Page 3 of Blood as Sweet as Roses

Paige

I’m not a big traveler. Amanda sometimes drags me along on her many adventures, but it’s difficult to even get me out of my house, if I’m being honest. I know I’m boring like that, but I just like to stay in my comfort zone, you know?

This is very outside of my comfort zone.

“Um,” I squeak, gazing anxiously of the car window. We’ve been driving for at least thirty minutes, north of the city. I’ve never been to this area before. “Are we going to be…much longer?”

The woman beside me chuckles. “Eager to get started, huh?”

“The Midnight Mansion is less than ten minutes away,” the driver replies curtly. I get the sense from his tone that no further questions are welcome. Which is very unfortunate, because I have a lot of questions.

After several days of nerve-racking internal debate, I finally called the phone number on the business card that the vampire gave me.

I would have preferred to complete a form on a website, preferably one with some additional information about working as a blood donor for a vampire clan, maybe with a list of frequently asked questions, references, or relevant policies, but no.

The only information on the card was a single phone number.

A very cold person answered the phone, and when I told her what I was calling about, she informed me that I should pack a bag with everything I require for the next three months and that I would be picked up in a car the following Friday evening.

No references, no social security number, nothing.

I almost hung up, but then she told me the salary I would receive each week, starting the following Monday.

And before I knew it, I was packing a bright pink suitcase that I borrowed from Amanda.

I’ve been trying not to think too much about it. It’s only three months. Just three months, and I can make enough for Miles’s treatment. And maybe a little left over to replenish my nursing school fund.

I can last three months, right?

“Hey,” says the man on my other side, his wide mouth in a nervous grin. He has light brown skin and ink-black curls that tumble down to his shoulders. “Do you think we’ll meet any real vampires tonight?”

“I don’t know,” says the woman, her pink cheeks flushing excitedly. She points to her sandy-brown hair. “I put my hair up in a bun, just in case!”

“That’s smart,” replies the man knowingly.

My stomach twists. Do vampires like it, when you put your hair up? I hadn’t even thought about that. I guess they must like necks. I think anxiously about all of the dresses and shirts I packed. Are they low-cut enough? I tried to pick vampire-y things, but now I feel totally unprepared.

“My name’s Sean,” says the man.

“Chelsie!” the woman replies, her voice chipper.

“I’m Paige,” I add, hoping that it’s too dark in the car for the others to see how anxious I am. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. Even though we haven’t met any vampires yet, I’m suddenly self-conscious about my neck.

“Have either of you been bitten by a vampire before?” Chelsie asks eagerly.

I feel the blood rush to my cheeks. It seems like such an…intimate question.

But that’s silly, right? I mean, being bitten isn’t like…

“Not me,” Sean replies. “But I’ve always wanted to. My friend dated a vampire for a little while, and he was gorgeous. It didn’t last, of course. But I couldn’t help wondering was it was like. I started going to vampire clubs, and the next thing I knew, I got scouted! I couldn’t believe my luck.”

“I’ve been bitten by a vampire,” Chelsie says.

Sean gapes at her jealously. “Really?”

“Yep! I used to work at the Respite hotel, in Silverlake City. It’s run by a family of vampires. One day, they needed a donor for the CEO, and they asked me to step in!”

“What was it like?” Sean asks in a hushed voice. Both of us turn to Chelsie with wide eyes. I have to admit, I’m curious too.

Chelsie glows under the attention. “It was…completely unlike anything I’ve ever experienced…”

Then the car comes to a sudden stop, and my chest tightens. The windows are so dark that I can’t see outside properly.

“We’ve arrived,” announces the driver firmly.

The other two quickly exit the car, but I feel like my feet are made of lead.

What have I gotten myself into? Blinded by the money - and the opportunity to support my little brother - I’d convinced myself that this would be just a job.

What had that vampire said? That it was just like donating blood?

How could I have been so stupid? Of course it’s not like that!

There’s a huge difference between letting a medical professional take your blood and allowing a vampire to…

“Um, are you coming?” chimes a voice from outside the car. Chelsie and Sean are staring at me impatiently as the driver retrieves our bags from the trunk.

