Blood Wyne by Yasmine Galenorn Read Free Book Online

movie— The Return of Dracula . She startled as I came in, scrambling to kneel. I let her, then gently laughed and sat on the arm of her chair.
    “At ease, Erin. Sit down and watch the movie.” I motioned to the screen. “Thank heavens we don’t dress the old-school way anymore, huh?”
    She blinked, cautiously taking her seat. “I’d look pretty bad in a cape and low-cut dress. Did you call Sassy, Mistress?”
    “Not yet. And you can call me Menolly in private.” I really wanted to pay a visit to Sassy, but first I had to think over what I was going to say. But I knew I’d have to talk to her eventually. As Erin and I settled in to watch the movie, around four thirty the phone rang.
    “Menolly! Thank God, you’re there. Is Erin with you?” Sassy sounded flustered. “I just checked on her and she’s not in her room. I’m so sorry—but I thought you might know where she is. I pray she’s not lost.”
    Either Sassy was fishing to find out what I knew, or she really did believe Erin had taken off somewhere and gotten herself lost. Either way, the longer I kept Sassy in the dark about Erin spilling the beans on her nocturnal blood sports, the better. At least until I decided what to do about the problem.
    “Yes, she is. Erin called me from the park. She just went out for a walk and got a little confused. I decided to bring her home with me so we could spend some time together. She’s fine. I’ll drop by tomorrow night.”
    Sassy paused. Then, hesitantly, “Are you sure? I can come get her.”
    “No—don’t worry. Erin’s going to play slumber party here. I’ll call you tomorrow night.” Another lie. I was planning on showing up unannounced, without Erin. That ship had sailed and gone. Erin would never spend another night at Sassy’s.
    “If you’re sure . . . A strain in Sassy’s voice caught my attention. A tension that hadn’t been there before. I listened to the nuance below it. She was hungry. Sassy was hungry and longing to hunt. I knew the feeling all too well, but I kept my hunting within strict perimeters. Sassy had crossed the line.
    As I murmured good-bye, I wondered again: Did I have the right to put an end to Sassy’s hunting? She was becoming the predator, but did that mean it was my place to play judge, jury, and executioner?
    True, she had asked me to end her life if I noticed her slip over the edge. But would she want that now? Would she still be willing to stand there, waiting for the stake? Would she walk into the sun if she realized just how far she’d crossed the line? But the fact remained, from what Erin said, that Sassy was now kidnapping and torturing the innocent. And that was unacceptable.
    “Menolly?”
    I turned back to find Erin staring at me. “Yes?”
    “Sassy and I’ve talked many times about right and wrong . . . good and evil. She didn’t want to be a vampire in the first place. She wasn’t given a choice. She told me more than once that she doesn’t want to wear a black hat, as she put it. She said that as much as she loved me . . .
    Here, Erin hung her head and a bloody tear streaked down her face. I reached out and lifted her chin, nodding for her to go on. “She told me that she doesn’t think she has much of a future left. That it’s too hard for her to control the desire to hunt.”
    “I’m sorry, Erin. I’m so sorry.” I knew that my daughter and Sassy had formed a romantic bond, even though I’d encouraged them to wait before sealing their relationship—at least until Erin had spent long enough in the life to know what she wanted.
    Erin shrugged. “I am, too. I came out of the closet to my family about being gay and a vampire and they drove me out of their lives a few months ago. I’m alone in this world and still unsure about myself. Sassy’s all I’ve got.”
    “No, no she isn’t.” I put my hands on her shoulders. She was a little taller than I, but looked so unsure and hesitant. “You have me—I’m your Blood-Mother. You have