Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger by Theresa Hissong Read Free Book Online Page A

now? I’m
pretty sure I’ll find out soon. He probably wanted to annoy me a
little more.
    Just as I closed the lid on the washing
machine, I felt my mind shift. Someone was reaching out to me and I
hated the feeling of being in another vampires mind.
    I locked my muscles down in place to hold
myself where I stood. The telepathy seeped into the folds of my
brain, showing me what the other being saw. For a moment, my world
went black. Small sparks filled my vision until they quickly faded
and I was standing in the heavily dense forest. The view I was
seeing was hazy, like a thin layer of clouds covered my sight.
    Help me! Please, you have to help me? The voice that echoed through my mind was that of a male, but
distinct heavy panting made it sound more like an animal.
    I let my senses range inward, feeling for a
sign as to who was speaking to me. Pain, what I experienced can
only be described as debilitating. It took every bit of my
willpower to keep the connection when all I wanted to do was run
away.
    “Who are you?” I begged. “ Where are
you?” The pain became so much, I could only cry. I experienced what
he was feeling. The bones and muscles in his body were stretching
and bending; causing extreme pain. I felt like my bones were being
ripped from the joints.
    A..Adam , he paused. You have to
help me, my memories, they’re fading. I’m lost... His voice was
soft, but extremely shaky.
    “What do you want me to do?”
    Please, don’t… kill me , he begged. There has to be a cure. I hurt, please! Help me. His voice
started fading. I needed more information from him, but before I
could speak, the pain peaked and I screamed. The connection between
us was very strong; strong enough to feel everything that his mind
and body experienced.
    While I screamed, my body convulsed. The pain
was worse than the fire I felt when that kid scratched me with the
stake. Adam’s body felt like it was being stretched to capacity.
His bones were on the edge of cracking from the pressure. A little
piece of me knew that pain was not mine, but through the connection
it felt as though my body was the one burning and stretching.
    As the connection faded, I promised myself I
would help Adam. Finding him was going to be a problem, one that
was now mine to solve. He begged me to not let them kill him. The
Lycan poison was taking his humanity; he was struggling to hold on
to his memories. If he didn’t get control over it, he would go
mad.
    The convulsions in my body increased as I
returned to myself; the pain all but vanished. Someone was shaking
me; annoying me. My eyes flashed open and as my vision cleared, I
noticed I was at an odd angle. Instead of looking at the washing
machine, I was staring at the ceiling. So much for holding on
tight; I had fallen out in the floor.
    “Charity!” Dragus’ voice thundered in my ear.
His huge hands were wrapped around my shoulders and he was the one
shaking me. Even though my eyes were open, he continued to
shake.
    “What!” I said, annoyed. Fighting him off, I
staggered to my feet.
    “Who were you connected too?” he demanded, in
that storm ridden voice. His eyes narrowed, watching for me to lie.
How the hell did he know I was a telepath? Damn Krieger ,
they knew everything about everyone.
    Part of the governments restrictions were
that vampires must register with the city. Paperwork, fingerprints
and DNA were required before someone could become a citizen.
Documentation of abilities was a requirement. Changing someone from
human to vampire also took loads of paperwork and had to be
approved by a judge, human of course. Some lawyer in California
even proposed a new law that humans could have the option of being
turned written into their living wills. So instead of life support,
they could opt for emergency vampirization, as I like to call
it.
    “No one you need to be concerned about,” I
lied. Well, I had too. Adam begged me not to tell and for some
crazy reason, I felt obligated to help him.