She tried to see out the back window, but all was black except for the occasional signal light flashing by.
“No, even he’s not that stupid. The one thing no supernatural creature wants is to be found out.”
“Why is that?”
“I imagine we’d be tazed, drugged and dissected.”
She shivered.
“Are you cold, love?” He placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.
“N—no.”Did he just call me ‘love’ instead of babe?
At last, Sly and Morgaine arrived at South Station. The place was brightly lit, so he imagined she’d feel more secure. The light bothered his eyes though. Would she feel safe enough if he let go of her sweaty hand to allow him to hunt? Since he hadn’t fed for days, and his previous dinner plans had been rudely interrupted, the blood lust was making him lightheaded. He imagined this must be how someone with low blood sugar felt if they skipped a few meals, times a thousand.
After purchasing their train tickets without any money, thanks to his power of mesmerism, he led her to a bench in the waiting area.
“Morgaine, I need to um…find some nourishment. Will you be okay sitting here for a few minutes by yourself?”
Her eyes widened. “I guess so.” Quickly, she added, “Or maybe you could just take a little from me?”
Touched by her willingness, he smiled. “Not this time, love. I’m famished and I need more than a snack.”
“Oh.” She heaved a huge sigh. “In that case, I guess I’llhaveto be okay.” She released his hand. “Go ahead. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, but her smile seemed strained.
“I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can. The train leaves in thirty minutes.” He bent down to give her a quick kiss, then took off before she could change her mind.
Stepping out into the night air, he stopped for a moment and sniffed. All he smelled were humans and fuel from cars and trains. No hint of Vorigan. Good. Hopefully they had seen the last of him for a while.
He thought he remembered an area nearby where some homeless people hung out. He wasn’t fond of feeding on them—especially if they had booze in their blood, but this was an emergency, and he didn’t have time to watch and wait for a serious crime to be committed. Loitering was a crime, right?
Striding along the tracks, he came to a bridge. Yup. They were there. Huddling around a trash can fire.
One of the three men looked him over with suspicion.
“You’re a cop, aren’t you?”
Sly chuckled. “Far from it.”
Another guy looked him up and down. “Well, you’re too clean to be one of us.”
“Hell, he’s too well dressed to be a cop,” the third guy said. “So, if you’re not a cop, you got any money?”
Sly looked directly into each of their eyes.
“Hey, you’re eyes are changing…” The man’s words trailed off as he fell under his thrall. Sly knew his eyes turned from brown to blue to violet when he mesmerized people. At least that’s what he had been told by onlookers, before he wiped their memories afterward.
One after another, he compelled them to do his bidding. Taking some from each of them allowed him his fill whileavoiding depleting a single individual. The tanginess hit his tongue like a welcome first bite from a long-awaited meal.
“Ah…” He burped. “Much better.”
He spoke to the men once more. “I have no money for you. You don’t see me and won’t even remember I was here.” Turning to leave, he released them from his mesmerism with a snap of his fingers.
“Guess I was hearing things,” one of them said.
