Bitten by Darkness Read Free Page A

latest
information: maps, air traffic control, and possible weather issues. When he
was satisfied that he could make a quiet landing, he tapped his screen and
entered the command for entry. Then he sat back and tried to enjoy the view.
Earth didn't look much different from when he'd left, except for the
proliferation of artificial light. It was rather pretty. He’d kept abreast with
all the changes by skimming Dekcol's classified
information databases. Even though the Blood Council told the people they'd
stopped all extra-planetary activity, Jasper knew better. He was one of them,
after all, a viper in a pit of fat pythons. He smiled again, amused that even
his metaphors veered toward native Earth species. Soon he would be home.
    Dekcol had been systematically harvesting life from numerous planets for centuries.
Earth was just their latest conquest, and of course, the most seductive. Jasper
grimaced, tightening his fingers on his harness. He thought about his brother.
Ambrose had fallen in love with a native and married her. Had a child that even
now Jasper regretted being unable to find and care for, all those years ago.
The people here weren’t perfect, but they did their best to care for their
children. The Blood Council, on the other hand, enslaved the ones they loved
and ate the weak. He’d hated being one of them.
    The ship
rattled as the atmosphere heated the hull. Jasper closed his eyes. No sense
dwelling on it now. He knew there were some Dekcolians left on Earth, blood-drinkers like him, except for one crucial difference: he
never, ever took sustenance from a sentient creature. It was not only pointless, it was also unethical and immoral. Living in such
a way poisoned the eater. That way lay madness.
    Unfortunately,
most of the Dekcolians stranded on Earth after the
last exodus, when Jasper was forced to leave, thought differently. They
believed feeding on humans conferred gifts. Strength. Longevity. Psychic powers. Drinking sentient blood was also addictive.
Once begun, there was no stopping.
    The
ultimate tragedy, as far as he was concerned, was that eventually, all Dekcolians developed the same gifts over time. There was no
need to hurry the process and lose whatever sense of compassion they had in the
process. At a little over five hundred years old, Jasper was one of the oldest
of his people, though some rare few could live to see a thousand. Like Alucard , may he die soon and badly. Jasper had all those gifts of strength and mind and more, as well as the wisdom
to use them wisely.
    No,
they're not my people. Not now, not ever again , he thought, forcing his eyes open. The viewport was
flaming orange as the friction of the ship heated the air's molecules. Soon
enough, though, the fire gave way to soothing darkness. He shut off the
automatic protocols and took control of the skimmer.
    It was
time to go home. He'd programmed the ship to zero in on the North American
continent then used the old beacon embedded in the east tower of the mansion to
orient himself . The soft, rolling Appalachian
Mountains stretched out below him, dark and comforting. As he flew closer to
the surface, his heart began to beat faster and faster. Calmly , he told
himself as he spotted the light stone of his family's manor, hidden in the
trees that had grown wild over the centuries.
    There
it is. Home, he thought,
dipping the nose of the ship down until he hovered over the flat surface of the
back courtyard, protected by the east and west wings of the house. Not even a
leaf stirred as he set the ship down, the anti- grav dampeners working just as well here in Earth's lighter gravity as they had when
he was testing the systems back on Dekcol . He sat
silently for a moment then shut everything down. He had to force his fingers
away from the controls. He felt light, as if he were dreaming, though he knew
better. He tapped one last command. The ship's canopy dematerialized and he
took the first free breath he’d had in longer than he cared