Secret Vampire by Lisa J. Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

and reliable and he smelled good.
    "You said you had to be born one," she added blurrily, between sobs.
    "No, I didn't. I said I was born one. There are plenty of the other kind around. Made vampires. There would be more, but there's a law against just making any jerk off the street into one."
    "But I can't. I'm just what I am; I'm me. I can't be-like that."
    He put her gently away so he could look into her face. "Then you're going to die. You don't have any other choice. I checked around-even asked a witch. There's nothing else in the Night World to help you.
    What it comes down to is: Do you want to live or not?"
    Poppy's mind, which had been swamped in confu sion again, suddenly fixed on this question. It was like a flashlight beam in a pitch-black room.
    Did she want to live?
    Oh, God, of course she did.
    Until today she'd assumed it was her unconditional right to live. She hadn't even been grateful for the privilege. But now she knew it wasn't something to take for granted-and she also knew it was some thing she'd fight for.
    Wake up, Poppy! This is the voice of reason calling. He says he can save your life.
    "Wait a minute. I've got to think," Poppy said tightly to James. Her tears had stopped. She pushed him away completely and stared fiercely at the white hospital blanket.
    Okay. Okay. Now get your head straight, girl.
    You knew James had a secret. So you never imag ined it was anything like this, so what? He's still James. He may be some godawful undead fiend, but he still cares about you. And there's nobody else to help you.
    She found herself clutching at James's hand with out looking at him. "What's it like?" she said through clenched teeth.
    Steady and matter-of-fact, he said, "It's different. It's not something I'd recommend if there was another choice, but ... it's okay. You'll be sick while your body's changing, but afterward you'll never get any kind of disease again. You'll be strong and quick-and immortal."
    "I'd live forever? But would I be able to stop aging?" She had visions of herself as an immortal crone.
    He grimaced. "Poppy-you'd stop aging now. That's what happens to made vampires. Essentially, you're dying as a mortal. You'll look dead and be unconscious for a while. And then ... you'll wake up."
    "I see." Sort of like Juliet in the tomb, Poppy thought. And then she thought, Oh, God ... Mom and Phil.
    "There's another thing you should know," James was saying. "A certain percentage of people don't make it."
    "Don't make it?"
    "Through the change. People over twenty almost never do. They don't ever wake up. Their bodies can't adjust to the new form and they burn out. Teenagers usually live through it, but not always."
    Oddly enough, this was comforting to Poppy. A qualified hope seemed more believable than an abso lute one. To live, she would have to take a chance.
    She looked at James. "How do you do it?"
    "The traditional way," he said with the ghost of a smile. Then, gravely: "We exchange blood."
    Oh, great, Poppy thought. And I was afraid of a simple shot. Now I'm going to have my blood drawn by fangs. She swallowed and blinked, staring at nothing.
    "It's your choice, Poppy. It's up to you."
    There was a long pause, and then she said, "I want to live, Jamie."
    He nodded. "It'll mean going away from here. Leaving your parents. They can't know."
    "Yeah, I was just realizing that. Sort of like getting a new identity from the FBI, huh?"
    "More than that. You'll be living in a new world, the Night World. And it's a lonely world, full of se crets. But you'll be walking around in it, instead of lying in the ground." He squeezed her hand. Then he said very quietly and seriously, "Do you want to start now?"
    All Poppy could think of to do was shut her eyes and brace herself the way she did for an injection. "I'm ready," she said through stiff lips.
    James laughed again-this time as if he couldn't help it. Then he folded the bed rail down and settled beside her. "I'm used to people being hypnotized when I