into the courtyard.
There were two locked doors in the northern wing; the shape-shifter rooms, Eric had said. The inside wall was empty—no courtyard door here. Jaguar was not in any of the sitting rooms, though she did have to skirt one room where Jeshickah was arguing with a vampire Turquoise did not recognize. The glimpse she caught as she walked by was of an attractive man of maybe twenty years, with a strong build and elegant features.
His words caught her attention, enough that she paused just past the room. “Are you going to kill him?”
Jeshickah paused to consider the other vampire’s question. “Jaguar is trying my patience, but he’s too valuable to put down so quickly.” She sighed. “I’ll give him a few days; maybe he just needs a reminder of his place. If he still hasn’t come to heel, I can take Midnight back from him.”
“He might fight you on it,” the other vampire pointed out. “However it happened, Jaguar has picked up a fair amount of independence since Midnight burned.”
“And then who will you back?” The vampiress sounded unconcerned.
“The only person I would rather put a knife in than Jaguar is you.” The comment was made as if the knowledge was well known and unimportant. “But if it comes down to a fair fight, you’ll win. Who’s the human?”
The change in topic startled Turquoise, and she felt a chill as she realized the question was about her.
“Jaguar’s new toy. Girl, come in here.”
Turquoise obeyed, knowing delay would be painful; she forced herself to recall all of Nathaniel’s suggestions, as her excuses came quickly to her tongue.
“Yes, milady?” Eric had used that title without being hit; hopefully she could do the same.
“She suit your fancy, Gabriel?” Jeshickah asked.
So both of the vampires Nathaniel warned Turquoise about were in the same room, while she was alone and unarmed. Fate had a twisted sense of humor.
But Gabriel just replied, “She’s more Jaguar’s taste than mine.” This was not a fun conversation; Turquoise’s fingers ached to be wrapped around a knife. Her leg was starting to go to sleep below the knee. “What are you up to?”
The question was addressed to Turquoise. “I’m sorry for interrupting, sir. I was told to speak to Jaguar, but I don’t know where he is.” The building wasn’t that large; she would have found him eventually. But so long as she was playing the part of a dumb slave, she might as well take advantage of its excuses.
Gabriel looked to Jeshickah. “How long has he had her?”
“A few hours.”
Without warning, Gabriel dragged Turquoise to her feet; she had to check her desire to slam an elbow into his gut and wrench her arm out of his bruising grip. “The guard on the western wing will direct you to your master. In the future, I suggest you remember to refer to him as such.”
He released her. Turquoise resisted both the urge to rub the new bruise on her arm, and the desire to turn about and slug him in the jaw. She left their presence quickly, trying to rid herself of the creeping feeling that she was lucky to still be walking.
A raven shape-shifter blocked the door to the western wing. She shifted into human form as Turquoise approached.
“You have business here?” the girl asked.
She recalled Gabriel’s “suggestion” bitterly as she spoke. “I’m looking for Master Jaguar. I’m supposed to —”
Her explanation was cut off as the girl pushed open the door. “Jaguar’s study is the third door on the right. If he’s not there, you can wait.”
Excellent. Apparently, Jaguar’s lax rules extended to his guards, who were allowed to send people into his rooms. Turquoise looked forward to the possibility of snooping.
She knocked lightly, and was disappointed to hear Jaguar’s smooth voice call out, “Come in.”
As she entered the room, Jaguar pushed away from the desk where he had been working and stretched. “Audra, nice to see you. You want something?”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she apologized, speaking softly and dropping her gaze. The unfamiliar name did not sound strange to her. Outside Bruja, she changed her name with each assignment. She had no fondness for any particular combination of syllables; Audra was as good as Turquoise or any other.
Jaguar shook his head, looking vaguely amused. “Submissiveness does not become you. Don’t worry. I would much rather talk with you than do paperwork.” He frowned suddenly. “What happened to your wrist?”
A glance revealed red marks where Gabriel’s grip had held her. She flexed the wrist, but it was only bruised, nothing more. “One of your guests corrected my misuse of your name,” she answered. “It was my mistake.”
“I take it your old master wasn’t overly fond of titles?”
Honestly, she answered, “Only his.” Lord Daryl had not expected her to speak of others of his kind at all. Referring to another vampire as “master” or “milord” in front of Lord Daryl would get her beaten, as if she was acknowledging ownership by another as opposed to him.
Jaguar shook his head. “Please, sit down.” He motioned to one of the free chairs as he collapsed back into his own. Turquoise took a seat, though she could not begin to relax as easily as Jaguar did. “Did you come to keep me company, or do you have a question?”
“I spoke to Eric about getting an assignment,” she explained, grateful to change the subject. “He wanted me to ask you if I could work outside, since he needs the most help there.”
Jaguar paused, and his gaze flickered down her form. “Jeshickah knows you aren’t broken. She’ll feel the need to correct that error much more quickly if you’re working outside. You don’t want to encourage her to do that,” he recommended. “What other jobs does Eric have?”
“He said cleaning or bleeding.”
“Neither of which sounds very fun for you,” Jaguar offered.
Turquoise did not argue with him, even though he was more than half wrong. There were humans who chased after vampires all their lives, addicted to the sweet, intoxicating rush of having their blood drawn. It could be very pleasant, if the vampire wanted it to be.
Perhaps that was why it frightened some hunters so much. It took effort to live, to fight for one’s life and one’s pride. It was too tempting to simply relax and let the blood flow. Too tempting to let yourself slip up in a fight.
Turquoise shook the thoughts from her mind. She had no desire to die, and she certainly had no desire to become some vampire’s pet bleeder. She only had to look at the scars on her arms to remind her why.
Like all hunters, she hated putting herself in the prey’s position, but unlike most, she did not mind letting a little blood if doing so was an occupational necessity. A bleeder in Midnight would be closer to the vampires than any other human.
“I was a bleeder before Nathaniel bought me,” Turquoise explained, modifying the truth as necessary. Lord Daryl had taken her blood occasionally, but he had owned a score of other slaves for such practical matters. She had been more like a lapdog in his manor, ornamental but essentially ineffective.
Jaguar looked surprised. “I wouldn’t have expected that.”
Turquoise reminded herself that he was a professional, and decided to keep the lies to a minimum. “My first master wasn’t much in the way of a trainer, but he did teach me not to fight his orders. After that . . .” She shrugged. “It isn’t unpleasant, and it’s a lot better than some of the alternatives.” Turquoise had seen slaves whose sole purpose was as beating posts to their masters’ rage. She knew many who would argue, but she would rather feel teeth at her throat than a fist in her gut any day.
“If you want into that group, go ahead,” Jaguar answered, either taking Turquoise’s story for the truth or not caring about the lie. “Most of them take the sunrise meal for supper, sleep most of the day, and do as they want at night. Your only other chore is to stay healthy.” He continued, “Several of my kind already reside in Midnight, and Jeshickah and Gabriel have both been threatening to move in. Theron doesn’t like titles—he generally doesn’t want to be addressed by humans at all, so that shouldn’t be a problem—but any of the others will hit you if you forget one. If you run across Daryl, tread lightly; his temper is unpredictable.” Turquoise was very proud of herself—she
