Fate Of The Minotaur (Her Dragon's Bane 5) by Harmony Raines Read Free Book Online

Raoul was terrifying enough, so what this new vampire was going to be like, she dreaded.
    Yet knowing she had to face him, she turned and looked at her saviour of sorts. And was stunned by what she saw. He was so tall, his eyes aglow, making him look like the devil, his hunger evident in those eyes. And then he took control of himself and the glow faded, with only a flicker to show he wasn’t human. But what a human he must have been, his dark hair worn unfashionably long, curling at the ends; he looked like a swarthy pirate, almost, yet there was a refinement to him that spoke of manners and a good upbringing.
    “Sybil, my dear. I am blessed that you came to me.” He looked up and down the street and then said, “Come in quickly. You will be safe inside.”
    “Will I?” she asked.
    He looked slightly offended, and then he smiled and said, “I give you my word.”
    “And that should make me feel safe?”
    “I might be dead, but I still have my honour,” he said, making her feel guilty at offending him.
    A whispering began behind her again, and she decided that she had little choice. This vampire was probably untrustworthy, but he knew who she was, and hopefully that meant she had at least some value to him. It might keep her alive, whereas out in the street meant certain death at the hands—or teeth—of Raoul.
    She stepped inside and he shut the door quickly, barring it with an iron bar that would no doubt hold out an army. The coolness of the building gave her chills despite her warm coat, and she knew that daylight had not entered these rooms for eons. The question remained whether she would ever see sunlight again, or had she entered a tomb from which she would never leave.
    “I would offer you something to drink. I have wine.”
    “No, thank you,” she said. “I think it would be best if I stayed completely in control of my faculties.”
    He smiled that dazzling smile again. “You are so sweet, so naive; to think that a drop of wine will make any difference to what happens to you here. Please.” He led her to another room, the walls and ceilings decorated with paintings, the furniture carved from mahogany, rich and dark like her guest.
    Despite her protest, he poured her a glass of deep red wine. Having accepted it, she took a sip, marvelling at the richness and glad for the warmth it spread through her body. “Thank you.”
    “My pleasure. No, really it is. I know it’s the finest wine, but there is no one to drink it. No one to enjoy it. So to see someone, alive, take a first sip and feel the richness of such a valuable vintage is pleasing to my mind.”
    “Why did you send your gargoyles?”
    He started at her abruptness. “What has become of the human race, if there are no pleasantries before we get down to business?”
    “This is not a social call. You sent your creatures for me. Why?”
    He turned from her and strolled away. With his back still to her, he looked out of the boarded-up window. She wondered if he imagined what it was like to look out on the daylight, to see flowers and trees in anything other than twilight.
    “I hoped they would bring you to me in the daylight. That way your coming could have been kept from those I have some problems with.”
    “You could have just asked.”
    “And you would have come to the vampire’s lair?” With only a faint whisper in the air, he was there in front of her, his breath, so cold on her throat. “You are brave, Sybil. But not that brave.”
    “I’ve come now.”
    “Yes, you have. Which makes me feel you have something to tell me. The same thing I need to hear. I was told of you. Imagine. A Sybil being here in Spellholm.”
    She stood her ground when every atom in her body raged at her to run away, to put as much distance as she could between her and this predator who was only a breath away from turning her into one like himself. “Is that why you tried to kidnap me?”
    “ Kidnap . It’s such a violently ugly word. What I did was for