The Frenzy Series (Book 2): Frantic by Casey L. Bond Read Free Book Online Page B

there.”
    Well okay, then.
    We turned toward the Hall, which was an old church, climbed its steps and entered inside. Most thought vampires were unable to step foot in churches, but that was a myth. There were a lot of those surrounding our kind. People tended to make stuff up about things they didn’t know or understand, and unless you were a night-walker, you didn’t get it. Believe me.
    Sure enough, the three old men were in the building. Roman wasted no time.
    “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, Roman?” One of them stood up, his chair legs scooting across the floor boards. I think his name was Yankee.
    “Only one person, Saul Daniels, showed up for the rotation yesterday. We asked Saul not to come today, because he allowed each of us to feed from him yesterday. However, would you care to guess how many colonists showed up this morning?” Roman paused for dramatic effect before continuing. “Zero. So here’s the deal, and you can take it or leave it. We will feed tonight. The three of us will show up at the pavilion after sunset. If none of the colonists show up on their own, we will be forced to find food…and it will be from the veins of your citizens. We are not responsible for the recent murders, but we must eat. I know you can understand that.”
    Roman turned and walked away, leaving the old men to gape and gasp. Dara giggled.
    “Oh!” Roman threw his finger up and turned to the men with a sinister smile on his face. “And the treaty will be nullified if no one shows. That means no more help from us in the forest. If you hunt, you’ll go it alone. Good luck with the Infected.”
    To us, he said, “Let’s go. I’m done with their games. They know the rules.”
    “And I look forward to breaking them.” Dara smiled, showing off her long, delicate fangs. “Right after I pay Saul a little visit. Rumor has it that the carpenters need wood.”
    I shook my head. “You’re playing with fire.”
    “Consider me a pyro, Tage. I’m not afraid of Porschia Grant.”

 
     

     
    “I have to get out of here,” I said on a grunt. I was weak, but was still a million times stronger than my human self. Muscles teemed with energy as I eased metal apart, prying and lengthening the space between them. The bars groaned again, bowing under the pressure. “Just. A. Little. More.” Sniffing at the air, I sensed that it was still there. Just outside the house, maybe?
    Another wince and the hole in the door was just big enough. I squeezed through, the metal taut against the sides of my head, followed by my chest and shoulder blades as I eased out.
    The smell. There it was again. My mouth watered. This was no human. What was it? I ran up the steps, out the door, not even bothering to close it. I only stopped when the sunlight assaulted my eyes. Using my forearm as a shield, I ran toward the scent. The cold earth should have stopped me, but I didn’t feel it on my bare feet. Not now. Now, I was hot. So hot. Burning from the inside out. Dara’s clothes fit like a second skin. I ran faster than I’d ever run, blurring through the vampire section of town, past the pavilion, toward the barn. It was coming from there.
    When I got close, I stopped and took in my surroundings. Beyond the barn, there was an oak tree. There . I ran again, pumping my arms, forgetting the light that burned my corneas.
    “Porschia?”
    “Ford?” I held my hands over my eyes, blinking away the pain.
    “What are you doing here? I thought you were…sick.”
    “What are you doing? What am I smelling?” It was warm, earthy, gamey, and bloody.
    “I’m slaughtering a cow. The Elders ordered it this morning. They’re planning some sort of celebration in Town Hall, though I don’t know what in the world there is to celebrate in this place.”
    I walked further around the large trunk of the sycamore. There hung the carcass, stripped of its hide. Ford had already gutted it and was using a bucket of water to clean the bile from the