Hour of the Dragon - Heather Killough-Walden Page 0,101

only remembered that because he used to watch a television show about someone named Sharpe. “A gold blood vampire.”

Con frowned and blinked. “A what, now?”

They laughed. Crow said, “An Aurum is a vampire who must feed from an individual whose blood contains, not iron, but gold.”

Conall had no fucking idea what to make of that, much less what to think of it. But apparently, his mouth had no such qualms. “Wait, I thought gold was caustic to vampires?”

“Dude, you’re thinking of something else entirely. Like some kind of angel or something.”

“Getting your monsters all mixed up,” someone else said, chuckling. “I bet you think silver hurts werewolves.”

“Nah, he’s a warden. He knows silver hurts warlocks.”

Yes, he did know that. But it only worked under certain circumstances.

“I know he doesn’t know jack about leprechauns,” another clansman said, laughing a little harder.

To which another member, one who seemed to have storm clouds trapped in his dark gray eyes and the pitch of a moonless night in his very black hair, said, “Val, I know you meant to say Luricans, so I’ll let it slide. Fuck head.”

Oh crap, thought Conall. I’m in way over my head here.

Because they were right. He had no idea what a Lurican was. He had a vague notion that they were some kind of dark fae type creature like a leprechaun, but that was all he knew. And he’d certainly never heard of gold blood vampires. And what the hell did they mean that an Aurum fed off people with gold instead of iron in their blood? That wasn’t even possible!

The sound of someone clearing his throat brought the room to an absolute absence of noise. Quite suddenly, Con could probably have heard a mouse squeak – on a planet in another solar system.

“The race of gold blood humans is very sparse,” said Cain, whose boots now rang out like a death knell as he made his way into the garage. All eyes were on him. All backs were straight. All expressions were properly chagrined. “And very old,” he continued. “The term ‘golddust’ was coined for their kind, and nothing else ever had much of a chance to take its place before the race was hunted nearly to extinction.”

He moved through the garage, taking off his riding gloves as he spoke and his steps sounded in Con’s eardrums. “Golddusts are immortal in that they do not age and much like most supernatural beings, few mortal methods can kill them. But a hungry Aurum certainly can, and unfortunately that is what far too many of them did, leaving the Golddust race dwindled to almost nothing.”

Conall chanced a glance at the man who’d claimed to be one of these Aurums, and damn if the gold god didn’t have the grace to look ashamed. He’d even bowed his head and stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

“Fewer than a hundred golddusts remained when a very wise and kind Nomad took the survivors and hid them away from the rest of the realms. The Aurums who needed their blood for survival were given a substitute. While it kept hunger at bay, it failed to provide the essence of what gold blood vampires truly needed. Hence, they began to get sick. But while this was happening, the Nomad – along with a handful of carefully chosen mages – was working on a solution.”

Conall found himself rapt by Cain’s words, caught up in his explanation of the two races as if Cain were telling a very interesting story. Well, I guess he sort of is, Con thought numbly. “What was the solution?” he asked.

“The Nomad’s team developed a spell that disguised the blood of a golddust, making it appear as if it were iron that ran through their veins rather than gold. Just like any human. The spell was placed upon every remaining member of the species, and henceforth upon every Golddust at the time of birth. In exchange, the golddusts unanimously agreed to donate their blood on a regular basis, which the sovereigns then made certain to distribute fairly.”

Conall glanced at the tall gold-eyed man again. “And… you have to drink this donated blood what – every day?”

The man smiled kindly and shook his head. “Nah, not as often as that. Over time, all vampires require fewer feedings, Aurums included. Makes it easier on the golddusts too.”

Conall had so many more questions – but… wasn’t there not time for this? A wave of strange dizziness swept over him. He felt