Haven’t read Chapter One yet? Click here to read it!
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen

Hillard and Christine were walking at a brisk, but more normal pace, in order to allow Adalaide to keep up. They were silent, each lost in their own thoughts, until Hillard spoke.

“Since Lord Radek has killed his own guards, we can try scaling the walls. I would guess that Lord Radek will be distracted by whatever he is doing with the villagers.” Hillard closed his eyes for a moment, trying not to picture the horrors that Lord Radek could be unleashing on the prisoners even now. “On the other hand, he is likely to be expecting us. He knows that the Vampire Council wants him dead and he knows that I’m the one coming after him.  So, I think that it’s best if only you two scale the walls. Adalaide, you take the northern wall and Christine, you take the southern wall. Adalaide will try to get to wherever the prisoners are being held and release them. Tell them to flee into the forest and to split up. If Lord Radek escapes us, then it will be harder for him to gather them all back up. The Vampire Council will come for him if we fail so he will be trying to obtain all of the human blood that he can to increase his strength.”

“Christine, I want you to stay in the background.” He held his hand up as she looked like she was about to protest. “I am going to tell him that I was ordered to kill you by the Vampire Council.  That way, he won’t expect you to be there to help me. I only want you to come to my aid if you think you can be of real help. If it looks hopeless, run back to the hideout and warn your sister and the others. They should have enough supplies to stay safe for the week or so until the Vampire Council arrives to take care of Lord Radek.”  Christine looked over at Adalaide, expecting a similar order for her. Adalaide smiled at her grimly.

“I have my own score to settle with Lord Radek. I am not leaving here unless he is dead.” Christine’s eyes widened as she realized the solemn implications of that statement.

The three split up – Hillard heading towards the front gate of the castle, and the girls flanking the castle on each side. Hillard hoped that his show of bravado at coming to the front gate would enrage Lord Radek and distract him from the girls coming up the walls.  He knew that there was very little chance of success today.  Lord Radek had been far more powerful than him in their battle yesterday, but he hoped against hope that he would be able to weaken him enough so that Christine or Adalaide could finish him.  In the back of his mind, he worried that Christine would not be able to hurt anyone, not even the evil monster who had stolen her humanity, but he hoped that he was wrong.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sarah was driving herself crazy, imagining what was going on at the castle without her. She feared not only for her sister, but for Hillard. In the brief moment of intimacy that they had shared before he left, he had shown her that he really did care for her.

Despite the overwhelming sense of weakness that enveloped her body, she knew that she had to go to the castle, if not to help, then at least to bear witness to the fate of the people she loved. She rushed from the hideaway, ignoring the protests of Giselle, Conrad and Gervis, and moved as quickly through the forest as her exhausted body would allow.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hillard braced his shoulders and raised his head high, as he shouted his challenge towards the castle in front of him, “Radek! Are you really so afraid of me that you need to kill innocent villagers to strengthen yourself?”

The castle was quiet for a moment, and then the face of Lord Radek looked over the wall directly above the front gate. “You know I have no fear of you, Hillard. You are weak and pathetic from drinking the blood of stupid animals. I am preparing to take over the Vampire Council. When they arrive I want to be ready to take my rightful place.”

Hillard had suspected as much, so he wasn’t surprised.  He knew also, that Lord Radek could drink the blood of every villager in Donner and in several other villages and still not be close to the combined power of the Vampire Council. Lord Radek had somehow lost his grip on reality and the Vampire Council had made the right decision when they decided to have Lord Radek removed from power.

The heavy oak doors leading into the castle courtyard swung inwards and Hillard didn’t hesitate before striding through. He looked to the left side of the courtyard and saw sixty or seventy villagers huddled in the corner. That was a good sign – the entire village, including the surrounding area, had almost six hundred inhabitants. There was no way that Radek could have killed that many and disposed of the bodies in such a short time, so it appeared that many of the villagers had already fled to safety.

The villagers who were there, however, looked at Hillard with a mix of hope and despair. He hoped that he would be able to save them.

Lord Radek took a giant leap down from the castle wall and stood in front of Hillard, a cocky expression on his face. “Why did you even come here? You know that you cannot beat me.”

“I was ordered to try by the Vampire Council,” Hillard replied, “I always do as I am ordered.” He hoped that Lord Radek would catch the insinuation implicit in his mocking tone.

Lord Radek took the bait. “What have you done with Christine!?” he demanded.

Hillard pretended to look sad and ashamed. “I didn’t want to kill her. I have feelings for her sister. But I had to do as I was ordered. I took her into the woods last night and set her aflame.”

Lord Radek’s eyes widened in horror. “You destroyed her?! How could you do that? Were you blind to her perfect beauty? She was to be my queen!”

Hillard tried to grind some salt into the wound. “She begged for my mercy. She even tried to convince me not to kill you. She said that you were just lonely. But I knew the truth – you are mad, and you would have only infected her with your sickness!”

Lord Radek’s emerald eyes flared in anger. He flew towards his opponent with such a speed that even Hillard had never encountered anything like it before. He struck Hillard full on, sending him flying into a tree on the other side of the courtyard.

Hillard’s spinning head cleared after only a few moments. He reached up, and tore a branch from the tree. “You may be stronger, Radek, but I’m smarter – and not half as crazy.” He winked at his opponent. Radek’s anger was his weakness, as Hillard had realized.  The fight was on.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Adalaide saw no way for her to free the villagers without going down into the courtyard. She entered the guard’s quarters and began making her way downstairs. She would come out into the courtyard behind the group of villagers and, if she were lucky, behind Radek. She stopped near the fireplace and picked up a longish piece of wood. She lit an oil lamp and carried that with her as well. She now had everything that she needed to finish off that demon once and for all!

She slipped through the outer door to the guard house, careful to avoid being seen by Lord Radek. It wasn’t difficult to avoid detection, as he appeared to be consumed with his battle with Hillard. The villagers looked surprised to see her, as she slipped between them, but were careful not to give her away. The tools that she carried were proof enough that she was here to save them.

Adalaide handed the oil lamp to Toby, the Baker’s apprentice, with the whispered instructions to be ready to hand it to her as soon as she needed it.

The fight between Hillard and Lord Radek was moving towards the front doors to the castle, and Adalaide moved towards the front gate, in order to get a clear view of Radek when she was ready.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sarah arrived at the castle and knew that the battle was still going on, by the crashing sounds she could hear coming from the courtyard. She didn’t want to distract anyone and she knew that she would be of no help in the fight. Her breath was coming in short gasps from running and her head was spinning. She hid around the corner of the front gate and watched in horror as she saw the beating that Lord Radek was giving Hillard.  She saw Adalaide come into view a few metres ahead of her and hoped that she had some idea of how to save Hillard and the others.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Christine watched the fight from the northern wall. She was touched by Lord Radek’s dismay at her apparent demise, but was able to clearly see the madness that lurked within him.

Hillard appeared to be losing the battle. He could get nowhere near Lord Radek with the stake he had torn from the tree. Lord Radek’s speed was incredible. He zoomed back and forth around Hillard, taunting him and knocking him repeatedly off of his feet.

Finally, after an incredibly hard hit that had Hillard bouncing off of the wall of the castle, knocking many of the bricks out of place, Lord Radek tore the stick from Hillard’s grasp and stood above him, a triumphant smile on his face.

“You were no match for me,” he gloated, “I do not even know why you tried.”

Lord Radek thrust the stake through Hillard’s heart and Hillard gasped and froze. He was unable to move, unable to communicate.  With the stick preventing his heart from pumping his blood through his body, his power of regeneration was stilled.

Lord Radek looked down at him and sneered. “Now you are even more pathetic. I think I will go and find Christine’s sister and drain her dry right in front of you. I will keep you alive just to torment you. Then, I will burn you, like you burned my Christine.”

“I do not think so,” a strong female voice from behind him asserted.

Lord Radek spun around to find Adalaide standing there, a stake flying from her hand even as he turned, heading directly for his heart.  Instead of running, he grabbed a knife from a sheath on his hip and flung it at Adalaide. The blade pierced her lung and went clear through her body; the force of the throw magnified one hundred fold by the blood consumed by the Vampire Lord in the last twenty-four hours.

Despite the accuracy of his throw, Lord Radek had misjudged Adalaide’s aim. The stake dug deep into his chest, not exactly piercing the centre of his heart, but hitting enough of it that he hit the ground like a tonne of bricks. He lay there, stunned and unable to move.

Christine leapt down from the castle wall and stood over Lord Radek. His eyes widened as he saw her.

“My love, you still live.” Because the stake had not fully pierced his heart, Lord Radek was still capable of speech.

“If you can call this living.”  Christine spat at her maker. “You held me captive, drank my blood, and then you turned me into a monster like you. How can you call me your love? I wouldn’t even inflict such a thing on someone I hated.”

Lord Radek looked pleadingly at Christine. “All I wanted was a companion. You were to be my queen. We could still rule all of the Vampires together.”

Christine looked coldly down at Lord Radek. “You threatened to kill my sister.” She took a few steps back from him and flung the burning oil lamp she had taken from Toby down onto his prone, vulnerable body. Lord Radek’s body caught aflame like a piece of dry parchment held over a candle. Within seconds, there was nothing left of him but ash.

“CHRISTINE.”  A voice sounded like thunder in her head. Her eyes widened in shock.  “WE HAVE DECIDED THAT YOU MAY LIVE.  YOUR ACTIONS REGARDING RADEK WERE HONOURABLE AND RIGHT.  DONNER WILL NEED A STRONG LEADER AND WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU TO FULFILL THIS ROLE.”

Christine was shaken. She had hoped that she would be allowed to live, but she had never expected this. “But I don’t know how to lead,” she protested, speaking aloud as telepathic communication was something Hillard had not taught her.

“HILLARD WILL GUIDE YOU IN THE BEGINNING.”

“But Hillard is…”

“GO TO HIM, PULL OUT THE STAKE.” With that final command, the connection was broken.

Christine did as she was told and Hillard blinked, took a deep breath, and rose. He ran over to Adalaide, hoping to save her life with his blood, but she was already dead. Tears in his eyes, he looked beyond her and saw a figure slumped in the doorway of the castle gate.

Hillard rushed over to see who it was, and his breath caught in his throat. It was Sarah. Tears were in her eyes and Lord Radek’s knife was protruding from the side of her neck. She had been fighting the urge to pull it out, knowing that she would be dead within seconds if she did, but her blood was still in a huge pool around her.

“Oh Sarah,” Hillard whispered. He wanted to take her in his arms, but that might just make things worse. There were very few injuries or diseases that a few drops of vampire blood could not cure. Someone who had very nearly bled to death was one. Vampire blood could not gather the blood from the stone around Sarah and put it back into her body.  She had lost too much already to survive her injuries, even if the wound was sealed. Vampire blood could not cure death.

“I’m cold,” Sarah managed to whisper. Her eyes were so very tired.

Hillard didn’t want to let her go – he had just found her. How could she die without learning how to love herself, without learning how much he loved her?

Suddenly Christine was beside him. “Can’t you help her?” she pleaded.

“No. The blood. I can’t put it back.”

“Then give her yours.” Christine’s voice was flat and insistent.

