5. Preferring death
End of the 19th Century, London
She hadn’t heard him arrive. She hadn’t detected his presence in the city. And yet she was old… oh, so old and strong. She felt every little change in her habitat, every slight vibration.
If a new vampire arrived in her city, no matter how young or insignificant he or she was, Eno knew it immediately.
But she hadn’t sensed him. She had no… idea.
‘Mistress… someone is hunting in your territory,’ Hirad, her servant, told her. ‘I think he is old, maybe as old as you. He moves quickly.’
Eno arched her thin black eyebrows. Her ebony face didn’t express any other curiosity.
‘They saw him at Spitalfields, while he approached a p********e. He was… messy. The woman is still alive but doesn’t remember him.’
‘Has the council been informed?’
