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Chiavari aiting for Ramsey on the front porch "Come in," he said
"I can&039;t take this anymore," Ramsey said "I want you to end it, now"
"We&039;ve already had this discussion," Chiavari said curtly
"Look at lasses, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt "Damn it, look!"
"What the hell happened to you?"
"What do you think?"
"Spend a little too much time in the sun, did you?"
Ramsey swore "I tried to kill myself I want out of this life I will not live like this! I have become what I hated, what I hunted It has to stop Now!"
"Six months, Ramsey That&039;s all To a man with eternity before him, six months should not be too difficult"
"You don&039;t understand! You wanted to be a vampire I don&039;t! I hate what they are I hate what I have becoers encountered burnt flesh "I found a woman I kept her a prisoner in my house Do you understand? I tied her up and I fed off of her like a damned leech What kind of depraved monster does that?"
"Come in and sit down, Ramsey," Chiavari said quietly "You are in pain You are not thinking clearly"
"I don&039;t want to"
"Coh of resignation, Raestured at the sofa "Sit down"
"I don&039;t need a lecture"
"I knohat you need better than you do" Chiavari sat down beside Ramsey and extended his arm "Old blood is the best blood Go on, take what you need"
Raaze and shook his head "No"
"Do it"
Ralanced around "Where&039;s Marisa?"
"She went to the theater with an old friend from work You need not worry, she won&039;t be ho, alreat inti of blood between vaain, did not want to be further in the reat, the pain and the hunger beyond bearing, the prorowl, he took hold of Chiavari&039;s ars into his wrist
And drank
And drank
Power flowed into hi flood, washing the pain away in a scarlet tide He saw flashes of Chiavari&039;s life his childhood in Italy his wife, Antoinette his son and his daughter, who had been slain by Alexi Kristov And, like a rapidly fast-forwarded videotape, glih the centuries And over all, the scent and the taste of the blood, reht when Chiavari had needed blood to survive Their roles had been reversed then It had been Chiavari drinking voraciously
"Enough!"
Chiavari&039;s voice penetrated the red haze that surrounded hih"
Sated with the vaer within him stilled and slept, the pain receded, a dilanced at Chiavari and looked away They had ever been enemies, yet this alliance, the blood bond they shared, was a bond as intimate as that of mortal lovers A bond first formed as an uneasy alliance to hunt Kristov Kristov, who had wooed Chiavari&039;s wife behind his back; Kristov, who had slain Chiavari&039;s children and changed Antoinette into a ht between life and death, with no will of her own
In a brutal act of kindness, Ramsey had taken Antoinette&039;s head and heart and put her tortured soul to rest, a deed that haunted hiain "Do you think she suffered?"
Chiavari did not have to ask who he was talking about "I don&039;t know I pray not I owe you an eternal debt for" His voice broke "For releasing her If, in six months, you still wish to be destroyed I will repay that debt"
Touched by the soul-deep pain in the va hand on Chiavari&039;s shoulder
Chiavari&039;s surprise showed in his eyes
Realizing what he had done, Ramsey jerked his hand away
Chiavari smiled faintly before he raised his arue over the twin holes in his wrist "Can you think ed my mind, the answer is no But as you said, six months is only a moment in the life of a vampire" Ramsey stood abruptly "I&039;ll be back in six months to collect on that debt"
"I will be here"
Ramsey nodded curtly "I would rather you didn&039;t tell Marisa about this"
"Are you still in love with her?"
Raaze "I will always be in love with her Good night&039;&039; He took a deep breath "And thank you"
Leaving Chiavari&039;s house, Ramsey stalked the dark streets of the city He fancied he could feel the other va with his own He could certainly feel the results Strength flowed through hi moment Had he not hated what he had become, he would have rejoiced in his power The blood of three ancients flowed in his veins But for that, the sunlight would have killed hiht of that sooner He would not try such foolishness again Somehow, he would endure the next six o back to Chiavari and demand that the vampire destroy him, as promised
And until then, what?
He stopped and sniffed the air Kelly had passed this way recently He would know her scent, her heartbeat, anywhere Following the Siren call of her blood, he crossed the street, his yearning for her carrying his; the fact that he was now in a part of town considered dangerous by ordinary ister on him at all Her scent drew hi outside a seedy boardinghouse
He sensed the street punk before he saw him - ss that clung to his clothing and clouded his mind
He turned to face him, his teeth drawn back in a feral snarl
The boy was no more than fourteen or fifteen His eyes widened when he saw Ramsey&039;s expression; his face paled when he realized he was no longer the hunter but the prey He took a step backward, the knife falling fro on the sidewalk
"No" The hispered past his lips as the vaazed into the boy&039;s eyes Sheer horror stared back at him The stench of the boy&039;s terror filled Rarowl rose in his throat; his fangs lengthened
"No"
A sob, a barely audible plea for ust, Ramsey thrust the boy away
The boy stumbled back, turned, and fled
Ramsey stared after him, appalled by what he had alulfed hiain so soon? Six o on like this for sixthe scent of earth and trees, the strong aroma of fried food, the stink of unwashed bodies The breeze shifted again, teasing his nostrils with the scent of jasmine
The sound of applause drew his attention
"Bravo!"
Turning, he saw Khira crossing the street toward hiht, the most beautiful creature he had ever seen She wore a black cloak over a wine red gown
"Is this how you pass your ti little boys?"
"I guess you would have killed hiraceful movement of her slim shoulders "Perhaps Certainly even you can see he would have been no great loss When he gets over his fright, he will be on the hunt again We vampyres can perfor on the predators" As was her habit, she linked her arlanced over his shoulder Kelly would have to wait
"Slu to ask you the sas you to this dreadful part of town?"
"I was going to visit a a friend"