Read Online The Vampire Hunter's Daughter The Complete Collection by Jennifer Malone Wright - Free Book Online Page B

vampires. The vampire legends range from the most common,
the European vampires, to the rarest vampires, like the bat
vampires from Africa and South America.”
    She lifted a book and hefted it over to me.
“I know that you are looking for stuff about being a dhampir, so we
can start there.” She grabbed another book off the shelf and
plunked it on top of the one I was already holding. “But when you
start researching vampire breeds and histories, you will have a lot
of work ahead of you.”
    She pulled another leather bound monster book
off the shelf and held it in her arms.
    “This should do it for now,” Linda said.
    We hauled the books over to the tables and
deposited them onto the wooden surface.
    “All right, then.” Linda pushed her glasses
farther up onto the bridge of her nose. “I’ll let you get to it
then. Come find me if you need any help.”
    “Thank you, Linda,” I told her. I pulled a
chair out to sit while she wandered back through the stacks of
books that led back to her desk.
    I took the first book off the stack and
examined the cover. It was titled Vampires throughout
History . The cover was leather and so old it was stiff and
cracked in spots. The pages showed signs of age too, yellowing and
stiff to the touch. There was no table of contents, so it looked
like I was going to have to scan the entire book for what I was
wanting. I flipped the pages carefully, so as not to tear any of
them.
    After an hour of scanning and about half way
through the book, I found something referring to vampire
children.
    ~~~
    Although extremely rare, the natural-born
offspring of vampires exist throughout the world. These rare beings
are called the dhampir. Dhampir are usually the product of a
vampire and mortal. The most common of these unions is a male
vampire impregnating a mortal woman. Vampires, both male and
female, are seductive in nature and some mortals came willingly to
these unions. However, the majority of dhampir born were produced
through an act of rape.
    Solitary by nature, it is uncommon for a
vampire to settle with any one mate for long. The children of
vampires, the dhampir, more often than not exhibit all the
characteristics of their vampire parent. The strength, speed and
agility are the usual hereditary traits that the children develop.
They are not always born with these traits but develop them as they
grow into adulthood.
    The dhampir are day walkers. Some of these
children are sensitive to the sunlight but will not perish in the
direct rays. Most have no sensitivity at all. Drinking the fresh
blood of mortals is also not usually required of the dhampir;
however, some have a liking for it. Very few actually need it to
survive.
    Most dhampir are rejected by the vampire
species because of their mortality and weaknesses. Mortals often
reject the dhampir, as well, due to their vampirism, so they
frequently remain outcast.
    Dhampir are known for becoming vampire
killers. Their closeness to the vampires and their vampire
characteristics make them powerful vampire hunters. The unique
ability to track and kill vampires is specific to only the dhampir
and the mythological race of vampire hunters.
    Historically, dhampir became vampire hunters
as a trade. Towns and villages became plagued by vampires who were
terrorizing their homes and killing their people. The dhampir
accepted contracts in exchange for monetary payment and used their
likeness to their vampire counterparts to exterminate the
vampires.
    ~~~
    Holy crap, that was a lot to process. The
more I read the passages, the more I understood that my being a
hunter was more than my heritage; it was my history and my future.
Everything about my bloodlines had hunters involved.
    I slammed the book shut, not happy about the
realization or any of the information the book had given me.
Opening another book and scanning, I found a lot of the same
information, only there was some new stuff about the legends of the
dhampir originating in the Balkans.