Free Darkness Bred by Stella Cameron Page B

“It’s more comfortable than it looks—or so I’m told.”
    Sean decided not to question what that meant and led Elin to the couch.
    “Silver can be a nuisance,” Saul said. “It burns. Are you planning an attack on me, Elin?”
    “Of course not.” She sounded amused. “I’m curious. I am curious about everything. I’m also not violent. Can you be violent?”
    This is one way to get to the heart of things. Sean decided to leave the two of them to spar their way through whatever this meeting ritual was.
    “I can be,” Saul said frankly. “If I must.” He wasn’t smiling.
    “Do you know a vampire called Colin?” Elin said, looking the man directly in the face. “He’s disgusting and he tried to kidnap me last night. Hateful. He got into the cottage, and if Sean hadn’t come, that thing might have succeeded.”
    “Indeed?” Saul inclined his head. “You don’t know about our local scourge, our vampire group intent on making their reputation true? Colin, his sister, and the rest of their blood-hungry crew? Do you know where they live , where they…do what such creatures do?”
    Elin shook her head, no.
    “They are not far from here,” Saul said with a vague gesture. He raised his face. “I can smell them by the essence of their acts.” His disgust was obvious.
    Sean certainly knew of the scourge. Niles and Leigh had encountered them once.
    “Why aren’t you like them?” Elin said, and Sean began to wish he had taken hold of the conversation. “Or are you like them and pretending not to be?”
    “I can’t make you trust me simply by saying anything,” Saul said. “I will prove it to you, though. You will have to learn to curb your tongue if we are to win, Elin. Danger is ahead. It’s everywhere, and it is beyond anything you may have imagined. We’ll have to be subtle and very, very careful.”
    Undeterred, Elin said, “Show me your fangs. All vampires have fangs, don’t they? And why can you go out in daylight? You’re not supposed to be able to do that.”
    Saul raised his expressive brows. “You came to me for help,” he said. “Because you have been attacked by a vampire and you need to understand them better to arm yourself against them. To explain such a long history would take longer than any of us have. Should anything else occur, contact me at once. Meanwhile, I am puzzled that Colin felt free to enter the cottage without an invitation.”
    “I think at least one of Elin’s questions deserves an answer,” Sean interrupted. “Why would we believe you’re different from the rest of the scourge, from Colin and his sister, and all their kind? What could make us trust you?”
    “You don’t have a choice,” Saul said. “You say, ‘the rest of the scourge.’ I am no part of the scourge. My people are few and far away and nothing like these animals who have allowed themselves to sink into the depths.”
    “That’s a nice speech,” Elin said. “Sooner or later we’ll know if it’s all true.”
    Saul sat in a bright magenta chair. “I have been a vampire a long time—I think you know what I mean by a long time. My contacts are many and my influence reaches very far. I have followed the progress of the werehounds with interest. You are not like the wolves, Sean. They have no interest in regaining humanity. As you will learn, they are largely responsible for what has gone so dangerously wrong on Whidbey and what must be stopped.
    “What I know about the two of you I have learned from Sally. She is very wise. She is a friend, a good woman who has taught me a great deal, some of which has saved lives.”
    Sean wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with all of Saul’s “knowledge.” “I don’t understand your interest in any of this. Or your part.”
    “I’ll show you soon enough. First”—he paused as if searching for his next word—“as I’ve already said, Aldo suspects you are here.”
    Sean frowned. His stomach contracted. “Who is Aldo and what is he to