Acquainted With the Night (9781101546000) by Maitland Piper

Author:Maitland, Piper
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin USA
Published: 2011-10-19T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 39

Caro bolted from her chair, and it crashed to the floor. Terror exploded in her chest. “My father wasn’t a—” She broke off, unable to say the word.

“He was a vampire,” Father Aeneas said.

“This is a bloody outrage,” Jude cried. “Where’s your proof?”

“I have none.” The monk lifted his hands, fingers splayed.

“Of course not.” Jude balled his hands into fists. “What are you playing at?”

“It was Sir Nigel’s destiny to explain Historia Immortalis to Caroline. Not mine.” Father Aeneas’s voice shook. “Now he is gone, and I am the only one who knows the truth.”

“How convenient,” Jude said. “And cruel.”

“Truth and cruelty are bound together.” Father Aeneas glanced at Caro. “Before I took my vows, I was a physician in Athens. I learned about the immortals. They freely mate with humans, but it is nearly impossible for them to reproduce. True, mortal women can conceive children by vampires, but the pregnancies usually end in miscarriages. In less than half a percent of cases, a baby is carried full term. These rare offspring are called hybrids—half vampire, half human. And they possess unique traits.”

“Traits?” Jude’s face hardened. “Biting? Blood drinking? Regeneration?”

“Hybrids do not consume blood,” Father Aeneas responded.

Caro couldn’t catch her breath. She sat down in Jude’s empty chair and squeezed her hands, forcing herself to gulp air. She wasn’t a hybrid. The monk was lying or crazy. Why had Uncle Nigel sent her to Meteora? Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe the anagrams had been a warning to stay away.

“In the old days, when a vampire bred with a human, the offspring was called a Dhampir,” Father Aeneas said. “Hybrid is a modern term. They have unusual speed and strength, with an ability to heal rapidly. Most possess a hyperawareness of danger. Some can read minds. Others can sense when immortals are near—that is why hybrids often make successful vampire slayers.”

“Why should I believe you?” she cried.

“I am something of an expert on the immortals. That is why your uncle sought me out. I traveled the world, searching for Dhampirs. In my whole life, I only found a dozen. But I am well aware of their characteristics. Also, Sir Nigel and I have both studied those ten pages of Historia Immortalis. He would want me to explain your hybridism, Caroline.”

“I am not a hybrid.”

“No? Do you sometimes know what people are thinking?”

“Never.”

“When you were small, did you run faster than the other children? Were you immune to viruses that swept through the classroom? If you scraped your knee, did people marvel when your lesions healed at an accelerated pace?” His gaze sharpened as he stared at her throat.

Her hand flew to the bite marks. The wounds had scabbed over, but the flesh beneath felt warm and prickly.

Father Aeneas fingered his belt and the beads clicked softly. “I know what is written in Historia Immortalis. It is prohibited for a vampire to love a mortal. Yet they do, of course. Their libido is as powerful as their thirst. They are irresistible to humans.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.