Free Empath (Book 1 of the Empath Trilogy) by HK Savage Page B

as he turned his head, taking in all in attendance.  But what caught and held me completely captivated were his steady, smoky blue eyes.  Was that just the hint of freckles splashed across the tops of his cheeks?  I had never heard of freckles on a vampire.  Granted, maybe Ann Rice missed that part.  
     
    “By all means, Henry,” Troy looked over, “James, good to see you again.  I hadn’t realized you were back in the country.  Please, come in.”  Stepping back to allow them to enter, Troy looked nonplussed to be welcoming the two vampires into the house.  Henry must be a good vampire.  Was there such a thing?  It seemed that the two groups got along well enough to visit each other’s homes.   It struck me that my world was a much different place this evening than it had been just a few hours ago.  And to think, I had been worried that tonight would be complicated by Stephen’s romantic interest in me.  Huh, if only.
     
    Henry strode inside to stand in front of the large window at the front of the room.  James stood a few feet to his left, nearest the door.  The Andrews resumed their previous positions on the loveseats.  Not certain what to do, I hovered next to Stephen’s end of the loveseat, putting as much distance as politely possible between myself and the vampires.  It didn’t matter that Henry was just a librarian.  He didn’t look like one right now, I didn’t know if he would ever look like just anything again. 
     
    Henry looked at each member of the family, nodding slightly at them individually.  Lastly, he looked briefly at me and nodded deliberately, almost a bow.  Not knowing what to do, I bobbed my head back, still holding his chocolate eyes with mine.
    Troy spoke first.  “Claire has come tonight to visit with our family.  I am sure she is finding her visit enormously educational.  Isn’t that right, Claire?  You can speak freely in front of her.”  He looked at me then, “Yes?”
     
    Again, my assent was silent, eyes drifting between Henry and Troy, relieved when no one mentioned my “gift.”
     
    “As you know, James has certain,” he paused, “connections in the area.  This evening, one of these connections has come to him with some news.  The rumors of another coven moving into our territory are true.  They are believed to be former military and of a most violent disposition.”  Henry paused and looked at Stephen.  “We are uncertain of their intentions; we merely know they are coming to this area and have been rather flamboyant with their hunting in the past.”
    Hunting; was that what they called it when they killed people?  I felt a cold shiver run down my spine.  It was hard to picture Henry or this handsome James sucking the life out of some poor human.  Someone like me, I thought.  I felt sick and my eyes went to the floor.
     
    “Claire, why don’t you sit down?”  Henry was looking at me. 
     
    Stephen twisted his neck back to where I was standing.  “Claire you look a little green.”  He was worried.
     
    It took a couple of swallows and I licked my lips to speak.  It didn’t work.  I just shook my head and stumbled over to sit next to Stephen on the arm of the couch.
     
    Henry continued, “We prefer not to have any issues in this area that might bring unwanted attention to our own local population.  I have come to ask your clan to help us in our efforts to dissuade them from entering our area and continue moving beyond our boundaries.  Stephen, would you be willing to assist us?”
     
    Though I didn’t know what talents the other members of his family might have, I could see how Stephen’s lie detector trick or ability to insert thoughts into people’s heads could help to influence the unwanted visitors to stay away.  So, the vampires here in this area were quiet about their, er, hunting.  That was good.  I wasn’t sure how good, but I did consider it a good thing that they wanted to avoid a bloodbath.  Or