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conversation. He rarely did. They always asked, “Why?” and “What are you going to do to me?”, then lastly, “What the fuck are you?”, though Cronin never replied. How big and brave these men always were when pitted against a weaker species. But when they were the weaker species? Oh, how the tables quickly turned.
    None of it mattered. All Cronin could think about was getting back to Alec. So with a flex of his teeth, he pulled the man’s head back and bit into his neck.
     
    * * * *
     
    Cronin appeared in his living room, scaring the shit out of Alec. He was putting a glass of water on the coffee table and suddenly having someone appear beside him made him jump, sending the water flying.
    Jodis put her hand out, turning the glass of water and the spilled contents into ice before a single drop hit the floor.
    Alec put his hands out in an everybody-stop motion. “Jesus! You”—he looked at Cronin—“just scared the bajeezus outta me.” Then he glanced at the spray of ice and then at Jodis. “And how freakin’ cool is that?!”
    “Sorry,” Cronin said with a smile. He was just happy to see Alec. The fact he wasn’t glaring at him was an added bonus. “I’m not used to having company unfamiliar with me… just appearing.”
    Alec stared at Cronin for a long few seconds as if he’d missed him, and Cronin couldn’t look away. Alec’s heart rate spiked, which Cronin put down to being startled at his sudden appearance. Alec shook his head, as if to clear it. “It’s fine,” he said.
    “I trust you slept well?” Cronin asked, sitting across from him.
    “Yes,” Alec said, then almost as an afterthought he added, “Thank you.” He scraped up a shard of ice from the table and put it in the glass. “Jodis, that was seriously cool. I mean, I know Cronin said before you can turn things into ice, but to see it! Can you do it again?”
    She laughed. “Of course.”
    “Can you just turn liquids into ice?” Alec asked. “I mean, what’re the parameters? Are there limitations, or does it just need a molecular structure?”
    Jodis glanced at Cronin and gave an approving smile. “Yes, anything with a molecular structure. There are limitations to quantities, nothing over a few cubic feet of water. And nothing more than a few feet away.”
    “Humans?” Alec asked. There was no malice in his tone, just curiosity. “I mean, we’re made up of mostly water, so I guess you could. What about other vampires?”
    Jodis was still smiling at Alec, her eyes a vivid blue. “Yes. I can freeze both humans and vampires.”
    “That’s pretty cool,” Alec said. “In a… weird fascinating morbid kinda way. Is that why your eyes are so blue?” Alec asked. “Sorry, that’s so personal. I just have a lot of questions. And your eyes are blue, like really blue, and Cronin’s are black.” He looked at both of them in turn. “And Eiji can read DNA? How does that even work? I thought it was a way to determine heredity, like mitochondrial and nuclear DNA tells us of who we’re related to, yes? But he can see lifespans, like the future?”
    Jodis answered first. “Yes. Human DNA can be read both ways, past and future. It doesn’t tell of events or which path one would choose, just the determined length and similarities to relatives.”
    “It’s not an easy talent to explain,” Cronin added. “But as Jodis said, DNA can be read in both directions. Humans have only discovered the past aspect so far.”
    “Wow” was all Alec could say.
    “It is fascinating,” Cronin agreed. “Though Eiji never understood his gift until the discovery of DNA pathways by human scientists. When he saw what they were doing and describing, he had a name for what he can see.”
    “DNA?”
    Jodis nodded. “Up until then, he just assumed he could see some version of a lifespan.”
    Alec sighed. “I guess that makes sense.” He pressed his hand against his chest and shook as head, then looked at Cronin. “I feel better now