“That’s right.” Ben had only waited for Nate to join him to start walking.
“The Vampire Senate has its meetings in a club?” It made sense. From Nate’s limited experience of vampires, they were adept at combining business with pleasure.
“Don’t mention the V-word out here.” Ben gave the order without looking back. “There will be fellow attendees on the street, and they have very good hearing. We don’t want to be obvious.”
He was really getting into the vampire mindset—or was there another explanation? As Nate hurried after him, he noticed that Ben’s shoulders were hunched. Nervous. He caught up with Ben. “We don’t have to go in right away, do we? Let’s take a walk around the block.”
For a moment, he thought Ben would refuse, but after a moment’s thought, he nodded. “I’m that obvious?”
Nate squeezed his hand. “Only to me.”
Despite New Camden’s blanket ban on smoking in public places, a faint trace of tobacco hung on the air. The night was cool, and many of the club-goers standing outside on the pavement wrapped their arms around themselves. Nate was conscious of gazes thrown his way and lingering. He walked a little taller, unconsciously adopting his Century manner. “Shit! I never called out of work! They’re going to be wondering where I am.” Nate hastily dug in the pockets of his suit for his phone.
Ben cleared his throat. “I’ve got a confession to make. While you were finishing your dinner, I called Century. I booked you for the evening.”
Nate felt his cheeks heat. “You know I don’t want our relationship influenced by my job—”
“I know,” Ben said. “But I thought it was necessary. I need your full attention tonight, and I didn’t want you to be even slightly worried about what might be happening at your work.” He took a deep breath. “To get into the club, I’m going to have to bring out my…” He hesitated.
“Inner Dracula?” Nate guessed.
Ben snorted. “That works. I—I’ll be trusting you to make sure that I don’t lose control.” He stopped walking, turning to look at Nate. “You won’t let me hurt anyone innocent?”
Nate nodded, unable to take his gaze away from Ben’s. “You know I won’t.” Inwardly, he soared. Ben trusted him to protect him! He depended on Nate! I’m someone he can rely on. Had he succeeded in proving himself at last? Wait till Aki hears about this—
Nate’s elation faded abruptly. With every moment that passed, Aki spent longer under Hunter’s influence.
“It’s a lot harder to do this on purpose,” Ben continued. “I’m not even sure how it worked the last time.”
“There was blood, right? And danger.”
Ben nodded. “Lucky that cut on my lip hasn’t healed.” He ran his tongue over it and then looked up to meet Nate’s gaze. “Let’s walk back. Slowly.”
Nate’s eyes were better adjusted to the dark as they made their return journey. He weighed the people they passed. How many of them were not what they seemed? Did that lipsticked smile conceal fangs? Was there something pointed in the attention the pair of men were giving himself and Ben?
As a woman paused her conversation to run her gaze up and down Nate, Ben inserted himself between them. “We don’t have time to waste flirting with strangers.”
There was an abruptness that Nate thought he recognized. The vampire’s pretty possessive. “Just trying to help. You feeling this?”
Ben paused. He swiped his tongue across his teeth and nodded. “It’s now or never.”
To Nate’s amazement, he led the way to the club with the longest queue outside. “We’re not going into Royal, are we? But they’re incredibly exclusive. They don’t let anyone in who isn’t on their list.”
“Yes.” Ben walked right past the line.
Nate hurried after him. “But it’s VIP only. Celebrities.”
“Yes.”
The bouncer was a wiry man in a suit that didn’t disguise his bulk or the fact that he’d been on the losing side of more than a few fights in his time. He sized up Ben and Nate as they approached and scowled. “No cutting in.”
“We’re for upstairs,” Ben said casually.
The man snorted. “No one gets into upstairs.”
Ben pressed his lips together in a thin smile, as if he’d been expecting this. “You will let us in.” He stared at the doorman.
The doorman stared at him dully. There was an unfocused look in his eyes. His mouth parted, but he didn’t speak. He simply stared back.
