“We meet again.” I cracked a more genuine smile once my hand was back in my possession.
“Mr. Collins and Ms. Starsgard, I take it?” Kai said, reaching out to greet them next. Mandy looked ready to bolt, her chest swelling and eyes dilating. It was the same reaction she always had when encountering a new vampire. But then a hard mask slipped over her features, and her jaw clenched as she let Kai take her hand and give it the perfunctory shake.
“Have many others arrived yet?” I asked, dropping my voice when Kai gave me a pointed look.
“Grab your gear,” he said. “I’ll fill you in on the ride.”
I swallowed and nodded, remembering that we were in a public parking garage, however deserted it might appear.
We grabbed our bags out of the Toyota and silently followed Kai through an unmarked service door. A massive elevator waited on the other side, along with a concrete set of stairs leading up and another leading down.
Kai directed us toward the elevator, where he swiped a keycard hanging from his belt down the front of a small, black box on the wall. The elevator opened, and he led us inside. The lift was big enough for at least two dozen full-grown men.
“One more minute,” Kai said at my questioning gaze, as if he suspected we were being listened to. Once we stepped out into the sub-basement level, he marched us around the corner and down a dark passage with poor lighting that flickered every so often. Somewhere nearby, I heard a pipe drip.
The offending smell of mildew and gasoline slowed my pace, and from the corner of my eye I watched Mandy cover her mouth and nose. Collins squeezed her shoulder with his free hand and then tucked away the handle of his wheeled suitcase before lifting it off the grimy concrete.
Not long after, Kai stopped at the mouth of a tunnel, where…a golf cart waited.
The image seemed to tickle Mandy.
“To the Batmobile,” she whispered over my shoulder. I sucked in a tight breath to keep from laughing as Kai gave us an annoyed scowl. I was sure it wasn’t the first time someone had made the joke.
The contraption was a larger, luxurious model that I was sure many a celebrity frequented the greens in, but Kai dwarfed the thing. His hulking shoulders filled most of the front row and extended a few inches outside the driver’s side opening.
“Well? All aboard,” he said, slapping the seat beside him.
Mandy quickly filed into the backseat, deliberately ignoring the invitation. Collins tried to be less obvious as he circled the cart and took the spot beside her, leaving me to take up the narrow perch next to Kai.
He grinned at me as he twisted the keys in the ignition, and then we were off, whizzing through winding tunnels that seemed to be on a slight decline. I clutched my bag in my lap with one hand and gripped the edge of my seat with the other as we took a sharp turn without slowing. If not for the full-capacity weight to hold it down, I was sure it would have tipped over.
“You’re early,” Kai said, his voice booming above the high-pitched hum of the engine. “The recruits from House Hanson arrived just before you, but the rest are yet to come. It’s a small lot this season. Two wolves, four humans, and six vampires.” He shook his head as if disappointed. “They’re an unusually young lot, too. I suppose that’s why the duke was so willing to include you and your brood, unprepared as you are.”
The insult lacked malice, but it stung, knowing we’d been scraped from the bottom of the barrel. I bit the inside of my cheek and kept my mouth shut. Telling Kai off was not the way to win favor—and I had a feeling I was going to need all the help I could get over the next three months. Roman had said most of the vampire recruits spent fifty years with their sires before being admitted. I had a summer under my belt and a mostly self-taught vampling 101 crash course. Calling me unprepared was being kind.
“As a new vampling, it’s no surprise that you still have your human name,” Kai went on. “And being orphaned so young, it would be understandable if you eventually pledged yourself to another household. In the meantime, you’ll all be addressed as recruits from House Zajalvo.”
Collins perked at the topic of my late sire. I’d given him the shorthand lie Roman had constructed for me. Nothing more. It was safest that way.
“Here we are.” Kai slowed the cart as we neared the end of the tunnel. Bright light flooded the exit. I squinted as we emerged from it, taking in the cavernous space.
