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Chapter 28- Memories or not?
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SWEET BLOOD Chapter 29- Unexpected
James came out of a brief, light doze, fully recharged, as footsteps approached the apartment door from outside. He knew the sound of Grace’s soft but determined gait even before a key slid into the lock, announcing her arrival. She’d been gone for almost two hours. Another two and the sun would finally be gone, and he’d be free to get the hell out of there, back to his business as usual. Seated on the floor with his elbows resting on his knees, his back against the foam-padded wall, he watched as the door opened cautiously and Grace slipped inside. She didn’t seem as eager to singe him with the waning light from the hall; now she was focused on her own movements as if it took most of her concentration just to remove the key and carefully close the door behind her. A lumpy plastic grocery bag swung from her tightly fisted left hand. "Find what you need?" James asked her as she rested for a moment with her forehead pressed against the door. Her weak nod was her only reply. "Another h
SWEET BLOOD Chapter 30- James
James was delighted by the interception, whatever it might prove to gain, but if the Hunters—particularly their commander, Marlon—were expecting the package, then it must be of some importance to them. The question stuck around, why?James pulled the parcel out and sliced open the tape seals with one of the blades at his hip. The return address seemed to be one of those shared-office corporate types. Likely phony at that. His men could verify that fact, but James was betting that Marlon wouldn’t be so careless as to leave a reasonable paper trail.He tipped the box, and the contents—a thin, leather-bound book sealed in bubble wrap—slid into his hand. Skinning the cushioned plastic away from the antique, then frowned, baffled. It was just a featureless, half-empty book. A journal of some kind. Handwritten passages scribbled in what appeared to be a mixture of Latin and German covered a few of the pages; the rest were blank except for crude signs and marks doodled here and there in the
SWEET BLOOD Chapter 31- Such a jerk
Grace mentally rolled her eyes as she added. “James, whether you approve or not, I am part of this war. I didn’t go looking for it; the Hunters brought it to my door when my supposed father and grandmother died. All I’m asking is that you show me how to be more effective. I should think the Brotherhood would welcome any allies they can get.”“No!” James grumbled.“I can help.”“This isn’t about the Brotherhood and you know it.”“And why is that?”“I can't risk losing you again, Grace.” James murmured, his voice so serious that Grace thought that maybe she misheard him as he continued, “This is about revenge, an eye for an eye. Your emotions have been on a hard boil ever. They are powerful and so many against the brotherhood, against us. I need you alive, not dead.” James’s words cut into her like glass, the reality of what he said like acid poured into the wounds. Or was it concerned?“It’s about justice,” she told him sharply. “I need to make this right! Damn it, James, do I have to
SWEET BLOOD Chapter 32- New Breed
Totally unfazed, James pounced fast and hard on the Hunter he held on the floor, ripping one of his blades across the suckhead's throat. It roared and sputtered under the swift poison of the dagger's titanium edge, oozing gore as its body began a rapid meltdown. It's magic fading."Your turn," James told the other one as it attempted to scramble out of the way.The hunter threw its arm out, swiping at James with its blade. His magic buzzed on his sword, but it was a careless move, even for a hunter. When it had the chance to come at him, it hesitated, started itching to the side, drawing things out. Distracting him, James realized in the next instant when he heard the sudden crash of breaking glass coming from Grace's apartment."Son of a bitch," he growled as the woman's scream shot through the walls.The Hunter chose that second to fly at him, but James was ready for the attack. He leaped out of the suckhead's path, landing in a low crouch behind it and coming up fast with his blade
SWEET BLOOD Chapter 33- Brotherhood's Comp
James let go only to push her into the vehicle, and Grace scrambled onto the leather bench seat, her heart pounding in her chest. In a move so fast it hardly registered to her, he pivoted around, drew a dagger, and let it fly down the alleyway. From somewhere in the darkness came a shout of pain, then the low, anguished howl of a hunter meeting its demise at the end of James’s titanium blade. James dived into the SUV next to Grace and slammed the back door shut. "Make us gone, Danny. There's more on the way. Coming at us from above—"At that instant, something heavy hit the roof of the vehicle. In a peal of screeching tires, Danny threw the SUV into reverse, dislodging the Hunter onto the hood. A fast zigzagging maneuver threw it off the car completely, and as the feral vampire came up from its roll on the street, the leather-clad warrior in the passenger seat leaned out his open window and filled the Hunter with a merciless hail of bullets.The warrior squeezing the trigger shouted a
SWEET BLOOD Chapter 34- Lander
As James paused in the open doorway of the library, Lander looked up from an array of color photographs that his wife Ella had spread out before him on the squat table in the center of the room. She had a gift that extended beyond her artist’s eye for beauty: Ella’s camera lens was often drawn to vampire locations, both the brotherhood and hunter. It was in part how she and Lander met the past summer; now it wasn’t unusual for the mate to return from occasional daytime outings to the city and suburbs with pictures that proved useful to the Brotherhood’s recon efforts topside. But this particular collection was something different. Even from a distance, James’s eye was drawn to vibrant, sunlit images of the mansion's winter grounds and gardens. The ice glistened on branches like diamonds, and in one of the shots, a red cardinal was captured in close-up, a blast of shocking color amid a field of fresh white snow. A few of the pictures were taken in the city, some showing children in on
SWEET BLOOD Chapter 35- Looking for Darius
"Darius," Lander said, a dark weight hanging on that one word. "Who is Darius?" Ella asked, peering past Lander at the glyph scrawled onto the page. "Darius is an ancient name, once a formidable warrior, a sorcerer, and our friend," James explained. "Then become our enemy. He was one of the original members of the Vampire Hunters in the Kingdom of Nork. He is the very own trusted ally of the Master Sorcerer—a spy, a traitor, a first-generation vampire hunter. Darius fought against us when the master sorcerer declared war on our race." "I thought you didn't have that kind of memory, Sir... I mean, at the Nork?" Ella asked. "Ella, I have all the memory and knowledge in the world. It's just that some were cloaked, hidden in secret curses and spells, covered in mist, and sometimes I do remember them, yet most of the time, I don't have a recollection of knowing them. I might know something about it today, but tomorrow I might forget I ever told you such a thing. That's why Lander is wit
SWEET BLOOD Chapter 36- The girls
Grace looked down at the healed wound on her left arm, then over at Tara, whose gifted hands had erased all traces of the bleeding cut and mended the torn flesh with just a touch. "This is incredible. How long have you had this talent?""Pretty much all my life, I suppose." Tara pushed a curling lock of honey-blond hair behind her ear and gave a small shrug. "For a long time, I didn’t use it. I just wished it would go away, you know? So I could be... normal."Grace nodded, understanding completely. "You"re lucky, though, Tara. Your ability is one of strength. It works for the good."Shadows seemed to crowd the woman's aqua eyes. "Now it does, yes. Thanks mostly to Danny, that is. Before I met him, I had no idea why I was so different from other women. I treated my talent like a curse. Now I wish it went deeper. There is so much more I wish I could do.""Nice to hear that.""I can't take away old wounds and scars," Tara said. "And some of the worst ones a person bears are on the inside
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