After Midnight by Colleen Faulkner Read Free Book Online Page B

All around her the darkness was oppressing, yet as her panic subsided, so did her fear.
What am I doing
? she asked herself again.
I've never run from anything in my life
. She released the knob and turned to rest her back against the door. She was breathing hard, her heart pounding.
I can't run from this either
.
    Why
? she argued with herself.
    Because I love him.
    The thought was startling. Yet it felt right.
    "
I love him
, " she whispered.
    Still shaky, Emily walked back to the candlelight of the library. Inside, she slowly approached the book, lying harmlessly on its back. She stared at it for a long moment before she had the courage to pick it up.
    How can it be true
? she wondered, as she flipped the pages to the center of the book. But as she stared at the sketch of the dark-haired, fanged man, she knew it was true. She knew it in her heart of hearts. Gordon Fraser was a vampire.
    "No," she whispered as she sank onto the bottom step of the ladder. Tears filled her eyes. It was true. Everything he had told her was true. And it all made sense. His vast knowledge. His collection of books and artifacts. All true. All real.
    Her heart ached for Gordon. How could such a good man deserve such evil?
    She wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her nightgown. So was what Gordon told her that first night at Fraser Castle true? Was there no escape from his damnation?
    Emily knew she should be afraid. She knew that she should fear for her life and that of Ruth's, but right now all she could think of was Gordon's life. How horrible it must have been for him to have become what was in this sketch. A man with fangs. A man who must suck the life's blood of others to sustain his own life.
    But surely there had to be a cure… an antidote. Wasn't there always a way to reverse a spell or a curse? Just thinking such thoughts made her heart spin. Emily had spent her entire life thinking analytically, rationally. There was no room in her world for fanciful tales or belief in myths.
    "There has to be a way," she said, rising. She began to pace, the book open in her palm. "There has to be an answer, Gordon. And it just might be here."
    She flipped through several pages.
But Pictish
, she thought. Even if the answer was here, how could she read it? If the answer had been here, wouldn't Gordon have found it centuries ago?
    The moment her head began to fill with negative thoughts, she caught herself. She knew from experience that nothing could be solved with pessimism. She had to believe in herself. She had to believe that good conquered evil.
    She closed the book and brought it to her chest. She had to believe that the answer was here and that she could find it. She had to believe her love for Gordon could save his soul.
     
    Ruth was the first to appear in the morning to break the fast. When she entered the great hall, Emily was sipping coffee she'd made for herself in the kitchen, and poring over the pages of the vampire book. She'd been up all night.
    "Morning," Ruth called cheerily.
    It had not escaped Emily that Ruth had been all smiles for more than a week. Nor did it escape her that her companion's cheer had something to do with the fisherman-turned-manservant.
    "Good morning," Emily said.
    Ruth plopped herself down in a chair across from Emily and poured herself a mug of coffee. "And where were you all last night? Tending to Gordon, I suppose?" She winked. "Keeping him warm and comfortable?"
    Emily closed the book. "Ruth, I have to talk to you. About something serious. I found a book last night."
    "A book in this place?" She made a face. "Imagine that."
    "Ruth. It's a book written in Pictish." She raised it as proof. "It's about vampires."
    "Certainly would make for a nice bedtime story, if I read Pictish, of course."
    "Ruth, listen to me." Emily took a deep breath. "He really is a vampire."
    Ruth burst into laughter, spewing coffee. "He… he…" She couldn't speak for choking.
    "It's not funny."
    Ruth wiped her mouth then the table with