Carpathian 12 - Dark Melody

receiving his blood from her mind.
    The pad of his thumb rubbed gently, soothingly, along her inner wrist. "Not a vampire, honey, but we share some of the same traits. A vampire is the undead, a Carpathian male who has chosen to give up his soul for the momentary pleasure of feeling the power of the kill. He is deceitful, treacherous and depraved. Wholly evil. Carpathians hunt down and destroy vampires. It is necessary for the preservation of mortals and immortals alike."
    She stared at him with enormous moss-green eyes. Her mind went from racing to perfectly blank. She just stared at him. Carefully she cleared her throat, stalling for time. He believed every word he was saying. Either Dayan was telling the absolute truth or he was totally insane. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly. "Obviously, I don't know what to say." Her voice was neutral.
    Dayan leaned down to brush the top of her silky head with his mouth. "You are not crazy, honey, and neither am I. Think about it. What can you hear that you should not be able to hear?"
    Corinne continued to gaze at him, looking very young and vulnerable. Her face was pale, almost ashen, and it was becoming difficult for her to breathe. Automatically Dayan did it for her, taking over the job, directing her lungs to push air in and out. "By giving me your blood, did you make me like you?" Her voice was low, a mere thread of sound.
    Dayan circled her slender shoulders with his arm. "We do not need to have this talk right now, my love.
    If you are not feeling up to it, I will remove your memories and we will try again at a later date."
    Her eyebrows shot up. "You can do that? Remove my memories?" Suddenly she glared at him. "Have you done that?"
    He shrugged casually, without remorse. "Partially. I made them hazy so you would not be frightened, but left them accessible should you ever wish to put the pieces of the puzzle together."
    For a moment she stared at him; then she burst out laughing. "This really is crazy, you know, because I'm believing you and it's too bizarre for words."
    "I cannot lie to you, Corinne. You have the ability, through our blood exchange, to look into my memories, into my mind, and see that I am telling you the truth. You are my lifemate. I would not attempt to deceive you for any reason."
    "And a lifemate means…?" she prompted softly, struggling to comprehend.
    "For a Carpathian male, there is only one chance at true life. We lose our feelings early. We have the Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    memories of emotion to sustain us, and we have the ability to touch others so that we can share their feelings, but after centuries of loneliness and bleakness, it is difficult to maintain the illusion that life has meaning. The whisper of power calls us continually, a dark stain spreading over our souls. Some give up and seek eternal rest; others choose the darkness and become the things of legend – vampires."
    "If all this is true, how can I be your other half when I am not Carpathian?" She wasn't certain she wanted the answer. She felt like his other half. She felt as if she belonged with him. Every moment spent in his company only made the feeling stronger. She knew nothing about him, yet she felt as if she knew everything. But if she believed what he was telling her, she would also have to believe in the legendary vampires.
    "You have psychic ability. Human women who have paranormal abilities often seem to be able to link with us – at least that is what I have been told. Syndil and Barack are lifemates. Desari's lifemate, Julian, is Carpathian. But Darius found a human woman. Her name is Tempest, and she came to us through an ad Desari placed for a mechanic to travel with our band. Desari embedded a hidden compulsion in the ad in the hope that it would draw the right person to us, and Tempest answered."
    "Is she human still?"
    Dayan brought her fingertips to the warmth of his mouth, nipped gently, tenderly. "Tempest chose to save Darius's life and in doing so was fully brought over into our world. It was her choice, Corinne.
    Darius did not want any of us discussing the possibility with her, because he did not want to take any chances with her life."
    "Chances?" she echoed. She was very tired all of a sudden and wished for the familiar comfort of Lisa.
    Or John.
    Dayan winced visibly. He knew it was natural for her, as natural as it would be for him to think of Desari or Syndil. He had spent several