"Since you encountered Rhiannon and her minion, you know that not all vampires feed on blood, correct?"
I nodded. "Yes, it felt like he was taking years away from me, sucking the life out of me, when he fed."
"Well, vampires can also feed on other types of energy, depending on their lineage. Some vampires can feed on sexual energy and were often confused with incubi and succubi." She paused. "And others can feed on strong emotions such as fear. When they make a connection with a...victim, they can give them mental nudges. In your case, I'm fairly certain that Andre Dumont has been manipulating your dreams and pushing your nightmares to the forefront when they would naturally subside. It's one of the ways he feeds. And it strengthens his hold over you."
Oh, my God. "How do we break the bond?"
"Well, this is where the good news-slash-thing-you're-not-going-to-like comes in," she answered.
"I guess good news first this time," I sighed.
"The bond can be broken because you've also established a bond with another vampire. A strong bond."
"Marcus," I murmured.
She nodded. "Yes. You and Marcus have created a mental link and, considering he's never fed from you, it's stronger than I would have expected."
"Okay, so this is a good thing how?"
"Your bond with Marcus can be used to break the one with Dumont."
"How do we do that?"
"This is the part you're not going to like," Ava said. I gestured for her to continue. "Okay, part of the good news, bad news, situation is that you're empathic. You're not strong enough to read thoughts or the full scope of emotions, but you have just enough natural talent to read surface emotions. Or draw the attention of vampires."
"Are you saying that I have telepathic abilities?" I asked, incredulous.
Ava smiled and gave a small shake of her head. "Not exactly. You have just enough natural ability to pick up on minute things and to reach out, but you're not quite strong enough to read people's minds or anything like that."
"Marcus said that he didn't connect with me on purpose. Is that how it happened? Did I invite him?"
"Not exactly. He didn't do it on purpose and you didn't ask him," Ava insisted. "Because of your talents, you, for lack of a better word, broadcast. Vampires have very sensitive antennae because it helps them find prey. And you call to them, quite loudly. Marcus can't control his empathic or precognition during his sleep, which is why he locked in on your dreams. It wasn't intentional, I promise."
"Okay, but I'm guessing that Dumont is different?"
"I haven't finished tracing his lineage, but I'm almost certain his maker feeds on a combination of blood and fear. Once he feeds from you the first time, it creates a sort of chain between you. You're bound tighter and tighter each time he feeds on your nightmares."
Shit. I'd been having nightmares since Rhiannon came into my life and even after she left it.
"Yes, you're in deep shit."
I glanced up at her with wide eyes, which made her laugh a little.
"I didn't read your mind. But it is likely that he's deeply bound to you, which means it's going to be very difficult to root him out."
"So what can I do? Marcus mentioned an amulet."
But Ava was already shaking her head. "That won't work. If he wasn't already in your head, it would keep him out, but it won't be fully effective unless he's gone."
"Fully effective?"
She shrugged. "It could work part of the time but not every night."
"How much of the time?"
Ava held her hand up and waggled it from side-to-side. "Maybe thirty percent."
Okay, so that wasn't good enough. Seventy or eighty, I could do, but not thirty.