It was like the inside of an enormous warehouse. Even brightly lit, there were sections of the ceiling that faded into shadows, spanning at least ten stories over our heads. A pathway, wide enough for a pair of golf carts to fit through, winded between dozens of squat buildings. In the far distance, on the opposite side of the training base, the structure appeared unfinished—no, not unfinished, I realized after looking closer.
It was the domed mouth of a cave. A huge cave. As if the engineers had dissected it right down the middle, and then decided that it was too beautiful to hollow out for their top secret facility. Purple and blue tinged crystals crusted the curved wall. The smooth, flat concrete enclosing the rest of the space tapered off at both sides and the ceiling, bleeding into the natural façade. Through a gap in the buildings, I spied a dark body of water sunk into the floor under the haunting cave ceiling.
“You’ll be staying in separate barracks designated for each program,” Kai said. He braked as we neared a row of plain, windowless buildings. The doors were unmarked, but I supposed if this place was ever discovered by the muggles—or whatever they called the humans who weren’t in the know—it would be marginally easier to explain away if HERE BE VAMPIRES wasn’t spelled out for them.
A tall, black woman in fatigues and a matching beret saluted Kai as the golf cart rolled to a stop in front of her. “Chief,” she greeted him as her dark eyes assessed us.
“Sergeant,” Kai said, tossing a casual salute back at her. Then he twisted his massive frame around to look at Mandy. “This is your stop, Starsgard. Sergeant Carmichael oversees our canine training division.”
Mandy pressed her lips together and gave me a pleading look.
“Good luck,” I whispered and squeezed her hand.
“Starsgard, is it?” Sergeant Carmichael asked as Mandy climbed out of the golf cart. The woman had a bit of an accent. British, perhaps.
“Yes…ma’am?” Mandy squeaked.
“This way.” She turned on her booted heels and marched through the doorway of the nearest building. Mandy hurried to keep up, flinging her knapsack over her shoulder.
We dropped off Collins next, to a pale man in matching black fatigues. He was stacked almost as well as Kai, but with hair as white as Roman’s. I wondered if he was half-sired, but I felt it would be too rude to ask him outright.
“The vampire barrack is at the other end of the facility,” Kai said. “I’m afraid you won’t be seeing much of your harem during training, though, there are a few group exercises in the last month.”
My back straightened. “I won’t be seeing much of them? You mean other than to feed?”
Kai shook his head. “The mortal recruits don’t give blood during training.”
“Uh…” This was going to pose a problem.
“There’s a communal harem,” he said, one corner of his mouth hitching up in a teasing grin. “Many of the houses send their own donors, but for a nominal fee, some choose the simplicity of feeding on the resident bleeders.”
“Nominal fee?” I winced. My savings were being stretched thin as it was, having to cover the bills for the three months Mandy and I would be gone. We’d canceled the Wi-Fi and cable, and the thermostat was set to kick the furnace on only if the temperature dropped below fifty degrees.
“An anonymous sponsor covered your harem dues,” Kai said. My neck snapped as I jerked my head around to gawk at him.
“Who?”
“And that’s why they’re called anonymous.” He snorted. “You’ll have first pick, seeing as how you’re so early.”
“But House Hanson—”
“Brought their own,” Kai injected before nodding his chin at a building we were fast approaching. It was bigger than the others, which made sense. The vampire program was the largest, considering they made up seventy percent of all Blood Vice agents, and I was guessing that this communal harem would be included in the layout as well.
Kai parked the golf cart in a small lot beside the building and killed the engine. I was about to ask if he was over the vampire program, when he glanced down at his watch.
“Sergeant Sorano should be here soon,” he said.
“Vanessa?” My voice broke. Roman’s ex was going to be my trainer?
“Faye Sorano,” Kai amended, narrowing his eyes at me. My poker face needed all kinds of work. “Vanessa’s sire,” he added, smothering my relief.
“Okay.” It wasn’t like I could object, and quitting wasn’t an option. I shifted my body, trying to get comfortable on the small square of bench. “What is it that you do here?”
Kai leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. “I’m a pencil pusher.” He barked out a jolting laugh at my surprise.
“But…Sergeant Carmichael called you Chief.”
