Page 41 of Call of the Blood

What I wasn’t ready for was stairs in my heels, but I survived. Finally, there was a line of rooms, all on one side, and one door was prominently in the middle and seemed to have the most space around it. Someone waited outside it and opened it for us.

And there she was, looking like she belonged in the VIP section of a club. Maria. She was part executive, part model, but it was the way she looked at us that made me remember she was a member of the Tribunal and, politically, the most powerful female vampire in the world. She was standing by a couch, looking out of what I assumed was a one-way window, where she could see them, but the club couldn’t see her.

“I figured neither of you are the type to enjoy walking through the crowd and getting the attention from the more public entrance to my suite.”

“Thank you for the consideration,” Alexius said, heading closer to her, but he sat down instead of enjoying the view.

“It’s nice to see you. Thank you for the invitation, Mistress Maria,” I said, aiming for politeness. Then I walked closer, but I couldn’t resist the curiosity to look out the window.

It was a normal club in some ways, but around the edges what I expected. People danced, a DJ played, the beat dropped as I stood there, and the red lights flashed and spun and did a bit of a show. And in the corners were booths with curtains. There were open-air tables, but the entire edge of the club, except entrances and exits, was lined with these booths. And I could certainly guess what was happening in the ones that were closed.

“So, people feed right out there,” I murmured.

“Yeah, if that’s what they like,” Maria said. While I was pondering, she was informative. “There’re private rooms as well. People are bolder in their needs in those. The cleaning crew makes up seventy-five percent of the staff purely because of those rooms.” She chuckled as I looked at her with what must have been a semi-horrified expression. “No bodies. Just bodily fluids. Blood is the most common, but it’s not the only one. While every vampire is given some leave for accidents so long as they are rare, accidents on the grounds of the club are, for me, a reason to get banned. It makes it harder to keep this place safe when we have to remove bodies. Can’t have humans saying their friends came to the secret, underground club and many of them aren’t coming back.”

“So, it’s… exactly what I kind of figured it would be like,” I said, nodding as I sat down next to Alexius, but trying to keep a foot between us, so our knees wouldn’t accidentally knock or anything.

“Feel free to go explore it tonight,” Maria said, turning her smile on me. “I know you don’t get to experience much of this in Savannah. Tell me, how has Los Angeles been treating you? Different from what you must be used to.”

“Yes, it is,” I confirmed. “Vampires going to cafes and a restaurant that serves us. A bit of a culture shock. Like a hidden social world underneath the city. I bet if I was here for a year, I’d find these places better and start to really see, but even in the few days I’ve had so far, it’s been impressive.”

“Wonderful. I know Savannah has a few unique amenities, but there isn’t much to beat one of the main cities. New York has much of the same types of places, but you went to see Isaiah in his country home. Robbed. Instead, you had to deal with the drama of the older generations.”

“So, you… know.”

“Of course. Read the full report with no omissions. Cambion blood, the plot of the Greeks, still holding their grudge against the Romans. One would think with immortality that old grudges about boundaries of countries and empires would be let go, but…” Maria sighed, then shrugged. “With Isaiah having all the crucial people to question, there’s not much I can do except be on watch and hopefully get my hands on any of the others involved in the plot. While Isaiah and I disagree on a great many things, we are fully aligned with the safety of the vampires and the stability of our culture and place in the supernatural world.” Maria shook her head and met my gaze.

“Beyond all of that, my point stands. You’re a young vampire who has missed interesting things about how supernaturals move now and how vampires fit into that in a larger, wider view of our kind and the current world. A pity. So, I’m glad that Los Angeles has shown you some of that.”

“Thank you. I’m sure you take such consideration to check in with every new vampire and see how they’re faring,” I said, still trying to be polite, a smile plastered on my face.

“Does she think I would miss her sarcasm?” Maria asked Alexius, then looked back at me before Alexius could even reply. “Of course not. You’re important because Alexius is important. Being associated with him is a one-way ticket to infamy, and you are the only person to want that ticket. The rest of us deal with it as a consequence of other choices. Someone should check in with you every so often.”

“Maria, it grows tiring to have other vampires continuously talk about my way of life like it’s beneath them,” Alexius said, his position unchanged since the moment he sat down.

“And more tiring when people tell me I need to live more like them than him,” I said, pointing at Alexius with a thumb. “I was, and still mostly am, an introvert. I like how quiet Savannah is. I’ll be exhausted with L.A. by the end of the month.”

“Fair enough. Well, to give you the full experience, I’m going to kick you out now. Alexius and I will talk business, and you’ll go enjoy yourself or not. The choice is yours, how you feel being out there.”

Maria waved, and it was that simple. I was expected to leave. I looked at Alexius, who sighed and nodded, telling me to listen to her.

“No work for you on this trip, remember?” he reminded me. “You can handle blood well enough to be out there. I trust you.”

“Yeah…” And in my tight black dress and strappy heels, I walked out, fully entering a world I had avoided for this long.

17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ALEXIUS

“Pretty little thing,” Maria said softly after Everly was gone. “And you can really see who she’s becoming as a vampire. There’s fire to her.”

“So says everyone who meets her,” Alexius replied, not enjoying that a light danced in the Tribunal Mistress’s eyes.

“Must be why people keep saying it. It’s spreading around. The fiery young vampire willing to burn ancients to kill monsters. The Molotov cocktail was in the report, and many of those ancients may not give details of what happened, but they are certainly talking about your protégé.” Maria chuckled. “I’m glad none of it happened when I was hosting, though I’m not sure it would have. Jacob and I were friendly, but Isaiah was his lover. You and I are cordial and professional, while Isaiah is your…” Maria searched for a word. “Old friend?”

Alexius snorted. That was a way of putting it, but to Maria, he wasn’t in the mood to go off about all the things Isaiah was or was not to him on a daily basis. And she wasn’t wrong in her estimation of the dynamics at play. Jacob and Isaiah had been so close for so long, their on-and-off-again relationship, blood lovers, bound to it, always leaving and going back. Alexius stuck watching the dance because of his familial relationship with Jacob. Maria was both unfortunate and privileged to stand outside it.