Crimson Red - XXL - Preview by Jeanette Peters (top 10 books of all time .txt) 📕

»You must be Joleen«, he said with a smile.

The child’s gaze wandered insecurely over to his mother as if she were looking for an instruction as to what she now had to do. Zacharias suppressed a smile when he realized that these were good conditions for a bloodslave.

»Hush, don’t be so rude and introduce yourself«, the mother hissed and pushed the girl.

She tripped one step forward and came to stop right in front of him. Zacharias gave the mother an angry look and then turned to the girl with a smile. »Did you hurt yourself when you fell?«, he asked. He was not really interested, and the question was superfluous because the smell of blood had already got into his nose, but he wanted to give the child the opportunity to find her own words.

The little one continued to look at him, said nothing, but managed to nod. Her blond curls bounced slightly to the beat of movement. The uncertainty in her eyes vanished a bit.

»Shall we go inside and see what we can do about it?«, Zacharias continued and again the girl looked at her mother. The woman nodded barely noticeably so the girl nod again, too. »Well, come with me«, Zacharias told her, and went off.

He also heard mother and daughter start moving again. The girl stayed close to him. After a few steps he felt something unfamiliarly warm and gentle on his hand. He looked down in puzzlement. The girl had grabbed his hand and looked up at him. She was still not speaking, but he could discover neither fear nor uncertainty in her eyes.

He carefully stretched out his senses in order to understand the girl’s feelings. A useful ability when moving among humans.

No, the girl wasn’t afraid, at least not of him. This child hungered for his mother’s love, and he wondered why the woman who had given birth to her kept pushing about. The little one, Joleen, was curious because she never had seen anyone like him before. And she was surprised because no one had ever been so gentle on her before.

In silence, Zacharias decided to investigate the girl’s past in more detail. The access to her memories would be easy and he might get a better impression of her life so far. But only the few vibrations he received from Joleen were enough to upset him.

And then humans called vampires cruel. No one of them would ever turn anyone and then push them off like that. It was an unwritten law to care for those you created. She even treated her bloodwhores better than this child had been cured by his mother.

Zacharias take a deep breath, for even if he did not need any air, it helped him to urge himself to rest.

Then they arrived at the stairs and the little one stopped unsteadily. Her fingers detached from his hand. She looked back at her mother, unsure what to do now.

»Well, what are you waiting for? Go up there«, the woman instructed the child overbearingly.

Zacharias watched as the little one stepped unsteadily from one foot to the other and pressed her lips together. »My knee is hurting, Mom«, she whispered quietly.

»Don’t act like that!«, the mother hissed. »Get up the stairs!«

The child winced as the mother took a step towards her, and again Zacharias felt nothing but disrespect for this female. However, he was surprised at his own behaviour. Why did he get that upset? Usually he was calm and didn’t care much about humans. Yeah, he didn’t even pay much attention to them unless he had to feed on them. But this child ... it had an urge to protect it.

Joleen followed her mother’s instructions and put the uninjured leg’s foot on the first step. She trembled with every movement, but she did not dare to ask her mother for help again. Zacharias was overcome with pity, a feeling that was also completely unknown to him.

He crossed the short distance with a quick step and raised her up. Surprised Joleen stared at him, but then she give him a gratefully smile. The smell of blood came back into his nose. He could feel his fangs coming out. But he didn’t show, and carried the child into the house, where he put it back on the floor. The mother followed them.

»Wait here!«, he just told the woman and then looked at Joleen, who stared at her mother. The woman silently nodded. »Joleen, come with me! We’re gonna fix your knee.«

She willingly took the hand he reached her. He led her into one of the bathrooms of the house, and looked around.

It was only a small wound, and he was sure he could fix it without calling a doctor. It was better not to get the smell of blood into his family’s nose while they were discussing the contract again. That would only distract them and they might miss something important.

»Sit down there«, he said, pointing to the toilet. Bathrooms in the house were usually used by employees or bloodmates, but this one was extremely uncommon. The girl nodded and sat down.

Zacharias reached for a cloth and moistened it by the sink before kneeling in front of Joleen and began to clean the wound. The girl twitched but didn’t make a sound. Instead, she kept looking at him.

»What’s your name?«, Joleen suddenly asked and surprised him. Humans weren’t often able to take him by surprise, but the girl had been that silent until now. He hadn’t assumed she’d find the courage to speak. He smiled as he admitted to feel a little impressed. Her innocence erased the instinctive fear that most humans showed in dealing with him.

»Zacharias«, he just replied. »But you better call me Sir.«

»Why?«, Joleen frowned and kept looking at him.

