Sigman waited until dark to go to St Agnes' Soup Kitchen. The homeless ate their late-night dinner as Sigman looked inside the window. He waited for them to leave. The hall had fluorescent lights overhead and he couldn't stand them, although they weren't strong enough to kill him. The LED lights might. How he missed the good old days of the incandescent light bulbs.
The door swung open and a woman exited. Sigman had thought he'd be stuck with homeless men, but the girl was pleasing. He might even toy with her for a time before he finished her off. He realized it was that girl at the alley. He couldn't believe his good fortune. Here was the opportunity he awaited. He could just bite her for the second time and be rid of her. She was a good bite he recalled. One of his better bites. Maybe it would be worth it to turn her into one of his kind. Then he thought better of it, once she became a vampire, the nagging would begin: “You never look into my eyes like you did when I was human.” Sigman sighed.
She would have no memory of their first encounter. Such was the ways of his kind. Hypnotic powers, super strength, serial seducer, these were the ways of the sons and daughters of Dracula. Sigman hated needing such inferior beings. His constant lust for blood forced him to rely on humans. He was a rare phenomenon. He was born, not made. His nature was immortal. He would live forever as Lord of the World.
The curse of his kind was the need for blood in order to remain strong. The lack of blood in him had to be filled by his prey. His sharp teeth were so precise he could do surgery on his victims, drinking any amount of their blood, hence deciding if they lived or died. If he bit the same human once, there was a good chance they would recover none the wiser. If he took a second, then the prey would die quickly. He usually chose this for his game. The draining of one human took care of his hunger for weeks. If he took just one bite, he would be hungry a few days later. It was too dangerous to hunt that often. After his personal experiences, he had learned to avoid the third bite.
His took his first bride in his youth just after he learned to feed on his own. If he had more control, he wouldn't have Victoria nagging him, something he had to live with for all of eternity. Lately, Victoria, who would never leave her hometown and travel, sent him constant texts. Whoever said technology was a good thing lied. Before the internet he could avoid her for centuries. Now he had to make up excuses like he dropped the phone in the sink. Yes, he learned to avoid the third bite.
“Pardon me, Miss. I have a donation to make for the shelter.” Sigman handed her a twenty-dollar bill.
Kelly Harper jumped as he handed her the money. She touched the bandage on the right side of her neck.
“Thanks, I'll give this to Sister Maryann tomorrow,” Kelly said.
“Are you okay?” Sigman pointed to her neck.
“Oh, yeah, just an accident. I'm okay now. This is my first day back. I'm a bit jumpy.”
“I can imagine.”
Kelly said, “You seem very familiar. Have we met?”
“I don't believe so. I am Sigman Van Horn.” He bowed.
“I'm Kelly Harper. Thanks for the donation. As Sister Maryann says, God Bless you.”
Sigman scowled at the mention of God, but the woman didn't notice. “You do such noble work. I should offer thanks to you.”
“I like it. I think it's the best job in the world. Helping people who are at the lowest point of their lives, it helps me remember why we're on this earth. Forgive me, I didn't mean to go on like that. I just get excited when I talk about my work.”
“As I do talking about mine,” Sigman said.
They arrived at the street corner and Kelly flagged down a taxi.
“What do you do?”
“I'm an actor.”
Kelly said, “How lovely.”
“Well, an out of work one right now. But I'm staying with my brother. He's a doctor and I'm working for him right now until I find an acting job.”
“Oh, what do you do for him?”
“Patient referrals at the present.”
“It sounds like a good line of work, if the acting doesn't come through that is.”
“Yes. It was nice to meet you.”
She opened the cab door.
The wind whipped through the buildings and Kelly's hair flew up. She said, “Whoa! Not a good night. I think there's a storm coming.”
“Probably. See you around.” He put his hands in his jean pockets.
She got into the cab and before she closed the door, she looked at him as the wind blew his coat. She hesitated. “Do you need a ride? We can share the cab.”
“Really? That's so nice of you.” Sigman had calculated it right. The girl would be too easy. He was almost disappointed.
The cabbie pulled out. Kelly told Sigman about her work with the homeless as he looked into her eyes. It was difficult to get her to look back into them. He moved his head to match hers, right then left. She looked down instead of into his eyes. He felt like he was doing a chicken dance.
“Excuse me, Sigman, but why are you mimicking me?”
“Oh, that. I'm trying to get you to look into my eyes.”
“Why?”
Sigman kissed her hard. She pushed him away. “What do you think you're doing?”
She looked into his eyes and she was hypnotized. He began to kiss her again and she offered him no resistance. “Kelly, you're coming back to my apartment.”
Kelly said, “I'm coming back to your apartment.”
Sigman said, “Driver, skip the first address.”