Read Online The Brethren Of Tavish [Vampire Coven Book 1] by C.L. Scholey - Free Book Online Page A

fly. The feathers stuffed in her leather pillow were meant to be an aid
to the creature. It was why they didn’t have hides. It was astounding. All of
the animals brought to their ice home were dead and dismembered, skinned, to
aid in bleeding them. Mercy had no idea how their parts functioned.
    A fuzzy white creature hopped closer for
inspection. Mercy shied back while also wanting to grip the creature and study
it at the same time. She heard Tavish chuckle. He went to the fluffy creature,
scooped it up and brought it to her. He dumped it into her arms.
    “It’s a bunny,” he informed her. “She’s
harmless.”
    Hesitantly at first, Mercy felt it then cuddled
it. It was the first time she had ever touched living fur. She’s so warm and soft. The bunny’s heart beat under her hand. She
rubbed her face against the creature and marveled at its feel. Tavish took it
from her, his large hands handled the creature so
carefully. He released it. The bunny hoped a short distance then stopped to
nuzzle a twig. A small being of sorts fluttered and landed on a branch. Mercy
went over, intensely studying it through squinted eyes. Curious, she looked at
Tavish.
    “There’s not an ounce of decent meat on this
creature,” she declared.
    Tavish howled with laughter. “I would hope not.
It’s a bug, a butterfly.”
    “Butter fly’s? I’ve had what my mother calls
butter; it never once moved. Seal milk is rich and when she could get some,
which wasn’t easy as much was spoiled with blood, she would make butter.” Mercy
examined the creature. “How do you extract its butter?”
    Laughter could be heard from behind them and
Mercy spun around. A group of six children ranging in age from four to ten
stood watching them. Mercy was overwhelmed. She hadn’t seen a child before
except herself when she was tiny, had she been this small? They looked like
pint-sized adults with cherub faces. They were beautiful; almost all of them
were dark-haired. All of the children wore very little. They were tanned and
healthy, smiling. They didn’t look terrified of Tavish.
    “Run and find your mothers, children. You can
see our new addition tonight at the dinner table,” he chided.
    They broke like a pack to obey immediately.
They left giggling. All but one. A tiny little girl
stood sucking her thumb. She had short blond hair and big brown eyes. Mercy
looked up at Tavish, expecting to see the white glow of his eyes, but he was
smiling fondly at those who left. When the others had gone, Tavish scooped up
the tiny little girl.
    A woman, dressed much the same as Mercy, came
from a bush and hurried forward. She looked frightened and shifted from foot to
foot when she stood before Tavish. She eyed Tavish holding the child,
nervously. The woman’s light hair was askew, her face was red. Discreetly,
Mercy could see the opening of the teddy indicating this woman was used for
breeding. The front bottom of the garment was damp and Mercy wondered at it.
She had an odd notion the woman had been engaged in sexual activity. Perhaps
she was sweating.
    Mercy was surprised when another vampire
appeared. He was large and handsome and dark-haired like Tavish. His look was
more rugged, in a nice kind of way. Tavish put the child into the man’s arms.
The little girl looked up at the man holding her. She didn’t struggle. Her
thumb never left her mouth. The vampire looked the child directly in the eyes.
    “I can’t turn my back on you for a second
you’re so fast,” the vampire admonished the child. “Are you sure you’re not
part vampire, Perrin, my little wanderer?”
    “So you’ve named the child?” Tavish said. “It
suits her.”
    “Yes. Her mother is pleased with the name,” he
replied then cast a glance to the young woman who was hanging back shyly. “It
took me forever to convince Kia she wouldn’t be punished if the child was given
a name.”
    “Humans call us cruel. We aren’t the ones who
would pretend a child doesn’t even exist,”