Read Online The Shroud of A'Ranka (Brimstone Network Trilogy) by Thomas E. Sniegoski - Free Book Online Page B

noticed.
    The mist started to solidify, slowly taking the shape of the vampire. And soon he was standing before them in all his armored glory.
    Vladek looked healthier, younger, his long, white hair shining in the dwindling light of dusk, the skin of his face like polished marble. The rest beneath the earth had done him well.
    “So nice to still see you here,” the vampire said with a savage smile. “It shows me that your kind is actually capable of learning. You would not have liked what I would have done if I had been forced to hunt you down.”
    Mason dropped to his knees, his head bowed. “I … I don’t want to die,” he repeated over and over again.
    “And you will not, as long as you continue to serve me,” Vladek answered, but his response was directed at Lewis, not Mason.
    Lewis acknowledged the vampire’s statement with a slight nod. “How can we serve you now, O lord?” he asked.
    Mason raised his eyes. “Yes, how may we serve you?”
    The vampire gazed off into the distance, his focus not on anything before him but on his past.
    “Before my imprisonment I was part of a mission most holy,” the vampire said. “A mission to make my kind masters of this world.” Vladek paused, closing his eyes. “My kind no longer exist upon this planet, but I can still sensethem out there somewhere, beyond the veil, waiting for my return … waiting for me to finish what I began so long ago.”
    His eyes snapped open, and Lewis could see a frightening intensity burning there.
    “On my mission I was accompanied by a powerful mage, a magick user who was a crucial component of my inevitable success, and like my vampire brethren, I can sense his presence as well, not on this world, but someplace beyond it.”
    Vladek stared at Lewis, his eyes burning into his, and Lewis felt as though his brain might melt.
    “And how can we help you, Lord Vladek?” Lewis asked.
    The vampire brought a clawed hand up to his face, slowly stroking his chin as the pieces of his plan fell into place. “You will find me another magick user,” Vladek stated. “One with the skills to help me locate the one called Gideon.”
    And Lewis smiled, bowing ever so slightly to his new lord and master.
    Magick users. He knew just where to find a few.

6.
    BRAM DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY OR DO.
    He’d come to sit beside Emily, wanting to put a comforting arm around her, but decided against it.
    “It came as a pretty big shock to them, I’m sure,” Bram said in an attempt to make her feel better. “But I’m certain once your parents get used to the idea, and see how well you’ve adjusted …”
    “You didn’t see their eyes, Bram,” she said, so much sadness dripping from every word. “It was so much worse than that look … you know, the one where they’re disappointed in something you’ve done?”
    Bram agreed with a nod, although not having spent much time with his own father, he really wasn’t sure he did know what she meant.
    Emily continued, staring at her sneakers, eyes far away. “It was so much worse because I could also see that they were afraid of me … their own daughter. I scared them, and I keep wondering over and over again if it’s possible for them to love somebody like me.”
    He wasn’t sure why he did it, but he suddenly found himself putting his arms around her and giving her a brief hug. “I’m sure it’ll be all right,” he said, moving quickly away before she could even react. “They might just need a little time … y’know, to adjust to the idea.”
    He could feel her staring at him and refused to look in her direction.
    “I’m going to stay at Lindesfarne for a little while, if that’s okay,” she said. “Give things a chance to calm down a bit at home.”
    “That’s perfectly fine,” Bram said. “Stay as long as you like, you’re part of the team.”
    “Thanks,” she said. “And not just for giving me a place to stay,” she added quietly.
    Bram turned toward her, and briefly their eyes