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“These others, the ones you’ve been…taking care of, have they turned humans?”
A guarded look came over Bo’s face, like a thick curtain dropping down into place behind his eyes.
“Some, yes.”
“But why? Why would they want to do that?”
“That’s another question I’m trying to get an answer to.”
“Would you ever consider turning someone?”
“Never,” Bo declared with a resolute shake of his head.
Even though it wouldn’t happen, couldn’t happen—and if it could, I wasn’t even sure I’d want it—I was curious about one thing.
“So if you weren’t dying and I wanted you to turn me, you still wouldn’t?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Bo stepped back and pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “The venom, it does something to you. It makes you crave things, think things, things that aren’t good, aren’t right.”
“But you’re fine.”
“I’m living with the pain and the constant reminder of what someone like me did to my father. If it weren’t for that—for that consuming vision of them tearing his throat out—I don’t know what I would focus all this energy, all this hunger and thirst on.” He paused, looking away from me, toward the dying light that was streaming through the door. “But I’m afraid it wouldn’t be good. And I could never subject another person to that. It would be like issuing a death sentence to possibly hundreds of people, potential victims.”
“You’re sure the only reason you’re strong enough to resist it is because of your dad?”
He bit his lip in thought then looked back at me. “Probably not entirely. I’d say it has a lot to do with the amount of vampire blood I take in and what it’s doing to my body. I’m degrading, more and more every day. I think it’s affecting my thirst.”
I didn’t want to go down that depressing road again, so I completely changed the subject.
“When can we leave to go to see Lucius?”
Bo glanced back at the door, as if when he’d been staring out it only moments before, he hadn’t really seen anything.
“Any time now. Do you want to go now?”
“Maybe we should, so we don’t get back too late.”
Bo shut off the stereo and headed toward the door. I walked out and started up the steps while he cut off the lights and relocked the door.
“Do you mind if we take your car? I usually run, but that’s not really an option for you,” he said with a quirk of his lips.
“How far is it?”
“About thirty miles or so.”
“Just thirty?”
“Yep. Just a hop, skip and a jump,” he teased, his grin maturing into a smile that made my knees weak.
When Bo reached the top of the steps, I asked, “How do you know that’s not one of my super powers?”
Bo looked deep into my eyes. “Because I know what your super power is.”
“What?”
“It’s to drive me crazy.” The soft way he said it made my stomach flip over.
I laughed nervously. “Ya think?”
“I know,” he said, winking at me and taking my hand. “Come on.”
Once we were in the car and on the road, my apprehension started to kick in.
“So, this Lucius, how will he feel about a strange human paying him a visit?”
“He’ll be fine. He’s…old school in many ways.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He was born in the days when women were still treated like fragile princesses and people still had manners.”
“Ah, the stone ages,” I quipped.
“Close,” Bo replied.
“How old is he, really?”
“Just over four hundred years I think.”
“Four hundred years? Lucius is four hundred years old?”
Bo nodded. “He’s one of the oldest ones left.”
“Why is that?”
“He’s managed to stay hidden from the younger ones, the ones that kill and turn without thought for human life. Like the ones that killed my father.”
“Why would he be hiding from other vampires?”
“According to Lucius, hundreds of years ago, vampires were mostly found in Europe and they lived in peace, adhering to a very strict code of conduct. They rarely turned anybody and they sort of had a policy about killing humans.
“But then, some time ago, apparently one of the elders broke the rules and turned a few humans just for fun, a few ‘bad seeds’. None of the newer ones respected the code. They were like animals. They craved the thrill of the kill, the power of being higher on the food chain. When the other elders realized that they couldn’t control the new turns, they set out to terminate them.
“They started a war that ended up killing most of the vampire population. The younger ones killed many of the elders, and evidently still hunt them today. Because of that, the elders scattered to the four winds. That’s when Lucius came here. He says that this country was his salvation, and that it’s been a peaceful refuge until recently.”
“Does he know who’s doing it now? Turning people, I mean?”
Bo shook his head. “No, but with every one that I drain, I’m one step closer to finding out. I’m pretty sure there’s one person who’s responsible, one who’s been spearheading all the activity around here.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I can see hazy images of all these vamps feeding from another vampire, a stronger one, but it’s like their memory is so saturated in pleasure and endorphins, I can’t get a clear picture or even a name of the one they’re feeding from.”
“Why would vampires feed from each other?”
“I think the vampire that’s turning them is feeding them some of his blood right at the beginning and establishing some kind of control over them. The thing is, it takes very powerful blood to control another vampire. Maybe even an elder’s blood. I’m not sure.”
In my head, I went back over everything that Bo had just explained. I found that several things were bothersome.
“So, did you ever…you know?”
