The Vampires' Birthright Read Online Free PDF

inside. Not exactly the Four Seasons, but the room was a hell of a lot cozier than I expected to find after experiencing the icebox downstairs. The floor was polished gray marble―similar to the hallways and main level―and the walls were paneled in teak with less ostentatious renderings of dragons.
    The room was large, although not as immense as my recent quarters in le Chateau de Douleur. Yet, it was definitely large enough to not feel claustrophobic with two or three caskets sharing my space. A queen-sized bed faced a small television set added to the room well before the onset of the digital age. That was pretty much it as far as ‘modern’ conveniences, other than a small lamp and clock radio sitting on a nightstand next to the bed. But at least the room was warm and cozy, as more warm air poured into the chamber from two vents above the doorway and another above the bed.
    Great, this should be a hell of a lot of fun.
    While I was privately mourning the loss of my iPad, Garvan drew my attention to the bathroom, where a modern Jacuzzi tub and shower awaited me. The sink and commode were also fully modern, which made me wonder why our hosts hadn’t bothered to upgrade the meager entertainment options in the bedroom portion of my new home.
    “Cleanliness is next to Godliness!” Garvan’s impishness lifted his countenance back to the warmth he normally exudes. Even his eyes were aglow again, and I felt he mostly had forgotten my mention of his immortal rival moments before. “Perhaps you’ll take up Zen while you’re here, and see that most of what you have paid attention to these past few years is largely empty, meaningless noise.”
    “Perhaps… but a bored mind and empty hands can be the instruments of the Devil, too.” I offered my own wry smile while alternating my disappointed gaze between the obsolete TV and the clock radio. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
    “About what?”
    “About Racco and his staff… when shall I expect their arrival?”
    His smile faded as he studied my face, no doubt torn as to what to tell me, given my hopeful expression.
    “Racco’s not coming, Txema. Right after we left the plane, he unloaded our luggage and our associates and he is already on his way back to France with his staff.”
    “But, I thought—”
    “You thought you could start where you left off three days ago, correct?” His tone remained gentle, but with enough force to emphasize his seriousness. “As if, like you, he’d be welcome here, in this cold place with even colder hosts?”
    He didn’t need to spell it out for me. I had wondered the same thing as Xuanxang addressed us, along with the obvious strictness in dealing with the young servants who all appeared to be fully human. How would a group of free and happy human beings be welcome in such a place?
    “So, I take it this was decided while we were still in the air?”
    I hadn’t seen anything conspire between Chanson or anyone else from the time we left India’s airspace and when we landed on the runway. The decision had to have been made earlier.
    “Yes… I heard Gustav and Racco discuss what needed to be done, right after we heard that so many of Huangtian Dadi’s vampire subjects had defected to Ralu’s… political platform,” he said. “It’s far too dangerous for his people to be here, since they can’t be offered the same protection as you.”
    “This really sucks!” I couldn’t believe Racco had abandoned me, and did so completely. We never got a chance to talk following the previous night’s ceremony, or even after our last awkward exchange before that event. “So, I’m the only human being here from the western world?”
    “At least for now.” His pained expression implied he had held out hope I wouldn’t miss Racco, and that I’d be content having only my vampire companions to interact with. “It’s still possible he’ll come back after you’ve given birth to your child and the current tensions