Текст книги "Dark Magic"

Автор книги: Christine Feehan

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

Savannah poured warm water over his head, soaking his hair thoroughly. She rubbed shampoo between her palms and began a slow, soothing massage of his scalp. With her fingers busy in his hair, she leaned over him, the softness of her breasts whispering against his back. “So, lifemate, what is this terrible secret that tears at you?”

It was easier to say it with her out of his sight, with the comfort of her hands on his scalp. “You are not my true lifemate. I manipulated the outcome with knowledge I had acquired over the centuries.”

“I already know you believe this, Gregori,” she acknowledged softly. “But I also know you are wrong.” There was purity and honesty in her voice.

His throat was raw and burning. “You cannot even see what I am, Savannah. I could never hide what I am from my true lifemate. I try to show you, but you cannot see reality. You have an illusion in your mind, and nothing can replace it.”

Her fingertips deepened the massage, never faltering from their purpose. “And you are supposed to be our most learned ancient. My love, you are the one with the illusion of yourself. And, I might add, of me. Yes, I’m young—compared to you, a child—but I am first a Carpathian. And I am your true lifemate.” Her hands fell away, and he was instantly bereft. Warm water took their place, rinsing away the shampoo.

“I remember before I was born, a terrible pain, both my mother’s and my own. You came to me when I would have chosen to free myself from the pain, and you surrounded me with your comfort.”

“Savannah.” He moaned her name again, covering his face with his hands. “With my will, I bound you to me.”

“You gave me your blood to save my life, you healed my wounds, and you talked to me of the wonders of the night, of our world. When I was just beginning to crawl, you came to me in the form of a wolf. We shared our minds constantly, nightly. As I grew, we reached for each other and shared all that we were.”

“You accept me only because I did these things.”

“That is the illusion, Gregori. I have been in your mind. I see what you are, perhaps better than you do. It took me a little time to put things together, because I was afraid of our bond, how strong it was. I was afraid of losing who and what I was to a stronger personality.” Her hands began to soap his back. She made small, lazy circles with the suds. “I didn’t put it all together at first. My memories from before my birth and my memories of my beautiful wolf, my companion that made me so complete. I didn’t think about how easily and naturally we merged our minds. I didn’t think about why I never needed or wanted anyone else. It didn’t come to me until I realized how completely I merged with you, slipping in and out of your mind. Neither of us noticed it. You didn’t even notice it. You failed to notice that in those years of my childhood, you had a semblance of peace in the time you spent with me. But I felt it. I saw it in your mind. It is there now, for you to examine in your memories. That was why it was so hard for you when I left the Continent and ran away like the child I was. You see colors, Gregori. You have not seen them in centuries. I see how vivid and brilliant they are to you. Only your true lifemate could provide such a thing for you. Your silly guilt is blinding you to reality.”

Warm water streamed down his back. Savannah moved around in front of him to kneel beside the tub. As she bent forward, her silky hair framed the perfection of her face. The shirt parted to reveal enticing glimpses of her curves. The rosy tip of one breast tempted him. He found it hard to control the direction of his gaze. She soaped his chest. “I am with you on the hunt. With you on the kill. In your mind, sharing your thoughts. No other could ever do what I do because I am the only lifemate you have. I am a shadow in your mind, so familiar to you, you do not know I am there.”

She poured water over his chest, then rubbed the soap between her palms again. Tilting her head to one side, she gazed lovingly at his harshly set face. “You go perfectly blank when you hunt. I know this not because you tell me, but because I am there with you in your mind. What do you want to feel? Sadness? Remorse? You have hunted for nearly a thousand years. You have been forced to kill friends and relatives. You have been isolated and alone for years, without your lifemate. It was impossible in that barren world to feel anything, at all. Only your code and sense of honor and your loyalty to my father kept you going.”

Savannah’s hands searched below the surface of the water, found the thick, hard length of him, and began a slow, intimate massage. Her fingers were magic, sending waves of pleasure surging through him. “I would not want you to think of anything while you hunt, especially not of me. I would hope that would be too distracting.” Her smile was frankly sexy, her hands moving with recently acquired skill. “You can’t feel at such times, Gregori. It would slow you down, cause you to make a mistake. Do you really think you can change a thousand years of training? You programmed yourself centuries ago.”

