Broken Heart 09 Only Lycans Need Apply(48)

Amahté was a handsome man, mid- to late forties, with doe-like brown eyes and muscles that denoted hard work. Not what I would call a priest’s body, which I figured should be soft and pudgy.

No one was around the temple. The path was lined with trees and bushes, and down the road I could see flickering lights. I realized the lights were torches left on the outside of buildings. That was a village down there. In the far distance, the pyramids glowed big and white against the night sky.

We heard the sound of running feet and then a stream of words I didn’t understand, but the musical flow of them was familiar.

Ruadan appeared.

“Wow. What’s he doing here?”

“He’s not only an Ancient, Moira, he’s also the first vampire ever to walk the earth,” he said. “He made all of the Ancients.”

“Holy crap! I met the first vampire ever and I didn’t even know it?”

“Ruadan likes to keep a low profile.”

Ruadan looked horrified as he knelt down and spoke to Amahté, this time in a different language. And yet we understood the words.

“My friend! It is me, Ruadan. We have talked much these last few nights, remember?”

Amahté’s eyes clearly showed that he did.

“I can save you. But my gift has a price. You will not be able to see the sun again, but you will live forever. You will be among those I have chosen to rule our kind. Do you accept my offer?”

Amahté took an inordinate amount of time to decide. Blood seeped from between his fingers and pooled blackly on the ground. Finally, he managed a weak nod.

Ruadan removed Amahté’s hands from the wound. The blood poured out. My stomach jumped. I could barely stand to keep my eyes on the action. Ruadan didn’t move, merely watched the life drain from his supposed friend.

“I thought he was supposed to drink the blood.”

Drake shook his head. “What would be the point of drinking from a dying human? Ruadan’s dark blood is what Amahté needs to become a vampire.”

Ruadan watched calmly, waiting patiently as Amahté bled to death right in front of him.

“If vampires get different powers from the various Ancients . . . ,” I whispered. Silly, but I just couldn’t raise my voice with all that was going on with the vampires. “. . . then why isn’t everyone just from Ruadan’s line?”

“His grandmother is Morrigu, and it was she who made him into a vampire—after he was killed in battle.”

“I know that story.” I liked ancient myths and legends, though I tended to save most of my brain files for ancient Egyptian facts. Still, I thought about what I knew of the fae battle for Ireland. I blinked. “If Morrigu is Ruadan’s grandmother, then Brigid is his mother.”

“Yes. Ruadan asked Morrigu for the secret for making others of his kind. She gave him the spells and the instructions, but said he could choose only seven others to Turn. And only they would be his equals with their own powers. I’m sure she hoped it would cause strife and grief.” He glanced at me. “She really takes the queen of chaos thing seriously.”

The crow queen was real, too? How many more gods and goddesses from the mythologies of various cultures were actual beings?

Now, Amahté lay still, his caramel skin graying, his eyes wide and unstaring. Ruadan muttered over Amahté, pressing his palms against the man’s chest. I couldn’t understand these words and I looked at Drake, frowning.

“I’ve seen a few Turnings,” said Drake. “Once the human’s blood is drained, you must keep the soul within the body. Ruadan is uttering a spell designed to do that. If any part of the process goes wrong you can kill the person you are trying to Turn.”

“What about those who try it without knowing what to do?”

“The person merely dies, which is the better option.”

After Ruadan had secured Amahté’s soul, he removed a small gold knife from his wide belt. He punctured his forefinger and rubbed it on Amahté’s neck wound.

The skin started to mend.

Then Ruadan began to carve symbols into Amahté’s flesh: one on each wrist, one on the top of each foot, one on the forehead, one on the chest, and two on the belly.

He pierced his finger again, and with his blood, he retraced all the symbols he’d cut into Amahté. As he did so, they all glowed gold.

“Only the Family’s symbol must be cut into the flesh of the one being Turned,” said Drake. “Each Family was assigned one of the sacred symbols given to Ruadan by Morrigu. That’s why all eight are used to make Ruadan’s equal.”

“Eight?” I murmured. I seemed to recall that Monroe’s book had mentioned seven vampire lines.