“Yes, but you are still only human.”I laughed, the sound of it drowned out by the crunch of rocks as the mountain continued to shudder as though in the throes of birth pangs.“So was Van Helsing, yet in every movie, he beat the vampire in the end. Never underestimate the power of humanity.”

“Even though he was inside the house, I could still hear Vlad’s sardonic mutter of “Where’s a tissue when I need one?”I turned my face away from Bones after a long moment, ending our kiss, and called out,“If you’re not too busy watching Hitman, I hear Dracula 2000 is a good movie.”“Vicious,” came Vlad’s reply, amusement clear in his tone.”

“You treat me as if I was a feeble Human who couldn't survive without your help, but I am a MASTER bloody VAMPIRE. (Bones to Cat - Ch 16, pg. 174)”

“Do you want to be put under first?” she asked Lewis as they sat down. “Huh?” he replied in confusion. Something like a cough came out of Vlad that jerked her head up. Vampires didn’t need to cough. Was that a muffled laugh? “You know.” Kira’s eyes flashed green at Lewis, and her fangs seemed to jump out of her gums. “Get bespelled so you don’t remember this.” Lewis appeared even more confused. “If that’s what you want.” I will not as for pointers from Dracula, she swore to herself. I will not. “Yeah, I’d feel better about that. So, ah…look into my eyes.” Another strangled sound came from Vlad’s direction. Now Kira was sure it was a laugh. She was determined to ignore him. Lewis obediently stared at her, and Kira tried to make her voice sound confident. “You don’t feel anything. You’re not afraid.” “I am,” came Vlad’s immediate reply. “If you tell him wolves are the children of the night next, I might hurt myself laughing.”

“Oh, yes, that feels so good," I moaned, and instead of punching Ian, pulled him closer.Breath tickled my neck as he laughed. "I know. I'm truly gifted.”

“A vampire private investigator?” he repeated. “You’re putting me on, right?” “I know you have vampire hit men, so why wouldn’t you have vampire private investigators, too?” she flared back. “I can’t just run an ad with Nathanial’s description on it titled ‘Have you seen this soul welsher?”

“Do it your way, but I suggest another one. You could go ahead and beat her bloody, or…you could give me such loud, screaming orgasms that the sound of them blisters her ears. If you have any former-whore-turned-promiscuous-vampire tricks you’ve been holding back, well, bring them on. I only have one stipulation: You’d better outperform any service you gave to her or anyone else, because if I don’t wake up tomorrow red in the face from embarrassment at what you did to me, I’ll be disappointed.”