It was early evening by the time we reached the city. I didn't know if the Count slept during the day like other vampires or not. For all I knew, he was out surfing. He certainly looked the part. I also didn't know how he'd react to seeing Gladrielle.
Yeah, I know, she was going by the name Claire these days. She just didn't look like a Claire to me. She looked like a Gladrielle, especially when she stopped using glamor to hide her true appearance. Speaking of which.
“You sleeping?” I asked.
Her eyes were still closed, had been closed for quite awhile. “No.”
“Do immortals even need to sleep?”
Gladrielle opened her eyes and smiled. “Just because we don't get sick or grow old doesn't mean we don't get tired.”
“Probably not as tired as humans get.”
“Probably not.”
“How come there were no children in your town?”
“It’s not easy for us to get pregnant.”
“Kind of like mermaids.”
“We can reproduce, just not in great numbers.”
“How did your people come into being?”
“The same way Adam did. The first of us were created from the dust of the earth.”
“Maybe that's why your people have such an affinity for nature.”
“Maybe.”
“The Book of Genesis says that after Cain killed Abel, God marked him, so everybody would know who he was.”
“I'm familiar with the story.”
“Can I assume that elves were the people the mark was for?”
“Among others.”
“Others?”
Gladrielle looked at me. “Are all supernaturals as curious as you?”
I laughed. “Probably not. I'm a mermaid, we're naturally curious. Some say too curious. My friend's need to see the world's oldest vampire is what got her into this mess.”
Gladrielle grunted. “World's oldest vampire.”
“Speaking of curiosity. I've have another question. One that no one has ever been able to answer.”
“And you think I can answer it?”
“If you can't then nobody can.”
“What's the question?”
“Was Eve a blond, a brunette, or a redhead?”
Gladrielle looked at me and laughed. Not a sad laugh. This was a genuine laugh.
“You might want to start using that glamor again,” I said. “The blue hair won't attract attention, but the pointed ears and flawless skin might.”
Gladrielle looked around, noticed that traffic was picking up, and changed her appearance. Her shiny blue hair became a mousy brown. Her flawless skin developed freckles.
“Better?” she said, looking at me.
I nodded. “Do you want stop by my place, change clothes?”
She seemed puzzled by my question. “Why would I want to change clothes?”
“When most girls look up an old flame, they like to dress up.”
“Why?”
“I'm not sure. To be honest. I've never had an old flame that I needed to look up. I just know that's how the humans do it.”
“And you know this how?”
“I'm a bit of a movie buff, and in the movies, the girls always dress up before looking up an old flame.”
“I thought you were going to tell me because that's the way your girlfriends do it.”
“I don't actually have a lot of girlfriends. Not human girlfriends anyway.”
“Why is that?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Probably because I'm not human.”
“Even if I wanted to change, I didn't bring any other clothes with me.”
“You can borrow something from my closet. We're about the same size.”
“You think I should change?” She was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, loose fitting jeans and a baggy yellow tee shirt.
“I would, but then I'm a mermaid and we like to stand out from the crowd.”
Gladrielle looked at what she was wearing and nodded. “Maybe I should change.”