Hillard looked at her. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me. She will be a rogue, like you were. There is nothing that will make the Vampire Council allow her to live. She will be as good as dead anyway.”

“Then we hide her,” Christine insisted.

“They’ll be able to feel her.” Hillard paused, and then looked down at Sarah, seeming caught between two decisions. “Can you hear me, Sarah?”

She gazed up into his eyes.  “I’m dying, aren’t I?” Her voice was barely audible.

Hillard took a deep breath. “You don’t . . . have to. I can make you … like me. I know you think I’m a monster, but you can be anything you want to be.”

She looked at him, love in her eyes. “You’re not . . . a monster. I know you would never hurt me. And I . . . don’t want to die. Is it true that you don’t have to . . . hurt people?” Her voice was getting weaker and Hillard was starting to fear that it would soon be too late to do anything.

“It’s true. Sarah, if we do this, we need to hide you from the Vampire Council. Christine, listen to what I say, you’ll have to shield your thoughts too. I need you both to visualize a solid brick wall around your mind. You need to make sure that you don’t broadcast your thoughts to the Council unintentionally. Later I’ll have more time to teach you. Do you think you can do that?”

Sarah just smiled at him weakly. Hillard didn’t know if she had even heard him, but he couldn’t let her go. He didn’t want to be alone again. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he opened a vein in his left wrist and placed it to Sarah’s mouth.

For a moment, he thought he was too late. Sarah’s eyes were now closed and she didn’t start drinking. Then, as a few drops of his blood slipped between her lips and down her throat, a minute amount of strength seemed to pull her back from the very brink of death. Her lips pressed lightly against his wrist at first, and then more urgently. After a moment, she finally stopped drinking and opened her eyes – her glowing emerald eyes.

You can buy the book on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s Books, Flipkart.com, Bookadda.com, Bookdepository.com, Booksygen.com, Thalia.de

Or you can get a signed copy or pdf version here. Right now the pdf version is only $0.99!

In the upcoming weeks, we will be adding mobi, lit, and epub versions.

Haven’t read Chapter One yet? Click here to read it!
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen

Sarah sat in the dimly lit room and kept watch as Adalaide and Gervis slept. Gervis had awoken only briefly, eating a small amount of food and drinking some water, before falling back to sleep. He still seemed to be quite weak, but was slowly improving. What had surprised Sarah most, however, was that he had seemed very concerned about Christine. He didn’t even seem to consider her at fault for nearly killing him. He seemed only to be concerned with her well-being. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he had spent the last fifteen years living with a vampire. Maybe he expected to have his blood taken like that. Sarah shook her head. She still didn’t understand the complexities of living in this world.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside. She shook Adalaide awake and they both kept their eyes glued to the door, Sarah holding her knife and Adalaide holding a sword at the ready. They both fervently hoped that it was nothing more than Hillard and Christine returning from their trip to warn Gervis’ parents.

The door opened. The face that peaked in was one unknown to Sarah, but Adalaide smiled widely. “Conrad! What are you doing here?”

Giselle followed Conrad into the small room. They looked grim.

“It is a terrible thing,” began Conrad. “After you left, Lord Radek flew into a terrible rage. He killed all of his guard staff.” He turned a stern look to Giselle. “I have told my wife more than a dozen times not to mess with the Lord when he is angry.”

Giselle turned an indignant look to her husband. “Well, I never thought he would do me any harm!” Her look softened in chagrin. “At least not until now.”

Adalaide looked in shock at the pair. “Tell me what happened.”

“Well,” explained Giselle, “I went down to the guard house this morning to see why none of the boys had come to breakfast.” Her face turned white at the memory. “They were all dead. Every one of them. Pale and cold in their beds, their throats torn and empty of blood. It was a horror! I ran straight out of the castle to Conrad.”

Sarah and Adalaide just stared at Giselle in horror. They could not believe that Lord Radek had begun killing his own men.

Conrad spoke. “It just gets worse. Just after Giselle told me what she had found, I looked out the window and saw Lord Radek, going door to door, leading the villagers towards the castle. I tell you, I knew he was up to no good, so I grabbed Giselle and we ran out of the village and straight here.”

“The villagers? Has anyone gone to warn my parents?” a weak voice asked from the bed.

“Oh, you dear boy!” Giselle ran to Gervis’ side. “Well, you’re looking much better! You had me worried you know. I don’t know what I would have done if she had …” Giselle left the final words unspoken, but the ‘killed you’ echoed off the walls of Sarah’s mind.

Sarah rested a reassuring hand upon Gervis’ head. “Hillard and Christine went. I’m sure they got there in time.”

Gervis’ eyes lit up at Christine’s name and he tried to get up. “Are they back yet? I want to talk to her – I have to tell her that I don’t blame her.”

Giselle looked like she was about to speak, but Sarah cut her off before she could say anything negative about Christine. “She isn’t back yet, but I promise I’ll tell her. You just get some rest, okay?  If you want her to feel better, show her how much better you’re feeling.”

Gervis nodded weakly and fell back against the pillow. In only a few seconds, he was asleep again.

Giselle looked angrily at Sarah. “I know she is your sister, but she almost killed that boy! There is no way she should be getting anywhere near him again!”

“I understand how you feel, Giselle. It’s obvious to me that he’s like a son to you. But you have to let him make the choice. I’m having a hard enough time accepting what happened to my sister. I want to wait and see what happens. From what Adalaide told me, there is no reason that Christine should suddenly become evil. Hillard is a wonderful person.” As the words left her mouth, Sarah realized that she believed them. She liked Hillard as a person, even when he wasn’t in the room. She smiled at Giselle, who remained angry.

“I know that Hillard is nice enough. But how do we know that he is not the exception. The only other vampire I have seen before him was Lord Radek, and look what he’s doing now!”

Sarah wished that Christine and Hillard would return quickly. As if in answer to her prayers, footsteps sounded outside and the door opened again. Hillard and Christine came into the overcrowded room. Christine looked much calmer than she had when they had left several hours earlier.  Sarah decided to take that as a good sign.

Hillard walked over to Conrad and shook his hand. They nodded at each other in greeting.

“Let me introduce everyone,” Adalaide offered, “I think everyone knows Hillard.” Everyone smiled. “This is Conrad, Giselle’s husband and the village blacksmith. He has made all of the fine weaponry you find on the wall behind me. Conrad was a good friend of my father and he and Giselle have been watching out for me since my parents died.” She smiled warmly at Conrad. “Conrad tried to talk me out of taking on Lord Radek when I first told him my plan, but when he discovered that he could not talk me out of it, he decided to properly outfit me instead.” The two hugged warmly.

“Conrad,” she continued, “this is Sarah and her sister Christine. I am sure you have heard an earful about Christine from Giselle,” she winked at Giselle’s sour expression upon hearing Christine’s name, “but I have heard a lot about her from her sister, and a little from Gervis too, so I do not think she is all bad.” Adalaide smiled warmly at Christine to show her that she was welcome.

Giselle sniffed and looked over at Christine. “We’ll see how you turn out,” she said suspiciously. Everyone chuckled a bit, and even Christine smiled faintly at the brusque words.

“I understand how you feel, Giselle. I’m the reason that Gervis is lying there.” A pleading look entered Christine’s now emerald eyes, “but I promise that I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to him.” Giselle nodded tersely, satisfied for the moment.

Adalaide moved on to business. “Hillard, Lord Radek is rounding up the villagers. I think he means to kill them all.”

Hillard nodded. He had been afraid of something like this. If Radek drained all of the villagers, his strength would increase ten-fold. It would take the entire Vampire Council to take him down.  There had to be a way to stop him. He sent a silent mental inquiry to the Council, hoping that they would have an idea, but all they could suggest was having he and Christine go after Radek together, after making sure that they were at their full power.

He closed his eyes for a moment. He didn’t know how to broach this subject.

“The Vampire Council has said that Christine and I need to go after Radek alone. We are the only ones who even come close to his strength.”

“I am coming with you,” insisted Adelaide. “This is my fight too.”

Hillard smiled at her. “I doubt I could stop you.”

“I’m coming too,” said Sarah. Everyone turned to her.

Christine took her aside. “You can’t help me this time, Sarah. I’d spend all of my time watching out for you. It would put us both in much more danger.”

Sarah stepped back and looked at her little sister, as if only now seeing her for the first time. Usually it was Sarah who did the protecting, but Christine had a new maturity in her eyes. “Okay,” she admitted, “but I want to help.”

“How?” asked Christine.

“I want you to take my blood. You need to have more strength to fight Lord Radek.”

Christine looked horrified, but Hillard nodded. “It’s what the Vampire Council said we should do, but I didn’t know how to ask.”

Conrad and Giselle quickly offered to have them drink a Geschenk from each of them as well, but Christine flatly refused. “I can’t do it. I can’t risk that I might lose control and drain you.”

Hillard tried to explain that, because Christine had nearly drained Gervis earlier (she turned ashen and winced when she was reminded of that) and had drunk from so many forest animals, there was no chance of the thirst taking over. She would have full control. Even so, she refused to go near her sister, finally agreeing after much arguing to take a small amount from Conrad. It was an astonishing sight for Sarah to watch, Christine taking Conrad’s wrist in her hands and lowering her mouth to it. Sarah didn’t see any wound and Conrad didn’t even wince as Christine drank. It seemed like a painless procedure. She looked over at Hillard, who had just finished drinking from Giselle.

“If Christine won’t drink from me, I want you to,” Sarah insisted, feeling that it was the right thing to do and wanting to be of some help to the trio.

Hillard stared deeply into her eyes for a moment. There were so many emotions whirling around in his emerald orbs that, for a moment, Sarah felt herself get lost in his gaze.

Finally, Hillard nodded. Sarah held her wrist out to him and he took it gently in his hands. He lifted it to his mouth and first kissed the inside of her wrist and palm gently, looking into her eyes. It was the only way he knew to tell her how grateful he was for this gift, how much he cared about her, and how much he wished that things could be different between them. Then he lowered his mouth to the vein and drank.

Sarah had expected to feel a twinge of pain as he opened her vein, but she felt nothing. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling of his lips on her skin. It was something she had been subconsciously thinking about for days, but she had never expected it to happen like this. With her eyes closed, she concentrated on her inner emotions, wondering if he was using his influence to change the way she was feeling.  She was shocked to find instead that she could feel what he was feeling. There was tenderness towards her, a deep gratitude, and … he had so many deep feelings for her, wonderful feelings, real feelings. For a moment she let herself go and allowed herself to feel truly loved for the first time in her life. She felt warm and safe and truly happy, and she knew that those were her own emotions, not those planted within her.

When she finally opened her eyes, Hillard, Christine and Adalaide were gone.

Read the final chapter next Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 . . .

Want to read more now? You can buy the book on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s Books, Flipkart.com, Bookadda.com, Bookdepository.com, Booksygen.com, Thalia.de

Or you can get a signed copy or pdf version here. Right now the pdf version is only $0.99!

In the upcoming weeks, we will be adding mobi, lit, and epub versions.

Haven’t read Chapter One yet? Click here to read it!
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen

Haven’t read Chapter One yet? Click here to read it!
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve

Lord Radek and Hillard stood across the room from each other after Sarah left, watching each other like wary dogs before a fight.

