Dracul's Revenge 01: Dracul's Blood Read Online Free PDF

titles of his reference books, before pulling a particularly old one from the shelf. The pages smelled musty, the scent tickling his nose, but he knew the information was accurate.
    By the time the knock on his door came, Nik had found what he’d been looking for.
    “Come in,” he called, setting the book on the desk.
    He wasn’t expecting the large man that walked into his office. He should’ve suspected as much by the sound of the detective’s voice, but the man who stood in front of his desk seemed to fill the entire office.
    Nik wiped his hands on his Dockers and stood. He held out a hand and smiled.
    “Detective Marks?”
    Marks nodded and shook Nik’s hand. “You must be Professor Radin.”
    “That’s what it says on the door.” As soon as the words had left his mouth, Nik wanted to pull them back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Please, call me Nik.”
    “Okay, Nik, you can call me Bobby.”
    Nik gestured to a chair. “Please, have a seat.”

    DRACUL’S BLOOD
    Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

    26

    Bobby sat and tossed a folder in front of Nik. “Those are the close-ups of the bottle and label. Any information you could give me would be appreciated.”
    Before opening the file, Nik took off his glasses and cleaned them on the bottom of his untucked, light-blue dress shirt. He settled them back onto his nose and opened the manila folder.
    He studied the picture for a few moments before addressing the detective. “Before I begin, I’d like you to do something for me. Would you please call your lab and ask them to be extremely careful with this object. It should be in a museum, not a lab.”
    Bobby pulled out his phone and placed the call. “Wilmont. Yeah, I know, but I’ve got another favour. Tell the techs to be careful with the bottle. It sounds like it’s pretty valuable.
    Yeah, I know. Okay, I’ll catch you at the end of the week.”
    Bobby hung up and grinned. “I owe him another drink.”
    Nik had no idea what the detective was talking about, so he returned his attention back to the photographs. “Did you actually see this for yourself?”
    Bobby nodded. “Yeah. Why?”
    “I need to know how big it is. I can’t tell from the photographs.” Nik’s fingernail found its way to the tortured skin of his thumb. He began picking at the self-inflicted sore as he waited for Bobby to describe the cask. He hadn’t lied when he told the detective it belonged in a museum.
    Bobby held his large, square hands about fourteen inches apart. “It’s about this long, thin. I didn’t actually hold it, but I’m sure I could’ve easily wrapped my hands around it.
    Nik couldn’t help but smile. He had no doubt the bigger man could wrap his fingers around just about anything he tried. Nik held up his much smaller hands. “What about mine? Could I wrap mine around the thickest part?”
    Bobby took Nik’s hands and moved them into an approximate position. “Yeah, I’d say so.”
    The feel of the detective’s rough hands on Nik’s was electrifying. Afraid of making a fool of himself, Nik pulled away and returned his attention to the book in front of him. He spun it around to face Bobby. “It sounds like you’ve found a smaller version of the cask in the picture. It was used to hold wine and other liquids until glass bottles began to take their place in the late fifteenth, early sixteenth century.”
    He glanced up and met the dark hazel eyes of the detective. Nik licked his lips, DRACUL’S BLOOD
    Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

    27

    suddenly feeling parched. “Your cask was almost certainly custom made. For what reason, I’m not sure. It wouldn’t have been cost effective for the wine producer.”
    Bobby’s eyes broke contact and his attention went once again to the book in front of him. “So this cask, or whatever it’s called, is really, really old.”
    Nik couldn’t help but chuckle. “You could say that. I would probably date it mid fifteenth century, but it’s hard to