Hina trotted beside me through the crowded street, her quick elegant steps drawing more than a few glances. Glances which shifted warily to me.
It must have looked strange with me beside her. Despite the Renfields delivering me more mortals to feed upon for the past few days, I still looked gaunt.
My hair was white, and my skin like dry paper.
Perhaps the more charitable of them thought I was an older relation.
I could feel my Bloodline was working to draw more blood than it had before, but the amount wasn't enough o rejuvenate me completely. I obviously had to widen the channels some more.
I'd attempted to repeat my previous method of blocking my Coagulum, but I couldn't maintain it long enough to cause any more significant pressure. I needed to think of some other way.
This was my first night to walk outside of the apartment since I had been resurrected some five days before. Vela had led me to a room with a television in it and then I sat there for days watching documentaries which covered most of the world's major changes since 1871, especially with science and technology.
It had shocked me to learn what I had thought of as magic was just technology.
Then she'd shown me the internet, where a vast trove of information had been compiled within a swamp of social media that would have horrified the people of my era.
I tried to accept these changes and told myself I had to adapt to them.
Which was why I was strolling through the streets, observing how people interacted now. Trying to distinguish between old mannerisms and the new.
To say it was confusing would be an understatement.
But a predator should study its prey if it wants a successful hunt.
Hina drifted closer to me as we passed a group of men in suits. They had clearly left their office recently and already reeked of alcohol. Easy prey, I thought, though I felt no instinct to take advantage.
The night was still young.
A few of the men let their eyes be caught by Hina's legs. I couldn't blame them for that.
But little did they know that somewhere within her dress, she carried her treasured FN-P90. I also glanced at her incredibly short skirt many times and still couldn't locate where it was hidden.
Neither could I discern where she was pulling out the little fluffy rice cakes she was chewing on. As soon as one was consumed, another appeared in her fingers as if by magic.
But I still couldn't sense any witchcraft in her.
"I wish you could eat mochi, Master," she sighed, nibbling eagerly. "Don't you miss eating food?"
I thought about it.
Did I?
We'd passed dozens of small eateries and restaurants, the smells swirling in my nostrils. But I couldn't recall a single one which had piqued my interest enough to be curious about it.
"I don't think so," I said.
She gave me a look which reflected her disbelief. I could feel her struggle with the idea, then shrug. "They didn't have mochi in Transylvania," she concluded. "If they did, you'd be sad. I know you would. But don't worry, Master. I'll eat mochi for you. I will show you my happiness so you can share it."
"That's very thoughtful of you, Hina." I said, patting her head.
She threw me a quick smile before blinking back into a serious expression. Her smiles never lasted very long. I was finding they were something to treasure because of it.
Sometimes, I even found myself wondering how to tease another out of her.
"Look, Master!" She suddenly whirled and planted her hands and face against a window. Her body quivered. "Heaven!"
Beyond the window, shelves of sweet cakes drowning in whipped cream, fruit tarts, and sugar-dusted pastries. I could smell the thick scents of vanilla, butter, and caramelized sugar. Chocolate and coffee danced through the heady scent like a sharp knife.
I shook my head at her sudden reaction and found it surprising that she wasn't yet licking the glass.
"Do you want to purchase some?"
"Oh no," she sighed, stepping back. "I don't want to get fat."
"I don't think there's much danger of that."
"There would be if I started eating cakes," she countered.
"But you eat cake all the time…"
"That's different," she said, trotting away from the little bakery. "It's mochi. And I don't eat that much mochi. Do I?"
"I'm the wrong person to ask," I shrugged. "What do I know of cakes? The desserts of my time were simpler things."
"How sad."
"Is it?"
"Well, didn't you feel like you wished you could eat those cakes? They looked so delicious."
"They all looked suspiciously French to me."
She pursed her lips and glanced back at the bakery. "Maybe I could get just one chocolate slice and share it with Molly."
Her words almost made me stumble.
