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 And want you to be ours forever, added Tsadowq.
 Absolutely, added Atal, watching her carefully.
Remembering to breathe shallowly because of her ribs, Yolanda
nodded.  We need to talk. There are lots of things we need to sort out,
66 Berengaria Brown
but I m thinking that may work. I don t want to be parted from you,
Yolanda replied.  And sex without condoms is awesome. She
giggled.  What a rush I get as you come!
The three lay tangled together getting their breath back for a
while, then one by one the men went to clean up, Tsadowq coming
back with a wet washcloth to wipe Yolanda clean.
 That s the downside to no condoms the mess, he said.
 Yeah, but if you can t get me pregnant or give me diseases, but
Atal was born a vampire into a vampire family, and many of his
family died, how do little vampires get conceived, and how do
vampires get killed? Surely not that stake through the heart or silver
bullet stuff from the movies?
 As I said when we talked about Transylvania, inside every myth,
there is a kernel of truth. There are a few things that kill vampires. We
were blamed for causing the Black Death, yet some of us died from it.
Since we are much stronger than humans, most of us either didn t
catch it or lived through it. But some of us died. Some pure metals,
when stabbed through vital organs, can kill us, particularly if it s a
deep and damaging wound.
 Baby vampires are conceived exactly the same way as baby
humans. But vampires can t impregnate humans, and vampire women
are only fertile for a few days each year, instead of a week every
month. So it is comparatively easy to abstain from sex for such a brief
time, said Tsadowq.
 How about we shower, then you eat, and then you can ask us
whatever questions you want, added Atal.
 How about you show me the secret door into apartments C and D
and all your computer stuff as well? Yolanda countered.
 Damn, woman, you re smart! Atal laughed.
 How the hell did you work that out? asked Tsadowq.
 I realized in the garden last night the twentieth floor hallway is
maybe four feet shorter than the hallway for the other floors, and also,
I ve never seen any other people on this floor.
Eternity 67
 No one else has ever noticed. You re incredibly intelligent. Let s
shower, and then we ll take you through, said Tsadowq.
 We deliberately designed this so people would think if they
discovered apartment B that they d cracked our secret and not go
looking any farther, Atal said as he pressed on the cornice in the far
corner of the main room.
There was a narrow hallway the four feet from the outside
hallway then another door that opened into a dimly lit office. It was
a big room, although not as large as the great room. It was lined with
rows of computer monitors and a raft of machines, some of which
Yolanda couldn t recognize, although she guessed they were to do
with running the men s businesses. She certainly recognized a state-
of-the-art photocopier-cum-printer and guessed that was where all
their  paperwork originated.
A doorway to the left led into what appeared to be an industrial
kitchen, which held their special refrigerators of artificial blood and
real blood. There was also a refrigerator holding bottled water and
human food.  Just in case we need it for a friend in an emergency,
explained Atal.
Beside them was a generator to provide backup power for the
refrigerators and computers should the building power ever fail.
 Hasn t this building got its own backup power source? she
asked.
 Yes, but we aren t prepared to take any risks. Ours cuts in within
three seconds of a blackout, explained Tsadowq.
The next room was set up like a library with books and items in
glass cases.  It s our history, explained Tsadowq.  Or what we have
managed to assemble of it.
For a long time, Yolanda wandered around the room looking at
old papers, books, carved statues, and pieces of fabric.  One day, you
must tell me the story behind each of these items, she said quietly.
The two balconies for apartments C and D had been joined
together, covered with a heavy opaque glass like that used for the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]