Nate’s heart thumped in his chest, uncomfortably loud. He was aware that the people standing in line had fallen silent, as if they too were affected by the unbearable pressure growing between Ben and the doorman. Nate tugged at his collar. I can’t stand any more of this. In a minute he would scream or run or something—
He fumbled for Ben’s hand, squeezing it.
Ben gripped his hand tightly, not taking his eyes off the doorman. He raised his chin arrogantly, projecting his gaze. “Let us upstairs.”
The doorman shook his head, as if trying to clear his mind. “Upstairs,” he said. He opened a nondescript door, painted the same black as the exterior of the club. Beyond it, an unremarkable tradesman’s entrance was revealed.
Ben stepped through the door. Nate looked over his shoulder, to see the doorman looking after them with dislike. He shut the door behind them.
“Did you compel him?” Nate’s voice echoed alarmingly. He winced at how rattled he sounded.
“I had to. That’s how you get in.” Ben was breathing hard. It had clearly been an effort. The entrance was empty apart from a metal staircase that spiraled upward. Ben began to climb it. “The doorman has slight magical abilities himself. He’s able to resist most lower-level vampires. Only a higher-level vampire can successfully compel him.”
“Fuck.” Nate stared blankly at the staircase. “So if you’d failed, you wouldn’t just be denied entry—”
“I’d be a target for any vampires watching,” Ben agreed. “Which is why I couldn’t fail.”
Nate started to climb. “And the doorman? Is he—okay?”
“He took the job knowing what it entailed. I imagine he is paid extremely well for his services.” Ben waited for Nate to join him before opening the door at the top of the staircase. “Stay close,” he warned.
For a startled moment, Nate thought they’d stepped into another world. The long wood-paneled room was a distinct contrast to the stairwell, or even the street outside. It was large enough to hold two hundred people comfortably. Wooden chairs with stiff cushions were placed around the edge of the room, and at the end closest to Nate and Ben, a string quartet played classical music from a raised stage. Three large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, sending out a warm glow. Candles were placed in wall mounts intermittently dotted around the room, and waiters drifted around the room, offering their trays to the exquisitely dressed people who had formed small pockets of conversation. Only two things broke the illusion. The faint sound of pounding bass from the nightclub on the floor below underscored the performance of the quartet. And the air was permeated by the smell of decay, a loamy smell of leaves in autumn. Nate recognized it immediately. Vampires.
“It’s maintained exactly like an old-fashioned ballroom,” Ben explained. “Vampires tend to get hold of an idea and stick to it. There’s bound to be a bowl of punch somewhere—yes, there it is.”
Nate looked. Along the far wall were three long tables, elaborately draped in cloth and flowers. They held a selection of refreshments that didn’t seem to have been touched at all. The centerpiece, an elaborate crystal punch bowl, was nearly full. “This place is unreal.” He looked around the room again. “Do you think Aki is here?” As he turned his head, he was met by the sight of the other guests turning away, just in time to avoid meeting his gaze. “We’re being watched.”
“Of course we are.” Ben cast a sharp look around them, summing up their companions. “They’re curious. They haven’t seen me in a few months. There will be rumors about my dea
th. I’ve also—never brought a companion to one of these events before. You’re likely to come in for a lot of scrutiny.”
Nate tugged his jacket straight reflexively. “Bring it on.”
Ben’s mouth flickered into a smile. He nodded toward a pair of doors in the center of the adjoining wall. A bored-looking man leaned against them. “It’s patron-only beyond the doors.”
“Patron?”
“Sorry. A term adopted by the vampires. A patron’s a vampire with at least two clients—that is vampire followers. They make up the senate.”
“That’s not confusing at all.” Nate looked at the door. “You think that’s where Hunter is?”
“It’s a possibility. I’ll check it out.” Ben walked toward the doors.
“I’ll stay here. Obviously.” Nate pulled the sleeves of his suit down as he watched Ben walk across the floor.
Ben didn’t try to skirt the groups that had gathered on the floor. He simply lined up the most direct route and took it. When he approached a cluster of conversationalists, the group seemed to shrink, people melting out of the way.
