in Jake’s throat. “What the hell are you doing, torturing them?”
“Torture?” Skidmore laughed. “No, dear boy, I would never do that. Here, let me start at the beginning.” He led the way to a heavy wooden door and pulled it open to reveal a room full of mortals lounging in chairs and on sofas, most watching television or playing video games. “See? These mortals are my guests.”
One of the nearby men sneered at the two of them. “You motherfuckers are doomed to walk through eternal hell.”
“Ah, yes.” Skidmore grinned at Jake. “Such a pleasant lot.” He led the way back out and closed the door.
“As we find hunters,” he explained, “we give them two days to decide if they wish to continue to hunt us, or join us. If they make the choice not to join us, they’re moved into the donors’ room.” He walked to the next door and slid back a small window.
Inside, a dozen or more mortals lay on tables, hooked to IVs. A young female vampire worked at switching out full bags for empty ones.
“They’re all drugged,” Skidmore said. “As far as they’re concerned, they’re simply sleeping. After a week or so, we’ll finish them off, and they’ll move into death. All in all, not a bad way to go.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t know. This doesn’t bother you, huh?”
Skidmore stiffened. “Dear boy, I watched my family, friends, and most of the village I grew up in die slow, agonizing deaths at the hand of the Black Death. That bothered me. This is a pleasant way to dispose of a very unpleasant part of the population.” He sighed. “And don’t forget what you are, after all. Their blood sustains us. You made the choice to live this way.”
Jake decided not to argue the point. He hadn’t actually made an educated choice when he was brought into the Night, but he hadn’t fought it, either.
“So, what about the others?”
Skidmore relaxed again. “Those who choose to join us will either be allowed to remain mortal, or offered eternity. We must first decide their worth. And that is the group you see here.” He motioned toward the vast main room. Lowering his voice, he leaned close to Jake. “This is my favorite part.”
Skidmore led the way around the room. “Only a few will be given eternity. The rest will be allowed to go, once we’re assured of their allegiances. But first, we must be sure that the ones we choose are truly sensuous creatures.” He stroked the side of a young woman’s face as she looked up at him with wide eyes. “This is Ruby.”
Ruby had lips as red as her namesake stone, and coal-black eyes. Long, dark hair hung in front of her shoulders, partially covering her bare breasts, but not enough to hide their fullness. She wore jeans cut off into shorts, and as Jake studied her, her hands slid between her thighs and her legs opened just enough to suggest interest. Above her bare feet, fur-lined cuffs encircled her ankles, attaching her to the wall.
In spite of his weakened state, Jake felt his body react, and a mild ache started behind his fangs. And then he heard all the heartbeats in the room, as soft and sweet as songbirds on a cool, fall morning.
“Ah, dear boy,” Skidmore said, his hand falling on Jake’s shoulder. “I see you haven’t lost your interest. Good. You may help me weed through them. What do you say?”
Jake remembered Athena, standing before him gloriously naked, using her beauty to lure him into a trap. And he had been terrified of hurting her. The betrayal still stung when he thought about it. “What the hell?”
Skidmore beamed. “Wonderful. I have a perfectly marvelous idea or two. I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy assisting me.”
Jake watched the tip of Ruby’s tongue run slowly over her top lip.
“But first we take care of your more immediate needs.” Skidmore took Jake’s arm and turned him toward the main door. “We want you in prime condition, my boy.”
“What exactly do you want me to do?”
Skidmore’s smile grew into a wicked grin. “You’ll see.”
5
The next evening, Jake rose feeling far better than he had the night before. He climbed out of bed, showered, and slipped on jeans and a T-shirt. Hunger gnawing at his insides led him toward the main part of the underground castle.
The grand salon, as Skidmore called it, was deserted, as were the kitchen and master bedrooms. Jake poured himself a chilled drink and downed it, then wandered back toward the dungeon.
Skidmore still hadn’t explained his ideas for sorting out the human contestants, and Jake found himself less interested in helping than he had been earlier. As the sting of betrayal focused down onto an individual, his desire for one-sided revenge on the misguided humans waned. His true interest lay in looking for Athena. Her scent still haunted him. She needed to be taught a lesson.
“Skidmore?” Jake wound through passageways, trying to recall his route from the night before. He stopped at a door and listened.
Noises from inside suggested several people whispering, and then he heard Skidmore say, “Yes, I think this will be quite interesting.”
Jake eased the door open, leaned in, and found a room lit by candlelight with a large bed in the middle holding four or five entangled humans kissing and touching each other.
Skidmore looked up and smiled. “Come in, dear boy. We started without you.”
Jake had never quite understood his friend’s taste for groups, and started to back out. “That’s okay. You go right ahead.”
Skidmore, dressed in a red silk robe, rose from the bed and crossed the room in the blink of an eye. “Nonsense,” he said, taking Jake’s arm and pulling him forward. “I told you I needed your help. Do you plan to deny me?”
Jake sighed, letting himself be led into the room.
“Here,” Skidmore said, releasing him into a strangely shaped round chair covered in dark cloth. “You can simply watch if you wish.”
He had no great desire to watch, but he knew it would be useless to try to explain that to Skidmore. The older vampire often related stories of orgies with humans and vampires, and couldn’t seem to understand why they didn’t interest Jake. As a lawman, spending days alone in the high desert and on the range, he’d often thought about female company, and he’d had two women at once several times, when he could afford it. But old ways die hard, and he’d barely adjusted to having Skidmore in his bed when he shared it with Katie.
Still, he couldn’t go back on his word. And he had, after all, shed his mortality a long time ago. Hell, maybe it was time to shed some of his Victorian morals, too.
Jake relaxed and studied the pile of writhing bodies, sorting out torsos in the flickering light. There seemed to be two men and three women, all young. Most sported tattoos—the latest rage—and one of the women was a blonde from a bottle. One woman was dark, as was one of the men, and she seemed to have the largest breasts, which drew the attention of both men. Not too surprising.
Skidmore stretched out on the far side of the bed where he could observe the action closely, occasionally stroking