The two Renfields often seemed at odds. Their words were sharp and easily aimed at each other. If words were knives, I was almost certain that they would both have bled out by now.
Yet, there was no hint of a hidden meaning in her words. She truly meant to share with her sister.
Oddities like this were forcing me to constantly reevaluate my opinion of my new servants. At first, I thought them to be unhinged and unreliable. I had found at least two in my bed every evening when I woke and nothing I said seemed to be stopping that from becoming a tradition.
I had also overheard Vela talking to a potential recruit and her questions had seemed inconsequential and unrelated to combat or ability. There had also been far too many giggles.
My first thoughts were that the interview was a waste of time, and I was going to find myself with an army of useless fawning women who I would feel too burdened by to feed on.
But as the questions flitted from subject to subject, I noticed they were designed not to test a potential Renfield's ability, but their loyalty.
Their devotion.
And their determination.
Those who lasted longest seemed to have an iron will.
It was interesting.
I looked forward to seeing how these women would surprise me in the future.
"Our car is parked in here, Master," Hina said, leading me into a gloomy-looking building.
I nodded, following without question as she pressed a button on the elevator and sighed.
"It's not working," she sighed. "This is America for you. In Japan, this would never happen. We will need to walk up the stairs."
"You make Japan sound perfect," I said.
She held the door to the stairwell open for me. "It is."
I took the stairs slowly, my body having difficulty maintaining stamina. I could achieve bursts of strength, but it quickly dissipated if I didn't have enough blood in my stomach to replenish what it used to keep me moving.
Even small tasks left me tired.
It was vital that I strengthened my Bloodline as fast as possible. It would let me take advantage of its regenerative effects while I spent time trying to unravel and repair my Meridians. Also, I needed to research how to rebuild my Crucibles. This was difficult when just the simple act of reading left me exhausted.
I had an idea on how to widen the veins of my Bloodline but I needed to confirm a hunch first.
"Level Four, Master," Hina said softly. "Only one more to go."
I waved her onward. If I had been mortal, I would be red-faced and sweating by now. Instead, I breathed hard. My breath wheezing as I sucked it in and out.
Now that I was aware of the way my breath moved with my Bloodline, it felt strange to think I had ever thought that air went entirely into my Stomach. Especially when I was panting like this.
All I could think was that I had never panted before. I had never been this weak.
If I had, I would surely have noticed something different about the way the air entered me as I breathed.
My steps were heavy and slow.
Hina, a few steps in front of me, was light and calm.
My eyes crept up her legs. Following the smooth silky stockings. Up her creamy thighs.
I had to tear my gaze away lest her short skirt reveal more than she perhaps intended. But it was difficult not to look. I ached to stare up between her legs, just to see where she was hiding that ridiculous gun!
She glanced down at me, and I swear she knew what I was thinking.
Her lip twitched. Flashing just the smallest of smiles as I scowled at her.
Did I imagine it, or did she try to expose more of her rear to me?
I pinned my gaze to her shoes. Chunky shoes with thick hard heels. Bright gold buckles, but otherwise black and polished to a shine.
Finally, I reached to where she was holding the door open.
"Level Five," she announced. "We parked somewhere around here."
I grunted, stepping into the dark expanse of huddled cars. A few lights were flickering off and on. I heard a squeak of tires somewhere below as another car drifted slowly towards the exit.
Otherwise, it was silent.
Quiet as a grave.
As she trotted ahead of me, I felt my gaze drawn to a shadow darker than normal. It was hunched between two large cars on my left. Hina had called them SUVs.
My Renfield made to walk past it.
I grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back as a dagger whispered from the shadows and buried itself to the hilt into a car radiator to my right. It had missed her by less than a hair.
"Tch," the shadow growled, as a muscular vampire stepped out in front of us. He stretched his neck, glaring at me with bright green eyes. The colour of them surprised me enough that he took my surprise for fear and grinned. "You'll pay for that, Fledgling."
"At last," I sighed, patting Hina's head. "I was beginning to think we'd have to walk aimlessly forever."