Free Evanescere: Origins by Vanessa Buckingham Page A

noticed the stares from people. It
was not fear but disbelief that right in front of them a duo of the most beautiful
people they had ever seen walked before them. I enjoyed the thoughts out of
pure vanity. I was plain and imperfect in my human life. Now I was so full of
life, so excited but I still dreaded the thought that I would never know my
children. Never see them grow up, get married and have children of their own.
Jack must have read my emotion and I felt his hand on my shoulder. His hand
felt warm and electric, smooth as stone. Jack hands me my coat and scarf before
we exit. Props really. We don’t get cold or hot or uncomfortable. I had
gathered from Jack that London is his favorite hunting ground.
    I know, hunting. Actually we are not in London to
hunt. Jack brought me to Europe as a diversion and since I am a history buff he
wanted me to see history in all its glory. We get into a cab silently and set
off for the King’s Cross Hotel. It seemed like an eternity that we were in the
car sitting quietly, motionless. I turned to the cabbie and I caught a glimpse
of his thoughts. He thinks there is something wrong with us as no one can sit
this perfectly still. To avoid the awkwardness, I engage Jack in small talk. He
caught on quickly. We talked about all of the sights we were going to see. I
was so animated when I spoke with him. All of this was a dream come true for
me, just not the way I had imagined it.  
     As we sat in the back of the cab talking, I heard
Jack’s thoughts and he was glad I could hear others. It was difficult to hear
him I had to really focus on him to hear his thoughts. When we arrived at the
hotel I was a bit in shock not what I was expecting. I was thinking we would be
staying somewhere more lavish. Jack explained it was to blend in. I did not buy
his reasoning, so I did not argue with him since we would only be here for a week
before we drove out into the country.
    Jack explained to me that at one point vampires
had lived in the sewers among London’s poor and would feed off of them. No one
would notice a poor man missing. A poor man or woman generally had no family or
they had been orphaned. Many were dying from hunger or sickness by the time a
vampire decided to turn them into food. Jack explained that to live in the
sewers as a poor man was to blend in. Since we don’t burn in the sun, the only
way to identify a true vampire is by the aura we emit and the paleness of our
skin. Many were killed and burned at the stake accused of being vampires. Since
we are indestructible we are not easily killed by mere mortals. We are actually
not very easily caught.

8. HERE WITHOUT YOU
    A
    FTER WE UNPACKED, JACK
WANTED to go back to his hunting ground for old time’s sake and I joined him
for a “tour of the city,” you could say. We walked around the dark streets of London
for what seemed like an eternity. Jack basically had a history lesson for each
landmark we passed. I was just too eager to go exploring. I know being a
vampire you have plenty of time to learn patience; however, this is so new to
me that patience isn’t exactly a virtue right now. I inhale the cool brisk
London air and enjoy it. For some odd reason it felt great to be somewhere new.
    The London streets were crowded with pedestrians
making their way to some unknown destination. I could smell a pungent odor
heavy with perfumes and colognes. This was something new, something I
understood was cultural. No different than the streets of New Orleans.
    We walked towards Hackney, one the Ghettos of East
London. I was certainly not expecting what I encountered. The ghetto were
modern apartments in which cultures remained separate. It reminded me of the
Jewish Ghettos of World War II only this was modern day London and there were
Muslims, Asians, Indians, black, and white. Each contained to their own part of
the ghetto. It was nothing the way I imagined it would be. I was certainly experiencing
cultural shock at this point. I stared up