His body was raging at him, the beast inside writhing in need. His silver eyes opened wide to look at her. Hot. Hungry. Wild. Untamed. She smiled at him and sat back on her knees, her secret smile turning erotic. Savannah stood up and allowed the shirt to slide from her shoulders to the floor. “I’m with you in your mind, and you don’t even know it, because I’m your other half, and I belong there. Who else but a true lifemate could have called you back from the darkness when it spread like a stain across your soul? You would not have answered anyone but me. Who else could go with you on a hunt, when all of your senses are on full alert, and you not be aware of it?”

His breath was audible in the stillness of the room. She moved back, her body a sensuous invitation, blue-black hair caressing her creamy skin. Gregori stood up, ignoring the water streaming off him. He wanted her, and she belonged to him. As he stepped from the tub onto the floor, she inched backward. Her eyes were half closed, desire in her mind, her body calling to his. She moved restlessly, one hand pushing at the silky fall of hair sensitizing her nipples into hard peaks.

“Come here,” he growled, his body so heavy with need that he was afraid he would explode into fragments if he took one step.

She shook her head slowly, her tongue deliberately moistening her full lower lip. “I only want my true lifemate. I hunger tonight. My body is hungry.” Her hand drifted slowly, enticingly, over her satin skin, and his eyes followed the graceful movement while his body raged at him.

Gregori covered the distance between them in a sudden surge, catching her up, the momentum taking them to the wall. He held her prisoner there, his mouth fastened on hers, commanding her response, feeding, devouring, his hands claiming her body for his own. “No one else will ever touch you and live,” he snarled, his mouth burning a trail of fire down her throat to her breast. He fed hungrily, his teeth grazing the creamy fullness. “No other, Savannah.”

“Why, Gregori? Why can no other touch my body like this?” she whispered, her mouth on his skin, her tongue lapping at his pulse. “Tell me why my body is only yours and your body is only mine.”

His hands cupped her bottom, brought her hard against him. “You know why, Savannah.”

“Say it, Gregori. Say it if you believe it. I won’t have lies between us. You have to feel it in your heart as I do. You have to feel it in your mind. Your body has to burn for mine. But most of all, in your deepest soul, you have to know I’m your other half.”

He lifted her, set her up high on the rim of the sleeping chamber, his hands parting her thighs. “I know I burn for you. Even in my sleep, the sleep of our people where there can be no thought, I burn for you.” He bent his head to taste her, his wet hair bathing her inner thighs as he dragged her body closer to him.

Savannah cried out at the first touch of his mouth, the rush of hot desire turning her into a liquid, living flame. She bunched his hair into her fists and held him to her. “Say it, Gregori,” she bit out between clenched teeth. “I need to hear you say it.”

I am saying it, lifemate. Can you not hear me?He didn’t lift his head, wanting to feel her body pleading for his, needing to feel her press harder into him, trying to alleviate the building pressure. She tasted like wild honey and spice. Addicting. Her response was addicting, the way she moaned and writhed, pushing into his assault. She was rippling with life, with fire, and he took her higher and higher until she cried out for mercy. Only then did he lift her into his arms. “Put your legs around my waist.” He slid her down his burning body until he held her poised over the hard, burning length of him.

The feel of her, moist and hot and so ready, set the jackhammers tripping in his head and his body clenching with need. Still he held her, poised at her hot, beckoning entrance so vulnerable to his invasion. “Put your mouth on my neck, Savannah,” he ordered. “Drink from me as I take you.”

“Hurry,” she pleaded, a little catch in her voice. Almost blindly she obeyed him, her tongue caressing the pulse beating so strongly. She pushed aside his wet hair, and as he thrust upwards, stabbing into her tight, velvet sheath, her teeth pierced his skin, so that he flowed into her, body and soul and mind.

Gregori cried out hoarsely, already in ecstasy, taking his lifemate as he was meant to, without reservation, without restraint, without barriers between them. Her mind was filled with wild images, and his mind matched and inflamed hers. He didn’t have to compartmentalize his thoughts or worry she would find something that would take her from him. He allowed himself to simply feel intense pleasure. Flames, arcing electricity, white-hot lightning, the friction building and building.

She had always been in his soul; this time he took her there, needing the freedom of her total acceptance, her unconditional surrender, her complete faith and trust in him. Savannah swept her tongue across his neck, closing the tiny pinpricks. She arched away from him, offering her perfect breasts to his mouth. “Now you. Feed. Take me into your body the way I take you.”

