Free Vampire Forgotten by Rachel Carrington

to go through it again.  I just want to know about the man who helped you.”
    Rhad knelt down in the center of the cave and snapped his fingers. Flames shot from his fingertips, igniting a small pile of wood left over from campers. Leaning in, he blew on the fire until the blaze lit up the darkness. “You must eat.  I will return shortly.”
    Mischa wrinkled her nose.   “You’re not going to kill something, are you?”
    He pushed himself to his feet and leaned one shoulder against the cracked rock.  “Would you rather have a live dinner?”
    She shivered.  “I don’t want to eat something you have to kill, Rhad.  I don’t think I could.”  Her gaze locked with his.  “Why don’t I go with you?”
    “Do you think I’m going to go to a drive-through?”
    She brushed off the seat of her pants and took two steps toward him.  “No, but…”
    His eyes narrowed as knowledge struck.  “You think I would do that?”
    Mischa blew her bangs out of her face and looked down at the ground.  “Do what?”
    “Feed you the animal I have used for sustenance.”
    She lifted her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug.  “I didn’t say I was thinking that.”  She tipped her head back and gave him an almost haughty look.  “Besides, even if I was, you couldn’t blame me.  You’ve had numerous years to get used to being a vampire…”
    “Stop,” he almost shouted the words.
    She clamped her hands over her ears.  “Don’t yell at me.”
    He waited for the count of ten and tried again.  “You speak without thinking.”
    Fire rose in her eyes, competing with the flames at her feet.  “What are you talking about?  Because I said you were used to being a vampire?”
    “This is not something one gets used to, Mischa.”
    “You know, for a guy who doesn’t have a beating heart, you sure do have a sensitive side.”
    The words were like a slap to the face.  He spun around and started out of the cave.  “Stay here.”
    Mischa didn’t run after him, and the relief was almost tangible.  He needed her to stay inside the cave, to give him time to recover from her words and the knowledge that no matter what transpired between the two of them, she would always see him as a vampire, a creature without a soul, without a conscience.
    And it was that very thing she thought he lacked which kept him from telling her the truth about her sister.
     
    Vampire? Hamrick was still laughing as he huffed his way up the mountain. When his trip to the castle hadn’t gotten him anywhere, he’d made his way to the nearest telephone which just happened to be located inside a tavern that had seen better days. Once he’d waved some money in the faces of a few of the locals, they’d been too eager to provide information on Rhad Valentine—information Hamrick had just as quickly dismissed.
    Still, once the drunks had started talking about shamans and curses, he’d really started listening. And he’d lucked up when one glassy-eyed guy with a scruff of a beard had offered to show him where legend said the shaman live…for the right price, of course.
    As far as he’d come now, Hamrick would have paid ten times the amount the guy had asked for. He was so close now, and listening to his new guide, he’d almost convinced himself the shaman could really perform those miracles.  
     
    Mischa pulled her knees up to her chin and watched Rhad sleep. Since he’d returned with some berries and edible mushrooms, he hadn’t spoken much to her. The tension had been thicker than city fog, and while she’d been in the midst of eating, he’d slipped down next to the wall and closed his eyes, effectively shutting off all communication.
    She had the sudden urge to touch him, and she clenched her hands into fists to quell the desire. They’d shared one moment of passion, but it was evident he didn’t want more. She shouldn’t want more.
    Damning her own emotions, she wrapped her arms around her legs and closed her eyes, but in a matter