"Do you know how often I've heard that, Vara?  'I swear I'll kill you.'  Swearing something does not make it more likely to happen," he said.  "It is better to hide that you want to kill someone, the better to take them off guard.  Consider that a touch of professional advice on how to kill."<br/><br/>But he did touch her.  Standing behind her, his hands gripped her shoulders.  He was incredibly strong, she would know that.  His hands had the same texture and rigidity as marble.  Steel shattered when it struck his skin.  He could tear trees out of the ground, flip over trucks.  It was like being held in a mechanical vise.  Vampires had weaknesses, but they had great strengths, too, particularly the lords like Blackvayne.  It was whispered that when the Old World fell, things like him sucked up oceans of souls as billions burned in the great atomic fires.  Each soul adding to his dark aura and power.<br/><br/>He whispered in her ear, "Vara.  Darling.  Force is crude.  Bring him to me or I will be crude.  To him.  To you.  To your family.  And I will swear - if I am crude to your family, I will be sure you are watching."  Then he took a moment to breathe in the scent of her hair.  "Still, you intoxicate me.  I am inclined to be merciful for these little sins against me, Vara.  But my mercy is very finite."