Broken Heart 02 Don't Talk Back to Your Vampire (32 page)

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"I will stay with you and await the dawn," he promised. How could he fear dying when he was
with the other half of his soul? "What is life," he asked the maiden, "without love? I would rather
have this one night with you than another thousand years."

A beautiful glow emanated from his lady. The heat and light were filled with such
all-encompassing joy, he feared it not.

As the radiance subsided, he found the maiden awake. He helped her to sit up and she cupped his
face. "I was cursed," she said. "I was told that only a man who walked the night and who swore
his devotion to me could break it."

Overjoyed, the prince took the maiden into his arms. "You were worth the wait," he whispered.

"As were you," she whispered back.

And they lived happily ever after…

—From
The Prince and the Maiden
,

by Lorcan O'Halloran

Read more of Lorcan's work in

Forever Night: A Collection of Short Stories

Coming soon from Broken Heart Press

A LETTER FROM TAMARA

Dear Dad,

Thanks for the iPod. I really needed a device that can hold ten million songs. I am so not turning down a new laptop, either. I guess I can wait for Christmas. Heh-heh.

I think it's great that Mom had a miracle recovery, too. It was cool of you to offer to take care of me. I don't want to make this a big deal, but my home is in Broken Heart with Mom and Lorcan. And, yeah, my new stepdad is nice.

We just got a Great Dane puppy that we named Bert Again (long story). He's a clumsy goofball, but he likes our cats and he plays with the squirrels. The squirrels don't like it that much, but Bert Again keeps trying to make friends.

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Quit worrying about my boyfriend. You're worse than Mom! I guess you can meet him—but you totally have to chill out. Anyway, Durriken is traveling with his parents and there's no ETA on his return.

Happy? (That's a joke.)

I hope you understand why I want to wait until next summer to visit you. I know you're sorry and all, and I'm glad you want a second chance. I figure we'll be okay, Dad. I just need some time to process everything and get used to how much my life is changed. Tell everyone I said hi. I'll talk to you soon.

Love and all that junk,

Tamara

EVA'S REVISED GLOSSARY

Gaelic Irish Words and Phrases

a ghrá mo chroi
: love of my heart

astóirín
: my little darling

athaisce
: my dear/darling/treasure

bard
: poet-Druid
(see fill);
storyteller and singer of Celtic tribes

céardsearc
: first love/beloved one

damnú air
: damn it

deamhan fola
: blood devil

droch fola
: bad or evil blood

druid
: philosopher, teacher, and judge of Celtic tribes

filí
: (Old Irish) poet-Druid (see
bard)

Go dtachta an diabhal thú
: May the devil choke you. (Irish curse)

Is minic a bhris beat duine a shrón
: Many a time a man's mouth broke his nose.

leamhán sléibhe
: wych elm (the only species of elm native to Ireland)

mo chroi
: my heart

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Ná glac pioc comhairle gan comhairle ban
: Never take advice without a woman's guidance.

Níl neart air
: (lit. There is no power in it) There is no helping it.

ovate
: healer-Druid; healer and seer of Celtic tribes

solas
: light

sonuachar
: soul mate

súmaire fola
: bloodsucker

Tír na Marbh
: Land of the Dead

Titim gan éirí ort
: May you fall without rising. (Irish curse)

Other Words, Terms, and Phrases

centurion/centurio
: professional officer in the Roman army in charge of a century, or
centuria
, of men
century/centuria
: group of sixty to one hundred sixty men in the Roman infantry, led by a centurion

draba
: spell/charm

Durriken
: Romany boy's name that means "he who forecasts"

gadjikane
: Romany for "non-Gypsy"

Liebling
: German for "darling"

muló
: Romany for "living dead"

Nein und abermals nein
: A thousand times, no
Roma
: member of nomadic people originating in northern India; Gypsies considered as a group
Romany/Romani
: the language of the Roma
strigoi mort
: Romanian vampire

Vampire Terms

Ancient
: Refers to one of the original seven vampires. The very first vampire was Ruadan, who is the biological father of Patrick and Lorcan. Several centuries ago, Ruadan and his sons took on the last name O'Halloran, which means "stranger from overseas."

Banning
: (see World Between Worlds) Any vampire can be sent into limbo, but the spell must be cast by an Ancient or, in a few cases, their offspring. A vampire cannot be released from banning until he or she feels true remorse for evil acts. This happens rarely, which means that banning is not done lightly.

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Binding
: When vampires have consummation sex, they're bound together for a hundred years. This was Ruadan the First's brilliant idea to keep vamps from sexual intercourse while blood-taking. No one has ever broken a binding.

Consortium
: About five hundred years ago, Patrick and Lorcan created the Consortium to figure out ways that paranormal folks could make the world a better place for all beings. Many sudden leaps in human medicine and technology have come from the Consortium's work.

donors
: mortals who serve as sustenance for vampires. The Consortium screens and hires humans to be food sources. Donors are paid well and given living quarters. Not all vampires follow the guidelines created by the Consortium for feeding. A mortal may have been a donor without ever realizing it.

drone
: mortals who do the bidding of their vampire Masters. The most famous was Igor—drone to Dracula. The Consortium's code of ethics forbids the use of drones, but plenty of vampires still use them.

Family
: Every vampire can be traced to one of the seven Ancients. The Ancients are divided into the Seven Sacred Sects, also known as the Families.

gone to ground
: When vampires secure places where they can lie undisturbed for centuries, they "go to ground." Usually they let someone know where they are located, but we don't know the resting locations of many vampires.

lycanthropes
: also called lycans. These shape-shifters can shift from a human into a wolf. Lycans have been around for a long time and originated in Germany. They worship the lunar goddess, but they can change anytime they want. Their numbers are small because they don't have many females and most children born have only a fifty percent chance of living to the age of one.

Master
: The vampire who successfully Turns a human is the new vamp's protector. Basically, a Master is supposed to show the Turn-blood how to survive as a vampire, unless another Master agrees to take over the education. A Turn-blood has the protection of the Family (see Family, Seven Sacred Sects) to which the Master belongs.

Roma
: The Roma are cousins to full-blooded lycanthropes. They can change only on the night of the full moon. Just as full-blooded lycanthropes are raised to protect vampires, the Roma are raised to hunt vampires.

Seven Sacred Sects
: The vampire tree has seven branches. Each branch is called a Family and each Family is directly traced to one of the seven Ancients. The older you are, the more mojo you get. A vampire's powers are related to the Family.

taint
: The black plague for vampires. Thanks to experiments using Lorcan's unusual blood, Consortium scientists have formulated a cure for the disease.

Turn-blood
: A human who has been recently Turned into a vampire. If you're less than a century old, you're a Turn-blood.

Turning
: Vampires can't have babies. They perpetuate the species by Turning humans. Unfortunately, only about one in ten humans Turned actually makes the transition.

World Between Worlds
: The place between this plane and the next, where there is a void. Some

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people can slip back and forth between this "veil," but it's a sucky place to take a permanent vacation.