"Yet another myth, of which they abound... coffins and wood spikes and garlic cloves and coming out only at night, all nonsense, as though being blessed with immortality could be defiled by sunlight, nor do I have to subject myself to sleeping in the cramped quarters of a coffin. I do not sleep one wink, in truth. I meditate, which is as close to slumber as I come.

Myths perpetuated in pop culture are generally wrong, such as the demonstrative symbol dating back to Roman times when emperors executed Christians, criminals or gladiators... a thumb pointed upright in fact meant death, whereas a thumb pointed downward signified a sword being sheathed into the ground but of course the belief has been incorrectly re-used in film. It gives me a laugh... these enduring myths are far older than me," said Sir William.

"You don't sleep at all?" she asked.

"Never," he replied.

"Ever?" she asked again.

"You don't dream then," she surmised.

"Dreams I miss, I must confess. And what of your dreams?" he inquired.

"My dreams have crazy patters. I can't figure them out at all."

"You lose your shoes or purse quite a lot, do you not?" he asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Instinct," replied Sir William.

The sincerity of his words had been received by Miss Birmingham as they had been intended by Sir William. He meant every word he spoke. That inner part of him that remained connected to his human self still had a human brain, and believed every lie he told to achieve what he had set out to do. But his vampire ruthlessness and seduction was truly the devil inside that ruled his nature.

Once Catherine stepped back into her room and moved aside in order that he could come in, he had already entered her in his mind; his hands had already unbuttoned her petticoat; his kisses were already traveling from the small of her back up to the nape of her neck. And her luxurious hair, that most wondrous place where the smells of each woman were held like flowers kept in a sealed box, would cover his face and caress his skin. Indeed, she would writhe on top of him, throwing her hands above his head to support her body. Her pert breasts would fall before him, offering themselves to his mouth like raw, uncut rubies to a skilled jeweller. She would then be helpless. She would take him deep into her, as much as her body would allow, and then disappear into him.

"I do believe chocolate is the work of Satan, would you not agree" asked Sir William mischievously. His cock throbbed. Stepping into her room, he shut the door behind himself. His clothes emanated the vampire aroma and Catherine almost swooned. When he opened the box to reveal the prized sweets of wrapped truffles, he watched her eyes flicker.

"I only wish for you to indulge in this extravagance. The shop owner assured me that he imports only the finest cocoa from abroad. I have already indulged in his offerings and they are nothing short of exquisite."

He saw the small hairs on her neck stand up. The bonnet he had seen earlier in the day was gone. Neither was her hair tightly coiled but rather, her ringlets had fallen out, splaying across her shoulders. Even the cleavage of her dress revealed her breasts like fresh rosebuds blooming and turning toward the kiss of the sun. He consumed her even before he had laid one finger on her body or before his lips had touched the moist texture of hers. To be able to watch her unwrap the chocolate and bring the delicacy to her lips was pure pleasure.

I stand knee-deep in water

so cold, and fall even lower

than imaginable, below the ground

where dreams are no longer believable.

I only want his body to take me home,

to show me the way, to needing,

to knowing that I want no other man,

to come inside me.

I tell him everything,

when the cock strikes havoc

around midnight.

He didn't have to touch her

to know her thighs were as smooth

as the hour long.

He didn't have to feel her skin,

to know his grasp would slip

in his hands

holding her firmly

he needed only,

to stroke her hair once,

its length longer than his fingers

wanting the nape of her neck,

he knew her.

Magdalene felt him between her legs, crossing them, trying to take her mind off the fact that her panties were soaking wet. This man seated beside her was almost too much, too much for her fantastic imagination. If only he knew what dirty deeds she had conjured up while he spoke.

He wore relaxed fitting pants and a black, crew neck shirt, with white buttons; the first two undone, opening up to his chest; black hairs speckled lightly across. His sandals were well worn and his toenails groomed.

She thought how funny it is that women notice the most unusual aspects of a man.

"I realize it's impolite to ask personal questions about someone I've only just met but they really are the best questions to ask after all," he remarked.

"OK now you've piqued my interest," she replied.

"You're not involved with anyone?"

"Alas I'm an unclaimed treasure," she answered.

He liked her light-hearted humour.

