Free Sacrifice (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 2) by S.M. Spencer Page A

I’m sure I heard wrong. I must have heard wrong,’ I said, very much in denial.
    Crystal sat on the sofa next to me, and handed me one of the cups. ‘You didn’t hear wrong, Lili. You are pregnant, and assuming Sam is the father, you will have your baby in six weeks.’
    ‘I don’t understand. I mean, babies take nine months. Everyone knows that,’ I trailed off as I tried to come to terms with the fact that my baby would be a dhampir—like Michael, or like Crystal. My baby wasn’t going to be human … it wouldn’t take nine months.
    ‘Would you like me to explain? Would that help?’ she asked, looking first at me, then at Sam, then back at me.
    I took a deep breath, and then took a sip of the tea. It was sweet and refreshing. I nodded and she began.
    ‘What I’m about to tell you is what Mladen taught me. There are no books we can refer to, and you won’t find any articles on the internet about this.’
    ‘Okay,’ I said, steeling myself for yet another story that would no doubt be incredibly difficult to believe.
    ‘As you know, dhampirs are the offspring of a vampire father and a human mother. We are on this earth for one very important reason: to prevent the total destruction of the human race. If allowed to go unchecked, vampire populations would simply grow and grow until there would be so many of them they would completely wipe out the human race. Dhampirs are the vampire’s only natural predator. You understand this, don’t you?’
    ‘Yes, of course,’ I said, glancing over at Sam, remembering what he’d told me previously. I turned back to Crystal, hoping it would all make sense.
    ‘Out of fear of us,’ Crystal continued, ‘vampires are very careful about not being seen. Indeed, most vampires live fairly solitary existences, keeping their encounters with humans brief. Unfortunately for humans, most encounters are for one reason only, and the human doesn’t have a chance to speak of it afterwards. However, occasionally, if there is a very strong attraction, a vampire may reveal himself to a human woman for reasons other than the usual one.’
    Sam squeezed my hand when she said this, and when I turned to look at him he smiled shyly. Crystal cleared her throat, and when I turned back she continued.
    ‘Lust is a powerful emotion, and it can make even a vampire behave differently to his natural disposition, just as it does with humans. The vampire may take chances that he wouldn’t normally take—like risk being discovered. But just as it is with humans, when the lust has passed, it is easy for the vampire to regret his actions.’
    I looked at Sam again when she said this, suddenly fearful that he might be regretting last night. But when I met his eyes he smiled and his look reassured me. Satisfied, I turned back to Crystal.
    ‘In nature, the strong survive, the weak don’t. With dhampirs, it is similar. Not all women will conceive from an encounter with a vampire. It takes something special in them to actually enable them to conceive. They must be strong and fit, both physically and mentally. If the conditions are right, the dhampir will be conceived.
    ‘From this point, however, it is not just their fitness that helps them survive; it is also their growth rate. A full grown dhampir is virtually indestructible. Only the strongest of vampires would stand a chance against one. However, a foetus, and indeed an infant dhampir, is vulnerable.
    ‘Consider this. A woman falls pregnant to a vampire who is full of lust. He leaves, but has nine months to consider his actions. In many cases, probably most actually, he would return to kill the foetus before it has a chance to grow into something that might live to hunt him one day. So, for the dhampir foetus to have the best chance to survive, it must grow quickly: both in the womb of its mother, and once it is born.’
    I took a deep breath and raised my hands as a signal for Crystal to slow down for a moment while I absorbed what she’d said.