Free Destiny (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 1) by S.M. Spencer

blood bank?’ I turned my head away from Sam and then a terrible thought occurred to me. ‘Or, like keeping slaves or something? Taking blood, but not enough to kill them …’
    Had I seen that in some movie? I could feel the panic starting to return.
    Sam squeezed my hands, and stared even more deeply into my eyes. The effect was immediate—I felt calmer instantly.
    ‘No, Lili, don’t even think that. We mostly survive on the blood of animals—rabbits and foxes when we’re in the city. Do you know how many rabbits and foxes there are in Melbourne? And you don’t have to go far to find lots of kangaroos. Initially that was what we hunted, but when the rabbit and fox populations took off they were easy prey without having to venture very far.’
    ‘So … you don’t ever kill humans?’ I could hear the relief in my voice, and could see it register in his eyes.
    ‘I have … but not often … and not for a long time now. Tom tries too, though I know he isn’t quite as motivated as I am.’
    ‘I don’t understand, Sam. I mean, I guess I’m glad you don’t kill humans, me being the key one I’d like you not to kill … but why? I mean, if you’re a vampire, well, isn’t that what vampires do? I mean, I love cats—they really are the most majestic creatures. And they kill to survive. They are what they are, and I don’t respect them any less for being what they are.’
    ‘That’s probably a better analogy than you realise. They mostly kill to survive, and so do we, mostly. Although of course there are some very bad vampires out there. But there is something else … about me … that I haven’t told you.’
    ‘Something else? Oh, I know, let me guess. You can change into a bat—that’s how you get away from the vampire hunters … and catch the rabbits, right?’
    He laughed, and the sadness in his eyes diminished for a moment. A wry smile appeared on his lips, and his voice was again calm and mesmerising when he spoke.
    ‘Did you see that film, where the kid says “I see dead people”?’
    I nodded. Yes, I knew the one he meant straight away—I loved that movie. But what did that have to do with vampires?
    ‘I see dead people, Lili. All the time. Just like the kid in the movie.’
    ‘Ahhhh … okay … now this is all beginning to make sense. I’m dead, right? Like Bruce Willis. So, what, did my plane crash on landing or something?’
    ‘No, your plane didn’t crash, but that’s a good one,’ he laughed, and again the sadness seemed to evaporate from his face. Then he continued, more seriously, ‘Really—I see dead people. Anyone that died or is buried nearby, if they haven’t moved on, I can see them.’
    He seemed to be serious, and I wanted to believe him, but every time he spoke it seemed to be getting more and more complicated—not to mention far-fetched.
    ‘You see, that’s why I don’t kill people. I see what it does to them when vampires kill them. They walk the streets looking for an explanation to their death. Or worse, sometimes they don’t even know they’re dead.’
    ‘Right. So, I take it that not all vampires see dead people then?’
    ‘No, or at least they don’t see them all the time. Tom certainly doesn’t. Being a vampire intensifies all your senses, and it strengthens whatever skills you had as a human. A lot of people can see ghosts, if the ghosts want to be seen. It’s just that I see them even if they aren’t trying to be seen.’
    I wasn’t sure I followed all that, but I tried. ‘And so, these dead people … did you see them before you became a vampire?’
    ‘Sort of. There were a few strange things that happened, when I was young. But then when I learned that my family had died, I wanted desperately to see them again and somehow I knew that if I could find them, I would see them. That’s why we went to the hill—that’s why we camped there—that night.’
    ‘To see your family. And did you see them?’
    ‘Yes. Well, not my parents, but I saw