Free Kismet Knight, Vampire Psychologist 3 - Dark Harvest by Lynda Hilburn Page A

legs. The experience reminded me of roller-skating when I was a kid. After wearing the skates for so many hours, navigating flat surfaces felt weird. My depth perception was out of whack, Page 33
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    and I felt dizzy. That’s what it was like to travel through thought.
    I padded over to the couch and flopped into the cushions.
    Devereux followed me, hands on his hips. He cocked his head and gave me an annoyed glare. “What are you doing? We must return to my penthouse. You should gather your clothing.”
    I pasted on my best bland expression and spoke conversationally. “I told you. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. Why does this Hallow upset you? Who is he? You might as well sit down and tell me, because nothing else is going to happen until you do.”
    He scorched me with his gaze for a few seconds, then raised one perfect eyebrow. He sighed theatrically, and sat next to me.
    Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.
    “Dog?”
    “Never mind.” I imitated the dismissive gesture he’d used earlier. “Tell me about Hallow.”
    He held up his hand, palm toward me, his voice cold. “You must stop saying his name. In the magical world, speaking someone’s name is an invitation. It is especially important for you not to, since he has already accessed your thoughts and influenced your behavior. You must discipline yourself to avoid even thinking it.”
    “But why?” I asked, genuinely perplexed. Wouldn’t I know if someone had influenced my behavior?
    “Were you aware of my influence on you when we first met?” he answered, in response to my unvoiced question. “Did you realize that your heightened interest in sex and your increased awareness of men in general were caused by dormant desires I had awakened in you?”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “At the time, you said you found yourself attracted to several men. In fact, you judged yourself harshly because of it.”
    “Are you saying you did something to me? You caused my reactions?” My fists clenched.
    “Yes.” He nodded. “But not intentionally. I simply enhanced your … repressed … sexuality.”
    I had thought it was odd that I attracted so much male attention back then. How irritating that he hadn’t told me.
    “You could’ve said something, you know, instead of letting me beat myself up about it.”
    “Yes.” He shrugged. “I suppose I should have, but there never seemed to be an appropriate moment.”
    “Never an appropriate moment? But you have plenty of time to warn me about this Hallow guy?”
    Devereux closed his eyes for a few seconds, probably mentally counting to ten, or whatever vampires did to calm themselves, then he refocused on mine. “This individual is the oldest vampire on the planet.
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    So old that I cannot even imagine the mind of such a creature. Something seems to happen when one lives so extraordinarily long. A change occurs. Time itself begins to distort the brain cells, causing a stronger reliance on the old brain—the primitive mechanisms.
    “Humans are predators, of course, and vampires even more so. In this ancient’s case, the predatory instinct has been heightened beyond all known limits. The thinking part of his brain continues to evolve and expand, but it is governed by a dark, evil nature. He is, in essence, a perfect killing machine. As the centuries wore on, he became more violently sadistic. It no longer satisfies him to merely destroy his human food. He now requires ever-greater stimulus, so he has turned to killing his own kind. He takes great pleasure in torture and misery. He has a stable of female slaves to serve his needs, which he adds to frequently.”
    He paused briefly before speaking, his eyes blazing murderously. “I believe he plans to add you.”
    My mouth fell open and goose bumps crawled up my