Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,223

make those decisions quite carefully, to avoid past mistakes.”

“It does bear weight on the decision.” Lord Uthe nodded. “Evan’s talent is of great value to us, but because of the wasting disease he had as a human, his strength as a vampire not only grows slowly, it grows more slowly as he ages, suggesting it will eventually plateau. Lord Brian is fairly certain of this.”

The glances at him gave him the familiar feeling of inadequacy, particularly before such a powerful assembly. Yet Evan bit back his usual rancor at the analysis of his strengths . . . or lack thereof. For the first time in his life, it might prove to his benefit.

“Niall is an exceptionally strong third mark,” Uthe continued. “If you recall, one of the reasons we have had concerns about turning a fully marked servant is that, in the instances it has occurred, the fledgling has accelerated qualities in strength, speed . . . things that could put him further up the hierarchy than the usual time and maturity allow.”

“He is not being turned in his youth,” Helga said thoughtfully. “He has been among us three centuries, has had time to mature past such issues.”

“You simply have a fondness for Scots,” Lord Stewart said without rancor. Helga beamed.

“My Torrence is a fine servant. I think my bias is based on sound knowledge.”

The male vampire chuckled. Lady Lyssa sat back in her chair. “We’re entrusting a valuable InhServ to Evan, and Niall would be a good companion and protector for them both. If he is willing.”

Her gaze shifted back to Evan. “As you know, no human can be turned to vampire without consent. Do you think he would be amenable?”

“I have not proposed it to him, my lady. I wanted to seek Council approval first. But rest assured, the choice will be his.”

Turning his attention to Lord Uthe, he executed another bow. “Long ago, you asked me a question.”

“If you could live forever, how far do you think you could go as an artist?” the stranger asked. “Is limited mortality necessary to achieve and maintain creative genius?”

Evan had just finished up one of his coughing fits. The stranger had calmly held his frail body, blotted away the blood on his lips, and now handed him a glass of water poured from the side table. At one time, his mother had rushed up to his attic room every time she heard one of the episodes start, but seeing her exhaustion mounting, he’d begged her to let him deal with it himself. He wanted to be as much of a man as he could manage, with whatever time he had left.

“Since I can only speak from a position of limited mortality—extremely limited mortality,” Evan replied, “I can’t say. But I do know I can stare at the same blue sky and find something different in it every moment. I don’t think it’s a matter of time; it’s a man’s relationship to time. The realization that there’s never enough, even in immortality. Look at God Himself . . . here before the very beginning of all things, and He never gets tired of meddling with us, right?”

He supposed that bordered on blasphemous disrespect, but seeing as he was poised on the edge of meeting the deity in question, he expected God Himself would address his impertinence.

His visitor smiled. “If you’re willing, I’ll give you the opportunity to test the theory.”

“And say you can do this unlikely thing”—Evan’s brows rose—“why would you offer it to me?”

“Because I want to see what a true artist will do with forever.”

“I see that same potential when I look at Niall,” Evan said, seeing the memory resurrected in Uthe’s gaze. “It’s not in every man, the wherewithal to know what to do with centuries, but there is a slow steadiness to him, like the growth of an oak over hundreds of years, where his imprint becomes a more vital part to the world around him with every year that passes. I ask that he be given the same chance you gave me, for the same reason.”

He paused. “Whereas you turned me so I could continue to put things to canvas, Niall is the canvas, the painting that I want to endure until the end of time. That way, as long as Fate permits it, he’s there for all of us to enjoy.” To love.

He didn’t add it, but he supposed it hung out there in the air, noticed but unspoken. He thought of how Alanna had