STEFAN (Completed)

Part 18

She shone the tiny light into her novel and began to read to him. She was ruining her already poor eyes and for what? She had a soft, musical voice. It contrasted with the constant sadness in her eyes. She read to him, squinting as she tried to see the tiny words with only the tiny light as her aid.

Fool, he thought. She was ruining her eyes over a vampire who would drain her the moment he became free.

She read for some time before closing the book.

"I could have read more from this novel, but my eyes really hurt. Padre refuses to permit me to see an optician."

She actually expected him to feel sorry for her!

"Padre says that I should stay away from you. He says that you are very dangerous and that you are going to rip my throat and drain me. But I don't believe him."

Then you are a fool, he thought.

"I don't know why you won't let me take the stakes out. They must really hurt, but I am sure I can find the right equipment with which to pull them out."

He gave her an expression which said: You had better away from me, if you know what's good for you.

"I am only trying to help."

"If you want to help me, then you shall give me your blood," he told her wordlessly.

"That would get me into a lot of trouble," she told him silently.

Stefan stared at her in surprise. She was neither an immortal nor psychic. She had read his mind and that was weird. How was that possible?

"No one would know." He continued silently, wanting to assure himself that the Familiar had not read his mind earlier but had merely guessed his thoughts.

"Believe when I say that Sergei would know. Nothing escapes his radar."

She had read his thoughts again. She placed a small palm over her mouth as though only realizing what had happened. Either she could read his mind and had pretended not to have that ability or she had only realized that she could read his mind and communicate with him on a psychic level. He would go for the former, after all, she was a bloody Familiar.

Her ability to read his mind made her dangerous. He had to remember to block his mind whenever she was around, but for now, she was his only means of communication. He hadn't made use of his voice since his incarceration.

"I know that I shall be signing my death warrant if I try to give you my blood. I shudder to think of what Sergei would do me. Besides, you hate me because I am a Renegade and I know that you shall show me no mercy."

He glared at her and winced at the effort. His head felt as though an elephant had sat on it. It hurt to even think. He wished he could control her mind and make her feed him.

"There is no way on earth that you are getting me up there." She told him.

He hated being helpless, unable to do something as simple as calling food to himself.

"I resent that," she told him. "I don't like being referred to as food."

"You are a Renegade." He told her as though that answered everything.

"And to you just food."

He placed a barrier so she would be unable to read his next thought. He intended to use her to break free. She was the weak link in the chain of Renegades. The issue of morals did not crop up when one was dealing with Renegades. The female Familiars were worse than their male counterparts. He knew first hand that they were capable of deceit.