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Vivian

The stink of death hangs over Rome like thick smoke on a day with no wind Less than an hour afterbodies of plague victi, old, wo to be hauled away I&039;ve seen this before when death ravages a city-there are not enough people to do the work Having a rogue va healthy doesn&039;t help, either

The council sent ue wasn&039;t the only thing sweeping through the population, killing with abandon From what I was told, this saers so the tenuous hold they have on their inner ue

A few conceal their insanity, walking the fine line of hiding their many kills from society and their brethren for decades, while others snap and slaughter blindly until caught and eliminated

Thehold around h the darkened, deserted streets I&039;m dressed like a nobleman in hose, breeches, a linen shirt, and a sleeveless doublet-withhair is bound under a hat, my face darkened with coal to look like facial hair

I searched for days to discover where the rogue hunted The residences of the city&039;s merchant fa they&039;ve shut themselves off from the lower classes whom the sickness often hits first I came across three separate piles of sheet-wrapped victiht, I wander those sa for anyto see what the evening ure roa back and forth scanning for signs of prey

He strolls past piles of garbage, then hesitates outside a dwelling where a candle flickers inside The sound of a baby crying for arouses the hoedthe simple noise into a loud hoot of air to draw the va straight toward the beast

I keepto see what he&039;ll do He glances fro at hiue&039;s unwashed stench hits ressed past the ability to blend into society My powers are locked down tightly and the illusion of a healthy human pulses around me like a second skin

Halfway across the street, I dropit and displaying et The insane va the distance between us in the blink of an eye Anticipating hisuts the advancing va on his feet, his innards spill onto the stones The rush of his released power fillse spills into the night, but I pay it nothe blade with both hands, and slice his head froht as the body cruround

My instincts race to the surface, driving me to follow custom, and drink Spoils to the victor

The hot liquid flonfrom the acidic taste of the crazed to the rare flavor of love Me down the blood like my very existence depends on it

Passionate kisses, loving e with the ht would be forever deniedme back my hands latch onto a rist and the smell of my husband fillsdrink I have you now"

I drink for several ht not be real The burning in e in the heartbeat underdonor

A rough hand travels up and down ently on a warm lap If this is a dream my mind has created to escape the torture I don&039;t want to wake up

"Dria? Can you hear h my haze, the pain in the voice unmistakable Small drops hit my face as lips press to ht the dark and coony of not knowing any longer, I openforain But they&039;re not

The only link tohumanity looks down at ht I lost you there for a while," Rafe says

My husband stands, carrying my battered body and steps over the decapitated body of Lucas on his way to the door The aroers on him, the scents toowith Rafe&039;s, as they course down ht I&039;d already lost you"

His sed lines of exhaustion carved into his face "You should know by noill never give up"

The mental wall I hold close cru theto him with a ferocity born from the desperation of my own insanity I was there I was locked inside of the killing

I didn&039;t want to co back