She was small and light in his arms, so little compared to the size of his body, yet when he thrust into her, his hips frenzied, burying himself deep, driving as close to her soul as he could get, her body accommodated his. First he took her mouth, tasting the power of his blood from her lips. Then his teeth scraped along her throat, lower, to find the valley between her breasts.

Savannah was riding him now, her body finding a perfect rhythm with his, urgent, frenzied, her hands catching his head to force his mouth to her. I need you.There was such an aching plea echoing in his mind, he waited no longer. He felt his incisors sharpen, lengthen, as they sank deep into her breast.

She cried out, her body clenching around his, rippling with such intensity, with such a firestorm of pleasure that she felt her self exploding into fragments. Savannah dug her nails into his shoulders for an anchor as his hips thrust into her, wild, untamed, uninhibited. Then they were both exploding together, Gregori lifting his head to cry out hoarsely, unable to contain the savage pleasure burning inside him.

Savannah clutched at him, her head on his shoulder. He waited a heartbeat to make certain he was still on earth. Something moved between them, and he saw the thin trickle of blood running down to her stomach to drop on his own body. He bent his head and closed the pinpricks on her breast with his tongue.

“I love you, Gregori,” she whispered softly against his throat. “I really love you. The real you. Do you understand?”

He waved a hand to extinguish the candles, plunging the room into complete darkness. With Savannah’s body locked around his, they sank into the embrace of the waiting soil, the richness of their homeland. Instantly peace settled into their beating hearts, into the wildness of their minds.

“You are mine for all eternity, Savannah, until we grow weary of this existence and choose to go together to the next.” Reluctantly, he freed his body from hers, bent his head to remove the thin trail of red marring her skin. Gregori settled her into him so that his head rested beside her breast.

Her arms crept around his damp hair, cradling him to her, the sleep of their people calling to her. He shifted her slight body so that he could drape one leg over her thighs possessively, so that his hands could shape the length of her body at will, know it was imprinted there in the soil beside his.

The chamber door slid noiselessly shut to seal them inside at his thought. The safeguards were many and all of them deadly. Anyone disturbing their rest would be in mortal peril. Gregori stroked her long hair, contented. At peace. “You are so small, ma petite,to bring such pleasure to a man.” The warmth of his breath teased her nipple, and his tongue followed in a slow, leisurely caress. “I have made love to you each time I have taken you into my arms. There can be no other for either of us, Savannah.”

She stirred with drowsy contentment, the slight movement bringing her breast against his mouth. Her hands stroked his hair gently. “I am not the one who worries, lifemate. I know there is no other.”

His tongue made another lazy, contented curl around her creamy skin. “One who has gone centuries in utter darkness takes a long time to believe he will not lose the light. Go to sleep, Savannah, safe in my arms. Let the soil heal both of us and bring us peace, as Julian knew it would.”

She was silent for a moment, but his mouth feeding at her breast was causing little aftershocks, rushes of liquid heat. “I will if you behave.” There was soft laughter in her voice, an acceptance of anything he wanted.

He wanted her to sleep and silently pushed at her mind, helping her to grow more tired, but he couldn’t quite give up her body yet. He spent a few minutes gently, tenderly, nuzzling her breast. She held him while she drifted in a hazy, erotic dream.

“Sleep now,” he commanded softly and gave them both up to the healing soil and the rising sun.

Chapter Thirteen

Gary tried not to notice how pale Savannah was as she fixed him a pot of coffee. Her satin skin was almost translucent. He was groggy from the trance-induced sleep and had a hard time waking up, even after a long shower. He had no idea where the change of clothes had come from, but they were lying on the end of the bed when he awakened.

Savannah was beautiful, moving through the house like flowing water, like music in the air. She was dressed in faded blue jeans and a pale turquoise shirt that clung to her curves and emphasized her narrow rib cage and small waist. Her long hair was pulled back in a thick braid that hung below her bottom. Gary tried to keep his eyes to himself. He hadn’t seen any evidence of Gregori this evening, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He had a feeling the one thing that could change that remote expression fast was to have another man ogling Savannah.

“As soon as Gregori returns, we can go out and get you dinner,” Savannah said softly as he accepted the steaming mug of coffee.

