Mark of the Rose: The Tudor Vampire Chronicles Read Online Free PDF Page B

and produced a small dagger. “Wolf.”
    A shadow moved between them and Rhys also palmed his dagger.
    “Good evening, Lady Verity, Sir Rhys.” Elias Warner appeared from behind the yew hedge, his smile flickering in the bright moonlight. “It is a pleasure to see you both again.”
    Rhys put away his dagger, stood up, and bowed. “Good evening, Elias. And how are you faring these days? Not too well if you are willing to seek out your old enemies.”
    Verity grabbed his sleeve. “Why are you talking to him? Shouldn’t you just kill him?”
    “I doubt I could.” With some difficulty Rhys removed her fingers from the now crumpled velvet sleeve of his doublet. “Elias is an old friend, and despite his handsome appearance, one of the most dangerous Vampires I have ever met.”
    Elias inclined his head. “Thank you for the introduction, Sir Rhys, but Lady Verity and I have already met. Like her brother, she seems disinclined to trust me at all.”
    “Why should I trust you? You’re a Vampire!” Verity hissed.
    Elias raised his eyebrows. “It seems that you are as ferocious as your cousin Rosalind.” He glanced at Rhys. “Appearances can be so deceptive, can’t they?”
    Rhys grabbed Verity’s hand. “You can put away your dagger, my lady.”
    “Thank you, Sir Rhys.” Elias smiled. “I am glad that you have returned. As I mentioned to Lady Verity, I am concerned about the queen.”
    “Why?” Verity demanded. “The Vampires hate the king. Surely you would be pleased if someone disposed of both his wife and his child.”
    Elias looked insulted and leaned against the rose arch. “Not all Vampires want to kill the king. Most of us simply wish to maintain some semblance of order in this country.”
    “As long as you are in control of that order, Elias?” Rhys asked.
    Anger flashed in Elias’s cold eyes. “You would prefer the Vampire Council be run by someone like Anne Boleyn?”
    “Of course not, but I don’t understand why you need our help.”
    “Because, as usual, someone wants more power.” Elias said dryly. “And because the Council is incapable of resisting the lure of controlling the king and queen, they allow such plots to flourish like monstrous weeds.”
    Verity stirred in Rhys’s grasp. “I didn’t sense that the queen had been turned into a Vampire.”
    “I agree,” Elias said. “But why not? If a Vampire can get that close to the queen, why not turn her?”
    “That is what we need to find out,” Rhys said. “Have you any idea who is involved, Elias?”
    “Not yet.” Elias grimaced. “My position as Council liaison is already difficult and I suspect I’m being kept out of certain discussions.”
    “Which is why you turned to us.”
    Elias hesitated. “In truth, I hoped to see Lady Rosalind and Sir Christopher here as well.”
    “They cannot leave their home at the moment.”
    “Ah . . .” Elias nodded. “I wondered about that.” He bowed. “Will you allow me to take your blood, Sir Rhys, so that we may find each other more easily?”
    Verity shot to her feet and tried to block Elias’s path. “You will not touch him!”
    Elias’s amused gaze met Rhys’s over her head. “You have another female protector. How fascinating.”
    Rhys scowled as he took Verity by the shoulders and set her to one side. “My lady, if he takes my blood, we will be able to summon him when we need him.”
     
     
    Rhys tried not to wince as Elias punctured his wrist with his fangs. The sudden pull on his senses made Rhys swallow hard. Elias finished quickly, his tongue swiping over the wounds to seal them. He smiled at Rhys, the tips of his fangs still bloody. “Thank you, Sir Rhys.”
    Rhys nodded and Elias vanished. Rhys sank down on the bench under the rose arbor and took a long, slow breath. He hated to admit it, but when the blood was freely given, there was something about a Vampire’s bite that was far too sensuous. Perhaps it was the ancient connection between their races that