My Blood To Give

by Paula Paradis

  All at once, Dara glanced around and noticed one other strange difference between this shining city and home. No animals of any kind lived here. No dogs or cats trotted through the streets. No squirrels chattered in the trees. In fact, Dara couldn’t even see any trees, or plants of any kind.

  “What’s wrong with this place?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?” Andrei asked. “Sanctuary is perfect.”

  “There are no animals and no plants,” she said. “There are no trees or flowers. There aren’t even any weeds growing out of the cracks in the pavement.”

  Andrei laughed. “You should be happy about that. People spend a fortune to get rid of weeds.”

  Dara didn’t answer, and they continued on their way.

  She couldn’t get her mind off the lack of animal and plant life. None of the windows had flower pots in them. No ivy trailed over the doorways. Courtyards and squares graced the intersections of the streets, but no gardens, no parks, and no trees. People walked everywhere. No horses pulled carts or wagons through the streets. No one rode on anything.

  “Did you know,” Dara said, “some religions forbid people to live anywhere where there are no trees?”

  Andrei raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

  Dara nodded. “And did you know that the human brain can’t function correctly if a person doesn’t see a certain shade of green?”

  Andrei laughed. “What shade of green is that?”

  Dara spoke in a serious voice. “It’s the shade of green that matches the chlorophyll in plants. The human brain is designed to function best when it sees that green. Psychologists have done studies on people deprived of contact with green plants. They aren’t as productive, and they aren’t as happy. Their brains start to atrophy, and their hormonal system becomes unbalanced.”

  Andrei turned away. “I know what you’re saying. But as you can see, the people of Sanctuary are perfectly happy and productive. There’s nothing wrong with their brains.”

  “Maybe there is something wrong with them,” Dara muttered.

  “Like what?” he asked. “What do you think is wrong with them?”

  The words rushed out of her mouth before she could stop them. “Maybe what’s wrong with them is that they think being bitten and bled by vampires is a good thing. Maybe what’s wrong with them is that they think being slaves and servants and livestock is the best thing for them. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with them.”

  Andrei didn’t get angry like she thought he would. He glanced around in silence for a moment.

  “I can understand why you might think that. You just came here from the human world. You value independence. Naturally, you would think anyone who willingly gave it up was misled, or crazy. But it isn’t like that. We don’t force anyone to do anything.”

  “I never said you forced them,” she returned. “That’s just the problem. They don’t have to be forced. They do it of their own free will.”

  He shook his head. “You’re new to Sanctuary. Everyone has a period of adjustment they go through. But you’ll see. Look. We’re almost to the arena. Have a good look around while we’re there. See if anyone here has an ‘atrophied’ brain.”

  As he spoke, they joined a crowd of people moving toward an enormous building at the conjunction of three streets.

  People laughed and jostled each other in their haste to get through the doors. Children jumped around in all directions, but the adults made no attempt to restrain them. An electric charge of excitement rippled through the crowd.

  The excitement of it caught hold of Dara, too, and she forgot all about atrophied brains and slavery. A flush of happiness brightened her cheeks, and her breathing quickened. She smiled up at Andrei, and he smiled down at her.

  Whenever someone saw her holding hands with Andrei, and noticed the bite mark on her neck, they would give her a nod of respect, and stand aside. She couldn’t stop herself from swelling with pride to be escorted by Andrei. She never experienced any respect or honor like this back home.

  The crowd surged through the doors and spread out into an open arena with a vaulted ceiling and rising tiers of stands on all sides. Andrei climbed the stairs, and Dara hurried after him. “Where are we going?”

  He nodded toward the top of the arena. “The Royal Box is up there, but we’ll sit next to it where we can see and hear everything better.”

  They stopped on a platform at the top of the stands, and they took their seats on a wooden bench. Other people sat nearby, but no one sat next to them. When they spotted Andrei, they moved away and left a bubble of space around him and Dara. She glanced to her right and spotted the king and queen in their box. The king nodded to her, and the queen smiled. Dara smiled back.

  Then she remembered: They weren’t people. They were vampires. They would just as soon bite any person here and drink their blood as look at them. How could she ever get used to that fact? Even her beloved Andrei, with all his professions of love, wanted her for her blood and for nothing else. He didn’t even want to have sex with her.

  She didn’t have time to think about any of that, though. A cheer rose from the crowd, and Dara gazed down into the central arena.

  A group of competitors ran in through a door in the side of the stands and formed a line across the arena. They waved and blew kisses to the people in the stands. Madam Trendeaux and her daughters were among them.

  “What kind of game is this going to be?” Dara asked.

  “A foot race.”

  “Is that fair?” she asked. “Women racing against men?”

  Andrei shrugged. “Anyone can compete for any position. It’s their choice.”

  Dara looked around the track along the outer wall of the arena. “Where’s the finish line?”

  “This will be a test of endurance,” he said. “Not speed. The women will have the same chance to win as the men.”