It was already dark. Gary had no idea what had happened after he arrived at the house the night before. He cleared his throat nervously. “What exactly happened last night? All I remember is getting to the house with you and then waking up an hour ago. I’m assuming that I slept the day away.” There was a wariness in his voice, in his mind, that hadn’t been there before. It was a singular experience to realize someone had taken all control away from him.

“I didn’t wake you until we were certain it was safe. Last night Gregori had an encounter with two of the undead’s servants and a lesser vampire. He defeated them, of course, and destroyed them so they couldn’t rise again. It was safer for you to remain here. We weren’t holding you prisoner. We simply wanted to keep you safe.” Amusement crept into her voice. “I don’t think Gregori really knows what to do with you.”

Gary’s heart jumped. He cleared his throat. “I hope you mean that positively.”

Savannah’s eyes laughed at him. “Do you really think he’ll harm you? He can read your mind. If you were an enemy, he would’ve killed you back in that warehouse.” Wickedly she leaned across the table. “Of course, he really is awfully unpredictable, so you never know what he might do or where he is—” She broke off, laughing, as her arm was flung into the air as if something had shackled her wrist and jerked her backward. Savannah was dragged by something unseen from the kitchen. She was laughing, her blue eyes dancing with mischief.

Gregori tugged at her wrist, taking her out into the sanctuary of the courtyard with its dense, overgrown plants. Flowers tumbled from the overhead arbors and trailed along his shoulders as he emerged fully into the night. “You are deliberately scaring that young man to death,” he accused.

She lifted her face to his, stars from the night sky in the centers of her eyes. “Well, really, how could anyone doubt you?” As her palm caressed the hard line of his jaw, one fingertip touched his perfect mouth.

“Stop thinking you have to protect me, Savannah. It is enough that I have you. I do not need anyone else.” He bent his head to find her mouth. On rising, he had taken her twice with his insatiable appetite, yet his body was again stirring to life at the thought that she would rally to his defense.

The moment his mouth claimed hers, she felt the earth moving in that peculiar, shifting way, the white streak of fire rushing through her bloodstream to pool low and hot. Her body went liquid, boneless, melting instantly into his. His arms crushed her close. “Feed, ma petite.Feed for me.”

Her lips burned over his throat in obedience; her tongue stroked his pulse there. It was sensuous. Erotic. His body tightened with alarming need. His pulse jumped beneath the exploring caress. Gregori caught her slender form and held her even tighter to him, enclosing her in the protection of his arms.

Savannah took her time, enticing, teasing, deliberately arousing him further. She reveled in the feel of his body thrusting hard and aggressively, his hips pressed into her. As her teeth pierced deeply, he made a sound, a hoarse, inarticulate cry, as the white lightning sizzled and danced through his body like a whip of pain and ecstasy, until it was impossible to tell where one sensation left off and the other started.

Then he felt the disturbance in the night air, a whisper of movement, and he knew they were not alone. Holding her protectively, his body sheltering her from prying eyes, Gregori raised slashing silver eyes to the man wandering into the courtyard. Gary hadn’t spotted them yet; his gaze was full of wonder at the unexpected beauty of the yard. Gregori sank deeper into the shadows, swirling a cape of invisibility around them. His hand found the nape of her neck, pressing her mouth to his skin.

Her feeding was stirring his body to greater demands. He could not imagine watching her feed from another male when he was burning with fire from the simple act. Slowly, reluctantly, Savannah stroked her tongue across the tiny pinpricks and lifted her head. Her eyes were drowsy, as if they had made love, her lips tempting. A small dot of red clung to the corner of her mouth, and Gregori instantly dipped down to taste it with his tongue.

His mouth shifted so that he could explore hers, at first demanding, then in a slow, careful kiss that seared her with tenderness. Savannah smiled up at him, her heart in her eyes. “We are not alone, mon amour,” he whispered into her ear.

She laughed softly with regret, throwing her head back so her long braid swayed. “Weren’t you the one who invited him to stay?”

“I believe that was you,” he corrected through clenched teeth. She was a fever in his blood. A madness he had no hope of curing. He wanted no cure. He bent to find her breast through the thin material of her shirt.

