Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead Page A

born, not made. They are ‘gifted,’ so to speak, with the ability to kill vampires.” He proceeded to relate several other details, most of which matched up with what I’d learned from Peter.
    Pondering what Cody had said, about the sense of being followed by someone he could not see, I asked, “Do they have any other special abilities that you know of? Can they go invisible?”
    â€œNot that I know of. Some immortal beings can, of course, but not vampire hunters. They’re still just mortals, after all, despite their odd talents.”
    I nodded, being one such creature who could turn invisible, though I rarely used the power. I toyed with the thought that Cody’s phantom might have been an invisible immortal, trying to play a trick, but he still should have sensed the telltale signature we all carried. Indeed, he should have sensed a mortal vampire hunter as well. The fact that he had neither seen nor felt anything lent credence to Peter’s theory that the stalker had all been in Cody’s head.
    â€œCan vampire hunters harm anyone else? Demons…or other immortal creatures?”
    â€œIt’s very hard to do anything tangible to an immortal,” he mused. “Certain denizens of good—powerful priests, for example—can drive off demons, but they can’t harm them permanently. Likewise, I’ve heard of mortals capturing supernatural creatures, but doing much more than that…I’m not saying it’s impossible, just that I’ve never heard of it. To my offhand knowledge, vampire hunters can only harm vampires. Nothing else.”
    â€œI value your offhand knowledge more than most confirmed facts.”
    He eyed me curiously. “But this isn’t the answer you were expecting.”
    â€œI don’t know. It’s pretty much what I’ve already been told. I was just thinking there might be more.”
    It was entirely possible that Jerome had been telling the truth, that this was merely a case of a rampant vampire hunter and that his warnings to Hugh and me had been simple courtesies to protect us from discomfort. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Jerome had held back information, nor did I really believe Cody to be the kind of person who imagined things.
    I must have looked perplexed because Erik offered, somewhat hesitantly it seemed, “I could look into this more for you, if you’d like. Just because I’ve never heard of something capable of harming other immortals doesn’t mean it’s out of the realm of existence.”
    I nodded. “I’d appreciate that. Thank you.”
    â€œIt’s a privilege to be of assistance to someone like you. And if you like, I could also make other inquiries into vampire hunters in general.” He paused again, choosing his words carefully. “Were such a person to be at large, certain signs would show up in the local occult community. Supplies would be bought, questions asked. Such beings do not go unnoticed.”
    Now I hesitated. Jerome had told us to be careful. I had the feeling he wouldn’t appreciate any vigilante work, though speaking with Erik now probably counted as exactly that. Surely it wouldn’t matter if I sent out my own feelers. Gathering information was not the same as me personally going out to find this person.
    â€œI’d appreciate that as well. Anything you could find out would be useful.” I finished the last of my tea and set the empty cup down. “I should probably leave now.”
    He rose with me. “Thank you for having tea with me. Being with a woman like you is generally the sort of thing that only happens in a man’s dreams.”
    I laughed gently at the veiled joke, referencing the old story of succubi visiting men in their sleep. “Your dreams are safe, Erik.”
    He returned my smile. “Come back in a few days, and I’ll tell you what I’ve learned. We’ll have tea