A familiar feeling of euphoria coursed through LaCroix as he soared over the tallest of trees the silver gleam of the full moon bathing his form. The rushing cool night air awakened his senses sweetening the taste of Magdalena's flesh lingering on his lips.
LaCroix's inner beast howled at being twice denied the spiced nectar that surely coursed through the soothsayer's veins and it took every ounce of his well cultivated control to keep the beast in its place.
LaCroix could not deny that Magdalena's blood called to him but its call was faint.
It was a hunger of a different sort that compelled him to the soothsayer's company an echo of the longing he had experienced after first laying his eyes on a mortal Janette nearly two hundred years ago. Certainly a feeling that deserved pursuing once his beast was sated. LaCroix's fangs ached in anticipation the blood from his last human kill had provided the whereabouts of just the person to feed from.
Magdalena heaved a heavy sigh as she trudged back towards her hovel with her bundle of firewood. Suddenly the thought of returning to the empty one room structure and the tiny insignificant world it represented did not sound as appealing as she thought it would.
Magdalena's twenty-third summer had recently passed and it was a harsh reminder that she was fast becoming what she had feared the most an old bitter spinster. It shouldn't have surprised her. Magdalena's own stubborn nature had brought this upon her or so her mother said. Was it Magdalena's fault that she had more respect for herself and her future children than to simply settle for a local inbred imbecile? Why was she even dwelling on this now?
The image of a certain vampire appeared in her mind as she realized why and another heavy sigh escaped her lips. She must really be getting desperate if she was finding herself wanting the company of a vampire.
Magdalena couldn't deny that Lucien LaCroix was handsome for a dead man at least and the tales he told had succeeded in fascinating her but he was still a vampire. A creature that Magdalena's own mother had described as a nomadic monster only moving when its carnal appetites were sated. Most definitely more trouble than they were worth.
Magdalena reluctantly nodded her head as she acknowledged the truth. It was for the best that Lucien LaCroix had left. The absolute last thing she needed was a vampire….
Before Magdalena could formulate another thought she both heard and felt a sudden rush of air almost directly behind her.
LaCroix inwardly marveled at the speed at which the mortal woman, who barely reached his chin, spun around with a thick piece of wood gripped tightly in her hand. Luckily, LaCroix had anticipated a reaction and seized Magdalena's wrist in a firm grip careful not to squeeze tightly.
The amber in Magdalena's eyes still glowed even as she recognized who it was that held her.
"Eager to have your eye pierced this time, Monsieur LaCroix?" Magdalena growled.
"Please call me Lucien. I have no wish to engage you in combat again, ma cherie. I rather enjoyed our conservations today." LaCroix replied as he released Magdalena's wrist.
Magdalena dropped the wood and rubbed her wrist more out of instinct than pain. Her eyes slowly receded to their warm brown.
"Really? What about your business at court?" Magdalena asked hardly believing what she was hearing.
LaCroix bent down to scoop up the pile of wood Magdalena had dropped.
"As it turns out I have nothing pressing to attend to at the moment." the vampire remarked casually before he began walking in the direction of Magdalena's home.
LaCroix could sense the amazed expression that surely had taken residence on the young soothsayer's face before he heard the slight rushing of her footsteps to walk alongside of him. LaCroix could have chuckled at the sight of her now carefully schooled expression but decided against it knowing full well what this deceptively delicate woman was capable of.