Sunder Read Online Free PDF Page B

friend’s villa. They had fallen in love while Briton’s father visited. She was like Helen of Troy, only no wars ensued.
     
    They snuck off in the night and he brought her to Finland, where he was living at the time. He lied about her rank in society and married her. She had been strong enough to survive the things she bared for him. When his mother gave birth to the last of the six sons, his father turned her. After that she was never able to walk in the light of day without shade or a parasol. The bitten never were able. But that hadn’t dampened her spirits. She had been a wonderful mother and a loving wife.
     
    The rest was history.
     
    The romance of the story always made it a favorite of Briton’s. Had he been a regular man, he imagined he might have been a great romantic.
     
    But he knew what he was didn’t mix well with the world of romance. Not that it mattered anymore. It seemed like romance had died off a bit. Like Betsy had said, the kids were caught up in electronics and baggy pants. They didn’t know the desperate feeling of a pair of eyes watching you from across the room, undressing you and seducing you. The roaring twenties were the best time for that.
     
    The young didn’t know what they were missing. At least it would be easier for him to blend in, if they didn’t lift their faces above the screens on the things in front of them.
     
    He walked to Miles’ room, opening the door. He stopped in the doorway when he saw the older man dressed and ready for the ball instead of sleeping.
     
    “Sorry for barging in, Miles. I honestly thought you would be sleeping. I was going to leave you this note.” He held the paper in his hand.
     
    Miles waved a hand in the air, brushing it off. “Bah, my room is always open to you. You know that.” He turned and faced him. “Now, how do I look?”
     
    Briton smiled. “You look fantastic. Years younger than seventy, no doubt.”
     
    “Well, I will be having a small pick-me-up before I go, and then we are off.” His grin turned sly. “I’ve asked Betsy to accompany me to the ball. She is readying as we speak.”
     
    Briton shook his head and turned from the room. “You old dog.” He walked down the stairs to wait for them both, then they would make their way to the SUV. Moments later, Miles walked down the stairs with much more of a pep in his step. His skin even seemed to be less wrinkled. Him and his elixirs.
     
    Briton felt a worried look cross his brow, before he could stop himself from making it. Miles shook his head. “I don’t want to hear it. I save them for the important nights.”
     
    Briton whispered, raising an eyebrow. “Betsy is important enough for that? You’ve known her a total of two hours.”
     
    Miles smirked. “She is a happy bonus. The important thing is you and the Michaels family. I won’t let you down by being a crippled old man, unable to help you.”
     
    Briton reached his right hand out to the frail old man who now seemed to glow with health, “You’re the best friend my father ever could have asked for and the best mentor I could have ever asked for. I could help you, if you like.”
     
    Miles took his hand. “No, as much as I want to be here for you, I do not want an eternity of this life.”
     
    “I do not blame you. Had I been able to choose, I would not have chosen it either.” Briton shook his head. “Perhaps, if my entire family hadn’t been slaughtered things would be different.”
     
    “I have loved and lost and lived. Those are the things that make all of this somewhat short journey worth while.” Miles sighed. “I know you have done those things too in your many lives, and if I could break your curse, I would. You’re the son I never had. As you well know, my own son never got past eleven, so I have always seen you as mine too.”
     
    Briton nodded. “I believe your son would have been a better man than I, Miles.”
     
    Before Miles could come back with a retort, Betsy made her