Read Online Blood Rules by Christine Cody - Free Book Online Page B

as heavy as the weight he was carrying—the cost of traveling with Mariah. As planned, they’d burrowed under the diner, where he’d battled with himself until darkness had swallowed him at the sun’s rise. Thank-all for that slumber, too, because he couldn’t have imagined what it might’ve been like to lie awake next to her, obsessing over the sight of her without clothes, her flesh pale and smooth.
    That wouldn’t have been the only thing keeping Gabriel awake, though. He’d never seen her enjoy changing into her were-form before, and his vampire body had been pulled to her animal freedom while she’d altered.
    Even after she’d changed back, the attraction remained, but forced rest had saved him, and he’d woken up with the dusk, crawling out from their cove before Mariah had even opened her eyes. She’d soon joined him, and there hadn’t been much conversation as she’d willed another change upon herself so they could cover as much ground as possible—hundreds of miles. They’d run most of the night, trying to keep to some hill and tree cover until they’d come upon a small fox pack. Gabriel had taken enough blood from the animals to last for a while, but he couldn’t shed the image of Mariah, half panting woman, half towering beast, tearing at her food with those long teeth.
    His bewilderment had continued as they’d both scented out this way station, which squatted in the middle of the nowheres with no name, no identity. Mariah had put her clothing back on so they could blend with the humans, but, to Gabriel, there was still a huge difference between her and the stilted flows of human blood he could detect. The place also had a sour twist of unwashed skin that hung below the necropolis and smoke smells, but at least the heat was lessening slightly. The farther they got from the Badlands, the more improved the temperature would be. Relatively, at least.
    At the foot of the main street, dust seemed to veil the lone eatery and the spatter of sun-shield tents opposite it. Gabriel also identified a trace of old opium that humans still used for mellowing themselves. When the sudden sound of unholy screech-howls and human yells arose, he cocked his head.
    Sounded like a tournament of sorts, Gabriel thought. An entertaining contest where someone . . . or something . . . was getting hurt. He could smell the blood now, too, and he took a piece of old shirt from his bag, fixing it over the lower half of his face. He wouldn’t look out of place since humans routinely wore masks in the hubs to fend off disease.
    A scraggly man with a straw hat stumbled out of a tent, accompanied by a skeletal wisp of a dog that he must’ve found in some hole outside a hub since the government had gathered up most canines around the time they’d banned Intel Dogs. They’d cited a canine flu, claiming that they’d wanted to get it under control.
    Gabriel wasn’t sure why, but it reeked of bullshit, just like most things bad guys did.
    As the near-distant yelling stopped, he looked into Mariah’s eyes, wanting to communicate with her nonverbally. It was supposed to be a simple vampire ability, according to his introductory pamphlet, which he’d discarded long ago. However, mind-reading hadn’t always come easy to him. He was getting better at it, though.
    Even so, he’d be keeping the vampire tricks to a minimum when they were around people. He had to be quietlike about what he was, just like Mariah.
    I say we greet that man, Gabriel thought to her, tilting his head toward the straw-hat guy who was clearly supervising the whiz his dog was taking by the tents.
    Mariah just nodded, almost as if she were surprised he’d cared to enter her mind.
    Together, they ambled toward the straw-hat guy, who didn’t hear them approach until they were upon him. He gasped, his hand going to his jeans pocket.
    Gabriel held up his palms, speaking