Famine's Feast (The Templar Book 4)

by Debra Dunbar

  He sighed. “We don’t. We’ve screened them, kept the list of donors classified until the last minute, had a vampire from our Balaj with them the whole time. I suspect Simon is behind this whole thing, and he wouldn’t want to infect his own Balaj. I think we can safely assume these humans are clean.”

  Leonora could hardly cancel this feast at the last minute without looking weak. Hopefully tonight would go without incident, then the Philadelphia vampires could leave and Leonora and her family could deal with this disease.

  “So what is your role tonight? Feast and schmooze with the guests?”

  “I’m in charge of the garden.”

  I remembered Balen mentioning that he was covering until Dario returned. “The orgy-garden?”

  He smirked. “Exactly. It’s warm tonight, a beautiful fall evening. The garden is dark, private. It’s a perfect place to take an interesting human for a bite and more.”

  I felt a curl of jealousy twist around my stomach. “Are you intending on a bite and more tonight?”

  His hands slid along my waist. “As much as I would enjoy that, I’m working. I fed earlier. And I’m hoping this all finishes early enough that I can get some ‘more’ from you before the sun comes up.”

  I smiled, wanting that too, but his words reminded me of my job—my much needed, well-paying job. “So what’s my role? Should I see Leonora before things get started?”

  “She’ll be down momentarily to give you instructions. The Philly vampires are due to arrive in the next hour. Right now it’s just us, but when they get here there will be tension, and possibly some fights.”

  “But you have some of your Balaj on guard. I met Balen in the garden. Surely you all are better suited to head off a brawl than me.”

  “You’ll need to ask Leonora.”

  He was clearly amused, drat him. Had Leonora changed her mind and decided to have me wear one of these leather thong things? Did she intend for me to be part of the buffet?

  I didn’t have long to wait. The huge gilded doors at the end of the room opened, and two burly vampires preceded Leonora into the room. Her skirt sported a vast quantity of red lace, as did her dark hair, and even on the edges of her usual black leather bustier. Beside her walked a blonde woman wearing a floor length gown that resembled something I might have worn to one of my mother’s formal dinners.

  The vampires snapped to attention. The blood-slaves and other humans faced the Mistress, eyes lowered. Dario pulled me back into his arms, squashing my rear end against him.

  Okay. I was to greet my “employer” for the evening snuggled into her rival’s arms. I knew right away what Dario was doing. He was making a claim on me that even a blind man could see. The Balaj already knew I was off limits, but this was something more. This was pretty much announcing our relationship to everyone, including his Mistress. Of course, the fact that he was announcing it before he’d even bitten me didn’t seem to make a difference to anyone.

  The Mistress turned our way, her expression hardening as she saw Dario. He held onto me for a moment before letting me go and stepping forward to bow.

  “Mistress Leonora. You requested the Templar’s presence tonight.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. “Hi. I’m here. What exactly do you want me to do?”

  Her eyes flickered over my casual attire. I knew I was ridiculously underdressed, but I wasn’t about to go into a potential fight wearing a dress or something so tight I couldn’t breathe. Besides, I still had a big wad of gauze protecting my bruised hip, which wouldn’t exactly be a sexy accessory to a skimpy black dress.

  “I need you to act as a guard.”

  I figured as much. “Do you want me in a particular room? Making sure the Philly vampires don’t steal the silver? Protect the humans from any vampire who tries to take too much blood?”

  Leonora took the hand of the blonde next to her and brought the woman forward. “This is Erica. I want you to guard her. That’s your sole duty tonight. Make sure she is safe and unharmed.”

  That I didn’t expect. The blonde walked over to me with an air of resignation. She was petite, almost waif-like. I was guessing her age to be early-twenties, but I’d bet without the makeup she’d look to be in her teens. Not at all what I’d expected Leonora’s blood-slave to be, although from a quick peek at her neck I wasn’t completely sure she was a blood-slave. The column of creamy flesh was unmarked aside from a small heart tattoo where her neck joined her left shoulder.

