Where Loyalty Lies

by Hannah Valentine

  “It’s a bit of both. When you choose to be a Red or a Blue, you have to fill out a detailed form that covers things like age, height, weight, blood type, looks, diet, that sort of stuff and all the information gets put on a database. Then when a vamp wants a snack, they call or text the sorting department and give their requirements and then the people in the sorting office find the best match and book the appointment.”

  I couldn’t help but feel a little queasy. “Appointment? You make it sound like visiting the doctor or something.”

  “Yeah, I thought it was gross at first but you kinda get used to it when you live here and it just goes on every day. In fact it’s an achievement to be regularly chosen.”

  “So vamps can choose a particular person?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah, from what I understand vamps have different tastes just like us. So if they find a member of staff they particularly like, they can request them.”

  Chapter 31

  We went through a door into a large homely kitchen.

  “This is the self-service kitchen,” Dale said. “If you can’t be bothered to cook, we have a diner area where you can order food, but if you just fancy a sandwich and stuff, there are loads of readymade ones kept in here.” Dale pulled open a door to a huge walk-in fridge. “So take your pick.”

  I looked around at all the readymade and wrapped sandwiches before picking out a duck and hoisin sauce wrap. We chose a couple of bottles of coke from another walk-in fridge filled with drinks, followed by crisps, chocolate and an apple each, all taken from perfectly labelled cupboards. Together we carried it all back to Dale’s room. We both climbed onto his bed and started eating.

  “So you could get told any minute that you’ve been chosen?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but it’s unlikely.”

  “Why? I mean, I know there aren’t many female vampires here but you said you’ve been here years so surely you must have been called at some point?”

  A slight flush crept across Dale’s cheeks and I realised I’d once again spoken before I’d thought.

  “I’m sorry,” I blurted. “You really don’t have to answer that. I have this terrible habit of sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

  “It’s fine,” Dale insisted. “One other bit of information that gets added to the database is who’d be up for some X-rated activities when they give blood and who wouldn’t. I chose not to be part of that and, as most vamps prefer a bit of action with their dinner, people like me don’t stand much chance of getting chosen.”

  It was my turn to blush and I suddenly had to work hard to finish my mouthful. “You mean... people who get called aren’t just... giving blood; they’re also giving their bodies?”

  “Most of them,” Dale nodded and, not noticing how disturbed I was by this, he carried on eating.

  “But isn’t that prostitution?”

  Dale picked up on my disgust. “It depends who you ask. I mean, personally, I think it’s just too creepy but, if you ask the people who do it, they swear it’s incredible. There isn’t any point making a fuss, though, because it’s all done fairly. We all know about vampire Attraction and the fact that while you’re being bitten you can feel as horny as hell, but if it’s on the database that you don’t want any extra action then a vamp can’t do anything but feed, even if you beg for it.”

  “Well, I guess that’s something,” I said, but I was wondering about Dale. We’d spent hours together now and not once had he hit on me. He’d said he knew about vampire Attraction and I wondered if he did feel drawn to me but was fighting it, or if he really was one of the few men I’d known that didn’t seem affected by it. I strongly hoped it was the latter but couldn’t find a way of asking without sounding completely arrogant.

  Dale misunderstood my long silence. “I know it all sounds sick but give it a couple of months and you won’t even bat an eyelid at the thought.”

  “I’m not so sure. I just don’t like the thought of all those vampires deciding they’re hungry or horny and just calling up and ordering an A positive petite blonde or an O negative busty redhead. I mean how does it even work? Do you just get a phone call saying you’ve been selected and you have to drop what you’re doing and go?”

  “Kinda. We all have an ID number that coincides with our unit and room number, so I’m Red56 and, if you get selected, then you get beeped.” Dale lifted up his shirt to show me not only a peek at a perfectly muscled stomach but a small black beeper clipped onto the waist of his jeans. “You get beeped, told a room number and you have half an hour to get ready and get there.”

