Who's to judge?

Chapter XVII

"No." I answered. That was out of the question, I couldn't let that happen. I turned to Leroy to get his confirmation, but his gaze was blank. It lacked any kind of emotion, as if he had shut down, like Valerio had then.

"How much?" he then asked. Panic came over me. Jerkily, I grabbed Leroy by the shoulders, turned him to face me and, as calmly as I could, I whispered, "We're certainly not giving him your blood." He didn't answer me.

"Why do you want his blood?" I asked as I turned back to David, who replied, "He's a mixed after all. That means his blood is still human, but the taste has changed. Apparently the blood of a mixed is a delicacy. Many vampires pay more to have me get them mixed blood."

It disgusted me, but it also worried me terribly, because Leroy seemed determined. He bared his arm even as I continued to plead with him, "We can negotiate in other ways, you don't have to give your blood."

But he shook his head and said something that gave me goosebumps, "I'm used to it."

He showed David his bare arm. You could see lots of old bite marks on it.

"It's a pleasure to do business with you, my boy." Said David delightedly. But when he tried to pull Leroy closer, I intervened again, "First the information."

He rolled his eyes and replied, "If I give you the information, how can I be sure I'll get paid?"

I didn't really care. After all, I didn't want this transaction to take place, but I didn't want to get any more involved than I already was.

David walked over to a small cabinet and took out an empty blood bag.

"I'm going to fill this bag. Until it is not full, you can ask me all the questions you want. My mouth will then close when the bag is full. Deal?"

I hated this deal, but Leroy nodded. He then spent the next minute preparing the blood transfusion. I didn't even want to know where he got all the equipment from.

The needle was in, the blood was dripping into the bag, and I asked the first question, "Did a lady named Daisy come by your house in the last few days?"

His eyes really shone as he watched the blood slowly fill the bag. "Yeah, she's been here a lot." He said simply.

"The last time she was here, did she say anything? Was she acting weird?"

He thought for a long time, a little too long. Then he said, "I wouldn't exactly say weird. She looked, fulfilled, content. The thing that was funny was what she asked me to do." He folded his arms, but didn't speak further. With a sigh, I asked, "What did she ask?"

He looked at me now, with a serious look, and said, "She wanted me to stop sending her blood, that she didn't need it anymore." I frowned in confusion. Why would a vampire not need blood anymore? There was no alternative for blood, not even animal blood. I saw that the bag was already half full.

"Did you notice anything else weird? Did she tell you why she decided to do it?" I asked. He shook his head. "She didn't tell me anything. Normally I wouldn't ask, but since she wasn't the first to claim something like that, it did make me curious."

My eyes widened.

"Who was here before her?" I inquired.

"A man. He had straw blond hair and yellow eyes. His face was covered with scars. He also had a collar. He said the same thing, that he didn't need any more blood."

Derrick, the description fit Derrick perfectly. So he had been here, too. But why? What had made them do such a thing? Or who? "Did she maybe tell you if she had met someone?" I inquired, but he tapped the bag. Full.