Gifts of Blood Author:Susan Petrey This is the story, seen through the eyes of two brothers, of a tribe on the Russian steppes, the Varkela -- known also as the Children of the Night, known also as vampires. Nothing like their hideous cousins who made Transylvania famous, the Varkela have always earned the blood they need to survive by trading traditional healing skills. — But in ... more »part because they refuse to resort to force, the tribe grows ever smaller, and as they decline in numbers the Varklela become ever more darkly mysterious to outsiders -- and the new tribes jostling their way into vacated Varkelan holdings are more inclined to persecution than trade. Unless something changes, soon the Varkelans, both as a tribe and as a race, will be extinct.
Two brothers, wild Spareen and gentle Vaylance, each in his own way, must brave fear and overcome hatred to win the Gift of Blood.« less