The night air was soft and cool against his skin. The bats dipped and wheeled above them. The scent of blossoms was all around them as their bodies tangled together. Savannah laughed at him, the sound joyful, echoing in his heart. “Be careful, Gregori, we wouldn’t want you to lose your illusion of the big bad bogey man.” Her fingers laced together behind his neck.

“You are being a little instigator,” he accused.

She nibbled at the lobe of his ear, teasing it with the tip of her tongue. The aroma of coffee was drifting nearer. The soles of Gary’s tennis shoes swished softly along the tiles of the patio. His clothes brushed against the fronds of huge ferns as he neared the shadows where they were secreted.

Gregori found himself suppressing a groan. Savannah brought his head down to circle his neck with her arms, finding his mouth with hers, taking her time, enjoying herself, a teasing taste of satin fire that burned through his body and threatened to consume him, threatened his control. You are playing with fire,ma chérie.

Mmm, and it’s so delicious, too,she murmured softly, losing herself in the sheer pleasure of his dominating mouth.

Gary was just on the other side of the arbor, the screen of honeysuckle and trumpet vines heavy between them. Gregori took command of the situation, reluctantly lifting his head, a dark promise in his glittering eyes, a soft groan escaping his throat.

Gary had thought himself completely alone. He looked around the courtyard carefully, his fingers tightening around the coffee mug. He could hear Savannah’s soft laughter. Sexy. Tempting. He shook his head. The woman was a menace. He would hate it if she were his. Only a man very strong and able to do without any male friends could have a siren like her. She was more than a handful; she was a disaster waiting to happen.

Are you reading the human’s thoughts, mapetite femme? Gregori’s satisfied voice whispered in her mind. Even one such as he knows you are wild like the winds.With great reluctance he loosened his hold on her. Go inside the house.

Her eyes widened in mock surprise. You mean he might think we were making love? We would have been if he hadn’t wandered out and interrupted us.

Push me further,chérie, and I may do something you will not like.

She laughed out loud, totally unafraid as she sashayed through the courtyard. As she passed Gary, she leaned over and blew warm air into his ear.

Savannah!Gregori roared her name, a distinct threat. I’m going, I’m going,she said, completely unrepentant.

Gregori waited until she was safe within the confines of the walls before he emerged from the shadows. Gary’s heart was a loud thunder in Gregori’s ears. He smiled, that gleam of a predator’s smile. “For all our time together so far, I do not think we have yet been properly introduced. I am Gregori, lifemate to Savannah.”

“Gary, Gary Jansen. Your—um, wife, Savannah, said I could wander around.”

“Savannah is my wife,” Gregori confirmed, sounding stern and menacing in spite of the fact that his voice was velvet-soft.

“So,” said Gary, so nervous he was beginning to sweat.

“Come back into the house, and we will decide what to do.” Gregori was already gliding past him in that silent way he had.

Gary followed. Savannah was by the fireplace. Once again her skin had a healthy glow. Something burned in the depths of her violet eyes as they rested on Gregori’s impassive face. Gary saw those silver eyes flicker over Savannah’s face. No longer bleak and cold, they warmed to molten mercury, tender and fiercely protective. When Gregori looked like that, it was impossible to fear him.

“I have considered several alternatives to our problem, Gary,” Gregori said softly. “I will lay them out before you, and you will choose which of them you are the most comfortable with.”

Gary relaxed visibly. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“You are going to be hunted by vampires and those humans involved in the society alike,” Gregori told him. “Any place you usually frequent you must therefore avoid. That includes your family, your home, and your job. Those are the places they will be waiting for you.”

“I have to work, Gregori. I don’t exactly have a huge savings account.”

“You can work for me. I have many businesses and could use someone I trust. Arrangements can be made to move you to any of the cities here in the United States where I have offices, or—and it might be a safer alternative—in Europe. The offer stands whether you decide to keep your memories of us or whether you ask that they be removed.”

Savannah leaned against the wall, shocked at Gregori’s proposal. Feather-light, she touched his mind. Instantly, Gregori’s attention shifted to her. Be silent, Savannah.It was a clear command. Although his face was as impassive as ever, she could feel the imperative smoldering in his mind, and for once she fell silent, watching him closely.

“I don’t want you to erase my memories,” Gary said. “I’ve told you that. Besides, I think I have the right to help you with this mess instead of being shipped off to some foreign country like a child.”

