Blood Rider

As a Clan establishment, it looked much like a brick warehouse, with blacked out windows and a thumping pulse of music. Music from the old days and of many generations and genres. The Clans could afford electricity and flaunted it, as did University City. Most of the inner Quarter clubs were very retro. The higher end ones more dignified, court vampire style, with stain glass windows and dark woods. Vampires loved all music. Whether it was electric, beating drums or violins. They also loved dancing. They, in fact, had all the good parties. They had the skilled workers to run electricity, plumbing and heat that other Quarters didn’t.

Lee strode towards the guards and when they identified her energy they stiffened slightly. Clan initiated frowned upon Council assassins killing one of their own, as it was Clan authority who should do so. They usually did, but it was because she had the authority to do so, had done so, they didn’t like her much. She couldn’t claim to know them all, or vice versa, but they could tell she was tied to no one. There were not so many vampires in the city, soon she would know them all, by face anyway. She gave them a smirk and brushed passed them. There had been a time when she would never have dared to enter deep into their territory and stroll into one of their clubs.

She was immediately assaulted by the pulsing of lights and throbbing of a strong rhythmic beat that shook her rib cage. And she loved it. It was said that sometimes a vampire could be transfixed with patterns and music. Certainly, it grabbed their attention and focus. It only seemed natural when their senses were so enhanced. A young vampire sometimes had trouble sorting out all the information and no matter her natural strength; Lee was young by vampire standards.

The main room was lined with cushioned booths, an inner circle of tables and then a large circle for the dance floor. As usual, the dance floor was crammed with people, but as vampires, they were lithe, youthful and beautiful people. Yet the exotic, delicate features, often with high cheekbones and hollowed out cheeks, made them obvious to Lee.

She heard speculation that the reason vampires tended to be on the spectacular side in form and feature was because the rider was a predator and thus chose a host that was appealing. However, it was just as likely that any clan initiated would choose to initiate someone that was attractive to them. Either way, anyone could tell the rider did modifications to the host. There was the flash to the eyes, indicating night vision and spiritual energy, but the colours were also deeper and more solid, either very pale shades or bright. Often shifting within one range of colour depending on bloodthirst and mood. Her own eyes had changed over time from a blue-green to a very pale green.

The physiques were toned with that sort of peak body conditions that nature intended, given proper food sources and exercise. That meant they came in many shapes, some curvier than others, and for that healthy aspect a good eye could pick them out among the humans easily. Living in the north meant food was scarce in the winters, at least in the city. Natural skin tone was on the pale side; alabaster, ivory or golden. They danced with a seductive grace reminiscent of warriors, martial artists and professional dancers; liquid movements, with a hint of potential violence and of panther-like grace. They were the perfect predators and needed to be. They had to pass for human and they had to feed on fresh blood because it was not the blood, it was the life force flowing with it. The Council had determined this and thus the list of registered donors.

Just being in the room with the beat of the music and the sinuous, twisting bodies dancing, made her want to throw herself into that crowd and let the freedom of movement and the music flow through her. She may not have the bond the Clans shared, but she had the same drives they did. Instead, she just watched and waited. Her job entailed being around the Clans but not of the Clans. She couldn’t be like they were. There was no need to announce herself and no need to go searching for what would come to her. Eric would know she was near and since she had walked through Vampire Quarter he had likely known seconds after she crossed.

It did not take long at all before she felt a tingle up her spine. She arched her back a little as pleasure pooled within her and then sharply spiked with an insistent tug. Her demon had a strong attraction and response to vampires classed as Masters.

To be a Master among the Clans not only required they be about a five hundred years old, but also have at least four initiates beneath them somewhere over three hundred. Since pre-Creation vampires were very rare there were not many Master classes around. She had met enough of them when the Clans had gathered in the city, as she had to do feeding control. Enough to know she had a similar response to powerful males. Either sexual or extremely aggressive, both of which were strong impulses she had a hard time resisting when near their daunting power. It was odd when she should fear them, being that she was not nearly as aged.

