Dominion Read Free Page B

and the next , he’d killed someone. He had no memory of hunting the man down, though he remembered seeing him. He hoped no one else had witnessed the attack.
    Why couldn’t he remember? He’d never lost a period of time like that before .
    Instantly , his thoughts went to Serenity and what had happened after Jackson fed from her repeatedly. Sh e’d forgotten who she was. But Sebastian didn’t doubt his identity a nd he’d ne ver let another vampire feed from him—not since the time when Madeline turned him.
    He was simply missing a portion of time. Time in which he’d killed a man.
    Damn it! How did this happen ?
    As soon as he disposed of the body, he’d need to go back to Serenity. S uddenly , the matter of her rejection seemed unimportant. Something else was going on here, something that fri ghtened him. He didn’t like the sensation. Being frightened for his family was a different matter, but rarely did he ever experience concern for himself. After all, he was immortal. He healed quickly and was fa st and strong. Not many things harm ed him. As far as evolution went, he s at at the top of the food chain.
    The memory of Serenity’s shocked face at the restaurant flashed through his head. S he’d seen something—a shadow . Why had he dismissed her words so readily? Had he been distracted by the imminent proposal or had something forced him to laugh her off? No, he’d felt no different. She’d just leapt back in h er chair and stared at him. He had no reason to think anything occurred other than a trick of the light.
    He ran through the forest, darting past the rough expanse of tree trunks and breaking through foliage, heading deeper. The air smelled of damp earth, the fall leaves creating a mulched carpet on the forest floor. As he ran, small mammals froze in their tracks—rabbits , mice and squirrels—eyes wide and ears pricked as he passed. Above his head, an owl took flight, filling the night air with its haunting screech.
    The body jerked in his arms. Sebastian stopped and looked down. The man’s back curved in what would have been an uncomfortable angle had he still been alive. His arms and head lolled to one side, his legs the other. The body jolted again, as though an electric shock powered through him.
    Surely the dead man shouldn’t be coming back already? Bodies sometimes reanimated after being drained by a vampire, but the process didn’t normally happen for hours after the kill . While he knew he was missing some time, he felt sure not that much time had passed since he’d fed from the man.
    So what was happening here? Could something else be at play?
    His curiosity getting the better of him, Sebastian dropped the body to the ground and took a couple of steps away. He folded his arms across his chest and waited.
    Within seconds, the body jerked again, the hands in spasm so the fingers stretched ou t, rigid, before curling back to the palms.
    Sebastian craned his neck forward, his eyes narrowed.
    The man’s dreadlocks had fallen away from his face, so they spread like knotted ropes across the ground. As Sebastian watched, the dead man’s eyelids flickered. His body convulsed again, more violently this time. The tremors gripped the man’s entire body . He shook and jerked on the forest floor as though he were still alive and suffering a seizure.
    Suddenly , he fell still. His eyes blinked open and he sat up. His nostrils flared as he turned his head, one way and then another, before catching sight of Sebastian.
    The man glared at S ebastian. Pale- face d and drained of blood, only his eyes were forked with bloodshot veins . The creature moved with slow, jerky movements, loosening the muscles that had taken on the beginnings of rigor mortis .
    The dead man got to his feet.
    Sebastian stepped back. S omething was different about this creature. Different from the bodies he’d previously seen reanimate.
    The thing took staggered steps toward him, its arms outstretched, head tilted to one side.