But food also nourished the body, providing minerals not found in blood. Food was still used amongst their kind for celebrations. It was a cause for coming together at the end of the day, much like other civilizations.
Adam’s interest in social graces took a steep turn when he felt his mental grip spiraling. He’d tasted her blood and wanted more.
His entire life had been sustained through the practices of his ancestors. The plants and animals nourished them and provided comfort, while the blood of their livestock provided the strength of a hundred men, eternal breath, and the ability to wander in daylight.
He’d never tasted human blood until Annalise’s, and he couldn’t understand the draw until now. Before, all he could see was the risk of exposure. But now it became quite clear how such habits and addictions could form.
He would not become one of the immortals that fed off human blood and unapologetically gorged themselves with no concern for preserving the life of a lesser species. He must remain cautious because he finally understood how slippery the slope could be.
If his calling went unanswered for too long, there would be no redeeming his soul. Vicious, cold-blooded, and often incapable of facing the light, the unanswered were often forced to go to ground during daylight, complicating their objective all the more. Too long, and the gift became a curse, an endless life-sentence to an eternity of struggle.
When Adam’s people had come to settle in America, centuries before he was born, they chose to leave the old immortal ways behind and live a life where they could walk freely in the light. Amish law allowed them to live in plain sight yet put them at a safe distance from temptation.
When the Charming Nancy ship arrived in 1738, the conditions in Europe had become intolerable. Rogue outbreaks among their kind tore through villages like genocide. Many accused the plague for the scent of death that greeted newcomers.
It had been a time of common epidemics and mass graves. A need for containment excused a town’s physician from autopsy reports. Fear could help immortals in many ways. It sometimes laced the blood with adrenaline, but it also frightened people enough that even a slaughter could take place without question.
Mortality could make the most selfless animals selfish. Survival would always overpower grief in the end, as it did with his great uncle. When rivers ran red from the carnage, and the devastation left humans scrambling for God’s mercy, victims begged for their own lives. But it was no use.
Once an immortal tasted the fear in a human’s blood, the addiction had full control. They were no longer in command of their actions, but at the mercy of a drug, starved for that spiked nourishment that rushed into them as quickly as it rushed out. And once the blood absorbed, the burn of adrenaline left them weak and confused.
The feeish were no longer mere immortals. They were slaves to their baser instincts. They were vampire.
The stories had been passed down to young immortals like himself, and they never questioned why they lived the way they lived. They understood that their ancestors had made great sacrifices for the salvation of their species.
The eighteen males and females that fled the continent to a land of promise, had only the hope of a peaceful future in their hearts but no real idea how to find it. Luckily, they were not alone on that ship and their prayers had been answered. Feeding off the livestock allowed them to travel with the wind and sun on their skin. God’s lesser creatures allowed them into the light.
But the small taste of blood he stole from her the night before showed him how simple it would be to step back from the light. Even now, her blood called to him, but so did the blood of the other humans nearby. His gums ached and his hollow stomach twisted for just one drop.
Everything his grandfather had warned him of was coming true. Now that he’d found her, the call to claim her was stronger than ever, weakening him by the second. He’d had her blood. Now, she only needed to accept his, and the bonding could begin.
But no. It was too soon. He hadn’t earned her trust yet.
His natural prudence shifted in favor of instant gratification. There seemed no sense in waiting when she was there for the taking. He hungered to claim her here and now. She belonged to him. There would be time to earn her trust later.
Certainty halted as something familiar gave him pause. He was not a monster and he did not want that to be her first impression. No, he had to exercise patience, now more than ever.
His jaw locked as the inward debate stretch. In the end, he believed he had more time.