Samuel Crimson, a most sought-after hybrid vampire, looks down at the empty chair. The four guards stand, one at each corner, with hands resting on gun butts, the leather snaps of their holsters open to allow quick access to their weapons. The female steps in to cut off Samuel's handcuffs then backs away. The fresh bruises on Samuel's face tingle with pain. He feels his swollen lips every time he swallows or speaks, and his eyes hurt every time he blinks. He pulls out the chair with his foot and gingerly sits, the tenderness in his groin and legs acute.

"Is it not illegal to take blood from someone who hasn't officially been arrested? What am I being held for?"

"Please extend one finger and then choose which arm you would like me to use," demands the professional, reaching across the table with a lancet to stick his finger. A length of tubing is laid out on the table, to tie around his upper arm.

"Did you hear my question?" asks Samuel. He thinks he sounds funny speaking with swollen lips. He reaches one hand across the table and his finger is pricked. The smear of blood is rubbed onto a small glass slide, which in turn, is inserted into the meter to test his hemoglobin level. The reading is normal.

"He's good to go," says the professional.

The female guard says, "Good. We don't want the big guy to faint on us, do we?"

This elicits a chuckle from the other guards. The professionals do not react.

Magdalene: Even the smell of fruit made me salivate. I had taken a fresh kill in the morning and already my stomach growled. Sir William, at the height of his powers, could drain multiple women in one day. With my newly inherited memories, I brought up one particular memory of Sir William living in a cave, surrounded by dead and drained naked women, bodies strewn everywhere, their necks punctured and faces blue, absent of any life. Sir William had gorged himself until his stomach bloated round. I didn't know why he was forced to hide in a cave. I only knew he had escaped a hoard of angry men with clubs and pitchforks, hunting him down like a werewolf. But despite the death around him, the women offered themselves to him like sacrificial lambs. And one by one, they fell at his feet, worshiping his dark nature.

The very thought of such a scene of debauchery made me tingle. I was ready for more blood.

"All we know from his letter," I said to Kevin, "Is that Sir William wants us to visit this particular pub, which will apparently bring us to an extraordinary find, the likes of which have not been known by anyone in all of humanity."

"Fuck!" said Derek, "That sounds fucking ominous," he finished.

Auntie cuffed Derek on the head and he laughed in reaction. "I'm going to take the boot to that rear if you don't clean up that mouth."

"Yeah," mocked Kevin, "What kind of example is your setting for Finn?" he said, intentionally using 'is' instead of 'are'.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" mimicked Finn, excited about his new word.

The unusual choice of time ideally suits an unencumbered stroll in the enclave as the lazy streets roll up past the darker stage of twilight. And the windows and doors shut and lock and the very few, the few who walk alone are unaware of what fate awaits. Nighttime is the cloak shrouding the frightening dream that twists the day of sun and cloud into a disguised form of incubus, the ancient demon who extracts purity from between sumptuous, plump thighs and suffocating the cries of objection. Nighttime absorbs and swallows the life-giving sustenance. For at night, when all should be safe at home, anything and everything is possible, the least is unimaginable and few know enough to remain indoors.

Yet, he is entirely at ease during daytime and while his preference is for night roaming, in light he is calm and reserved for the unraveling of his eternal being moves in any sphere of time and space. He delights in the irony, knowing that she sleeps during the day in the rented home he had selected so very close to her own -- she sleeps next door.

Sir William's steps are characteristically silent and smooth. He moves in Sandy Hill, walking south on Chapel Street, and then onto Stewart before arriving at Augusta and Wilbrod. He begins his surveillance of blood potential.

It has been days since feeding and his hunger is intense but he utilizes a developed defence mechanism for quelling his desire without expending unnecessary effort; his mind produces detailed imagery of plates of solid foods, to satisfy the rabid lust of one-hundred men. He wants to feed before he speaks at length with Magdalene, before he leads her to enlightenment by revealing her ultimate purpose. He estimates there is less than two years remaining in the remarkable period of time that is his life, once the new offspring is thriving, born from the love of his hybrid son and human wife.

I reveal to you

my nature and secrets

when you listen quietly

I tell you what I mean

when the blood is pumped into my veins.

I pursue your heart

and fall toward the day.

When last it arrives,

first to tremble

is the morning grass.

Where else will logic lead you to,

in my haunted cave, wet?

Will you paint your likeness

on my walls?