Eternal Service by Regina Morris Page B

term half–breed. It was unwarranted. Please accept my apology.”
    She nodded and then finished her sandwich without touching the chips in her bag. “So your wife is a human.”
    It felt like a knife. “My wife is dead. And yes, she was human.”
    “I’m sorry. How did she die?”
    “No. Ask another question.” He didn’t want to talk about his loss.
    “Okay. Are your parents mixed?”
    “No. My parents were both vampires. I’m a purebred.”
    Touching her neck, she asked her next question. “Can humans be turned into vampires? And if so, how is it done?”
    Bingo! This question usually made it in the top five people would ask. “Yes they can. The vampire has to be fully mature, about 25 years old. That’s when the blood is potent enough to turn a human. The human has to be fed a little of the vampire’s blood which will stave off death temporarily. The human needs to bleed out, the vampire usually drains them. Then the human must drink more vampire blood to start the change. The change takes about 24–48 hours, they’ll need human blood immediately afterward, but after that it's pretty much done. They are known as full vampires.”
    “And do full vampires have all the vampire characteristics that purebred vampires have?”
    “Yes.”
    “Full, pure, and half … oh, my.” She paused before her next question, “I know I’m one–fourth American Indian. Are there individuals who are one–fourth, or less, vampires?”
    He shook his head. “No,” He took a deep breath “A half–breed genetically has his father’s vampire DNA. They are sometimes considered … ,” he cleared his throat, “… considered a DNA copy. Their ability to reproduce with vampire women is limited, not only because of genetic limits, but also because our women shun them for being weaker and not good breeders.”
    Her eyes pierced him with curiosity. “So your son …”
    He cut her off. “I’d rather not talk specifically about my son.”
    She nodded, and then her hand instinctively reached for the cross she wore around her neck. Alex looked around at the other people in the park, and then leaned in towards Raymond and whispered. “Have you ever turned a human?”
    Raymond decided he had been grilled enough for right now, both by her and the sunlight. He leaned in towards her, and deliberately stared at her cross necklace. Her heart raced, and he knew he shouldn’t tease her, but it was payback for the sunny day picnic. Once he was mere inches from her face, he gazed her deep in the eyes. “Have I turned a human?” He moved in even closer and whispered, “That’s classified.”
    Remaining close to her, he pulled an antique pocket watch out of the side pocket of his jeans to examine the time.
    She leaned back away from him, her face a bit white with fear. “What a lovely timepiece.” Alex’s shaky hand reached across to touch the watch, “May I?”
    The chain was still attached, but they were sitting close enough that the time piece easily reached.
    She held the watch. “It's beautiful … and old.”
    “The watch belonged to my father,” he said, counting the freckles on her face.
    Alex looked at the back at the engraving; the initials did not match Raymond’s name. “He doesn’t miss it?”
    Raymond took a deep breath and he removed the watch from her hand, never allowing his gaze to drop from her face. “He’s dead.”
    “I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes meeting his.
    He could still hear her heart pounding, but didn’t believe it was all because of fear. With the sandwich gone, all he could smell was her sweet scent. He wanted something to say, anything. Right now all he could do was look into her beautiful emerald eyes and wonder what her lips would feel like if he kissed her. He licked his lips and nearly leaned in to find out.
    His phone beeped and broke him from his trance. He pocketed the watch and grabbed the phone. It was Ben with some routine business, but Raymond needed a break. He was