Aleron: Book One of Strigoi Series (Stringoi Series) Read Online Free Page A

every passing second, a year of her life was told to me in disjointed little chapters. I pulled her closer as I fed from her throat as an animal might. It was as if my salvation depended on this child-woman giving her life to me, her blood in exchange for my mercy in hurrying her passage into whatever lay ahead, after death.
    I opened my eyes and stared at her. She was no longer the young girl I’d had in my arms. She had become something else entirely. She was my nourishment, the source of my new strength and thus, inherently, my weakness. I continued to drink as her heartbeat grew more and more lethargic, until it was gone. Her body went limp as I struggled to remove my mouth from the open wound I inflicted upon her. The deed was done. All signs of life that had once danced in the eyes of this young woman were gone from her pale, withered body. She was no more. I, however, was forever more than I’d ever been! Everything she once was, I had taken into me.
    “You see, my love. You feel stronger. Absolutely powerful. Therein lies the difference. The artery is the key to quench the crippling thirstyou shall forever feel every night. The blood is your life force and shall revitalize all that you are every time you answer the call of your most basic and natural instinct, to feed.”
    Indeed, this was the single most important lesson she ever taught me. “Your basic instinct is necessary for your survival,” she continued. “It’s also through this understanding that you leave yourself vulnerable to others who may want to do you harm. You must not allow your hunger to control you. You must control it. It’s fundamental that you discern how often you need to feed, for it will change as you grow older. It will also fluctuate depending on what you drink.”
    “What I drink?” I questioned. “Patience, my love. Patience. You have as many lessons to learn as I’ve lessons to teach, and we both have all the time in the world. For now, I will return to a question you asked me before your meal. You wanted to know what you are. What we are. We have been known by many names, my love: Undead, Nosferatu, Vrykolakas, Upir, Kyuketsuki, Reapers of death, God’s hand, and many more that you’ll hear from the distant shadows and moonless nights. To the children of Christ we’re spawn of ‘Those who were banished.’ To the unflinching followers of Mohammed, we’re hoseti. To this world we are life everlasting. We are vampire!”

CHAPTER 3
     
    ampire
, I spoke under my breath in astonishment. I was familiar with the legend and the folklore; however, I didn’t believe in the undead. Until now!
    “Now let us go into the night, into the moonlight, and discover the world through your vampire eyes.”
    Mynea took hold of me, affixed me to her side, and we swiftly moved through the house into the cool night air. This time I kept my eyes open. We were traveling much faster than before. We glided across a lake just over the surface. The water was still, a dark mirror reflecting the night sky. I looked into the heavens. It was spectacularly brilliant and filled with hundreds, no, thousands of stars. I couldn’t remember a time when I had seen so many stars in one night. The moon seemed brighter, larger, and closer than ever. It seemed to illuminate the darkness with a soft and soothing blanket of light.
    Mynea’s curly hair was pressed against my face by the force of the wind. It smelled like the essence of the room where I had taken my firstproper meal. Her silk gown flailed and opened from her breast down to her feet. I couldn’t help noticing her darkened nipples, revealed slightly by a pearl necklace. She tightened her grip on my waist. I peered through the curly elegant locks to see our surroundings. The land drew nearer rapidly; I was sure we’d stumble and fall upon our arrival. However, we didn’t. Instead, we came to an abrupt pause in our momentum, which would have surely caused any human to topple over. It seemed gravity