  The runners formed up on the track and looked in their direction expectantly. The king stood up in his box and struck a mallet against a round metal gong. The noise echoed across the arena, and the runners rocketed forward at the same moment.

  The spectators erupted into thunderous cheers. They called out to the runners and cheered them on.

  Several of the contestants quickly fell behind, including Madam Trendaux and her daughters.

  Three men took the early lead and put more and more distance between themselves and those following them.

  Round and round they ran.

  One by one, the runners in the rear dropped back until they finally stopped running and walked out of the arena.

  The three leaders ran on. “How long do they have to run?” Dara asked.

  “Until someone wins,” Andrei replied.

  “But that could take all day,” she countered.

  “It won’t,” he told her. “They’re only human, and they can only run so long, especially since they’re racing so hard against each other. Pretty soon, one of them will get too tired to continue. When it’s down to the last two, they usually go until one of them collapses.”

  “Collapses?” Dara repeated.

  “If he wants to win badly enough, he’ll run to the limit of his strength.”

  “I thought you said no harm would come to them,” Dara pointed out.

  “It is their choice to compete,” he told her.

  She gave him a horrified look.

  He added, “It’s extremely rare that anyone is seriously injured in the games. No one has ever died.” He shrugged and pointed to the three men left in the race. “They simply run until they can’t run anymore. The man who outlasts all the others will win the prize.”

  “What is the prize?” she asked.

  “This particular race will decide which of these men will be the new chamberlain in the king’s personal cabinet.”

  Dara stared at him, then at the runners. “Do you mean to tell me that these men are running to the absolute limit of their endurance for a chance to change the king’s clothes?”

&
nbsp; Andrei laughed. “Something like that.”

  “And that job also comes with the honor of supplying the king with their blood?” she asked.

  Andrei nodded. “That’s what all companions are here for.”

  Dara gazed down at the race. As Andrei mentioned, one of the three leading runners started to fall behind the others.

  In his exhaustion, he missed his footing and tumbled to the ground. He rolled through the dust and lay still. The other two ran on, but even from the top of the stands, Dara saw the gleam of sweat on their faces. The runner in the lead didn’t step so high when he extended his leg out in front of him.

  The other runner inched closer, and in an explosion of energy, put on an extra burst of speed to pass his opponent. The leader dropped back until the two ran neck and neck. The leader struggled to maintain his position, but his rival was too strong for him. The first man fell behind, but gallantly fought on.

  Dara’s heart leapt into her throat. If she could have caught her breath, she would have shouted and cheered for both of them. Her blood thundered in her veins. Thoughts of the prize for which they competed disappeared from her mind. All she could see was the race being decided right before her eyes.

  Andrei rose to his feet and shouted encouragement to the runners. Who was he cheering for? It didn’t matter. Someone would come to serve the king, and in the end, that man would carry the same bite marks on his neck as all the other companions.

  Dara examined the runners. Could the arrangement between humans and vampires really be so bad, if people would willingly fight for the chance to be part of it? Andrei was right. All these people couldn’t be deluded or sick.

  At the moment when his victory appeared secure and the second runner left the leader behind him, his own great strength evaporated in mid-stride. He put one pace between him and his opponent, then two. But at that moment, he coughed. He bent double, and in one treacherous stumble, he pitched full length on the ground. Dust billowed up around him, and he moved no more.

  The first runner danced past him with his two fists raised in the air. He bellowed to the skies in triumph, and he made one last victory lap around the track before he stopped in front of the Royal Box. He waved and pranced in front of the king and queen, and the crowd cheered him. He blew kisses up to the Royal Couple. The king rose to his feet and waved back at him. Then the victor pumped his fists into the air several more times before he trotted off the track.

  The attendants carried the loser off the track, and then they swept and sprinkled the ground in preparation for the next competition.

  “Is it going to be another race?” she asked.

  Andrei shrugged. “That depends on what the competitors want to do. If there are enough competitors who want to wrestle, they have a wrestling match. If the competitors want to race, they race. It’s up to them to agree.”

  “How many of these games are there going to be?” Dara asked.

  “There’s only the one empty position this month that needs to be filled,” Andrei said. “The previous chamberlain is retiring.”

  “So, what’s next?”

  “Now, there will be the individual challenges. Three matches are scheduled for today, including Reeva’s. Then, depending on the outcome of those challenges, there could be more multi-person games.”

  Dara asked, “Why are there only three challenges? I would think more people would want to fight for a better position.”

  “There is a downside,” he told her. “Before someone can issue an individual challenge, they must give up their current position. Should the challenger lose the match, they will also lose all standing in society, and have to spend at least a month without the comfort of a household. They are given the worst jobs to do until the next games, when they can compete for a an empty position.”

  Dara remembered what he said from earlier. “And if the defender loses, they swap positions.”

  Andrei smiled. “Now you’re starting to get it.”

  “Can anyone challenge anyone else?”

  Nodding, Andrei said, “Of course. And if you are issued a challenge, you must either accept it, or concede your position immediately to the challenger.”

