Free The Entity Who Came for Christmas: A Holiday Novella (Entity Series) by Cat Devon Page B

don’t eat. I consume blood, remember?”
    “Of course. And I hear the blood here is of a particularly high quality.”
    “Is that why you came to Vamptown? As part of a blood-tasting tour?”
    “No. I came to see you.” Not entirely true, but Simon wasn’t ready to put all his cards on the table yet. “So all is well with you and Zoe? You kiss and ta-da, you get to live happily ever after like in a fairy tale?”
    “Vampires don’t usually show up in fairy tales. I don’t know of any that feature a vampire living happily ever after,” Damon said. “But Zoe and I are good. Very good.”
    “What about work? Are you enjoying being the Head of Security here in Vamptown?”
    “I am.”
    “Not bored?”
    “Not yet.”
    “And when you are?” Simon asked.
    “I’ll deal with it then.”
    Simon looked around. He much preferred asking questions to answering them. “So you work out of your loft here?”
    “No. The security headquarters is located in the Vamp Cave.”
    “Really? That’s the best name you could come up with?” Simon mocked.
    “I didn’t name it.”
    “Who did?” Simon asked.
    “I don’t know.”
    “Clearly it needs a new name. Who should I speak to about that?”
    “No one. You’re avoiding my question about Pru and that curse,” Damon said impatiently.
    Simon sighed. This entire matter was becoming more complicated by the minute. Perhaps he’d made a mistake in coming to see Damon. Yet he couldn’t ignore the tip he’d been given. Not that he planned on revealing everything until he had more information. Until then, he’d only share what he had to and keep the rest to himself.
    “I don’t recall how much I told you about my past,” Simon said.
    “Not much.”
    “As I am your sire, the one who turned you into a vampire on that battlefield in Gettysburg, we share a special bond.”
    Damon nodded. “Go on.”
    “I, too, was a warrior once.”
    “You’re still a warrior,” Damon said.
    “I meant that I was a human warrior once. Before I was turned.” Simon paused. He really didn’t like talking about his past. He hadn’t done so in centuries. Many, many centuries. But he had no choice. “Have you heard of King Arthur?”
    “I read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain when it first came out.”
    “Yes, well … I was a vampire in King Arthur’s court.”
    Damon blinked. “But that was--”
    “A very long time ago,” Simon interrupted him. “I am aware.”
    “No, I was going to say that’s fiction .”
    “The book was, yes. Not King Arthur or Camelot. I assure you it was not fiction.”
    “Did you know Merlin?”
    “He turned me,” Simon said curtly. He had no intention of going into the details of that story.
    “No shit? Merlin was a vampire? I thought he was a wizard or something. Actually, I didn’t even think he was real.”
    “Oh, he was real all right.”
    “Is he still around?” Damon asked.
    “I’m not at liberty to say. Getting back to Pru’s part in all this--”
    “Wait,” Damon interrupted him. “She was alive back then? Or undead back then?”
    “No. She was neither alive nor undead back then. But she comes from Morgan Le Fay’s bloodline.”
    “No shit?” Damon said again. “What are the odds?”
    “They are damn high when you go looking for her descendants,” Simon said.
    “Morgan’s descendants? Why the hell would you do that?”
    “For old time’s sake.”
    “You had sex with Morgan and you wanted to have sex with--”
    “I did not have sex with Morgan.”
    “So you had sex with Pru instead?”
    “It wasn’t like that,” Simon said curtly. He got up and started pacing before flinging himself back onto the couch. “I’m not a volatile vampire. I’m rock steady. Nothing throws me.” He’d seen it all and beat it all. He’d killed and destroyed without hesitation.
    Despite all that, he didn’t know how to explain the fiery chemistry between Pru and him. He certainly hadn’t anticipated how