The dull thud echoed in the square and no doubt within the massive entrance hall, reverberating numerous times. She knew better than to knock again. Several minutes later the door opened a thin crack, revealing a doughy-faced doorman. Olivia remembered him from the festival she'd been the guest of honor of, before she, Valori and Hernando had been sentenced to work on the Alphan farm and taken away to the perpetually-lighted side of the planet. It appeared some slaves didn't leave their posts even after they'd been liberated.
"State your business," the doorman barked. He didn't seem to be in a good mood, or perhaps the wrinkled forehead and permanent scowl were part of his ordinary expression?
"I've come to see Valori. I was told she was being taken care of by an Alphan medic."
"Oh. The mistress's former maid receiving treatment?" He quirked a silver-gray eyebrow. "Come this way."
He spun around on his heels and torpedoed across the chasm of the formal entrance chamber with Olivia close behind. The stone floor amplified the sound of his heels clicking as it echoed from the practically empty room. She noted some of the furniture and objet d'art which once filled the massive hall had vanished. Sold to finance their mail-order bride business perhaps?
"Down this hall," the doorman instructed leading her into a hidden alcove at the far end which must have been used exclusively by servants. Olivia spied the outlines of a narrow passage behind a narrow tapestry. He gestured for her to continue on without him.
"Aren't you going to show me where to go?" she asked.
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to do so. Down the hallway, turn right, and it's the third door on the left. I'm sure even a human can figure out those simple directions?" His arrogant tone, beaky nose thrust into the air, along with the tell-tale pointed incisors, left no doubt he cared little for those without Pure Blood genes.
"Thanks for your help."
She muffled a disgusted sigh as he spun around and departed to parts unknown. No use standing around where bloodsuckers could catch wind of her, Olivia darted under the tapestry and briskly walked the length of the hallway, turned right and then knocked on the non-descript third door on the left.
"Come in," Valori called out. Olivia smiled and turned the doorknob. Her voice sounded strong. Thank heavens. She must be feeling better.
"Hi, Valori, it's me Olivia, and I wanted to see how you were do..." The words froze on her lips when she caught sight of her dear friend's treatment. She took a shaky breath and tried to compose herself, but it was difficult. "Is that—is that blood?"
The intravenous drip snaking into the older woman's left arm glowed bright crimson. Valori sat up straighter on the lounging couch and smoothed down her dress. "Olivia, it's good to see you. Please, come in and sit down."
Valori pointed toward a small ottoman to the side of the couch. Olivia closed the door and made her way over to the round stool. She lowered herself to rest beside her friend, trying hard not to stare at the vivid, ruby-colored liquid dripping into Valori's veins. She found it difficult to ignore, considering how large the container of blood was.
"I was confused about why they took you to the Clan Alpha House for help, but I suppose this is the reason?" Olivia tried to smile and lowered her voice. "You're not an Overseer, are you?"
Valori tilted her head and shrugged, her loosened silver-gray hair brushing her shoulders. "No, I'm not. I wasn't always certain of my parentage, though. The woman I thought was my human mother was really a foster mother I discovered many years after her death. My biological mother might have been a Quadsang or even an Overseer. My father was..."
The sins of the fathers. Is Valori like many American slaves who worked in the homes of their biological parent and yet held no rights to his estate or his name—or even his freedom?
Valori closed her eyes and hung her head. Whatever her parentage Valori wasn't to blame. Olivia took Valori's nearest hand in hers and squeezed it. "It's all right. You don't have to tell me if it's painful."
Valori's eyes flashed open. A different light had come into them, something dark, something almost blood-thirsty. "My father was the chief priest of the Clan Alpha. I, as his only living heir, inherited the gift of the second sight and of mental manipulation of matter. I shall be clan priestess one day."
Okay... This is freaky. This is not the Valori I know and love. Can one blood transfusion on BloodDark do this to a person? Olivia edged away from the couch, but Valori would not let go of her hand.
"Do not worry, my child." Valori's soft tone implied strength and determination. "Your kind will never be at risk from the likes of me. I know my place in the Pure Blood order. They will never allow anyone with even the tiniest drop of human blood to become their priestess. I will have to fight to gain my rightful position."
Olivia gulped. Could egomania be an inherited Pure Blood trait? There was so little anyone knew for certain of what they must have been like originally, before they started tampering with their own genetics. Anything was possible.
"Drucinda the high priestess would never allow you to take her job and you know it." Olivia managed to release Valori's grasp of her hand and kept her rising fear in check. She stood and kicked the ottoman away from the couch.
"Valori, you've been a seamstress, herbalist and nanny all your life," she continued in a calm tone. "The Alphans are the worst snobs ever. You know they are. Find
