Bloodline by MAGGIE SHAYNE

him for a moment longer, then sighedand nodded. “I didn’t even know I could do that. It was automatic. As if I’ve had…training.”
    He got to his feet, brushed off his jeans, said nothing.
    â€œI have, haven’t I?” she asked.
    Lifting his gaze slowly, he met her eyes. Green fire danced in them, reminding him that he’d decided to tell her the truth. Also reminding him that she wouldn’t accept anything less. “Yes, you’ve had training. In martial arts, in weapons, in hand-to-hand combat. We both have. It was part of the program at the place where we were raised.”
    â€œThe Farm, right? What is it, Ethan?”
    He took hold of her forearm, intending to lead her back to that flat stone so they could both sit down. But she jerked away as soon as he touched her, and that stung. “The Farm is…well, it’s sort of like an orphanage and a military school all rolled into one.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest, possibly so he wouldn’t touch her again. “Why would people who run an orphanage want to chase after the orphans who leave?”
    â€œWe’re not ordinary orphans, Lilith. We were born with a very rare antigen in our blood, called Belladonna. And it makes us special. It makes us…the only humans who can become vampires. And you and I, and the other Chosen at The Farm, we’re members of a very special bloodline. That’s what they call us there—Bloodliners.”
    She frowned. “I remember there being a lot of us there. How is it so many of us become orphans?”
    â€œI’m not so sure we do. It’s just as likely we’re taken, kidnapped, our families murdered. I do know that we’re never supposed to leave, at least not on our own. We’re prisoners. We’re expected to grow up there, get our training there, become utterly devoted, unquestionablyloyal there, and then, when we reach adulthood, they turn us into vampires and we work for them.”
    â€œDoing what?” she asked.
    â€œI don’t know. I do know that when someone runs away, vampire assassins, graduates of The Farm, are sent to hunt them down and kill them. So that would be one job.”
    She frowned. “How many…how many vampires do you suppose have been made there?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œWhy not?” she asked. Her tone was impatient. “You have your memory. You grew up there. So how many children, older than you, were there and then…weren’t there anymore?”
    He thought hard, never having considered the question that way before. “Perhaps…fifty. In the early days there weren’t nearly as many there as there were more recently. Now there are far more in training.”
    â€œIn captivity, you mean.”
    Nodding, he held out a hand. “I know I should have told you all of it from the beginning, Lilith, but I just didn’t know if I could trust you or not. I thought you might have been sent to kill me.”
    Sighing, she took his hand, and he pulled her closer. She never took her eyes from his as she came to him and said, “I can see that’s not the only reason you lied to me. There’s more.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWill you tell me?”
    They walked along the edge of the stream, with him still holding her hand. It was small inside his, but strong.
    â€œWhat were we, before they ‘turned’ us? I mean, did we have any special powers or abilities?” she asked.
    â€œWe were just humans, but special ones. The keepers tell us that they take children like us to live at The Farm for our own protection.”
    â€œProtection?” She tipped her head sideways, staring up at him with her green eyes wide and curious. “From what?”
    â€œFrom other vampires. The Wildborns. Vampires who make each other. But the keepers say if they find one of the Chosen—that’s us, before we’re made