Free Blood Born by Jamie Manning Page B

somewhere.
    “Hello, Aldric,” Chance said very cordially. His demeanor was much more confident than it had been in the cemetery. Last night he had been scared and timid; today he was bold and stood tall. I marveled at his impressive size. If anyone could give a vampire a run for its money, I would bet on Chance.
    “Chance,” Aldric simply said. The two exchanged looks that hid something. I suspected it was about me, of course, but didn’t say anything. What would have been the point? It wasn’t like these two were very forthcoming with information. Aldric crossed the room swiftly, stopping inches from me. I could smell the rotting blood in his body and it turned my stomach.
    “Hello, Ava,” he said, barely above a whisper. He took my hand in his and kissed it gently. Though his touch was ice cold, there was a mysterious warmth behind his lips. “I see you’ve been a very busy girl.” Those oddly-warm lips curled into a smile, revealing two tiny lumps in his gums. His fangs. I wondered if my smile was as creepy.
    “Sorry,” I responded, not really knowing what to say. Did I say, “Yes I have been, and thank you for noticing?” I wasn’t privy to what the correct response was when someone commented on your killing.
    “Please, don’t apologize. You were wonderful. I only wish I had been there to witness your first time.” He said ‘first time’ like I was driving a car, or walking. Very calm for talking about me killing someone (though technically I didn’t; Chance did). He’s a killer, Ava. Remember that. The voice was whispering inside my head, and though I knew it was impossible, I caught Chance glaring intensely at me. Had he put those words in my mind? Was he speaking to me without actually speaking ? I brushed the silly idea from my head and focused on Aldric.
    “I didn’t do it,” I said dryly. “Chance did.” I hadn’t intended on telling him the truth, but there was something about him that got under my skin. I had no intention of being nice to the man/monster that made me the way I was. I kept my eyes locked on his, the two of us in an old-fashioned stare-down. I fought hard to win, and after nearly thirty full seconds of silence, Aldric smiled again and broke our gaze.
    “That’s fine,” Aldric answered. “A kill is a kill I suppose.”
    “You suppose?” I asked timidly. “Does that mean you don’t know? Was that girl’s death in vain?” Just the thought of it repulsed me, made me physically ill.
    “Relax, Ava,” Aldric said calmly. “It counts.” I hadn’t realized I had tensed up until I felt my shoulders relax. Chance’s kill counted. Ninety-nine to go. Yahoo.
    “So tell me,” Aldric went on, stepping away from me and perusing the room. “How was it?” Was he serious? Was he actually asking me if I enjoyed it?
    “How do you think?” I snapped back, suddenly mad at his coldness.
    “Well I would assume there was a plethora of emotions you experienced, much like I did my first time.” He kept his back to me as he spoke, his eyes scanning the filthy room. I watched his lithe body glide over the hardwood floors, his feet touching so lightly he appeared to be floating. “Of course, that was a very long time ago.”
    “I doubt my experience was anything like yours,” I said. Aldric stopped pacing the room and finally turned to look at me.
    “Really?” he asked with an inquisitive smile. “Other than the fact that you didn’t actually kill the vampire, our experiences were very similar. Did you not feel scared? Excited? Like you were on fire and couldn’t wait to attack, but at the same time hating yourself for what you wanted to do?” He moved toward me as he spouted his questions. Though I couldn’t see him, I felt Chance tense with anxiety. “Am I getting warm?” Aldric’s voice was low and sinister, like he was getting pleasure out of seeing me squirm. I struggled to appear unaffected by his intimidating ways.
    “We may have experienced the same