CEDRIC walks into the BLUE VELVET and takes a seat at the bar, leaving a buffer seat between him and the nearest person on his left.

Like every night, he wears his patterned Mandarin jacket and trousers. It was a gift given long ago.

CEDRIC

GIN AND TONIC, DIET TONIC. GARNISHED WITH LEMON.


As he predicted, the man seated to his left has his ears open. He speaks without looking over.

VICTIM

THAT’S A VERY SPECIFIC DRINK ORDER.


He thinks he’s being coy, but it comes off as impetuous. His brusque delivery could be induced by the glamour but then again, one would never know.

CEDRIC

YEAH. YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH IT?

VICTIM

WHOA, WHOA.

I DIDN’T MEAN NOTHING BY IT. I’VE ALWAYS DETESTED ICE-BREAKERS.


CEDRIC gives a mercy and turns his head to look at the speaker.

The young man is brunet and tall, even awkward in the barstool. He scoots over to occupy the empty seat next to CEDRIC.

The victim has hazel eyes that shine wet in the dim light. He wears a powder blue dress shirt in cotton unbuttoned to tease a white undershirt within. He’s sitting on his overcoat.

CEDRIC says nothing. The man takes a drink from his glass filled with liquid the color of warm honey.

VICTIM

DO YOU COME HERE OFTEN?


CEDRIC smiles inwardly.

CEDRIC

IT’S NOT MY FIRST RODEO.

VICTIM

ME EITHER.

CEDRIC

DO YOU MAKE A HABIT OF PREYING ON EVERY GAY THAT COMES THROUGH THE DOOR?

VICTIM

ONLY THE ONES THAT DRESS AS SHARPLY AS YOU.


Ah, the flattery.

CEDRIC

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

VICTIM

THIRTY-TWO. ON A BAD DAY, THIRTY-THREE. THIRTY-FOUR IF I NEED A SHAVE.

YOU…?

YOU AREN’T A DAY OVER 28.

CEDRIC

GENEROUS.

VICTIM

SO.

HOW WAS YOUR TURKEY DAY?

CEDRIC

I DON’T EAT TURKEY.

VICTIM

VEGETARIAN?

CEDRIC

NO.

I JUST DON’T. EAT. TURKEY.

VICTIM

OH MAN, YOU EVER HAD ONE OF THOSE TOFURKIES?

CEDRIC

HAVEN’T, NO.

VICTIM

I WENT TO ONE OF MY FRIEND’S VEGETARIAN FEAST A FEW YEARS AGO.

HE PREPARED ONE.

IT WAS SAD.

COMES WITH STUFFING INSIDE.

WAS OKAY SMOTHERED WITH GRAVY.


Always give them an out.

CEDRIC

KIND OF DEFEATS THE PURPOSE, DOESN’T IT?

VICTIM

HEY, IT WAS MUSHROOM GRAVY.

…

SO. WHY DON’T YOU EAT TURKEY?

CEDRIC

DON’T CARE FOR IT.

I FIND THE WHOLE THING A BIT PERVERSE, REALLY; THE PREY DRESSED UP IN A PILGRIM’S HAT ASKING ‘WHAT’S FOR DINNER?’

KIND OF CONFUSES THE WHOLE GRATITUDE MESSAGE.

VICTIM

I CAN SEE THAT.

CEDRIC

THEY DIDN’T EVEN WEAR THOSE HATS, YOU KNOW.

VICTIM

PILGRIMS?

CEDRIC

YEAH. IT’S A MODERN AFFECTATION.

THE PILGRIMS NEVER WORE HATS WITH BUCKLES ON THEM.

VICTIM

I GUESS IT DOESN’T MAKE MUCH SENSE.

CEDRIC

NO, NOT MUCH.


The barkeep serves CEDRIC a clear drink. CEDRIC squeezes the lemon into the drink. When his fingers are dampened with juice, he rubs them together and uses the sensation to recenter his focus. The scent is sharp and clean.

