Bitter Blood Read online


PROLOGUE

 

  AMELIE

  "Ihave a surprise for you," Oliver said.

  I-not without reason-expected him to perhaps present a velvet box cradling rare jewels, or even a new pet. . . but instead he held out a piece of expensive, heavy paper marked with the Morganville seal in the corner in thick, still -warm wax.

  "Read it. "

  He col apsed into one of my brocaded armchairs across from my desk, crossed one leg over the other, and gave me a long, slow smile that made me shiver. Not in dread-oh, no. In something far more complex, and far more terrifying. We had been enemies a long time, uncomfortable al ies for the past few years, and now. . . now, I hesitated to put a name on what we were.

  In more-ancient days, the word would have been intimates, which meant everything or nothing, as the situation required.

  I lowered my gaze from that knowing expression and read the words inscribed in gorgeous, flowing script-the hand of a trained clerk, obviously, who'd been given proper education in a time when that truly mattered.

  WHEREAS the Elders' Council of Morganville, concerned for the safety and security of all within its borders of influence, has resolved to enact a law requiring the identification of all persons, whether mortal or immortal. Such identification shall further be carried upon the persons of residents at all times. Whereas such proof of identity is vital to the health of our community, we also are resolved that the violation of such requirements shall be considered a direct offense to the council, and as such may be punishable with the First, Second, and Final Actions as written within the codes formulated by the Founder from the earliest foundation of this great community.

  In approval of these requirements, and of these punishments, the Founder of Morganville sets her signature hereupon.

  I froze, pen at the ready, and frowned. "What's this?"

  "As we discussed," he said. "The requirement for citizens of Morganville to carry appropriate identification. For the vampires, of course, the requirements are somewhat different, but they'l still carry a card. It wouldn't do to appear to be discriminatory. "

  "Indeed not," I said, a ripple of irritation gliding through my tone. "I thought we discussed waiting a year to implement such identification measures, until they could be properly explained. "

  "I would have believed it was possible to wait that long had I not heard a rumor that Captain Obvious was once again among us, and agitating against us. " Oliver's voice carried a bitterly dark undertone now, and his distaste for the nom de guerre of our most bothersome human adversary showed in the expression on his sharp, angular face. Age is of no consequence to vampires, of course, save in what power it brings with it, but Oliver was a rarity-a vampire who had been turned in his later years, and retained that appearance in his immortality, with gray threading his brown hair and lines pinching his skin at the eyes and mouth. He could appear warm and friendly when he chose, but I had long ago learned that Oliver was first, last, and always a warrior.

  And this. . . Captain Obvious, as the humans of Morganville now named him, was cut from the same cloth. A fighter, determined to bring us harm. We had kil ed him a dozen times in the past hundred years, and, mortal lives being what they are, we'd never expected at first for the problem to resurrect itself again, and again, and again; yet as soon as a Captain Obvious fel , another stepped forward, masked and hidden, to take his place. And now, it seemed, we were forced to endure yet another would-be avenger.

  I felt Oliver's gaze on me, warm and yet chal enging; for allthe barriers that had fal en between us, his ambition wasn't one of them. He demanded more of himself, and thus more of me. It was a dangerous dance, and that was part-if not most-of the attraction.

  "Yes," I said. "If they feel confident enough in their own power to openly follow yet another rabble-rouser, then I suppose we must have our own answer. " And I penned my elaborate signature, allloops and swirls and slashes, to the bottom of the formal document. In true modern-age fashion, this would be photographed, digitized, transferred to bland and simple words on a screen. . . but the effects were the same. The word of a ruler was law.

  And I was now the uncontested ruler of Morganville. allmy enemies had fal en; the sickness that had crippled vampires for so very long had been conquered at last, thanks to the intervention of humans, most notably that troublesome young Claire, apprentice to my oldest friend, Myrnin. We had likewise dispatched at last my father, Bishop, that blood-maddened beast. And just in the past few months, the cool, cruel draug, who had hunted us to the edge of extinction, had been destroyed and were no more.

  Now, nothing stood between my people-the last of the vampires-and the power and status that were rightly due us.

  Nothing, that was, but the too-confident pride of the humans in this town-humans I had chosen, brought together, allowed to grow and flourish and prosper in cooperation and under strict conditions; humans who had repaid me, in large part, with fear, spite, and resistance that grew stronger each year.

  No more.

  "No more," Oliver said aloud, and rose to take the decree from my hand. "No more wil these vassals think they can slip away in secrecy from their crimes. It's our time, my queen. Our time to ensure our final survival. " And he captured my hand in his, bent, and touched his cool lips to my equally cool skin.

  I shivered.

  "Yes," I said. "Yes, I believe it is. "

  His lips traveled up my arm, in slow and gentle kisses, and found my neck; he unpinned my hair from its heavy crown and let it fal loose. His strong hands went around me and pulled me to him. He was as irresistible as Newton's gravity, and I gave up politics and pride and status for the sheer, novel joy of being wanted.

  And if there was a part of me, a smal and hidden part, that questioned allthis and understood that the more power I took for the vampires, the more the humans would rebel. . . wel , I buried it with ruthless efficiency. I was tired of being alone, and what Oliver drew from me was pleasant, and in some measure necessary.

  The old ways of Morganville. . . They were my past.

  Oliver was my future.

