[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
how they worked. She found herself simply staring around the room, dumbfounded and feeling more than a bit disoriented. Alderic seemed to realize how out of it she felt. He came back beside her and touched her shoulder soothingly. The front parlor is an antique store with a specialty in ancient books. As you are a librarian, I am sure I can teach you how to work with me. Gav owns a half share, and he seemed more than happy to have you stick around in our illustrious company. Don t let your head be full of worries tonight. Tomorrow you can start researching our galaxy and both Gav and I will be more than happy to answer any and all questions you have. Clare smiled and felt a warm sense of gratefulness to the older man vampire, she corrected herself. She smiled as his hand gently squeezed her shoulder in a friendly manner. Stepping up on tiptoes, she kissed him on his cheek. Thank you, Alderic, she said softly, feeling a dreamy peacefulness settle over her, I do hope everything will seem much better tomorrow morning. It s bound to, my dear, he replied easily. Now, this will be your room however long you will need it. Through here is the cleansing room& Clare tried hard to pay attention as Alderic explained the newest technology in plumbing, but she nevertheless had a feeling when she woke up the following morning she wouldn t remember everything she ought. Too tired to be bothered paying much attention, even though her curiosity was definitely interested, Clare merely smiled and zoned out for a moment. She resolved to search as many encyclopedias as possible first thing the following morning to catch up and try to comprehend the immensity of the world she now seemed thrust into. When Alderic appeared to be hitting his stride, excitedly explaining the newer steam mechanisms verses the old-fashioned water vaporizers, Clare knew she would not be able to stand on her feet and stay awake much longer. She pleaded exhaustion, and Alderic appeared abashed, smiling wryly. She could hardly believe the vampire was a gadgets junkie. Weren t vampires supposed to be reclusive, technophobic, darkly brooding heroes? Not middle-aged technophiles who practically glowed with enthusiasm for what appeared to be the latest shower-steam chamber apparatus? Finally Alderic led her back to the bed and matching side table and Clare felt her whole body wilt as if her energy had literally been sucked dry. She had obviously been running on adrenaline and not too much else. Space and time travel certainly took everything out of a girl. Alderic surprised her by smiling and bowing in an innately elegant, courtly, old-world manner, and with a good wish for pleasant dreams he turned and left. The door swooshed shut. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Without any further thought, Clare stripped her wrinkled suit from her body, shed the pantyhose she detested and crawled, in her favorite leopard print teddy, into the huge bed. Before she could even begin to plot and plan and make mental lists, before she could even swear her head had hit the pillow, she had fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep. Chapter Four Three months later Stop stressing, bro, you know what the old man is like! I bet you a ton of credits Gav just found some incredibly rare, musty old tome from the turn of the new millennium and has locked himself away somewhere to study it. Simeon Montague ran a hand agitatedly though his hair. He tried hard not to glare at his younger twin brother, who seemed supremely unconcerned. While he and Rylan, to their own opinions, looked more like siblings instead of fraternal twins, Rylan often boasted he was the better looking of the two of them. With his shoulder-length, dark brown curls and naturally tanned skin, in contrast to Simeon s dead straight, but still dark brown hair and only lightly tanned complexion, very few people would mix the two brothers up. Yet with identical dark brown eyes, and often eerily similar thoughts and mannerisms, more than one unknowing person had taken one twin for the other when they attempted such deception. Currently, however, Simeon was obviously agitated and concerned, whereas Rylan lay stretched out next to him on the wide couch in their lodgings, happily flicking through the latest holo-zine issue of Playmates from the Outer Beyond . His brother, Simeon knew without even needing to scan his mind, didn t have a care in the world. He had no such concerns for their sire s safety, even without any form of contact, telepathic or not, for over two months. I really don t think you re taking this seriously enough& bro. Simeon tried to inject as much muted frustration into his voice at his younger brother as possible, but somehow, as always, his sarcasm and worry barely affected his sibling. Simeon sighed. He knew his twin cared for him, their elder brother Michael, as well as their father, and he could feel the close bond between the two of them in particular any time he stretched his mind in Rylan s direction. Yet Rylan always seemed so relaxed Michael often teased he was perpetually horizontal. Which was also frequently true. You don t think not having heard from him in nearly ten weeks is strange in the slightest? Simeon tried to be logical to his twin. Come on, Ry, even for Gav over two months is suspicious. And it s obvious that his mind is shut off to us for some reason. What if he needs our help? When Rylan looked up, their identical dark brown eyes met and Simeon could tell some of his worry had finally penetrated his younger sibling s mind. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html It s not as if he can t contact us, Si, Rylan said comfortingly, lowering his holo-zine slightly. I know he s never been gone anywhere for so long without some form of contact, but honestly? I can t see Gav in any kind of trouble, can you? The man is obsessed with rare books and knowledge. It s not as if he s out trying to fight battles, take over planets or laser beam the bad guys. The man is an academic, through and through. Simeon snatched the holo-zine from Rylan s lax hands and tossed it away from them both. He grinned as he maneuvered himself into a position where he could wrestle his brother to make him listen more closely and make his point hit home. The old man might be an academic, but remember Tigmona? Simeon returned as he waited for his twin to attempt retrieval of his precious holo-zine. He only wanted to look at the excavations out there, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |