Page 28 of Battle for the Shadow Prince (A Bargain with the Shadow Prince #2)

28

Deal with the Devil

ELOISE

T he third vampire I’m scheduled to feed isn’t anything like the first two. He’s short, balding, with a portly belly that precedes him into the room. He’s Danny DeVito. The neighborhood plumber. Your best friend’s dad.

“So you’re the new gal,” he says, a Boston accent creeping in.

“I’m Eloise.”

“Name’s George. Welcome to the hive .” He shakes his outstretched fingers as he says hive , like I should be afraid.

“Uh, thanks?”

“Ahhh, I don’t mean to scare ya or anything. It’s just, you know, this is a new world we’re all livin’ in with multiple covens under one queen. I’m sure most of your visitors will be the type to kiss the ring. You might as well know I’m not really a fan of this new arrangement. But then, my coven was one of the last to be incorporated.”

“You’re the first to openly complain about it, but your secret’s safe with me. It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone. They haven’t even let me out of this room.” We both burst into laughter. I actually like this vampire. Bonus points that he hasn’t looked at my boobs even once.

“I bet you’re wonderin’ how someone like me ends up master of the Liberty coven.” He places both hands on his belly and shakes.

I stop completely. “Wait, you’re master of the coven in Boston. When you say your coven was incorporated, you meant your coven.”

His lips draw thin and he nods. “Yepperooni. I know I’m not the type. Truth is, my maker was this really beautiful woman vampire who invested in a fuckin’ money pit. I fixed some things for her. She liked my work. Decided to turn me for the free labor. Imagine my surprise when she got herself burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials and I inherited the coven.” He smacks his lips. “Anywho, I still like to fix things, but as you might imagine, I’m not exactly the type to find easy donors.”

I shrug. “I don’t know why not, George. I think lots of human girls like a man who can fix things.”

He waves a hand dismissively. “Ahh, stop. You’re makin’ me blush. Anyway, I come here when I’m in town. Marabella is a doll, you know. Always hooks me up with the nicest girls.”

He takes a step closer, and I realize we have a problem. He’s shorter than me. There’s no way he’s reaching my neck without standing on a box, but if I sit down, this robe is going to ride up and show my daggers. Not that George seems like the type to care. My instincts tell me he’s trustworthy and only after blood.

“So, how do you like to take it?” I ask, shooting a quick glance toward the chair. He’s not stupid. He knows what I’m asking.

“The wrist is fine,” he rumbles.

I offer him mine and he brushes his nose across the vein. I hear him inhale, and then he bites. I feel the rush of venom, but it’s far less personal than my other donations. I have no trouble blocking out the strange chemical reaction that inevitably happens.

George draws back earlier than either of my previous donors and politely closes the wound without being weird about it. “Yeah, you’re delicious. I’m guessing Marabella is gonna have you booked into next year.” He laughs.

“It’s good to keep busy,” I say because “I don’t plan to be here that long” doesn’t seem appropriate.

Without me asking, he pulls out his wallet and tips me five hundred dollars. “That’s for you.”

I stare down at the money. I should just say thank you.

“George, do you think anyone can stop the queen?”

He frowns. “You’re brave to ask that question. Maybe don’t be so brave with anyone else. But since you’re brave enough to ask it, I’ll be brave enough to answer. I thought there was one person who could stop her. Strongest motherfucker I ever met in my life. And right now she’s got him jailed in that dungeon of hers. If she can take that guy down, I’m not sure anyone else is capable of unseating her. Especially if she wins him to her side. If she does that, our fates are sealed.”

Damien. He’s talking about Damien. As he pulls the key to my room from his pocket and exits with a quick goodbye, I know in my gut I don’t have much time.

I’ve been at Marabella’s three weeks before I’m allowed to leave my room. By that time I’ve collected enough tips to pay off my debt and then some, but I hold it back. I know the location of the palace now thanks to Marcel, and I could ask Everald for a disguise if I needed one, but until I have a solid plan for gaining an audience with the queen, I need Marabella’s protection.

I’m relieved to be wearing some of the clothing I brought from home after so much time in the silky robe uniform. An actual bra along with my jeans and T-shirt. I’m thankful for the opportunity to stretch my legs. I’ve kept myself strong with yoga and the exercises Cassius taught me, but I am woefully tired of the same four walls.

The guard who escorts me, a vampire named Samuel, leads me out the back door for what I’m told is a prescribed walk. As he opens the door for me, my jaw slackens at what is behind it. After the blooming cherry tree in the foyer, I didn’t think anything else about Marabella’s could surprise me, but I was mistaken.

A Japanese garden unfolds before me within the confines of a towering stone wall. A trail of raked pebbles beckons us to flow forward into the quiet space, the path edged by a lush jungle of carefully pruned azaleas, camellias, and mums set among squat stone lanterns. The hollow sound of bamboo water features tipping on their axis as they fill and empty welcomes me forward. It’s irresistible. I step onto the stony path.

Only when I’m a few yards into the garden do I notice that Samuel is no longer beside me. I glance back to see him standing guard in the shadow of the doorway. Bright light drenches my skin. But we’re still underground. When I look up, if I squint, I can make out the ceiling of this subterranean world. Maybe the vampires just don’t like how intense the artificial light is. Fine with me.

I stride forward, following the bend of the path around a lone maple standing sentinel, its crimson leaves a riot of red against the muted tones of weathered rock and raked gravel. Beyond, a small wooden bridge rises from mossy outcroppings over a babbling creek. I’m delighted to find the flowing water populated by koi fish, living brushstrokes of orange and white darting beneath the rippling surface. The water winds to a small forest of dwarf pines that buffer the base of the stone barrier. Is it there to keep me in or them out?

“Ingenious, wouldn’t you say?” Marabella rounds the corner and flashes a cultivated smile in my direction. Dark brown hair gathers in loose curls atop her head, and her ample figure fills the elegant lavender cashmere sweater and wide-legged pants in ivory silk she’s wearing. Gone is the suburban housewife who ushered me through the red door, replaced by a shrewd businesswoman who owns every inch of her space. “When Sakura’s lover built this place for her, she was wise enough to insist on a sunlit garden. I imagine her relaxing here when Night Haven became too much for her.”

“Is it a charm like the cherry tree?”

She sighs. “No. Full-spectrum grow lights. Not strong enough to kill a vampire intruder as the sun would but strong enough to make them sorry for trying.”

Ingenious indeed. No human could possibly climb out. No vampire would risk climbing in.

She leans her elbows on the railing of the bridge, staring out over the water that flows beneath us. I wonder why she’s here. No way is it a coincidence that we are standing on this bridge at precisely the same moment, but the longer she remains silent, the more I wonder at her purpose.

“You never explained about the fees,” I finally say. There’s no emotion in my voice. I simply state the obvious to break the silence.

“We tell the donors who are smart enough to ask.” She stands up straight and turns toward me, her legs crossing at the ankle. “Anyway, I doubt it would have changed your mind had you known. Your reasons for wanting to be here are your own, but I’m guessing money isn’t the primary one.”

I say nothing. It isn’t a question anyway, and even if it were, I couldn’t share the answer without putting myself at risk.

“People come here for all sorts of reasons. Some to get clean or sober. Some to lose weight. Some to escape abuse or neglect, homelessness, poverty, a life of crime. Others, like your friend Olivia, hope to convince a patron to turn them, give them immortal life.”

“Olivia wants to be turned?”

“She didn’t tell you?” Marabella gives an uneven smile. “Oh yes, she has her mind set on it. I seriously doubt she’ll find a vampire willing to do it though. Few would risk it.”

“Why? I’d think vampires would want to make more vampires.”

She snorts. “No more than humans want children. Most who do understand it’s an enormous responsibility. A maker is responsible for training his progeny and keeping her within the old law until she learns. And that’s if both human and vampire survive the turning. To do it, the vampire must bite the human. Vampire venom is a must. Then the vampire must feed the human an uncomfortably large portion of their own blood, enough that it weakens them. And then they have to have the balls to kill the human.”

“Kill them, as in fully dead and gone?”

