Blood and Redemption (Cassandra Myles Witch Series) by Electa Graham Read Free Book Online Page A

seems odd. I’m glad to still be here, but why didn’t you tell the police?”
    “We police our own kind , Cassandra. If the human authorities had been called in, everyone would know about it. It’s okay for a human to commit an atrocity. They get convicted and everyone returns to normal. People don’t look at each other thinking ‘he could kill me any minute just like the man in the news.’ A vampire is convicted and it gives fuel to those who hate us. They say ‘see, I told you they are killers.’”
    I saw his point and I even agreed, but I felt horrible about it. How could I agree to three people being killed on my behalf?
    “I see your point, but you killed them on my account. I feel responsible.”
    “Don’t ; if it wasn’t you, it would eventually be someone else. I screen who gets turned in my territory, as you well know. I make sure they go through all my checks and the waiting period before they are even considered, and then I make them work here at the house for a year. It gives me a chance to see if they have a character flaw that may be magnified. There are rogues and not every master is as scrupulous. The three I killed came from New York. I think they came because their master didn’t want the trouble of policing them anymore.”
    I had to wear my big -girl pants for this conversation. This whole thing went under the category of “be careful what you ask for.” I had to have the truth and I had to be able to live with it. If I couldn’t, then maybe it wasn’t just Quintus I wasn’t meant for. Lucius was a vampire too and they had been together for a thousand years. It would be naïve to think he was an innocent bystander to everything that when on here.
    “What else?”
    “I had to discipline Killian two years ago . He was put in a dry cell for three months with no blood. I didn’t like doing it, but he refused a direct order. He is my representative in Seattle; it isn’t his territory. When I want an order carried out, it is to be carried out.”
    “It seems harsh. He must have had a good reason , right?”
    “I’m sure he thought so, but he still went against my orders and I couldn’t allow that to happen. It would make me look weak, especially with Killian. He has pushed me on things before. He can be very willful. It wasn’t the first time I’ve regretted taking him under my wing.”
    “I feel incredibly stupid that I had no idea any of this was going on.”
    “There is no need. I have spent most of my life hiding my true nature. Every vampire has. We’ve been out to the world for over fifty years and most people still don’t know anything about us. We are feared and hated. It’s our survival instincts that make us so good at hiding things.”
    “If you don’t like how he runs things , why don’t you replace him?”
    “I like to keep my friends close and my enemies closer.”
    “Do you really consider him an enemy?”
    “We were close once. His maker was a great man. I took him in when he was killed. He has such potential, but no respect for authority. My instincts are telling me he is up to something . I just can’t prove it.”
    “Have you tried to prove it?”
    He grinned and it chilled me. “Yes, I am a master vampire and that allows me to compel those I’ve sired and because age brings power, I can compel young vampires as well. I interrogated him after he came back from seeing his son. He was telling the truth, but I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something.”
    “I promise to keep that in the back of my mind when I’m dealing with him. I’m almost afraid to ask, but is there anything else I should know?”
    “Thousands of things , I’m sure, but the point is I won’t hide them from you, if you are sure that’s what you want.
    “Yes it is.”
    “So be it. Now, I’m hungry. Do you mind if I eat before we start your lesson?”
    “No.” I wish I had said that with a little more conviction.
    Did I have the courage to stay for this? I