It didn’t seen to bother her at all to look him through the eyes. Irritating. »Because it’s common. This is the way it is demanded«, he replied.

A thoughtful expression appeared on her face. »I was having a Zacharias in my kindergarten until my mom took me away«, she explained frankly and almost seemed a little sad. »But we all used to say Zach because Zacharias sounds dumb.«

Joleen’s statement took him by surprise and he began to laugh without being able anything to do against it. When he looked into her face, he really saw her smile for the first time. The tension she felt when her mother was around suddenly disappeared. He had to admit that he certain felt sympathy for the child.

»Well, you can call me Zach if we're alone«, he admitted to Joleen and was again rewarded with a happy smile. »But if there’s someone around, you’ll say Sir, right?«

»It' s our secret«, she promised, while nodding her head so hard her curls bounced up and down.

»That’s right«, he confirmed and then continued to clean her wound.

»Why are your eyes that funny?«, she asked a moment later and Zacharias stopped again.

He should have reckoned that question. Mortals used to avoid such questions, but human children were simply more guileless at such things.

»Because I’m a vampire«, Zacharias replied. »When we are changed, our eyes become cloudy and lose their color.«

»And then they turn grey?«, the girl asked and Zacharias nodded again.

And then she did something he didn’t expect at all. She reached out her little hand and stroked his cheek. »I like your eyes. They are funny, but beautiful«, she explained and smiled at him again.

For the first time since he began his existence as a vampire, he found himself speechless in the presence of a mortal. He was used to holding control firmly in his hand, especially when he was surrounded by humans. This child, however, had managed to surprise him several times.

»Thank you«, he muttered and got up to get a Band-Aid out. Joleen continued to watch him, and as he stretched out his senses now to experience what was going on inside her, he felt nothing but pure gratitude.

Cirrus

Sitting beside his sister, he waved a goblet filled with blood. Cirrus looked anxiously at his family. They all were similarly nervous, because a lot would depend on this girl’s development.

Vampires didn’t like change. However, if they could be as useful to them as this one they were quite welcome. Zacharias received her guests and that was a good thing. Not just because he was the best person to deal with humans but also because his ability to explore the feelings of his counterpart was useful in such matters.

»They're late«, Nikolas noticed.

»Calm down, Nikolas, maybe they’re stuck in traffic«, Fayn muttered and put her hand on her brother’s forearm. Nikolas breathed, but said nothing more.

»You’re wrong«, Agenta said with a smile. »They’re already in the house. You'd be aware if you talked less and focused more on your senses.« Her voice penetrated gently and calmly through the room and Cirrus noticed Nikolas relaxing again.

»Well, they’ll certainly be here soon«, Cirrus explained. »I wonder what kind of little bird we’ll get into our nest.«

Agenta glanced at him unsteadily. »Yeah, me too. With this child, everything may rise or fall. Are you aware of the possibilities we will have if this child proves itself?«

»If«, Nikolas said. Unlike Agenta, he was still not happy with her majority decision. Nikolas would not make things easy for this child.

»They’re coming«, Fayn noticed before anyone else could say anything.

It was amusing to see each of his family members putting on an indifferent face. He matched them.

The door opened and Zacharias entered. A tall blonde woman entered the room behind him. By the hand she held what they all been waiting for. A child, barely five years old, blonde, with bright green eyes. Cirrus smiled contentedly. That girl would become a beauty one day.

The child looked at them all unsettled. The way she watched was not obtrusive, yet she lacked the shyness with which humans usually looked at them.

»You are allowed to sit down«, Zacharias explained and then came over to sit next to him. Cirrus glanced puzzled at his brother. He seemed satisfied.

He turned to the woman and the girl who were still standing indecisively in the middle of the room. »Look at that!«, Zacharias whispered to him and then he bent forward so that he could look at the girl. »Joleen, come and sit between me and my brother«, Zacharias told the child.

Cirrus glanced at him in surprise. His brother just gave him a big grin.

The girl looked at her mother, who stared forward with an expressionless face. When Joleen didn’t get any instructions she nodded and smiled at Zacharias. »Yes.« She sounded delighted at his brother’s invitation. Usually, human children avoided them. It was a natural protective instinct. But this child seemed to have no fear of them at all.

The girl stopped after two steps, which amazed him, and then looked at Zacharias to say: »Sir.«

Cirrus glanced back towards his brother, who smiled with great contentment and leaned back on the couch. The girl ran over to them and then jumped on the sofa between them. Then she looked curiously at Cirrus. »Are