In the Dark Read Online Free PDF Page A

sister sighed. “A smell, perhaps? Or a feeling. Maybe a familiar face. There should be something.” She shook her head sadly, then leveled another scowl at him. “And I cannot believe you accused Damian of planning to kill Conrad! What is wrong with you?”
    â€œI told you what’s wrong. It’s this place! Don’t you feel it too? Besides, you heard him. That’s exactly what it sounded like he was saying.”
    â€œOh, stop. It did not. Damian would no more kill Conrad than I would, and if you don’t know that…well…then…you should! He raised us, Marc. He and Conrad and us—we’re family.”
    Marc nodded. “I know that. But…oh, c’mon, Jules, you gotta admit he’s acting weird. First he lies to me on the phone to get us to come out here, then he lies to that guy, Armand, about being our sire and then…cookies? Are you freakin’ kidding me? You know how Conrad got last time. There’s gonna be hell to pay when he finds out what’s been going on.”
    â€œOh, cookies. Yeah, that’s real heinous. That’s just exactly the same as plotting someone’s murder. And, for your information, the only one I’ve noticed acting weird tonight is you .”
    The unhappy look on Julie’s face told Marc he’d scored a point, whether she was willing to admit it or not. Yeah, sure, he was acting weird too. Given the circumstances, who wouldn’t be? But that wasn’t all of it. Not by a long shot. “This whole scene is seriously screwed up. It makes me want to punch something. I hate all this stupid vampire drama.” He paused, running his hands through his hair, trying to shake the moodiness threatening to overtake him again. “It just never stops, does it?”
    Julie rolled her eyes. “Here we go again. Why would it stop, Marc? We’re vampires. Always were, always gonna be. I can’t believe you’re still trying to dream up idiotic reasons not to admit that. We’re different, so what? Learn to deal with it, already. Or, you know what? Don’t. If it honestly makes you feel that much better to pretend we’re really space aliens instead, then go for it, Star-man, live long and prosper.”
    Marc flushed. Not fair . He’d never pretended they were something they weren’t. He’d merely theorized on the various possibilities. And it had been years since he’d floated the idea they might have evolved from some kind of alien life form. Decades maybe. Even though anybody with brains would have to agree that a dip in the extraterrestrial gene pool was a good, solid, reasonable explanation for the way they’d all turned out. It was scientific, logical and so much better than the traditional theory—that they’d originated from demon spawn.
    Aliens, by virtue of the fact they’d had to travel through space to get here, were obviously smart, technologically advanced and, in all likelihood, peaceful ambassadors from a better, brighter world. Vampires, on the other hand, were murderers. They were monsters. They were the quintessential fairy-tale villains—right up there with ogres and trolls and gorgons—the kind of creature nightmares were made of.
    Who in the hell would choose to be something like that if they didn’t have to?
    â€œYou know what I think?” He grabbed one of Julie’s paperbacks from the stack by the window seat and waved it in her face. “I think you just like the idea of being a vampire ’cause you think it’s sexy. I mean, look at this crap you read.” He opened the book at random and read aloud. “… satisfaction gleamed in the prince’s dark eyes as he drew back and looked her over, still licking the last traces of blood from his lips. My blood, Celeste thought, her breasts rising and falling more quickly with the realization. It was her blood, her life force from which he’d been