Dark Solace by Tara Fox Hall Read Free Book Online Page B

attempted chuckle more of a bass booming
sound. “Or from some fanged idiot who forgot what time it was and
tried to bury himself to escape the sun.” He shrugged. “That does
work, if the hole’s deep enough.”
    “But why that particular smell?” I
persisted.
    “Most likely, the scent isn’t earth at all,
just some chemical mixture the human brain recognizes as earthy. I
can’t comment, really; vampires always smell like blood to me. I
don’t smell anything earthy about them, although I’ve heard others
say that was true—
    It hit me suddenly who had smelled of earth:
Lash. “It must be from Devlin’s blood in the potion,” I said
aloud.
    “What?” Titus rumbled, turning to look at
me.
    “Lash smells like a vampire. That earthy
smell is stronger on him than it is on Danial or Dev. The Lust
probably activated with him because it recognized him wrongly as a
vampire instead of a weresnake.”
    Titus nodded thoughtfully. “You’re probably
right. He’s been on that potion for years.”
    “He said it caused him pain.” I bit my lip,
pondering. “Why does my blood take away Lash’s pain?”
    “I’m not sure,” Titus answered, gazing at me
unblinking. “I would guess that whatever gives you the power to
give a vampire child life resides in your blood. It always comes
back to the blood, Sarelle. And yours is a mixture of half-demon,
and powerful vampire, similar to the most important parts of the
potion. Add to that your own mysterious ‘summer blood’ and your
plasma is probably more powerful than the potion Lash takes now,
even with Devlin’s newfound power.”
    “Would it help him live longer?” I asked
bluntly.
    Titus pulled me into the garage, and again
murmured the incantation to conceal our words.
    “Lash told me about your blood,” Titus
rumbled as he finished. “When I told him not to take any of it, he
told me you gave him permission—”
    I nodded. “Yes.”
    “— then he told me to fuck
off.”
    “Sounds like him,” I said, smirking. “I
offered him some, but he said no.”
    “Sar, beware of Lash,” Titus cautioned. “His
only loyalty is to Devlin. He cares about no one else.”
    My hackles went up. “You’re talking about a
friend.”
    “He’s not your friend,” Titus rumbled, his
red eyes glowing. “And your blood might have enough power to curb
his decline—”
    I took a sharp intake of breath. “Then I have
to tell him, make him agree to—”
    “No,” Titus growled. “Lash drained Tasha the
night he killed her. He’d do it to you.”
    I got up abruptly. “Did you tell him this?
You didn’t, did you?”
    “Of course not!” Titus retorted. “I told him
he had lived as long as he was going to. And he accepted it. He has
time left, though not much, respectively.”
    “Then I’m going to tell him.” I moved to go.
“Now.”
    Titus blocked me, heat washing over me like a
bonfire. “Sar, don’t tell him.”
    “Titus, Lash never asked for my blood. He
only took it when I made him—”
    And that last time, which didn’t count, not
really.
    “— when I offered it to him to stop his
pain, he refused. He’s not going to hurt me.”
    “You tell him you can save his life, Sar, and
he won’t refuse,” Titus rumbled. “You remember this: if you throw a
drowning man a rope, sometimes you get pulled down with him.”
    I shot him an angry look, and then went
upstairs in search of Lash. But he didn’t answer his door when I
knocked. Stymied, I reluctantly entered Dev’s room.
    The crib was missing. Worried, I checked the
nursery, but there was no one there either, though the crib there
was in its normal place, the covers turned down expectantly.
    “Serena had said Dev and Venus were both gone
yesterday,” I muttered, turning off the light. “You’re an idiot for
panicking.”
    After using Devlin’s shower, I got some of my
clothes from Devlin’s dresser, and put them on. Waiting in bed
naked or even in a nightgown was too awkward after all