  “I need a drink,” Erica announced. So did I, but drinking on the job wasn’t a good idea. I followed her across the hall to smaller room full of bookshelves, overstuffed couches, and a well-stocked bar. The woman poured two fingers of whiskey and promptly slammed it down.

  “Is there a particular threat against you that I should be aware of?” I had no idea why I was guarding this woman. Was she famous? Did she have some amazing blood that all the vampires wanted? Had Leonora made enemies that might do her harm?

  “Any of the Philly vampires could be a threat. Maybe one of the humans or one of our own vampires if they took a bribe or turned traitor.”

  So pretty much the whole party. “You’re Leonora’s blood-slave? And that makes you a target?”

  Her mouth turned down and she eyed the empty glass. “I prefer the term ‘partner.’ And yes, I’m a target. It would be really rude for a guest to assassinate the Mistress of the hosting Balaj, but it seems affiliated humans are fair game.”

  Dario had said vampires developed a close relationship with their blood-slaves. They didn’t often take them, and when they eventually killed one, they grieved. It seemed to me that it would be easier to just rely on blood donors, but he said vampires needed human companionship, needed the emotional tie that kept them from completely becoming monsters.

  He’d offered me something similar, only without the exchange of blood. Once more I looked at Erica’s neck, and decided to ask a really personal question.

  “Does she feed from you? How long have you both been together?”

  Erica glared at me then poured some more whisky. “Two years. And not all marks are on the neck.”

  I immediately envisioned Dario, his mouth on my inner thigh. I could totally see Leonora doing the kinky inner thigh thing, but I got the feeling that Erica wasn’t being completely truthful—especially since it was two years into their relationship and she was still alive.

  The woman sipped the whisky and walked around from behind the bar, her long red dress swishing around her ankles. “We have a blood relationship, but she tries not to accept my gift of blood more than twice a year. There have been a few ‘oops’ moments in the heat of passion where a love nip turned into something more, but in two years she’s only truly fed from me three times.”

  “How…how do you manage that?” I had no idea how Leonora could control her hunger to that degree, but if she could, then maybe Dario could too.

  Erica arched an eyebrow. “I’m going to speak generally here, and the only reason I’m telling you this, telling you any of this at all, is because I can see that you and Dario have something. Having Dario happy and otherwise occupied is in both Leonora’s and my best interests.”

  I knew the Mistress saw Dario as a threat. I also knew he didn’t want to lead the Balaj, that it would take something drastic for him to kill Leonora and wrestle control away from her. She was probably right. A Dario in love and spending every waking moment in a new relationship probably wouldn’t have either the time or the incentive to take control of the Balaj.

  She took a sip of the whisky. “Some vampires ensure they feed heavily upon waking, before they even see their partner. Some gorge themselves to ensure they have adequate control. Some use a no-mouth policy when having sex since that’s when they’re most likely to lose control. Some indulge in threesomes where one is the blood donor, although sex with the third party tends to happen in that scenario. Others use restraint devices or ball gags. You get the idea.”

  “How long does that last befor
e the vampire eventually turns the relationship into a full-time blood one?” I wondered out loud. It seemed like a lot of tricks to delay the inevitable. And although Leonora had only fed from Erica three times in the last two years, there was still some biting-play by her admission.

  She shrugged. “Most vampires only manage to hold back for a few years using these techniques. Once a partner becomes a full-on blood-slave, it’s hard to go back—for both vampire and human. I’ve heard a few have managed five or even ten year relationships, but that’s rare. And once they start regularly feeding, the blood-slave is dead within the typical two to eight months.”

  She’d committed herself to this? I was seriously contemplating committing myself to this?

  Erica read my expression and smiled. “I love her.”

  “Leonora?” I couldn’t help the doubt in my voice. How could anyone love that pretentious, self-absorbed, ruthless woman?

