A Kiss of Blood (Vamp City #2)(32)

At least two vampires would survive either way.

“Where’s Arturo?” she asked, cutting a bite of sausage. “And Micah.”

Neo answered her. “Micah is upstairs, keeping watch. Precaution only. We take turns. Arturo had to run an errand.”

An errand. “Cristoff.” Her appetite fled at the thought.

“Yes.”

“Cristoff doesn’t know about this place, does he?”

“Absolutely not.” Neo looked horrified at the thought. “Only those you’ve met know about us, and a handful of others, both vampires and Traders.”

She glanced at Mukdalla who was sipping her coffee. “I’m curious about something.”

Mukdalla smiled. “You can ask anything.”

“What are Traders?”

“Ah.” Mukdalla set her mug down. “We’ve been called by many names. The most common being demon.”

Quinn’s eyes widened, her jaw dropping before she snapped it closed.

Mukdalla’s smile widened. “Precisely why we prefer the term Traders.”

Rinaldo covered Mukdalla’s hand. “True demons are nothing like your popular culture, or your religious texts, portray. They are no more inherently evil than humans; nor do they reside in any subterranean sauna. Like vampires, they are immortal though not indestructible. Unlike us, they are born, not made.”

“There are actually many races of demon,” Mukdalla added. “The Traders are just one, but the most common in Vamp City. The fae are another.”

“Fae,” Quinn murmured. “Fairies and demons. I suppose I shouldn’t feel shocked.”

“Humans always do when they first learn of the supernatural,” the other woman said kindly. “The best thing you can do is remember that we are all individuals with our own hopes, our own needs, and our own senses of right and wrong.”

“Don’t judge the book by the cover, you mean.”

“Yes. Exactly. But a healthy dose of wariness with those you don’t yet know—especially those more powerful than you—is a very good thing.”

Quinn turned back to her breakfast, and the conversation she’d interrupted with her arrival resumed, flowing around her. When she was finished eating, she rose. “Where should I take my plate?”

“Leave it.” Neo stood. “Come, Quinn. I have someone I want you to meet, then I want to show you something. As a scientist, I think you’ll find this of interest. As the sorceress, I want your reaction.”

He had her attention. Glancing down the hallway that led to their bedrooms, she saw no sign of Zack. Turning back, she followed Neo down a different hallway to a fully outfitted gym lit by oil lamps. The equipment, of course, was all of the nonelectrical variety—stationary bikes, NordicTrack skiers, weight benches. Half a dozen people were working out, four men and two women, all in shorts and T-shirts, a couple in bare feet.

“Jason,” Neo said, and one of the men lifting weights reset his weight bar and stood to quick attention, his bearing distinctly military.

Neo turned to Quinn. “This is Jason Grimes. Arturo asked me to find a trainer for Zack before he left this morning, and Jason has agreed to do it. Quinn Lennox,” he told Jason.

The man wiped his hand on his shorts and extended it to her. “Nice to meet you.”

Quinn sized up the man, liking the kindness she saw in his eyes. “Zack . . .”

Jason nodded. “Arturo talked to me about him before he left, that he’s untrained and very down on himself for not being able to protect the women he loves.” Something hard and pained moved through his eyes. “My wife and I were captured together over a year ago. I didn’t stand a chance against those f**kers . . . pardon me, ma’am . . . and we were separated.” Emotion tightened his features, and he looked away for a moment, gathering himself. When he turned back, fire burned in his eyes, but also compassion. “I’m an ex-Marine, ma’am. I understand the Marine way of training raw recruits. Your brother does not qualify for such a method. He’s already been to Hell and back. What he needs now is a return of his dignity and the tools to take control the next time. As much as any human is able against the immortals. I’m happy to help him with that.”

“Thank you, Jason.”

As Neo turned away, Quinn followed him back through the main room and down yet another spoke of the wheel of the sprawling safe-house underground. “Was Jason’s wife killed?”

“He doesn’t know. He’s been all over this city, slave to three different vampires, but he’s never found any sign of her. I keep offering to get him out of V.C., but he refuses to go without her even though he must know she’s probably dead. We’re looking for her, too, now. At the moment, he’s being forced to keep a low profile.” Neo snorted. “He took out nearly a dozen vamps in his escape from his last master.”

“How long does he have before he turns Slava and is stuck here for good?”

“Six months at best. Honestly, I doubt he’ll leave even then. Not without her.”

She ached for the man. “Love can be a terrible burden sometimes, can’t it?”

“It can. You’ve risked much to save your brother.” Neo turned, studying her as they walked, a smile breaching his face. “You’re not what I expected, sorceress.”