“You do not know the dangers, Gary. But perhaps that is a good thing. If you insist on keeping your memory, I can do no other than protect Savannah and our people. I would have no choice but to take your blood so that I could monitor you at will.”

Gary paled visibly. Slowly he put down the coffee mug, his hand trembling. “I don’t understand.”

“When I am nearby, I can read your thoughts, but I must be close. If I have taken your blood, I will always know where you are, I can track you easily to anywhere on this earth, and I will know your thoughts. If you ever betrayed us, I would know.” Gregori leaned forward, his brilliant silver eyes holding Gary’s captive. “Understand this, Gary. If I had to, I would hunt you. I would find you. And I would kill you.” There was complete conviction in his voice, in the depths of his eyes.

Gary could not look away. He felt as if that penetrating gaze could see right into his soul.

“It is something you should think about,” Gregori continued almost gently. “It has to be your decision alone. Whatever you decide, we will respect it, and we will do our best to protect you. You have my word on that.”

“You once told me the vampire was the biggest deceiver of all. How do I know you speak the truth?”

“You do not. You can only feel what is right or wrong. That is why it is necessary that you take your time before deciding. Once the decision is made, we will all have to live with it.”

“Does it hurt?” Gary asked, curious, his scientist’s brain already seeking data.

Savannah detected the slight smile in Gregori’s mind, the sudden admiration for the slightly built human who came to his feet and began to pace the length of the room.

“You do not have to feel a thing,” Gregori said quietly, his voice strictly neutral. He didn’t want to influence the human in any way.

“I guess it would be too much to ask to let Savannah bite my neck.” Gary made an attempt at humor. He was rubbing his neck, every Dracula movie he had ever seen going through his mind.

A low growl rumbling in Gregori’s throat was his answer. Savannah burst out laughing. She could sense Gary’s growing agitation. He pushed a hand through his hair. “Do I have to answer you now?”

“Before we leave this house,” Gregori replied softly.

“That really gives me a long time to think it over,” he grumbled. “So, if you remove my memories of you, I would go back to my normal life and not have a clue I was in danger. That’s kind of a convenient way to get rid of me, don’t you think?” Sarcasm dripped in his voice.

The silver eyes slashed. Gregori stirred, a menacing rippling of muscle, the predator unsheathing his claws. Savannah laid a detaining hand on his arm. Her thumb feathered lightly back and forth across his forearm. Almost at once the tension in the room eased. But those predator’s eyes remained unblinking on Gary’s face. “If I wanted you dead, Jansen, believe me, you would already be gone. Killing is easy for someone who has lived as long as I have.”

“It isn’t like I meant to offend you, Gregori,” Gary said. “This isn’t easy. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. At least I don’t think it has. We haven’t met before, have we?”

“No,” Savannah answered gravely. “We would have told you. We really are trying to be as honest as we can. This is a tremendous offer, Gary, one I didn’t think would even be considered. You have no idea what an honor it—”

“Silence, Savannah. He must make up his own mind without persuasion. It is his decision alone to make,” Gregori reprimanded.

He doesn’t comprehend the honor you have extended him,she argued. If he knew, he would be less agitated.

S’il vous plait, Savannah. Let him decide.

Gary held up a hand. “Don’t do that. I know you’re talking together. I’m nervous enough. Okay. Okay. Do it. Get it over with. Bite me in the neck. But I’m going to warn you, I’ve never done this before. It won’t be too good for you.” He attempted a wan grin.

“Be certain. There can be no doubt. You must know that you trust me. There might be times when I will have to take human life. You cannot change sides in the middle of the fight,” Gregori warned.

Gary moistened his lips. “Can I ask a few questions here?”

“Naturally.” Gregori was noncommittal.

“Are there any humans that have known of your kind and lived?”

“Of course. There is one family that has lived with one of our people for several centuries, mother to daughter, father to son. One of those closest to Savannah’s father was a human priest. They were good friends for nearly fifty years. One couple is raising a human boy.”

“So I won’t be the only one to know. Because it’s a big responsibility to have this knowledge. If you’re not vampires, what are you?”

“We are Carpathians, a race of people as old as time itself. We have special powers, some of which you have seen, and we require blood to survive, but we do not kill or enslave those we feed on. We walk in the night and must avoid the sun.” Again Gregori’s voice was expressionless.