Read Online Carnal Sacrifice by Angelika Helsing - Free Book Online
Authors: Angelika Helsing
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dates back to the Crusades. If we turn our backs on who we are, we are doing our heritage a terrible disservice. That will be the end of our line. Jaden will not be able to father a vampire if he refuses to heed the call of his people.”
“But you would turn savage, wouldn’t you?” Delaney asked him. “You and the others.”
“Yes.”
“And you would feed on humans. Me, maybe. My village.”
“Delaney, once a vampire goes fully demon, he isn’t himself any longer. I… we wouldn’t be able to control ourselves. We would feed until somebody—or what’s more likely, an army of somebodies—stopped us.”
The thought made her frantic. Every compassionate instinct came rushing to the defense of future victims, but anger was there as well, a righteous anger that felt far more manageable than her uncertainty. So it was true, then, what the villagers believed. The Hungering Ones weren’t superstitious nonsense. They were real. And once they turned fully demon, they weren’t going to suck the blood out of a few guinea pigs. They were going to tear through her village one innocent soul at a time, draining necks until nothing was left, and then move on to the next village. And they wanted her to stop it?
“How on earth do I figure into this?” she said. “How do we go from ‘creatures of the night’ to ‘all-night orgy’?”
He glanced at Val, who wore an expression of feline alertness, then said, “The first vampire predates the Incas by thousands of years. The Incas conducted their ritual sacrifices to appease Pachacamac, the god that protected them from our kind. But the maidens they sacrificed had been cheated of life, love, family. Their ghosts demand retribution—one woman through whom they will finally know sexual ecstasy. One woman who will serve as their vessel. Five vampires will have congress with her. Five vampires will climax inside her. With five men, she will achieve many climaxes. And in that woman shall they find their humanity and be saved. In that woman, they shall be redeemed.”
Delaney recoiled as though he’d struck her. “So it’s true, then, what your mother said.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve come to pimp me to your friends.”
Jaden’s eyes betrayed his guilt and horror. “No, Delaney. Surely you don’t think me capable of that.”
Delaney struggled to her feet. She had to do something, anything, productive, real, because it was just too much to take in, all of it, and…she couldn’t. This was crazy. Unthinkable. Five men. No, five vampires .
“No,” she said emphatically. “I can’t.” She went to where the supplies were, knelt down and picked up an ancient skillet. For a second, she thought about using it on both of them. Instead, she set the pan on the fire, but her hand shook, and the silence was both ominous and electric.
“You and I have never been close,” Val said. “I know that I could have been a better mother to you. There’s been bad blood between us.”
“You give that phrase a whole new meaning.” Delaney recognized the chill in her own voice. She picked up a potato and a paring knife, and then sat cross-legged to slice it.
Val pulled her sweater closer over her shoulders. “When your father was sick…” Val seemed to hesitate, as though sunk by the memory of it. She looked so incongruous in this space, all pressed and coiffed, while the damp stone walls sent her words spinning up to the pyramid high above. “When he lay dying of cancer, I offered to turn him, to make him like me. He refused. Do you know why?”
Despite her dislike of Val, Delaney found herself unable to look away. “It was because of you,” Val said in a voice dripping with venom. “He said you would be destroyed by it, that you would consider it an abomination.”
“You fought about it, didn’t you?” Jaden said in apparent amazement. “I heard you. About a week before he died.”
“I loved him,” Val said bitterly. “Loved him enough to watch
“But you would turn savage, wouldn’t you?” Delaney asked him. “You and the others.”
“Yes.”
“And you would feed on humans. Me, maybe. My village.”
“Delaney, once a vampire goes fully demon, he isn’t himself any longer. I… we wouldn’t be able to control ourselves. We would feed until somebody—or what’s more likely, an army of somebodies—stopped us.”
The thought made her frantic. Every compassionate instinct came rushing to the defense of future victims, but anger was there as well, a righteous anger that felt far more manageable than her uncertainty. So it was true, then, what the villagers believed. The Hungering Ones weren’t superstitious nonsense. They were real. And once they turned fully demon, they weren’t going to suck the blood out of a few guinea pigs. They were going to tear through her village one innocent soul at a time, draining necks until nothing was left, and then move on to the next village. And they wanted her to stop it?
“How on earth do I figure into this?” she said. “How do we go from ‘creatures of the night’ to ‘all-night orgy’?”
He glanced at Val, who wore an expression of feline alertness, then said, “The first vampire predates the Incas by thousands of years. The Incas conducted their ritual sacrifices to appease Pachacamac, the god that protected them from our kind. But the maidens they sacrificed had been cheated of life, love, family. Their ghosts demand retribution—one woman through whom they will finally know sexual ecstasy. One woman who will serve as their vessel. Five vampires will have congress with her. Five vampires will climax inside her. With five men, she will achieve many climaxes. And in that woman shall they find their humanity and be saved. In that woman, they shall be redeemed.”
Delaney recoiled as though he’d struck her. “So it’s true, then, what your mother said.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve come to pimp me to your friends.”
Jaden’s eyes betrayed his guilt and horror. “No, Delaney. Surely you don’t think me capable of that.”
Delaney struggled to her feet. She had to do something, anything, productive, real, because it was just too much to take in, all of it, and…she couldn’t. This was crazy. Unthinkable. Five men. No, five vampires .
“No,” she said emphatically. “I can’t.” She went to where the supplies were, knelt down and picked up an ancient skillet. For a second, she thought about using it on both of them. Instead, she set the pan on the fire, but her hand shook, and the silence was both ominous and electric.
“You and I have never been close,” Val said. “I know that I could have been a better mother to you. There’s been bad blood between us.”
“You give that phrase a whole new meaning.” Delaney recognized the chill in her own voice. She picked up a potato and a paring knife, and then sat cross-legged to slice it.
Val pulled her sweater closer over her shoulders. “When your father was sick…” Val seemed to hesitate, as though sunk by the memory of it. She looked so incongruous in this space, all pressed and coiffed, while the damp stone walls sent her words spinning up to the pyramid high above. “When he lay dying of cancer, I offered to turn him, to make him like me. He refused. Do you know why?”
Despite her dislike of Val, Delaney found herself unable to look away. “It was because of you,” Val said in a voice dripping with venom. “He said you would be destroyed by it, that you would consider it an abomination.”
“You fought about it, didn’t you?” Jaden said in apparent amazement. “I heard you. About a week before he died.”
“I loved him,” Val said bitterly. “Loved him enough to watch
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