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I would find the truth in time, of that I had no doubt, and punishing a man who was already so far along in his dance with death seemed cruel—even for one like me.
I watched him as he finished bagging my order, considering his simple answer to my inquiry.
Jack, the butcher’s offspring, would take over upon his death.
Jack.
A name I’d heard in passing over the years, but nothing more. As my visits were always under the darkness of midnight at a prearranged time, the butcher was always alone, and frankly, as long as my requirements were met, I cared little about his personal life.
That was, until now.
But if Jack was to take over upon his father’s demise, I would need to meet the lad soon. The arrangement the butcher and I made decades ago was one that had no expiration. Franco knew that when we went into the agreement; I had been forthright about the details. And anyone with even a vague understanding of vampire laws knew the cost of a vampire’s bargain.
A deal with the Devil herself would be less costly.
Franco secured the bag and pushed it across the counter toward me. When he met my gaze again, his eyes were glassed with unshed tears. “Will you allow me out of our agreement?”
I closed my eyes on a long blink. “You know I cannot.”
Franco sniffed as he nodded. “I do, yes.”
The only way out of our agreement was death. Not his, but mine. Whether ten years or ten-thousand, as long as I remained walking the earth, the butcher’s progeniture would continue to serve me. He’d made a bargain, forged with blood, and nothing but my demise would terminate that bond.
To give of life is to take in return, but it was because of my benevolence that I only required a steady supply of animal blood as repayment for our bargain. Others of my kind would require far worse from their blood-bonded. Servitude in countless ways.
And I had no desire to turn humans into pets.
Or worse.
After a long stretch of silence, the butcher finally met my gaze head on. “Jack is…” He swallowed hard, the sound audible in the heavy silence. “Special.” The man’s voice cracked on the word. “Please be kind.”
I tilted my head, eyes narrowing as I watched him. There was more to this situation than he let on, but this was not time to question him. The man was weakened by illness, and though my heart was no longer human, I remembered what empathy felt like and could give him at least that. Whatever was special about this son of his would be revealed in time—and Heavens knew I had plenty of that. Franco, sadly, had very little.
“How much time do you have?” I asked.
“Not more than a week or two, I’m afraid.”
“And your affairs? I assume you have them in order?” I didn’t know what possessed me to inquire, as if I cared about his human dealings or could be of any help upon his death.
Franco nodded. “Yes, Mr. Bristol.”
I nearly flinched at the use of a surname I hadn’t heard in years.
Franco had addressed me by my given name as far back as I could recall. A funny sense of melancholy came over me then; with Franco’s death, the last person who knew the truth of my existence would be gone.
I would truly be alone.
“I could save you,” I said, and my eyes widened as, once more, words were liberated from my lips before I could think better of them.
Franco’s quick inhalation indicated his surprise, but all he said in response was, “I know.”
“You need only to ask, butcher.”
The bargain had been made between us years ago; receiving the gift of everlasting life from me now would bring about no changes to the terms of our original agreement. His bloodline belonged to me regardless, indebted as long as I walked the earth.
Certainly, I could coerce him to consume my blood, force him to turn, but immortality was not a fate I would inflict upon anyone, least of all the closest thing to a friend I had known in all of my centuries of existence.
No, he would have to choose this life. To ask me outright.
