If I Die Before I Wake: Tales of Death and Destruction by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

She woke to the pleasant smell of cooking food. Jaylin sat up, a blanket lying beneath her. She was on the ceramic tile floor of a small restaurant beside a wooden table with two chairs. Sebastian labored over a stove a few feet away, stirring a steaming pot. His face was completely healed from the damage it had sustained.

“Ah, you are awake,” he said, setting down the big wooden ladle he used to stir the pot. “Please sit at the table, and I will feed you.”

Jaylin didn’t argue; she was starving. As she stood, she found her injured shoulder had been set in a sling made from torn cloth.

She sat on a plastic seat at the round table. A glass of water and a plate of fresh salad with olives and tomatoes sat before her. Sebastian ladled a thick soup into a white bowl and placed it in front of her with a spoon.

“Bon appétit!” he said with gusto, steepling his long, pale fingers. She sampled the soup and was surprised. It was lentils spiced with pepper and paprika and practically melted in her mouth. Jaylin consumed the entire bowl in short order.

She didn’t have to ask for more. Sebastian took her empty bowl and refilled it almost immediately. She sipped from the water cup and began eating the salad, relishing the crunch of fresh vegetables in her mouth. The salad was scrumptious, coated in a light golden balsamic vinaigrette that delighted her taste buds. It had been a long time since she had eaten a meal of this quality.

“Thank you, Sebastian,” she said, her hunger now under control.

“It is my pleasure, Jaylin,” the vampire said, his long hair hanging over his ivory face. “Were it not for you, I might be ash blowing on the winds, unable to reconstitute myself and stuck in a purgatorial existence. I am eternally in your debt.”

“You saved me first,” she added. She looked around at the small restaurant, noting its décor and the elegant paintings on its wooden walls. “Such a nice place you have here,” she said.

Sebastian grinned, showing his strong white teeth. “I borrowed it, of course. No one seemed to be using it. Fortunately, the supplies are still fresh, and I have learned a thing or two about cooking over the centuries. Alchemy, magic, the culinary arts…after a while, they all blend together.”

Jaylin looked at her savior. He was attractive, his features noble and handsome. Desires long suppressed by hunger and the barbaric circumstances of the world surged inside her.

“I find you most intriguing, Jaylin. Where most humans are droll and insipid, you are bold and vivacious. I have been alone for some time and would enjoy your company for as long as you would have me. You will find me an associate who is reluctant to force himself but difficult to shake.”

She rose from her chair and moved to the blanket she had slept on. She used her good arm to disrobe, then beckoned him to her.

Sebastian took her in his arms, carefully avoiding touching her injured shoulder.

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