Page 151 of Immortal Bastard

“Are you saying I could throw myself in front of a train and live to brag about it?”

“Delilah,” he said with censure in his voice. “Immortality is many things, unfortunately, it is not without pain. I suggest you stay away from all moving locomotives and other uncomfortable endeavors.”

“Like worship?”

“Very funny.”

She selected a purple dress and spread it on the bed then sorted through the underclothes, smirking when she found a few lacy options built for speed more than any sort of comfort.

“So, how does it happen? I should know, right? Not just in case I meet Nosferatu walking alone at night, but so that I can protect myself.”

“You won’t be alone. I’ll protect you.”

“Why won’t you tell me?” Despite their recent accord, there was still the matter of her abandoned life and shop. Now that she fed, she was stronger and in more control of her impulses. She was pretty certain she would get her wish and get to go back to her shop in a few days.

“Very well.” He sighed and came to sit beside her on the bed. “Immortality does not promise eternity. There are risks. True, we have rapid healing abilities and can withstand much more than mere mortals, but some injuries are impossible to survive.”

“Like starvation?” She could never put herself through that kind of suffering again.

“Our bodies can atrophy without proper nutrition. When immortals are without a proper food source, our bodies cannot heal as quickly. When a body fails to repair itself, decay naturally occurs.”

“Decay but not death.”

“The mind will die long before the other organs stop working. If an immortal is trapped without food long enough, their life will essentially be lost.”

That sounded horrific, sort of like living in a conscious coma. “But how would an immortal get trapped?”

“There are hunters, pintura. Legend is not simply imagined. It all traces back to a thread of truth. Historically, we have been stalked, chased out of villages, slaughtered, tortured—it is why so many of us chose to escape. The Order protects us and allows us to live in the open.”

Her imagination drew a descriptive image of an old village bursting with chaos. Flames exploded from stone dwellings as people screamed in pain and horror. The disturbing vision was not of her own imagination, and she understood he was showing her an actual memory.

Her hand went protectively to her throat. “You lived through that?”

“I was only a boy, but the memory has not left me. Things were different then, we lived without laws or discretion. Much has changed since then. But we remain a superior race with cunning strength, loyal to our nature. Mortals are wise not to trust us when they’re our primary food source.”

The thought of Christian feeding from anyone else’s vein angered her. “You said we don’t do that.”

“We don’t. The Council has outlawed many of the barbaric practices once accepted by our kind. But immortals not associated with The Order live a lawless life.”

“So how do the hunters do it?”

“Same as one bates a fish. They lure us into traps.”

“With blood?”

He nodded. “Mortals were sacrificed for the cause. Tempting traps were set to distract us. They seduced our sinful nature, enticing our gluttonous hunger. Our lust. They despised our pride. As soon as we displayed a hint of our vicious nature, they had proof and we were destroyed. ”

She thought about the things that distracted her now—the sound of his pulse, the scent of his body, the desire to feel him inside of her. They were completely unguarded when they fed. “How did you and the others escape?”

“Never underestimate the depravity of a predator cornered.”

She took his hand, offering comfort. “It sounds horrific.”

“It was a chaotic and lawless time I do not wish to return to.”

After centuries of living as Amish, he wouldn’t easily adapt to the modern world. That meant, if she left, she would likely leave on her own.

“That wouldn’t happen,” he said, reading her thoughts. “I would never let you face this life or that sort of danger alone.”

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