Kindred (Kindred, Book 1) (12 page)

“
Au contraire
, my dear. You are in fact a prize, to be sure. With a kindred Nosferatin at their side, a vampyre will double his powers. The Nosferatin empowers the Vampyre, the Nosferatu empowers the Hunter. Symbiotic, the relationship. One cannot live without the other.”

“
Huh. But you won't die if you don't join with a Nosferatin?”

“
No.” And then silence.

I started pacing, I needed to think.

“But, you would be immune to your kindred vampyre's powers, unless you allow them. They would have no hold over you, in the psychic sense, at least. That is a bonus, is it not?”

That was a bonus, a vampire who couldn't fight back. “So, I could
join
with a vampire and then stake them?” A thought formulated in my mind. Maybe, if I was forced to, I could join with Max and then stake him in his sleep. End of story. Good night bad guy.

“
Not impossible, but unlikely.” When I stopped pacing and raised my eyebrows at him, he went on. “The relationship is symbiotic. You kill your kindred and you die.”

“
Well, that sucks. What's the point of being able to resist their power if you can't use it to kill them?” Crap.

He smiled. “We are not known for stupidity, Lucinda, my kind would not have formulated such an alliance if it favoured just you.”

We locked gazes then. There was no power coming from him when he said it, there didn't need to be. Vampires at the top of the food chain and all that.

OK, so I could take the hint, but I wasn't giving up though. This was the first time I'd had the chance to find out what I was, what I really was. I wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

“Where did we originate from?”

He relaxed back into his seat slightly, the dangerous topic of death to the Hunter had passed. “History is unclear on this point, but it is believed that at the beginning we were of one kind.”

I interrupted. “One kind?”

He just spread his hands as if to say
what do you think I mean?

My mind was doing the whirly-gig thing again. I could hardly breathe. I think I may have even been panting.

“If...if we were
one kind
, does that mean...” I mimed fangs into my neck with my fingers.

He laughed. “No. When we parted ways, the Nosferatin went into the Day, the Nosferatu; the Night.” And when he saw the look of incomprehension on my face, “In this instance Day and Night do not refer to a period of time within one cycle of the Earth's rotation. They refer to Good and Evil. Light and Dark.”

Huh? So does that mean Michel thinks of himself as
evil?
I'd file that little piece of information away for later, I thought.

OK, so we were technically the same race when we started out - I didn't really want to acknowledge that, but it was centuries ago, before New Zealand even existed, evolution and all that -  but now we were practically against each other. I mean I'm designed to kill bad vampires. But then, I also feel
at home
when I am with them.
How does that work?

Back to basics I think.

“So, just to recap. I die if I don't join with a vampire before one month past my 25
th
birthday. But I get powers and that vampire's powers have no hold over me any longer, but
he
will double his own. And if I kill him, I die. That about right?”

“
Yes.”

“
What happens if I die first?”

He paused then, didn't shift his gaze, just rubbed two of his fingers together, as if calming himself, as they rested on his crossed knees.

“They would die too.”

That didn't make sense. Why would a vampire limit himself to a mortal's lifespan just for a double load of his own powers? And then it hit me. Like a tonne of bricks. “I would become immortal, wouldn't I?”

Softly. “Yes.”

Good grief. Death at just 25, or live forever tied into a
joining
with one of the undead. The guys I'm built to hunt. One of the guys that can only survive on human blood and can kill with the flick of their wrist. Fuck!

“
This is a lot, Michel. A hell of a lot to take in, in one hit.”

“
Usually, a Nosferatin elder would impart this knowledge to you. Nosferatin runs in a family's bloodline. The first born holds the Nosferatin gene and becomes the Nosferatin, the second holds the knowledge and passes on the gene to the next generation. Your parents, your natural parents, died, did they not?”

His eyes held a sadness when I looked at them. A sadness for me. I didn't want to acknowledge his compassion, he was a vampire, vampires don't care.

“Yes,” I whispered. I didn't talk about my biological parents with anyone. They died when I was only a baby. In a car accident, driving the Arthur's Pass, from Greymouth to Christchurch. My Aunt and Uncle, on my mother's side, raised me as their own. They're my Mum and Dad.

“
Your father,” Michel answered, before I had even formulated the question. Which one of my parents was Nosferatin?

“
How do...?”

“
I had to be sure, my dear. It has been so long since I have encountered a Nosferatin, there are not many of your kind left, I'm afraid.”

My father. My Aunt and Uncle, my Mum and Dad for all intents and purposes, they cut off all contact with my father's side. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think there was a falling out of some sort. My Mum had always told me that they were different. I just thought she had meant they weren't Anglicans.

OK, so this sucked. It sucked big time, but I'm not the sort of girl to play the victim. I'm not into that damsel in distress crap at all, so this was not going to get the better of me. Besides, I had a reputation to uphold and despite how nice and caring and all
let's work together and be friends
crap that Michel was spouting right now, he was still one of the bad guys. Maybe not evil personified, but a
vampire
all the same.

I know, I know. It had occurred to me too. I was going to have choose a vampire to
join
with, or let myself die. Part of me and I admit it was just a very small, very teeny part, was considering the
lets just see what happens if I say no
road. But, the thought of having to choose a vampire was still hovering in the back of my mind.