    Smoke and Iron Read onlineSmoke and IronHonor Among Thieves Read onlineHonor Among ThievesPaper and Fire Read onlinePaper and FireAsh and Quill Read onlineAsh and QuillWolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake Book 3) Read onlineWolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake Book 3)Undone Read onlineUndoneGlass Houses Read onlineGlass HousesPrince of Shadows Read onlinePrince of ShadowsUnseen Read onlineUnseenMidnight at Mart's Read onlineMidnight at Mart'sThe Dead Girls Dance Read onlineThe Dead Girls DanceLast Breath Read onlineLast BreathStillhouse Lake Read onlineStillhouse LakeDaylighters Read onlineDaylightersMidnight Alley Read onlineMidnight AlleyBlack Dawn Read onlineBlack DawnFall of Night Read onlineFall of NightTwo Weeks Notice Read onlineTwo Weeks NoticeBitter Blood Read onlineBitter BloodCarpe Corpus Read onlineCarpe CorpusKiss of Death Read onlineKiss of DeathGhost Town Read onlineGhost TownIll Wind Read onlineIll WindFade Out Read onlineFade OutTotal Eclipse Read onlineTotal EclipseHonor Lost Read onlineHonor LostThin Air Read onlineThin AirBlack Corner Read onlineBlack CornerFirestorm Read onlineFirestormBite Club Read onlineBite ClubChill Factor Read onlineChill FactorWindfall Read onlineWindfallOasis Read onlineOasisDevils Bargain Read onlineDevils BargainTerminated Read onlineTerminatedFeast of Fools Read onlineFeast of FoolsLord of Misrule Read onlineLord of MisruleDevils Due Read onlineDevils DueLadies' Night Read onlineLadies' NightGale Force Read onlineGale ForceHeat Stroke Read onlineHeat StrokeKillman Creek Read onlineKillman CreekSword and Pen Read onlineSword and PenCape Storm Read onlineCape StormUnbroken Read onlineUnbrokenWindfall tww-4 Read onlineWindfall tww-4Heartbreak Bay (Stillhouse Lake) Read onlineHeartbreak Bay (Stillhouse Lake)Daylighters: The Morganville Vampires Read onlineDaylighters: The Morganville VampiresDuty Read onlineDutyHonor Bound Read onlineHonor BoundUnseen os-3 Read onlineUnseen os-3Firestorm tww-5 Read onlineFirestorm tww-5Blue Crush Read onlineBlue CrushDevil s Bargain Read onlineDevil s BargainPrince of Shadows: A Novel of Romeo and Juliet Read onlinePrince of Shadows: A Novel of Romeo and JulietBite Club mv-10 Read onlineBite Club mv-10Terminated tr-3 Read onlineTerminated tr-3The Morganville Vampires 14 - Fall of Night Read onlineThe Morganville Vampires 14 - Fall of NightBitter Blood tmv-13 Read onlineBitter Blood tmv-13Falling for Grace Read onlineFalling for GraceThe True Blood of Martyrs Read onlineThe True Blood of MartyrsFall of Night (The Morganville Vampires) Read onlineFall of Night (The Morganville Vampires)Devil's Bargain rld-1 Read onlineDevil's Bargain rld-1The Morganville Vampires (Books 1-8) Read onlineThe Morganville Vampires (Books 1-8)Two Weeks' Notice tr-2 Read onlineTwo Weeks' Notice tr-2An Affinity for Blue Read onlineAn Affinity for BlueCaine, Rachel-Short Stories Read onlineCaine, Rachel-Short StoriesKiss of Death tmv-8 Read onlineKiss of Death tmv-8WITCHGRAVE Read onlineWITCHGRAVEDark Rides Read onlineDark RidesThe Morganville Vampires Read onlineThe Morganville VampiresKillman Creek (Stillhouse Lake Series Book 2) Read onlineKillman Creek (Stillhouse Lake Series Book 2)Midnight Bites Read onlineMidnight BitesLine of Sight Read onlineLine of SightMorganville Vampires [01] Glass Houses Read onlineMorganville Vampires [01] Glass HousesBlack Dawn tmv-12 Read onlineBlack Dawn tmv-12Midnight at Mart ww-103 Read onlineMidnight at Mart ww-103Feast of Fools tmv-4 Read onlineFeast of Fools tmv-4Ill Wind tww-1 Read onlineIll Wind tww-1Devil's Due rld-2 Read onlineDevil's Due rld-2Black Dawn: The Morganville Vampires Read onlineBlack Dawn: The Morganville VampiresDead Girls' Dance tmv-2 Read onlineDead Girls' Dance tmv-2Minute Maids Read onlineMinute MaidsCarpe Corpus tmv-6 Read onlineCarpe Corpus tmv-6Total Eclipse tww-9 Read onlineTotal Eclipse tww-9Ghost Town mv-9 Read onlineGhost Town mv-9Lord of Misrule tmv-5 Read onlineLord of Misrule tmv-5Faith Like Wine Read onlineFaith Like WineTwo Weeks' Notice: A Revivalist Novel Read onlineTwo Weeks' Notice: A Revivalist NovelDaylighters tmv-15 Read onlineDaylighters tmv-15Stamps, Vamps & Tramps (A Three Little Words Anthology) Read onlineStamps, Vamps & Tramps (A Three Little Words Anthology)Unbroken os-4 Read onlineUnbroken os-4Unknown os-2 Read onlineUnknown os-24 - Unbroken Read online4 - UnbrokenCape Storm tww-8 Read onlineCape Storm tww-8Last Breath tmv-11 Read onlineLast Breath tmv-11Midnight Alley tmv-3 Read onlineMidnight Alley tmv-3Glass Houses tmv-1 Read onlineGlass Houses tmv-1Fade Out tmv-7 Read onlineFade Out tmv-7Fall of Night tmv-14 Read onlineFall of Night tmv-14Godfellas Read onlineGodfellasHeat Stroke ww-2 Read onlineHeat Stroke ww-2Carniepunk Read onlineCarniepunkOasis ww-102 Read onlineOasis ww-102Gale Force tww-7 Read onlineGale Force tww-7Working Stiff tr-1 Read onlineWorking Stiff tr-1