not simply dismissing them.
“Dawn can go as well,” Hursch says.
“She stays!” Victor and Clive declare simultaneously.
“Okay, then, Mr. Hursch,” Clive says. “You have the floor.”
“Thank you, Director,” Hursch says, turning toward Victor. “One Old Family vampire in the city I understand; exceptions must be made. But three? And you wonder why no one donates blood? You remind them, with these reckless actions, that you have no respect for our walls or the citizens they house. It’s an outrage! Why are you even here?”
“To discuss the actions I am taking in order to maintain a steady blood supply.”
“Blood supply? We discuss that at the manor each week.”
“I will be leaving for several days, Mr. Hursch, and as I find you unable to carry out my wishes, I am here now to discuss them.”
Hursch seems to consider for a moment but can’t think of the right response. Victor puts his hands behind his back and begins pacing, circling Hursch in the same way a shark might circle its prey.
“Your agency will be embedding microchips into one hundred citizens: young, healthy, and disease-free. I will provide these chips.”
“Where will you get them?” Hursch asks, trying to keep his composure but losing it every time Victor comes nearer.
“Prewar technology; I’ve had them for years, though I never imagined using them. Then again, I never imagined dealing with such an incompetent delegate.” Hursch swallows hard, perhaps expecting to be thrown against the wall for his arrogance, something I’ve seen Victor do before. “These chips will allow me to track the citizens and determine if they have given blood within the past four weeks. If they have not, I will send in my Lessers to take it through an IV.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Watch me!” Victor yells, and Hursch cringes, his eyes only opening after Victor has walked away. “After several months, we will increase the number of citizens being microchipped to five hundred, and then one thousand, with the end goal of two thousand citizens giving regularly. In this way, my Lessers are fed, the Thirst is staved off, and everyone is happy.”
He rejoins me, and even though he’s still the Victor I love, his speech reminds me harshly that we’ll never be able to see things quite the same. At the end of the day, he’s a vampire overlord in charge of feeding his vampires, and even if vampiric blood runs in my own veins, I’ve spent my whole life with humans, and to me they’ll always be people before blood sources.
I want to tell Victor that this isn’t the way to do it, but I can’t undermine his authority in front of Hursch.
“I expect to have a list of three hundred potential candidates by tomorrow,” Victor says.
“It can’t happen,” Hursch responds. “I won’t let it.”
“Mr. Hursch,” Clive says.
“You walk in here and—”
“Mr. Hursch.”
“Make demands so impossible that—”
“Mr. Hursch!” Clive shouts so loudly that even I jump. “You may write a report as to your opinion on these matters and present it to me tomorrow morning.”
“But—”
“Until then, you may leave.”
Hursch looks at all of us with unbelievable contempt before turning on his heels and storming out, making sure the door slams extra hard on the way out.
After a few moments pass and we know Hursch won’t be returning, Clive spins toward Victor. “Are you serious, Lord Valentine?”
“Very.”
Clive nods, perhaps in understanding of Victor’s position. It isn’t far from his own as director. Protect those for whom you are responsible, at all costs.
“As you can imagine, I dislike this microchipping idea,” he says. “It will spread fear and resentment. Vampires swooping in and taking blood, even if by IV, will recall memories of the war.”
Reaching out, I take Victor’s hand. He looks at me, and in his eyes, I see determination. He’s thinking of his Lessers, but we all need to think of everyone. “You promised me the world I dreamed of. This isn’t it.”
“I’m sorry, Dawn, but at this moment, I see no alternative.”
Clive clears his throat. “We have a special blood reserve,” he confesses. “No one else knows about it, not even you, Dawn. And especially not Hursch.”
I’m a little offended, but maybe it was for the best. Delegates shouldn’t know that an easy solution is right around the corner; that way they negotiate harder.
“It’s two weeks’ worth of blood,” he says. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good and we will be bone dry. But if I release the reserve, will you reconsider this plan of yours?”
Victor stands still, not saying a word, only thinking. After a few tense moments, he agrees. “Yes. But donations must begin again.”
“We are trying,” Clive assures him. “Believe me.”
“I do. With the blood situation temporarily under control, we can leave for New Vampiria tonight. I’m sorry it’s such short notice, but time is no longer on our side.”
“I understand. Meanwhile, we have an inner room where those of you allergic to sunlight can stay until nightfall. If you’ll gather Richard and Faith with you, I’m sure they’d appreciate it more than a parking garage.”
“I’m sure they would,” Victor says.
As much as I’d like to stay with him, I know I have a lot to do to get ready for this trip to the Vampire Council. And a guardian to persuade.
Victor touches my hand. “We’ll be outside your apartment a few minutes after dark. Be ready.”
“Is there anything special I need to pack?”
“Something conservative to wear when you meet the Council members.”
“Not the corset and Victorian garb I wore for your father?” It took hours to get dressed.
He grins. “No. A dark suit should be fine.”
I’d love to give him a kiss, even just a tiny peck, but not with Clive here. I have to show him that I’m following Victor not because I love him, but because we’re doing the right thing.
“If I could speak with Dawn, alone,” Clive says.
Victor gives a short bow and leaves us.
Clive presses a button and the dark shades rise, letting in the bright sunlight. Before us spans all of Denver. I walk to the window and look out. I have a responsibility to the citizens of this city, no matter what runs through my blood.
If my father knew what he was, he put the citizens first as well.
“It was hard enough sending you to Los Angeles,” Clive says, coming to stand beside me. “I really don’t like the thought of you going to the Vampire Council.”
“It’s imperative that I go. I saw the V-Processing center and I can tell them that it’s fully operational.”
He seems to consider this answer, but it isn’t quite enough. That’s because one of the reasons I’m going is the vampire who just left the room. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
There is, and he can tell because he’s known me for a long time.
“I think your father kept secrets, too,” he says quietly.
Surprised by his words, I face him. “Why do you think that?”
“He told me that if anything happened to him, I should protect you from Valentine. But when Lord Valentine requested you serve as delegate, I put the city first.”
“You had no choice. Valentine would have made the citizens pay.”
“Probably. I trust this younger Valentine more, but not completely, because at his core he’s still a vampire. Remember that, Dawn. Vampires can’t be trusted. Anyway . . .” He sighs deeply. “I think it’s time I gave you something.”
