“Why don’t they do it with a syringe?” Luis asked. “That would eliminate the aftertaste.”
“Well,” Karim leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. It made the dark button-up shirt strain over his arms. “Our saliva helps the wound heal, so direct contact is better for humans. And yeah, we could just lick it after a syringe use I guess, but medical equipment costs money, and most bars don’t want to shell out more for supplies. The Blood Dispensary Permit already costs a fuckton. It’s cheapest and easiest for all participants if we bite them.”
“Oh, right,” Luis said.
Karim stared at him. “Do you not know how it works?”
“Not really,” Luis said, heat on his neck. “Sheltered, remember?”
Karim’s brows came together. “Right,” he said, but with a tone like he was concerned maybe Luis didn’t knowanything.
That wasn’t far from the truth. “So, your saliva heals wounds?” Luis continued. He might as well if Karim was going to judge him anyway.
“It’s nothing miraculous,” Karim said after a beat. “Like we can’t just lick a major wound and fix it, but it certainly does enough for small things. There’s a bunch of papers on the science, something about the enzymes.” He waved his hand. “A lot of vampires actually work with hospitals in the Fluid Exchange Program. You can exchange spit for human blood. I think they bottle it–the saliva–and sell it.”
Luis made a face and Karim laughed. “More than you wanted to know?” He teased.
“No, I–” And then a thought occurred to Luis. The crook of his arm was still aching from the blood draw earlier. It was a small wound. Literally a needle prick.
He wondered…
“What are you thinking about?” Karim asked. The question came softer, and Karim’s gaze on him was heavy.
What was his face doing? Butterflies swooped dangerously in Luis’s belly.
“Nothing,” Luis said quickly.
But Karim smiled, all fang, like he knew anyway. “You’ve got no poker face.”
Yeah, Luis was aware.
Out of his periphery the back curtain moved and Julien appeared.
Thank god.
##
Days later Luis lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
His thoughts kept circling that conversation in the bar with Karim. About what happened behind that curtain.
Curiosity had its teeth in him. Was a bite better or worse than a needle?
Luis reached for his phone. He pulled up an internet browser and started typing.
‘Vampire Enzymes,’ were the marketing term used for vampire saliva.
Guaranteed to heal small, surface level wounds within twenty-four hours!a website advertised.
Luis scrolled down and saw a price. The ridiculous, richy-rich-skincare level price.
“For .05 ounces?”
He couldn’t believe it for a moment.
Then he remembered some of Cassie’s skin care. It’d been ridiculously expensive like that. Luis had gone shopping with her plenty of times, had learned that serums could make a big difference in skin spots or wrinkles, and the price reflected that.
So yeah, a bottle of ‘enzymes’ that could heal a wound in a day? Expensive.
