Page 62 of Blood Mosaic

“Amnis. Human stories call it glamour. Magic. Enchantment. It’s the current that connects us to our elemental power.”

“Your fire.”

“Not all of us are flammable,” Mika muttered.

Oleg smiled. “Mika draws strength from water. My sire drew it from earth. Every vampire in the world gains their power from an element.”

I am Oleg Sokolov, immortal lord of Kievan Rus, sired of earth and born to fire.

Tatyana said, “You were born to fire.”

“A genetic quirk if you can believe it. Vampires also have their… recessive genes.”

“I thought vampires gained power from blood.”

“Blood is the embodiment of all the elements.” Oleg leaned back and lifted the wine bottle that Roman had brought, tipping it. “Iron, water, oxygen.” Brilliant red wine poured into his glass,but it was a little darker, a little blacker than most wine she’d seen. “And of course the heat of living fire.”

He handed the wine to Mika and reached for another glass.

“Blood-wine is exactly what you think it is,” Oleg continued. “Human blood preserved in fortified wine.”

Tatyana watched the glass. “So you drink that instead of fresh blood?”

Mika chuckled a little as he sipped his wine. “Like a weight lifter surviving on Caesar salad.”

“That’s not a bad comparison,” Oleg continued. “Blood-wine is convenient, and it will sate your hunger for a time.” He put the bottle in a bucket on the side table. “But it’s not a true meal.”

Tatyana watched him take a long drink, then lick a drop of blood from his lower lip before he spoke again.

“We still need to feed from humans,” he said. “Depending on our age, we don’t have to drink very often. Maybe once a week or so.”

She opened her mouth and closed it again.

Oleg had already guessed her question. “I don’t drain a human unless I want to. I don’t have to kill to survive.”

She kept her voice soft. “But you do kill.”

“When the situation warrants?” He lifted his chin. “You should be glad I killed the other night.”

Tatyana didn’t know how to feel about that night. She glanced at Oleg’s wineglass and remembered the black blood dripping down his chest and the scent of iron in the air.

She looked away. “I saw you eat food too.”

“We have stomachs, don’t we? If your stomach is empty, it groans. Besides that, our tastes are heightened. Our senses are better than yours. Good food is highly enjoyable.”

Tatyana glanced at him again and saw his eyes settle on her face.

He said, “Anything that appeals to the senses is more pleasurable for vampires.”

She didn’t like the way her cheeks flushed. She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Clearly the stories are not correct if you can’t fly.”

Oleg smiled. “Disappointed?”

“Some of us can.” Mika glanced over his shoulder. “Wind vampires, remember?”

“And you’re a fire vampire.” Tatyana looked around the plane. “You have electrical currents under your skin. If you weren’t in that cage, you’d short-circuit all the electronics on this plane, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re very bright.”

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