  “What do you mean, get ready?” I asked.

  “Well, if you’ve been working out or something then you have to shower and you have to make sure you’re wearing clean clothes, nothing that has sweat on or that’s been worn too many times without a wash. Also you aren’t allowed any perfume or aftershave, just the necessary deodorant.”

  “Wow, talk about fussy eaters,” I said, grimacing at the unpleasant thought.

  “Tell me about it. When you’re signed up as a feeder then you have four days when you’re on call and three days off. You aren’t allowed to drink when you’re on call or on your third day off because you have to allow twenty-four hours to let the alcohol leave your system.”

  I chewed my bottom lip. It was all so organised. When I’d seen Holt with that woman outside Burger King, I’d been thoroughly freaked out by it, but something about the casualness of it made it more bearable. Knowing now about the beepers and specifics made me feel strange. I knew that nobody here was made to do anything they didn’t want to, but it still seemed bizarre. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. Leaning back against the wall I looked over at Dale who was propped up against the headboard.

  “Thanks for everything today.”

  Dale grinned. “Glad to be of assistance.”

  “You’ve managed to turn what could have been a rubbish day into a good one,” I said.

  “What was all that stuff in the library about?” Dale asked.

  I looked down at my hands, feeling the humiliation of earlier wash over me.

  “It’s nothing really. I’m just trying to find my feet. I feel a bit like Alice down the rabbit hole; nothing’s quite as it seems.”

  Dale chuckled, “Yeah, I bet.” There was a silence in which Dale opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before asking, “What did Saul want with you?”

  I was surprised that Dale knew who Saul was but I guess being the top enforcer meant that Saul was better known than most.

  “I honestly don’t know,” I muttered.

  “Well, I think you should stay away from him,” Dale said and the strength behind his voice made me look at him. He was no longer casually leaning back like me, he was tilted towards me with the most serious expression I’d ever seen on his face. “He has a bad reputation.”

  I let out a long breath. “You don’t have to worry, I know all about his reputation. Hell, I expect every girl here knows about his reputation.”

  “No, Faine, I don’t mean that sort of reputation. Well, yes, he does have that too and most of the girls here rave about him, but I mean he’s dangerous. The stories about things he’s done are legendary around here. The girls think he’s amazing, like some kind of extreme bad boy, but that’s only because they spend the occasional night in his company. But, for you, it’s different. You’re living with him and you might be for a while, so, if you want my advice, you should avoid him like the plague.”

  “The plague? Surely he can’t be that bad?” I said. I hated to admit it but, hearing that Saul had been with pretty much every girl here, sent prickles of jealousy all through me.

  “The plague probably killed less people,” Dale stated.

  I laughed, but it came out strangled and I died a death when I realised Dale wasn’t joking. “Come on, Dale, surely you’re not judging someone from the rumours you’ve heard?”

  “They aren’t rumours, Faine. Vamps don’t care about
what they say in front of us humans and the stories we hear about what Saul has done as an enforcer are way past terrifying.”

  I have no idea what expression was pasted across my face at that moment but Dale took his time studying it and then a frown pulled his eyebrows low over his eyes. “So there is something between you two?”

  “No, well, yes, but nothing really, it’s just...” I trailed off, trying to work out what it was. I thought of how blown away I’d been on the night of the Autumn Ball when I first met him and the way he’d kissed me. But that wasn’t real. I’d probably felt the same way every other girl did when they got Saul’s attention. I thought of all the times I’d acted like a giddy school girl with a crush around him and the memories made me cringe. I must have looked like such a fool.

  “Faine, I don’t care what the vamps think of him, that guy is bad news and you need to stay away. Please.”

  “It’s fine,” I said, taking a deep breath. “You don’t have anything to worry about.” Dale didn’t look like he believed me. “Honestly, I’m always going to see him around, but there’s nothing more to it than that.”

