Silver Mortal (The Gracen Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF Page A

enormous amount of yuck .
    Wearing only red boxes, Draven lies down on the bed and leans on his elbow, giving me a smile that shows of his white fangs. I realize he's got to be the skinniest guy I've ever seen, even skinnier that Jude. He has no muscle tone and appears to be, oh what's the word...
    Wimpy. Yeah, that's it. Wimpy .
    He pats the spot next to him. “Ready to get to know each other, my love?”
    Yeah, I want to get to know you, Draven— not .
    “Well,” I say, crossing my arms, “first I'd like to ask you some questions. I am new to this, after all.”
    He rolls his eyes, apparently unhappy. “Fine, but while you're asking questions start removing some clothes. I want to see what's under all that leather.” He licks his lips, his eyes roaming my body. “Also, you'll have to lose the sunglasses. I want to look into your eyes while we get busy.”
    Inwardly I groan. I mean really, why would anyone think this guy is sexy? He's a total horn-ball wuss! If there ever was a contest for the Corniest Vampire Wannabe Alive , this dude would win hands down.
    “OK, but first one question: Who owns this club?”
    “Some black dude that never leaves his office,” he replies , his eyes sticking to me.
    “Where is this office located?”
    “No, that's not the deal,” he says, wagging his long finger at me. “I answered a question, now you take something off.”
    I sigh, knowing that's not completely the deal. But I have to appease him, so I unlatch the strap that holds my Katana.
    “Whoa, what's that?” he inquires, surprised by the garment I take off.
    “Oh, this?” I say, unsheathing my sword, its blade shining in the candlelight. “This here is my favorite weapon, and I use it to slay vampires.” I give him a sideways glance, arching an eyebrow.
    He lets out a nervous laugh. “Wait, what are you—” Before he finishes I cross the room and straddle him, holding the tip of the sword to his neck. His contact-covered eyes shoot wide open and his arms lift up in surrender.
    “What the—”
    “Shut-up you waste of time,” I bark at him. He instantly clams up. “I'm in charge here, not you. I'm not your princess and you're not a real vampire. And I would never in a million years have sex with you. Now, if you're a good little boy you'll answer a few questions. If you scream, I'll kill you. So if living is on your list of stuff to do then I suggest you be quiet. Do you understand?”
    He nods his head as beads of sweat drip down his face.
    “Good,” I say, keeping the Katana steady. “Now answer this. Do you know anything about people disappearing from this club?”
    “W-W-What?” he stammers, his accent now sounding more New Yorker than English. “No, I don't know—” I push the sword forward a tiny bit. “Wait! Wait! Yes, I know s-something, I think. A...two girls. I saw two girls the other night with the weird owner. They went into his office...”
    “What do you mean by weird?” I question. “This whole place screams weird. So when you say weird—what do you mean?”
    He gulps, his eyes staring down at the sword. “I—it's hard to explain. It's like...”
    “Like what?” I urge.
    “Like they can control minds.” He looks up at me pitifully. “Like they're true vampires. Like they're real monsters!”
    I groan. “Get this through your head—vampires do not exist.”
    He sneers. “Well, they may not exist, but evil sure does.”
    “Hmmm.” I tilt my head and study him, not able to argue that logic. “One more question, Draven...if that's your real name. Where's the office?”
    Snorting he replies, “I don't have to tell you anything you bi—” I dig the sword even deeper, this time drawing blood. “Ahh! OK, OK, OK! It's at the end of the hall! The door's painted black to blend in!”
    I retract the sword, get in his face, and whisper, “Thank you.”
    Jumping off of him, I secure my Katana by snapping it back in place. As I make my way out of the room I hear Draven say,