Vampire Hollows Read Online Free Page B

“Potter told me that they hurt you, Kiera. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’ll never be able to thank Potter enough for taking care of you for me.”
    To hear those words threw images of me and Potter across my mind, our bodies entwined as we had made love. I pushed the pictures away. Opening my eyes, I looked over Luke’s shoulder as I hugged him and could see Potter watching me. His face looked hard and haggard. But it was his eyes, there was a sadness to them – something I had only ever seen once before, the day Murphy had been murdered.
    Taking the cigarette from the corner of his mouth, he flicked it away. He looked away from me, crossed to where Sparky lay nursing his leg on the ground, and kicked him in the guts. Sparky howled in agony and screwed himself into a ball.
    Pulling away from Luke, I turned to face Potter and said, “What in the hell was that for?”
    “He’s a fucking liar!” Potter said, looking at Sparky and not at me.
    “What are you talking about?” I said, heading back towards Sparky and the others as Luke followed me.
    “He said that you would find this Elias Munn in the Dust Palace,” Potter hissed, still unable to look at me.
    “So?” I shrugged.
    “That’s impossible,” Potter barked, and this time he did look at me. The sadness had gone from his face and was now replaced with anger.
    “Why is it impossible?” Isidor asked, coming forward, his eyebrow piercing twinkling in the moonlight.
    Potter looked at him, but said nothing. Instead, he shoved another cigarette into the corner of his mouth and lit it.
    “Potter’s right,” Luke cut in. “The Dust Palace is the home of the elders. He couldn’t possibly be there.”
    “Why not?” Kayla asked, as she brushed snow from her red hair.
    Blowing smoke from his nostrils in two thin jets, Potter looked at Kayla and said, “Listen, sweetheart, you don’t just stroll into the Dust Palace. It’s the most sacred place in The Hollows. It’s where the Elders, or as some like to call them, the gods live. It’s their home. To me, I think it’s just a bunch of bullshit, but one thing I do know for certain is that place is a fortress and there’s only one way in.”
    “And where’s that?” Seth asked.
    “Shit, who invited you along?” Luke suddenly groaned, as if noticing Seth for the first time.
    “Good to see you too, Luke Bishop,” Seth snarled. “It was Potter’s idea.”
    “I had no choice,” Potter said, looking at Luke.
    “Didn’t you say this scum was responsible for helping to kill Murphy?” Luke asked in disbelief.
    “That’s right,” Potter said, flicking ash from the tip of his cigarette. “But I’ve gone some way in getting even,” he added, then glanced at me.
    “How could you ever possibly get even over the death of Murphy?” Luke asked, his black beard now turning white with snow.
    “Just like Seth helped take Murphy’s heart, I took the heart of his lover,” Potter told him, and again he looked at me, as if trying to gauge my reaction.
    Those images of Potter striding across the floor of the facility and ripping Eloisa’s heart out swam in front of my mind again and they sickened me. I broke Potter’s gaze and looked away. I still couldn’t understand why he had done that, he had confused and scared me.
    “I think you’ll find that I’ve lost more than Eloisa,” Seth barked at Potter, his eyes blazing like hot coals. “I’ve lost my son, Nik too.”
    “What, you mean he’s dead?” Potter asked, and for a moment I thought I could see the briefest of smirks tugging at the corner of his mouth.
    “Yes,” Seth spat. “He was killed in a vampire attack a few miles from here.”
    “Aww,” Potter groaned. “My heart bleeds for you. Don’t tell me any more or I think I might just start crying.”
    Before anyone knew what was happening, Seth launched himself at Potter and had him by the throat. “We have unfinished business, Potter, so I wouldn’t be too cocky if I