“No,mon amour. To control things to such a degree lies beyond even my skills at manipulation—which, if you do not mind the boast, are adept indeed.”
“So whatareyou saying?”
“It wasn’t just Cally’s mother. I attacked dozens that year, feeding on pregnant women wherever I found them.”
“You didwhat?”That was too far, even for a vampire.
“Witch blood is dormant in a broad swath of Boston’s population, and by casting the net wide, I thought to ensnare you sooner or later.”
“What?” Antoine said again, this time with skepticism, not horror.
Belle waved a hand. “It is as I have told you. Believe me or not, the evidence speaks for itself.”
“You mean to say you triggered the magic of dozens of unborn children, in the forlorn hope that at some distant future point, I would choose to feed on them, and become bonded to a witch?”
“Just so.”
“That… is ludicrous.”
“Oh?” She looked genuinely interested in his assessment. “How so?”
“Well, first, witch blood is dormant in only a fraction. You said so yourself.”
“Which is why I bit so many,” she said with maddening confidence.
“Second, how could you know the child would be a girl?”
“I assumed half would be.”
He shook his head. “Third. The authorities would’ve noticed.”
She laughed. “You think I can’t feed on a chattel without them remembering? You flatter yourself.”
“To the point they bleed out during birth?”
“Hardly that,mon amour. The smallest of snacks achieved my goals.”
Except in Cally’s mother’s case. But maybe Belle wasn’t aware… or it was just one of so many others, easily forgotten.
“If what you say is true, you have left dozens of potential witches across Boston. That is risky to the point of foolishness. What if other vampires bonded them?”
“The question is irrelevant,” Belle said, waving it off with one hand. “No vampire other than you leaves their victims alive. The chances of another vampire encountering one of my… blessed conclave”—she paused to smile in enjoyment of her own term—“and for their prey to walk away? Vanishingly thin. Whereas you…” she gestured at him, “you never kill, do you?”
“What if they became witcheswithoutbeing bitten?”Like Cally.
“Chattel no longer believe in such things,” she said, indifferent. “Maybe they lose their car keys less often. Who cares? It is not as if magic texts are at Barnes & Noble.”
He had to concede that one.As I told Cally myself. Eve’s book will be a disappointment.But he wasn’t done. “This was a quarter of a century ago. I admire your patience—”
“Patience is a vampiric virtue,n’est-ce pas?”
“—but people move away. There’s no way you could—”
“Most people never stray far from their birthplaces.”
“You have all the answers,” he granted. “Save one. Even with so many, Boston is vast. How would I ever find them?”
“That,mon amour, is the easiest. Bloodlines. Don’t you see?”