“Yep!” I respond, trying to sound normal and not like I’ve just realized I’m about to become a meal for a supernatural creature.

With a shaky exhale, I scoot out of the backseat and into the deep blackness of the night.

It takes my eyes a moment to adjust. In the city, there’s always lots of light pollution.

Streetlights, cars whizzing down the street, bright beams emanating from the windows of many-storied condos.

But this far north of Midnight City, the brightest lights are the twinkling, plentiful stars hanging up in the expansive sky.

Punctuating the eerie stillness of the night is a looming, enormous house. The driver had referred to it as “the mansion,” but really, it’s more of a castle, or a fortress. It stands several stories tall, and it’s at least as wide as the high school I attended with Amanda.

But it’s far less welcoming. It’s made of rough stone, with trellises of dark vines trailing up and down it like veins.

Its windows are peaked elegantly in an old architectural style.

I’ve never seen a building constructed this way before.

There’s dim, amber light emanating from the windows, but it’s impossible to see inside because they’re all curtained off.

Behind the thick, red fabric, I can see moving shapes, like flickering candles in the distance.

I hadn’t realized as we were driving, but we’re surrounded by a tall, spiked iron fence. The car must have been allowed through, but now the gate is closed behind us.

What prison have I willingly entered?

“This is so cool,” Sean whispers to Chelsie. She lets out a hushed squeal, and takes both his hand and mine in a tight squeeze. She doesn’t comment on my sweaty, shaking palm. And before any of us can say anything further, the front door to the mansion opens and a woman steps out.

I instinctively recoil, but then I quickly recover.

She doesn’t look like a vampire. Her smile is warm and genuine, reaching her soft green eyes.

Her chestnut hair flows down her shoulder in a thick braid, and her skin is a light pink.

She wears a simple shift dress and a soft cardigan, making her look more like a dorm leader at a university residence than someone you would expect to meet in a spooky vampire house.

“Good evening,” she says softly. “Welcome to the Midnight Mansion. My name is Eloise, I’m the Manager of Living Resources for the Night clan. I’ll be showing you to your rooms.”

Something about the words “Living Resources” sends a shiver down my spine.

Eloise gestures that we should follow her into the mansion, and Chelsie and Sean eagerly climb the stairs toward her.

I’m about to offer to help with the bags, but it seems like our driver has no trouble managing all of them.

Without a word, he carries them effortlessly into the mansion.

With no other choice, I climb the stairs behind him.

I was hoping that the inside of the mansion would be more inviting, but I have no such luck.

The walls are draped in velvet wallpaper, and there’s a thick, blood-red carpet covering the hardwood floors.

A glittering, candle chandelier looms like a full moon above us, and old paintings of decadent celebrations and lavish flower gardens hang on the walls.

I feel like I’ve gone back in time about two hundred years.

Wait…is that because vampires never age? Is that just a myth, or could that really be true? It’s impossible to imagine.

“The staff accommodations are upstairs, on the third floor,” says Eloise, sweeping across the thickly carpeted floor toward a wide staircase. “I’m sure you’re all eager to get settled in. I hope the drive wasn’t too onerous.”

“It was great!” Sean says, his eyes moving quickly over the paintings we pass as we ascend the stairs.

I notice nervously that many of the figures depicted in the artwork are in various states of undress, and I avert my gaze.

But I suppose that’s normal for old paintings.

It’s just art. I should try to be a little more open-minded, especially if I’m going to be living here for the next three months. I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

“We’re really happy to be here!” Chelsie adds brightly.

Eloise gives her a grin. “We’re glad to have you here as well.”

Chelsie looks delighted at this response, but there’s an ominous note in her voice that makes a shiver crawl up my spine.

We come up to the third floor, and go down a long hallway. It’s a bit brighter up here, with electric lights lining the walls. There’s a row of wooden doors, each with a shining brass number on it.

“The staff reside in these rooms, in the west wing,” Eloise explains. “You’ll each have your own room and key. They’re completely private. The vampires won’t come up here.”

She reaches into her cardigan pocket and retrieves three ancient-looking, brass keys, which she hands out to the three of us. My key feels heavy and cold in my palm.