Cold Blood by Genevieve McCluer

Author:Genevieve McCluer [McCluer, Genevieve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781636791968
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2022-04-01T22:20:38+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“We kept that up for generations,” Dorenia says. “Every few years, he’d catch up to us, I’d distract him, and we’d get away. It seemed incredible, but it kept working. It was just never enough. He got a few people over the years, family, children, people who meant the world to me, but I could never manage to kill him. I tried so many times. I practiced for years, but I was never good enough.

“Finally, I couldn’t put the children I’d watched grow old in danger any longer. I set out on my own. It made blood harder to find, but I never killed for it, and I checked in on my family often. He seemed intent on finding me. I kept on the move, keeping our meetings to every decade or so. Once I fled to the other side of the ocean, it seemed like it was finally over. I’ve been here for over a century now, and every source I had confirmed that he still hadn’t found me or tracked down my family, as I still talk to them every week, and they’re fine. But last week, he finally caught up to me. I have more resources and the means to put up a fight, but apparently, he’s grown with the times as well. He’s been in town, asking about me. I’ve tried to put out some false information, but he sent these vampires to kill me, to get rid of the monster he accidentally created, and he’ll send more next time. I’ll happily help you take care of your villain. From everything I’ve heard, he sounds as dreadful as mine, but I’ll be dead if we don’t take care of this one first.”

I stare at her. I didn’t expect her life story. From any other vampire, I’d want to kill her for the inconvenience, but she isn’t a killer. I don’t want to believe her, to trust that yet another vampire is somehow a better person than I am, but I can see it in her eyes. She’s less of a monster than I am, which worryingly seems to often be the case, and she needs my help. And more importantly, I need hers. “You seriously didn’t kill anyone when you first turned? I managed to keep it to a soldier, someone who’d killed my friends and neighbors, but I still had to drain him dry.” Can there really be two vampires who’ve never killed a human in this city? At least, there can’t be more than that. It would be impossible. There’s no way any of the others I’ve killed could be innocent too. I won’t believe it.

“Maybe it’s because I knew what it was like to be on the other end.”

“I did too.”

A flash of guilt shows on her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Will you tell me your story?”

“No. We have a vampire to kill.” At least that one is a killer.

She smirks, and it’s still a strangely lovely smile, for a vampire.

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