Dark Deception (Vampire Royals of New York #1) - Sarah Piper Page 0,91
do with being bitten. It just happens the two activities often go hand-in-hand.”
“How so?” she asked. When he hesitated, she folded her arms across her chest and said, “A deal is a deal, Dorian. If you don’t want to talk about this, then we’re done here.”
Dorian nodded, turning to look out across the vista. He didn’t want to see the look of fear and disgust in her eyes when he shared the rest.
Last night, she’d called him a monster. She had no idea how right she actually was.
Bloody hell, it felt like he was opening up a vein. But she was right—a deal was a deal, and he owed her an explanation.
Even if the truth sent her running out of his life for good.
“In order to become a vampire,” he began, “a human must be very close to death, and then they must ingest vampire blood—usually by drinking or injecting it. Some humans willingly turn, often through a mutually beneficial arrangement with their vampire sire.”
“And the ones who aren’t willing?”
From the corner of his eye, he caught Charlotte pulling her shirt collar close around her throat, an unconscious gesture she probably didn’t even realize she’d done, but one Dorian couldn’t unsee.
His chest burned, hating that he’d put her on guard, fearing for her life.
But he had to press on.
“What typically happens there,” he continued, “is that a vampire bites the human, drains enough blood to stop the heart, then forces the victim to ingest his blood. Vampire blood has rapid regenerative properties and will almost immediately restart the human’s heart and begin transforming his remaining blood into vampire blood, thus initiating the change.” Dorian leaned back, bracing his hands against the cold rock slab. “On the plus side, our blood allows us to heal quickly, and can also heal human wounds, provided the human isn’t already near his death.”
“What if he is near death?”
“If a human has lost enough blood for his heart to stop, vampire blood will take over his system and turn him, as I’ve described. But if the injury is less severe, it will simply aid in the regeneration process, allowing human blood to replace itself and fight off the transition before it happens.”
“Sounds risky.”
“It is. And many humans who do begin the transition don’t survive it.” An old, familiar chill gripped his heart, but he shook it off, continuing. “Many people believe vampires are soulless, but that’s not true—we retain our human souls, even after transitioning. We’re immortal, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be killed. Doesn’t mean our souls aren’t bound for hell, destined to an eternity of demonic enslavement right alongside the human sinners.”
Next to him, Dorian sensed the skip of her pulse. Unsurprising, given the subject matter. It was a miracle she hadn’t yet run for the hills.
“Tell me about the demons,” she said instead, her tone dark but nevertheless eager for more.
“Demons are entities of hell, capable of possessing human hosts—either by force or through a demonic deal.”
“How does the deal work?”
“In rare cases, a human willingly offers to share his body, allowing a demonic entity to hitch a ride, but still retaining his human life. The human is able to access the demon’s powers, and the demon has a physical body in which to carry out his bidding. When the human dies, the demon takes over the vessel completely. In a more typical deal, however, a human signs over his body and soul for collection at the end of a set time period—five or ten years, usually—in exchange for a short-term gain, like fame, money, a political appointment, that sort of thing.” Dorian thought of Jonathan Braynard, the NYU student whose soul he’d spared in the alley last week. “When it’s time to collect, the demon takes residence in the body, and the soul is sent to hell.”
Charlotte gasped. “I can’t believe anyone would willingly sign up for that.”
“They don’t always read the fine print. But even when they do…” Dorian shook his head. “Desperation is its own form of insanity, Charlotte. It can drive people to do a great many things they might’ve once called irrational or even suicidal.”
She shuddered beside him, rubbing her arms. “Demon deals… Hell slaves… Shit. They really didn’t teach us this stuff in Catholic school.”
“It’s not in the interest of religious institutions to delve too deeply into the supernatural. They pick and choose from myriad myths and histories, twisting them just enough to brand us all as evil and keep you on the righteous path,