“So, you are the renegade,” began Lord Radek. “I have sensed your presence here in my lands now for the past ten or fifteen years. I have wondered what exactly it was you were doing here. I know that it is my job to destroy anyone not sanctioned by the Vampire Council, but you have intrigued me. You do not feed on any of my subjects – not that I am aware of anyway. Are you so pathetic that you feed on the dumb blood of animals?”

“If I choose not to kill my own kind to quench my thirst, I would say that it’s no business of yours,” asserted Hillard calmly. He hadn’t been sure of what this confrontation with Lord Radek would bring, but this was definitely an interesting beginning.

“But they are not your own kind, Hillard. Surely you know that.  You are above them now. Like a god. Who was it that made you? Who left you so unaware of your place in life?” Lord Radek was curious as to what vampire would not only go against the Vampire Council in making another without permission, but also leave that newvampire alone and unaware of his rightful place in the world.

“Cedrik of Zwischenmeer. I know you know who he was.”

“Ah, my old whelp. He was my great mistake. Do you know why he made you?” Lord Radek was truly curious. He was unaware that Cedrik had had the courage to do anything except take his own life.

“Yes.” Hillard was curious as to where this was going. How could Lord Radek be aware of him all this time and not know of his true intention in coming to Donner?

“You seem so hostile. I know that there are things to be settled between us. Perhaps that is why Cedrik made you. But it has been so long since I have been in the company of one of my own kind. This has been a most interesting day. Come, sit my boy, allow me to share my Geschenk with you. Let us exchange stories before we get down to business. It is always good to know your enemy. Perhaps we could become friends, or even allies. This day has changed my plans for the future, and I am still waiting to see how things will turn out.” Lord Radek sat on one of the couches and indicated that Hillard should take a seat in the adjacent one.

Hillard was now even more curious as to where this was going than before. He had no intention of becoming Lord Radek’s friend, let alone his ally, but it was said that you should know your enemy, and he was curious to see how much more he could learn of his own kind before he had to deal with Lord Radek. Plus, the longer he kept Radek talking, the more time Sarah and Christine would have to escape.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sarah stared into Christine’s eyes with horror. What did it mean? Christine saw the look in Sarah’s eyes and knew that her sister saw the difference in her.

“What is it Sarah?” she asked softly, afraid to hear the answer.

“Your eyes.  They’re green – so very green. What did he do to you Chris?”

Christine felt the thirst throbbing within her. It had begun even before Sarah had entered the room. She was resisting the urge to drink from her sister with every single ounce of her being. It was bad enough that Sarah could see that she was changed – there was no way that she would ever drink from her. Inwardly, Christine was in despair.  How could she continue to live, knowing that she might accidentally take a life, like she had almost done with Gervis only a few hours before? How could she ever walk among humans again, feeling this irresistible urge to feed upon them? How could she go with her sister now, when Sarah’s unselfish act of rescuing her could end in her death?

When Christine didn’t answer, Sarah became deeply afraid for her sister. Was this even her sister? If they were in a parallel world, it was possible for this to be an impostor.

“It’s me Sarah.” Christine had sensed her sister’s suspicion and knew the thoughts that were coming with it, even if she couldn’t read them directly. “I’m okay. But I’m not the same. I don’t think I can go with you.” Seeing Sarah’s look of despair, she continued. “I want to go with you. I really do. But I can’t trust myself. This feeling, this urge, it’s just too strong. I never want to hurt you.”

Sarah looked at her sister in horror. “He made you like him,” she gasped in realization. She just stared at Christine for a moment.  “How? Why?”

Christine smiled a wistful half smile. “I tried to escape this morning. He caught us. He was so very angry. I think that he almost killed me. But at the last moment he stopped. He isn’t a total monster, Sarah. There’s something about him that is so very lonely.  We have become … friends … almost. But I betrayed that when I tried to escape and, in his anger, Lord Radek almost drained me. I think at the last moment he regretted it, because that’s when he did this to me. He saved me, Sarah, but I think he cursed me at the same time.”

“Not a total monster?” Sarah couldn’t believe that she had heard those words coming out of her sister’s mouth. “He drank your blood!  He’s a vampire! Of course he’s a monster!”

Christine looked at her sister.  “Am I a monster then too, Sarah?”

“You haven’t drunk anyone’s blood!” Sarah protested, realizing her mistake. Christine was just Christine. She was not a monster, she was her sister.

Christine looked down at the floor. Tears welled to her eyes. “I have though, Sarah – the man who was escaping with me, Gervis. I almost killed him.”

“You drank from someone? You actually drank his blood?” Sarah backed away from Christine in horror. She almost fled from the room, but then she saw Christine’s face.  There was a look of utter despair painted across it. There were tears in her eyes. It was obvious that this was still her sister. “Why did you do it?” Sarah asked, needing to hear a logical answer for it all.

“I couldn’t help myself. The thirst – you wouldn’t understand how powerful it is. Even now, I can almost smell your blood. But Sarah, I will never drink from you. I’ll die before I ever hurt you, or anyone, ever again. I’ll kill myself. I want to die. I think it would have been better if Lord Radek had just let me die. I wouldn’t have to worry about hurting other people and I wouldn’t have to see that look of disgust and horror that’s on your face when you look at me.”

Sarah tried to stifle the fear of her sister that she felt. This was still her sister. They had been through so much together that she couldn’t imagine her life without Christine. She needed to find some way to help her sister.

“Maybe Hillard knows a way to help you. Maybe not all vampires are evil. Maybe you can drink just enough to survive and not actually hurt anyone.”

Christine started at hearing Hillard’s name. “Is Hillard the vampire you were with? Is he as bad as Lord Radek said? He said that Hillard was a rogue – whatever that means.”

Sarah just stared at Christine, unable to believe what she had just heard. Hillard? A vampire? Suddenly, the significance of the emerald green eyes struck her. She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach.

“You didn’t know.” It was more of a statement coming from Christine’s mouth than a question. It was obvious when she looked at Sarah that she was shocked and even more horrified than before. Christine hoped that Sarah would be able to handle all of these shocks coming at her.

“No.” Sarah wanted to say more, but didn’t know what to say.  She felt horribly betrayed by Hillard. He hadn’t tried to drink from her, but knowing that she had been alone with him so much, and even unconscious in his presence, made her wonder if he really had drunk from her without her realizing it. And the feelings she had been developing for him – were they real? Or were they simply projections from him? Were the things that he had told her about vampires true? She had no idea what to think anymore. She just knew that her sister was standing in front of her, afraid that she would be left alone.

There was a knock on the door and Sarah grabbed Christine’s hand. “We’ll figure out what to do together. That’s what we always do. I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“But what if I hurt you? Maybe I’m better off staying here with Lord Radek.”

“NO!” Sarah voice was emphatic. “I am not leaving you here with him. You are my sister – you won’t hurt me. I trust in you. Now you need to trust in me.”

Sarah led Christine to the door and opened it. Adalaide stood in the hallway, with Giselle and a man. “Gervis” she heard Christine whisper softly behind her. She knew from the man’s pale countenance and the fact that he was being held up by both Adalaide and Giselle that this must be the man her sister had fed on.

“Giselle made me promise to take Gervis with us when we leave. She is afraid that Lord Radek will kill him,” Adalaide said by way of an explanation. Her eyes widened as she noticed the colour of Christine’s own shining orbs.

“You take him to his parents! Don’t let her be alone with him! I’m holding you two responsible for him. Don’t let her cause him any more trouble!”  Giselle snapped, her face white with anger.

Sarah didn’t know what to say, so she just took Gervis’ arm from Giselle and started helping him down the hall. Christine was quiet and subdued as she followed. Giselle led the way down through the servant’s area and out through the kitchen.

Before they left, Giselle threw out one more, “You keep him safe, Adalaide. Don’t let that vampire witch alone near him. I’m holding you responsible!”  Then she slammed the kitchen door after them and they were moving as fast as they could towards the woods and Adalaide’s hideaway.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Let me first tell you my story, then I would like to hear yours.” Lord Radek picked up a small bell from the table beside him. He rang it and a petite young girl came into the room carrying a tray with two glasses of red liquid on it. Hillard stared at the glasses. He had rarely partaken of human blood in the past and always found it difficult to go back to drinking animal blood afterwards. He would have refused outright if he was not afraid of enraging Lord Radek and putting the plan to rescue Christine in danger. He sipped the blood sparingly, trying to ignore the instinctual need within him to gulp it down. He had fed on animal blood the night before, slipping away from the hideout after Sarah had fallen asleep, so his need for nourishment was not great, but the temptation of real human blood was almost irresistible and his thirst was raging.

Lord Radek seemed to notice Hillard’s discomfort. “Drink as much as you like. I have a copious supply and do not mind sharing with you today, if you will grant me the pleasure of your company for a short while.”

At that, something within Hillard snapped, and he downed the blood in one gulp, feeling deeply ashamed immediately afterwards for his lack of self-control. He tried to comfort himself with the fact that, by drinking, he was increasing his strength so that he would be at his strongest when he had to finally face Lord Radek in battle.

Lord Radek rang the bell twice, and the young girl re-entered the room, her tray holding three bottles of dark liquid. She placed the tray on the table and left again, never saying a word.

“She is very pretty, is she not?” mused Lord Radek, “Her father died before she was born, and her mother died when she was three. I took her into my own house when there was no one in the village willing to take her in. Despite what you may think of me, I try to take care of those under my responsibility.”

Hillard said nothing. He thought that it was more likely that the girl’s parents had been killed by Lord Radek, but knew better than to say so out loud.

Watching Hillard for a moment, Radek finally cleared his throat.  “Well, now. I was born in the year 1512, in a small village in Germany. I remember when Charles came into power. I was just a young man when I joined his army. I rose quickly through the ranks, distinguishing myself in battle. I was alone in the world, you see, and the army became my family.”

“I was turned by Charles himself in 1535.  We had no special bond, he and I, but I was one of his greatest human soldiers, and became one of his best vampire warriors. Those days were filled with blood. I remember drinking my fill and then some at every battle. It was a glorious time for the vampire!”

“When the Vampire Council came into power, those times ended.  It was obvious that if we kept killing humans at such a high rate we would soon deplete our food supply. Many of the members of the Council felt threatened by my battle prowess and I was banished to the New World, where I established the settlement of Donner.”

Hillard nodded. He doubted the part about the Vampire Council feeling threatened by Lord Radek, but the rest of the history was familiar to him. Cedrik had told him some of Lord Radek’s history, before succumbing to the fires, and the rest he had read in the libraries of Cedrik’s castle, before heading out towards Donner.

“As to your sire,” Lord Radek continued, “I was given permission to create a new vampire when the Lord Vampire of the neighbouring land, Zwischenmeer, was killed by the rioting of his own subjects. The Council was mortified that one of their own could be so weak, and they wanted me to make a point of filling the position quickly.  Cedrik was the captain of my guards at the time. I never thought to ask him if he wanted to serve as a Vampire Lord, I simply thought it was such a great honour that he would be eager for the chance to serve. I also saw the opportunity there to increase my own power in the area. Cedrik would look to me for guidance, or so I thought.”

“But I had never considered Cedrik’s past. I had been responsible for the deaths of both his parents.  He hated the vampiric gift and all that it represented. I put him in place in Zwischenmeer and it all fell apart. In a village where the subjects were already angry, Cedrik was far out of his league. He knew how to use his emotional influence, so the villagers could not get too close to him. But, the first time one did get close, his hunger overtook him and he killed, not one, but several villagers. I believe it was the foolish guilt he felt over their deaths that pushed him over the edge.”

Hillard nodded again. Cedrik had told him much of that. In fact, it had been Cedrik who had told him that it was possible to survive on animal blood alone. In the weeks where he had been too afraid to leave the castle, and not able to bring himself to request the Geschenk, he had been sneaking out of the castle at night, draining any animals he could find in the forest. It was not the same as human blood – much in the same way that wild game tasted different from a cow raised on grass and feed, animal blood tasted wild and was not as satisfying to the palate.

“Now, tell me of the end of Cedrik,” Lord Radek insisted. “And tell me of how you came to be here. I do believe we can be of some use to each other. There is no need for us to be enemies.”

Hillard paused for a moment before beginning. It was strange how Lord Radek kept referring to the potential of friendship between them. It wasn’t something he had been expecting.  He had hoped to be able to engage the Lord in some sort of dialogue before initiating battle with him, in the hopes of extending the amount of time that Sarah and Christine had to escape, but this was completely unexpected.

“Well,” he began, uncertainly, “I suppose I should start at the beginning. When I was a boy, my parents lived in a small cottage on the outskirts of Zwischenmeer. I remember being very happy there. In my ninth year, a terrible illness came through our village. The Vampire Lord, Lord Cathal, healed as many as he could. However, by the time the other villagers noticed that my parents were missing and came to investigate, they were both dead, and I was very near death myself. They brought me to the castle and Lord Cathal not only healed me, but allowed me to stay in the castle, under the care of his servant, Gretchen, who probably filled a role very similar to your Giselle.”

Lord Radek nodded and Hillard continued. “After the plague, the villagers became more and more unhappy with the rulership of Lord Cathal. He had charged his normal rate for healing during the time of the plague – one Geschenk – and afterwards, many of the villagers did not have enough Stück left to buy food. A time of great poverty hit Zwischenmeer then, although those of us who lived in the castle did not feel its effects. The villagers became so dissatisfied that a rebellion started – first quiet, and then it came out in the open. It began with villagers quietly beginning their own bartering system, disregarding the Geschenk system. It was the logical way for them to go when most of them had no Stück left with which to buy food. All they had was their services. The village really pulled together. But Lord Cathal noticed that his blood supply was getting low and began to punish the villagers for breaking the law. He took blood from the offenders against their will. The villagers had realized by this time, however, that they could survive without the system of Blood Economics. They needed someone to blame for the deaths of those who had succumbed to the plague and focused all of their energy and rage on Lord Cathal. The rebellion became more and more vocal then and, at the end, the villagers came together, destroyed the Blood Bank, and fled into the forest. Lord Cathal had been slowly becoming weaker as time progressed and his blood supply shrank. He went out into the forest one night to find the villagers and punish them, but was too weak by that time to focus his emotional powers on all of the villagers. He, unlike me, did not know that he could have kept up his strength by consuming the blood of animals. They overwhelmed him and set him ablaze. That was the end of Lord Cathal.”

Hillard paused. “I had liked Lord Cathal. I had never experienced any of the things that had so angered the villagers, so I felt nothing but grief at his death. In all the time that he was suffering from hunger, while the villagers were withholding the Geschenk from him, he didn’t take from any of his household staff.  He could have – it would have saved him – but he was of the old vampires and believed that it was his right to have the Geschenk and he was outraged that any of the villagers would withhold it from him after he had served them and their ancestors for over two hundred years. I think it was the thirst that caused him to so badly misjudge the situation. A merchant group came through a few days after his death, and the people of Zwischenmeer had no Stück left to trade with.  The merchants left, I assume coming here, and the villagers began to realize that their situation was not as good as they had first considered. Without the Geschenk, they could trade with no one outside of their own village. Of course, some merchants might be willing to trade for goods, but they would fear reprisals from the other Vampire Lords if they got caught trading with a group of rebels like the people of Zwischenmeer.”

“Then, a few weeks later, you arrived with Cedrik. I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I remember seeing you. I was the one who stabled your horses when you arrived. Cedrik seemed much more confident when he was in your presence than he did after you left.  I performed most of the household chores for him. I was the only one who had stayed in the castle after the death of Lord Cathal, everyone else having family in the village. One or two of the servants returned to the castle after Lord Cedrik took his place, but Cedrik and I became close simply because we were the two loners. For some reason, Cedrik found it easy to talk to me. We had long discussions that continued late into the night. We went through Lord Cathal’s library, reading the books about the history of the vampires. We had debates and discussions about the course of history and we agreed on most things, both of us taking the human view. Cedrik never really saw himself as a vampire, you see. He told me that the only time he had fed on human blood was when he was with you in your castle. He had learned a better way, he said, when the two of you were travelling to Zwischenmeer and you taught him to survive by drinking the blood of animals. He knew that you thought it was uncouth and an unworthy meal, only suitable for travelling when the human blood ran out, but he saw it as his salvation. If he never had to kill a human, he could deny his vampiric side. This system worked well for him for over a year. The villagers were provided with Geschenk credit for goods and services that they provided to the castle. In this way, they were able to barter between each other and pretend that they had no debt to the Vampire Lord of their village. This changed, however.”

“One day, a small girl from the village arrived home with an animal bite. The girl’s parents cleaned and bandaged the wound themselves, as the villagers had been all avoiding coming to Lord Cedrik for any healing since he had arrived. The girl soon began showing signs of illness, however. Her parents waited until she was very near death before bringing the girl to the castle. I am sure that Cedrik truly wanted to help the girl, but he took only a few steps toward her before he stopped. The girl’s parents were begging him to help, to save their daughter, but Cedrik just stood there. I now believe it was because, after a year or more of subsisting on only animal blood, the temptation to drink from the young girl was too great. He was afraid that if he got too close to her, he would give in to temptation and drain her. In reality, the result would have been the same either way. The girl died in the arms of her parents.”

“It was like the aftermath of the plague all over. The villagers blamed Cedrik for the girl’s death. Despite the fact that they had avoided him, had not served him like they were supposed to since his arrival, they blamed him for not saving her. This time, however, there was no Blood Bank to destroy. They began attacking the castle, and Cedrik fended off most of the attacks using the Emotional Influence. Finally, however, after months of random acts of violence, after being deserted by every house servant except for me, three men finally succeeded in breaking into the castle one night. I didn’t see what happened – I was in bed until I heard the screams. I rushed downstairs to find Cedrik leaning over the bodies of the men, draining the last of them. His thirst had finally beaten him.”

Lord Radek had been silent up to this point, seemingly enthralled by the story. “But that was a good thing. Animal blood can help you to survive, but it is the human blood that makes you strong.”

“Well,” continued Hillard, “I don’t know if Cedrik even knew that human blood would make him stronger. If he did, I doubt he would have cared. I think that, after that incident, Cedrik felt his last bit of humanity slipping away from him. He cried that night, raging against himself, calling himself a monster. He blamed you for everything. He wanted to kill you for making him into a monster. He wanted you to pay for, not only the deaths of his parents, but for making him into a killer as well. It was then that he was contacted by the Vampire Council.” Hillard looked up, his eyes meeting those of Lord Radek, wondering what he would make of this new information.

Lord Radek was so still that he seemed almost to be made of stone. Hillard could see him thinking and wondered if Radek could even imagine what the Council had told Cedrik.

“The Vampire Council contacted Cedrik,” the words came out of Radek like a sigh. “I never knew. In all of my communications with the Council since then, I have never had an inkling that they had communicated with Cedrik before he died.”

“That’s because they never wanted you to know,” said Hillard.

Radek’s eyes quickly shot up to meet those of Hillard.  “What do you know of it?” he demanded.

Hillard paused for a few moments, enjoying the sight of Lord Radek squirming.

“You called me a rogue when I first arrived. That title would only have been correct if my creation had not been approved of by the Vampire Council.”

“I know what I am,” Hillard continued. “I have outlived many of the people I once knew. I have fed on humans only when needed, and then only sparingly. Those were the conditions placed on me by the Council when I was created.”

“But, why do you not rule Zwischenmeer if the Council approved your creation?” Lord Radek seemed genuinely confused by now.

“They gave me another job. They did not trust you to place another vampire in Cedrik’s place – I am sure you expected that after his death. They sent one of their own to rule the village. And they sent me here to be their spy.”

Lord Radek sat back in his seat. Hillard just imagined the thoughts that were running through his head at this point. Lord Radek knew that he was breaking most of the Vampire Code in the way he was ruling Donner. In fact, he was paying the travelling merchants that passed through high prices to be quiet about the goings on in the village. Now he had just learned that it had all been for nought.

“Why should I believe you? You might just be trying to save your own skin. If you could make me believe that you were sent by the Council then I would never dare to kill you. The only problem is, if they knew what was going on in this village, they would never have let things stay this way for so long. You would have been ordered to kill me long ago.”

Hillard just smiled at Lord Radek. “You mean because of your harsh way of dealing with criminals? Your practice of taking the fog travellers as your own personal food supplement, instead of integrating them into the village to prop up the population? Those practices they could overlook. They know that these lands across the ocean are wild, and they can forgive harsh practices in a harsh land, as long as the human population does not drop too much. But, they could not forgive the creation of a true rogue.”

Hillard had known that Christine was a vampire at the same time the Council had become aware. New vampires were never very good at protecting their thoughts, projecting them all over the place, if they had not been properly trained in how to shield them before being turned. Hillard had spent most of the walk from Adalaide’s hide out to the castle, mentally pleading with the Council to spare Christine’s life. They still had not made a final decision. The lone female member of the Council was supporting Hillard’s plea on the grounds that the number of female vampires was extremely low. They were withholding their final judgment until they could determine how Christine was adjusting to the change.

Lord Radek was just sitting in his seat, stunned that Hillard knew about Christine. He had greatly underestimated the power of the Council.  All of his plans were coming down around his shoulders. He would not allow Hillard to kill Christine!

Lord Radek jumped up from his seat and faced Hillard. “I cannot allow you to harm her,” he said. He opened a small drawer in the table in front of him and withdrew a wooden stake and quickly hurled it at Hillard, aiming for the chest, expecting to surprise him and paralyze him with the wound.

Hillard was expecting something of the sort from Lord Radek, however, and jumped aside, pulling a stake of his own that had been tucked into the back waistband of his pants. As he did so, however, the thrust from Radek caught him on the shoulder and dug deep into the muscle. When Hillard pulled the wood from the wound, blood gushed out before the wound healed itself.

Hillard was grateful at this moment that you couldn’t kill a vampire by simply injuring him once. It would take a significant number of such injuries to weaken him.
This small injury did not even slow him however, and Hillard quickly struck out at Radek. His opponent was quicker, however.  The gift of age and a plentiful supply of human blood provided Radek with the upper hand over Hillard. Hillard repeatedly tried to get a strike through Radek’s defences, but the older vampire was just too fast. Radek, however, hit Hillard again and again, until he was starting to feel the effects of blood loss.

