The Accidental Vampire(71)

four hundred and seventeen years old."

Elvi winced. Even the man's son was old. "Where is he?"

"He lives in California," Victor said quietly, then blurted, "I don't see him much."

"Well, he's older," she excused. "Once kids grow up and get a life of their own, parents

never see them."

"My not seeing him is by choice."

"You don't want to see him?" she asked uncertainly, finding it difficult to even imagine

such a thing. If Casey had survived the crash and only Harry had died, the poor girl

would no doubt have been complaining to all and sundry because Elvi visited too

much. "I don't understand. Why don't you see him?"

Victor closed his eyes again, a little sigh escaping him, "It's difficult to explain. Marion

was… my lifemate. I waited so long for her, and was so lonely before she came into my

life…" He paused and frowned, then glanced her way, repeating, "It's difficult to

explain."

"Try," Elvi urged, really wanting to understand.

Victor looked away and then said, "Without training, I'm sure you haven't learned to

read thoughts yet?"

Elvi shook her head. "Will I?"

"Yes. It's one of the extra abilities the nanos give us. You must have noticed that you

were more intuitive?"

"Very," she admitted. Elvi had found she was extra‐sensitive to feelings and could

sense emotions.

He nodded. "Then you have the ability and just need the training to use it."

"I'm not sure I want to," Elvi murmured. "It seems an intrusion."

"You need to learn to do it to avoid doing it," Victor said with confusing logic, and Elvi

blinked at him stupidly.

"What?"

He glanced her way to ask, "Do you suffer a lot of headaches?"

"Yes," she said with surprise. Elvi hadn't thought anything of it, she'd had headaches a

lot before the turning and had just assumed they were continuing, but now she

thought about it and realized, "They come every time I go to the restaurant or any of

the local events. They aren't so bad when I'm home alone."

"And yet you continue to go to the restaurant and these local events," Victor

murmured.

Elvi shrugged. "It's expected."

Victor looked as if he wanted to say something, but then glanced away. "The

headaches are because you're picking up the thoughts of the people around you.

They're worse at the restaurant and social events because there are more people

there bombarding you."

Elvi shook her head. "I'm sure I don't pick up thoughts. My head just hurts, there are

no thoughts with it."

"That's because there are too many," Victor explained. "You haven't been trained to

control and focus so you're picking up everyone's thoughts. It becomes like static on a

radio or white noise on a television. That's why you suffer headaches when you're

around others but not when you're alone. Once you learn to focus, it will be better,

but that's draining as well. You'll have to be constantly on guard, constantly blocking

thoughts and protecting your own. It's wearying. Most immortals withdraw from

society as much as possible because of that, but it leaves us alone all the time. A

lifemate eases the loneliness. You don't have to guard your thoughts around them. Or

block them. Your lifemate becomes your only safe haven, a cool and soothing breeze

on a hot day."

"And Marion was that for you," Elvi murmured quietly.

"Yes… And much more," he admitted, "When she died… I was lost at first, not wanting

to see anyone, do anything or go anywhere. I just wanted to curl into a ball and lick my

wounds." He smiled suddenly and said with affection, "It was my pain‐in‐the‐ass

brother, Lucian, who pulled me out of that. He dragged me back into the world kicking

and screaming and gave me a purpose."

"What purpose?" Elvi asked with a smile.

Victor paused and then admitted, "An enforcer for the council."

"What is an enforcer?"

"We hunt rogue immortals. Those who have gone bad and are breaking our laws," he

explained.

Elvi nodded. "How did he get you to do it? I doubt asking nicely worked."

"No." Victor laughed. "Lucian came to my house one day with a family portrait; a huge

painting of a family; a beautiful woman, a smiling man, and two happy children. The

painting immediately infuriated me because my lovely family had been torn asunder.

Then Lucian took out his epee and sliced the woman out of the picture and while I sat

there, shocked, he told me she'd been taken by a rogue, her family was as devastated

as I at the loss of Marion, but I could help stop it from happening to another family."