henri dunn 01 - immortality cure Read Online Free PDF Page A

a pretty patient person when it comes to waiting. Having eternity means that impatience becomes sort of silly, and while I wasn’t immortal anymore, old habits lingered. I expected Aidan to go get Cazimir, or maybe just go find something better to do, but he sat on a piano bench across from me, waiting. There was a tension in the room from his shitty attitude, and I wished he’d leave.
    When it became clear he wasn’t going to, and Cazimir was going to take his sweet time, I asked, “Lived here long?” I wasn’t sure whether I meant Seattle or Cazimir’s ridiculous factory-slash-castle.
    “Caz and I have been together for over ten years.” Pointed, again. Marking his territory. As if Cazimir had ever been monogamous, and as if I had any interest horning in on whatever Aidan considered their relationship. But ten years was a long time to keep a human familiar around. I reassessed and realized Aidan wasn’t so young. There was more than one small silver hair poking out of the dyed-blue mop, and crow’s feet swept from his eyes. He looked somewhat youthful, but droughts of vampire blood can keep someone looking younger than their years. And if Caz was giving him any tastes of blood, it did mean they were close.
    “I see,” I said.
    “Who are you with?” Aidan asked. Meaning, I assumed, what vampire was I disposing of bodies for? I felt bad for Aidan. He clearly thought he and Caz had something special, but if Caz hadn’t even bothered to tell him who I was, I doubted they were really on the same page.
    “No one,” I said.
    He considered me again and then his eyes widened. “Oh shit. You’re the Blood Traitor.” I rolled my eyes. He smirked.
    “I’m not a traitor of any kind,” I said sharply. It was almost three in the morning and my tolerance for this crap was fading rapidly. I needed food (stupid mortal body), a bath, and sleep. “This was done to me against my will.”
    “Can I see your teeth?” he asked, jerking up from his chair and moving closer. Now that I was a living legend and not just a mere inconvenience to his normal routine, Aidan was captivated.
    “If you promise never to call me ‘Blood Traitor’ again.” I opened my mouth in a fake smile. No fangs. Aidan recoiled.
    “Holy shit. You can’t even tell you used to be …” He shook his head, clearly shocked and maybe a little afraid. I guess if your life goal is to be a vampire, the idea of an undo button existing is pretty terrifying.
    Before we could discuss all the ways in which the transformation was incredible (or awful), Cazimir arrived.
    “My, my, my, what has the tide dragged in?” Cazimir asked. He swept into the room like he was the belle of some imaginary ball. He wore leather pants, a pirate shirt with ruffles down the front, and a red velvet riding jacket that was embroidered with gold thread. His long blond hair cascaded to his shoulders. Cazimir could have come straight from the auditions for a vampire movie. He had been turned in his twenties, but centuries of immortality made him look ethereal, especially to my now-mortal eyes. Bone-pale skin, eyes too bright, movements slightly too fast or too slow. It made me shiver. I was used to being a vampire, not seeing vampires as humans saw them.
    Aidan went to his side immediately, grabbing Caz’s ringed hand and kissing his wrist. Cazimir smiled patiently at the young man, caressing Aidan’s cheek.
    He pressed his lips to Aidan’s forehead and then pulled away. “Aidan here is my most loyal companion,” he said to me. Aidan smirked proudly, the trophy mortal. “If you’re here to ask for Ascension, Aidan is next in line when I decide to open my veins.” He stroked his palm down Aidan’s neck and shoulder, like he was petting a dog.
    I did my best not to vomit on his designer rug. Nausea is a hazard of mortality. The whole thing—from the way Aidan was probably treated like a pet, with the carrot of immortality waved in his face constantly, to the ridiculous