“It’s a nickname.” His laughter tapered. “I instruct the law course. I also supervise the recruits and records divisions and assist with the program finals.”
I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to be angry with Roman for misleading me and making me look like a fool…but when I really thought about it, he had introduced Kai as an instructor rather than a trainer. Clearly, I was capable of looking like a fool all on my own.
Kai glanced at his watch again. “I suppose I could go ahead and take you to the harem for a light repast. I was about to head that way myself,” he said, climbing out of the golf cart.
The vehicle rocked, nearly pitching me off the edge of my seat. I gripped the corner pole holding up the roof and sucked in a tight breath. When the vehicle settled, I quickly exited it, threw my duffle bag over my shoulder, and followed Kai through the barrack entrance.
The narrow hallways were equally bare, with not so much as an awards placard or bulletin board to break up the monotonous, gray concrete that formed every building I’d seen so far. The doors we passed were steel and also lacking windows. A few of them were paired with small, black boxes similar to the one that Kai had used his keycard on for the elevator. And a few rooms lacked doors altogether. Kai nodded and announced them as we passed by.
“Sergeant Sorano’s quarters, my quarters, laundry, showers.” He pointed a finger toward the end of the hall. “The cadet crypt is down that way, and the harem is right here.” He sighed, his shoulders shivering as he ran his keycard down the front of the black box next to the door.
As we entered the foyer of the harem, my mood perked instantly. The walls were hung with shimmery curtains looped in artful patterns befitting of a theater. Incense fogged the air, and exotic music chimed from some unseen speaker. Voices echoed from two adjacent hallways. Soon after, a swarm of humans appeared.
The variety was overwhelming. Some were doe-eyed and bashful, others brazen and flirty. A man in a three-piece suit gave me a reserved smile before beaming at Kai. It occurred to me that the large vampire might prefer donors who could supply him with more blood than the waifish women I’d fed from.
An alarm broke through the music, blaring out three short bursts before falling silent, and Kai swore under his breath.
“Another recruit is arriving,” he explained. “I have to go.” He waved a hand at the menagerie of donors. “You’re allowed to select four. I’d do that now before the others arrive. Then head to the crypt and get settled in a bunk. Lineup is out front at twenty hundred hours. Be early. Faye comes down hardest on whoever takes last place on the first day.”
After that, he was gone, back through the open doorway we’d just entered through.
I turned around slowly, taking in the curious eyes awaiting my decision.
Chapter Five
There were a lot of things I missed about being human. Not having to court my food—and not having my food court me—were near the top of the list. The pork chops I put in my shopping cart hadn’t rejoiced, and the ones left in the grocery store cooler hadn’t sulked. Ah, the good old days.
The longer I stood there, waiting for one of the harem donors to make the first move, the more inexperienced I could tell I appeared in their eyes. A few slinked off, ducking back down either hallway as if they had no interest in servicing a novice. This was a total disaster.
I finally worked up the required nerve to uproot myself and stalked over to a lanky man towering in the corner.
“I’m Jenna,” I said, extending my hand. Before he could accept it, a sharp voice made me jump.
“He’s taken.”
I turned my head to find a gorgeous woman standing in the threshold. Her deep red hair lay in a smooth sheet down to her waist. The color was even more startling against the backdrop of her black, knit sweater. She propped one shoulder on the doorframe and folded her arms, giving me a vicious grin. I’d expected some competition, but honestly, not so soon.
“I was told I had first pick,” I said, refusing to retract my hand, even though the man had inched away from me.
“He’s from my personal harem.” The woman’s smile flat-lined. “If you put your filthy fangs on him, I’ll be within rights to rip your throat out. From the looks of you, that won’t be much of a challenge.”
So, she was House Hanson.
“My mistake,” I said, holding up my hand in surrender as I took a step back. “I’m Jenna.”
“I’m hungry.” She flashed her fangs and hissed at me, then swept through the foyer, snatching her harem boy by the arm.
“Guess we won’t be braiding each other’s hair any time soon,” I grumbled to myself.