He had come here to kill Radek, for the Council and for Adalaide, but he was not succeeding. If he wanted to have the chance to try again, he had to flee now.  Knowing that the girls had had plenty of time to escape, he threw out the last shocking bit of information he had, trying to buy himself a break to escape.

“I was never going to harm Christine. She’s gone now. Not even you can reach her!”

That stopped Radek in his tracks. Hillard took the two second reprieve to flee from the room and out of the castle. Radek must have gone straight to Christine’s room, because Hillard heard him calling for her as he ran through the village and into the woods.

Read Chapter 14 next Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 . . .

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Haven’t read Chapter One yet? Click here to read it!
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven

Christine awoke just as the sun was coming over the horizon. Remembering her late night conversation with Lord Radek the evening before, she felt conflicted and confused as to what to do now. She knew that Gervis would be arriving soon to help her to escape from the castle. But, if Lord Radek had been telling her the truth last night, that might be exactly the wrong thing to do. Hearing him talk like that made him seem to be a very sympathetic person.  It must have been horrible living centuries alone, without a single confidant to share experiences and thoughts with. If she and Sarah truly were trapped in this world, life could be worse than living in a castle. She heard a noise from behind her bedroom wall and the secret door swung open.

Despite her conflicting thoughts, a radiant smile spread across Christine’s face when she saw Gervis peeking into her room. She rushed over and hugged him. Then she held him out at arm’s length to inspect him. He looked slightly pale, but otherwise healthy. He seemed to have recovered from his punishment after his last visit to her.

“Gervis, I don’t know if I can go today.” Christine quickly explained about her late night visit from Lord Radek and the things that he had revealed to her.

Gervis looked thoughtful. “I’ve never heard him to speak so to anyone before. Lord Radek is the lord of this area.  He has never chosen to be so open with anyone before.  But, I have to tell you, Christine, that things here in Donner aren’t as he made them out to be.”

“What do you mean?”

“If a person gets sick, he charges their family or loved ones a full Geschenk to heal them. If there is no one to pay, he then drains the person – to put them out of their misery, he says. People don’t live as long in Donner as they do in the other settlements, because Lord Radek is so harsh with his pricing and his penalties. The slightest crime is punished by death – even a simple fist fight results in the death of both parties, no matter who is to blame. No, Christine, I think it’s amazing that he opened up to you as he did, but he wasn’t honest with you. He isn’t known for his truthful ways.”

Christine thought for a moment. She wanted to believe in the Lord Radek that she had seen last night. “Maybe he’s just like that because he’s been alone so long. Maybe I could help to change things around here.”

Gervis looked hurt at Christine’s insistence on defending Lord Radek. “Oh, he can be a charmer, all right. But are you willing to risk the life of your sister on the word of someone who has drunk of your blood, and who nearly killed me for merely speaking to you?”

That took Christine aback. She wanted to see the best in everyone, but Gervis was right. Her sister’s life depended on her making the right choices right now.

“Where’s Lord Radek right now? Has he left yet?” she asked, slowly building up the confidence she would need to make the escape attempt.

“He’s here in the castle, but he’s asleep. He spent the night looking for your sister instead of doing that today. This actually works better for us, because he’s less likely to wake from his deep daytime sleep.  I wouldn’t have wanted us to encounter him on the outside after escaping, which is what would have happened if he really had been out looking for your sister today.”

That made sense to Christine. She took Gervis’ hand in her own and looked into his warm chocolaty eyes. “Thank you for this, Gervis.” She gave him a brief kiss on the cheek and then smiled as she saw the blush creeping across his face. He was so sweet and childlike in some ways. She wondered how long he had been living in the castle.

Gervis shook his head, almost as if to clear it, then led Christine out the secret door and into a musty old tunnel. The tunnel was shorter than she had expected, and when they emerged, it was into a bedroom even more enormous and extravagant than her own.

“Whose room is this?” she asked in awe.

“Lord Radek’s” Gervis replied shortly, pulling her quickly through the door to the room and out into the hall.

“But I thought you said he was in bed. There was no one in there.”

“He doesn’t sleep there,” Gervis replied tightly. “You need to be quiet. I don’t want anyone to catch us.”

“Oh, but someone has,” came a throaty voice from behind them.

Christine and Gervis both turned quickly and gasped in unison. Lord Radek had been waiting for them in the hall!

“Are you going somewhere Christine? I have been waiting for you to come out of your room and come down for breakfast. You did not have to take that route out of your room – I left your door unlocked when I left last night.”

Christine’s eyes widened. She could have escaped at any time in the night. He had actually trusted her to stay after their talk and now he had caught her trying to escape. She saw his emerald eyes sparkle dangerously as he came closer to her.

“All I wanted was for you to stay. I might even have kept my promise to never feed on you again. I would even have spared Gervis. But now, I must punish you!” Lord Radek’s mouth burrowed into Christine’s neck and this time, instead of pleasure, she felt only terror and the pain of the tear in her skin. She could feel the blood pouring out of the open wound in her neck and into Lord Radek’s mouth. Weakness buckled her legs and, with surprising strength, Radek held her up as he drank. Christine felt her consciousness slipping away, but was forced back into wakefulness by a new wave of terror flowing through her entire body. The terror could not withstand the weakness that began to envelope her and she knew that she was very near death. Even the terror was not enough to keep her tied to this earth. As she felt herself slipping away, she felt something other than terror – a sense of regret and desperation and heard a faint cry from the lips of Lord Radek.

“Damn you Christine! What have you done to me? I did not want this for you. I do not want to let you go. I must have you here with me.”

Christine felt a few drops of moisture touch her lips. Weakly, her tongue touched the moisture and she felt an immediate surge of strength return to her body. Soon, fluid was rushing through her lips and down her throat, and she was drinking it greedily. She was so very thirsty. She felt as if Lord Radek had drained every ounce of moisture from her body and she now had such a deep aching thirst.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she opened her eyes. She was lying on the floor and Lord Radek was kneeling beside her. What stood out to her most of all, however, was the sight of Gervis, staring at her in utter horror.

“I’m okay Gervis. I’m better now. I’m just really thirsty. Could you get me something to drink?” she gasped.

If possible, Gervis’ look of horror only increased and Christine heard Lord Radek chuckle. “That is exactly what I was thinking. Gervis, do be so kind as to give your lady a drink.”

A new look came over Gervis now. His eyes were full of admiration and worship for Christine. He approached her with a sense of reverence and as he kneeled before her, he turned to Lord Radek and murmured, “but I have no cup to fill for her.”

Lord Radek chuckled his ominous chuckle again. “There is no need for a chalice my boy. You want her, do you not?” Gervis nodded. “Then let her drink from you.”

Gervis pressed his wrist against Christine’s mouth and she was suddenly horrified as the true meaning of Lord Radek’s words became clear to her. Before she could protest, however, the thirst within her became too overwhelming and she found her mouth moving of its own accord and latching itself to Gervis’ wrist. The first burst of human blood between her lips was a shock. It was more delicious than the finest wine she had ever drunk. She couldn’t get enough of it. As she drank, she could feel not only Gervis’ skin touching her lips, but the feeling of deep satisfaction that he had. She could feel that he liked her and wanted to be with her. She could feel that with the slightest effort, she could make him love her.

Slowly, the emotions she was feeling from him were starting to fade. A sense of disappointment grew within her until she realized that he was weakening under her grasp.

“NO!” she shouted, as she realized that she was killing him. As she leapt back from Gervis, he slumped to the floor. She started to go to him, but the closer she got to him, the more her thirst seemed to grow for him.

“Is he still alive?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Lord Radek reached down for Gervis’ wrist, placed a drop of his own blood on the wound and replied, “Yes, but barely. I am surprised that you had the self-control to stop. I did not when I was first sired.”

Slowly, realization was beginning to dawn. Christine looked down at herself. She didn’t look any different than she usually did, but she felt so much stronger, so much more alive. How could this be possible? A few days ago, vampires were just a fairy tale.  Now could it be possible that she had become one? How could she ever face Sarah again?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sarah followed Hillard obediently into the castle. They had agreed that Sarah would play the part of a concerned sister and Hillard the part of the rescuer who wanted a reward for his troubles. Hillard had expected more resistance from the castle guards, but they just waved the two of them in, almost as if they had been expected. Hillard hoped that it was more that they were just not expecting trouble. He wasn’t counting on it though.

At the front doors, a kindly looking woman opened the door as they approached. “Well, you must be Lady Christine’s sister,” she said, looking a little disconcerted as she said Christine’s name. “Lord Radek is expecting you.”

This was not what they had been expecting. They had hoped that he would be caught at least a little bit off-guard by their appearance and now it seemed that they were walking into a trap after all. Stoically, they entered the house, were led down a grand hallway and into a large room. Unbeknownst to them, this was the same room in which Christine had first met Lord Radek.

Lord Radek was standing in much the same place as he had when he had first met Christine. This time, however, as the two entered the room, they were surrounded by guards, who quickly removed the pack from Hillard. They didn’t search Sarah, however, which she found a little insulting – almost as if she couldn’t possibly be dangerous – but she was relieved that she still had the small knife, even though she knew she couldn’t hurt Lord Radek with it. She looked up at him defiantly and was struck by the shocking emerald hue of his eyes, so similar to that of Hillard’s beautiful eyes. It was such a rare colouring that she wondered if the two of them were related somehow. Of course, that couldn’t be true – Lord Radek was hundreds of years old and Hillard couldn’t be more than thirty.

“You must be Sarah,” Lord Radek said, his voice echoing in the great room, “I have to say, I am surprised that you do not look more like your sister. She is quite beautiful.”

Sarah felt as if she had been slapped by his words. She knew that she wasn’t as pretty as her sister, but it was ridiculous that this monster felt that he had the right to judge her appearance. “Where is my sister? Is she okay? If you’ve hurt her …” Sarah finished her rant there, not knowing how to threaten someone who so obviously could overpower her with no effort at all.

Lord Radek chuckled. “It seems that you are as feisty as your sister. She is fine. Christine is upstairs in her room. Giselle will take you to her if you like.” The kindly woman stepped into the room and nodded her head. Lord Radek continued, “Hillard and I have some matters that require discussion. Some things, I am afraid, that are long overdue.”

Sarah did not like the sound of that last bit, especially since the guards had taken Hillard’s bag from him, containing the wooden stakes and flint for fire, but she had no choice but to follow Giselle. Her part of this plan was only beginning. Now it was Hillard’s job to keep Lord Radek busy while she and Adalaide got Christine out of the castle.

Sarah paid careful attention as she was lead through the halls of the castle. She wanted to make sure that she could find her way back out again after she was reunited with Christine. They went up one floor and finally stopped in front of a heavy wooden door.

“This is her room. You can go in. I think she’s expecting you,” Giselle said warily and then turned, leaving Sarah standing alone in front of the door. Sarah didn’t know what to do next so she knocked, feeling foolish knocking on a door in a rescue attempt. Something didn’t seem quite right here.

