Free Melabeth Forgive Me, For I Am Sin! by E. B. Hood Page A

taken me two weeks to completely recover. Charlotte and Lea had taken care of me, but when all my skin grew back, my tattoos didn’t. That had happened about six months before you came to live with us.”
    "I remember that story now. That reminds me. I remember when I first came to live with the Whites. You were less than happy about it. I was remembering they said something about you going to school, here in Vegas. What school were they talking about? And are you going?”
    Michael sm iled at me as he answered me, “Yes, and you should be going too. It would be good for you to understand how to survive the decades.”
    Wondering about what he was learning, I inquired, “What do you mean? What are they teaching you?”
    He held up his pointer finger, signaling to give him one minute while he organized his thoughts. He began, “How best to summarize. I know, they are teaching us how to survive as a vampire in a human world. And the number one thing you have to do is learn how to manage money. It’s not like you would think, being vampire is a unique issue when it comes to owning anything. Humans live much shorter lives, but in that life they spend much of it on the collection of wealth or materiel items. If they're not earning it, they're stealing it, or waiting for someone else to die so they can have it. Vampires live long lives and the collection of wealth or material possessions, attract attention from humans. Have you ever known anyone wealthy?”
    “My grandparents, both my mother and father came from money. I grew up as a poor hippie."
    He went on, “W ell, I don’t know how much experience you have with people and with wealth, but others notice. They notice them age, and they also pay attention to who will benefit from their death. It would be hard, if not impossible to keep inheriting your own money. There are three basic ways we make it in this world. One, use your mind powers to take what others have; let’s face it who needs wealth when you have power.”
    I made a big lower lip, “What if you have no mind powers?”
    Michael laughed at me, “N o worries, there’s still two more ways to survive. Second, live wild like an animal and just kill the people in their houses, but don’t stay too long, someone is bound to notice the smell. You have to keep moving, but you can have whatever you can take.”
    I put my finger to my lip, “Hmm, I can do that, but it might get old. I bet it would feel like you were always stealing your life. I also bet it is a good way to be put on a hunter 's list.”
    Michael agreed, “I believe you're right, but then again what you're doing, could put you on some hunter's list.”
    I gave Michael a sharp look, “D on’t start.”
    Michael gave me a chuckle, “ Of course there’s my favorite way of surviving. The Alice way, there’s lots of rich families and businesses that will hire vampires for various reasons. The pay is good, if not great, depending on what job you take. All the groups that hire our kind also know how to get us I.D.’s, houses, and even blood. Didn’t you ever wonder how Alice keeps the fridge stocked with fresh blood?”
    This made me wonder, “So , Alice works for someone, who?”
    Michael continued , “Long ago before this was even a country, Alice was involved in shipping. She was involved with pirates in the seventeen hundreds. One of these pirates became rich and opened a shipping business. Alice had started off working for him, and then his son and the son after that. After a long time the family business became incorporated; and Alice worked for the corporation. With the help of Ezra, Alice trains vampires that work around the globe in service of this international shipping company. In fact Alice works directly for members of Congress. You will find that little girl is more powerful than most could imagine. This is why no one has really come against you and David.”
    I had never known that, or even came close to guessing. I had known that