Henry considered Mike's question for a while. He wasn't sure if he should answer it now or if he should wait until Vicki was awake. That way he could tell the tale only once. He finally decided that Mike needed to know the information in order to protect Vicki properly.
"Hundreds of years ago, the population was much smaller than it is now. There were fewer healthy people around in order to provide blood to meet the needs of the vampires. Vampires never resided close to one another but our territories were much smaller than they are now. There were times when we developed close relationships with the people who were providing our blood needs. In order to protect them from being fed on too frequently, we would mark them. That would warn any other vampire from feeding off of them. Most marks were on the forearm or other easily visible location. However, there was a vampire in the next town who used his signet ring to burn his seal into the lower backs of his people. I always checked the forearms but frequently forgot to investigate alternate sites.
One night I was suffering terribly from thirst and fed upon a pretty, young woman who was in the town square. Later I discovered that she had died from blood loss. Apparently she had serviced Phillipe for several days prior and had been feeling poorly since. My feeding ultimately caused her death. It also turned out she was Phillipe's lover and he was quite fond of her. We had a battle which left us both weakened and near death. It's the only time I've ever fled a territory. I felt badly about the accident but there was nothing I could do to correct the situation. Phillipe and I have had no contact since that time. . . until now. That burn on Vicki's back is a larger version of his seal. He must have discovered that we were close and now thinks to take his revenge."
When Henry stopped speaking, Mike didn't know what to say. He couldn't imagine carrying a grudge for hundreds of years but he also couldn't imagine accidentally killing someone. Ever since Vicki had introduced him to the supernatural, he had been wishing to go back to his former ignorance. Everything was so far outside the realm of his experience that it was difficult to deal with. Murderers he could handle with little problem but was Henry really a murderer? Wasn't Phillipe partially to blame for feeding on her to the point of weakness? Did it really matter what he thought? He quickly decided that protecting Vicki was his only concern. They could debate the morality of the situation later.
"Do you have a picture of Phillipe so that I will at least know who he is if I see him?"
"No, but I can draw you a portrait of what he looked like. However we need to remember that he could have changed his appearance greatly in this many years."
"Fine. There's some paper and pencils in the kitchen. I'll check on Vicki."
Mike returned to his bedroom and watched Vicki as she quietly slept. Her color was much better and her bruises were fading. She was starting to look like herself again and he imagined she was going to want to go home soon. He just needed a way to convince her to stay.
He heard movement behind him and turned to find Henry with a drawing of Phillipe. A thorough perusal proved that he had never seen him before, but he would be making a point of trying to find out who and where he was in this time. First, he needed to get some rest. He somewhat rudely ordered Henry out of his apartment and proceeded through his nightly routine. A short while later he settled onto his living room couch for what was left of another night. He was looking forward to being able to sleep in his own bed and wished it would be with Vicki.
Authors Note: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!!!!!!