One of the remaining donors heard and stifled a snicker with the back of one hand. Her florescent green, high top sneakers looked radioactive, and her jean vest was so frayed I was sure it wouldn’t survive its next wash. If it had ever been washed. Half of her head was shaved, but on the other side hair sprouted from her part line in a rainbow of brilliant colors, cascading over her shoulder where it ended in knot of curls. Everything else she sported was black, from her lipstick to the spandex tights squeezing her twiggy legs.
She gave me a shy wave when my eyes finally focused on her face. “Cool top.”
“Thanks.” I glanced down and realized I was wearing one of Vin’s old softball shirts from the morgue’s weekend warrior team. It had been a comfy choice for the car ride, but in retrospect, maybe not the most tasteful apparel for a vampire. It didn’t seem to bother Rainbow Brite’s estranged, punk-goth cousin.
“Hi, my name is Natalie, and I’m a bleeder,” she said as if we were at an AA meeting. “It’s been three days since I last let a vamp suck me off.”
“Ugh,” another of the donors wailed at her, a man with a scruffy goatee. “You’re disgusting.” He walked off, and I realized it was just me and Natalie left in the foyer, surrounded by the sparkly curtains and awkward silence.
“I like you,” she finally said. “Wanna bite me?”
“Why?” I wondered if this was going to be more of a Lydia or Stella situation.
Natalie blinked, considering my question with a thoughtful frown. “It pays well and hurts less than getting a tattoo, but it makes me feel just as macho.”
It was an honest enough answer, I guessed. Plus, if I had to pick out four donors, rejecting the only willing one wouldn’t be a very good start.
“Yes. I think I’d like to bite you,” I said.
Natalie waved her arm, gesturing for me to follow her down the hallway opposite the one that House Hanson’s prima donna had taken. Once we were closed away in her small room, I decided to take further advantage of her honesty and set some ground rules.
“I don’t sleep with my donors. Is that going to be a problem for you?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t do this for t
he sex. I told you, it’s good money.”
I nodded. “Okay. Now I just have to find three more like you who don’t suck. Any suggestions?”
“You said suck.” She snorted and flopped down on her unmade bed. A crooked Cure poster hung above her headboard, brought to life by the glow of two black light sconces fastened to the wall on either side of it. On her bedside table, a CD player crooned Gold Dust Woman next to a doll with bleeding eyes that stood erect inside a coffin-shaped box. Natalie caught me staring and grinned. “Sampson would be another good pick. And maybe Cara and Ned. They’re all easygoing and don’t care if they get sexed up or not.”
“Good. Thanks.” I breathed out a shuddering sigh, marveling at the oddness of it all. Would I ever get used to this strange diet? Or was I doomed to be forever awkward, like a pre-pubescent boy shuffling his feet on the sidelines of the dance floor?
“I’ll introduce you to them after you do your thing,” Natalie said, snatching up a wet wipe from a box beside the creepy doll. She scrubbed her wrist and forearm. “Have you brushed your teeth recently?” she asked.
“Umm, last night when I rose…”
“There’s a new brush behind the mirror.” She nodded at a pedestal sink in the corner. “Would you mind?”
“No, of course not.” I guessed I wasn’t the only one with ground rules. But brushing my teeth was far less demanding than sex. I dropped my duffle bag beside her night table and stepped over a Ouija board laid out on the floor on my way to the sink.
“So, how long have you been working at the bat cave?” I asked as I scanned the medicine cabinet for the toothbrush she’d offered.
“A little over two years now.” Natalie twirled a finger around one of her rainbow curls. “I’m just doing this to save up for college. My dad drank and gambled his way through any savings I ever had to my name as a minor, but he can’t touch my BATC paychecks. This time next year, I’ll be a full-time student.”
“What do you plan to major in?” I asked before loading the toothbrush with paste and stuffing it in my mouth. I smelled the citrus-mint flavor, but I couldn’t taste anything. My palate had fully assimilated, and now the only thing that had any flavor on my tongue was blood.
Blood in the Water (Blood Vice Book 3) Page 4