The shiver became a sizzle when she felt Eric’s body press up against hers, the hardness of his arousal against her back, as his arms slid around her waist and pulled her close. Her body responded immediately and sharply to the contact. Her pulse raced shivers of pleasure contracted within her causing an ache of need and her nipples pebbled with the mere thought of being touched.

Traitor.

Lee didn’t know if the thought was a reprimand to her body or to the demon that incited the reaction to begin with. Eric nuzzled into her neck, as her neck bent to enjoy the caress of his lips. “I do so love this short hair. Easy access,” he murmured, lightly pressing his teeth to her pulse. That made her pull away and turn around. No sharing blood with Clan vampires; it created a bond. She didn’t want to be tied to the Clans in any way, or to any man for that matter.

-But by the Almighty, it would be so exquisite.-

Hedonist.

-Prude.-

“Mmm, what brings you down here tonight, my lovely?” Eric asked, looking all seductive and tempting. Even though he had lived in this land for three hundred years, so she heard, there was still a faint Old English accent to her ears. She recognized it because a few of the older vampires had it, even though she highly doubted such a country existed anymore. At least not in the sense it had.

She wanted to lick him all over and give him a few love bites, but she was not going to. Not this time. Otherwise, he might get possessive vampire thoughts in his head and be tempted to take her into his Clan. Then Wilhelm himself could track her down and kill her. A compromised asset was no asset at all.

-But, hot damn, he is a pretty piece of man candy.-

Settle down, Charlie.

At about six foot five inches tall, lean taunt muscles and smooth ivory skin, he was definitely in the savoury man candy category. Just made a lady want to run her hands over those ripped ridges. His eyes were of the pale variety, a pale hazel she always found stunning on a man, although they had an amber glint to them tonight. His hair was a light tawny brown with honey-coloured highlights, with a wavy curl to it. A vampire could produce such spectacular shades and mixtures. Even so, if not for his power, her body wouldn’t thrum so quickly to his tune. There were many beautiful vampire men and she resisted them fine. She prided herself on her resistance to all temptations. Except for the chocolaty fudge kind.

-These days you do,- Charlie grumbled.

It was to prove she could. Young vampires often had little control over their hedonistic and bloodthirsty needs. With Charlie pushing her she had to have even more will to rein herself in.

“I would like to talk to you about a problem I have.”

-I’m now a problem you have? You insult me with such a remark.-

Eric cocked his head, giving her a more serious appraisal. She felt a tingle across her aura and knew he was trying to skim her thoughts, but unless they were unguarded they were too equal to pull that trick on each other. The brush of auras made her shiver. Her mental strength was preferable really; she knew the man didn’t run a northern clan by just gut and gusto. She bet his mind was ripe full of unpleasantness. “Council business? I understand your function very well, but I don’t value Council interference with my people.” The amusement had drained from his expression and his eyes took on a darker look.

“My problem has nothing to do with the Council or Clan… or the work I do,” she said quickly. She never interfered with his territory or came to him with Council concerns. “Don’t be so absurd. You know I’m not a political creature or a diplomat. You do your business and I do mine.”

“And so?” he asked, spreading his hands and quirking an eyebrow.

Lee glanced over his shoulder at his two bodyguards; two loyal elder vampires in his honour guard. Always the same two. Thor and Theo; two tall, golden-skinned, vibrant blue-eyed twins. They were built like bouncers, which was very rare to see in a vampire. They had to eat more, feed more and work out quite a bit to maintain that build. She flashed them both a grin, which wasn’t returned, as usual. How they could remain so stoic as to ignore all their rider urges was frankly astounding. It had to be explosive when it came out.

“In private.”

He shrugged as if it didn’t matter. He was a Master and had little to fear from a two-century aged vampire. A Creation born, clanless vampire. It was entirely true. Up against one vampire, Lee could be impressive. But in the Clans, there was back up. They wanted something done and it was done, or even, overdone. Not to mention she had heard the bonding meant an elder could tap the energy reserve of the one he turned, which meant, Eric, the top of the local pyramid could pack quite the punch.