  Her face softened. “Absolutely. From the instant I met her. I’d never been with a woman before, but from the moment I saw her dark eyes, her flawless creamy skin, her ebony hair, I was lost. And her figure…it’s generous and giving, just like she is when she opens her heart to you. Plus, her breasts are a wonder of nature. Those are boobs you could happily spend your entire life worshiping.”

  All righty then. That was far more than I ever wanted to know about the Mistress.

  She took another sip of whisky the smile wobbling a bit this time. “I love her. And I know she loves me. She loves me enough to hire a Templar to guard me. We can trust a Templar to keep her word, not to sell us out to Simon and his family. She knows you’ll defend me with your life, and she loves me enough to want me protected.”

  “Why are you here? Why didn’t Leonora love you enough to send you off somewhere safe, like the Harborplace Marriott, a B&B in the mountains, Barbados?”

  “I have to be here. Otherwise she looks weak. Simon did his homework. He knows who Leonora’s allies are, what blood type she prefers, when she last had a mani/pedi, what bra size she wears. He knows about me. A Mistress who hides her blood-slave away is afraid of not only losing her partner, but losing her life. Simon would pounce on that without hesitation. Besides, she feels better with me right here in her home. Out in the mountains I could easily vanish and she’d never know who was to blame.”

  Made sense. “Then drink your whisky and let’s get going. I’m assuming you’re supposed to mingle and socialize?”

  She downed the drink and set the glass aside. “Yeah. And not just with our vampires either. My chatting with the guests reflects on Leonora’s strength and confidence.”

  I got the feeling she really didn’t want to do this, that she hated making nice with her lover’s enemy. And that she was afraid. I was too. I’d been afraid the moment I’d pulled up the driveway. Fear was a good thing. It kept you on your toes. It kept you from being a fool. It kept you alive.

  Chapter 21

  We hadn’t been in the main room more than a few minutes before the other Balaj arrived. One of Leonora’s door vamps announced each of them in turn. Eight vampires, all in formal tuxes, even the women. Simon entered last, wearing a suit that didn’t look like it came off a rack. The room suddenly seemed too small, the nine Philly vampires dominating ten times as many of Leonora’s.

  Leonora approached with her own guards. They stood for a while in a tense face-off. “Welcome to Baltimore, Simon,” the Mistress finally said.

  “Lovely city, Leonora,” Simon drawled in reply. “I hope this visit won’t be my last.”

  It was a subtle reminder of his intentions. Leonora smiled, flashing bright white fangs. “Perhaps next time I’ll journey north to see your city.”

  She had no intention of expanding her territory, that I knew. Maybe in time, once her Balaj had grown beyond the ability of the territory to sustain their needs, but not now. It would spread her too thin—dangerously thin.

  “Perhaps.” Simon seemed like he didn’t care if she went there or not.

  Pleasantries and threats exchanged, Leonora spread her arms, leather bodice creaking and straining against her ample cleavage with the motion. “We have humans to satisfy every need. Please, pick amongst them and indulge. This is a feast, and I expect everyone to feed as often as they wish.”

  “I assume those not part of this buffet are marked accordingly?” For some reason Simon’s words sent a chill down my spine. I wasn’t marked, but I’d put a sword through any vampire who didn’t take “no” for an answer, as well as any of them that tried to snag Erica.

  “There are a few unmarked blood-slaves. They’ll identify themselves to you. All the available humans here are willing, so the only refusal you’d encounter would be from a blood-slave.”

  He nodded, his eyes searching the room. “And if a blood-slave says ‘yes’?”

  The room was suddenly silent. Even I held my breath. This wasn’t something I ever thought about. Were blood-slaves property, owned by their vampires, or did they have the ability to leave one of them for another? The paired humans I’d seen seemed very devoted, even in love, with their vampires, but maybe that wasn’t always the case.

  “We ask that you respect blood-slaves and not attempt to poach,” Leonora said, her voice tight. “Such a thing would be seen as an act of war.”

  Simon smiled. “Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?”

