Blood Legacy: The House of Alexander Read Free Page A

curiosity.
    Once Marilyn was away, Ryan found Victor seated in his study once more. Ryan stared at him a long moment until he looked up.
    “Yes?”
    “How are you feeling?”
    Victor laughed. “You mean now that I’m back in one piece?”
    Ryan had the grace to appear embarrassed. “Uh, yes, now that you have pulled yourself back together.”
    Victor gazed at his child a long moment. Their Kind were notoriously difficult to kill, and grew more so as they aged, passing into immortality. As he was the most ancient of their Kind, he should have been invulnerable to any attempt. But none of their Kind had ever faced anyone like his offspring. When Ryan tried to kill him, she finished the job, or nearly so, by eating his remains.
    Consistent with the extreme predatory nature of their Kind, Victor was rather proud of her ingenuity.
    “I feel fine. Your contributions to my welfare have helped immensely.”
    Ryan gazed at his throat. He was talking about her blood, which he returned in kind. She knew that they both had strengthened from the exchange.
    “Don’t change the subject. If you are fine, then what did I feel earlier?”
    Victor’s expression sobered. He attempted to maintain a light tone, but he would not lie to Ryan.
    “I am not certain. It is not the first time I have felt it.”
    Ryan felt a coldness in the pit of her stomach, although she attempted to match Victor’s nonchalance.
    “Can you describe what you are feeling?”
    Victor was thoughtful for a moment. “It is a flash of weakness, a stab of pain. It is brief, then disappears. I thought at first it was still the aftermath from my injuries.”
    Victor’s voice trailed off.
    “But you no longer think that,” Ryan said quietly.
    “No,” he admitted, “It has been only recently that the weakness has appeared. I think it would have appeared much earlier in my recovery if it were related, and if so, not persisted to this day.”
    Outwardly Ryan was calm, but it felt as if a sheet of ice water were flowing down her back. Victor was describing what seemed to be a very mild malady.
    But her father was immortal, invulnerable, and not prey to maladies. She was greatly concerned.
    She hid her unease, at least from her voice if not from her father.
    “Well, one good thing. I know a most excellent doctor.”
    CHAPTER 4
    RYAN STOOD ON THE PRIVATE RUNWAY, the wind whipping her coat around her lithe form. She was again lost in thought, but glanced up when she heard the distant roar of an airplane. It was still far away, and no normal creature could have detected the noise at so great a distance.
    The plane was moving fast, and it was only minutes before the sleek jet began its final approach. It lightly touched down in a smooth landing, then taxied toward the lone figure on the field.
    The cockpit was blacked out, as were the windows, but Ryan nodded to the pilot, whom she could see. He nodded back deferentially as he brought the jet to a halt in front of her. The door opened and the stairway was extended downward.
    A young woman and a small boy stepped from the doorway. The wind caught their red hair, tousling it in the breeze. The boy caught sight of Ryan and sprinted down the stairs.
    “Ryan!” he squealed, running full-tilt at her. Ryan caught him in mid-leap and in an astonishing move, tossed him a good ten feet into the air, easily catching him before he hit the ground. He laughed with reckless abandon.
    Dr. Susan Ryerson approached with a little more dignity. She glanced at her son, then at Ryan. “You know it scares me when you do that to him.”
    Ryan gazed down at her, mischief in her eyes. “What’s the matter?
    “You want your turn, too? I’m fairly certain I could toss you into the air, dear doctor, a good deal higher than that.”
    Susan was a little nervous, never certain when Ryan was joking. “Uh, no thank you. I would be happy with just a hug.”
    The pilot of the airplane watched the warm greeting with some incredulity. He had never