"Derek Paterson - The Kaiserine's Champion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Paterson Derek)

The girl instantly became limp in my arms, sedated by the chemical mix I injected into her bloodstream.
Her eyes rolled and her lips formed a lazy smile as I stimulated that area of her brain responsible for
pleasure. She didn't resist when I lifted her and carried her over to the bed. Crouching over her, I
hungrily drank her blood while my hands roamed freely over her trembling body. Finally she arched her
spine and shuddered with pleasure, a bestial sigh of relief rasping from her throat.
 Her blood revitalized me. New strength flowed through my limbs and every cell in my body cried out in
rapture at the sensation of rebirth. Satisfied, at least for the moment, I pulled my incisors free of the girl's
neck while injecting a powerful coagulant into the twin wounds to prevent her from bleeding to death,
while at the same time stimulating her flesh to regenerate and heal the punctures. In a matter of hours they
would be invisible to the naked eyeтАФno one would ever know she had fallen victim to a vampyre, and
the wonderful thing was, she would remember none of it, just as I had remembered nothing of what had
happened aboard the coach until Doctor Schmidt brought my memories back.

All of this I knew instinctively, with a surety of knowledge that could only have originated from one
sourceтАФthe vampyre who'd done to me as I'd done to the mute girl. She'd given me anawareness that
made me laugh with unbridled joy as I gazed at the unmoving girl on the bed, relishing our mutually
satisfactory transaction. I hadn't taken enough blood to kill herтАФshe would sleep and then awaken some
hours later, feeling slightly weak, but that would pass quickly. Then she'd find her senses enhanced far
beyond their human limitations. She'd see the world with a clarity she'd never before dreamt might exist.
I'd passed the vampyre's gift on to her.

Having completed the feeding process, my incisors retracted into my skull. I began changing back to
what I'd been. It was a new and unfamiliar feeling, and one that was not altogether pleasant. My mood
changed along with my physical appearance. The girl on the bed lost her attraction; my euphoria turned
to revulsion and self-disgust for what I'd just done. I'd been transformed into ananimal that fed on other
human beings.

Just then the door opened and Thenck stood there, framed in light from the outside corridor. The guards
I'd met downstairs were behind him, their rebuilt faces hideous. Ludwig waited off to one side, shrunken
and afraid. What had he expected to see when the door opened?A vampyre, obviously. Perhaps he'd
also expected to find the girl dead, but she was still breathing, was still very much alive.

"I see you are awake, Herr Manfred,тАЭ Thenck said. His voice betrayed no emotion whatsoever.

"Awake and unhappy, Herr Thenck. You have manipulated me with breathtaking arrogance. I am
sickened by what has transpired here."

Thenck shrugged. тАЬIt was necessary, in order that you are prepared for whatever lies ahead in the
Arena. Let that be an end to it. For your information, it is early morning outside. You have slept almost
twenty-four hours. Doctor Schmidt tells me this is not unusual when the change begins. However, you
should be getting ready to leave for the Arena. It would not do for you to be late."

I looked at the sleeping girl. тАЬWhat about her?"

"She is none of your concern. We shall take care of her."

He signed to one of the guards, who passed his musket to his comrade and came into the room. With
almost reverent care, he slipped his arms under the girl's body and easily lifted her off the bed. He then
carried her out into the corridor. Thenck glanced at her as she passed, and I imagined I saw some