instantly. It may take up to five seconds for the ultraviolet light to penetrate the skin and pierce the heart. Then there is also embalming, a process that has not been used for millennia.”
“How…” Alec’s brows furrowed. “How does it work? I mean, if vampires have super strength and powers and… How did they not turn to dust before their blood was removed?”
It was a good question, Cronin conceded. And one many people wouldn’t think to ask. “We don’t know exactly—we can only speculate—though we believe the ancient covens had at least one member with the ability to paralyze. We assume the process needs to be done while the vampire is still alive.”
“Jesus.”
Cronin chuckled. “No.”
“He wasn’t there,” they said in unison, both smiling.
“And the pyramids?” Alec asked after a moment of silence. “What’s the significance?”
“Given the times and the resources they had available, pyramids were the logical choice. They are, after all, the strongest, most stable shape.”
“So it’s not some mystical powerful portal?” Alec asked, half-joking, half-not. “Because really, anything’s possible at this point.”
“There’s no magical reason,” Cronin said with an amused smirk. “They are burial tombs, that much is correct. But the historians were wrong about one fact: the walls of meter-thick stone and sealed chambers were not to keep people out.”
Alec concluded. “They were to keep vampires in.”
Cronin stood up. “Enough talk for one night,” he said with a smile. “It is getting late.”
Alec looked at his watch. It was almost midnight. He had no idea they’d talked for so long. “I’m not Cinderella, you know. I’m not going to lose a shoe when the clock strikes twelve. I worked night shift for years.”
Cronin rolled his eyes. “No, but you did warn me that you functioned better with adequate sleep. And I’d rather not argue unnecessarily.”
Alec raised one eyebrow at him. “You’re seriously sending me to bed?”
Cronin barked out a laugh. “Uh, no. You wanted to go to your apartment.”
“Oh!” Alec said, embarrassment heating his cheeks. “I forgot about that.”
“It will require leaping,” Cronin reminded him.
“Ugh,” Alec groaned. “Nothing like volunteering to have your body shredded at a cellular level.”
Cronin frowned. “You don’t have to go. I can order you anything you wish.”
“No, no,” Alec said, sounding resigned. “Let’s just get it over with. Now, how do I do this again?”
“You need to put your arms around me,” Cronin said softly.
Alec moved right in front of him and slowly slid his hands around Cronin’s back. Jesus, it felt good. It felt so unbelievably fucking right. He’d never experienced anything like it.
With no more than a quiet gasp from Cronin, they were gone.
* * * *
The pain was just as Alec remembered. So complete and blinding, every fiber of his body screamed in agony. Every pixelated cell blurred and burned, and then… everything shifted, like Cronin changed course… and it was over.
The pain was gone, Alec realized, and he sucked back a ragged breath. And then in its place was immediate pleasure. Cronin was pressed against him, pushing him against a wall. Alec’s bathroom wall. “Shhh,” Cronin whispered followed by a quiet moan. “There are two people in your living room.”
Alec couldn’t move, not even if he wanted to. And he really, really didn’t want to. He could feel Cronin against him, all of him. He was all strength and smelled like nothing Alec had ever smelled before, like earth and heaven. His face was against Cronin’s neck, and Alec realized that Cronin’s was against his.
A vampire’s mouth was at his neck, and all Alec could do was stretch to give him more skin, silently urging him to do it, to sink his teeth into him. He wanted it, God, like he’d never wanted anything else.
“Alec,” Cronin warned, a quiet rattle rumbling in his chest.
“How…” Alec’s brows furrowed. “How does it work? I mean, if vampires have super strength and powers and… How did they not turn to dust before their blood was removed?”
It was a good question, Cronin conceded. And one many people wouldn’t think to ask. “We don’t know exactly—we can only speculate—though we believe the ancient covens had at least one member with the ability to paralyze. We assume the process needs to be done while the vampire is still alive.”
“Jesus.”
Cronin chuckled. “No.”
“He wasn’t there,” they said in unison, both smiling.
“And the pyramids?” Alec asked after a moment of silence. “What’s the significance?”
“Given the times and the resources they had available, pyramids were the logical choice. They are, after all, the strongest, most stable shape.”
“So it’s not some mystical powerful portal?” Alec asked, half-joking, half-not. “Because really, anything’s possible at this point.”
“There’s no magical reason,” Cronin said with an amused smirk. “They are burial tombs, that much is correct. But the historians were wrong about one fact: the walls of meter-thick stone and sealed chambers were not to keep people out.”
Alec concluded. “They were to keep vampires in.”
Cronin stood up. “Enough talk for one night,” he said with a smile. “It is getting late.”
Alec looked at his watch. It was almost midnight. He had no idea they’d talked for so long. “I’m not Cinderella, you know. I’m not going to lose a shoe when the clock strikes twelve. I worked night shift for years.”
Cronin rolled his eyes. “No, but you did warn me that you functioned better with adequate sleep. And I’d rather not argue unnecessarily.”
Alec raised one eyebrow at him. “You’re seriously sending me to bed?”
Cronin barked out a laugh. “Uh, no. You wanted to go to your apartment.”
“Oh!” Alec said, embarrassment heating his cheeks. “I forgot about that.”
“It will require leaping,” Cronin reminded him.
“Ugh,” Alec groaned. “Nothing like volunteering to have your body shredded at a cellular level.”
Cronin frowned. “You don’t have to go. I can order you anything you wish.”
“No, no,” Alec said, sounding resigned. “Let’s just get it over with. Now, how do I do this again?”
“You need to put your arms around me,” Cronin said softly.
Alec moved right in front of him and slowly slid his hands around Cronin’s back. Jesus, it felt good. It felt so unbelievably fucking right. He’d never experienced anything like it.
With no more than a quiet gasp from Cronin, they were gone.
* * * *
The pain was just as Alec remembered. So complete and blinding, every fiber of his body screamed in agony. Every pixelated cell blurred and burned, and then… everything shifted, like Cronin changed course… and it was over.
The pain was gone, Alec realized, and he sucked back a ragged breath. And then in its place was immediate pleasure. Cronin was pressed against him, pushing him against a wall. Alec’s bathroom wall. “Shhh,” Cronin whispered followed by a quiet moan. “There are two people in your living room.”
Alec couldn’t move, not even if he wanted to. And he really, really didn’t want to. He could feel Cronin against him, all of him. He was all strength and smelled like nothing Alec had ever smelled before, like earth and heaven. His face was against Cronin’s neck, and Alec realized that Cronin’s was against his.
A vampire’s mouth was at his neck, and all Alec could do was stretch to give him more skin, silently urging him to do it, to sink his teeth into him. He wanted it, God, like he’d never wanted anything else.
“Alec,” Cronin warned, a quiet rattle rumbling in his chest.
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