Sarim's Scent Read Online Free Page A

forced her attention back to the notes.
    He had a slight African accent. He used hand expressions a lot during conversation. He was very polite and mannerly. He was aloof. There was a scar underneath his left eye shaped like a crescent moon. Had a gold ring with a triangle, outlined in diamonds. He never took the ring off.
    Well, her father was well groomed, if nothing else. According to Victoria’s mother, her father had had a lot of strange habits. He rarely went out during the day. He spent a good deal of daylight hours sleeping. Her mother claimed he came alive at night and that he was quite talkative. Night was when he conducted most of his activities. She could remember her mother talking about her father’s nighttime life as if it were yesterday.
    “Oh, Vicky, your father was a man of the night. We used to take walks in the park at night, go to fancy restaurants, count the stars and spend hours in deep conversation.”
    Her mother always got a dreamy expression on her face when she started talking about him. It was almost like her mother went in a trance whenever she mentioned her father. She told her, her father was eccentric. Her mother had frequently caught him talking to himself. When she’d asked him who he was talking to, he always replied, “Nobody.” All things dark and Gothic fascinated him. He would check out dozens of books on vampires and other supernatural creatures from the all-night library. After he read the books, he would make comments like, “Why don’t they ever write about African vampires?” Her mother said once, after he’d finished one of the books, he’d even laughed and said, “These people don’t know what they’re talking about.”
    A chill ran down Victoria’s spine and she straightened. She was also obsessed with vampires. Something about the legendary creatures of the night fascinated her. As a little girl, she terrified her second grade classmates by bringing in a life-like vampire doll for ‘show and tell.’ She’d spent a full week searching for the perfect doll and finally found one in an out-of-the-way shop specializing in Gothic culture. The doll was equipped with fangs and had fake blood coming out of its mouth. While her classmates had gawked repulsively, she discussed the origins, feeding habits, and living requirements of vampires. She’d always been in awe of the supernatural powers they were rumored to possess. Vampire movies or stories never frightened her. On the contrary, she found the whole enigma about the species exciting. She felt she could relate to them, but couldn’t put a finger on why.
    As a teenager, she read a book a week about the creatures of the night. She couldn’t wait to finish one book to start another. She also loved the nightlife. She loved the way the moon and the stars shone in the sky. She loved inhaling the crisp night air in her lungs and feeling it against her skin.
    Being in the sun didn’t bother her, but she preferred the moon’s rays. As a child, she remembered sitting on the porch at night and taking long walks in the woods by herself. She was a night person, just like her father. Heat flashed to her face. No. She may have a common interest in vampires, but the similarities ended there. She was nothing like him. Nothing.
    Turning in her seat, she stared at the passing scenery. Buildings and cars flew by. She was determined to find her father, even if it appeared to be a wild goose chase. Maybe he could answer the questions she had kept trapped inside her for years. Questions such as: Why did she hate vegetables? Why did she have a preference for rare meat, like steak and roast beef? Why could she see everything clearly in her room at night, without the lights on? What was the strange mark on her neck?
    She’d never divulged these secrets to her mother. To do so would have sent her mother over the deep end for sure. Her mother’s health was already failing, and she didn’t want to add to it. Besides she didn’t want