Legacy in Blood (Book 1 of The Begotten of Old Series) by Masha Dark Page A

to a mutually advantageous cooperation, a certain symbiosis, a coexistence that was to the benefit of both sides. The Sentinel was the best security known to him. Upon contact with any living creature, his corporeal mantle emitted a certain poison. This poison could penetrate anything, even though the protective layers of specialized clothing; it was mortally dangerous and acted almost instantly. The poison destroyed humans, animals, and birds, but was harmless to him. In exchange he fed the Sentinel . It feasted on human emotions, exclusively negative ones. Terror, hatred, envy, agony – all these were nourishment for the Sentinel, as well as plentiful in his home.
    The categorical taboo against walking on his beloved lawn was perceived by the maintenance staff just like the prohibition against illuminating the grounds. True, some people were astonished that this grass was always so impeccably cut since there was no gardener in the household. They were astonished, but readily supplied an answer to their own question – it must be a special kind of grass. Genetic engineering, an exclusive personal commission, a powerful lot of money – whatever. In the final analysis, how was the master’s excess any of their business? The wealthy have their whims. And for them the main thing was that their wages be paid on time. As for Stella and Jan, they had not asked him about anything in a long time.
    At a brisk pace, almost a run, he passed by the guest house and in a single, powerful leap, he jumped over the high, blank wall. Just for a moment a large black shadow appeared in the heavens and then it dissolved back into the darkness.
    However, human curiosity knew no limits. His rivals in business, his political opponents, journalists, and his neighbors in the housing community asked with envious regularity about his lack of bodyguards, or even security guards. How could he get by without a single bodyguard? In just the past year there had been seventeen attempts on his life. But even more strange was the fact that each time he remained safe and unharmed. How could that be? He always shrugged his shoulders and said he’d been lucky since birth. His health was sound. Plus, he did not drink, he did not smoke, he stayed fit.
    He imperceptibly brushed past the guard booth and was outside the boundaries of the development’s territory.
    Meanwhile, his appearance changed. The soft, baggy human body, which for the past decade and a half had been serving as refuge for his preternatural essence, gave way to that which was inside. Now he was a head taller in height and wider in the shoulders. His gnarled, muscular legs ended in huge seven-toed paws, and the strong, grey-yellow claws on his deformed toes no longer had anything in common with human nails. The skin on his whole body coarsened and now resembled scales.
    The muscles on his torso bulged to such an incredible extent that they would have caused envy in the most prominent and steroid-ridden bodybuilder in the world. His arms, which were also overgrown with muscles, lengthened and ended in paws. His fingers themselves elongated into wickedly curved claws, which could rip his prey in half with one swipe.
    Even his penis changed, transforming into a thing of gigantic proportions that now hung down between his scaled thighs like proof of his incontestable and inhuman masculinity.
    His face also became different. More accurately, it was no longer a face, but a hairless, almost skeletal muzzle. His dreadful jaws, when opened, displayed two rows of razor sharp fangs. Above, the yellow eyes of a vulture gleamed wickedly and hungrily.
    The monstrosity running through the night was the living embodiment of the most macabre human nightmares. The monster savagely snapped its murderous jaws, pulling air in through its nostrils. He was hungry, and he searched the wind for the scent of decent prey.
    The man in which the monster lived was called Alexander Soigu. The monster itself had a completely