Naomi gathered herself together visibly, and when she spoke she sounded like the professor she had apparently once been.
"I'll start from the general and then go to the specific, shall I? You understand that generalities do not account for variations-just because most vampires follow this pattern, doesn't mean that they all do."
"All right," I told her, wishing I had a notebook so I could take notes.
"A vampire likes to keep a food supply at hand, so they live with a small group of humans, usually anywhere from three to seven. Three are enough to provide food for a month before they die, seven is enough for six months-because if the vampires feed lightly on each, their prey lasts longer."
"There aren't forty people disappearing from the Tri-Cities every month," I protested. "And I know that Marsilia has more than ten vampires."
Naomi smiled grimly. "They don't hunt in their own territory. Stefan found me in Chicago teaching at Northwestern. Rachel's from Seattle. I think the only one of us Stefan found in the Tri-Cities was Daniel, and he was hitchhiking down from Canada."
For some reason, her speaking of Daniel made me glance over by the sink, but sometime while we'd been talking, the young man must have left. When I thought about it, I realized that I hadn't heard him for a while. It bothered me that I hadn't heard him leave.
"So the vampires have to continually replenish their menageries?"
"Most of them." Naomi nodded. "Stefan, as you know, does things differently. There are fourteen of us who live here, and maybe a dozen more who visit occasionally. Stefan doesn't usually kill his prey."
"Tommy," said Rachel in a small voice.
Naomi waved her hand dismissively. "Tommy was ill anyway." She looked at me. "When the fae came out, Stefan began to be concerned about the same things that caused the fae to reveal themselves. He told the seethe-and the ruling council of vampires-that they could no longer live as they were and expect to survive. He had already been maintaining a large menagerie because he didn't kill his people-he has a reputation for being softhearted. I'm told Marsilia thinks his concern for us is 'cute. " She gave me an ironic look.
"He began to experiment. To look for ways the vampire could benefit the human race. He found me dying of leukemia and offered me a chance at life."
I did some adding in my head and frowned at her. "Rachel said you were a professor and he found you about the time the fae came out. How old were you?"
She smiled. "Forty-one." That would mean she was in her sixties now-she didn't look it. She didn't look much older than I did. "Stefan already knew that longevity was something he could offer: one of his bound children had belonged to him for over a century before another vampire killed her."
"How does feeding a vampire make you live longer?" I asked.
"It's the exchange of blood," said Rachel. She put a finger against her lips and licked it suggestively. "He takes and then gives a little back. Since I started feeding, I've been able to see in the dark-I can even bend a tire iron." She glanced at me from under her lashes to see how I took her revelation.
Ick, I thought hard and she frowned at me as if my reaction disappointed her. Maybe she expected me to be more horrified-or intrigued.
"And my leukemia has been in remission since 1981," Naomi added prosaically. "Joey said she was always a little psychic, but after she became Stefan's she could move things without touching them."
"Not much," said Rachel. "All she could do was wiggle a spoon across the table."
"So vampires can heal diseases?" I asked.
Naomi shook her head. "With blood-borne diseases the vampires help a lot, things like sickle-cell anemia and a host of lesser known stuff. Stefan had some success with some of the autoimmune diseases, like MS and HIV. Except for the leukemia, though, Stefan found that he couldn't help cancer patients-or full-blown AIDS patients like Tommy, either."
"So Stefan was trying to create a politically correct vampire?" I asked. The idea was mind boggling. "I can see the headlines, Maligned Vampire Only Wants to Save People. Or better yet, Vampire Estates- Come to our modern community compound. We'll heal your ills, make you stronger, and give you eternal life!"
" Join us for lunch," contributed Rachel with a toothy smile.
Naomi gave me a dry look. "He's not that ambitious, I don't think. And he's run into problems."
" Marsilia?"
" Mmm." Naomi looked thoughtful. "For a long time Marsilia was more of a figurehead than a leader. Stefan said she was pouting because she was exiled. After last winter, she began noticing more. He was hoping for her support in his efforts. Hoping she could push some of the others into more humane treatment of their menageries."
"But...?" I started.
" But there are a lot of problems with what Stefan is trying to do. First of all, not many vampires can afford to support as many people as he is-and any less than twelve of us and we start dying. And too, most vamps cannot control as many people as Stefan. There aren't many vampires who can make their sheep love them." She looked pointedly at Rachel as she said the last sentence.
"Stefan says that the biggest problem is self-control." Rachel said, ignoring Naomi. "Vampires are predators. They kill things."
Naomi nodded. "A lot of them choose not to control themselves, they say it ruins the enjoyment of their meal. But all of them lose control sometimes when they are feeding. Even Stefan." For a moment I caught a glimpse of horror in her eyes, but she lowered her eyelids and banished it. "The longer a person belongs to a vampire, the harder it is for the vampire to keep from killing him. Stefan says that with the bound ones the urge to kill is very, very strong-and it only gets worse with time. He used to send Joey off to her family in Reno for months on end. The urge affects all vampires, not just the one the person is bound to. That's why Stefan didn't kill Andre outright. Daniel was bound-it could have been accidental."