-He should fear you. We are strong. We are free.-

Charlie always inflated her ego like that; she was beginning to think she said everything that would piss people off if they heard them. The demon was so contrary; at times Lee thought she was contrary just to rile her up.

Eric took her arm in his and escorted her around the room, to a back lounge he used for private meetings. Thor and Theo followed, but stopped at the door, flanking it and Thor gave her a warning look that almost made her smile. He was still pissed she called them Twit and Twat when we had first met. It had been funny at the time and still was really.

Eric closed the door behind him while she made herself comfortable on a gaudy, but soft, crimson loveseat. She tried not to watch him, or appreciate him, as he moved to the mini bar. She let a small sigh escape as he poured himself some rum. He drew her attention. She didn’t want to look away, just wanted her eyes to glide over the muscles she could see outlined under his shirt. It had absolutely nothing to do with emotion or his personality. It was pure physical attraction.

He walked over, or perhaps sauntered over would be better, and handed her a bottle of beer. Then sat down across from her, not hiding his slow appraisal and sensuous smile. Perhaps he thought she was here for a little action, or perhaps he thought she would be tied to him for any help he gave her.

Lee chugged back some of the beer. Beer was always better cold and the first one had a way of going down faster. Then silently pondered how she was going to begin the conversation, as he leaned back and waited with only the patience of a half millennium old man could manage.

-Please do not start off with how to separate us. He wouldn’t understand why you would want to do such a thing. And he will think you are crazy when you explain it.-

Likely. Very likely. Already people thought she didn’t act as a vampire should. Lee noticed the looks as well. Because Charlie was a constant presence in her mind, one she conversed with, it led to her looking like she was talking to herself or at best having oddly long pauses in conversations. She needed information though. Even if separation was not possible, she needed to know what they knew about it. If it was, then she needed to know she had the option. Mostly she needed to know how riders usually behaved as opposed to her rather vocal one. The Council and her Handler didn’t know about Charlie and so the Clans were her only way to get the information she needed. She needed to know if she was crazy. A person should know if they are crazy, of only to be able to better hide it from others.

-Trust me, Lee. I have our best interests in mind here.-

She bit her lip in order to swallow the retort she almost spat out.

“I see the club is hopping tonight, Eric,” she said, lamely, but she needed to start somewhere.

“It is, even if a Council executioner comes walking in off the street, with the scent of a kill on her.”

‘Executioner’ was a bit harsh, or flattering, because very few of the gigs she did involved killing her kind. Monitoring their actions and movements definitely, but killing a vampire that over fed or ventured into the defined quarters was rare.

“Ah, well, not one of yours. He was unofficially turned as far as I could tell. Fifth one this week. Looks like they are flaunting their kills. Dropping them where the Council will notice them and that makes the powers that be a little cranky. I may be looking for a nesting soon. Trust me, I would be having a word about you controlling your fledglings had he been from your line.”

He smiled slightly, which for such an impassive vampire was a sign of amusement. Of course, what amused a man so old was often off kilter with what amused most people. “So you are not here to reprimand me then? How…disappointing.”

She rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the seductive purr to his tone. “I have told you that I was born into this world clanless. It was only in the last fifty or so years I have worked for the Council freelance. What I want from you is some simple information any fledgling would have learned before they were turned.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I would have thought you would have figured it out by now, love. Although I don’t envy the fact you had to do so on your own. Those that learn without a mentor tend to die. It is amazing you survived.”

“Not so amazing,” she muttered. Not when she had her own little demon mentor giving her information. Information for survival and information it wished to give but was irritatingly silent about the important things. “I know all the perks and downfalls, Eric. What I don’t know is the mythos. What the rider is. Where it comes from. What its limitations are.”

Eric leaned forward, hands smoothing down his pants and a slight frown line between his eyes. “You want to know what we tell fledglings about the rider? What difference does that make, Lee? It cannot be known for sure; it just is and always has been. Long before the Old World gasped its final breath, long before other places died and crumbled.”

Ah, Vampire, thy name be drama.

-Just please don’t get him talking about the good old days or we will never get out of here.-

“While I would like to take it on faith, I seem to be in short supply of that. Just tell me the facts and I will compare them to my own, decide my own truth of the matter. Stop toying with me. You know I will not convert whether you share or not.”

