THE DARK SIRE: ACCOLADES (Special Edition Issue, March 2021) | Page 115

walking into the dispersing crowd of onlookers , the dead child ’ s parents long gone .
“ He was so young , poor boy ,” a man said as he passed by , not even noticing me .
“ I know , right ? We better get home to Lenny ,” the woman accompanying the man said .
I made my way to the place where the boy had lain . My eyes slowly moved to the left , canvasing my surroundings , before my head followed . A few onlookers were lingering , talking about the boy ’ s unusual death for the area , while a couple of policemen in uniform were standing nearby , guiding stragglers away from the scene . They were preparing to leave when I bent down to examine the blood . The blood was cold , dried , and trapped within the grooves of the cobblestone . The smell was potent but stale , which meant the boy had been dead approximately four to five hours . I took out a small pocketknife , scraped some of the blood off the pavement , and rubbed it in circles between my gloved index finger and thumb . The dried blood was a bit hard from the cold but also tacky , a clear indication of human blood mixed with that of a fiend ’ s . It was curious that vampire blood would be present , especially since a child wouldn ’ t normally be able to cause damage to one so strong . I grew even more curious when the bitter-tasting blood hit my tongue , my eyes bulging as I slapped my hand to my mouth .
“ Are you all right , Mister ?” A policeman asked , peering down questioningly at me .
My facial expression must have been worrisome and outright derelict , for the policemen had his hand
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