“So what now?” I asked Stacy, following her as she walked into the forest.

“Now you’re free. You can go do whatever you want.”

“You mean you’re not going to tie me up and drink my blood?”

She stopped, turning toward me with a smile. “Do you want me to?”

“N-no! That’s not what I meant!” I hugged the cloak tighter around me. “But you’re a vampire too right? I figured you just wanted to steal me from them.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry sweetie, I get more than my fill from killing lowlifes like them. Though I bet the blood would taste a lot better if it came from a cute girl like you.”

I blushed slightly, frowning. “Please don’t tease me like that.”

“I’m serious. You’re very cute.”

I felt my face flush fully and I looked at the ground. She giggled at me, and we started walking again.

“I take it you want to come with me then. You’ve been following me like a little puppy.”

“W-well, I don’t want to get eaten again. I feel safe with you.”

“Oh? What makes you think I won’t eat you?”

I looked at her face, she was smiling.

“In any case, I am a vampire. So I do need to drink blood to survive. If you want, we could make a deal.”

“I let you drink my blood, and in exchange… You protect me?”

“Smart girl. So how about it?”

I took a moment to think about it. There was still something else on my mind. “That vampire… He said there was a way to kill immortals. Do you know how?”

She stopped again, turning to face me. Frowning. “Do you want to die?”

I nodded, and we stood in silence for a moment before we continued walking.

“I do know a way,” she said, not looking at me. “But I don’t feel like telling you.”

I frowned. “Why not? Because you want to drink my blood?”

She didn’t respond at first, and we walked in silence for a while before she spoke. “You know, gifts like immortality… They’re usually granted for a reason.”

“What do you mean?”

“See, in this world, there are those with special powers. Gifts granted by a divine power. Vampirism, for example, is a gift granted by the god Haimorrha.”

“In this world? So this really isn’t Earth?”

“That’s the part you’re caught on?” She laughed. “No, this actually is Earth. Earth seems to be a pretty common name as far as worlds go. People coming from different worlds isn’t uncommon here. We call them drifters.”

“So how did you know I was a drifter?”

“Just a hunch,” she said. “Anyway, your immortality. It was gifted by a divine power. I don’t know which one, but someone out there seems to care for you. Maybe they have plans for you, or maybe they just wanted to give you a second chance. I don’t want to take that away from you.”

“You didn’t seem to mind killing those vampires though.”

“That’s different. They were lowlifes, loved by no god. They disgraced Haimorrha and had their positive gifts taken away, leaving them with only the negative aspects of vampirism. Pitiful creatures deserving of death.”

So a selective murder then. Got it. Though I do agree that they deserved to die.

“What makes you think I deserve to live then?” I asked.

“I told you. It’s not what I think, it’s what the gods think. I’m not one to argue with gods. I wouldn’t have gotten this far if I was.”

Okay, so I’m just supposed to live because the gods said so. Even if it means I end up suffering. What a pile of crap.

I sighed.

“So you accept the deal then?”

“What? Oh, right. My blood.” I thought back to my experience in the cave. The daggers sinking into neck. I shivered.

Stacy placed a hand on my arm, like she knew what I was thinking, and looked into my eyes. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m much more gentle than those lowlifes. It won’t hurt a bit.”

“Really?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Then… please be gentle.”