Page 180 (1/2)

Chapter One

I've couardian I'll even adue supernatural elements who prey on human and non-humans alike

But that doesn't mean there still aren't times when I absolutely hate my job

Getting a call-out at three AM on a bitterly cold winter night was definitely one of those tiaining a reputation as the 'it' spot for blood whores - which was the common term for humans hooked on the pleasures of a vampire's bite

Nor their kicks any damn way they pleased, but for humans - and it only see addicted to a vampire's bite was definitely one of the quicker ways to court death They sith, the speed, or even the will power to battle a va Hell, many supernaturals didn't, either

And while h to give the addicted his or her hit, there were always soer rushes, and there were always vae

And sometimes that meant death

It had becoovernrowing nu to the vampire bars There were even calls to outlaw the practice - though how the hell anyone was going to police that I had no idea It wasn't like ordinary cops hadvauardians Not if they wanted us to do our real job

Personally, I think they had about asall the designer drugs that were constantly hitting the streets If a junkie wanted his fix, then he'd find it no overne - the vampire 'pushers' were careful about that They had to be, because otherwise they had to deal with the Directorate Regular drug dealers just got jail time, at worst

Of course, there was no proof that the ht was yet another pleasure seeker who'd pushed too far Jack had sie in his voice hadthe time for questions But the murder had happened in the older section of Fitzroy, in a parking lot behind Dante's - and that club was a prime location for blood whores and their vampire johns

I slowed the car as I passed through the Smith Street intersection, then turned left onto Budd Street Several of the street lights were out and darkness closed in around the car The buildings here were riraffiti The few houses squeezed in between the larger buildings were dark - and with the graffiti on their walls and the filth littering their front fences, it was hard to tell whether they were occupied or not But I was a dhaifts froe The vampire part of s - although unlike my twin brother, I couldn't hear the siren call of their heart beats

And I was dalad of that, because it er for blood Rhoan hadn't, but he had er only rose in tandem with the full moon

The crime scene came into view and I pulled up behind a Directorate van The wind's icy fingers slapped across the back of my neck as I climbed out, and I hastily zipped up my jacket then pulled up the collar It didn't help ht be a olf, and therefore supposedly immune to the winter, but the cold and I had never been on friendly terms

I shovedlot The rotating blue lights of the squad cars washed the night and the few bystanders in a ghostly glow, but as far as I could see or feel, there were no actual ghosts in the area And if this was just a feeding taken too far, then there probably wouldn't be As far as I knew, the souls that hung around tended to be the ones who'dthey needed to finish before they ories, because they'd gone to their deaths knowing the dangers and not caring one bit

And that's probably what annoyedwith death, yet when he answered, everyone got righteously ht and killed And the guardians were obliged to obey, because that was the law But killing a blood whore wasn't a simple act of murder It was consensual, and that raised a whole different set of issues And although I did believe the va thereed