He takes a sip.

VICTIM

HOW IS IT?


The man acted with a peculiar ownership of the place, rather off-putting.

CEDRIC

IT’S GOOD ENOUGH.

VICTIM

YOU DON’T NEED DIET.


The second person pronoun was tender, assumptive in forceful intimacy.

CEDRIC

I PREFER THE TASTE OF IT.

VICTIM

YOU DON’T LIKE –

CEDRIC

I SAID: I PREFER THE TASTE OF IT.

VICTIM

…CURIOUS CURIOUS.


CEDRIC feigns interest in the sports program on the television, refusing face-to-face conversation in an attempt to display his irritated disapproval.

VICTIM

IT’S BAD FOR YOU, YOU KNOW.

THE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER.


The man was having whiskey. One of the pricier bottles.

CEDRIC

I APPRECIATE THE CONCERN.

VICTIM

HOW FITTING THAT YOU LIKE SOMETHING SO BITTER.

… SOUR?

CEDRIC

EVERYONE’S A CRITIC.


The silence hovers a minute or two. CEDRIC finishes his drink. It goes down smooth but without the satisfaction for which he yearns. But he steels himself in the hope that patience would be its own reward.

VICTIM

SO, YOU SEE ANY GOOD TV LATELY?


CEDRIC pushes his empty glass across the counter.

CEDRIC

GOOD TV?


He had been taught that asking questions was polite and well-mannered.

VICTIM

LEMME GUESS. YOU DON’T DO TELEVISION EITHER.

CEDRIC

NOT MUCH, NO.

VICTIM

YOU GOT PRIME?

CEDRIC

YEAH.

I DO.

VICTIM

YOU SHOULD TAKE TIME OUT OF YOUR COUNTER-CULTURE DAY AND TRY THE NEW ‘WHEEL OF TIME’ SERIES.

CEDRIC

I’VE READ THE BOOKS.

VICTIM

FIGURED YOU MIGHT SAY THAT.

CEDRIC

I’VE SEEN THE ADVERTS EVERYWHERE BUT I CAN’T IMAGINE THERE’S MUCH THEY COULD DO BETTER THAN WHAT’S ALREADY BEEN DONE.

SURE WOULD BE NICE IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BE A BIT DARING WITH THEIR DEPICTION OF MAGIC, BUT…

THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

VICTIM

THE GUYS ARE CUTE.


CEDRIC raises an eyebrow.

CEDRIC

FOR A GIVEN DEFINITION–

VICTIM

[interj.] THE SHOWRUNNER’S GAY.

CEDRIC

YEAH.

I GUESS THAT MAKES SENSE.

VICTIM

IT’S WORTH WATCHING, SO IF YOU’RE GOING TO DELIVER YOUR CONDEMNATION, AT LEAST YOU’RE ABLE TO DO SO FROM A PLACE OF KNOWLEDGE.

CEDRIC

FIRST INTELLIGENT THING YOU’VE SAID ALL NIGHT.

BUT THERE’S JUST TOO LITTLE TIME IN THE DAY TO WASTE ON BAD TELEVISION.

VICTIM

SO WHAT’S THE LAST THING YOU SAW THAT YOU LIKED?

CEDRIC

‘ARCANE’.

VICTIM

FIGGURS A CHAD SUCH AS YOURSELF WOULD FOLLOW ‘LEAGUE’.


CEDRIC says nothing.

VICTIM

I HAVEN’T ACTUALLY SEEN IT BUT A BUNCH OF MY FRIENDS ARE TRYING TO GET ME TO WATCH IT.

YOU PLAY?

CEDRIC

I…

I USED TO.



The night continues on. CEDRIC’s victim refuses to relent. He orders at least one more drink than he should.

VICTIM

YOU WANT TO GO TO THE POST-GAME?

MY APARTMENT IS NOT TOO FAR FROM HERE.