  For a while neither of us spoke but then Dale nodded and leaned back again. “I’m sorry for going on, it’s just that, in my opinion, someone like that shouldn’t be considered a hero, they should be locked up.”

  “It’s fine,” I said again, even though I didn’t feel fine. Dale was a genuinely good guy and seeing his reaction to Saul was just plain scary. I didn’t even want to think about what he’d heard about Saul to make him this upset. This was seriously bringing down the mood.

  “So, Scarlett Johansson, huh?” I asked, nodding towards his poster. “Got a thing for blondes?”

  Dale seemed grateful for the topic change and, just like that, he was back to his usual grinning self.

  “When you’re that gorgeous, hair colour doesn’t matter.”

  I laughed, “Yeah, and I bet the steaming hot body has nothing to do with it either.”

  “Well, it helps.”

  Chapter 32

  I spent most of the afternoon with Dale but, all too soon, he was called in to do a shift as a guard on the front gates and, now that I was alone, I could feel the sadness once more slowly seeping into me.

  As I left the staff building I remembered Monique’s words. I felt like such an idiot. I knew I couldn’t go back to my rooms in case Saul was still looking for me. Dale’s warnings were still so fresh in my mind; I wanted to avoid bumping into Saul at all costs. So I redirected myself to the perfect place for my current frame of mind.

  The shooting range was blessedly empty. I found the airgun in its case, just where it had been the last time I’d used it. I was probably the only person here that ever used it.

  As I searched for a tin of pellets, the memory of that perfect kiss in the rain ran through my mind, but, instead of bringing with it the warm tingly feelings of before, it made my humiliation grow. I wondered if Saul had realised how much I liked him. Did he think that, for me, he was just a bit of fun? Or did he realise that what I felt for him was more than I’d ever felt for anyone before? The answer came to me just as I found the pellets. Of course he knew. He had a built-in emotion sensor, which meant he must have been able to tell exactly how much I liked him. Worse than that, he hadn’t even cared about hurting me when he got bored and decided to move on.

  I loaded the gun and felt a surge of satisfaction flow though me as I squeezed the trigger and felt the gun jump in my hands as it expelled the pellet. My shot didn’t get anywhere near the bullseye but I didn’t care, this wasn’t about bullseyes, it was about relieving some tension.

  I lost track of time but, as I was nearing the end of my pellets, the door opened. I lowered my gun and turned, irritated that I had to leave now as I was in no mood to have people observing my aim.

  Roy hesitated as he came into the room. I was glad that he couldn’t sense emotions, as walking into this room would probably have felt like walking into a wall of anger.

  “Ah, it seems like we’ve got you addicted to his place,” Roy said as he strolled towards me.

  I wasn’t in the mood for company but I really didn’t want to leave this place either.

  “I’ve discovered that firing a gun is a damn good way to relieve tension,” I said.

  “Well, I know another very good way of relieving tension if you get bored of shooting.”

  The mischievous look on Roy’s face gave away the dirty line of his thoughts, but it also showed his humour.

  “I think I’ll stick with shooting for now, thanks.”

  Roy gave a half-hearted shrug. “Fair enough, but at least give me the pleasure of showing you how to use a proper gun. It will relieve a lot more tension than your little toy.”

  I chewed my lip in hesitation. A few moments ago I’d been more than happy with my little airgun but the temptation of having something that was bigger, heavier, louder and more powerful was too much. I nodded and Roy’s face lit up.

  “That’s right.” He took the airgun out of my hands and left it in my booth before taking my hand and leading me into the next booth along. I watched as he prepared a gun just like the one he’d been using last time.

  “Now, what you have to remember is that this will have a lot more clout than your little pistol. Make sure your grip is firm and, when you pull the trigger, just squeeze gently and be prepared for the kick it’ll give as it fires.”

  I held the gun up at the target, feeling how much heavier it was.

  “That’s it. Now just lower your arms a bit.” Roy moved behind me, pressing his body up against mine and running his hands down my arms until they were over my own hands.

