The Kiss is the term indicating the saliva of a Red Court vampire. The term first appears in Storm Front,[1] and is first so named in Death Masks.[2]
Description[]
A Red Court vampire's saliva includes a very addictive narcotic.[1] The saliva acts on contact, and it is used to subdue an intended victim before feeding; Red Court uses it to addict whole villages when they feed on the inhabitants.[3] Should they need, Red Court vampires can spray it toward a target.[4] If ingested, the saliva spreads very quickly in the victim's whole body and is therefore much more potent.[5] Its effects on human beings can be counteracted by a potion,[6] while Red Court vampires are immune to it.[7]
In the series[]
Storm Front[]
- Main article: Storm Front
In Storm Front, Bianca St. Claire coats Rachel's arm with her saliva, before starting to feed on her. Rachel's behavior is that of a junkie who just got her fix.[1]
Grave Peril[]
- Main article: Grave Peril
In Grave Peril, Kelly Hamilton manages to get her saliva on Harry Dresden's skin,[8] but Mister manages to prevent from spreading in Dresden's system by exposing the wound to sunlight.[9] Later, at Bianca St. Claire's ball, he realizes that the offered wine is poisoned with vampire venom, and that he's the target. He manages to throw it up.[5] However, Dresden is exposed for the third time to the Kiss, when Susan Rodriguez playfully bites him after her becoming a half-vampire.[10]
Summer Knight[]
- Main article: Summer Knight (novel)
In Summer Knight, Harry Dresden dreams of kissing Susan Rodriguez and vicariously re-experiences the effects of the Kiss.[11]
Death Masks[]
- Main article: Death Masks
In Death Masks, Harry Dresden and Susan Rodriguez kiss, realizing they loved each other. On this occasion, Rodriguez formally names the narcotic in the Red Court vampire as the Kiss.[12]
Later, when Paolo Ortega challenges him in a duel, Dresden prepares a potion to counteract its effects, including stale coffee as a base, a small photo of Meat Loaf for sight, a rooster's crow for sound, skunk hair for smell, sandpaper for touch, powdered aspirin for taste, a surgeon general's warning against smoking for the mind and incense smoke for the spirit.[6]
Changes[]
- Main article: Changes
In Changes, the Kiss is mentioned again, once in a kiss between Harry Dresden and Susan Rodriguez,[13] and again when a Red Court vampire attacks Dresden, with his tongue protruded and ready to deliver it.[14]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Storm Front ch. 9
- ↑ Death Masks ch. 4
- ↑ Death Masks, ch. 14
- ↑ Death Masks ch. 30
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Grave Peril ch. 26
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Death Masks, ch. 9
- ↑ Grave Peril ch. 26-29
- ↑ Grave Peril ch. 16
- ↑ Grave Peril ch. 17
- ↑ Grave Peril ch. 35
- ↑ Summer Knight ch. 10
- ↑ Death Masks, ch. 4
- ↑ Changes, ch. 22
- ↑ Changes, ch. 35