A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

Page 96



" Zarabethand Petrina . Petrinabrought Zarabeth across last year. Petrina has been vampire for five hundred years. Both have asked to be my concubines, you might say."

"Oh? And what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means they would live in my house and be under my protection." "Both of them?At the same time?"

" Zarabethis young in the life. It is not uncommon for new vampires to seek to align themselves with one who is strong until they gain power of their own."

"And Petrina ?I'd think that after five hundred years, she would be old enough to take care of herself,"Tracy remarked dryly.

Dominic laughed.

"I take it she finds you attractive."
"So she says."

"And do you find her attractive?"

"Yes, my best beloved one, but it is you, and only you, that I desire." "Did you make her a vampire?"

"No."

Tracyglanced around the bar. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the dimness, she saw faces more clearly. There were perhaps a dozen men and women in the room, some sitting at tables,some standing at the bar. Most were clad in black. She noticed that they all seemed extraordinarily beautiful, with clear skin and lustrous hair, and they all moved with a kind of unconscious grace, almost as if they were floating above the floor.

A few weeks ago, she hadn't believed in vampires; now she was in a room surrounded by them. She looked up at Dominic. "Who made them all?You?"

He gazed briefly at the pulse in her throat. "I have never brought another across." "But, there are so many."

"There are hundreds of us," he replied."Perhaps thousands throughout the world. I doubt anyone knows for sure."

Several couples moved onto the small dance area.Tracy stared at them. It seemed incongruous, somehow, to see vampires dancing together as if they were ordinary people.

She glanced at Dominic. He was watching her, a faint smile playing over his lips.