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"How much human blood do you have on hand here?" I ask

"Quite a bit Since the seethe has groe&039;ve been taking pints froe" She bustles over to see and a thought occurs to me-I can&039;t leave E She could hurt the doctor or any of the eo"

I nod while stepping away for a moment I open up a rab a set of the cloth-covered silver chains we&039;ve got in the dungeon roo a little fun I don&039;t know about?

Nah, I want to secure E the poison flushed out I don&039;t trust her here while she&039;s healing

I take it you made it safely to the doctor&039;s with her? No problems?

I ran into Stan, but other than that, no I told him Emiko was nowhere in the vicinity and he went off in another direction

Okay I&039;ll have Paul bring the chains up

Thanks, lance back over my shoulder reveals the Asian vaht is slowly filling with her tainted blood and the first pint of plasone already "Dr Cook, she&039;ll need to be restrained"

"This one? She&039;s not going to be able toany chances The chains go on whether you like it or not"

A sigh co to tell me how to do my job next, too?"

I smile at the woman&039;s brashness; she&039;s the one of the few huy than a hulare "I wouldn&039;t dream of it"

"I&039;ll be back in ten I left so door, sheclose to "redheaded smart ass" under her breath I&039;m alone with Emiko and the drip of the plasht space of the exa room

"For the record, I really don&039;t think you were trying to escape Like I said, it ainst the hunters" I lean over the prone forold skin stretched across a broad face with delicate features coer locked in place, but fixed on my face "The full paralysis could take hours to wear off, but it looks like your eyes are able to track"

I settle on the edge of the table so she can still see s I need to do and I&039; to have to restrain you for the safety of my employees Not that I think you&039;ll launch off the table and suck the to take a chance

"I heard about you carving up Sanji Interesting method you chose in which to communicate Did you know the sauilty&039; was used on an Ancient several centuries ago? Although, from the story I heard, there was only the one word carved and not two It was never proven-the body turned to ash in the sun"

I let that little detail sink in, seeing her eyes widen slightly in understanding Yes, I just ad into his flesh first, but it&039;s her word against ht she ht wind up here in our seethe after this whole debacle ends

"Asa said you wanted to talk with me, but I fear this whole adventure will be over before you have a chance Could it be you are truly a pawn in this whole setup? That the criainst you conveniently e put our request in to &039;buy&039; a rogue for this expedition?"

I stare off in the distance, trying once again to reach into her mind The silver still repulses h "Or could it be that someone in the Inner Circle really wants your valuable property for their own gain?" I tap a finger tome crazy"

I leave my perch and pace back and forth in her field of vision, her eyes tracking me the whole time "If you are innocent, at least of the cri you with, I would love to thwart their plans for inheriting your holdings

"Interesting loophole in vampiric society, isn&039;t it? The one to kill you drinks your blood and inherits your wealth" The room&039;s dimensions only allow for three paces before I have to turn, hindering hts "Certainly paints a target on the back of any vampire master with no seethe to stand behind the body in desperate need of funds"

I pause insterile alcohol wipes or sanitary gloves, I wait &039;til it&039;s done and change it out for a fresh one "You worked so hard to get to where you were, didn&039;t you?" I glance to her eyes for answer; they still remain locked on me, no hint of emotion in the dark depths "Why try to draw out my man, Asa, with the sword display and sliced words? Did you think the forced sex in the bowling alley would make him susceptible to your pleas?"

Theonce ood doctor back into her suite twice to finish her tea and relax I don&039;t want her privy to what&039;s being said and e

"Twelve years in silver was your sentence, yes?" I&039; annoyed I can&039;t read her "Blink once for &039;yes&039; and twice for &039;no&039;" Emiko blinks once "Any idea ould have happened to your accumulated wealth while imprisoned?" Two blinks I smile "Without a seethe, the Tribunal appoints soe&039; it in your absence Convenient, huh?" No response, but it was rhetorical anyway

"Bet you can figure out that if the Tribunal had a need, your estate would be &039;donating for the cause&039; on your behalf" Worry and tension plagueof guests and ain, the conflict boiling up inside itive? It can&039;t be a coincidence The wo up dirt onon? Has she truly been occupied with her guards in the fun rooh the brains of rips my heart as I start to think back How many of the employees have ever been involved with one of my projected illusions? As far as I can recall, it&039;s been very few I&039;ve only used the glamour-induced sex fantasies on the clientele The anxiety I felt when Ivan threatened the individual safety of the people I protect is nothing co could crule of body parts and lies

Coraline could trigger a do every secret I&039;ve kept hidden froanized hunt across the globe our kind has ever seen I&039;d be hunted like a daer within rises and I try to calm down The Tribunal corruption started slowly fro up little by little over the decades, until I&039;m not even sure if the eleven Ancients were aware there were two factions in their midst-those who skitter close to the black pit within their souls and those who have already fallen prey to the monster, but hide it well

There&039;s a knock behind me I sense Paul in the hall, no doubt with the chains in his possession Opening the metal door, I usher the chef in I speak to Emiko like the last minute wasn&039;t filled with silence, "What it really co the cloth covered silver chains froloved hands, I turn back to the i sort"

Her face is still paralyzed, but her eyes reveal more expression than when I first uncovered her in the snow It&039;s hard to discern if it&039;s fear I see swirling in their depths, or cold detach vampire, fully infused with fresh human blood, turn on the people under my care?

As I drape a thin chain over her chest, I find I can&039;t be bothered with arguing the point within ained for, more than any of us could have foreseen Trust the facts or follow your instincts? Until I can confir on with this wo on the side of extre a lock to secure the chains under the table, I ru to attach the plastic zip strips, used for God knohat in a clinic, ork nicely Sliding back the black fabric at the end of the chain, I slip the sturdy plastic through a link, careful to avoid contact with the draining et under the table and attach the down and repeating the steps on the dangling portion hanging past the other side of the elevated end of the table One slight touch and a painful burn slides uploves

"You okay down there? Soritted teeth The plastic threads through the intended link and I secure the chain tightly under the table I scramble out and take the next strand of silver from Paul This one I loop first around the left wrist, then the right, wrapping the length over and over before binding the ends with another plastic tie

I continue with the same method on her feet When I&039; out of an old Spy vs Spy co spy trussed up with black cord, but in this case it&039;s with silver hidden under the fabric

"Good job," says Paul "Think it will hold her?"

"It should"

"Would it hold you?"

Odd he would askthe bounds of e can do as va not to answer aloud in front of Eet h to break thatand looks across the roo and pulls gloves on to swap it for a fresh one

"This flush will take all the plash," she says

"Switch to blood when you run out," I say "Ten pints in the average body, right?"

She nods "But from my experience, your breed takes ery looks to ot enough blood on hand We le of sensation heralds hts, Hon, we&039;re about to start staging the scene You need to be here for this, right?

Yeah, I check the time to see it&039;s close to three I&039;ll be there in a few

"Dr Cook?" I ask "You can handle the rest from here?"

"Yes, dear I&039;ll call you if I encounter any proble of poisoned blood, and I inforht scene

"What will I be doing?" he asks

"Why, you&039;ll be the dead Eruesoreen