*****
"You thieving hussy!"
The whiny voice pierced the perpetual darkness of BloodDark. Olivia sat up, groggy and feeling like a ton of bricks had landed on top of her while she slept. She blinked and tried to focus on where the raised voices came from and what they were going on about in such an unseemly manner. Across the row of cots and down toward the corner, two of her fellow mail-order brides stood face-to-face, hands on hips, staring each other down. A disagreement so soon?
"How was I to know the first vampire who caught my eye had been promised to you?" A plumpish, curly redhead with a surly grin defended her honor the best she could, but the statuesque woman with flowing brown hair and a brightly-colored sari would have none of it.
"They read our profiles and matched us with our perfect soul mates," sari woman began, "and you stole my match without a thought to how it would affect me."
"Again, how was I to know the guy who tried chatting me up wasn't my so-called match? Nobody was wearing name tags. We were all just socializing the best we could and getting to know each other."
The middle-aged woman in the cot next to Olivia's sat up. "I'm beginning to wonder if this has all been a mistake on my part," she said as she turned to Olivia. Her accent sounded British. "The terms of the contract were rather vague, and either party could back out if he/she didn't care for their arranged partner."
Lauren's application had been one of the last approved, and it had not specified any particular groom for her. The mixer upon arrival might have been set up for those couples who hadn't been matched prior to transport. Possibly it meant Moreau could ask for her...
Stop it. Stop fantasizing now. The mission. Remember you've got to find the other Portal.
"Do you know who your partner is?" Olivia asked her neighbor instead of watching the ugly row between the two angry women. "My application was approved at the last minute, so I don't know a thing."
"I was told a distinguished professor of the natural history of BloodDark was interested in me. I was flattered—not many men are interested in a forty-five year old woman with graying hair and little money in the bank." She blushed. "I guess my love of books and learning clinched the deal. He actually wrote me and said I was the most fascinating individual he had ever communicated with. From what I've heard, not many wrote back to their potential partners."
"I've heard that, too. Sounds like a good match for you. I wish you every happiness."
Olivia did her best to sound positive and light-hearted, but the venomous accusations ringing in the dormitory, along with the knowledge she had about how the Pure Bloods used their human mates, made it difficult. Her attention was drawn across the room when articles of clothing started flying. Why were these women arguing like a couple of toddlers? They both appeared to be in their thirties at least, and they dressed well. They could have had any man for a husband if they'd stayed on Earth and demonstrated better manners.
How had they known who their Pure Blood partners were? Did the other Pure Bloods speak English? Olivia wondered. She gulped hard. She didn't want to think perhaps the couples had traded photographs or other identifying objects.
"Duck!" shouted one of her dorm mates as a high heel came sailing toward the wall behind her. Olivia flopped on the floor and covered her head with her hands.
"This is ridiculous. I'm getting out of here." Her neighbor stood up and straightened her blue dress while slipping her feet into her flats besides her bunk. It appeared everyone fell fast asleep in the clothing they arrived in.
"I'm with you." Olivia stood and slid her feet into the loafer-styled shoes which coordinated well with her plaid skirt and black over-the-knee socks. She checked the buttons on her blouse, ran a finger through her rather stiff, bleached hair and followed her new friend out the door.
As they walked down the corridor Olivia noticed how still and quiet the clan house had become.
"I don't think we've introduced ourselves," her fellow escapee from the dormitory said with a polite smile. "I'm Kate. I'm originally from Dover, England."
"I'm Oliv—uh, Lauren." Whew. Close one. "I'm from a small college town in the middle of the U.S. I'm sure you've never heard of in a million years."
Kate chuckled. "What makes you say such a thing?"
"Nobody in my own state seems to know where it is, so it's understandable if the rest of the world doesn't know about us."
"Living in a small town didn't stop you from finding out more about the Pure Bloods of BloodDark, did it? Once they heard about you... Obviously, you made a good impression."
"Must have." Olivia shrugged.
They paused and gasped. They had come to the grand entrance hall—or at least what Olivia assumed was the entrance hall. It had been emptied of candles, food, tables and seating. No wine spills, no crumbs or wadded up napkins in the corners. Spotless. Only the large tapestries on the walls remained, their vivid colors now muted and worn, aged overnight. Were they even the same ones?
"Wow, they sure can clean up fast after a party." Olivia sauntered into the large room and scanned for any signs of life. None.
"It's been twelve hours since we arrived according to my watch, if it's to be trusted." Kate looked at her wristwatch again and frowned. "Oh, dear. I thought it was still running, but it seems to have stopped. We could've been asleep for a week for all we know."
I hope not. I told Annara I'd solve this mystery and be out of here within an Earth week. Which reminds me, I need to check in with her once she's back on BloodDark tomorrow... or is it today?
"I don't think we've
