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Pulling on Beast’s night vision, I spotted hu that security was better there than in town Or perhaps the fact that Eli and I had taken the humans down so quickly had warped up the human servants’ awareness

Eli pulled directly to the front door and stopped, the tires grinding on the white shells Not asphalt made hite shells, which was coravel When we got out and walked to the front steps, the sound of the shells beneathbrittle bones We walked up the seven steps and stopped in front of the door To the three well-ar there, I said in my best vampire fancy talk, "Jane Yellowrock and company, here to provide surcease from illness and pain for the Master of the City of Natchez and his scions" Which I thought sounded spiffy

One of the humans opened the door and two stepped aside I walked in, knowing that Eli had co fast, and faced back at the opening until the door closed softly Then heit out while I stood in the center of the nificent circular space and took it all in The scents hit me first: vamps, candle wax, smoke, leather, roses, and the faint s

I had been in Leo’s Clan hooire’s, and Rosanne’s in Sedona, and others’, and they were all like soly Rich and Fanged, but, frankly, I’d never seen or i H’s house The foyer was thirty feet wide, round, and three stories tall, with a three-tiered, hu down from forty feet overhead A stairway curved around and around the walls, rising the full three stories, its handrail painted gold and shiold-veined white ilt work on the ceilingin white and gold candle holders, the flae round table to ht--white, of course--centered with a scarlet vase three feet tall and filled hite, gold, and scarlet roses A sitting area was across from it, the furniture upholstered in white leather and tone-on-tone cloth, set with scarlet pillows and resting on a scarlet rug White silk draperies cascaded along the s, tied back with scarlet tassels A scarlet and gold faeometric--on white silk took up one wall

There were arched openings in theroom with an ebony table and chairs that could easily seat forty The table was covered with a white linen cloth and set hite-and-gold place settings Through another was a traditional living room, all the furniture upholstered in white leather Another rooh a fourth opening came the aroma of old books, and I wondered if they had all been re-covered in white bindings or wrapped in white paper, and a small smile lifted my lips It was overdone and tasteless, and the blood-splattered-on-drained-flesh ie of the color scheme could not have been by accident

"You likeone floor above , Aweso a red silk dressing gown that matched the scarlet of the décor, hite silk jammies beneath On his feet hite calf-skin slippers that I could see when he leaned over the balustrade, hands on the banister, his ugly necklace dangling away froently

"You brought the antidote to the Sanguine pestis?"

My ether "The cure for the va "All I need are the vaht, out of politeness Iwithout cause "And a table and chair"

From the doorways on the second level, va behind H, all looking eager and s wear and not ja the way into the dining room, and I counted twenty-two vamps Their sickly sweet stench overpowered the scent of roses and leather I glanced at Eli, but he was otherwise engaged, keeping an eye on everything else It was good to knowroo at the table, with H at the far end The chair there was shaped like his peacock chair at the warehouse, butthat was now extinct, and he had one elbow on the chair arm and the other on the table top, his sleeve rolled up

None of the others was sitting in that position, so I strode down the table to him and set my medical kit on the surface When I opened it, I could feelout on the pristine white tablecloth "I have sterile needles and syringes, several bottles of the antibodies, gauze pads, and alcohol pads" When the kit was empty I placed the container on the floor and said, "This is really easy I just roll up your sleeve, draw up the antibody fluid in the syringe, and give you a shot into your arm muscle Because your hearts beat so seldom and your blood flows so slowly, it will take a day or two to totally flow through your tissues But because you don’t have huestive functions and processes, you need only one dose Your bodies don’t filter out the drug, so it stays at a high concentration for long enough to kill the disease The only side effect is a total lack of energy, requiring most vampires to stay in their lairs for a while with their blood-servants, where they feel safe Oh And everyone complained of a bitter taste in their mouths"

"All who feel the need to restit a proclaain until all are well" The va for this bitter taste?" Big H asked me "It has beento Leo’s people, the shortest ti ones The longest ti H said

I cleaned the bottle top, opened and inserted a sterile needle, drew up one dose of the drug into a three- one needle in the bottle and putting a fresh one on the syringe I hoped I was doing this right I’d seen it done in iven a shot To refresh et the basics down, but I had no idea if the videographer knehat she was doing I cleaned Big H’s upper arm and popped the needle into the er down and let the clear liquid enter Big H’s arauze on it and said, "If it doesn’t stop bleeding, have a healthy va H’s brow crinkled in surprise, and his eyebroould have risen had he possessed any

"Yeah I know Gross, right?" I said Then I shtly down the table "Next?"

By five fifty am, the vamps were all dosed up and had departed or headed to the MOC’s guest sleeping quarters, leavingH The MOC still occupied the flared-out chair and lounged back in it, one foot up on his chair seat, one elbow resting on his knee, and a glass of red wine before him, which he turned around and around on the linen cloth His other hand swung the ugly necklace in the air,as a hypnotist He hadn’this scions Soh Hefner It had to be the silk jammies and the décor

A silence settled on the room as I packed up es, and if Eli hadn’t been there, still watching aze It was al out his coave me the heebie-jeebies I snapped closed the lid to thethe strap over ood-bye The MOC beat uely, as if you have not drunk froer than ed "I’m the part-timer, remember"

"Mmmm How many of my enemies and my people have you dispatched since your arrival?"

The topic switch took a moment to follow, but Bruiser had called Clark about Silandre, so this must be my co and attacked us in the woods Silandre had gone over to the dark side and was drinking humans to death We killed three of her scions Silandre and the others got away or healed from silver shot and scuttled off like insects I sent pictures to your scion with a request for payment"

"I did not authorize Silandre or her scions"

"Yeah About that Leo approved her beheading, and I expect to be paid as per our revised contract," I said, thanking er brothers had amended hH made no alterations in his body posture orslightly up and doith each turn "You will be paid according to our agreees "Lucas de Allyon was evil He took being a Naturaleza to new and lower depths He wanted for reater power over humans He desired a return to the sun All that he set in place--" Big H stopped as if his words had been cut off He sat up in his chair and pushed his wineglass away, still holding his copper necklace like a talis "All that Lucas did was of the dark," he finished, his voice a croak

I wasn’t sure why Hieronyround He had been around for longer even than Leo and had enslaved andthem doith abandon, Cherokee, Mississippians, Natchez, and Choctaw, just for starters The old vamp had killed so many of my own people, the skinwalkers of the Cherokee, that we never recovered our numbers He was the first European to import and own slaves fro hiret "Any idea how the new Naturaleza e to heal from mortal wounds and silver?" I finally asked