“Come in,” Christine’s voice came through the door. Sarah was so excited to hear her sister’s voice that she rushed into the room without thinking further about her suspicions. Christine was standing in front of the door and the first thing Sarah did was rush over and envelop her in a hug.

“Are you okay? Has he hurt you? We’re going to get you out of here.” Sarah knew she was babbling but she had been so afraid that she would never see Christine again that she couldn’t help it. She held Christine out at arms length and was shocked at what she saw.

Christine’s beautiful blue eyes were now the shocking emerald hue shared by both Radek and Hillard!

Read Chapter 13 next Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 . . .

Want to read more now? You can buy the book on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s Books, Flipkart.com, Bookadda.com, Bookdepository.com, Booksygen.com, Thalia.de

Or you can get a signed copy or pdf version here. Right now the pdf version is only $0.99!

In the upcoming weeks, we will be adding mobi, lit, and epub versions.

Title:  Bite Club

Author:  Rachel Caine

ISBN: 978-0451233189

Pages: 352

Release Date: May 3, 2011

Publisher: New American Library

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Source: Borrowed from a friend

Rating:  4.0/5

Summary:

College student Claire Danvers discovers that an extreme sport pitting vampire against vampire–and sometimes vampire against human–is being broadcast on the internet from Morganville, Texas.

Review:

I finished reading Bite Club only seconds ago. I wanted to make sure that I wrote the review while the excitement was still fresh in my mind. I didn’t want to have to go through it again to check details and maybe have my first impression altered.

First I have to say that it took me two tries to get into his book.  The fact that some is told from Shane’s point of view threw me right off at the beginning and I went to go read something else for a bit to clear my mind. This afternoon I picked it back up and it should be quite telling that it is now after 11 pm and I’m up and writing this review. All right, reading that, I realize that 11 pm is not that big a deal for most of my readers, but keep in mind that I have a 16-month old baby who still wakes up twice in the night – every night.

After coming back to it, I loved this book.  I took a mark off because I couldn’t get into it at first, but my second attempt had me hooked. I found myself anxiously waiting to see what would happen to Shane and Claire’s relationship, even though I’m not a huge Shane/Claire fan to begin with. It’s not that I’m necessarily a Myrnin/Claire fan either, but something about Shane makes me feel uneasy.  I think that feeling was justified in this novel.

I’m very happy that I can hearily recommend this book.  It’s really hard to say any negative things about a book in a series by an author that you normally enjoy reading.  I’ve developed a real appreciation for reviewers in the last few weeks.  It’s one thing to read a book simply for enjoyment and then be able to put it down without thinking, but a completely different endeavour when you have to analyze it and critique it, knowing that the author may read what you’ve written.

Haven’t read Chapter One yet? Click here to read it!
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten

After she was sure that Gervis was safely away, Christine walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge. Waves of exhaustion rolled over her body and she decided that it would be best if she got as much rest as possible before her escape attempt tomorrow. With any luck, she and Gervis would escape, and Lord Radek would be unsuccessful in his hunt for her sister. Then she could reunite with Sarah and they could flee to somewhere far away and out of Lord Radek’s reach. She drifted off into sleep with the thought of finally reuniting with her sister comforting her.

When she awoke, it was dark, and she could sense that she wasn’t alone. She sat up in her bed and found Lord Radek, sitting at the dressing table, watching her. She sat in the bed, frozen. She didn’t know if she should say something or scream. The last time she had seen him he’d been drinking blood from her neck.

“Relax, Christine. I am not here to harm you.” Lord Radek sounded tired, almost resigned.

“So, you aren’t here to drink my blood?” Christine could feel hysteria rising within her. This man – vampire – struck waves of terror in her whenever she looked at him. At least until he somehow made her drop her defences and changed her feelings. At least that false sense of security he implanted in her never seemed to last. He couldn’t seem to retain his control of her when she wasn’t in his presence. She waited for that false sense of security to overwhelm her once again and was confused when it didn’t.

“No. And if you promise to just talk with me, I will promise to never drink from you again.”

Christine was shocked at this turn of events. What could have happened to change his behaviour in such a drastic way? “Why?” she asked bluntly.

“Because I cannot stop thinking about you. You have to know that you are different from any other fog traveller that has ever come through Donner. Normally, they are kept in the dungeons. I am sure you have sensed that Giselle does not approve of the unusual way I have been treating you.”

Christine was really confused now. “I don’t even know how I got here. I don’t know how you treat other people. But I’m sure that if you treat them even worse than you treat me, you probably don’t have a lot of friends.” Part of her was afraid that he would be offended at her words, and part of her was happy to be able to speak her mind without her emotions being tampered with.

Lord Radek looked down at the floor. “You are right. I do not have a lot of friends. None, actually.  I have not had a real friend for over five hundred years. But you remind me of someone from my childhood – someone who was very special to me. You remind me what it was like to have someone to talk to, to share things with.”

“Five hundred years?” She knew that vampires were supposed to be immortal, but he looked like he was only thirty years-old.

“You know what I am. I have seen the recognition in your eyes.  Do you have vampires in your world?”

“Only in stories. They aren’t real. At least not where I come from.”

“Well, in this world we are real. And we have ruled this world for over five hundred years. We take care of the human populations under us, and in return, they give us the gift of their blood.”

“I haven’t given you anything!” Christine blurted at him. “You’ve taken it from me. I don’t call that a gift – that’s stealing! It’s like rape!”

Lord Radek seemed to shrink within himself a bit as she shouted at him. Then a small smile crossed his face as he looked back up at her. “Normally, I would never let anyone speak to me like that. They would not dare. I would drain them on the spot and they would never speak again. When you speak to me like that, however, I feel ashamed. You look so very much like her. She would be horrified to see what I have become.”

“Who?” asked Christine, puzzled at this strange change in demeanour.

“My sister. Her name was Anja. Her hair was golden like yours and her eyes shone with the same fire. Your faces are not the same, but she had the same way of holding her chin straight out when she was angry and so very many of your mannerism remind me of her. I thought I had forgotten her, that she was one of the things from my past that had slipped into non-existence, like so many other things have, but you brought her back to me.”

“Was she a vampire too?” Christine was curious now, about this person who, just by a simple resemblance to her, had caused this change in Lord Radek.

“No, I never had the chance. She died when she was only sixteen and I was fourteen. I was not turned until I was twenty-three. Even then, it was forbidden to make another vampire without permission, but I think that if Anja had been alive, I would have done it anyway, I loved her so much.”

Christine was astonished by this turn of events. This monster was showing an all-too-human side of himself. She was very curious about his story, and the story of how this world came to be so different from her own.

“I’ve got many questions about this world,” she said, hesitantly, wondering if he would answer her, or if the sound of her voice would break this apparent reverie and bring back the monster she was accustomed to seeing in him.
“I know. I have never spoken to a fog traveller before like this.”  He chuckled wryly. “I have not spoken to anyone like this for so long. I think we have many things to talk about.”

“Were you serious when you said you wouldn’t drink from me again?” she asked, almost afraid to hear the truth.

“Yes. I cannot do it, especially after you told me that it felt like rape. I could not do it to her, and I find myself no longer wanting to drink from you.”

Christine was flabbergasted. This was the last thing she had expected to happen. Then, another thought crossed her mind.  “But what about my sister – I thought you were going to find her tomorrow? Are you planning to drink from her instead?”

Lord Radek looked confused and suspicious for a moment and Christine realized that she had put Gervis in danger by revealing what she knew about Lord Radek’s plans. He quickly recovered and said, “I am going to find her for you. I do not know much about this vampire she is with. He is a renegade, and I should have taken care of him a long time ago. I am going to find her to bring her here to keep you company and to keep her safe. I will promise to never drink from her if you want.”

Christine looked at him. Was he telling the truth? To protect Gervis, she said, “I heard two people talking in the hall about it. I was worried that you were going to be drinking from both of us.”

He looked into her eyes. “Christine, it is my right as the Vampire Lord of these parts to drink from any fog traveller that arrives. But I promise you, if you stay with me, I will keep you and your sister safe.”

“You keep saying that about the fog travellers. How did we get here?  What causes the fog?”

Lord Radek sighed. “When the vampires first came to be, we were a reckless race. We were drunk on our power and our thirst for blood. The humans could not resist us and their numbers shrunk very rapidly. Conflict started to grow between groups of vampires as the numbers of our food source shrank. There was a great battle and, in order to regain our strength, the humans were fed on even more. It was at this time that the fogs first arrived. No one knows exactly what caused it, but some say that it was a great vampire prophet, who saw us as a beautiful race and saw that we had potential for greatness, if we did not destroy ourselves first. Humans started coming through the fogs, which appeared around the world at specific locations once a month. With our food supply rejuvenated the conflict died down and a form of global government was formed. Close to each fog gate, a settlement was created. A vampire was put in charge of each settlement to rule as they see fit. They are bound by only one rule – no other vampires can be made without permission of the Vampire Council. So we each have our place where we are as gods to our human subjects, but solitary in our existence.”

Christine was having a hard time processing all of the new information. This world was so very different from her own. “So you only feed from the fog travellers?”

Lord Radek chuckled. “No. That is like suggesting that you could only eat from one chicken for a month. A vampire requires more sustenance. In return for my protection and rulership, my subjects each give me a gift of blood one or more times a year. It has become our way of life, our whole economic system is based on the Geschenk – the gift of life.”

Christine didn’t know how to feel about this information. It was all so different from the way of life she knew. “Don’t the humans hate it?”

Lord Radek looked surprised at the question. “No. It is the way things are. It may seem very different from the world you knew, but for them it is the way things have always been. They benefit from the situation too, however. Do people still die from disease in your world?”

Christine thought about the AIDS epidemic, the SARS scare from a few years ago, and the random outbreaks of Ebola in the African regions. There was Bird Flu outbreaks and Mad Cow Disease all over the world as well. “Yes. We have found cures for many of the old diseases through science, but more show up all the time.”

“Disease is no longer the threat it once was to the human populations. A few tiny drops of a vampire’s blood on their tongue, or mixed with their food, kills any disease that is attacking their body. Wounds that would once have been fatal are healed in much the same way.”

Christine was amazed. “People must live for a very long time then!”

“They live until their late fifties sometimes. Things are much better than they once were.”

Christine was surprised at the age he had provided. People in her world lived to an average age of seventy five, and some even made it past one hundred. If there was no more disease, what caused them to die so young? Then she remembered the Geschenk that Lord Radek had mentioned. Constant blood loss must weaken their bodies in some way that caused them to die younger in this world.  She was not going to tell Lord Radek that though, at least not at this time.

“So, if you aren’t going to feed on me anymore, what do you want me for?”

“I want to have someone to talk to – to share my thoughts with. I have been alone for such a very long time. I want to know what it feels like again to have someone to share my thoughts with.”

“But I want to go home to my own world. I have a life there. I’m a teacher. There are children there who will miss me.”

“Christine, there is no way for you to get back. I do not even know if the gate works in both directions. But what I do know is that it is a different world each time. The people who come through are very similar in many ways, but those I have interrogated have always described a world with some difference, small as it may be.”