He sighed and leaned back, lounging with ease and seductiveness. “There is not much to tell that you likely have not heard before, even if you didn’t associate with the Clans. The rider co-inhabits with us, because it cannot exist without a host. Most consider it to be a demon, but that is tinting it with religion.”

He made a dismissive gesture. “Religions rise and fall, their creations myths changing and yet staying the same. Riders may be a being from a different level of reality, or it may be from this reality, just unable to live without us to sustain it. The term ’rider’ is itself a post-Creation term, just as vampire is the latest label of our kind. That is all a matter of personal belief and I know you are not religious.”

“I really was not looking for the biblical explanation,” she said dryly.

He smirked and then gave a brief nod. “We can say for fact, it needs to feed on energy to sustain itself and the host. Quite a bit of energy simply goes to maintaining the host, of that we know, and it is from this conservation comes the aversion to sunlight. Once it is merged with a host, does its alterations, both are in need of energy to maintain the state. The only way to get that energy is by siphoning it from a living body. Because blood is only the conduit, we need to take it fresh from the source. You are not one that wishes to spare humans a few pints by thinking they can feed on animals or bagged blood?”

As if bagged blood was easy to come by, but perhaps it had been in his past days.

-Not fresh? That is repulsive.-

Totally. Likely lumpy as well.

Nor had Lee ever heard of anyone thinking to feed off animals when humans were the easiest source. She really couldn’t picture herself sneaking up on a cow. “No,” she said, simply enough, because voicing any perplexity on a remark made by a Master was opening the fires of Creation on History. “So you know nothing else about the nature of the rider?”

He gave a slight shoulder shrug. “No one does, love. They just are. We just are. We shed one life and enter a new one, but this essence of the turning, the new nature, is not something that can be known.”

“And how do the clans initiate the merging?”

His lips turned up at the corners and his eyes glittered. Tia would say ’He got the devil in his eye’. “I could give you a demonstration.”

“No thank you.”

Yet he slid to his knees before her, so that he was between her legs. A rush of lust hit her hard. “There is a reason we don’t like the clanless,” he said softly, as he ran his hands up her legs. “They are a risk. Perhaps because they are the reason the Clans came into being. A system of control. It was not long ago the clanless were killed on sight, you know.”

He referred to pre-Creation she was sure. From what she had read they had been rigid on controlling their own ranks and number when humanity had no inkling of their existence. Lee tried to ignore what his close contact was doing to her. “Oh, I know that very well. It still happens and is why I have avoided my kind for so long. I had just passed my first century when the ban was lifted and the Clans openly represented themselves among humans.”

He leaned forward till his lips almost touched hers and she wanted them to. “It is because you cannot be trusted to follow the rules we have established to co-exist with humans. Because you have no bond to your creator to keep you in line and loyal. Needed even more so now that our kind is in the open.”

He gently kissed her lips and pleasure coiled within her. Then he proceeded to kiss down her neck.

“I get it. I don’t tow the party line. I know a bond is created when we share blood and I know that has something to do with your initiation rites. I know initiation requires a sharing, but I want to know about the first turn,” Lee said, her voice a little breathless.

“I know you don’t desire to share blood,” he said replied, taunting her, as he nipped her shoulder. She closed her eyes and savoured the pleasure of teeth scraping against skin.

“And so then you know why.”

He sighed and shifted back slightly, although his hands caressed up her legs and waist. “You don’t seem to understand the safety in numbers. In belonging to an organization. Even just having a bond to a Master could add to your safety. In this world, it is hard to come across such a guarantee of shelter.”

“The Council packs enough punch to keep me from being a target.”

He laughed bitterly. “I pity your loyalty to them, Lee.”

“Lesser of two evils, I’m told.”

When she had been taken in by the Council, half-mad and have crazed, she wouldn’t have survived without their protection. Without a Clan, she would have been a target to other vampires. Now that she was a bit aged she could hold her own, but that didn’t limit the risk.

