If Karson turned me, I’d change emotionally as well as physically.
When the waters were first spelled over 600 years ago, the humans who drank it became immortal, but they also became infertile. Desperate to have families, they convinced a powerful witch to place a spell to allow them to have a baby. That’s how the original vampires like Karson and Sarah were born.
The only real threat to a firstborn was another firstborn.
Karson wouldn’t risk it. I shook my head. “He wouldn’t do it.”
“For reasons I can’t fathom, he cares about you. At least hethinkshe does.”
I ignored her jab. Dahlia had never bothered to look for the humanity in him. But if I remained a mortal, our relationship had an expiry date. Was that what this was? That’s what I wanted, desperately. He wouldn’t want to date a seventy-year-old woman …
Still, I was only twenty-two. Seventy was a lifetime away, and aging was not an issue I needed to concern myself with. Rightnow, all Karson and I wanted to focus on was finding Sarah and locking that spell book away for good.
I glanced at the floor-length windows, checking for shadows, a hint that someone was out there listening, but I could only see our images against the panes.
“Let’s go to the reading room,” I suggested.
The room was smaller, cosy and warm, a few remaining embers glowing softly in a large fireplace. The building was made of thick stone walls and the interior had been painted beige. One wall was covered floor to ceiling with books. I flicked on a lamp in the corner and stood by the fire, warming my back.
“How much do you know about vampires?” I asked.
“Everything there is to know.” She sipped her coffee, sinking into the plush couch. “I’ve been studying them since I was a little girl. It pays to know your enemy well.”
“Monique mentioned something about modern vampires being weaker.”
“Hang on.” Dahlia set her cup on the table, stood up, and took something out of her jacket pocket. A white-colored powder of some kind in a glass vial. She shut the door, then walked the room and sprinkled it in a large circle. The bottle was about the size of a blood vial, but the powder seemed to be endless and kept tumbling out. She flicked her hand and the powder erupted into a burst of purple-and-orange flames. Puffs of purple smoke rose into the air, billowing all the way to the ceiling.
“What’s that?”
“Just a little trick I keep up my sleeve.” She smiled. When Dahlia smiled, she looked softer, beautiful, and less … like she was going to rip your head off. “It conceals our presence—no one can see us or hear us.”
If Karson knew she had concealed me, he’d be furious. “Was it really necessary?”
“Relax.” She removed her black leather jacket and laid it across the back of the couch. “What do you think I’m going to do, kill you for being a traitor to your own kind?”
I slumped to the couch. “Really, do you always have to be such an ass?”
She shrugged and sat down on the couch opposite, holding her cup in one hand and hooking an ankle over her thigh. “You woke me at an ungodly hour, what do you expect, giggles and painting nails?” She tapped her black-painted nails on her cup.
“You chose to rush in like I’m some pathetic damsel in distress. I can take care of myself and I’m safer here than anywhere else right now.”
“You are safer with us,” she scoffed.
Arguing about it with her was pointless. I was too exhausted and felt too sick with worry about Karson to bother. “What do you know about the vampires? Why aren’t they as strong as the older lines?”
“There are a few theories, but it’s probably as simple as in the past the humans that were turned were mostly carefully selected. They were brave men and women with a fighter’s heart. They had to be to survive. Some were actual warriors. The innate skills they had as humans were enhanced upon turning. Today’s vampires are brunch boys that cry if someone shouts at them.” She slurped on her coffee and swallowed before she went on. “You can teach some skills to a competent standard, but you can’t teach heart.”
I wanted to ask how it affected the strength of power in their bones but kept my lips sealed. “What are the ways to kill vampires, then?”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “I’ve taught you how to do that already.”
“I mean Sarah.” I looked away from her analytical gaze. “If she attacks again, I want to be prepared.”
“She can die, but it’s hard to kill her. Remove her head, her heart and burn her body before she can regenerate. Then separate her ashes just to be certain.”
Karson must have come close to death when they stabbed him, if he was so badly injured. If Sarah had been there … A shudder ran over my entire body, spilling coffee over the rim and dripping onto my top. I placed the mug on the table.
“Have you heard any information about Cole or the waters?”Or the grimoire.
