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"Hunting"

With a sigh, Raot in the car and closed the door Once, he had hunted va humans "I don&039;t want to kill anyone"

"That&039;s up to you"

"But you told "

Chiavari switched on the ignition and backed the Corvette out of the garage to the street "I shall teach you to hunt without killing"

"I don&039;t think I can drink blood"

"Of course you can You have done it before"

Ramsey stared into the darkness Blood The elixir of life He had said he didn&039;t think he could drink it, but he kneas a lie, a taboo that no longer had anyHe remembered the warue Once it had sickened hi?"

"My first rule," Chiavari said "Never hunt where you live"

Chiavari drove down to the beach It was one of his favorite haunts He parked on a diine, turned off the lights

"You are Vaori said "You have powers of which you are not yet aware Few th to resist you You have the power to , to wipe your memory from their minds You can drink your fill from one and take his h to sustain your own existence The choice is yours"

"How have you stood it for so many years, Chiavari?"

"What do you er So out of my mind"

"In time, you will learn to block the noise, to shut out the siren call of the heartbeats around you" He pulled the key fronition and slid out of the car

Ramsey followed Chiavari into the dimly lit bar It was a little after eleven, and there were only a handful of people in the place

Rarimaced at the stench of old smoke and old sweat that flooded his nostrils

Chiavari took a seat at a back booth, and Ramsey slid in across from him

"Look around you," Chiavari said "What do you see?"

Ra toovaet what you were before Who you were before You are Vao back to what you were That life is gone That one You have been reborn Accept it If you want to live, you will eo out andcaught betorlds"

Ramsey clenched his hands as he listened to the vampire speak They were hard words - hard to believe, harder to accept He looked at the other patrons Once, he had protected the from him In his mind, he saw the chasrow deeper, wider - saw it fill with an endless river of warm, rich crimson

Vampire I aarded hih to be Vaht of the night Chiavari had brought hi to the va promise of life "I want to live"

Chiavari nodded "Then you must accept what you are You do not have to be like Kristov You can be a man with a peculiar lifestyle, or you can be a monster You must make the choice, as does every man, mortal or otherwise"

Raht palori lifted one brow in amusement "You did not think yourself darinned faintly "Our kind Why are you damned now?"

"Because of what I a va humans for their blood It is all the saood, or as bad, as you wish"

Ramsey snorted "You don&039;t understand"

"No, it is you who do not understand But you will If you live long enough Now, look around and decide ill be your prey"

"How do I decide?"

Grigori shrugged "Probe their minds Find the one who is estion in their o holanced around the rooed man sat alone at the far end of the bar There was an elderly couple in a front booth, a couple of young punks playing pool in the back His gaze settled on a woarette machine She was about twenty-five, dressed in a pair of jeans and a bulky red sweater Her hair was brown, her eyes blue He stared at her, wondering how to go about probing her mind, when, as if a door had suddenly opened, he are of her thoughts She was recently divorced, lonely, searching for so to ease the pain

He swore under his breath, exhilarated and frightened by this strange neer How often in the past had he wished he could read another&039;s mind? But to actually have that ability could he actually ie woht to her, felt a thrill of satisfaction when she turned in his direction She regarded him a moan to walk toward hi," Ramsey said

"Hello" She had a sexy, breathy voice "Have we azed deep into her eyes He had never had ti va from town to town, country to country Like most hunters, he had never es, pawns in an endless war

A curious sensation swept through him as he felt his mind connect with hers, felt her will bend to his Felt her desire reach out to hi he had never felt before, never known before Women had respected him, trusted him, confided in him They had never desired him And even now, it wasn&039;t him she wanted, but the creature he had become An immortal creature clothed with the vampire&039;s mystic allure

"Come," he said "I&039;ll walk you to your car"

She nodded, and he took her arori ith them

Outside, some of Ramsey&039;s confidence waned The woman stood beside hiori "What do I do now?"

"Follow ori led them into the alley that ran between the bar and a vacant lot that was overgroeeds and littered with eestured at the wo for instruction "She is in your power now You can do whatever you wish"

"But how do I you know"

"Think only of her blood Listen Can you not hear it flowing like sweet honey through her veins?"

Grigori took the wohtly over her cheek, down the length of her neck

"Sthen as he bent over the wo the tender skin of her throat "Youdeeper, rougher as the hunger within hiile"

The woori&039;sthe skin He took only a sip, and then he thrust the woman into Ramsey&039;s arms "She is yours Take her"

Rale drop of cri on her throat "What about how do you know her blood is don&039;t you worry about disease?"

"You would know if her blood was unclean"

Ra as aard and self-conscious as a boy on his first date, he gathered the wo doll, she allowed him to hold her She smelled of soap and perfume and cheap brandy And blood It called to hi: loud, insistent Irresistible He felt an ache in his gurowl, he sank his fangs into the warm tender skin of her throat, felt the thick richness of her blood fill his ori admonished "It can be a pleasant experience for her, as well, if you choose to , yet compelled to take more and more, overcome with the warmth of it, the way it eased the pain that had clawed at hith, her dreams The sound of her heartbeat echoed in his ears How had he ever thought such an act repulsive? Her life filled him until he felt drunk with it And still he wanted ged with blood and a sense of unlimited power, Ramsey lifted his head, his lips drawn back in a silent snarl The woori said again

Ramsey looked down at the woman in his arms Her heartbeat was faint, her face pale She stared up at hih vacant eyes

"What have I done?" he moaned "What have I done?"

"Only what you had to do"

"Is she will she die?"

"No"

Horror-stricken, Ramsey shoved the woed a hand over his rimaced when he saw the blood there The thrill he had felt earlier was gone, replaced by a sense of horror and self-disgust "I can&039;t do this"

"You can, and you will Abstaining will only ht it, will only er And when you are out of control, people will die"

"How have you stood it for so long?" Ramsey asked bitterly "How have you stood the separateness, the aloneness?"

Grigori took a deep breath and loosed it in a long, slow sigh "Being Varoer as the years pass And the advantages far outweigh thees?"

"Think, Raes in the world, the inventions I have powers you cannot iine As for the other, the loneliness, the separateness" He shrugged "One can get used to anything"

"Easy for you to say"

"Rao But I did not because I have always admired your tenacity, your will to live Do not disappoint estured at the woht?"

"She will be fine"

"I"Ramsey looked away, embarrassed by the need that had driven hiori nodded "Give yourself tirunted softly Going to Chiavari for help had been one of the s he had ever done, not only because it had pricked his pride to ask the ain, having her see what he had become

Marisa Once, he had hoped she would he his "I would have thought you&039;d have brought her across by now," he remarked

"No She wants to wait a while, to spend tied "There is no hurry"

Ramsey nodded, jealous because Marisa had chosen Chiavari over him, because Chiavari would have her love for a dozen lifetilanced at the woain for your your help"

"Give it tiain

"Yes, time" Ramsey smiled ruefully as he turned and walked away He had plenty of time