Traitors' Gate Read Online Free PDF

aren’t they?” I nod toward the children.
    “Strangely, yes they are. They’ll
grow up and the boys will be given the opportunity to be turned. The girls will
be married, if they choose to be. Their sons will be…”
    “I get it. The Elders don’t like
ladies.” I wave my arms around and realize that I kind of raised my voice.
    “They will adore you.” Nicholas
hugs me and I wonder if someday I’ll be allowed to sire my own child, and what
that would feel like, to share this dark gift with another.
    As we move further into the tavern,
my eyes are drawn to a familiar face, “Christian!” I yell.
    I throw myself into his open arms.
I see a brief flash of fang as he tries to bite me.

 
    Chapter Eight
     
    The two other vampires quickly
restrain him and one throws me an angry glance.
    “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry,” I say.
    After a slight struggle, Christian
sits down and looks up at me, “It is I who should say sorry. I’m only here
because I said that I could control my appetite. You are just too delectable,
Lucinda Delacourt.”
    “You should take him home,
Tolliver.” Nicholas pulls me behind him and stares daggers at my old friend.
    Christian rolls his eyes. He’s just
as I remember him, only a little bit broader and ever so slightly undead.
    “He’s simply stating the obvious, mes amis .” The
third vampire sweeps me out from behind Nicholas. He kisses my hand. “ Bonjour mademoiselle, vous etes belle .”
    “ Merci beaucoup ,” I reply.
    “Vous parlez francais?”
    “Mais, bien sur.”
    “I’m your humble
servant, Philippe.” He bows.
    I’m glad the
French stops there as we are nearing my vocabulary limit on it.
    “That’s enough of
that,” Nicholas says, stepping between us.
    As much as I’m
enjoying the attention, Nicholas’s face is beginning to contort to anger, so I
step back and let him help me into my seat. He lays an arm across the back of
my chair and a brief round of pleasantries begin. I use this time to study the
other vampires a little further. Christian looks good. Being a vampire suits
him; his   black hair spills a little over his broad shoulders and his rich dark eyes are keen
and deep. Will being a vampire make me more becoming? Will it change me that
much? Would my father recognize me if I choose to go back home?
    Philippe is
watching me. His gaze is soft and he has the effortlessly easy air that many a
Frenchman has. I instantly like him. He includes me in their conversations and
is attentive to my needs. He is the one that orders me a rich thick beef broth
that tastes like it’s been cooked by God himself. Tolliver is more serious. He
is holding Christian’s wrist beneath the table and when his eyes fall on me
they are analytical and cold, especially when he sees me dunking bread into the
broth.
    We’re coming to
the end of our strange social engagement when a young boy barrels up to us.
    “Message for
Nicholas Lord,” he says thrusting out a fold of parchment.
    “Not a moment’s
peace,” Philippe laments.
    Nicholas takes the
parchment and gives the boy a coin. He unfolds the message and begins to read.
I notice his lips moving as he does. If we had been alone I’d have kissed him.
    When he’s
finished, he hands the letter to Tolliver who struggles to read it with just
the one free hand.
    “ Mon ami?”
    “The Elders need
us. There’s a problem at the Tower.”
    “The Tower of
London?” I ask.
    “Yes, something
about the boy princes,” Nicholas says, seeming distant.
    “When are we
needed?” Philippe asks.
    “Now, we should
leave now.” Nicholas gets up and holds a hand out to me.
    “You can’t take Lucinda
with you,” Christian says.
    “Well, I’m not
leaving her here with you. And besides, I want to talk to the Elders about her
anyway. Now is a good time, when they actually need help.”
    “I’ll take
Christian back to the house and meet you at the Tower,” Tolliver declares.
    A wind flaps my
hair and cloak. I close my eyes against