. A concept foreign to many vampires, I truly live the vast majority of my time outside the supernatural other than for sustenance.

I move less quickly than usual as I go to Fiona’s, taking in the scene around me. What appears to be an electrical storm has descended upon the city, but I know it’s the Sisters. Clutch didn’t experience the power outage that I see all around, and the humans who are out, are scattering like bugs. I can sense their heightened anxiety. As I hone in on Fiona, I can discern her anguish, and I pick up the pace.

As I approach her building, I feel her upset more. Once I’m inside, I find her immediately, lifting her off the floor into my arms.

“Fiona,” I whisper into her hair, holding her tightly. Expecting her to be relieved, I’m shocked when she pushes me away.

“What the fuck, Roman?” I can see that she’s been crying, but she also looks like she wants to punch me.

“Fiona, I couldn’t talk. I’m sorry you’re upset, but it’s imperative that you stay out of these matters.”

“You couldn’t have told me that before you took off? I have been worried sick about you! You know that I thought something terrible may have happened!?”

Her concern is evident, and I can see that I should have sent her a message of some kind assuring her that things would be okay. The monster inside me doesn’t always think of these things. “Fiona, we are bonded. You would feel it if something happened to me.”

“Are you sure everything is okay? Lydia told me the Sisters have come.”

“You went to see Lydia? Fiona, I am sorry that I did not inform you of the visit. It is an unusual circumstance, and it’s best to keep you as far removed from them as possible. But know this. You are mine. And I am yours. You need to understand that the life of a vampire can become complicated at times, and you will not always get the answers that you desire. This has to be acceptable to you Fiona, or we will not work.” I don’t mean for it to sound like an ultimatum because it’s not. But, if Fiona cannot respect the Covenant in which I must abide by, she will lead a life of misery and could put us both in danger.

“You need to explain more to me, Roman. I’ve been wandering the streets looking for you. I need you to communicate with me.” I understand her needs, and I want to compromise with her, explain our history and how we became who, or rather what, we are.

I realize that we are still standing in the lobby, and I don’t understand why she’s not safely upstairs in her home. “Why are you down here? You should be upstairs.”

She waves her hand at the building dramatically. “Everything here is run on electric, so the doors and the elevator are locked because there’s no power. So, I’m stuck down here.”

“Come. We are going to my place.” I take her by the hand and pull her behind me.

In light of the storm, and the high anxiety of the city, I make the decision that we will walk the short distance to my place without using supernatural speed. I do not want to draw any undue attention to us, and while I’m pretty sure that the vampires are free to leave Clutch, I don’t see any others out and about at the moment. When emotions are running high, it is then, that humans who pretended to be supportive of those unlike them tend to show their true colors, and I’ve seen first hand how poorly that can end for vampires.

We arrive at my home, where the power is out as well, but we are able to get into the building without issue. When we get inside, I sit Fiona on the couch and cover her with a warm blanket. Her skin is ice cold, almost as cold as mine.

I watch her snuggle into the blanket, and then I settle in next to her. “Fiona, I’m going to explain to you how vampires are created, and who the Sisters are. They made us, and gave us the mark of the Fates as it’s referred to.”

“Okay,” she replies quietly, seeming somewhat uneasy.

I rest my hand on her leg and gently rub it. “I don’t want you to be scared, I want you to understand. When I am called away, it is not a choice. It is a requirement that I go, or there will be terrible consequences for my disobedience. I will never leave you for any other reason. Do you understand?”

A tear begins to form in the corner of her eye, and as I reach up to wipe it away, she smiles. “I’m sorry that I lost my shit, Roman. This whole thing is just so new to me. It’s moved so fast, and it is overwhelming at times. I was so worried.”

I pull her into my arms. “I understand, and that’s why I want you to know more about who I am and where I came from,” I reply. “I care very deeply about you, Fiona. More so than anyone I’ve met in five hundred years.” I want to tell her I love her, but I can’t say it. I’m not sure why, but the timing isn’t right. She needs to hear what I have to say first.