I grabbed that thought and shoved it deep, deep down inside. I'm not usually the one for denial. I mean when I met that first vampire, I didn't curl up in a ball and cry for mummy. No, I started researching and arming myself with as much knowledge as I could. I am not a push over. But I am practical. We still had a mega-master vampire out there gunning for my soul.

“OK, so, there's still a lot I want to know, Michel, about all of this... this crap, but,” I took a breath, “it can wait. For now.” I looked directly at him, daring him to say otherwise.

He just smiled. “Of course, my dear, of course. Whatever you say. But, you will have to face facts soon, Lucinda. And the sooner, the better, to save your life.”

Trust Michel, he couldn't just agree. He had to have the last word. I tried not to let anything show on my face and took a seat in the armchair opposite him.

“
Max,” I said.

“
Yes, indeed.” Michel took another sip of wine. Ever the casual sense of ease, despite having to talk about an evil piece of shit like Max. “He is proving troublesome. And he is a threat to you.”

“
Can he force me to join with him.”

“
Yes, I dare say he could. Quite easily, in fact.”

“
How so?”

“
His
Sanguis Vitam
, unfortunately, is greater than mine. He is close to 900 years old.”

Whoa. I knew he was off the scale powerful, but I had never heard of a vampire living that long before. Usually a stake through the heart would see to that. No vampire had, that I was aware of, managed to live to such an age without attracting attention from a Hunter. Or at least a few vampire enemies gunning for their final death. How had old Maximilian survived?

“That's old.”

I considered telling Michel that I was unable to gauge Max's age or power level, that he had appeared as just a void to me when I was with him, but I didn't want to admit that fault. And it did feel like a fault to me. For some reason, Michel's respect of my talents was important to me and not just because it's always good to keep up appearances with the bad guys.

“Why has he not just followed us here?” I asked.

Michel looked a little uncomfortable at that question. “You are safe here, my dear, do not fear.”

“No. That's not an answer, Michel. Why has he not come here?”

“
I do have a few tricks up my sleeve, Lucinda. I have masked us sufficiently for now. He cannot sense where we are.”

Now, call me a sceptic, but I wasn't buying it. I'd got pretty good at reading Michel by now. Most vampires of his power level can hide their true feelings well. And ordinarily, he's pretty damn good at it. But lately, I've noticed, I can sense more than usual from him. I can almost feel what he's feeling. Spooky, huh?

“I'm not buying it.”

“
Buying what?” He tried for the innocent look and on anyone else it may have worked, but I was getting a bit angry now.

“
Stop being the evasive
Master
and just cut to the chase. Why. Is. He. Not. Here?”

Michel sighed and started rubbing his forehead. “I am too tired to fight you on this, my dear. Last night took a lot out of me.”

I felt momentarily alarmed. Michel had never shown any signs of being anything other than fighting fit. Ever. I guess I wasn't reading him as well as I thought I was.

“
Are you OK?” I regretted it as soon as the words were out of my mouth. Stupid. Don't let them see you care. I didn't really. I'm just a nice person, that's all.
Really
.

He smiled that damn knowing smile again. “Thank You. I shall be fine. I have fed.”

I
so
did not want details. Luckily, he wasn't giving any.

“
So?” I ventured, a little less aggressively. “Why's he not here?” Never let it be said that I don't follow through on something. A bit like a dog with a bone. I don't let things go easily and I wasn't giving up on this, just yet.

The mood, however, changed. Power filled the room.

“Oh God, Michel. I thought we were through with this.?”

“
It is a question I am unwilling to answer, right now. I suggest you drop it.”

Maybe there is a limit to Michel's patience after all. Maybe the animal that is vampire deep inside him, just can't be contained. But I got the distinct impression that he would fight me on this, despite him saying he was too tired to do so.

The silence stretched out awkwardly between us. I was damned if I was going to speak first.

But then, I'm not a vampire and I can't do that preternatural calm they do. That sitting absolutely still, not breathing, not blinking, not anything. I sincerely hope I can never do that.

Rather than give in, because I admit it, I can be stubborn when I try, I just stood and left the room. A breath of fresh air wouldn't go astray right now.

There was a large expanse of perfectly trimmed lawn in front of the house, towards the view of Lake Taupo and the township. It stretched out about 20 metres or so and then disappeared, I'm guessing over a cliff face. I had the impression we were up quite high. I decided to walk to the edge to see.

Along the sides of the property, leading towards the cliff, were trees. Acacias, Cherry, even a Pine or two. A mixed bag, but they all seemed to work together nicely, providing privacy and protection from the wind. As I made it to the edge of the lawn and confirmed my suspicion that there was indeed a cliff there, straight down to the water, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eyes. It was only then that I sensed his
Sanguis Vitam
.

Man, my mind was distracted right now.

A vampire came out of the trees to my left. How long he'd been watching me, I could only guess. He wasn't in a hurry. Just sauntered up and stood next to me looking at the view.

“
Hi, Bruno.”

“
Luce. Getting a bit of fresh air?”

“
Mm-hmm. What are you doing out here?”

“
Sentry duty. You don't think the Master would have the place unguarded, do ya?”

I quickly looked around to see if there was movement anywhere else. “You won't see them, or feel them for that matter. They've been told to hang back and give you space.”

“Give me space? Since when?”

“
Since you walked out on the Master just now.”