I was seven years old today, and Dad had decided I was finally old enough to feed myself.
Shtrigas didn't eat like humans did, and until now, Dad had been feeding me because I hadn't been old enough to do it myself. Until now.
"Is it far?" I asked, and Dad grunted. I took it to mean 'no,' and grinned. Dad had explained the basics to me, and I went through them again in my mind so I'd know exactly what to do once we got there.
First, Dad would use his magic to put them to sleep—or make sure they didn't wake up if they were already sleeping—and then I'd put my mouth near theirs and suck like you did with a straw, which would draw their life force out through their mouth and into mine. Once I was full, I would stop, and we would leave them in peace.
It all sounded so easy, and I wondered why I couldn't have done it before today. It didn't sound hard at all, and I was going to show that to Dad. If I did well, he'd be proud of me. Maybe he would even give me a hug. Or a pat on the back, like I'd seen that human dad give to his son that time we went to the market for supplies.
"There," Dad said, and I followed his gaze to a tent pitched in the middle of a small clearing. Smoke lazily drifted from a banked fire, and I wondered if they'd sat around it making s'mores and chatting. I'd never had s'mores before, but the advertisement I'd seen had made them look delicious.
I followed Dad to the tent, and he stopped in front of it, closing his eyes as he held his palm up, making sure the humans were asleep so they wouldn't see us. The biggest rule all supernatural beings like us had to follow was to never reveal ourselves to humans.
Nodding to himself, Dad unzipped the tent, and we snuck inside. Two humans were curled up in a large sleeping bag, their arms wrapped around each other. They must be mates.Wait, no. Humans didn't have fated mates like supes did. Boyfriend and girlfriend, then.
"Watch me do it first, then you can try. Okay?"
I wanted to tell him he didn't need to show me, that I knew what to do, but I didn't want to annoy him, so I stayed quiet and nodded.
Dad went to his knees, bending forward as he leaned closer to the man, their mouths a few inches apart, and breathed in. Light blue wisps slipped out of the human's mouth and into Dad's, and Dad closed his eyes as he kept drawing more and more of the human's life force.
I joined him on the floor, watching, and I fell back when the human moved. He wasn't awake, but his body was shaking, shuddering in place like he wanted to get away but couldn't.
"Dad? What's happening?" I demanded, shuffling further back as the human continued shaking, his chest rising up before falling back to the ground. As blood started dripping out of his mouth, I realized the human was dying. Dad was killing him. "Dad! You need to stop."
The blue wisps stopped coming out of the man's mouth, and Dad sat back with a sigh. He opened his eyes, giving me an annoyed look as I reached forward and placed my hand on the human's chest. No movement, no air passing through his lungs. Dad had killed him.
"Why did you do that?"
"What are you on about? It doesn't matter. Go on, it's your turn."
I eyed the woman, and imagined doing to her what Dad had done to the man. No way. I couldn't. I wasn't a monster.
"You killed him."
"What did you think would happen, boy? We feed on their life force. There's no life without it."
"C-Couldn't we take a little? Just enough to survive?"
"Why would we do that?" Dad asked, like he couldn't fathom why I'd even entertain the idea.
"Because we're not monsters!"
Dad snorted, then grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the woman. "Humans kill each other every day, kid. At least we're doing it to feed ourselves. It's the natural order, nothing more."
I shook my head, refusing to believe that. There had to be another way. I didn't want to be a monster. Except... wasn't I already?
Dad had been feeding me for years. How many humans had he killed to keep me alive? And why was my life worth more than theirs?
I felt nauseated as I stared at the dead human, wondering how many bodies Dad had left behind in his wake, and how many of them had been for me.
"Come on—I don't have all night. If you aren't going to eat, I will."
I gazed at the woman, feeling sorry for her, wishing I could save her. I wasn't strong enough to take away Dad's magic. I couldn't wake her. I couldn't do anything.
"I won't," I said, jerking my arm out of Dad's hold and stumbling to my feet.
I rushed out of the tent, knowing Dad wouldn't follow me until he'd fed on the woman too.