“Me too, Roman.” She gives me a small smile. “Now tell me about your creators, these Sisters.”

“Okay.”

I start telling her what I know, from the beginning, which is the luring of a human soul. “Clotho, the blonde goddess, who seems to float with gentility and speak with the softest of voices, compels a human. Basically, she picks her target. I know not what the specifications for her are, other than that most of us appear to have been turned in our early thirties, in human years.”

“So, she just goes around picking humans randomly?” Fiona asks.

“Truthfully, I’m not sure,” I admit. “No one really knows what makes the Sister pick one human over another. From what we’ve gathered about ourselves over time, we come from all walks of life. Good people, bad people, boring people, adventurous people; we’re all very different.” I think back to the many vampires I’ve met in my travels. There are vampires all over the world, in every city.

“Clotho makes promises of not only immortality but a life of wealth, happiness and a need for nothing. The appeal of a sexy and elite lifestyle draws in most humans, but we weren’t given a choice; we were compelled. Only the Sisters can make the determination of who becomes a vampire and who does not. It is then that we agree in exchange for the immortal, we will obey the Covenant for eternity.”

“You do lead a sexy life; I have to admit she fulfilled that end of the deal whether you were compelled or not. You certainly weren’t duped in that regard,” Fiona says dryly.

Letting out a small chuckle, I nod. “Yes, I suppose that is true. But what comes next is most unpleasant. Once we agree, under duress, of course, that we wish to live the immortal life, Atropos appears. Equally beautiful as Clotho, after all, she is a goddess, she takes away our human life.”

“What do you mean she takes away your human life? She killed you?”

“Well, close. She drained me of my blood to within an inch of my life. If not for becoming a vampire at that point, any human would die from blood loss alone.”

“What the fuck?! She sounds awful!” Fiona pulls the blanket up to her neck, balling herself up beneath it.

“It is not as bad as it sounds,” I say to reassure her, although that’s not entirely true. The thrill of being bitten, by a goddess, a beautiful, sexual creature is instant and euphoric. Until it’s not. It begins as a beautiful bond, a connection to her, but as your human body starts to shut down, lacking what it needs to keep the organs running, it becomes painful and suffocating. The heart slows down, unable to pump blood, as there’s not enough to supply the life force of humanity.

Fiona’s hanging on every word as I continue to explain the process of how we came to be. “What happens? Is this where you become a vampire, so you don’t die?”

“Lachesis, the third sister, then feeds you her blood.”

“That’s when it happens?”

“Somewhere after that. As a human, drinking the blood of a goddess is surreal, and at the time, all I remembered was being so thirsty. I think that if I truly realized I was drinking the blood of another being, I’m not sure I’d have continued if given a choice.”

As the words leave my mouth, I realize I never had a choice. My life is my life now, and I make the most of it. An animal instinct that is bestowed upon us somewhere in this process takes over from time to time, reminding me that I’m not human anymore, I am a savage. I drink the blood of humans for survival, and one day long ago, a day I do not remember, I survived on bread and hunting I’d imagine. I guesstimate this since my human memories were erased. I have no idea what my human name was if I had any loved ones who looked for me or what my human origin is at all.

“Fiona, I am sworn by the rules of the Covenant. It is part of my agreement in being alive at all. They are my masters, and when they summon, I must go. It is never a good omen when the Sisters visit.”

“Have you met them over the years? Do they summon you all often?”

“They do not. In fact, they’ve never summoned any Clutch of vampires who I have been near or around, and I’ve only heard stories. It is an unpleasant gathering, to say the least.”

“I’m so sorry, Roman. I didn’t mean to jump to conclusions.” She gets up, wrapping the blanket around herself. “Let’s get you cleaned up, and then let’s go to bed. You’ve got something all over your shirt.”

That’s definitely a story for another day.