Eternity The Beginning Read Online Free Page B
Author: Felicity Heaton
area around them. The only heartbeat that came to him was the man’s. He
circled closer, keeping to the darkness and using the torchlight to his advantage. It would blind the man, 24
Eternity: The Beginning – F E Heaton
making it harder for him to see into the shadows around him, even with the bright moon.
The man hummed a tune as he came back out and his
eyes widened when he realised it was the boat builder.
He shook away the desire to leave that rose into his mind. He had to kill him, for the sake of his sister. It was a long journey ahead and she needed to feed. So did he.
They were leaving anyway, turning their backs on their home before it turned its back on them, so what
difference would it make. One more death on his
conscious was nothing. He knew that in the years to come, he would have thousands to deal with. He had to kill in order to survive. Instinct told him that with each twist of his stomach. It called for blood like it had once called for food—desperate and impossible to ignore.
When the boat builder had placed the last of the vases onto the boat, he stepped out of the shadows.
The man turned around, barely seconds from picking up the torch. He smiled at him and went to open his mouth to speak.
The words came out as a garbled cry as he grabbed the man by the throat, choking him and lifting him off the floor. He tightened his grip, swallowing down the guilt that squirmed inside of him, and telling himself that it had to be this way. Either the man died, or he and his sister did. He couldn’t let her die again, and he certainly wasn’t willing to see what torment awaited him in the afterlife.
Bringing the man to him, he sunk his fangs deep into his neck, sucking the blood from him as greedily as he had 25
Eternity: The Beginning – F E Heaton
Ineru’s. He drank as much as he needed in order to kill the man and then released him.
“Ineru,” he said.
She turned to face him just as he was wiping his hand across his mouth. Her eyes were wide as she walked towards him, staring at the dead man.
Her eyes met his.
He nodded and held the man out to her by his throat.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she changed in front of him. Her canines sharpened into points, the lower set extending slightly too. Her eyes shone in the firelight, reflecting like a mirror. Is this what he looked like when he changed?
When she took the body from him, he turned away, not wanting to watch her feeding. He ran his fingers down the length of his canines and frowned. Besides the change in teeth and eyes, it seemed that he still looked human. Ineru didn’t look like the monster she was.
Maybe this was how whatever they had become survived so well. The man who had killed him, turned him into this monster, had seemed normal at first glance too.
“Brother?” Ineru’s quiet voice stole into his thoughts.
He turned to see she was standing close to him. A thin red line streaked down to her chin. He sighed and wiped the blood away with his thumb, and then gave her a smile when she looked awkward and cleaned her mouth.
Checking their surroundings again with his senses, he went back to the body and picked it up. He had to do 26
Eternity: The Beginning – F E Heaton
something with it. He couldn’t just leave it here in the open.
Dragging it towards the riverbank, he slung it as far as he could into the water. The crocodiles would take care of it.
He stared across the river, watching the moon playing on the water and the trees on the opposite bank.
“You are leaving?” A familiar female voice called out to him.
He spun on the spot to face her, his eyes darting about to find Ineru. She was gone, but he could smell her nearby. She had probably run into the darkness when she’d felt someone approaching.
His attention returned to the boat builder’s daughter.
“The man in the square is dead. You have killed him, but I think somehow you knew that, and that is why you are here.”
circled closer, keeping to the darkness and using the torchlight to his advantage. It would blind the man, 24
Eternity: The Beginning – F E Heaton
making it harder for him to see into the shadows around him, even with the bright moon.
The man hummed a tune as he came back out and his
eyes widened when he realised it was the boat builder.
He shook away the desire to leave that rose into his mind. He had to kill him, for the sake of his sister. It was a long journey ahead and she needed to feed. So did he.
They were leaving anyway, turning their backs on their home before it turned its back on them, so what
difference would it make. One more death on his
conscious was nothing. He knew that in the years to come, he would have thousands to deal with. He had to kill in order to survive. Instinct told him that with each twist of his stomach. It called for blood like it had once called for food—desperate and impossible to ignore.
When the boat builder had placed the last of the vases onto the boat, he stepped out of the shadows.
The man turned around, barely seconds from picking up the torch. He smiled at him and went to open his mouth to speak.
The words came out as a garbled cry as he grabbed the man by the throat, choking him and lifting him off the floor. He tightened his grip, swallowing down the guilt that squirmed inside of him, and telling himself that it had to be this way. Either the man died, or he and his sister did. He couldn’t let her die again, and he certainly wasn’t willing to see what torment awaited him in the afterlife.
Bringing the man to him, he sunk his fangs deep into his neck, sucking the blood from him as greedily as he had 25
Eternity: The Beginning – F E Heaton
Ineru’s. He drank as much as he needed in order to kill the man and then released him.
“Ineru,” he said.
She turned to face him just as he was wiping his hand across his mouth. Her eyes were wide as she walked towards him, staring at the dead man.
Her eyes met his.
He nodded and held the man out to her by his throat.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she changed in front of him. Her canines sharpened into points, the lower set extending slightly too. Her eyes shone in the firelight, reflecting like a mirror. Is this what he looked like when he changed?
When she took the body from him, he turned away, not wanting to watch her feeding. He ran his fingers down the length of his canines and frowned. Besides the change in teeth and eyes, it seemed that he still looked human. Ineru didn’t look like the monster she was.
Maybe this was how whatever they had become survived so well. The man who had killed him, turned him into this monster, had seemed normal at first glance too.
“Brother?” Ineru’s quiet voice stole into his thoughts.
He turned to see she was standing close to him. A thin red line streaked down to her chin. He sighed and wiped the blood away with his thumb, and then gave her a smile when she looked awkward and cleaned her mouth.
Checking their surroundings again with his senses, he went back to the body and picked it up. He had to do 26
Eternity: The Beginning – F E Heaton
something with it. He couldn’t just leave it here in the open.
Dragging it towards the riverbank, he slung it as far as he could into the water. The crocodiles would take care of it.
He stared across the river, watching the moon playing on the water and the trees on the opposite bank.
“You are leaving?” A familiar female voice called out to him.
He spun on the spot to face her, his eyes darting about to find Ineru. She was gone, but he could smell her nearby. She had probably run into the darkness when she’d felt someone approaching.
His attention returned to the boat builder’s daughter.
“The man in the square is dead. You have killed him, but I think somehow you knew that, and that is why you are here.”
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