Blood Lines

god of his own. Perhaps immortals needed that kind of continuity outside themselves. He found himself thinking of discussing the theory with Tawfik and thrust the thought away.
    The pew back groaned under his grip and he hurriedly forced his hands to relax.
    If not for the promises he had made to Tony, he would have run before he had the chance to be tempted. And if not for Vicki, the temptation would not have been so great. Vicki offered him friendship, perhaps even love, although she seemed to be frightened of what that implied, but her mortality sounded in the song of her blood and every beat of her heart took her one heartbeat closer to death. In time, in a very short time relative to the time he had already lived, she would be gone and soon after her, Tony, and then the loneliness would return.
    Tawfik promised an end to the loneliness, a place to belong for longer than the length of a mortal life.
    Why not plan for eternity?

    The sun blazed up behind his eyes. It seemed he could no longer be completely unaware of Tawfik's existence.
    If I die, I would have the eternity the church promises . It would be so easy to take that way out, come the dawn. Except that suicide is a sin .
    The greater sin would be the pain he would leave behind. If he wanted to take that way out, he would have to wait.
    With a sudden lightening of his heart, he realized that for the first time in weeks, for the first time since the dreams had started, he could face the dawn without fear. The sun that Tawfik pushed at him could no longer push him in that direction. Whatever else happened-desire and fear and identity were still a tangled mess he could not sort-that would not.
    The priest lifted one hand, his eyes nearly shut above the curves of his cheeks. "Go in peace," he said softly, and it sounded as though he meant it.
    The mass over, the congregation of mostly elderly immigrants began to file out. Henry hung behind, waiting, while the priest greeted each of them at the door. When the last black-clad body was on its way down the path, he stepped forward and captured the priest's gaze.
    'Father, I need to talk to you."
    More than vocation made it impossible for the priest to refuse that request.
    -It was seven ten when he got back to the condo, barely eighteen minutes before sunrise. Vicki met him at the door, grabbed his hands, and practically dragged him inside.
    'Where the hell have you been," she snarled, worry twisting into anger now he was safe.
    'I had an encounter with our mummy."
    The flatness of his tone penetrated. You can deal with this only if you deny the effect it had . Over the years Vicki had seen enough of the effects of major trauma to recognize this particular defense mechanism in her sleep. With an effort, she damped her own emotions to suit. "So you found it. Tony called me about midnight, he was afraid the creature had sucked up your life the way it had the baby's. Mike drove me over. I'll have to call him after sunrise and let him know what happened." Provided you let me know what happened .
    Henry could hear a slow and quiet heartbeat coming from the living room.
    'Tony finally fell asleep on the couch about four," she continued. "I'll get him out of here after I've got you safe."
    The grip that pulled him purposefully through the apartment would have been painfully tight around a mortal's hand; even Henry found it a bit uncomfortable. He made no effort to break it though; it was a welcome anchor.
    Not until they reached the bedroom and the door had been closed behind him and the blackout curtain drawn, did Vicki release him. Leaving him standing in the middle of the room, she sat down on the end of the bed and slid her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.
    'If you had died out there," she said slowly, because if she didn't speak she was going to explode, "you would have left a hole in my life impossible to fill. I've always hated the thought of putting conditions on…" She wet her lips. "…on love but if you ever go off to face an enemy whose strengths we don't know, who we know can kill with a look, who just the night before sent you running from him in panic, and don't come back looking at least a little the worse for wear…" Her head jerked up and she met his eyes. "… I'm going to wring your fucking vampiric neck. Do I make myself clear?"
    'I think so. You went through hell, so I better have?" He sat down beside her on the bed. "If it makes you feel any better, I did."

    'Fuck off, Henry, that's not