CEDRIC

THAT’S GOOD. I WASN’T ABOUT TO GET ON THE TRAIN.

VICTIM

YOU A LOCAL, THEN?

CEDRIC

YEAH. OVER BY THE PARK.


The brunet man runs his fingers through his hair.

VICTIM

FUNNY, I GUESS I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU AROUND HERE MUCH.

I WOULDA REMEMBERED A FACE LIKE YOURS.


CEDRIC has a long scar running down his face from the car crash that left him for dead. But it’s hard to know exactly what the humans see and don’t see when affected by his persistent glamour.

VICTIM

LET ME GET YOUR TAB.

CEDRIC

THAT’S NOT NECESSARY.

VICTIM

BUT IT IS.

I INSIST.

CEDRIC

… IF –

AND ONLY IF –

YOU INSIST.



The two leave the bar and wind through the darkened streets. The victim’s apartment seems to be located on a sidestreet just past the elevated highway.

The night is clogged with people but CEDRIC has on his mind only two: tonight’s prey, and –

The deceased Vampress SVETLANA OBOROVSKY.

But the verbal sparring leaves little time for idle wandering.

VICTIM

YOU DON’T ACTUALLY LIKE FOOTBALL, DO YOU?

IT’S JUST A FRONT?


He removes his keys from a shoulder bag and slips the metal into the door.

CEDRIC

WHAT IF IT’S NOT?

VICTIM

YOU’RE TOO ELEGANT FOR IT.

CEDRIC

ELEGANT?


CEDRIC’s hair had turned pale blond shortly following his descent into vampirism. He fought with a cowlick by styling into it. Most assumed he had chosen a uniform that indicated his sexuality.

This suited him just fine.

The prey has a one-bedroom apartment. The light fixtures have been recently redone in LEDs, casting a overly-bright pallor over the dark woods. A party can be heard gathered in a courtyard below.

A draft trickles through an air conditioner still stuck in a wall.

VICTIM

CAN I GET YOU A GLASS OF WINE?

IT’S NOT WHITE, NOR IS IT FROM A BOX.


But the man doesn’t stop to hear CEDRIC’s reply. He disappears into the kitchen.

Soon, he’s retrieved two mammoth glasses from a cabinet. He sets them on the marble and pulls a dark green bottle from a wire caddy next to the refrigerator.


[ POP! ]


And the bottle of wine is open.

The fresh smell of alcohol fills the air but it pales against the scent of the man’s sweat laden with boozy bi-products.

The man passes him the glass.

…

CEDRIC hates it when people pass him a glass when he’s intending to use his hands. As if they have no anticipation for the actions of others.

He gently places the glass on the counter.


[ "AERATION". ]


He takes the second glass from his victim’s hand and places it next to the first.

The last thing he wants to hear is the sound of broken glass.


[ "SORRY--" ]

[ "THE WINE IS AERATING." ]



The brunet’s arms go slack as CEDRIC unbuttons the remaining fastenings of the man’s shirt.

One. By. One.

The two meet in a gaze across an unknowable distance.

It is difficult for the victim to speak. But nothing was about to stop the man’s incessant chittering.

VICTIM

BEAUTIFUL,

BLUE EYES.


The muscle inside his chest thumps loudly. CEDRIC places his hands on his prey’s shoulders. He was no shorter than the stranger.

Outside the apartment, the foreign party continues to make unintelligible sounds of applause.


[ ONE. ...TWO... ]


CEDRIC aims his fangs at the fluttering pulse of the neck, gleaming with drunken moisture.

The man seizes for a moment in pain but quickly goes slack as exhaustion overwhelms his senses. The peace of sleep takes him. CEDRIC withdraws his fangs from the wound and allows the beating of the man’s heart to pump blood to the surface.

It’s one of the few things he can taste well anymore.


[ "RED, RED WINE..." ]



CEDRIC//

Vlad.

I think you should stop playing football at the bar.

Nobody watches it.

VLAD//

You do.