We headed for the door, and just before I opened it, she took my hand again. The idea that she got comfort from me brought me warmth. That I was still capable of experiencing emotions like this was in itself comforting to me.
I stopped with her outside Lloyd’s apartment.
We didn’t have to wait long after knocking. He opened the door and the moment he saw me, he smiled.
“Hello, Joseph. You’ve been keeping to yourself a lot recently, haven’t you?”
“Yes. Until now, actually…” I gestured toward River. “She’s my new half-blood friend. I realized that I have absolutely no food for her in my kitchen. Do you have some to spare?”
“Yes, plenty. Come in.”
We stepped inside and he led us to his kitchen—which looked pretty much identical to mine. He gestured toward the fridge and looked toward River. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“River,” she replied, even as she kept close to me.
“Beautiful name…” He looked back at me. “Would you mind seeing yourself out after you are done? I was actually in the middle of something.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you,” I said.
I took a seat at the kitchen table and watched as River opened the fridge and scanned the shelves.
Food. It felt like an eternity since I had last tasted it. While a part of me yearned for it, the other part was repulsed by the idea of putting anything but human blood in my mouth.
Judging by the ingredients River was picking out, it looked like she wanted to make herself some sandwiches. She gathered a loaf of whole wheat bread, cucumber, lettuce, cheese, and some kind of pickle. After she was done, she closed the fridge door.
“Finished?”
“Yes.”
We left Lloyd’s place and headed back to mine. I took a seat again at my kitchen table and watched as she went about preparing sandwiches.
She worked in silence, and then sat down at the table opposite me and began eating.
I watched her expression as she swallowed.
“This is weird,” she said, as she stopped chewing. “Food. It tastes… different.” She dunked a spoon into the jar of pickles and dolloped more into her sandwiches. “Everything tastes more… tasteless. It feels like it needs more salt or more… something…”
“I guess that’s because you’re halfway to being a vampire.”
“Do you know a lot about half-bloods?” she asked.
“More than you, I’m sure, but not a lot.”
She adjusted her shirt to reveal a tattoo—the same black cross that we all bore—etched into her right arm.
“What is this?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Everyone who enters The Oasis seems to get one the first night they’re here.”
“I tried to ask Michael about it, but he was cryptic.”
Marilyn had also given me no clear answer. I’d put it down to just her being drunk. But I hadn’t bothered to ask anyone else about it. I had been so focused on how to escape this place.
After River had finished eating, and chugging down a whole jug of water, we went into the living room. Sitting down in the comfortable armchairs, we continued talking. She began asking dozens of questions about vampires, half-bloods and the world of supernaturals. I tried to answer them to the best of my ability without giving away too much personal information. I also deliberately skirted around the topic of immortality because I felt it would overwhelm her.
The excuse I’d given to Jeramiah for wanting River—that she was newly turned and so we had much in common—had been something that I’d thought of on the spot. But it turned out to be true. Although I’d been surrounded by supernaturals all my life, from the very day of my birth, being a supernatural myself was still so new to me.
When she asked me whether she could ever turn back into a human again, assuming we managed to escape, I didn’t know how to answer her. Of course, I knew that there was a cure for vampires, but half-bloods? That was uncharted territory. I hadn’t even known of the existence of half-bloods until I’d met Jeramiah. Discovering a cure to vampirism hadn’t been easy, and had come about after dangerous experimentation. I just answered her honestly.
Then she began to shiver.
“You’re cold?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Feel free to use the sauna,” I said.
She stood up. “No, I’ll just get myself a blanket.”
She walked out of the room and returned with a thick duvet. I guessed she had found it in one of the spare rooms.
She took her seat again in the armchair and wrapped herself in it. She shuddered. “This cold. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”