The Vampire's Kiss (Other World Series Book 1) (9 page)

“If you had let me take those heavy coin
purses around their waists, we wouldn’t be sitting in a dump like this.”  Faren
remarked.

“Have we not done enough to the humans
already?  Is it not bad enough that many of our kind kill them for no reason? 
That we keep them as pets to drink from when we feel like it?”

“Jesus, Val.  I know we’ve only known each
for a few months but your love for the humans is really starting to get on my
nerves.”

“I have no love for them.”  He snarled.  “I
just believe we are better off staying away from them.”

“Stay away from them?”  Faren shook his
head.  “Have you gone mad?  They’re our food source, remember?”

“There are other ways to live.”

Faren snorted.  “You mean wildlife?  No
thanks.  Deer are fine when there is nothing else but why bother when there are
so many humans available?  Hell, half of them want us to bite them.”

Faren drummed his fingers on the table.  “I
still believe the Great War between the vampires and the humans could have been
avoided if we had just practiced a little moderation.  If we had only drunk
from the willing, they may not be so anxious to kill us now.”

Val rolled his eyes.  “It would have
happened regardless.  Our kind and their kind were never meant to live in
harmony.”

Faren stared at him shrewdly.  “Tell me,
Val.  How long has it been since you drank the blood of a human?”

“Thirteen months.”  He grunted.

Faren whistled under his breath.  “Christ,
it’s a wonder you’re still standing.”

“Fuck you, Faren.”

Faren held up his hands.  “You know as well
as I do that we cannot exist on animal blood forever.  We need human blood to
be at our full capacity.  Can you even lift that sword you carry around your
waist?”

“Would you care to find out?”  Val asked
silkily.

“Nope.”  Faren said cheerfully.  He looked
around the crowded room as the auctioneer leaped on to the stage set up against
the far wall. 

“Ladies and gentlemen!  Thank you for your
patience!  I’m bringing out our next human for auction, and I think you’ll
agree that this one has been worth the wait.  She is young and strong and I
have a feeling her blood tastes as sweet as honey.”

The curtains behind the stage opened and
Faren watched with bright interest as a woman was led out.  She was naked from
the waist up and he whistled appreciatively at the sight of her full breasts. 
Her bottom half was covered by a short piece of brown fabric and her feet were
bare.  A leather collar circled her neck and the auctioneer yanked on the thick
chain that was attached to it.  She stumbled forward and stared at the floor of
the stage, her face hidden by her long dark hair.

“Ooh, that’s a good one.”  Faren nudged Val
and he gave a brief, disinterested glance at the woman on the stage before
looking away.

“She’s nice and curvy.  So many of them are
skinny and fragile now.  They last maybe a couple of months before they’re too
weak for you to feed from.  You have to feed them loads of food just to keep
them going.  Not worth it in my opinion.  They’re hardly worth the gold you pay
for them.”

He licked his lips.  “This one though, I’d
pay a good amount for her.”

“Forget it, Faren.  We barely have enough
money to find lodging for the day.  I’m not sleeping in some dirty cellar just
because you want to spend the last of our money on a pet.”  Val said warningly.

“I suppose you’re right.”  Faren sighed. 
He took one last look at the woman before glancing at Val.

“Ahh, the bug appears.”

Violet, her small face peering out from the
strands of Val’s hair, glared at him and made a rude gesture with her tiny
hand.

Faren laughed.  “Why on earth you allow
that pest to live in your hair, I will never understand.  Why not squash her
and be done with it?”

Violet sat down on Val’s shoulder, keeping
his hair wrapped around her to hide her small body, and stared idly around her.

“It’s none of your business, Faren.  I’ve
told you that before.”  Val growled.

“You are as soft-hearted toward the bug as
you are to the humans.  I could get rid of her for you if you’d like.”  Faren
offered.  “I can make it quick and painless.”

“Go anywhere near the little bug and you’ll
feel the tip of my sword pierce your heart.  Do I make myself clear?”  Val
warned, his hand resting lightly on the handle of his sword.

“Yes, yes.  God, Val, I was only joking.” 

Val relaxed against his chair and ignored
the soft kiss that Violet placed on his neck.  In the thirteen months since the
vampire had taken Abigail, he’d had plenty of opportunity to lose the bug.  In
the first few weeks, as he searched desperately for Abby, he had barely even
noticed the tiny pixie.  When his head began to clear and the horrible truth
had started to set in - Abigail was lost to him forever – he had thought about
driving the pixie away like he had driven Eone and Neil and Maria away.  In the
end he couldn’t do it.  Abigail had loved Violet dearly, and the little pixie
was the last part of her that he had to remember her by. 

Besides, he had believed the bug would
eventually wander away on her own.  As the months passed and Violet stuck
around he realized that for her, he was the last part of Abigail that she had
left.  They had forged an unlikely friendship.

Now, he reached into his pocket and pulled
out a small piece of dried meat.  He handed it to her without speaking and she
took it and chewed on it as she peered around the room.

“Who will start the bidding?”  The
auctioneer cried merrily from the stage.  His fangs flashed in the dim light
and he raised his hand.  “We will start at twenty-five gold pieces.”

Grumbling erupted across the room and the
auctioneer bellowed laughter.  “Come, come gentlemen.  You can see for yourself
how delectable she is!”  He reached out and cupped one full breast before sliding
his hand down her flat stomach.  “She alone could feed a family of four for
months!  Who will give me twenty-five?”

“Over here!”  A tall, thin vampire raised
his hand and the auctioneer nodded.

“Fifty!”

“Sixty!”

As the bidding increased steadily, Val felt
Violet stiffen against his neck.  She leaned forward and stared intently at the
woman on the stage.  He could feel her wings vibrating softly against his neck
and he frowned.

“What is it, bug?”

Her eyes wide and her mouth trembling, she
stared at him and then pointed to the woman standing with her head bowed.

“What?”

She pointed frantically and he nodded
without really looking at the woman on the stage.  “Yes, I see her.  What?  You
suddenly want a human pet like Faren?”

He snorted soft laughter and turned back to
Faren.  “We need to find lodging for tomorrow. I do not want it to be like last
week where we were forced to dig holes in the ground before the sun burned us
to a crisp.”

Faren shrugged.  “The old ones used to
sleep in the ground all the time, Val.  We have become soft.”

“That may be true but – OW!” He clapped his
hand to his neck and stared at the blood on his fingers in disbelief.  Violet
had bit him hard with her tiny needle-like teeth, and he turned his head and
glared at the pixie.

“What the hell, bug?”

She yanked on his hair and pointed to the
stage again.

He glanced up to see the auctioneer holding
his hands up.  “Now gents, before we go any further, I feel I should be
truthful.  Although the front of her is - how do I say this - pleasing to the
eye, she does have a bit of scarring on her back.  It was probably put there
from her last master.  Although I dare say she did one of the markings
herself.  The foolish human tried to protect herself from us with this!”

He swung the woman around and all of the
air was sucked from Val’s lungs.  The woman’s back was marred with scars and
there was no mistaking the scar of the cross on her lower back.

The woman about to be sold was Abigail.

* * *

The Vampire’s Love will be available in February of 2015 on
www.amazon.com

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