“Is it?” He swooped forward, his palm on her neck in seconds pulling her into a demanding kiss. He slanted his lips, deepening it and Lee leaned back. His hand moved to her breast, a light caress that ignited a fire in her. She gave him a hard shove back until he rocked on his heels, his eyes glinted an amber of arousal. “I didn’t come to play,” Lee said, breathless and her body demanded differently.

-Live a little. Take what he offers. A little slap and tickle. A little giggle and nibble.-

He crouched on his heels.

“As you wish,” he said with a nod and a slow smile. “The ritual is no secret. We drain the participant until they are almost dead, their own spirit having a thin hold on the body. We then offer our own blood, our essence. By doing so we are a conduit, a gateway, for another rider to go through us and into them, firmly bonding master to initiate. The rider doesn’t always take the offer, so there are risks. Not every human can be turned. It would be the same process for you if you chose to create a line.”

“I have no desire to do so.” It was something the clans didn’t like. The possibility of a clanless starting their own line, creating vampires beyond the restricted limits, or worse creating vampires like themselves, not even bonded to their maker. Or just a Clan that didn’t follow their infinite laws. It was why Eric didn’t like her Council associations. Starting a line of registered and Council controlled vampires was a threat. She had no doubt at all Eric would hunt her down himself if she created a line loyal to the Council, despite his fondness for her.

It made sense, in their own way, they were keeping their numbers in line and controlling them. There would be many Clan wars if one of the clanless started turning numbers and fought for territory. Yet Eric had implied when he had first met Lee, he had been surprised she hadn’t turned anyone; accidentally or to have protection against any clan hostility. There had to be something more to it. She couldn’t imagine how to open herself up and call another rider through her.

“And how were you created, then, Lee? Surely you must remember how it happened? A person doesn’t forget the turning.”

This time Lee leaned forward, missing the heat of his aura, or craving it. “Sorry, Eric, but how I was created will give no answers about the clanless. I wasn’t near death. It just happened. And because it was different I don’t understand this bond you hold to those you made, or why fledglings are so weak.” It was the one vaguest of memories she had, when she bonded to Charlie like the bonding ensured she didn’t forget it. Her first memory.

“They are weak because the merging is new. As time passes the merging becomes stronger, and the vampire gains the abilities that come with that. Or, some say, it is age itself that adds strength. I know that is not the same with you, Lee. Anyone can tell you have the aura of a Master, even though you claim to be around two centuries.”

She harrumphed in disgust. It seemed to her the bonding they did weakened the merging with their riders. Without it a more complete merging was possible. Simple as that. Except, the little fact that she was stronger than most clanless she met as well. Who knew? Maybe she was born with a nice shiny aura, to begin with. “It is not a claim. So then, an older vampire would have a deeper connection to their rider.”

He nodded. “Just so.”

-Don’t go there, Lee. Please, spare us both. The clans have no answers. They have tainted themselves with weakness until this bonding of theirs is the only thing that holds them together, all so that they may have control, structure and mundane power. They do not even know what they have lost it has been lost so long.-

“And with this deeper connection are Masters able to communicate with the rider?” Charlie was getting chatty, which meant she might give Lee more than Eric.

He frowned. “Communicate? I’m not sure what you mean there. We become more in tune with our natures, more able to control them as well.”

“I mean more of an actual communication.”

Eric turned around and sat down leaning against her leg. They were a breed that enjoyed physical contact. If she was not to give him more, then he would take continued closeness. She would take it as well. It wasn’t often she was permitted to associate with her own kind.

“There have been vampires that claim their rider prevented them from doing certain things, just for a moment, overriding their desires. Some have claimed to have bizarre dreams where their rider communicated through images. I myself have experienced sudden intuitions of danger or information that I believe is my demon essence.”

“Ah,” she said, sinking back in the chair. She had the distinct feeling her rider was smug.

“You don’t claim to have a deeper knowledge of your rider, do you?” Eric asked, flashing a look, his expression more intense and his eyes more molten amber.

