Sometimes Clara loathed learning that making a call, no matter how guilty it made her, was the right one. Her version of Evelyn managed to convince her to remain on course while saving Julia using another agent… A part of me still hates her for making me see reason…

While the other Clara got the same speech, she instead drove off intent on doing the deed herself and was caught on several surveillance feeds. That shattered their original plan of creating a false trail to The Grand so Clara could take an alternate route… Due to this reality’s version of me and our hang ups about taking human lives, several witnesses corroborate her presence…

With a bit wrangling she moved her hand through Evelyn’s silky black hair urging her to move closer. Their lips met and learned that the vampire was unexpectedly hesitant. They teased one another until Clara parted her lips and Evelyn followed her lead.

Their tongues met, and Evelyn appeared to melt into Clara’s body. Without the music playing in the background, her internal monologue would ring out loud and clear… I’m sorry Evelyn…

Clara once again chose the path of a martyr. She let her fangs drop into place and sliced open her tongue. The blood quickly pooled in her mouth before pushing past her lips.

Evelyn’s eyes shot open wide and filled with fear, but Clara held on to Evelyn’s neck with everything she had. Evelyn’s lips began to discolour from the heat transfer and soon they were smoking.

Meanwhile Clara’s skin darkened before blisters formed all over her body. Clara was engulfed in flames before Evelyn could pull away, the flames spread to her. Their screams were like an intolerable, tingling sweetness of water glasses when played by a cunning hand.

Clara broke through her binding using the raw strength of a vampire. Without a hint of concern, Evelyn grabbed the freed hand and arrested its momentum entirely.

When the vampire realised there were no talons and that Clara was not resisting, those green eyes came aglow. Meanwhile, the angel wore a smile, curled on one end… She’ll see it as me being cocky…

“I’m savin’ my love for you,” Clara sang.

There was a moment of hesitation shining in those green eyes. Clara used the opportunity to open her hand and brushed up against Evelyn’s cheek. In turn the vampire reacted positively by nuzzling into the touch.

Vampires were flammable, but this body was nowhere near an external heat source. Evelyn first and foremost wanted information and might end up giving her ‘a night to remember’ if Clara was forthcoming.

Clara witnessed vampires come aflame. Exposure to the sun was the easiest way to have the desired effect, but that was impossible within the confines of this room, located deep within the rock face of a cliff.

The next best thing was holy water. It burned like vitriol; they were fully submerged in water… That leaves…

“Faith…”

Clara was the source of the reaction. Her true form was a creature of faith inhabiting the vessel of a vampire. The longer she remained the incongruity became known.

Evelyn was almost overtop Clara now. Her avatar smiled, formulating what would happen next.

She counted the seconds for a reply, and as expected the words made the world tremble. Without realising, Clara managed to soak through her gown, while her hair was dripping with sweat.

The faltering smile on Evelyn’s face was a clue as to her level of concern. It seemed that the vampire truly had no idea. Clara thought back to her times with Evelyn, trying to find an instance of her sweating… I’ve never seen her sweat… ever…

The idea itself was beyond the realm of reasonable thought. It would be like a corpse sweating—ash!

Clara found it difficult to manage every aspect of their interaction. Mercifully Julia faded from existence leaving her with enough mental capacity to butcher that song and distract Evelyn… Should be a snap?

Clara crinkled her lips at one side, while snapping her fingers. The sound echoed in her head, which left her ego deflated… There’s enough space to rent here…

“Why would I?” Clara asked. “I don’t know what it’s like to be a vampire. Don’t you?”

The werewolf pulled away leaving her hand covered in chalk… That’s not right…

The consistency and texture was all wrong. The way it behaved when Julia rubbed it against her thumb and forefinger was similar in consistency to… ash…

Ain’t misbehavin’…

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Evelyn asked.

The furrowed brow and non-existent smile hinted this was not the first time Evelyn asked that question.

“What happened to you?” Julia said.

This time the auditory hallucination was followed by a visual one. The young werewolf kneeled right in front of Clara, as though looking over a crime scene.

Julia reached forward and passed right through Clara’s leg. There was no accompanying stimulus, nothing that typically applied to interactions with spectral beings… Not a check in the sanity box…

It’s just you I’m thinkin’ of…

“I guess I slept through that lecture at The Tower.”

The combination of sweat interacting with the open wounds caused a reaction quite unlike she ever experienced. The now familiar stinging became an excruciating experience.

She imagined her hand placed between a large hole punch. Pressure was applied gingerly, leading to a slow and deliberate increase in pain. Just as her nervous system was about to burst into flames the contraption punched through skin, sinew, and bone to relieve the pressure.

This happened repeatedly, making Evelyn’s idea of foreplay appear like the gentle caress of a lover… Why me?

I’m through with flirtin’…

Clara believed that the cuts in her restraint were deep enough to free herself. How much a would free hand matter against an older vampire was a different matter altogether… I have no point of reference…

“I don’t know?” Clara replied.

A reply that was both truthful and furthered her agenda. If Evelyn did not know why, or how her progeny was sweating, then this was new territory… If they covered sweating vampires at The Tower, then I must’ve slept through it…