"I do understand," he said quietly. The vampire was as frustrated and bewildered as was Russell, but his natural caution and reserve had only grown over the centuries. He was doing his utmost to hold himself together despite his dread at what had happened to them both.
"I was born human, unlike you, but it was so long ago that I barely remember what it was like to be blind in the dark, for example." He lifted the washcloth. Normally Russ' temperature was so high that any dampness would have vanished in seconds - more evidence that something very wrong had happened to both men. But I do remember how a Spartan whip felt on mortal flesh. And believe me, these stripes would look like a kiss in comparison." He paused. "That said, you may wish to hold onto something while I deal with these. Because this is going to hurt."
The apparent detachment in the vampire's words were not from cruelty, but an attempt to hold himself back from any feeling at all while he tried to process the change that had come over both men in the night. Nevertheless, his never-expressive voice sounded cold even in his now-mortal ears.