by R. J. Blain
“It’s a necessity.” I crouched and collected the broken shards of my mug, careful to avoid cutting myself on the sharp edges. “I regret losing my coffee to your idiocy.”
Emerick chuckled, stepped around me, and left my office. “I’ll get you a new cup, just try not to assault our guest with it this time. You need to give me specifications to redecorate your office anyway. That’s your space, so it’s well enough you’ve made a mess of the floor.”
“It’s hardwood. At worst, it will leave a little discoloration if it wasn’t properly protected.”
“There’s glitter. The wood has been contaminated.”
“A vacuum can fix that without issue. There’s no need to rip out the entire floor to get rid of some glitter. You might want to burn the towels, though.” The towels would never be the same again, stained with coffee on one side and traumatized with glitter on the other. “I like the floors. They’re nice.”
“Then if you like the floors, the floors will be kept, although they will need to be resurfaced. It’s been a while.” Emerick stepped into the doorway and regarded the floor, engaging it in a glaring contest. The floor won. “At least permit me to show you the other flooring options. You can also wait to choose your floor when you’ve replaced the furniture with what you want and have decided what you want to do with the walls.”
“I hate wasting serviceable things.”
“The hardwood flooring can be repurposed. It’s good wood, but it could use some work.”
“You can strip it, stain it to the color I want, and reinstall it with the proper treatments on top. There is no need to replace it when it has not outlived its original purpose.”
“She is going to turn your brood upside down with her practicality, and your budget might become a thing of true beauty should you give it to her to work with.” Clarke snickered and pushed past Emerick. “I’ve work to do, so I will excuse myself. I will send word when required or pay another visit. Paying you a visit seems likely, as things are far more interesting now that you have a woman underfoot. Try not to goad her into killing you, boy. You’re still one of my favorite children, although I question why I thought it wise to teach you independence.”
Emerick chuckled, and to my astonishment, the vampires hugged before Emerick’s maker excused himself.
I stared with wide eyes, and my mouth dropped open, but I couldn’t think of a single word to say.
“Don’t worry about it, Pepper.” Ben joined me and helped gather the rest of the pieces of the broken mug. “Our master craves attention more than anyone else in the brood. You’ll get used to it.”
Fourteen
Equality is a funny beast among vampires.
Clarke’s departure roused the rest of the brood, and an entire herd of busybody vampires invaded the penthouse, infesting every nook and cranny. They brought more presents, which took over my office and threatened to breed if left unattended. I did the only sensible thing a woman could do when surrounded.
I fled to my bathroom, locked the door, and opted to do my best to purge my clothes and body of glitter. In the bedroom I shared with the brood’s master, laughter promised I’d never live down my less-than-graceful retreat. It would take at least a lifetime to get the glitter out of the bathroom, but I would use the wretched, sparkling substance to secure my place in the penthouse. Until the glitter was all gone, there would be no way I’d accept defeat and leave.
I made certain to shake out the glitter along the walls to make it extra difficult to remove.
Sometimes, I redefined what it meant to be a bitch.
Once I finished my evil works, I got undressed, lined my stakes up for inspection and cleaning, and indulged in a bubble bath. Thanks to the trapped presents, the water sparkled. To spare the jets, I didn’t turn them on, as I had no idea what glitter would do to them.
It took several washes to get most of the mess out before I settled into the task of braiding my hair. It still shimmered, but I’d probably survive.
Cleaning the glitter off the leather ruined a towel and I doubted it would fully be rid of the nuisance substance. Once I no longer resembled a walking disco ball, I emerged from the bathroom to discover the master bedroom had become a base of operations, and Emerick ruled from our bed, papers spread out around him, several cell phones close by, and three laptops open and ready for service. The bedroom door was closed, and we were alone.
“I didn’t take you to be the type to work in bed.”
“I was listening to make certain you didn’t attempt to drown yourself. Also, my office has been taken over. Ben wanted to use my phone to contact other broods and get as much information on Breckenan as possible. Using my line makes it official brood business, which is handled differently than favors.”
Ugh. More vampire politics. Color me unsurprised with a splash of disgusted. “Did you find anything out?”
“I did. My maker prefers handling things personally, where I am willing to have others do the heavy lifting. All it took was notifying the broods that Breckenan is resorting to torture to get them willing to work with me. Add in the fact he targeted you, a young woman, and the reputable broods are ready and willing to join the fight. As Ben is wise, he has not contacted the less reputable broods. He has also spoken to Mistress Avalon about the situation. She has made demands.”
“Demands?”
“In light of a verification of the violence involved with your making, the quality of stakes you craft, and the other circumstances coloring your haphazard introduction to our society, she wishes to adjust our initially proposed ball.”
