Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(95)

“Attractive is a little word to describe what a vampire feels about you. I sincerely apologize for my charge. These are things that should have been explained to you. You should have been brought to Paris and presented with full honors to our society. You would have other companions to talk to. You would understand what you are.”

“And what am I?” I asked casually, as though the question wasn’t at the heart of my misery.

He sat down on the couch beside me, his voice becoming almost reverent. “You are strength and life to a vampire. A vampire with a companion is stronger, smarter, faster. There is no way to describe the feeling. Most vampires would do anything to possess one such as you. Our scientists have tried for hundreds of years to duplicate whatever is in your blood that calls to us, but it cannot be done. You should be glad it is the vampire’s nature to follow our own laws or you would be passed around like a child’s toy to whoever was the strongest to take you or the smartest to steal you.”

“So my blood is different?” It didn’t make a lot of sense. I wasn’t a supernatural creature. I didn’t have powers.

“Your blood is different. It’s not the only thing. Has Daniel mentioned your glow?”

A whole bunch of people had said some things I didn’t get. And Daniel just left me ignorant. “What does it mean?”

He smiled, but this was a sexy thing. “You glow. It’s how we find a companion. To a vampire’s eye, your body practically pulses with life. Just being close to you is soothing to me. I enjoy being in your light, cara.”

Everything Dev said was true. I was a f*cking drug, an addiction. “What am I?”

Marcus shrugged. “I have tried to discover this. I have theories, but I can prove nothing. It doesn’t matter why you are a companion. Only that you are.”

“Was it coincidence that Daniel and I were together before his turn?”

“Perhaps, but I think not.” The vampire waved his hand negligently. “Daniel was a vampire even then, though he did not know it. You have always been a companion. Your blood called to his. It is sometimes this way. Occasionally when a vampire rises he was involved with a woman who turns out to be a companion. It is why you were left alone that night. He had a claim even though he had not taken the steps to make it legal. You are lucky the vampires who came for him that night did not simply kill him and take you for their own. By the time Daniel was brought before the Council, we knew what he was and that you were the only way to keep him under control.”

“He doesn’t love me. He’s addicted to my blood.” I finally said it out loud. He hadn’t been attracted to me for my sparkling personality.

Marcus laughed. “I forget how foolish the truly young can be. What is this love you speak of? That is a child’s game, Zoey. Daniel was offered the world by certain members of the Council. He was offered power and money and all the blood he could handle. He chose to come back here to this piss-poor part of the world and live a half life so he could be at your side. You have no idea what he could be. He could be king, but he refuses because that is not the life he wants for you. Take your childish idea of love. It is nothing compared to the devotion Daniel has shown you.”

I turned from him and walked to the window. It was a gorgeous spring day. I looked down at the street so far below where people were going to work and kids were going to school. It was everyday and ordinary. Those people chose their paths, mundane though they may be. I’d never felt farther from that world. “Why are you here?”

“There are two reasons,” he explained. “The first is a plea. I have been instructed not to force you to do anything you feel uncomfortable with, but you need to understand the situation. Daniel needs blood. He needs your blood.”

Because he was addicted again. “I’ve heard my blood is like a drug. What happens when he doesn’t get it?”

Marcus frowned and, for a moment, I thought he might refuse to answer. “He will go through withdrawal. He will be in pain, weak and soul sick. It is terrible. He is going into a dangerous place, and I would feel better if he was as strong as possible. I would also feel better if I controlled his supply of blood. I would not like for it to be…tainted.”

“Then he should have taken me with him.” Even as I said it, I knew I would relent. I couldn’t stand the thought of him having to rely on the people who discussed his execution. I couldn’t leave him sick and vulnerable. “How do I get it to him?”

Marcus relaxed as though he’d expected a fight. “A nurse will come once a week for your donation. I thank you for being reasonable. There is something else. I felt the need to talk to you. I am here to press young Daniel’s claim. I saw you last night, and I believe you are going to make a mistake. I am here to ask you to not give up on him.”

“Why? You said last night that you could find him another companion. Just find him someone else, and let me alone.”

“I was wrong,” Marcus admitted. “I hate to admit it because I do not like to express anything so unsavory as having feelings, but I was frightened last night. You have no idea how close we came to disaster. If Halfer had taken possession of Daniel… Let me tell you a story about your Daniel. Perhaps that is the best way to make you understand. The Council is responsible for the training of new vampires. This training can be…you would consider it barbaric. It is meant to teach the vampire to follow the rules. One such exercise is called The Arena. A young vampire is placed in our training arena and told to fight for his life. He is not told that the enemies he faces will not actually kill him. The way the exercise is intended to go is the young vampire is beaten to within an inch of his life and then spared by the Council. He then feels some loyalty to the members who spared his life. The young vampire must face three experienced warriors. He has no chance against them. He is a lamb led to slaughter and then spared. Daniel killed twelve before the Council decided to save our numbers. Daniel is a Death Machine. He was born to kill. There is only one thing that ties him to humanity, and that is you.”