Blood Song

"And that may be why you and Mark can use electricity the way you do. Lizzy could give you a nasty shock if she wanted to, sometimes."

"Right," I said. "And I'll bet all that inbreeding helped amplify it." I'd been thinking about how I was descended from a brother and two sisters, and it grossed me out more than a little. Did Angus know? Would it make a difference to how he felt about me if he did? Would he recoil from me in disgust?

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Marcus believes that we're all somehow the result of a similar process. There aren't enough of us yet to make any other options viable. On the plus side, our DNA seems to be fairly incorruptible. Must be the effect of the way we use iron. It makes everything stronger, more robust"

"So what you're saying is that my children shouldn't have any genetic issues. Apart from being vampires, of course," I said speculatively. Big genetic issue, that one.

"Nope, your children will be fine. Which brings me to another thing I wanted to discuss with you. When you arrived here yesterday you had a certain, er, smell about you. I was wondering if you knew the significance of that."

"What?" I must have looked like a complete halfwit with my mouth hanging open and bewilderment all over my face. I remembered the events of the day before, and then I started blushing like a maniac.

"Sorry, honey, but there's nobody else to tell you these things, and I've never been the slightest bit tactful. I don't mean to embarrass you at all. You smelled lovely. Irresistible, in fact."

My eyes narrowed as I tried to make sense of what she was telling me. Did she know that Angus and I...?

"Once every three or four months a female vampire develops that smell."

"Right," I said, still puzzled but trying not to show exactly how little of the conversation I was following.

Julia looked uncomfortable, and unwilling to spell it out. Unfortunately, due to my continuing confusion, she had no real choice.

"So if she has sex during that time, it's very likely she'll fall pregnant," she said in a rush, and then she gathered up all the dishes and started packing the dishwasher while I tried to absorb this new and startling information. The implication was right there, right there in front of me, prodding me with a big metaphorical stick.

"Oh, crap," I said.

"I thought so," Julia smiled at me, her expression soft.

"Don't tell Angus," I said after a few seconds, as panic gripped me. I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't sure I'd ever be ready for this.