She was beautiful, the girl that Aleksy brought to his home on this night. Thick red hair, a spattering of endearing freckles on her cheeks, and a body that would one day become the envy of many a woman. Would have. If she lived that long. Aleksy had yet to decide.<br/><br/>â€œHow pretty!â€ She breathed, touching his chest, lifting the intricate knotted pendant to look closer. â€œItâ€™s so brightâ€¦â€ The formerly black chip of stone in the center of the knot bathed her face in pale light. Aleksy wanted to curse his elders. Never a summons at a convenient time. Only on those rare occasions when he had plans of his own. It certainly wasnâ€™t as if he didnâ€™t have an abundance of free time to be bothered in.<br/><br/>But he only laughed and hung the necklace around the girlâ€™s neck instead. â€œThere. Perfect.â€ And he kissed her cheek, her jaw, her neck, sitting her on the unused bed in the unused bedroom.<br/><br/>It had been a long time since heâ€™d had mortal companionship. Aleksy had entertained the idea of keeping her for a while; his little doll. Sheâ€™d be well mannered and gracefulâ€¦ and have gotten old just when he might have become attached.<br/><br/>Damn them for reminding him. There were other things on his mind. Something odd about the youngers, something that begged attention more than whatever it could possibly be that the elders wanted.<br/><br/>Aleksy took her clothing from her; not at all for the reason the poor girl thought. His fangs once pierced the thin skin at her collar, evidence of his distraction. A distraction she wouldnâ€™t notice in the least. But which grew with the scent of that one tiny pinprick of ruby. She giggled and pushed him gently.<br/><br/>There were more places than one to get what he wanted. Humans had some romantic notion of the simplicity of drinking blood. How he and others like him would leave nothing but two tiny holes behind. Reality? Biting the carotid was akin to puncturing a fire hose. Too much mess for too little gain. Besides which, there were those like Aleksy himself to whom it was no simple bite and pull.<br/><br/>No, he tore a sizable chunk of flesh from the inside of her thigh. She screamed and beat fists on his back, his shoulders, his head. He ignored her on the main, but held her still enough until the shakes started and a comforting blackness took over, protecting her from any more pain.<br/><br/>He wasted a little of it, but Aleksy hadnâ€™t really needed to feed for a very long time. The necklace, still glowing, was returned to its place around his neck and he brushed a stray lock of hair away from the girlâ€™s pretty freckled face, smiling into dull dead eyes. It had looked very nice on her.<br/><br/>Afterward he retreated to the subbasement sanctuary that was his true sleeping quarters, decorated with the things heâ€™d collected over the years. Lost bits of art, things no one would ever know had been lost from human civilizations that were forgotten, odds and ends of his own design. And a bed. A proper four poster with heavy drapes in a place no sun ever reached. None of that coffin nonsense for him. Not like some of the others.<br/><br/>Whatever it was the summons was for, it would have to wait until the evening. The sun pinkening the sky meant there wouldnâ€™t be any travel for him.<br/><br/>Pleasant dreams of summer afternoons and long past hunts were twisted together with long nights of endless hunger and wailing, unexpecting victims. They always would be and every vision gave comfort, even the most macabre.<br/><br/>Early riser that he was, when the last finger of the sun had withdrawn from land, Aleksy only begrudgingly returned to that one place heâ€™d never particularly liked. The first broodâ€™s castle, the place from which all his kind descended. His sire and hers, all the way back to the firstâ€¦ And damned if Aleksy wanted to be near any of them, solitary as any self respecting vampire.<br/><br/>But he stood in the entrance hall anyway, still in the bloody shirt, the rusty dried blood flaking from the golden knot against his chest, arms crossed and regarding the entry with no small bit of disdain.