  Holy crap. These vampires took their blood-slave relationships seriously. I glanced over at the woman beside me, and saw a muscle tic at the corner of her jaw. Her hands were tight fists, her breath shallow. She was like a rabbit in the briars, trying to be very still, very quiet.

  I’d need to make sure this rabbit was safe from the wolves. Ten hours until dawn. I wasn’t sure the vampires would be partying that long, but I needed to be prepared to go the distance.

  “Then please mingle,” Leonora stepped back, her guard moving aside to let the other vampires advance into the room. “Let the feast begin.”

  The Philadelphia vampires quickly separated, moving through the crowd and grabbing whatever human suited their fancy. I’d expected them to head out to the garden, since that seemed to be the designated feeding area, but they stayed in the main room. Leonora’s vampires held back, allowing the other Balaj to have their pick. One by one they each yanked a human into their arms and without any preamble, bit down on their necks.

  I winced. “You’d think a little foreplay would be in order,” I mentioned to Erica.

  She didn’t reply and I noticed that her fear had vanished, replaced with an excitement that was downright sexual. One of Simon’s vampires, a woman, paused near us, pulling one of the scantily clad humans into her arms and sinking her fangs into his neck. Blood oozed around the feeding vampire’s mouth. Her sucking noises nearly drowned out the man’s moans. He thrust his pelvis against her, erection straining his g-string. She ignored him, drinking greedily, then pulling her mouth away to chase the stray drops of blood with her tongue.

  “Appetizers,” Erica told me breathlessly. “They’ll gorge themselves on three or four, saving the sex for later. These humans will go home after they’ve served their purpose to be replaced by a fresh set. Those are the prime donors, the ones with the best flavor, the most attractive. It will be slow with them, but just in case they want more, Leonora has a third set of humans ready to step in.”

  It would ensure that none of the humans was fed from twice, or drained so deeply that their lives were in danger. No Mistress would want to endanger the food supply of her territory by allowing this many humans to be killed—especially ones who were reliable and eager blood donors.

  But while the vampires were keeping this round to blood only, pushing the humans aside once they’d fed, the donors clearly wanted more. Falling into each other’s arms, they began to kiss, tugging at clothes in their haste to get fully naked. The whole thing became an orgy. A few vampires paused in their gluttony to watch the humans, laughing and encouraging them, giving them suggestions as to what to do to
each other. I wanted to leave, to turn away, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the scene. Balen from the garden appeared with three other vampires, tossing the spent donors over their shoulders and hauling them out the door where no doubt they’d be driven home, and dumped, of no further use for another six to eight weeks.

  I hated this. It wasn’t my vision of vampires taking only what they needed, treating the humans that sustained them with respect and kindness. It was a frenzy, a free-for-all, an all-you-can-eat buffet where vampires indulged without a care, where the humans were just walking bags of blood without feelings. It reminded me that as much as I wanted it to be otherwise, these were predators, and that Dario aside, most of them only cared about humans because it was in their best interest to take care of the livestock that kept them fed.

  I glanced over at Erica as she watched the party with eager eyes. Leonora probably did love her, but at the end of the day, she was only slightly more important than these half-naked humans writhing on the ground, their blood-stained necks beginning to clot and scab. I’d be lying to myself to think it would be any different with Dario and me. Was love blinding me to his true nature? Maybe his intentions were good, but in two, or five years, would the shine of our relationship dull, leaving me to mean no more to him than a pet cow?

  “Do we just stand here and watch?” I asked Erica. My tone was a bit abrupt, but I’d seen just about all I could take and desperately wanted to get away.

  “We need to be seen.” She turned to me with a smirk. “Well, I need to be seen.”

  So far none of the vampires had approached us, and for that I was thankful. Leonora’s family would know we were off limits, and there were only nine of the Philly vampires.

  It seemed my thoughts were premature. Simon walked toward us, the vampires parting in front of him to make way. Even the ones who were feeding paused and shifted to give him a clear passage. I knew how fast vampires could move, but Simon took his time, walking at a leisurely pace, his intense pale eyes fixed on Erica.