Damn it. “What now?”
“She has ordered I contain your aggressive instincts however I see fit, and that the brides broods are permitted to aid in the hunt. They wish for you to help with the training of their brides. In short, she has conceded that times have changed and that you are their best chance to thrive in the future. She has also proposed we change the circumstances leading up to a woman attempting to be made into a vampire.”
While I longed to roll my eyes and flip the vampire off, I sat on the edge of the bed. “They want to hunt miscreants?”
“Precisely. It is becoming harder to tame their other instincts, and there are few men willing to pay out for the chance to win one of the ladies. So, the arrangement will be simple enough. You, with help from me, Ben, and the more talented hunters in our brood, will teach the brides broods how to be hunters and protectors. While the ball will still happen, we will have some modifications. Men will fight the brides to win their favor, and the women will pick men of their choosing without the dowry payment requirements should they fight sufficiently. The mistresses of the brides broods will decide if a man has battled sufficiently to earn the waiver of the fee. If he has not, he can use his wit to earn a waive or pay the hefty cost.”
“Still being sold but being sold in a more favorable fashion.” I could see some women liking that idea. Even I could see some appeal to that.
Having control appealed to a lot of women.
“It’s a start, and the brides broods will be rejuvenated if we can determine just how to find suitable women with the drive to survive. That is what aided you in your making, not that you were abused, but that you had the will and drive to survive no matter the cost. Revenge fueled that desire, but you inherently did not wish to die, so you didn’t.”
“Technically, I did. We’re undead, after all.”
“That is a fallacy, one that vampires do tend to nourish. We’re still quite alive, and while we flirted at death’s door, we’re not rotting corpses wandering around. We’re living beings. We breathe. We have emotions. We can be sickened. We can die. Magic has made us into what we are and rising from a death-like state is part of what we are, but we’re not actually dead, nor did our bodies truly die.”
That was new, and I raised both brows. “Really?”
“It sounds more menacing to be an undead. But we aren’t. Not really. If I cut you, you will bleed. You just don’t
produce blood on your own anymore. In exchange, you’ve become a predator. Magic is what makes us able to digest blood and make it our own. As it appears you eat magic, you’re a little different from most. That, in part, is likely from how you were made.”
I could see a lot of ways my existence as a vampire would cause everyone a lot of problems. Because I existed, others might be tempted to repeat what had been done to me. “Won’t this invite unsavory types to experiment?”
“I expect it to. And they will be hunted, and they will be killed like the rabid animals they are.”
“And if there are others like me?”
“They will either be adopted into broods, or if they are as vile and twisted as those who made them, they will be put down as miscreants. They will have a chance, but it is up to them to decide what they do with that chance. We cannot afford to allow the twisted to rampage unchecked. There have been concerns that Breckenan will try to create more like you, women capable of becoming skilled hunters. He was displeased to lose you, his accidental bride.”
“Like hell I’m his bride.”
“Until you are confirmed to have claimed a vampire of your own, he is your maker, and he can address you as his bride.”
“Vampire society sucks, and I resent that I’m not allowed to burn it all to the ground.”
Emerick chuckled. “I look forward to educating him on the errors of his ways. There are steps that you can take to revoke his ability to claim you as his bride. Because you are the first woman of this generation to survive being made, news of your existence will spread, and you will be highly desired by all broods. Almost any man in any brood would have you without regret. Picking one will eradicate his claim to you.”
“Question. There’s no such thing as divorce among vampires, correct?”
“You would become irrevocably blood bound to the man of your choosing. I suppose you could stake your bonded man and dispose of his body, although there are consequences to the loss of a blood bound partner.”
“Explain the consequences, please.”
“Being blood bound goes beyond just craving blood. It is an emotional bond. You would grieve. It’s a survivable grief, but you would grieve all the same. Ben grieved for many decades before he moved on from his wife’s rejection. He is only now ready to commit to another woman. Most women outlive their men, and they grieve longer, but that is a nurtured grief, I believe. They are trained in the broods to be dedicated. And while magic plays a part, their training changes the brides. There is no one as loyal as a bride.”
“And should I pick you?”
“Well, I will certainly enjoy redecorating the penthouse to make it suitably comfortable for you. I fear my evenings will be rather busy, as you are not the kind of woman to do as told unless you agree with it, so you will keep me on my toes. There are other benefits I will truly enjoy, as brides do tend to be vicious. I do quite like this bed, so I would appreciate if you didn’t destroy it in your enthusiasm.”
I regarded the bed, which hadn’t seemed all that fragile to me. “Won’t you usurping the only single woman in the brood cause problems?”
