Midday, April 11th, 1879. The Oriental Theater. Good Friday.

((Robert Micklethwait))

Some mood music

The theater is a buzz of motion as the girls are woken up by Vincent. Things are packed and stowed away.

But Robert only has eyes for Marina. Marina Vanderholt's bewitching eyes pulls him in as she answers some of his burning questions.

"Can we die?"

"Sugar, you're dead already. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's true. You and I--all of us here, really--are no longer technically what you would call alive." She smiles. "Oh, but don't let that dampen your day. If you play your cards right, you'll persist long after your body should have rotted away naturally. Just keep fed and away from hunters, and you'll see centuries fly by."


"What do we eat?"

She giggles. "I rather thought you'd have already figured that one out, as you've still got a little on your collar there. But let me put it in the plainest terms. We fed on the blood of the living. That's what will sustain you. A pint a day, at least."

"What did you think would happen when sunlight hit me?"

"For short exposures? Very little. We've already proven that. I wouldn't recommend staying out in a sunny day longer than, oh, a few minutes. It would not be pleasant. The hired help can't even go out at all, poor things. They'd just burst into flame if the sun touches them."

"Hired help?"

"The other girls. Making one of the kindred such as you, me, and dear Vincent is a taxing process, not to be done lightly. But it's good to have protectors and companions. The girls are a lesser breed of vampire, created by being drained of all their blood. Try to avoid draining a human dry all at once, sugar. You may get an unexpected problem on your hands if you aren't careful. Or simply kill your prey before you start feeding, though that leaves a simply awful aftertaste. The same can't be said for them...normally the hired help can't sire on their own. I'm still a little mystified that Lucy managed to grant you the Kiss through her little nip."

"I can walk through walls, can all of us?"

"Oh, you've picked up that trick already? Vincent took a whole year figuring out how to do that."

"What else can we do?"

"You'll figure it out as you go along, sugar. Learning the special tricks is half the fun!"