0160

"Obviously you have fed before. Each of our kind experiences the process differently. Tell me what you experience when you are draining the life from your victims," Mina said to Mary.

"Well, I usually see things. Scenes from their life, important events, sometimes their dreams. Things like that. The last thing is always me biting them and draining their life force."

"That's good. It means that you have a bond with your victim. Have you ever been interrupted before you killed a victim?"

"Of course."

"What did you feel?"

"The same thing, I just didn't finish the job."

"Exactly. It is the same experience but without the victim's death. Were you sated?"

"My needs were met, yes."

"So you had an incredibly strong emotional bond with your victim and didn't have to kill them."

"Yes, I suppose," Mary said.

"That is the basis of what we do. Have you ever had the chance to revisit a victim you let live?"

"No."

"That's a shame. What you would find is that the emotional bond remains."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Now we, as vampires, have certain gifts. These gifts are fairly standard across all of us, it is just the strength that varies. One of those gifts is, for lack of a better word, mind control. This is true with the humans and with each other.

"For example, I could feel Sabastian probing my mind before he even walked into the room with me. He struck out forcefully at the times of stress, which shows great control. He could, and should, harness that. It is much easier to do this with the humans, especially when we have a part of them inside of us.

"For our purposes, once we know what they want, we simply project that back to them. Our kind can do this with each other, too, but it is far more difficult. Have you ever made a human think you were on a guest list?"

"Yes, of course," Mary answered.

"Then you have used the skills we employ, just not to the same degree. It takes time to develop the skill, but if you work at it, it can be a powerful tool."

"And that's how you convince all of these people to be your human chattel?"

"Yes."

"It seems too simple."

"That is why it works. Come, I'll show you. I have a client who should be showing up any minute now."




[Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005. All rights reserved.]
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