Read Online Reborn by Blood by Richard Murray - Free Book Online Page B

be alone and the street was fairly quiet so I approached him with as much confidence as I could muster.
    Of course I had no real idea how compulsion would work but Anna had said that it was the first thing that most Vampires learnt, which meant it should be fairly easy. Sebastian had just glanced at Beth and commanded her to be silent and it had worked, which made me think that it was all about willpower.
    I tapped the man on the shoulder and he looked around in annoyance.
    “What do you want?”
    “I want you to give me a lift” I said as firmly as I could.
    “Sorry mate, I have to get home.” The man said with a puzzled look.
    “No you don’t. You will give me a lift” I instructed quite forcefully I thought.
    “Look, sod off will you. I don’t have time for games.”
    “You will do as I command” I insisted as I concentrated as hard as I could on making him obey.
    “Alright mate, I think you need to back off.” The man snapped as he slammed shut the boot of his car and walked around to the driver’s side door.
    “Do as I say” I said with a touch more desperation than willpower.
    “Yeah, whatever mate. You need some help.” He said over his shoulder as he ducked into his car and slammed the door.
    The engine started and the car pulled out and I watched as he drove away and wondered why it hadn’t worked. With little choice, I started walking.
    I was not particularly unfit, though I avoided the gym like any sane rational person would and I had a preference for a beer and a kebab over a salad any day. I still tried to maintain a light exercise regime and at one point I had even been a regular jogger.
    Despite that, an hour into the journey my feet hurt, I was sweating and in need of a sit down.
    In the films and on television shows, the Vampires could run really fast and were never winded. They were incredibly strong and could Jedi mind trick anyone with a wave of the hand. I was starting to resent those shows for raising my expectations.
    The pavement beneath my feet was cracked and dirty, covered in splodges of chewing gum. Sweet wrappers and weeds marked the boundary between pavement and garden wall. The sounds of children at play indicated that school had ended for the day.
    It wouldn’t ordinarily have been a problem or even registered for me, but since I was now almost blind in the bright sunlight and forced to walk carefully anyway, pavements crowded with children were dangerous. I kept nearly tripping over the damn things.
    After the third parent shouted at me for stepping on her little darling child, I ducked down a side street and found a park where I could sit for a little while on a bench until the streets cleared a little.
    Summer was almost over and I assumed that when the days became shorter, life would be a great deal easier. For now though, the late afternoon sun was unpleasantly warm and the tingling on my skin had become an irritation and the faint breeze that touched my face stung as though I had sunburn.
    With a sigh I realised that I needed to get out of the sun and the easiest way to do that would be to complete my task and deliver the package to Sebastian. I pushed myself to my feet and headed back to the road.
    Another hour and a half found me walking down a country road. Although it was narrow it was just about wide enough to allow two cars to pass each other as they went in opposite directions. It did not have a pavement though, just a grass verge that I could walk along.
    Thankfully it had been a dry few days with little rain and the grass beneath my feet was dry and firm. I was listening intently for cars and every time one passed I pressed myself into the dry stone wall that bordered the road.
    It was remarkably terrifying to be almost blind and unable to see the cars coming towards you. I spent a good deal of the walk swearing about why Sebastian had a house so far out of the city.
    I was crossing a low stone bridge over a shallow stream when the car hit me. It was