  “I’ll shoot you in a minute, if you don’t back off,” I said.

  Roy chuckled and backed off with his hands raised in a gesture of submission. “Okay, okay, you can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  “I can and I will,” I snapped, but I gave him half a smile just so he knew I wasn’t really mad.

  Even prepared as I was, I was still taken aback when I fired my shot. It felt like a solid chunk of my anger left me as every bullet left the barrel. When I was out of shots, I couldn’t help but grin.

  “Was I right or was I right?” Roy asked.

  “You were right,” I admitted.

  “So, can I ask what the source of this tension is?” Roy said, taking the gun from me and reloading it.

  “You can ask all you like, just don’t expect an answer.”

  Roy chuckled again. “Fair enough. But, just so you know, the transition is difficult for everyone. I know that, in your circumstances, it’s a little different, but everyone has trouble adjusting to the vampire way of life at first. The staff have counsellors to help them come to terms with the realisation that vampires actually exist, and, for people who actually get changed from humans into vampires, it’s one hell of an ordeal.”

  My anger disappeared as he spoke. Instead I found myself engrossed in what he was saying.

  “How do people get turned into vampires?” I asked, realising that, after Holt had mentioned it that first time, I’d never remembered to ask about it again.

  Sensing my interest, Roy stopped what he was doing and leant up against the wooden partition that separated each booth. “Well, it’s actually quite straightforward; it’s the one thing that most of the vampire stories seem to get right. A vampire has to drink from the human, right up until the human dies, then, no less than a minute after the heart has stopped beating, the vampire has to cut themselves, usually at the wrist, and let the blood flow into the human’s mouth. There’s a chemical in a vampire’s blood that forces the human’s heart to restart. The human has to drink their blood back from the vampire, but now that blood is vampire blood, not human blood.”

  For a moment I stood in silence, trying to take in the gory and graphic picture that Roy had painted.

  “So your hearts do beat?” I asked.

  In answer to my question, Roy grabbed my hand and held it to
his chest. I’d have pulled away at the over-friendly contact but I was too intrigued. Sure enough, I could feel a steady heartbeat.

  I smiled at Roy and then pulled my hand away. “So that’s just another myth, then.”

  “One of many.” Roy handed me the gun and stood back while I took my shots. My aim wasn’t bad and two of my shots hit the edge of the bullseye. I turned and held the gun out to Roy but, before I could ask him to reload it, he cut me off.

  “Not bad, but if you’re going to be coming here regularly to vent your frustrations, then you need to learn how to load it yourself.”

  I watched as he talked me through it. It was simple enough. He loaded it once then unloaded it and asked me to reload it. Once I had, he asked me to unload it and then to reload it again.

  “Right, I think you’ve got it,” he finally concluded. “Now you’re completely self-sufficient.”

  I gave him a smile of thanks, expecting him to move off into his own booth, but instead he stayed next to me as I fired off a couple more shots. My third one hit dead centre in the target.

  “For what it’s worth, I reckon you fit in here pretty damn well,” Roy said from behind me.

  Remembering Monique’s words in the library earlier, I snorted. “I think you’re in a minority with that opinion.”

  “Most people round here are old, stuck in their ways; just give them time and they’ll come round.”

  I lowered my gun but didn’t turn to face Roy. “I don’t have a problem with people not liking me.”

  That much was true. I honestly didn’t mind about people like Monique sticking their noses up at me, at least she was honest. What I did have a problem with was people pretending to like me more than they did. No, that was unfair of me. The truth was that Saul hadn’t been dishonest with me. It had been me getting ahead of myself, thinking I might finally have found someone special. Saul had never given me any indication that he wanted anything more than a bit of fun. We’d chatted and flirted and been out once on what wasn’t even a proper date. Yes, we’d kissed, but that hadn’t counted for anything really. Just because that kiss had meant so much to me, it didn’t mean it had to Saul.