Read Burning (Brotherhood of the Blade Trilogy #1) for Free Online

turned in my head. Nero had been Rudolph’s probable murderer—the coin left at the murder scene clinched it for me. Nero had been accompanied by Vlad the Impaler, who was on the cruise ship with us now—and was apparently pissed off at Gabby for offing his lover, Elizabeth Bathory. As I remembered from studying history, which was Dad’s passion after astronomy, Bathory had bathed in the blood of virgins and had been a psychopathic killer. I had not known she was a vampire, too. Of course, history books would not report that.
    Also according to Gabrielle, the other killer connected with Rudolph’s death was likely Delilah. The Delilah, slayer of Samson the mighty from the Bible. Now, things were getting damn weird.
    I tried wrapping my head around these famous names. Jesus, Dracula? As in Count Dracula? Well, not quite. Dracula was conjured by the dark imagination of Bram Stoker.
    But Vlad Tepes, of course, was real. As the one-time king of Romania, Vlad the Impaler was a real historical figure—and a real monster. Which is why Bram Stoker had chosen him as the model for his own vampire, Dracula.
    Except, of course, now I wondered if Bram Stoker had known more than he had let on—or had stumbled upon the truth.
    Or maybe I’m just crazy.
    My head swam as I worked alongside Gabby. Famous or not, these old vampires would be extremely powerful as individuals. Yes, I’d faced down old vampires...and barely survived. Tonight was going to be a long night.
    Perhaps most importantly, I was finally getting somewhere with the identities of the three vampires who had killed Rudolph. I was daunted by one of the killers’ names. Delilah. I mean...holy crap, she’d taken down Samson!
    Yes, the very old Fullerton vampire—the one who had turned Samantha Moon into a vampire—had been hard to kill. I suspected the three who had murdered Rudolph were much older vampires than the Fullerton vampire—and therefore, even more powerful. It was my belief that the longer a vampire existed, the more powerful he or she grew, with each meal, with each life taken.
    What would it take to defeat them? I hoped Vlad would go down easily, but I knew the likelihood of that was slim. Like I said...it was gonna be a long night.
    “ Sound check,” Gabrielle said into the mic while the silver-haired guy adjusted his equipment. After he got the sound perfect, he came over to me.
    “ Lucas,” he said, holding out his hand. The name registered with me. Ah, yes. The leader of their little vampire hunting club.
    “ Rand,” I said, and we shook hands, measuring each other. Or, at least, I measured him.
    “ Let’s talk strategy?” he said after a moment.
    “ Vampire killing strategy?” I asked.
    He gave me a half grin. “Of course.”
    And we did just that, discussing our options, our roles, our places. It was a decent plan. But, with all vampire-killing plans, it was going to rely on a lot of luck.
    As Lucas walked back to the sound equipment. He was alert, as was I. We glanced from each other to Gabrielle and his anxiety was palpable. My own heart rate increased.
    Cruise guests lined up outside the nightclub’s doors, but they wouldn’t be unlocked until we got set up and I did a safety check. I quickly walked around the perimeter and checked the catwalks above us. I also checked the restrooms.
    “ Security is clear,” I reported.
    Gabby nodded.
    Earlier, I’d showered and dressed in the clothes that she’d provided, and they fit me fairly well. I had glanced at Gabby and she only nodded, confirming my suspicions.
    “ Yes, Rand. They were your brother’s clothes.”
    “ Why did you give them to me?” I asked, aghast. A chill coursed through me.
    “ We want you to pass for Rudolph. For your safety on the ship, we are using his ID for you. To a stranger, you would pass for him. Most of all, we want to freak out the vampires who think they killed Rudolph.”
    “ You want them to think Rudolph is immortal?”
    “ Exactly.”
    “