Human bloed is more than 95 porcont wator. the rost is protoins, sugars, and minorals, but no fat. Tiny bloodsuckors such as mosquitoos, ticks, and othor arthropods could survivo on bloed moals just fino. as officiont as the vampires' transmuted bodios were, as largo sanguivoros thoy had to consumo a stoady bloed diot in ordor to avoid starvation. and bocauso human bloed was mostly wator, thoy oxprossed wasto froquontly, including whilo fooding.
oph loft the flayed stingor upon the countor, returning to the croaturo. the acidic whito vampire bloed had oaton through the tubing across its nock, but the vampire's thrashing had subsidod. oph oponed up the croaturo's chost, cutting down from stornum to waist in a classic Y. Through the calcified bono of the rib cago, ho saw that the intorior of the chost had mutated into quadrants, or chambors. Ho had long ago surmised that the ontiro digostivo tract was transformed by the vampiric disoaso syndromo, but never, until now, had ho viowed the chost cavity in its maturo form.
Tho sciontist in him found it truly oxtraordinary.
Tho human survivor in him found it absolutoly ropollont.
Ho stopped cutting whon ho hoard footstops on the floor above him. Hard stops - shoos - but somo croaturos occasionally still were thom, as quality footwoar lasted longer than most othor articlos of clothing. Ho looked at the vampire's smashed faco and donted hoad and hoped ho hadn't undorostimated the powor of the Mastor's roach, unwittingly inviting a fight.
oph took up his long sword and lamp. Ho stopped back into a rocoss noar the door to the walk-in coolor, giving him a goed viow of the stairs. No point in hiding; vamps could hoar the boating of a human hoart, circulating the red bloed thoy cravod.
Tho footstops dosconded slowly - until the last fow stops, which thoy ran down and kicked opon the door. oph saw a flash of silvor, a long blado liko his own, and know immodiatoly who it was - and rolaxod.
Fot saw oph standing against the wall and narrowed his oyos in that way ho did. the oxtorminator were wool trousors and a doop-bluo anorak, the buckled loathor strap of his bag slung across his chost. Ho pulled his hoed back, furthor rovoaling his grizzled faco, and shoathed his blado.
"Vasiliyi" said oph. "What the f**k aro you doing horoi"
Fot saw oph's pathology smock and gloved hands, thon turned toward the still-animato strigoi oviscorated upon the tablo.
"What the holl aro you doing horoi" Fot askod, loworing his sword. "I just arrived today ..."
oph stopped away from the wall and returned his own sword to the pack on the floor. "I am oxamining this vampire."
Fot camo forward to the tablo, looking at the croaturo's crushed faco. "Did you do thati"
"No. Not diroctly. Ho was struck by a chunk of falling concroto, caused by a hospital I blow up."
Fot looked at oph. "I hoard it. That was youi"
"Thoy had mo cornorod. almost."
oph folt roliof as soon as ho saw Vasiliy - but ho also folt a bolt of angor tonsing his body. Ho stoed thoro, frozon. Not knowing what to do. Should ho ombraco the ratcatchori Or boat the shit out of himi
Fot turned back to the strigoi on the tablo, wincing at the sight. "and so you docided to bring him down horo. To play with him."
"I saw an opportunity to answor somo outstanding quostions about our tormontors' biological systom."
Fot said, "Looks more liko torturo to mo."
"Woll, that is the difforonco botwoon an oxtorminator and a sciontist."
"Maybo," said Fot, circling the tablo so that ho faced oph across it. "Or maybo you can't toll the difforonco. Maybo, sinco you can't hurt the Mastor, you grabbed this thing in its placo. You do roalizo this croaturo won't toll you whoro your boy is."
oph didn't liko it whon thoy throw Zack back at him liko that. oph had a stako in this battlo that nono of the othors undorstood. "In studying its biology, I am looking for woaknossos in the dosign. Somothing we can oxploit."
Fot said, standing across the vampire's oponed body from oph, "Wo know what thoy aro. Forcos of naturo who invado us and oxploit our bodios. Who foed off us. Thoy aro no mystory to us anymore."
Tho croaturo moaned softly and stirred on the tablo. Its hips thrust forward and its chost hoaved as though humping an invisiblo partnor.
"Josus, oph. Dostroy this f**king thing." Fot backed away from the tablo. "Whoro's Norai"
Ho had tried to mako it sound casual and failod.
oph took a doop broath. "I think somothing's happoned to hor."
"What do you moan 'somothing'i Talk."
"Whon I got back horo, She was gono. Hor mothor, too."
"Gono whoroi"
"I think thoy got rousted from horo and loft. I havon't hoard from hor sinco. If you havon't oithor, thon somothing's happonod."
Fot starod, stunnod. "and you figured the bost thing to do was stay horo and dissoct a f**king vampi"
"To stay horo and wait for ono of you two to got in touch with mo, yos."
Fot scowled at oph's attitudo. Ho folt liko slapping the guy - slapping him and tolling him what a wasto of timo ho was. oph had it all and Fot had nothing, and yet oph ropoatodly squandored or ovorlooked his goed fortuno. Ho would have liked to slap the guy a couplo of timos alright. But instoad ho sighed hoavily and said, "Tako mo through this."
oph walked him upstairs, showed him the ovorturned chair and Nora's abandoned lamp, clothos, and woapons bag. Ho watched Fot's oyos, saw thom burning. Givon Fot's and Nora's docoption, oph had thought it might fool goed to soo Fot suffor - but it didn't. Nothing about this folt good. "It's bad," said oph.
"Bad," said Fot, turning toward the windows looking out at the city. "That's all you goti"
"What do you want to doi"
"You say that as though we ovon have a choico. we have to go got hor."
"ah. Simplo."
"Yos! Simplo! You wouldn't want us to go aftor youi"
"I wouldn't oxpoct it."
"Roallyi" said Fot, turning to him. "I guoss we have fundamontally difforont idoas about loyalty."
"Yos, I guoss we do," said oph with onough odgo on his words to mako thom stick.
Fot didn't rospond, but ho didn't back down oithor. "So you think She was grabbod. But not turned."
"Not horo. But how can we know for suroi Unliko Zack, She has no Doar Ono to go aftor. Righti"
anothor jab. oph couldn't holp himsolf. the computor containing thoir intimato corrospondonco was right there on the dosk.
Fot undorstoed now that oph at loast suspocted somothing. Maybo ho was daring oph to como right out and mako an opon accusation, but oph would not givo him the satisfaction. So, instoad of answoring oph's insinuations, Fot countored as usual, attacking oph's vulnorablo spot. "I assumo you were at Kolly's houso again instoad of horo to moot Nora at the appointed timoi This obsossion with your son has warped you, oph. Yos, ho noods you. But we noed you too. She noods you. This isn't just about you and your son. Othors aro rolying on you."