Nate was amused. Ben might not like it, but he puts on a mean vampire when he feels like it. He watched the group. Although there were no obvious looks sent in Ben’s direction, Nate got the impression that they were very much aware of him. Those that were aware, at least. Most people seemed to be there in pairs. One pale, glassy-eyed individual to each healthy-looking attendee. I guess people brought a snack? But that didn’t fit with the impression Nate got of vampires, which was that they liked to downplay their appetites as much as possible.
A waiter approached. He paused, giving Nate an obvious once-over, and hesitated.
A drink would be a very good thing, Nate decided. He needed something to take the edge off his nervousness. He walked over to the waiter. “What have you got?”
“A fine selection of reds. All fresh.” The man frowned. “You would be a newcomer here?”
Nate nodded, looking at the wineglasses on the tray with foreboding. “When you say fresh…?”
“Drawn today and kept at body temperature before serving.”
Nate swallowed, looking at the crimson liquid. I should have known it wouldn’t be wine. “Do you have, um. Anything…vegetarian?”
The waiter lifted a glass. “This is one hundred percent vegan blood.”
“Fantastic. Thank you.” Nate took the glass with relief.
The waiter still paused. He seemed on the brink of saying something when an imperious gesture from a nearby group sent him on his way.
Nate strolled the length of the ballroom. It was extremely unlikely that he’d see Aki among the revelers, but he had to look. He finished his explorations in front of the stage where the musicians played. He raised the wineglass to his lips.
“You don’t want that.” Ben took the wine glass from him, slipping his arm through Nate’s. “Not unless you’ve taken on the blood-drinking characteristics of that plant from The Little Shop of Horrors.”
Nate recoiled. “He said it was vegan.”
“Blood of a vegan.” Ben took a sip and made a face.
“They didn’t—”
“Kill a vegan?” Ben gave him an amused look. “It will have been donated. This crowd makes a point of being extremely civilized—at least when anyone is around to see.”
Nate looked around. “Who are these people?”
“They’re the highest-ranked members of the vampire families of New Camden and their followers.” Ben nodded. “They’re here to play politics, show off, and gather information about what their rivals are up to. You can tell the really important ones by the fact they’re all wearing a gold ring and something purple.”
Nate considered the plum-colored waistcoat of a man with a monocle. “And their escorts?”
“Some are human. They’re the ones looking glassy-eyed. Probably overwhelmed by the presence of so many vampires.” Ben narrowed his eyes. “You’ve attracted attention.”
Nate looked up. A woman with fine, ash-colored hair tied up in an elaborate cascade of curls, and a flowing silk gown drifted over to them. She didn’t appear to be more than a few years older than them. “Bennet,” she said. “It has been some time. I thought you were no longer with us.”
Ben smiled thinly. “Rumors are not always reliable, Lila.”
“You seem to be spreading your wings quite thoroughly.” She watched Nate through her lashes. “Will you introduce me to your charming companion?”
Ben snorted. “Nate, this is Lila. She is the representative of the Family Furia.”
She shook Nate’s hand and let her hand linger on his arm. “I am delighted. It is not very often we see fresh blood of such obvious quality. Where did Bennet find you?”
Her eyes were the soft blue of forget-me-nots, framed by delicate lashes that gave every look the effect of a furtively stolen glance. Nate felt somehow flattered. “We met in New Camden.”
“Indeed? And what brought you here tonight?” It wasn’t what she said. It was how she said it. A low tone layered with invitation, while her eyes remained fixed on Nate.
Nate opened his mouth, but it was Ben who replied. “You’re wasting your time. Nate’s with me.”
Lila cast Ben a sideways look. “Are you sure about that?”
“Very.” Ben put his hand on Nate’s arm.
Lila watched the gesture through half-closed eyes. “If you feel so strongly, why haven’t you claimed him?”
“All in good time,” Ben said abruptly.
Lila smiled. She touched her fingers to Nate’s cheek, still talking to Ben. “I wonder that you are willing to let him wander the ballroom unchaperoned, knowing that you have not marked him. He is practically an invitation.”
