But mostly it commanded. It demanded to be fed, to drink deep of dark sweet blood, to bite of soft flesh, to chew on the richness of life and leave on...y death. He whispered back to the knife as his fingers stroked the hand-carved wooden handle. ‘All for you,’ he whispered. ‘All and more,’ he laughed gutturally as the blade winked light back at him, agreeing in its own silent way. And then he scowled as it reflected the image of the girl he had oh so carefully chosen running up the stairs behind. Is it safe to assume you would like more in the way of opportunities to be there for others?”“If I have to do this job, I want to do as much good as I can to offset the bad.”“That isn’t quite what I asked, but it will do.”I had to groom and test her so she would fit into my new plans for her. Through the entire conversation, I was continually altering my plans and making new ones.I’m sure it seemed like a dramatic pause, but I needed a little time to think.“I have a problem. I have an. You'll have to react." Angel," the girl replied hesitantly, "What exactly is the purpose of this? Sword-fighting I mean. It's great exercise but why do we need it?"Angel shook his head and then relented. Crossing to Nina he took her chin in his hand and tilted her head up until their eyes met. "For ages a sword has been the best weapon to deal with a lot of the adversaries that we might meet in the times ahead of us. Other vampires, many demons and other creatures are proof against our greater. I couldn’t blame her.”“And you don’t want to buy him because of the upkeep,” I finished.“That, and I would have no idea what to do. It’s not like we could just take him to Grandma’s farm and have her take care of the horse. It wouldn’t be fair to her.”I just nodded my agreement. Greg could tell it bothered me that Mac wouldn’t get to ride anymore. I knew that she and Greg had used riding as daddy-daughter time.“What you could do is give her riding lessons for a Christmas gift,” Greg.