Beneath A Casanova {#1}

Part 3

Part 3

“I don’t understand.” Dante frowned slightly, looking at the small pill that his vampire friend had brandished before him. “I don’t understand why you think I’m willing to put my life at risk to help you experiment.”

Jack calmly raised an eyebrow while Laz nervously twitched and spun his pen, tapping it on his ever-present board ever so often. Jack Crowley was the genius behind Crowley Industries, and he had been the inventor of blood pills. Since the raging success of blood pills that was also sold in the human world as iron-replenishment pills, Jack had tried to move on to manufacturing food for vampires.

So far the success had been limited, but…

“It is perfectly safe, Dante. The pill will revive your stomach and intestinal capabilities for a few hours for you to enjoy your food. With vampire cells, digestion will be much faster and thorough, and these nutrients will enter your bloodstream along with blood that you’ve ingested. In theory, it will allow you to enjoy human delicacies while reaping the best results with no permanent harm done.” Jack pushed his hand closer with an insistent look.

Dante looked at the small blue pill dubiously.

“What if something goes wrong? What if I sprout horns or choke and die?” He meant it as harmless jokes, but Laz jumped.

“You will not! Do not fear, Dante, we have tested this on vampire-mouse and vampire-pigs. They have displayed an aptitude and quite an appetite after ingesting the pill, and none of them have grown anything or died!” Laz put in nervously, and he spared a look over at the short bespectacled man. Poor Laz was already a nerd when something screwed up in Jack's experimentation, sealing Laz forever in a vampire's body and keeping his nerd cells forever alive.

Dante took the pill between his thumb and forefinger, holding it against the light to study it. It looked ordinary, just like any other pill. But then, so had the Blood Pills that Crowley had invented, and the vampires had moved far away from biting anyone for the meals since then.

“Possible latte, spaghetti and pizza?” He muttered to himself as he studied the pill. “Or pain-filled death?”

“Don’t be so dramatic. We would not have tested it on vampires if we weren’t sure.” Jack scolded, watching him hold the precious pill between his fingers. Was it him, or did he see an inch of possessiveness in Jack’s eyes?

“Non. I still have to sing. This could harm my voice box or something. Did I mention I was allergic to some drugs when I was still alive? There must be some of those inside there.” He excused quickly, pushing the pill back in Jack’s hands. He would like to say that he was trying to protect his larynx, but in truth, Dante didn’t want to be the guinea pig. He didn’t sit well with the fact that Jack hadn’t experimented the pill on himself first, since Jack or Laz were usually the first to try any of their own creations.

“Your previous allergy to Neurofen has nothing to do with this pill, Dante. I have made sure of it. Besides, vampire cells of yours will be unable to react to allergies brought about by your human cells.” Jack took his hand in a no-nonsense manner, placing the blue pill in the middle of his palm firmly, and then closed his fingers over the small pill. “Now be a good boy and eat it.”

Dante resisted the urge to throw some Italian curses over to the scientist and his always-nervous assistant. He could, he wagered, but Jack had learnt enough Italian to know curses and he had no desire to piss off his lifetime supplier of Blood Pills.

Jack stepped back and smiled as Dante muttered incoherent curses under his breath and tossed the pill into his mouth before he could rethink his own actions. He swallowed, made a face as it entered his gullet, and then winced in anticipation.