Chapter Twenty-Eight

Marie barely waited for Paul to park the car before she hustled over to my car and took possession of my son. I didn’t try to stop her. This was an exciting occasion for Nevi’s fiercely loyal staff. They had not seen the innocence of new life come into the home in over fifty years. The fact that this new life was Nevi’s son and heir had to be thrilling for them.

I learned that the entire staff consisted of humans who kept themselves alive by occasional tiny doses—every twenty-five years or so—of vampire blood. Marie and Paul were actually new comers to the mix. Many had been with Nevi since he discovered what his blood would do for a human in his early youth. He never imposed his blood on any of the staff. They willingly asked for his vampire blood in exchange for the gift of a lengthy life. He proved to be a fair, kind, and generous employer, which won the iron clad loyalty they had for him. They became more like Nevi’s family than his hel