“As a doornail. Once they’ve turned, it’s very possible the new vampire will be stronger than the old, their body having their own blood to feed on. It’s not uncommon for the newly turned to kill their maker. Valeska killed hers. Olivia seems like the type who wouldn’t hesitate to do the same.”

“I had no idea.” No wonder the vampire population is far less than the human one. Procreating is a huge risk for them.

“But back to you.” She studies me, drumming her fingers on the railing. “Since your arrival, you’ve donated to three vampires exactly three times each. Every single one has offered to buy you outright. They’ve all made me offers. Did you know that?”

Ren did tell me as much, but I shake my head. I want to hear her version of it.

“When I told him you were too valuable to sell, Commander Marcel paid a premium to book a regular spot with you until the end of the year. He’s a handsome vampire. Usually chooses a donor who allows sex or goes topside to enchant a human into getting it for free. You seem to be his catnip, Eloise.”

I shrug. “I told you Cassius said my blood was special.”

“Everald is the very definition of suave and sophisticated. He’s been around a long, long time, Eloise. I’ve never seen him shaken the way he was when he left your room the first time.”

“I wouldn’t know,” I say, playing dumb.

“Even George was a bit flustered. George, who has been in love with me for years, barely remembers to flirt with me after visiting your room.”

“George is in love with you?”

“I feed him myself sometimes for free.” She quirks a smile. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for a kind heart.”

I laugh. “He feeds from the wrist if it makes you feel any better.”

She tips her face toward the light. “Interesting though, every vampire who has visited your room mentions you asking about the palace and the queen. That’s a strange obsession for a new donor. Some would say a deadly one.”

A chill runs through me. Does she suspect my true intentions? How much does she know about Damien?

I brace my hands on the railing, concentrating on the koi while I formulate a lie. “I am obsessed. With all royalty if you must know, even the human variety. It would be a dream to see an actual queen in person.”

Her eyes narrow slightly. She’s not buying it. “Why did you become a donor, Eloise?”

“I told you. Cassius said my blood was special.”

She sniffs. “Yet you decided to come here and not stay with him. He’d have been a fine patron.”

“I wanted to see Night Haven. I’d heard about it and it seemed adventurous.”

She nods once. “I believe that’s a partial truth. But I’m going to have to ask you to stop the bullshit. No one leaves their family and friends topside to live among vampires unless they have a death wish. And absolutely no human with half a brain cell wants an audience with a vampire queen unless they wish for death. So, maybe I need to be more direct about it. Why do you want to die, Eloise?”

What does she want from me? I scrutinize her, her dress so different than the night I first met her. Everything about her screams shrewd and cunning. Cutthroat businesswoman. A woman who understands how to spot a lie.

She knows I am lying and wants the truth.

So I give it to her. “The man I love went missing,” I start. “And I have reason to believe he might be living as a vampire within the palace walls, working for the queen.”

She inhales sharply. “Turned?”

I nod, afraid my voice might betray my lie.

She frowns and looks back toward the creek. “You are too valuable. I won’t sell you to the palace.”

My blood heats with anger. “I never asked you to sell me. I only want access to the palace to find my lover.”

“If you get within sniffing distance of the queen, she’ll demand you. She’ll want to taste you, and once she does, I’ll never have you back.”

I slide my hands into the back pockets of my jeans. “I can pay my debt. I’ll buy my freedom and go myself.”

Her expression morphs into a sneer, and I can almost see her brain calculating the money she’s going to lose if I go. When she speaks again, her voice is low and placating. “I’ll make you a deal, Eloise. I will get you safely into the palace to look for your turned boyfriend if, and only if?—”

“Yes?”

“You agree to work for me for three more months no matter what. Lord knows I’ll never succeed in holding you longer than that anyway. I believe you could buy your freedom today, but don’t think for a second you’ll survive navigating that palace without my help.”

My heart leaps. I can’t believe my luck. If Marabella can get me safely into the palace, surely I can challenge Valeska, and once I do that, I won’t have to comply with our deal. I’ll either be dead or gone with Damien. I have nothing to lose.

“Deal,” I say.

She pumps my hand once, twice. “Enjoy the garden, but not too long. You need your rest, sugarplum. For the next three months, your sweetness is mine.”