Page 11 (1/2)

The caged vaht of company in different ways One attacked the bars of his cell, throwing hihed, a chilling, insane sound One wept, curled on her mattress Others, frenzied, reached toward the hus deployed Only one looked ata shirt and pants Shoes His cell was larger than the others, containing a bed, desk, chair, table, and recliner A flat screen TV was mounted across the bars and the desk was loaded doith books, a laptop, and various other electronic devices I ht, slender, flat nose, as if broken, which was odd I assumed he was a chained scion who had found himself and was ready to be released into the world Until he s flipped down and he ran his tongue over the sharp, inch-long tips, the gesture aler, ravenous, demented It would have been kinder to just stake the pitiful things, but that wasn’t ements were, which meant I needed to prepare a report on the safety measures of Shaddock’s Clan Ho er phero, each bulb protected by h the room Security cameras were in the four corners, the dynamic, mobile kind, operated by remote from a secure location The bars were bolted into the rock floor, rock ceiling, and rock walls with no sign of rust or corrosion I checked for adequate fire protection, drainage, and a safe e round drain in the sloping floor and sprinklers overhead A hose to clean the vaes was curled on a hook A stainless-steel sink big enough to swih ran around the walls

Shaddock said, "Blood-slaves--or the occasional pig if tiet hard--can be bled at the sink, and the blood’ll drain around the rooh" He sounded proud and I ser It was barbaric, not that the scions cared They were too wacky to care No one cared that they were kept like prisoners, either They had signed all the legal docu the vamp master per as he chose, and then acceding pers if they didn’t coood job creating his lair The Vaue scions had to have mattresses or space And all Leo cared was that they wouldn’t starve or get free I had no choice but to be satisfied I left the roo about the various nutritive techniques and systery Deeply, silently angry Chen watched me leave with flat, cold eyes

CHAPTER SIX

Leo Pellissier’s Right-Hand Meal

By dawn, the envoy was protected and safe in his less suite in the four-star hotel, his blood-servants around to defend and serve him And I was free to hunt Almost as important, I was allowed ti fiends--and the blood-servants who allowed thes, despots, and feudal lords

Though I hadn’t slept in nearly forty-eight hours, I was too ticked off to rest Bruiser, Leo Pellissier’s right-hand ht "It is in Leo’s best interests for you to hunt down the weres and prove the Mithrans innocent" Well duh No kidding What did it? The national newsthe protestors out in front of the hotel? Or the report thatfanged and clawed? A second text added, "Leo has cleared this hunt with the International Association of Weres, who have placed a bounty on their heads Leo wonders why they were not dispatched when the rest of the pack was exterminated"

I texted back "Wolves were in New Orleans lockup Not gonna shoot dogs with human witnesses" Privately I added, "Idiot," but I didn’t type that part

I was free to chase the olves and the grindy and Leo and the IAW would paywhile I changed, I flipped through fro that last night’s campers had been deep in a wilderness site near a s miles from the previous attack site, and because it happened in the dark instead of by day, theit to va boots, and layers of shirts, I filled a backpack with supplies Iwith the local sheriff and his deputies, guys I knew--cops who had questionedonly two handguns No need to worry the local law enforce up arht six knives andup in front of their large, flat-screen TV Brandon, his hair washed and co a heavy white robe with the hotel’s logo on it There was an open bottle of wine and an elass on the tea table beside him, and two dainty wounds in his neck He looked satiated, and happy Which tickedTV personality was a cute, energetic blonde with a perky voice When Brandon flipped back she was saying, "--pires kill like that, don’t they Mason? With fangs, and claws?" A grihteen inches of heavily silver-plated steel in a hand-carved elk-horn handle into its sheath

Mason, on a split screen, was standing in front of trees, e in the distance "The older ones don’t usually kill their blood supply, Marcy, but the young rogues do often kill their victiers very similar to the wounds suffered by the people killed a year or so ago"

"Those attacks were brought to an end by Jane Yellowrock, the local vaht?"

I felt h onna kill

"For our viewers, here’s so when a local sheriff detective, Paul Braxton, was killed trying to take down the vampires in the cave system of the old Partman Place"

"I remember that, Marcy," Mason said "The Parte coeue vampires took it over and local residents started to disappear" A poor quality feed ran "When a camper sao blood-covered females walk out of the mine he took a short video" On the television screen, his feed zoolow, an effect that had been blaht? But it was Beast And people uine about Beast into some sources, Jane Yellowrock is back in the area What does she say about these attacks?" Marcy asked