“I don’t understand. There are more worlds?” Christine was still feeling sleepy and was having a difficult time wrapping her mind around all of the information she was receiving in such a short time.  “Are they different planets? Or are they all just different versions of Earth?”

“I do not completely understand it either. I do believe that it is the same planet. You did not come from some far away star. There are too many similarities to ignore that fact. You do recognise the land mass across the big water, do you not?”

Christine smiled unexpectedly.  “Yes, it’s the same view I have from my kitchen at home.”

“Well, I have never met a fog traveller who came through here who did not recognise it. Other things may change, but the land remains the same.”

“So I’ll never see my kitchen again? I’ll never see my class again? What will they think happened to me? I just disappeared. They might think I was kidnapped, or murdered.”

“I know it is difficult to accept, Christine. Your life has changed drastically in the last few days. I am afraid I have made things even more difficult for you, although I now regret my actions. I am going to leave you now so that you can get some rest. I just want you to know that you can stay here as long as you like, and when we find your sister, she is welcome here as well. I promise to take care of the both of you and to never drink from you as long as you promise to stay, in the name of friendship.”

Christine didn’t know how to answer him. She felt like he deserved some response, but she wasn’t sure if she could trust him. He seemed genuine enough, but he’d given her no reason in the past to believe him now.  She said nothing.

Lord Radek waited for a moment, and then seemed to accept that she would give him no response. He rose from his place at the dressing table and walked over to the bed.  He lifted her hand from the covers where it was resting and raised it to his lips. Christine winced, expecting to feel his teeth sink into her flesh and was shocked when he simply kissed her hand, looked deeply into her eyes for a moment, and walked quietly out of the room.

Christine lay back down in the bed and just let the thoughts whirl tumultuously in her brain.  She didn’t know how to make sense of everything right now.  After only a few minutes, it seemed that her brain gave up, and she fell asleep.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sarah woke up to someone gently shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes and for a moment was startled by the dirt walls that surrounded her.

“What time is it?” she asked groggily. She couldn’t tell if it was day or night because they were still underground.

“It’s just before dawn,” answered Hillard, taking his hand off her shoulder. “We’re going to get an early start, and hopefully Lord Radek will not be expecting us until later in the day.”

It sounded like a reasonable idea to Sarah. Not that she truly understood why they were still going in during the day, when it seemed like Lord Radek wouldn’t be out of the castle after all. Maybe it was because that was when he would be at his weakest – inside the castle or out. As long as they got her sister out, she really didn’t care what time of day they left.

They quickly packed up, bringing only a very small amount of food and water for the short hike to the castle, and some weapons.  Hillard took only a small knife from the wall. Adalaide took a sword.  Sarah looked at them both questioningly. She didn’t know how to use a weapon. She’d never used a knife for anything more serious than cutting food.

“Don’t worry.  Here, just take this knife. Use it only if you have to. I know you probably have no combat experience.” Hillard smiled at her reassuringly as he handed her a small knife, similar to the one he tucked in his own belt.

“That’s an understatement. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life. I don’t even know if I could use this if my life depended on it.”

Adalaide smiled grimly. “You would be surprised at what you can do when your life depends on it.”

They began their trek through the woods, towards the castle. They’d only been travelling for a short time when Hillard stopped to pick up a thick branch from the ground. As they continued walking, he carved the end into a sharp point with the knife he had taken from the wall. Once he was finished, he placed the stake in his bag and found another stick to sharpen. By the time they were within sight of the castle, just a couple of hours later, he had five such sticks in his pack. When he spotted the turrets of the castle he motioned for the small group to stop.

“Okay, Sarah. Here’s my plan. I need you to have courage. You want to get your sister back, right?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” she answered, annoyed that he had even asked.

“I’ll be taking you into the castle. I’m going to say that I found you and that I want a reward from Lord Radek for bringing you to him.”

“What?” Sarah was shocked. “This is your plan? You’ll be turning me in to Lord Radek?”

“Hear me out. You admit that you have no experience in combat. You aren’t going to be at your most useful if we go into the castle fighting our way in. However, if I bring you in, they will more than likely bring you to Christine. Adalaide, in the mean time, will be sneaking in through the kitchens, using her in-castle contacts to help her out. I’ll keep Lord Radek occupied while she goes up to the room where your sister, and most likely you, will be staying. She’ll pick the lock, get the two of you out and by the time Lord Radek has kicked me out, you will both already be free.” Hillard stared intently at Adalaide as he spoke. It seemed as if she wanted to ask him a question, but didn’t want to say anything in front of Sarah.  Finally, Hillard just nodded at her and Adalaide seemed satisfied.

Sarah tried to just ignore the silent communication between the two. She was sure that Adalaide was worried that her lover might get hurt or even killed by Lord Radek. Sarah was concerned about him too, but tried not to think about it. All she should be thinking about at this point was rescuing Christine.

Adalaide gave Sarah a brief, strong hug and whispered in her ear, “I will see you soon. Be ready.” And then she was off into the woods, presumably towards the castle kitchens.

Hillard took Sarah’s hand in his for a moment. His emerald eyes stared into hers and he looked unsure of what to say. Sarah was confused for a moment, because there seemed to be so many emotions crossing his face at once.

“I can do this,” she asserted, trying to be brave. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’ve been worrying about you almost from the moment we met, Sarah.” He squeezed her hand tightly. “I’m afraid of what may happen in there, just like you are. I believe in what we are doing.  You need to be with your sister.” He almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself of something. “You don’t need me.” He sighed.

Now Sarah was really confused. He sounded almost as if he cared more about her than as just a friend. She decided to take a chance.

“I do need you, Hillard. This world is so different from mine. But you’re different too. You’re different from any man I have ever met before. I’ve half convinced myself that all of this is just a dream, but if I knew for a fact that at least you were real, I think I could accept it.”

Hillard looked at her for a moment. He was thinking that even if he were successful today, he would likely be killed in his efforts to get this special woman back together with her sister. One kiss couldn’t hurt.

He grasped her to him tightly, hugging her against his body. A kiss could be a terrible thing. If he were killed, she would be devastated. If he were not, there could be no future between them.

“I am real, Sarah. And I promise to keep you safe.” It was the best he could offer her. He knew from the expression in her eyes that she was disappointed and confused, but he didn’t know how to fix things. There was no cure for his curse and he could never make another of his kind.

Hillard took Sarah’s hand and led her towards the castle.

Read Chapter 12 next Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 . . .

Want to read more now? You can buy the book on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s Books, Flipkart.com, Bookadda.com, Bookdepository.com, Booksygen.com, Thalia.de

Or you can get a signed copy or pdf version here. Right now the pdf version is only $0.99!

In the upcoming weeks, we will be adding mobi, lit, and epub versions.

Title:  Ghost Town

Author:  Rachel Caine

ISBN:  9780451231611

Pages:  338

Release Date:  October 26, 2010

Publisher:  NAL Hardcover

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Source:  Library

Rating:  3.5/5

Summary:

While developing a new system to maintain Morganville’s defenses, student Claire Danvers discovers a way to amplify vampire mental powers. Through this, she’s able to re-establish the field around this vampire-infested Texas college town that protects it from outsiders.

But the new upgrades have an unexpected consequence: people inside the town begin to slowly forget who they are-even the vampires. Soon, the town’s little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment- before she forgets how to save Morganville…

Review:

Some days I’m just not sure why I like these books. That may be a confusing opening to a review, but it’s really how I feel – just sort of ambiguous about the whole series. The book starts with a series of unrelated events, we eventually hit the main plot, and those events have sort of brought us to the conclusion, but the way they were written into the story feels like they were an afterthought written in to conveniently tie up the rest.

THAT being said, I still really liked this book. I finished it feeling satisfied and didn’t feel any of the annoyance until I went back through it to write the review. I think that might be my key issue here – upon first read, these books are enjoyable, but I don’t think they’d be ones I could read over and over. It might be fine if I gave it a few years in between readings, but not while the stories are still fresh in my mind.

What I loved about this book – and despite what I wrote above, make no mistake that there’s parts I loved – was the interaction between Claire and Myrnin. It’s such a complex relationship – filled with respect, humour, and the always present danger (and let’s never forget the bunny slippers with fangs).

**Be warned, I wrote this review on a weekend while I had the stomach flu – may have affected my outlook.**

Haven’t read Chapter One yet? Click here to read it!
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine

Christine spent most of the next day sleeping. She hoped that she could regain her strength enough to try to escape in a few days. She ate and drank everything that Giselle brought her, smiling brightly at the woman every time she arrived, hoping that her friendly overtures would soften Giselle’s harsh demeanour towards her.

During the times when she was awake, Christine examined her room more thoroughly. She looked through the clothing in the closet for something more appropriate for an escape attempt than a ball gown or night gown. Surprisingly, at the back corner of the wardrobe, folded neatly, she found her own clothing. Instead of putting them on, however, she left them where they were, deciding that it was more important for her to continue her subterfuge of being overwhelmed and swayed by the opulence of the castle.

The dressing table held no further information for her, and Christine shuddered every time she happened to glance over at the macabre tapestry on the wall.

Looking out the window, however, did provide a bit more insight into the area. The castle was located at the top of a high hill, with smaller cottages scattered below, between the hill and the great body of water that she recognised as Lake Superior. She could see people walking between the buildings and she longed to be out there with them. She hoped that once she escaped she would be able to find someone who knew the whereabouts of her sister.

Thinking about her own experiences with Lord Radek, she hoped that Sarah was okay. While she was happy to hear that Sarah wasn’t alone, she was worried that if Lord Radek had been telling her the truth about this Hillard character, then Sarah could be in just as much trouble as she was.

Christine examined the door to her prison carefully. She saw no way for her to pick the lock (she had only ever seen such things on television) and the hinges were on the other side. She went back over to the wall containing the secret door and inspected it carefully. She could see where the door was, now that she knew it was there, but could find no hidden switch or lever to open it. Finally, in frustration, she slammed her fists against the wall letting out a cry of aggravation, no longer caring if Lord Radek could hear her. If she couldn’t get out of the room, there would be no escape.

“Christine? Are you okay?” a voice whispered through the door to her room. She recognised the voice as Gervis’ and, while elated that the one person sympathetic to her cause was so near, she was afraid of causing him any more trouble. She rushed over to the door and pressed her ear against the hard, impenetrable wood.

“Gervis? You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered.

“I only have a moment, but I have to tell you that Lord Radek will be leaving the castle tonight to search for your sister. I will come to you then and help you to escape.”

“But Gervis, you’ll get in trouble. Lord Radek might kill you this time.”

She heard Gervis’ heavy sigh through the door. “I’m coming with you Christine.  I can’t do this any more.  Lord Radek is keeping me here as a form of control over my parents.  We can go and get them and all escape to somewhere else.”

“But my sis…” Christine broke off as she heard footsteps approaching. She heard Gervis scramble quickly away from the door. It sounded like another man had approached from downstairs.  Christine was relieved that it wasn’t Giselle, not wanting to feel the brunt of the woman’s wrath again. Pleasantries were exchanged and the other man didn’t sound suspicious at all. After a moment, Christine was relieved to hear two sets of footsteps retreating down the hall.