  Two people entered the arena, and Dara fixed her attention on them. Reeva and another woman faced off against each other.

  “What are they going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” Andrei’s eyes were bright with anticipation. “The last time Reeva competed, it was a wrestling match. I expect this will be one, as well.”

  The other woman looked bigger and stronger than Reeva. She could very well become Dara’s next handmaid.

  “Who is she?” Dara asked.

  “Her name is Bronwyn. She’s only been in Sanctuary a few months, but has already won two challenges. There is some ambition in her.”

  “What if Reeva loses?”

  Andrei tilted his head. “Then she will be sent to the Cuillin household and serve them.”

  “Don’t you care that she’ll be gone from your house?”

  “She will be well taken care of with the Cuillins.” He put a hand on her arm. “Besides, the only one I truly care about is you, my darling.”

  The king stood up then, and signaled for the match to begin.

  Reeva and Bronwyn circled for a few seconds, as if gauging each other’s defenses.

  Then, with a roar, Bronwyn charged in.

  Instead of backing out of the way, Reeva darted forward. At the last moment, she bent into a crouch and dove straight at Bronwyn’s legs.

  The bigger woman, unable to stop her forward momentum, tripped over Reeva and went down on the field in a heap.

  Reeva immediately changed direction, and jumped on Bronwyn from behind before she could recover.

  In seconds, she had her in a chokehold. Not even Bronwyn’s greater strength could help her as Reeva held tight.

  With one last effort, Bronwyn tried to surge up, but before she could even get her shoulders off the ground, the strength fled from her and she fell over.

  A moment later, Reeva jumped to her feet and raised her hands in the air, victorious.

  Dara was glad; she liked Reeva, and wanted her to continue to be her handmaid.

  As several attendants rushed onto the field and carted Bronwyn off, after making sure she wasn’t seriously hurt, Dara turned to Andrei.

  “She won.”

  He winked at her. “Didn’t I tell you so? She’s very good.”

  Chapter Five

  Reeva set a plate of food down in front of Dara, but not for Andrei.

  She looked at him from across the table. “I guess you’re not eating.”

  “I’ve already fed,” he told her. “You go ahead. I’ll just sit here and keep you company, if that’s all right with you.”

  “What do you mean, you’ve already fed?” she asked. “Do you mean…?”

  Andrei smiled. “You know what it means, Dara. Why do you even ask that?”

  “But I thought…” She faltered.

  “I just fed from you a few days ago,” he told her. “You still aren’t strong enough yet for me to do it again. I fed from somebody else.”

  Dara’s anger flared. “Who was it?” She looked at Reeva, who blanched. “From her?”

  Andrei shook his head. “If I had fed from Reeva, she would be lying in her bed downstairs instead of serving you your dinner. Never mind who it was. When you’ve been in Sanctuary for a while, you’ll understand that I have to feed every day, and I can’t feed from the same person more than once every two weeks at the most. I have to feed from a different person every day. Once you understand that, you won’t get jealous of my other companions. You’ll understand that me feeding from them doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

  Dara stared down at her food, but the sight and smell of it turned her stomach. “You didn’t tell me this. You didn’t tell me you had so many other companions.”

  He waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m here with
you now. I picked you to be my consort, my princess.”

  Dara shook her head. “I don’t think I can deal with this.”

  “Isn’t everything to your liking here?” he asked. “Don’t you have everything you need and want? You can’t be thinking about your life back in New York. You were living hand to mouth in a freezing cold closet. You can’t complain about the care you’ve gotten here. Look. You’ve probably never eaten food this good. You’re sleeping on satin sheets and wearing gold and silver dresses. You’re the envy of our society.”

  “I’m not complaining,” she murmured.

  “Then what’s wrong?” he asked. “Aren’t you happy here?”

  “I am happy here,” she replied. “Maybe, like you say, I just have to get used to it.”

  He glanced down at her untouched plate. Then he stood up and led her to her bed. The fire crackled in the fireplace, and the room glowed with warmth. When had she felt this comfortable before? She couldn’t even remember. So why couldn’t she be happy here?

  Andrei laid her down on the bed and stretched out next to her. He enfolded her in his arms and hugged her against his chest. His body radiated more heat into her than the fire. Dara tucked her head into the hollow of his arms. Tears sprang to her eyes. What was wrong with her? Hadn’t he given her everything she could possibly wish for?

  “I’m sorry,” she told him. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. Does everyone go through this when they come to Sanctuary?”

  “Some people fit right in,” he replied. “Some people seem to be born for it. Others take longer to adjust. It just depends on the person.”

  “Does anyone not adjust?” she asked.

  “How do you mean?” he asked.

  “Does anybody fail to adjust?” she asked. “Does anybody come here who just can’t get used to it? Does that ever happen?”

  He took a few seconds to reply. “I can’t think of any time that happened. Everyone fits in sooner or later.”

  She sighed. “I’ll try harder.”

  “You’ve only been here a few days,” he reminded her. “Don’t push yourself too hard.”