Dalton, Tymber - Love and Brimstone [Brimstone Vampires 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Tymber Dalton Page B

the most powerful vampires if they are related. Imagine Deliverance with fangs.”
    Yergh. “I thought you said you didn’t need blood to feed?”
    “We don’t. But there was a tendency toward poor impulse control among the extremely inbred when that was still a common occurrence. A thirst for the adrenaline rush of the hunt and kill. Most Clans no longer have that problem. Rogues are few and far between and weeded out by us if they become dangerous.”
    “So, no herds of human sheep? No dirt-filled coffins?”
    He looked sick again. “The only truths are extreme longevity, mental powers, and the ability to heal quickly. In some of us.”
    “What about the incredible flaming boy?”
    “That’s different. That wasn’t a vampire. That was a demon.”
    She held her head. This was too much. Then it hit her. “Where’s the hidden camera? I’m being Punk’d , right? This is a joke, or a test? Some sort of weird, twisted, sick kind of hazing?”
    Matthias leaned back in his chair. “No.”
    She paced in front of the window. “Why are you doing this to me?”
    “I’ve watched your family for years. Your mother was descended from the Eastern European Clan.”
    She wheeled around. “You what?”
    He nodded. “You are of the line. That’s why Robertson has taken care of you since you were a baby.”
    She tried to think of the implications. She’d yell at Robertson later. “So, what, you’re trying to bring me in to breed with you?”
    Matthias jumped to his feet so fast she missed the movement. “That’s not why I hired you. I hired you because you’re good at what you do, and we need that now more than ever.” His voice softened. “I would never force myself on you.”
    She stared at him. “But, you were hoping I would throw myself at you?”
    “If you wish to get to know me better, that’s fine with me. I won’t lie to you. I find you extremely attractive. If nothing ever happens between us personally, at least you are now aware of your background and under our full protection.”
    She sat, suddenly feeling tired and drained. Under other circumstances, his revelation about finding her attractive would have had her doing summersaults. Unfortunately, the whole crazy vampire bullshit put a damper on her enthusiasm. “I don’t know any more now than I did a few minutes ago. Demons? Vampires?”
    “Demons are not exactly what you think they are. And like Tim said, that…thing wasn’t technically a demon.”
    “Let me guess. They’re not the spawn of Satan, they’re just misunderstood?”
    “No. What that thing was, it’s a creature more dust and energy than anything. That’s why he disappeared the way he did. When you strike them with that sword it breaks the surface tension. They dissolve. Its ‘body’ does anyway. Its spirit—I’m not sure if you can call it that—disappears, but it doesn’t get destroyed. They can regroup. However, it takes a while to rebuild a form. They are dark. They are real. As for Satan, I can’t answer that. I always had the impression those creatures were free agents. True demons are nothing like the myths. I would hope if Satan was real that he would have better organization among his minions.”
    She was quiet. “So how old are you?”
    “Do you really want to know?”
    She nodded.
    “I was nearly one hundred when Columbus discovered America.”
    She dropped her head to the table and laughed. “This isn’t happening.”
    Albert placed a folder on the table next to her. “The lab work.”
    “What?” She looked up at him. “What lab work?”
    “You gave blood for the hiring process, the drug screening.”
    “Let me guess. You didn’t screen for drugs?”
    “Only for the DNA markers. We wanted to be sure. There have been a lot of advances in testing the past few years, and we needed a fresh sample from you.”
    She snatched up the folder and opened it, reading, not sure what she was looking for. Inside she found a report, a letter addressed to