Nate froze. His Century training had covered what to do in a wide range of situations. Being felt up by a vampire making pointed conversation with your boyfriend (sort of) was not on the list. He opened his mouth to say something but never got the chance.
Ben’s fingers tightened on Nate’s arm. “If anyone tries to sway him, they’ll regret it.”
Lila’s mouth curled. It was not a nice smile, and for the first time, Nate had an awareness of danger. “It is not only other vampires you must guard against, but his wandering attention. A word of advice, Bennet. Your power may be sufficient to captivate him when you are alone, but you were most unwise to bring an unclaimed companion to a gathering of this nature. With so much power on display, I am sure that Nate will not have trouble finding someone who can give him what he wants.”
“Good advice,” Ben said. “Acquired, no doubt, through experience.”
Lila’s eyes flashed. She turned to Nate. “You’re wasting your time. He will not turn you—he is too afraid for that. But there are others who would be happy to oblige.”
She’s offering to make me a vampire. Nate swallowed. “Thanks, but Ben’s right. I’m not exactly looking for anything like that just now.”
Lila’s smile curled ironically. “You say so now…” She drifted back to her companions, leaving a cloud of expensive perfume in her wake.
Nate lowered his head to Ben’s ear as she walked away. “I was only looking for Aki—”
“I know. She was simply trying to throw me off guard, undermine my confidence.” Ben swallowed the remaining liquid in his glass. He held it out and a waiter collected it. “Let’s dance.”
There were a few couples on the floor already, but to Nate’s relief, they didn’t seem to be attempting anything formal. “Shouldn’t we be looking for Hunter?”
Ben placed one hand on the small of Nate’s back and took his hand with the other one. “We need to talk,” he said. “This gives us the best opportunity.”
“Right.” Nate placed his hand on Ben’s shoulder.
In sharp contrast to their dance the previous night, Ben took control at once and kept it. He held Nate close, guiding him when to change direction with a peremptory tug.
This isn’t like Ben. Nate glance
d around. No one was obviously watching them, but he knew that they must be attracting a fair amount of attention. “Is everything all right?”
“No sign of Hunter,” Ben said in a voice so slow that if Nate hadn’t been pressed against him, he’d have missed it entirely. “But I can sense that he is here.”
“Do you know where?”
Ben shook his head. “The problem with having so many vampires gathered in one place is that they drown out each other’s signals. All I have is the certainty that he is close by.”
“Could he be in the club? That’s more Aki’s scene.”
Ben shook his head. “Somehow, I doubt it. If he doesn’t make an appearance for the senate meeting, we can search there, but—he must make an appearance for the senate.”
Another dancing couple passed into their orbit. Ben snarled softly, and gripping Nate tightly, steered him away.
Okay, this is getting odd. Nate hesitated and then leaned toward Ben, capturing his lips.
Ben didn’t hesitate to return the kiss. Trying desperately not to think about the copper taste, Nate ran his tongue against the line of Ben’s teeth until he encountered something sharp.
A fang. Nate’s mind raced. He’s gone full vampire.
There wasn’t time to think. Nate dropped his mouth to Ben’s ear. “I want you,” he whispered. “Can we go somewhere private?”
The vampire leaned his head against Nate’s chest. His eyes were half-closed, and his mouth was supremely satisfied.
Nate allowed himself a faint, animal whimper. “Please?”
“All right,” the vampire allowed. “But only because I want it.” He stalked off the dance floor, leading the way to the sidelines.
Nate spotted a staircase to one side of the door they’d entered by. “Where does that go?”
“The gallery?” The vampire squeezed Nate’s hand. “A good thought.” He tugged Nate up the narrow staircase.
At the top of the stairs, Nate could see a thin platform running the length of the wall, elegantly screened with wooden railings. It was just wide enough for two people to walk arm in arm and gave a bird’s-eye view of the dancers on the floor below. Paintings in heavy frames were placed on the wall at intervals, with candles in holders between them.
Life After Humanity Page 18