FICTION

Psalm of Vampires Chapter Four

Daphne’s World

Image of female anime-style character licensed from Adobe Stock; titling by author

Trigger warnings: Language, short passage of graphic, aggressive sex, descriptions of violence

You might have wondered why, as you hear my tale, Daphne never commented on my biology. My incisors, for example, or my bluish hue.

The incisor explanation was always an easy one. I told her, like I tell everyone, that I’m just a biological freak who has ridiculous canines compared to most people, and that I had decided a long time ago to just go with it and sharpen them regularly, almost for fun. Most people believe it, and those who don’t sort of ignore it and forget they ever asked.

Daphne got a kick out of it and asked if she could watch me sharpen them someday. I gently told her no. I can only imagine what Longtooth told people: “They’re great for digging?”

My bluish hue is always more challenging to explain. By the time Daphne asked, I knew her well enough to be able to say, “I don’t know,” and that was the end of it. “Doctors tried to diagnose it when I was young, but they gave up,” I had said. Naturally, she felt sorry for me. Because Daphne.

We originally met in New Orleans, not Atlanta. She was a drummer in an all-girls screamo band. In those days she wore seriously distressed leather pants and huge…