Blood Vine by Amber Belldene

Author:Amber Belldene
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Published: 2013-01-06T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

ANDRE AND KOS TOSSED DOWN CARDS in silence. After his outburst, the tension had diminished to a simmer between them. Andre let his mind wander and rest, while some place in the back of his brain attended to the card game. Footsteps in the cellar roused him from the nearly hypnotic state.

Seconds later, the door flung open so hard the knob hit the brick wall. Andre winced, expecting bad news, but Bel had just kicked the door open because his hands were full. In an even tone, he said, “The vampires are patrolling the perimeter.”

“Find anything?” Andre asked.

“Not so far.”

What would the Hunters do? With Zoey gone, an attack seemed likely.

“I’m going to run some experiments with the wine.” Bel bounced a metal case. Presumably his supplies were inside. “Can I have a vial of blood from each of you?”

Andre unbuttoned his cuff in a silent agreement.

Bel went to Kos first. “Do either of you need sleep?” he asked, as he tied a tourniquet around Kos’s arm and drew the blood.

“No, we don’t sleep,” Kos replied.

Thankfully their wasting disease had not progressed that far.

“What about you? Do you sleep these days?” Andre asked as Bel drew near.

Bel palpated a vein in the crook of his arm. “About an hour a day. It helps clear my mind. Any more makes me lethargic.” Bel placed the needle square in the vein so fast he could have been a vampire.

The vial filled with his deep red blood. “That’s less than you used to need.”

“Much less. I learned to focus better. My brain doesn’t get so cluttered.” He removed the needle from Andre’s arm, and the small puncture closed immediately. Andre licked his thumb and wiped off the droplet of clotted blood. “Perhaps I’ll find something useful from these.” Bel placed different colored caps on each of the vials.

Andre rolled down his sleeve and buttoned his cuff as Bel made for the door.

“Good night,” he said as he stepped out.

Wordlessly, Kos dealt another hand and they played game after game.

Hours later, tires screeched to a halt in the driveway.

“Who the hell is that?” Kos asked.

Pedro? Hope surged up in Andre. Then someone knocked urgently on the front door. Pedro wouldn’t knock unless he was without his keys.

“Hurry!” Andre said. They sped through the cellar and up the stairs. With his new strength, Andre beat Kos to the door by a full quarter of a minute and opened it. Careful to stay in the shadows created by the narrow overhang, no sunlight reached him directly. But a radiant heat made his skin tingle. Or maybe it was just her.

Zoey stood on the other side, nervously biting her lower lip. When she released it, it was deep pink and a little swollen. He wanted to catch it between his own teeth.

“Fuck,” he said.

“Nice to see you, too.”

“Go home, Zoey.”

“Andre, they’re coming after you.”

He couldn’t believe she was here. His gums were aching where his fangs wanted to extend; his breath was getting shallower. He had to have her.

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