Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Worry and anxiety were feelings. He didn’t worry. He was never anxious. He didn’t experience dark cravings for blood. This craving was so strong, so overwhelming, he could barely sort out his thoughts. The storm? Or were they pitted against a vampire who had been one of the greatest, the most legendary of all Carpathians?
The crack leads to a small cavern. We can shelter here and decide the best course of action, Nicu said.
Benedek dropped down toward the jutting boulder, the molecules blending with the mist and rain from the storm. Being a part of turbulent weather, he felt the powerful energy emanating from the boiling clouds. He knew the others did as well, the moment he faced them. They all had the same stoic, expressionless mask he knew he wore, but their eyes conveyed speculation. Even alarm at their predicament.
“If we attack the storm clouds, will we be unable to reverse what has been done to us?” Benedek asked the others.
They looked at one another, but no one replied. Lojos moved back from the others, shrinking into the shadows of the cavern. Mataias stepped between him and his brethren.
“I’m having trouble staying in control,” Lojos explained. “I smell your ancient blood and it incites the demon in me. Without my brother, I am uncertain if I could overcome this compulsion to turn.”
“It is difficult,” Tomas admitted. “Very difficult. If I went to the city to take sustenance, I am uncertain if I could keep from killing my prey while feeding.”
“At least it is something new,” Benedek pointed out. “There are five of us. One is unaffected by the compulsion. What is different?”
The five ancients took their time coming up with explanations, each thinking the problem through and attempting to come up with an explanation.
“Were you last coming up from the ground into the storm?” Benedek asked.
“I was first,” Mataias said. “I slept above my two brothers. I was born first, and I tend to think in terms of protecting them. They protect me as well, but it’s a mindset.”
“In other words, he makes the final decision if we don’t agree on something,” Tomas explained. “He’s always taken the position above us, no matter how much we’ve protested.”
“He can be very stubborn,” Lojos added. “But he’s never steered us wrong.”
Benedek thought Lojos was the most stubborn but also the wariest. He didn’t trust as easily as his brothers or give his allegiance without question. Those were traits Benedek admired. They would keep Lojos and his brothers alive.
“Were the storm clouds already in place when you rose, Mataias?” he asked.
Mataias rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Not entirely. The storm was building slowly away from our resting place. It was actually building more toward the south.”
Benedek exchanged a long look with Nicu. They both had found a resting place to the south of where the Smolnyckis had gone to ground.
“Could that be the reason Mataias escaped this mad compulsion?” Nicu ventured. “Whatever command was in the storm, we absorbed it as well as Lojos and Tomas because we rose when the storm was already directly overhead?”
“Lojos rose last,” Tomas said. “We’ve always gone in a certain order. Mataias, me and then Lojos. Perhaps the brunt of the spell was cast on Lojos and that’s why he’s having to fight so hard to keep from attacking one of us for our blood.”
Tomas was matter-of-fact about the danger from his brother. Benedek was as well. He could feel the terrible craving for rich, hot blood beating at him, but the strongest part of him kept him in control. Battling a friend or enemy was his way of life. It was every hunter’s way of life. They were far more pragmatic about the possibility that any of them could suddenly choose to turn.
“I’m with him,” Mataias said, his voice low. “He is in control.”
Was there a warning in Mataias’ tone? Benedek went over the reassurance numerous times. If Lojos chose to succumb to madness, would Mataias choose to follow him to aid and protect him? The triplets had been together their entire existence. He doubted if Mataias would allow his brother to turn without him. If the two went, it was very possible Tomas would follow. Or if Lojos turned, would the remaining brothers destroy the vampire before he could do any harm? That was the gamble. He was traveling with three brethren he knew and somewhat trusted as far as he ever trusted anyone, and now he was concerned about all three turning vampire.
What had the cards said to him about trust? Trust his brethren, no one else. They had to be worrying about him turning. Or Nicu.
Benedek sighed. “This compulsion is not only pushing us to forget the honor, the code we have lived centuries upholding, but now it has the potential to turn us against one another. We have a very powerful opponent. I say we defeat him, the way we’ve defeated every enemy that has come at us in our lifetime.”