Snod made a face at the seemingly harmless substance. He didn’t trust it.
“One second,” the vampire said, disappearing in a blur and reappearing in pajama pants and a
comfortable looking t-shirt. In his hand was a large amber glass bottle. He poured a shot for himself,
something thick and almost black.
“What is that?” Snod asked, making another face.
“In essence, very iron-rich blood,” the vampire said, picking up his glass and encouraging Snod to
pick up his own. “It is possible for vampires to gorge themselves on large quantities of blood and
experience sensations very similar to being drunk. So I found a way to replicate it with extremely
concentrated blood. Specifically from a pig’s liver.”
“Pig?” Snod blinked. “Vampires can drink animal blood?”
“Of course we can,” the vampire chuckled. “Now, come on. A toast.” He lightly clinked their glasses
together. “To freedom, new friends, and a new life.”
Snod grimaced, studying the liquor skeptically. It couldn’t be that bad. It looked like water. He
shrugged and drank it back, gagging immediately at the sudden burn. “Poison!” he hissed accusingly.
“You poisoned me!”
The vampire snorted in laughter, nearly spilling his blood, rubbing Snod’s arm. “No! It’s vodka!
There’s gonna be a little bit of a kick.” He poured them both another round, a can of soda pop
magically appearing next to Snod’s glass. “What you need is a chaser.”
“I am never drinking that foul shit again!” Snod snapped angrily. Nothing had prepared him for such a
strong taste. He was surprised when the burn began to ease off and left him with a pleasant warmth in
his chest.
Maybe one more.
Snod took the next shot, wincing and quickly chugging back some of the soda to soften the burn. That
actually wasn’t so bad.
“How are you enjoying defiling yourself?” the vampire chuckled, the glasses filling again in a blink.
“I don’t understand the appeal,” Snod replied with a frown. “It burns. And it tastes like shit.”
“Keep drinking,” the vampire urged. “You’ll understand soon enough.” He seemed relaxed, his pale
cheeks slightly flushed. “Mmm, what other sorts of things were you not allowed to do in the Order?”
“Imbibe any stimulants, anything that could be considered addictive or that would pollute our bodies.
Alcohol, nicotine. Mmm. Caffeine,” Snod said, nudging the soda with a laugh. “That seemed to be the
