Her Yearning for Blood Read Online Free Page A

clan queen Claudia. His claws extended but his iron will kept them from scratching the desk’s perfect glossy finish.
    “The Vermont people are under control?” he asked.
    “ ’ Captured ’ is the term Carlson used.”
    “Tell them to feed on v ampire blood today…but carefully. And leave no evidence.”
    “I’ll convey the message,” she said. She turned to leave but then paused. “I’m not really sure how all of this works, sir, but if I wanted to fly to California or wherever they’re filming that ridiculous show …do I get vacations?”
    It would have been easy to snatch a pencil from his desk and hurl it through her chest but Thomas merely waved her away. If necessary, h e would have her tr ansfer red t o c orpse c leaning dut ies fo r a few months. However, i f she wasn’t better after that….
     

 
     
    5
     
    Hearing a girl scream, I gritted my teeth and slid to the edge of t he bed. Though my knee miraculously didn’t hurt anymore , i t felt as though several layers of my skin were being peeled away. I fought back tears and wondered why my gums and fingernails also ached.
    “You can do this,” I told my self as I eased to my feet. The pain was like a living creature clinging to every pore of my body.  The ants had done their job well. The clamor of voices beyond my room gr e w louder. Though my knee easily supported me, there was so much other pain it was hard to focus. I gasped and my vision blurred.
    Something was wrong.
    I touched raw fingers to the wall and willed myself to stay upright . I w ould not allow myself to faint. Taking a ragged breath , I shuffl ed toward the door. Boys were yell ing now but I could no longer hear the girl.
    Who was she?
    “ I’ll lock you in the basement if I have to,” came Evan ’s voice from what sounded like quite a ways away.
    Moving slower than a rusted robot, I crept toward the door. I had never felt such agony. The ants must have bitten every inch of my body. The skin on my arms , stomach and legs was puffy with masses of red welts . I couldn’t see any evidence that Evan’s aunt had applied any cream or ointment, though that probably shouldn’t have surprised me . Judging by the lock on my door, i t seemed obvious that I wasn’t really a patient . From the sounds of the commotion out there , it didn’t seem that any of us were.
    I took two more steps and sucked in a breath each time. I now knew what a lobster in a pot fel t like. It took all my willpower not to scream.
    “Get that witch away from me ! ” a boy bellowed.
    “Can’t you all just shut up,” a girl screamed. “Just shut up!”
    At least she was alive, whoever she was.
    “Erica, you should go back to bed,” Evan said . “My aunt will be back in after—”
    “I can speak for myself, Nephew,” came his aunt’s high-pitched voice . “ Young lady, either you get back in that room or I’m going to give you something that will make you sick to your stomach for a week.”
    I paused, both to rest my pain-wracked body and to put my thoughts together. I didn’t know any Erica . I also didn’t remember seeing any new girls at the military base , but there had been a lot of kids there.
    I inched forward again only to see the knob turning. S topp ing , imagining the pain of the door striking my raw skin , I said, “Evan?”
    “What are you doing out of bed?” Evan’s aunt asked has she pushed into the room . The rush of air from the door made me wince. “Don’t worry. That will all be healed up in a few hours.”
    I didn’t believe her. Not even a little.
    “Maybe someone should just bring me home,” I s uggested .
    “Might as well drive a wooden stake through your heart right now,” Mrs. Groacher said. She wasn’t smiling. “Now back up and get into bed. You’re not going anyplace, not until Sunday.”
    Fearing the stern woman would grab at my raw arms, I did as told. The trip back to bed was quicker and, if possible, more painful. I eased my self down to a prone