She had never spoken like this to me before, and I cried with the beauty of it. I echoed the final phrase of my vow in barely a whisper, and as soon as I had done so, the pain was gone; I felt strong again, powerful, wonderful, invincible.

I sat up on the bed and looked at Sarah, poor pitiful Sarah, so nice, so noble, so misdirected. Great dark circles sagged from her eyes halfway to her cheeks.

“Sarah,” I said. “Perhaps Samuel belongs with his father; perhaps I belong with the one who loves me; perhaps you belong with someone, too.”

“Angelina, I don’t think—”

But I had her wrist, and my strength was a thing of beauty. The powers of the universe flowed through me. I tightened my grip until I saw mystery, fascination, pain, anger, hurt, and fear cross her vision. They filled me, and I relaxed, basking in the sensations, in the aura that She was putting forth in the room. It was heavenly; it was wholesome; it was nourishing.

And then Sarah began to fight in earnest. I laughed. She was so sincere in her endeavors. Before she had finished, both wrists and one collarbone were broken, and I mounted her and teased her, running my fingers through her greasy hair and letting it fall back onto her face, creating sliding moire patterns as the hair swirled across her features.

Eventually she tired. I knew the taste. Prey must be played with for only so long, and then the hormones of exhaustion add acid to the blood. The climactic moment was at hand.

“Sarah,” I said, and her weak eyes squinted up at me. “I knew you would help me find the way.” She squeezed her eyes shut in pain and misery, took a deep breath, and began a new attempt to dislodge me from my perch on her chest. “Thank you, Sarah,” I whispered, my lips brushing her small ear, and then I nuzzled the softness of her neck, feeling the tiny hairs tickle my face, tasting the salt of her exertions, smelling the odor of her fear. I nibbled on her groans and chewed to her screams, right through, so the sounds bubbled out with the nectar, watching the thick blood froth and flow for a moment before burying my face in the sweet fragrance and drinking my fill.

And when I was finished, I heard the music, it swelled into great clouds about me; the lips spoke with pride into my ear, and I knew I had come home, at last, that whatever else I had thought had been in error—this was my destiny; this was the thing that made me the happiest; this was life, and it was life everlasting.

She welcomed me back with kisses and floods of ecstasy, wave after wave of orgasmic pleasure, each cresting with the music and falling, only to rise again and resume.