Eric was already a little too curious about her. Since she had moved off Council land she had been watched by other vampires. Eric had essentially summoned her, which she couldn’t ignore given the summons came with a hefty escort. All because she was of such inner strength he had immediately perceived her presence as a threat to his territory. Thankfully, once they had met, and her response to that meeting being an instant sizzle, he had been far more curious than aggressive. At least when he proved she had not turned anyone nor intended to.

“Of course not. Don’t be absurd. I had heard some of the Elders could communicate with their riders, which means they would know more.”

Her fraction of hesitation would be noticed by Eric. He had a way of being able to read even the most minuscule and unintentional behavioural changes in a human. He said a fledgling was practically human, retaining all the same traits they did before the turn. She could only hope he would see it as her usually mannerisms; that of pausing noticeably sometimes for no reason during a conversation, because Charlie insisted on being a part of that conversation.

He stared at her a moment more, unblinking and then turned away and said, “Well, I know of two that make such a claim. One is my Sire, but was a bleeder, and is utterly mad. The other is an Elder, but has been… out of control for the last couple centuries. They are of my lineage and near on hand.”

“Oh.”

They didn’t sound like promising leads. She had not known his Sire was in the vicinity. Whoever that was he had to be aged enough to block his presence. Wilhelm would be interested to know that fact, but she would keep that information to herself. Sometimes it paid to keep secrets close at hand, horde them, until maximum benefit. In this case, Eric clearly trusted her with the knowledge and it would be detrimental to her quest to reveal it to her Handler.

-You are not mad, Lee. In the Clan, they choose the initiates… not us. We are one. It is different.-

“Why do you seek this knowledge the rider may possess and who might know more of them?” He half turned and studied her. His caramel eyes glittered with gold flecks. Did that mean she was arousing his interest or his rider’s? Or was there no distinction between the two in most vampires?

Lee sat up straighter. All or nothing. There was no use associating with such a powerful vampire if she didn’t bother asking what she truly wanted to know. It had taken some time to cultivate their relationship to the point that he understood she worked for the Council but didn’t necessarily always obey and certainly didn’t hold to their ideals. “I want to know how to undo the merging. Or, at least, weaken it.”

“I didn’t peg you for the suicidal type,” he said after a significant pause.

-Obviously, he doesn’t know you well.-

“Did I say anything about committing suicide?” she asked sharply, responding to both. “I just want to know if the process is reversible. Or if there is something that can be done to limit the merging effects.”

“Actually there has been extensive research into both issues. Some people don’t adjust to the change. And there are some that shouldn’t survive at all. So, besides killing someone, separation has been looked into. Naturally, some of the research has been religious rituals, but a more recent scientific study.”

“The so called ‘daywalker’ studies and ‘exposure trials’.”

“So you have heard of those then. There you have it. A great deal of research went into trying to repress the influence of our demon nature so that we wouldn’t be so painfully vulnerable to light, silver and certain herbal concoctions. None of them were viable. As for separation research, studies are still being done. The Clan doesn’t deal with bleeders, or the accidentally turned, as the Council does and we would prefer to cause a separation, purging the person of their vampire essence and reversing the change. I will say there has been some success with fledglings, where the merging is not yet reinforced from time, but I am afraid it left the host either brain injured, comatose or too crazy to function. I am curious as to what aspect of your rider you wish to dampen.”

“Curiosity. Never a healthy habit. I never said it was for me.”

His pale hazel eyes narrowed with a wary look as he looked back at her. “I doubt that. If not you, then the Council and they have more than enough information on their own. Certainly more than they share with you, my treasure. Their experiments, done with government approval, are far worse than any studies the Clan conducts. I like to think you wouldn’t be a part of that.”

Lee felt the pressure of his aura press against her, a natural reaction on his part to possible aggressive feelings. Her response to that contact was a shiver of pure pleasure, which was so not right.

Of course she had heard of certain experiments and trials. The Council was big on knowing their enemies. Not only to have an edge in battle but so that eventually they could be taken into a unified government willing or not. During her own training everything she had done had been well documented. What they did with captured vampires was likely less pleasant.

