Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Soon I will meet that Darkness once again and this time… this time it will feed on me and I will get something spectacular in return.
Soon…
I drink Josep until his body goes limp and his eyes close. Then I pick up him up in my arms, carry him over to a long, flat rock, sit down with my feet in the water—getting my shoes and pants wet—and I cradle him in my arms as I bite my lip and kiss him again.
It takes a few moments for the new blood to hit his system and wake him up, but hit him and wake him it does.
He draws harder, sucking on me until I am the weak one. Until I am limp and he has to take me in his arms.
Then we do this again.
And again.
And again.
When I come back up from Josep’s bunker and enter my apartments, I am dizzy from the thrill and the blood, ecstatic with the knowledge that tonight is our night.
And Echo is furiously knocking on my door. “My lord!” she’s shouting. “Are you in there? My lord! Open up. It’s—”
I open the door just as she says, “Ryet!”
“Is he here?”
Echo nods. “He’s here. But he’s crashed his truck on the driveway. About half a mile down the road.”
“Did you get him?”
She shakes her head. “No. We tried, but he was… he was trying to bite us, lord. And we—”
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it. You did the right thing, Echo. If Ryet bites you, he’ll kill you.”
Echo swallows. “Yes, lord. I thought so. He got a hold of the guy who approached him first—we’re…” She hesitates. “We’re still trying to identify who that was.”
“Excellent.”
“My lord?”
Poor Echo. She is here. She has been bitten by Lucia. She is a halfbreed vampire. And she has absolutely no idea what that really means. So I decide to enlighten her just a little.
“He’s transforming, Echo. In a few hours Ryet will be the most magnificent monster you’ve ever seen.” She’s still confused, but that’s why I like her. The innocence in this one delights me. So I place my hands on her cheeks, lean in, and kiss her mouth. “I would feed you right now if I wasn’t full of the blood Ryet needs.” I whisper these words past her lips. “But after this is over, Echo, you will be rewarded.” Then I draw back. “Get me the Hummer. You’re driving. We’re going to make history tonight.”
Echo is still stunned from my kiss and my words, her eyes wide, her mouth open. She touches her lips with the pad of a fingertip, lost in the feeling of me.
Then she snaps out of it. “Yes, my lord. Right away.”
She leaves and I close the door, then change out of my wet clothes and put on a suit. An expensive, custom suit that I bought in London before I went underground this last time. This is a grand occasion so I feel the need to dress the part.
I go downstairs and find the house is full of halfbreeds. They are silent and looking at me like they expect an explanation. I, of course, ignore them. But for a brief moment, I register Lucia’s absence, then remember I left her with Syrsee.
God Himself only knows what debauchery she is planning up there with my feeder. But whatever it is, it’s not worth my concern. Syrsee is still here—I can feel her heartbeat. It’s an almost imperceptible low-level hum that reverberates through the lodge. In addition, I know she is weak, which means Lucia has followed my direction and bagged up her blood.
The stars have aligned tonight.
Nothing will stop me now.
The last piece of the puzzle is Ryet and he is waiting for me down the driveway.
“Get busy.” I bark this at the gaping halfbreeds. “Surely you all have somewhere to be and something to do.”
The all nod and then, like they are a collective organism, they disperse.
I walk through the foyer and out into the frigid night. Echo is waiting in the Hummer and when I get in, she’s even got the heat on.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, my lord.”
I really, really like her. And I’m looking forward to giving her some blood. I think she’s cute. I think I might fuck her. I think I might keep her by my side for a little while. Maybe even nurture her. Let her get strong and take some duties away from Lucia.
Lucia would hate that, but since when do I care what Lucia thinks?
Ryet’s truck is half on the road and half in the ditch. There are about a dozen halfbreeds already there —a good distance away from his limp body in the snow. They have even made a fire nearby, no doubt concerned that the freezing cold night might hurt him in some way.
The cold will not bother him. He is probably so hot with fever right now, I’m certain it feels good.