Fake prophet. The words flash through my mind. That explains it. I make a note to completely disregard anything he says about prophecies.
“Why am I here?”
“To learn.”
Great, yes, that’s very informative. This is going well.
“About what?”
“Being a vampire,” he says.
“Right, okay, thanks,” I reply, before turning back in the direction Bram brought me. This Eric is being far too cryptic for my liking, and I don’t really have time for it. Well, I guess I do. I have nothing but time now. But that’s hardly the point.
“Don’t go, Ashryn,” he calls and despite myself, I stop and turn back to him.
“Why not?” I ask the overly beautiful man.
“Because you have a lot to learn.”
“Look, if you’re going to be cryptic and vague the whole time, then there’s no point me being here. I’m not that kind of girl.”
As I turn to leave, he catches hold of my wrist.
“I’m sorry,” he says with a sigh. “I used to actually believe all this crap. Vampires have an annoying tendency of living a long time, so can remember that. I’ve never been able to stop.”
He’s still beautiful, but the look on his face changes, and he looks oddly weary. Part of me wants to pull him into my arms and comfort him. But I ignore it. If he did that to me then I’d probably stake him or something, so I really should afford him the same courtesy.
“So you’re saying this is all an act?”
He sighs, flopping down on to the floor and giving me a pointed look. To say he’s apparently really old, he’s acting like a grumpy teenager, and I’m not too sure how to deal with it.
Reluctantly, I sink down on to the roof beside him. It’s cold, and hard, and uncomfortable. I hope he doesn’t want to stay here too long. Why does he feel the need to meet people on the roof anyway? I get wanting an air of mystery, but this is just ridiculous.
“Yes, it’s all an act.”
“Does Dimitri know?” I ask, genuinely curious. Eric shakes his head. “What about Remus?” The horrified look crossing his face tells me all I need to know. That explains why Remus didn’t want to bring me here then. He and Dimitri seem close, and if he thinks Eric is pulling the wool over the lead vampire’s eyes, then it all makes a bit more sense.
“Yes, Remus worked it out. I gave him some advice on a mission, and it all went horribly wrong. It didn’t take him long to work it out after that.” He looks a little haunted, and I’ll bet anything that part of that is guilt.
“He’s a smart man.”
“He is, you could do far worse than him,” he assures me, and I frown. Why would he say that? He’s never seen me with Remus.
“Maybe,” I say, filing the thought for later. I don’t want to be distracted by thoughts of the mysterious doctor.
“You’re not sure,” he observes.
“I’m not sure of anything. It’s all very new to me,” I respond. I’m not sure why it’s so easy for me to talk to this man. He’s still a vampire, and still intimidatingly attractive. But maybe it’s because his deepest, darkest, secret isn’t exactly very dark. I’ve seen a lot of secrets over the years. And I hold them all within me. Some of them have been very dark, like the female vampire the other day. Others are like Eric’s, really not that exciting.
I’m still curious about Dimitri’s secrets. He hasn’t looked me directly in the eye yet, almost like he knows what will happen when I do. That’s a little worrying. Means what he’s hiding must be big.
“What do you need to know?” Eric asks, cocking his head to the side as he studies me.
“What don’t I?” I respond, then sigh. “Everything I know about vampires is being turned on its head. I don’t know what to make of it all.”
If only my enemies could see me now. The great Ashryn Barker has been reduced to a scared and confused mess. And is asking a vampire to help unmess it. That’s unexpected, even to me if I’m honest.
“You’ve had blood, I take it?” I nod in reply. “Let’s start there then. You have to drink blood at least once every four days. But it’s better if you have it once a day.”