Read Online Death Deceives: Book Three (Mortis Vampire Series) by J.C. Diem - Free Book Online Page A

to become aware of our existence. To do so would mean our instant death. I could understand Gregor’s nervousness. He’d spent the past few thousand years pretending that he didn’t exist.
    “The imps don’t look even remotely human anymore let alone like us,” I reminded him. “Plus, they’re living, breathing, breeding things now. Unless one of us is stupid enough to get caught, no one will ever know that vampires exist at all.”
    Gregor calmed a bit at my soothing reminder that our grey skinned brethren couldn’t be traced back to us. Unless someone stumbles across a sample of imp and vampire blood and compares the two. Then they would figure it out pretty quickly. I decided to keep that thought to myself.
    “Yes, you are right, of course ,” Gregor said with relief. “We can only hope that no one from the Court falls into the army’s clutches.”
    It was unthinkable that humans might become aware of us. I shuddered to think what the results might be if they did. Instinct and common sense told me it wouldn’t end well for our kind.

C hapter Eight
     
    Dawn was closing in and we needed to find somewhere safe to hide for the day. We were on a highway again and there were very few cars at this late hour. Igor flashed his lights and Luc allowed him to overtake us. The grizzled Russian had a plan in mind so we followed him when he took an exit.
    Our exit took us through a small cluster of houses that could hardly be described as a town. The dwellings huddled beneath a low sky that promised rain sometime in the next few hours. I wasn’t sure which country we were currently in but the houses seemed very rustic with overlapping shingles on their roofs and uneven stones for walls. It looks like we’ve stepped back to medieval times. All we needed was a bunch of peasants toiling in the fields and the scene would have been complete.
    Igor pulled up in front of the largest building. A sign proclaimed that it was an inn. Peering up through the windscreen at the second and third floors, I wasn’t happy with the state of the windows. There were no shutters and the curtains looked flimsy to me. Luc seemed to share my misgivings but climbed out anyway. Unless we squished into the trunk of the car for the day, the inn was our only choice of shelter.
    A tiny bell above the door tinkled when Igor entered. We trooped in after him, hiding our weapons in our luggage. I wrinkled my nose at the musty, unclean smell. Exposed beams gave the inn an even more rustic atmosphere. The threadbare carpet was decades old and had turned almost black beneath layers of dust. Deer heads had been mounted on the walls and stared at us with glassy, blind inattention.
    Slumped over a battered desk with his face lying on a girly magazine, the clerk was snoring hard enough to make the pages flutter. Geordie eyed the large breasted girl on the cover with interest. Igor gave the kid a flat stare, thankfully preventing him from making any inappropriate comments.
    Gregor cleared his throat loudly but the clerk didn’t even twitch. Geordie giggled and I sniggered along with him. Igor took matters into his own hands and stumped forward to thump his fist on the desk.
    The clerk woke with a small scream and sat up in fright. Seeing five customers waiting to be served, his face turned scarlet at being caught sleeping on the job. Mustering a smile, he fumbled beneath the desk and pulled out an ancient book. “Welcome to my inn!” His smile widened, revealing crooked yellow teeth. “How many rooms would you like?”
    I had no idea what language he was speaking but Gregor answered him easily enough. “Four, if there are enough available.” Even he and Igor must need a break from Geordie at times. The three of them usually shared a room. Judging from the lack of noise coming from upstairs, the inn was totally empty.
    “Of course. I have plenty of rooms available.” Eyes bugging at his good fortune, the clerk swivelled the book around so we could