"These are not your average vamps, dearie. Not by a long shot."
Black and Red have been Nightwalkers for longer than they care to count, and that alone is unusual enough to attract unwanted attention.
Life and survival in the Blue Light District is...
Jhez would call me thrill junkie for turning tables on a predator. I lived for the moment when they hesitated and questioned who hunted who, however short-lived.
The john's wide mouth curved, but this time he leered. His hunger radiated from him, its intensity thrummed along my skin. The feather-light sensation of it made a strange contrast to his careless probing. I could handle him, slake his thirst, no problem. It would cost him, and it would cost more than he realized.
"Get in." Pure confidence flavored his tone; this guy knew what he wanted and intended to acquire it.
I gave him a slight nod and straightened, glancing back at Kenna. She'd retreated from the curb, her form a silhouette against the glow of the building at her back. In the harsh blue light, she appeared faintly purple.
"See you tomorrow," I called, but Kenna didn't respond. She rubbed at the cuff of her sleeve again, probably engrossed by an imagined stain.
I strode around the front of the vehicle, taking care not to brush against it. I had an impulse to avoid marring that glimpse of magic from its surface, the refracting glow of the buildings in its glass-bright curves. The door slid back long enough for me to settle into the soft plush interior, and then the vehicle moved off down the street with the subtle purr of its electric engine.
The heavy cloying scent of incense saturated the car's interior. My john lounged in the driver's seat, long legs and broad shoulders on a lean body, dark hair a sharp contrast to his complexion. The material of his charcoal suit looked kissed with moon dust in the boulevard's illumination. He was a better prospect than I'd seen trolling for some time. This transaction promised a bit of pleasure, even if only the eye candy variety.
One thing bothered me. This vamp was the best I'd seen in a while for a reason. Most of the time, the flunkies were the ones sent to troll the streets. The stronger vamps, like the one beside me guiding his little fiberglass coupe through the sporadic traffic with a deft touch, were rarely seen. They didn't need to feed from Nightwalkers. They stashed away harems of humans eager to offer their chi free of charge.
Ugh. Just the thought made me choke. It ranked down there with the prospect of having a pimp. I didn't blame the ones who chose to trade their body for a bit of comfort and security. Jhez and I, though, we found a different way. It worked for us.
This particular john possessed more strength than ones I'd wrestled lately. What if I've lost my touch? What if my usual trick doesn't work?
Jhez stood sentry on her stretch of pavement as we moved down the boulevard at a leisure pace, but my twin's expression startled me. Brow furrowed, lips twisted into a grimace, she shook her head in a curt, abortive gesture. I met her gaze as the vehicle passed her, and she reached out with her aura, tendrils of energy drifting along the fringes of mine like fingers trailing over the surface of water. An unusual hue of fear radiated from her touch.
I twisted away from the window, pulled my aura in close as the john accelerated his vehicle away from my sibling. A wary glance his way reassured me he'd noticed nothing abnormal; he had his attention on the traffic as he weaved down a side street and headed toward the district border.
A classy vamp like him would want to feed in familiar surroundings. They weren't going to sneak a quick snack in a smelly blue-lit back alley.
I've done this exact same thing a thousand times. Jhez and I, we both have. I needed my confidence. I couldn't afford to show emotional weakness around a john. This one demanded hyper-vigilance. This vamp struck me as a bit more sensitive and aware than my usual fare.
Maybe he had a bad day and decided slumming it would make him feel bigger. I fully intended to fluff his price based on attire, vehicle, and demeanor. Even so, the odds of this one haggling weren't ones any gambler would like.
If they have to ask, they can't afford it.
I took measure of the man's broad-shouldered body again, every detail whispering of privilege and power. I might've tackled more than I could handle.
With an inhale deliberately slow and deep, something eased in my chest and the worry slipped away. I couldn't know for sure until it was too late to matter. I took the same chance every time. The possibility existed that a vampire's craving would be greater than my ability to slake it. I didn't have any other choice; submitting to a pimp's whims was not an option. Talk about dead ends.
No question about it, this was the vamp's world. People like Kenna, Jhez, and me—we were nothing more than a few unremarkable pieces of an inexhaustible resource. There were always Nightwalkers milling the edges of my blue-lit boulevard, desperate enough to sell themselves.
I needed to focus, find my Zen. If I didn't, I wouldn't see sunrise regardless of my strength.
Beside me was a heartless beast lurking beneath an aesthetically pleasing facade. In my experience, his kind were single-minded, selfish creatures whose efforts to ease their appetite knew no bounds. I didn't pretend to understand vampires, and I didn't pretend to like them.
"A rare gem," the man beside me murmured.
Panic swelled at his tone, but the reaction washed up through me and dissipated. I could hardly afford that sort of emotive response. Why did it seem like this john was fishing for a weakness, a crack, a fissure? He didn't intend that comment as a compliment, I was sure of it. Did he actually sense something . . . different?
He fell silent as though frustrated by my lack of engagement. By the time I surfaced from my internal meditation, he'd brought the vehicle to a halt alongside the curb and was climbing out.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
