Blood Reaction A Vampire Novel by DL Atha Read Free Book Online

was sure they would snap at any moment and my vision was starting to tunnel at the lack of oxygen.
    “She was a good woman.” His voice was softer with those words, his face gentler and his hands relaxed slightly, just enough that I could breathe shallowly.
    I saw in that moment a trace of humanity, the first that I had seen in him. As both a mother and a daughter, I could understand his pain. His grip loosened and I pulled myself out of his hands, falling backwards on the floor.
    “It was you that I was trying to insult, not your mother.” My voice was raspy from the force of his hands. I tried not to let my voice shake too much, but I couldn’t control it completely and if he noticed it, he didn’t show it.
    “Yes, I sometimes forget that semantics have changed over the years.” The rage had left his face just as suddenly.
    Taking a moment to calm my voice, I went on to the main point. “How can I cooperate?”
    He had me now and he knew it; the victory showed on his face. “Occasionally, I long for a short period of human company. Very short, mind you. To understand, you must know something of vampires, our cravings, and you must know something of me. Blood is my main objective. It controls my every thought. I crave it, long for it and there is nothing more important than finding it. However, I do have other desires.”
    Here he held up a finger for emphasis. “Although they are all colored by the desire for blood. I am essentially a loner as all vampires are, I believe. A nomad as I said earlier, roaming night after night rarely doing anything more than skirting the human world except to feed. Occasionally, it grows mundane and I choose a human with whom to spend a few days. To reacquaint myself with humanity, it helps me understand my prey better. Keep up with the changing of times and the human race itself. It is good for our kind to be able to drop our guard from time to time and be known for what we really are. To not have to conceal our most base desires if only for a few days. I do this very seldom, but it seems that now is a good time.”
    “I will benefit and so will you and that is why I have chosen you. You have something I want and I can give you something that you want. Please do not think it is because you are special or different from the thousands of other humans I have killed. You are not different. You are not special. You will most certainly die when our time is up. You are alone, however, and will be alone in your home for some time; so it provides a convenient opportunity. I give this opportunity to you in exchange for your daughter’s life. Do you accept the terms?”
    I studied his face looking for a hint of what he was really thinking as he spoke, but it might as well have been cast in stone. I wasn’t quite sure what he was saying or maybe my mind just refused to accept what he was offering. After our previous encounters in the evening, I was fairly certain that I understood the talk of blood, but could I cooperate and be his companion? And what did that even mean? I was sure there would be more to it than I was capable of realizing in my current condition.
    I started to speak but he held up his hand, placing his right pointer finger on my lips, cutting off my questions.
    “Do you accept the terms? Your cooperation in exchange for your daughter’s life? It is a simple question. Yes or no? The specifics will be explained later. And by the way, I killed old lady McElhaney. Ripped her throat out and left her dying body to rot. You are totally alone.” He waited now for my answer.
    My mind was on what he had said about Ms. McElhaney. I realized he must have overheard the conversation with my mom on the phone. It all came together then. The sensation of panic and terror that had chased me from the woods and then what I had felt upstairs had been him.
    “Yes. Of course. Anything for her.” I nodded my head as he pulled his finger away from my mouth.
    I grasped his hand as he pulled it