Nightlord: Sunset by Garon Whited Read Free Book Online Page A

learning to wiggle your ears, but I was getting it.  It explained the pains in my mouth during the first three days, anyway.  The fangs have to retract somewhere.
    “Which leads us to what conclusion?”
    He shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I’d say you’re a vampire, but you apparently get better during the day.  Since you don’t fry in the sunlight, that shoots down the vampire idea.”
    “Oh, I don’t think that’s unreasonable,” I countered.  “There are legends about vampires that walked in daylight; they were just weaker during the day.  Could be the ultraviolet, maybe, or other solar radiation.”
    “What about the night-stalking, day-fearing, bloodthirsty fiends of evil that haunted mankind and wantonly slew anyone they wished, killing mercilessly in their nocturnal orgies of blood?”
    I looked at Travis.  He grinned.  I grinned back.
    “Well, nobody’s perfect,” I replied.
    “Good to see you still have a sense of humor.”
    “I may be dead, but I’m still good people.  So let’s assume I am a vampire, a kind that doesn’t toast in sunlight.”
    “Okay.  Are we postulating vampires exist?”
    “Yep.  Let’s go ahead and add most other supernatural beasties as well, just to be safe.”
    “Great.  Can I be a werewolf?”
    “You’re hairy enough.  You need sharper teeth, though.”
    “I’ll talk to my dentist.  Go on about vampires.”
    I thought about it, remembering all the mythology and folklore I’ve read.  I have an eclectic library stuffed into boxes.  Someday, I’ll have shelves for it all.
    “All right.  There are a lot of legends and folklore about vampires.  A common thread to most of them is blood drinking.  ‘Why’ varies from culture to culture, but it’s pretty universal.”
    “What are the exceptions?”
    “Female vampires—succubi—sometimes fed on seminal fluid.”
    “Wow.  Lucky guy.”
    “Not considering the fact it also sucked the life out of him.”
    “Ouch,” he replied, wincing.  “What a way to go.”
    “Male versions of such creatures—incubi—would feed on the sexual energies of women.  In all these cases, it’s a symbolic consumption of life energies, really.  Blood, semen, sexual power—all just forms of energy, when you come down to it.  The energy of life.”
    “So you could get laid instead of drinking blood?” he asked.
    “Or both, if I really wanted to be unkind.  I’ll skip that for now; I’ve got too much on my mind.  Besides, I have no idea how to feed on sex—and no smart remarks, please.”
    Travis looked thoughtful and sat down at the table with a plate.  “You mind if I eat in front of you?”
    “Not so long as I can eat in front of you, someday.”
    He nodded and started in.  “You know, with no heart action, I’m not sure you can engage in sexual intercourse.  With no blood flow to fill the erectile tissues, you’re probably rather limp.”
    I thought about it and realized he had a point.
    “Could be.  That would put a damper on the evening, certainly.”
    Travis chewed and looked thoughtful for a while.  I had some thinking to do, myself.  This could be doable.  If sunrise and sunset were as bad as it got, slurping down restaurant meat drainage could be done.  I’d regret not being able to swim.  I’d regret not being able to watch a sunrise.  But…
    “Eric?”
    “Hmm?”
    “You mentioned that Sasha knows a lot about this.  She’s the one who caused it, after all.”
    “Yes.”
    “Could we just ask her what she knows?”
    I hesitated.
    “I suppose so,” I answered, slowly.
    I didn’t want to ask her.  I wasn’t sure what I wanted from her, if anything.  It’s no easy thing to be told you’re the reincarnation of a long-dead vampire count and you’re a vampire now, by the way, congratulations.  She struck me as being way too hung up on the guy.  While it was probably romantic, love never dies and all that, it made me think of obsession, insanity, and lots of loose