“Hardly. The rest of the brood would appreciate if I were not so surly from centuries of solitude.”
“You take your vampires out for ice cream parties to watch romantic comedies. I hardly call that a man who wallows in solitude. You also seem to be rather active in the management of your brood.”
“And it will be our brood should you pick me, as that is the nature of things. We have odd customs about our brides; once she accepts a man, she is his equal in all ways.”
“Equality is a funny beast among vampires.”
“That is the truth. Brides raised in brides brood are constantly on guard against their predatory instincts. You have those instincts, but you have channeled them into the violent hunting of your next meal. Without a hunt, your aggression will begin to stir.”
“And the married brides? What do they hunt?”
“Their men. Rigorously.”
My brows shot up at that. “They take their aggression out on their men in bed?”
“The first week is particularly hazardous to their men. The last time my brood brought in a bride, she kept her husband busy in bed for two weeks. He could barely crawl when she finished with him. She’d been with Mistress Avalon for almost a hundred years. She is almost ready to try to bring a child into the world and is one of the many reasons I am considering expanding my activities for boarding houses for women willing to donate blood in exchange for rent and expenses.”
“Would the laws allow you to do that and bypass the taxes on it?”
“That is one of my aims. I’ve already made a few suggestions to some of the broods who are more active in political maneuvering. I shared my idea with them and invited them to use it should they be able to manipulate the system to allow for such an arrangement.”
“I’m not sure you can afford to lose two weeks to anyone’s appetite.” The thought of losing two weeks of my life in bed shocked me so much I couldn’t decide if I liked the idea or wanted to hide. The conversation explained a lot, however, about my tendency to view Emerick as my preferred dessert.
It went beyond blood. That I lacked the same interest in the other offerings in the brood bothered me.
It also implied I’d already fixated on Emerick due to how I needed to feed. Would transitioning away from his blood to animal blood help?
Then again, I’d spent most of my life taking calculated risks and analyzing my every action. Survival in my father’s world mandated that behavior.
Choosing for the sake of choosing could be disastrous.
Choosing for the sake of choosing would be reckless.
Choosing for the sake of choosing might land me in hot water.
But I could choose, and the thrill of having that freedom crashed through me, battering aside everything else.
I could choose.
Emerick’s chuckle dragged me away from my realization. “A written selection is all the brood needs to remove any and all claims Breckenan might have on your person, and as we have a direct witness to the violence and unwillingness of your making, you have nothing to worry about. You can decide where you go, who you stay with, or who you choose as your partner, and I will ensure that your choice is not challenged successfully. Most will accept your wishes. Once properly bonded, women are not inclined to change their minds, nor are the men. If anything, the men become very vicious protectors of their woman and the woman is more vicious in defending her turf, which is part of what created the brides broods in the first place. Women would fight to the death over men, and men would fight to the death over women. Enough lives were lost that steps were taken. I had not yet been made when the brides formed their own broods to limit the number of deaths due to jealousy, but I have heard stories.”
“A written selection? You mean a marriage license?” I found it amusing even vampires lived and breathed damned paperwork. Too bad death hadn’t spared me from the taxes—or the legal documentation required to legitimatize my new life.
“That is ultimately a part of it, yes. Vampires take their vows very seriously. A mutually signed license will offer you protections until it expires, but a finalized certificate will last until death.”
“That’ll add complexity. There are delays and blood tests required in New York for marriage.”
“It is one of the perks vampires have secured. We do not have the requirement to wait and there is a court open at night specifically for our use. The finalization process takes a few hours. Vampires also have the option to seal those records to the public.”
“How’d you pull that off?”
“The brides broods did the work, as it offers their ladies various protections. The master of the bride’s brood must make the request, and after the bride confirms that is her choice, the documentation is processed immediately, while witnessed. The government ultimately agreed because anyone who makes use of the system is registered. I have al
ready registered you under your new name and have taken the required steps to separate your birth name from your new identity. That is also something the brides broods pushed through. Not all legislation works against the preternatural communities.”
“Just most of them.”
“Just most of them,” he conceded, checking his watch. “It’s early enough in the night you could have your choice finalized before dawn. Well, your portion of it. You can sleep through the submitting process.”
Had I been under my father’s thumb, I would have meticulously checked each and every law, considered the ramifications of my choice, and otherwise spent weeks deciding if my altered course would favor me rather than create yet another setback. “How does this benefit you?”
“If I listed all of the benefits of your agreement to be my partner and equal, we would be here for several nights, no work would be done at all, and the brood would worry.”
Emerick’s drive to safeguard the brood fit comfortably on both the pro and the con list of establishing a permanent arrangement with him. “And if we find out in a few weeks we hate each other?”