Chapter 29

“Ephram…” I said quietly.

He grinned innocently at me. “Well, you said it was one of my abilities so I decided to test it.”

“You shouldn’t be able to do that yet,” I replied. “Who the hell was your Sire?”

“He called himself Virgil.”

“That’s it? Just Virgil?”

Ephram puffed out a few breaths. “His surname reminded me of some playwright we read in high school. Ines…something.”

I knew immediately who he meant, and who his Sire was, although he spelled his surname differently than the playwright’s. “Virgil Ionescu,” I said sourly.

“Yes.” He looked at me and the dog stopped dancing, much to its owners’ obvious relief. “You sound as if you don’t like him.”

“I’ve never met him, but he has a long history of creating new vampires then deserting them, just as he did you. Before you ask, he’s almost three thousand years old, so it’s no wonder your ability to control animals is already coming out.”

“Nice to know I’m not the only one he’s done that to. But why?”