“I have nothing to do with that sort of thing. When you have agreements with humans, such things are bound to happen… makes humans more comfortable to be able to understand things. I only associate with them via my handler, the one who issues any specific jobs or local police assistance,” she said, lying slightly, since she had been taken into the Council after her memorable departure from the asylum. She had been in Council run facilities, studied in their vast libraries, trained into their soldier and now fought for their cause.

“That is good to hear, Lee. Makes me more at ease with your presence in my territory. I tell you what; I will get permission for you to see the Master who claims to speak to his rider. I don’t know what use he will be to you, but at least you will know you cannot find your answers that way. However, you will have to help me out with a little situation.”

“Oh?” She would prefer not to bargain with the man, but that entirely depended on the help he needed.

“You must have noticed the increase in bleeders around here.”

“And I recall you mentioned they are not yours.”

“They are not. They don’t have the bond and thus are either clanless or, the most likely, someone from the clans isn’t properly binding them. Maybe a foolish fledgling. Even so, more than once is not a case of accidental turning, yes? If so, I want the name or their Sire and I will take care of it. If they are clan exiles, they are not my responsibility, but they are bad for business. And you’re supposed to eliminate bleeders. If you can do that for me and even find out why there is this increase, then I will bring you to Lucien.”

“Lucien is your Sire?” she asked. It was the first she had heard of another Master in the city. They tended to be a bit antagonistic around each other.

“Yes. Since he has been a bleeder for longer than you have lived it is has been my responsibility to care for him during his recovery from that addiction. I imagine you don’t grasp the honor I bestow upon you in granting such a favor.”

“I’ll agree to hunt the rogues for you. See if they are like me and not bonded to a clan, or somehow broke the bond. In exchange you will let me see this man within the next couple of days,” Lee stated flatly. It was a good deal. She would be hunting rogues anyway. This was just a matter of giving Eric, rather than her Handler, any important information she found out about their Sire.

“Agreed. I will say these fledgling bleeders are unpredictable. They all have been created within the last few years. Maybe unauthorized turning, maybe their creator doesn’t care about them. It must be handled quickly. Sometimes these sorts of things happen when a bleeder is aged enough to turn successfully and I imagine you understand how such a thing could spread quickly. Population control is vital and bleeders are dangerous to our food source. We don’t need rogue vamps like this. Just keep in mind, the merging in them is weak, without the bond, they may be unstable.”

Lee nodded, but was thinking about her recent kill and his odd behavior. If it was a weak fledgling without a bond, would that mean the rider had more control? It was a situation the Council would want her to look into anyway. Yet odd Eric was passing on the hunt to her, when he had so many resources of his own on hand. Or did he simply want to keep his hands clean?

-Or he tests us. He is always testing us. Looking at us. Wanting us. Everything he gets from you he likely believes decreases our loyalty to the Council.-

Maybe. You are not loyal to anyone, Charlie. And I just want to survive.

“Then we are in accord. I will wait for your call,” she said getting up.

He stood up as well, took a step closer and gave her a lingering look that promised so very much. “Sure you don’t want to stay for a little while?”

Again she felt a sharp pull of desire within her. Close was not good. His pull on her body could only be denied so long. And as she felt his aura around her, the scent of him filled her, she wanted to throw him to the floor and have her way with him. She took several quick steps away and smiled wickedly. “Sorry, Eric, but your hankering for my blood doesn’t do it for me.”

“It does it for you,” he stated.

Actually, his blood sang for her. She wanted him like no other vampire she had encountered. The thought of him sinking his teeth in her, pooled warmth in her lower abdomen. Just another reason to resist the urge. It was a vampire pheromones and her rider getting her all riled up.

“You cannot ride this neutral line forever, Lee. Surely you must understand that. The Clan will never join the Council. Eventually you must decide to become the vampire you are and choose a Clan. Or you can remain the pet Council vampire. Every year that passes that choice comes closer. I don’t push you to choose, but I ask that you think very carefully about the consequences of that choice.”

“I will wait for your call, Eric,” she said and sauntered out.

She would ask Tia if she wanted to join the hunt. That girl was always up for a little fun.

.