Christine was relieved that she would finally have a way to escape her room. However, how could she possibly leave the castle now? Lord Radek was going after her sister! The last thing she wanted was to be free outside the castle and have her sister trapped in here.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sarah and Hillard spent the rest of the day talking. She learned about the many differences between this blood-based society and her own.

She quickly reasoned out why the level of technology in this world was so far beneath her own. It seemed that the Geshenk kept people fairly weak and that the average life span was still only fifty years. It was difficult for people to be creative and innovative when daily life was a struggle. In addition, the Vampire Lords discouraged innovation, feeling threatened and worried that the humans might find a way to overcome their rule. The lack of communication prevented the exchange of ideas that was so important to technological advancement. Technology in this world had barely advanced from the level that had existed during the fifteenth century. It made Sarah see so clearly how much her own world depended on technology – the telephone, computers, even plumbing and running water – and how much she had always taken it for granted.

However, while the Vampire Lords stifled innovation, they obviously realized the value of at least a basic education. Children went to school from the age of six to sixteen, learning reading, writing and basic mathematics, as well as several languages. In addition, they also learned about the ruling system, called “Blood Governance” and basic information about the key trades that could be learned in the area.

Once a child turned sixteen, parents could pay for their child to serve as an apprentice and learn a trade, or teach them a trade themselves if they were so skilled. The other option, if a family couldn’t afford the apprenticeship fees, was for the child to join their Vampire Lord’s household as a guard or house servant. By joining the Lord’s household, they wouldn’t have to pay their one Geshenk a year, which they could do only after turning eighteen anyway, because they didn’t own any land. They would also be fully provided with food and clothing. In this way, someone who wanted to buy land and build a house on it, could do so after saving for a year or two. Another option was to learn a trade in an apprenticeship and then serve in the Vampire Lord’s castle for a year or two to save enough Geschenk to build their own shop or farm.

Geschenk could be earned by going to the bank and giving a Geschenk of blood up to four times a year – including any yearly Geschenk fee.  A full Geschenk could not be given more than once every three months, or the person giving would be weakened to a point where they could be vulnerable to illness. In that way, everyone between the ages of eighteen and fifty were guaranteed a yearly income of four Geschenk, or four hundred Stück. One person could theoretically live on such an amount, but Stück, being traded for goods as well, could also be earned through one’s trade.  A trade, or some other way to earn extra income, was necessary if you wanted a family, however, since children couldn’t earn Geschenk themselves.

It was all very interesting to Sarah, but she was hoping that they would not be staying in this world, with its dependence on blood, for very long.

“Hillard,” she suggested, shyly. “Why don’t you come with us? You said yourself that you’re a wanderer. Come wander with us for awhile.”

The truth was, she didn’t want to say goodbye to Hillard. She liked being around him. Besides being handsome – she was especially fond of his emerald eyes – he was smart and had a sweet sense of humour. She knew he probably wasn’t interested in her romantically, but she wanted his friendship, if nothing else. She wasn’t really interested in a relationship with anyone right now. It hadn’t even been a week since she’d caught her bastard of a husband cheating on her with their neighbour, and she wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. For some reason, she just wasn’t good enough for any man. Even before her jackass husband, her prior boyfriends had all had a habit of cheating on her. She’d thought things with Paul had been different, because he’d married her, but they obviously hadn’t been. Whether it was her flabby thighs, big behind, or something else, she obviously wasn’t good enough for a real relationship with anyone.

Sarah realized then that her mind had wandered off and Hillard hadn’t answered her question. He was just staring at her, with a wistful look on his face. He met her eyes and shook his head slowly.

“I can’t Sarah. I would love to – I really would – but I have other commitments here.”

Sarah’s mind automatically went to Adalaide and she felt a blush crawling up her face. Of course he wouldn’t come with them! He had Adalaide, with her long legs, firm stomach, and stunningly long red hair. There was no way that Sarah could ever compete with that. She should have guessed, but her hopeful mind had been working overtime again, seeing meaningful glances and gentle touches between herself and Hillard as something other than concerned friendship.

Hillard saw Sarah’s face turn red and knew that she had come to some faulty assumption. He wanted to correct her, to tell her that he would love to go with her, to spend more time with her, but he had important things that he had to finish here first. Plus, he could never risk introducing vampirism into another world, no matter how dedicated he was to never siring another of his kind himself.

Adalaide came rushing in at that moment, breaking up the tension. “Lord Radek is coming out to look for you tomorrow,” she gasped, breathing heavily. It was obvious that she’d been running. “We have to get you out of here! He knows you are with Hillard and he also knows that Hillard and I are friends, so he is sure to come here to look for you!”

Sarah looked over at Hillard, forgetting about the tense moment earlier, and saw from his expression that he was thinking the same thing that she was.

“If he’s out here looking for you,” Hillard said, a mischievous glint in his green eyes, “then we should go into his castle to find your sister.”

The three of them began discussing potential plans. Adalaide insisted that they get Sarah out of the cottage immediately, because Lord Radek wasn’t known for his patience or for giving accurate accounts of his plans to his house servants. Adalaide had also heard about the problems that had occurred with Gervis because of his involvement with Christine, but didn’t mention them as she didn’t want to provide Sarah with any more reasons to worry about her sister.

They quickly packed up some food and left the cottage, heading north-west. The castle was to the south-west of Adalaide’s cottage, but Adalaide said that she had a place where they could hide overnight and resupply.

Hillard just nodded when Adalaide mentioned the hideout, and Sarah realized that he already knew about it. She felt a flash of jealousy at their obviously close relationship but suppressed it, reminding herself that she was just friends with Hillard, after all.

It took them almost three hours of hiking through the bush to reach the hiding place. Sarah was exhausted when they finally reached it, but Hillard and Adalaide had done all of the carrying and had kept to a very slow pace, keeping in mind that Sarah had been very ill for the last few days and had not had much time to recover.

Sarah almost had to stop a few times, but the thought of the monstrous Lord Radek catching her before she could rescue her sister kept her going. When they finally stopped walking, Sarah was confused for a moment. She didn’t see anything that looked even remotely habitable, not even a rabbit hole.

Adalaide walked to a small space between a cluster of trees and reached down into some brush. Sarah was amazed when a door, big enough for a person to pass through, opened into the ground.  Stairs led down into darkness, and Adalaide lit a candle before venturing down the stairway, motioning for Hillard and Sarah to follow. Sarah was glad for the dim candle light when Hillard pulled the door closed behind them.

The stairs descended for a short distance and then opened up into a rather large dug-out room.  There was a bed against one wall, a shelf containing various foodstuffs and, Sarah was astonished to see, an entire wall covered with a vast assortment of swords, axes and other weapons.

“You seem prepared to go to war,” Sarah said, trepidation in her voice. She didn’t know what, exactly, she had expected Adalaide’s hideaway to look like, but she hadn’t expected this!

Adalaide just smiled grimly over at Sarah.  “Lord Radek and I are not the best of friends.  I expected that I would need a place to hide from him at some point or another.”

When it appeared that Adalaide wasn’t going to expand on that revelation, Sarah decided to just help a bit with the unpacking.  She sat down on the bed and helped to go through Hillard’s pack, taking out his tin dishes and blankets.  Hillard spread his thick canvas ground cover on the floor of the room and began making a bed for himself.  Adalaide pulled a chest out from under the bed, removed some thick woollen blankets, and began making a sleeping place for herself beside him.

“I can sleep on the ground. I don’t want to take your bed, Adalaide,” Sarah offered, then was mortified when she realized that they were probably used to sharing a sleeping place.

“Sarah, you’ve been ill for days. You shouldn’t be sleeping on the ground, you could get sick again. You need to gather your strength for tomorrow,” Hillard admonished.

It made sense to Sarah, but she still felt some slight jealousy that the two of them would be laying side by side all night. The image of it was so strong in her mind that she almost didn’t notice that Hillard had not stopped speaking.

“I’ve been thinking about that information that Adalaide got at the castle. It really makes no sense to me for Lord Radek to be leaving the castle to look for you in the daylight hours – when he is at his most vulnerable. It would make more sense for him to be out now, in the dark, when you are likely to be sleeping somewhere and he is at his top strength. I more than half think that he is either trying to send you a message that you are safe tonight, so that you are easier to catch unaware, or that he knows that we are planning to rescue Christine and is setting a trap for us tomorrow.”

Sarah couldn’t believe that she hadn’t thought of that. Of course, she didn’t have as much experience in this world as the other two, but she thought of herself as someone who was at least decently intelligent. It seemed so obvious.

“Then what do we do now?” she asked in frustration.

“Well, I think we’ve already done it. We’ve taken you somewhere for the night where he won’t find you. This place is sufficiently hidden so that he could walk down the path right above us and not see it. And vampires are not all-powerful. They do have an increased sense of smell, but they aren’t tracking dogs. We have the rich earth all around us, insulating against our smell. We should be safe here until tomorrow.”  Hillard explained.

“And tomorrow? If he’s expecting us then we can’t just go in to get Christine.” Sarah felt extreme frustration and helplessness. She just wanted to see her sister again.

“Oh, we are still going in tomorrow. We know he’s expecting us.  That will give us the upper hand. We just have to make sure we do things in a way that he isn’t expecting.” Hillard looked thoughtful.  “Get some rest, Sarah. I’ll think about this and come up with a plan for tomorrow. Don’t worry. I’m not going to let him keep your sister. I think Lord Radek’s reign of terror over this area is almost finished.”

Sarah felt some measure of comfort at Hillard’s determined expression, but she couldn’t help but worry. There was still that knot in her stomach that had been there since they had first driven through the fog. She wondered if her life would ever be normal again. What was normal anyway? She’d just discovered that her husband was cheating on her. Sarah wondered what Paul was thinking about her disappearance. Was he missing her, or was he relieved that he hadn’t had to face her? A single tear rolled down Sarah’s cheek as feelings of helplessness and worthlessness washed over her. With her thoughts running in negative circles through her brain, she finally fell asleep.

Read Chapter 11 next Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 . . .

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Title:  Kiss of Death

Author:  Rachel Caine

ISBN:  978-0451229731

Pages:  256

Release Date:  April 27, 2010

Publisher:  Signet

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Source:  Library

Rating:  4.5/5

Summary:

Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big-time producer who wants to cut a demo and play some gigs – which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he’s been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Michael’s all-too-human friends. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a road trip from hell…

Review:

I love a good road trip story! Seeing the crew get out of Morganville really highlighted to me the extent of their isolation from the outside world. Claire might be new to the vampire-ridden town, and Shane may have escaped for a few years, but for Michael and Eve, this is their first foray beyond the city limits. To top keep them from enjoying their freedom, they’re assigned a babysitter in the form of the-never-know-what-to-expect Oliver.

I can truly say that this story sucked me in (no pun intended, I swear) and kept me reading right through to the end with as few interruptions as I could manage. Getting the action to move outside of Morganville for a change was justbthe change of pace that the series needed.

My only issue with this book is that the story didn’t seem to be quite as cohesive as Caine’s other books in the series. In fact I think I was more than 50% through before I felt like I had reached the main plot behind the story. Despite that, the story kept me captivated right until the end.