Here’s a secret: animals can sense a Vampire’s presence — if the Vampire is very foolish.

So, too, can living people, but most dismiss the tell-tale signs as a mood swing or stray passing thought. What humans shrug off, animals are startled by because their emotions are not complex; they understand such emotions are not their own even if they can’t be sure of the source.

And all of it is the Vampire’s fault for not keeping their emotions in check. Fun, right?

As I’ve mentioned, vampirism doesn’t come with an instruction manual, and the secrets to unlocking our supernatural capabilities are jealously guarded among my kind.

This particular hindrance was discovered by accident while trying to stop a young boy from turning — I’ve mentioned Denton before — but I was so distraught by the thought of this horrible thing happening that someone else in the vehicle felt my grief, actually becoming distraught himself over the power of my emotion. This is somehow an extension of a Vampire’s thrall: area-of-effect emotional influence. In other words, if I’m on the prowl and feeling frisky, you may start to feel it if you’re close enough, even succumbing to it naturally if you were so inclined; why enthrall and command someone who already feels the same as I do? It’s the same ability that makes people take notice of us: a natural attractant to make the trap’s bait a bit more irresistible.

Good thing some of us use out powers for good, hmm?

And that brings me to my point: no one, not even a Vampire, is thinking all good or all evil thoughts.

I never had pets growing up; I mostly read books, studied, and did things inside with my parents and outside with my closest friends. Since becoming a Vampire, I worried about being near animals — kind of like I worried about being in a church. You see movies, you hear things, but while I’ve never been struck by lightning in a chapel, animals did act up when I was nearby until I discovered the truth: they were bothered by me worrying about me bothering them — a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Whenever I’m having a strong emotion, I avoid people but especially animals now; they can tell when I can’t keep my feelings in check, no matter how passive an expression I put on my face. I’m not angry all the time anymore than I’m happy all the time — is anyone?

So the next time your pet acts up for no reason or you feel unusually happy, sad, or hateful, don’t worry…even if you rightly suspect a nearby Vampire is the secret cause of it.

Give us a few minutes. It usually doesn’t take us too long to get things figured out.

Keep each other safe.

~ Janiss

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