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  Published by E.M. Reders

  Copyright©2016 by E.M Reders

  This is a work of fiction

  All characters appearing in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

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  The Feeder

  By

  E.M Reders

  Eve

  “Vampires!” I hissed, spinning on my heel and storming out of the room.

  How many times did I have to tell them not to make a mess in here? It was bad enough that I had to keep replacing the cleaners every few weeks. How was anyone not going to be-come suspicious about what went on in the club when there was blood all over the damn place?

  And I’m not just talking about a small drop of blood on the floor. Oh no. I’m talking about buckets full. It was everywhere! The floors. The walls. Even the damn ceiling was drenched in the stuff.

  Was it too much to ask that they controlled themselves, at least some when feeding at the club?

  Sinister had once been one of the top vamp clubs in the country. Vampires would come from all around to feed here – where they could do so in a safe environment. It wasn’t quite as popular nowadays as it had been back in its heyday, but it was still going. Just. The vampires didn’t need to keep looking over their shoulders here. Most, if not all of the people that came to the club knew what it was. On the odd chance that we did get an unsuspecting human enter, and they freaked out when they saw someone feeding, we had ways in which to deal with it. But still, some rules needed to be followed, by both vampire and human alike. Looking at the mess that had been created tonight, they hadn’t been. When the amount of blood was at this scale, it was obvious something bad had happened. Someone had gotten carried away. My question was where was the body?

  Making my way across the room, I headed past the other staff members – a mixture of vampires and humans – over to Gideon’s private office. He was not just the owner of the place but the Master vampire in this region, meaning that all other vampires in the area answered to him. Nobody could enter or feed in this area without seeking permission from him first.

  As I raised my fist to knock on his office door, I froze, sensing movement behind me. Spinning around to see who had followed me from the main bar into the corridor, I gasped, finding myself inches away from Vince, his dark eyes glaring at me with hunger.

  Vince was one of the few vampires we had permanently working at the club and one that I was far from comfortable around. Few vampires settled down in one place, most preferring to travel either within their chosen region or flitting between a few. Ever since his arrival here, Vince had been approaching me, but his attentions put me on edge. There was something about him. He made me want to run for the hills and hide, and it was nothing to do with the fact that he was a vampire. Well, not completely.

  He was a handsome guy, don’t get me wrong, but there was just something there deep in his eyes that seemed to trigger my natural warning system. I needed to get away from him.

  “Wanting a bite?” he sneered, his tongue darting out to lick at a tiny drop of blood that clung to the corner of his mouth. It wouldn’t surprise me if he weren't one of the guys that had gotten carried away tonight. “You know you can always come to me if you want some fangs in your neck. You’ll enjoy it. Trust me.”

  “Never going to happen and you know it. So just get back out to the bar or go home, Vince. I’ve got to meet with Gideon and talk about the mess that was left behind tonight.” I sighed, remembering all the blood and the problems I’d have to deal with before the day staff arrived. Talk about stressful. “I doubt there are any cleaners left around here for us to hire,” I mumbled angrily.

  “The guys were just having some fun; that ’s all. I don’t know why you don’t just get the familiars to do all the cleaning.”

  If only. Familiars were humans that wanted to be turned. They spent their entire lives working for and running around after vampires, just praying that one day they will be lucky enough to be chosen. While we had a large selection of them working at the club, none of them would agree to work during the day. I had tried numerous times to get some of them to help me out during the daytime hours, but they just complained that that would mean they wouldn’t get to socialize with the vampires that came here to feed, and that it would ruin their dreams of becoming one of them. They all hoped to talk a vampire into changing them, but I hadn’t met one yet that had been. If Gideon asked them to help out during the day, they would do it, he being a Master vampire and all, but they would never do anything I asked.

  Lifting his hand, Vince moved towards me, reaching out to run his finger down the curve of my cheek. My breath caught in my throat, my heart pounding as I made to step back, only to find myself trapped, my back up against the wall.

  A shiver of fear ran through me as the path of his fingers continued down my neck, finally stopping at my pulse. “You have such a beautiful neck,” he whispered, stepping closer so that his body was pressed against my own, making it impossible for me to move even if I could have pulled myself out of the paralyzing panic that was beginning to claim me. “I have always wondered what you would taste like.”

  Oh God! This can’t be happening!

  Was this it? Was this the moment that everything I had worked so hard to achieve over the past few years since my escape came crashing down around me? One bite. One taste. And my secret would be out.

  “I hope I am not interrupting anything.”

  Vince moved so fast I stumbled, my legs almost giving way as I closed my eyes in relief.

  Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself up and away from the wall. Turning towards the door, I found Gideon stood in the doorway, his eyes burning with rage.

  “Definitely not.”

  “Good. I'm sure you have work to be doing, Vince.”

  “Of course, boss. Whatever you say.” Vince nodded as he turned away and headed back into the club without a second glance.

  Thank fuck. I really needed to watch where he was more in future. If it hadn’t been for Gideon turning up when he did…

  With a shake of the head, I turned back around, pushing the events of the past few minutes aside so that I could deal with the biggest problem at hand, the blood painting the walls of the club.

  “We have a prob…”

  “Don’t even start. I know all about it already. I'm dealing with it,” he snapped as I followed him into the office, shutting the door behind me.

  Dealing with it? Meaning he'd sorted out the disposal of the body… or was it bodies? “This is the second time within a month that this has happened, Gideon. We cannot allow this kind of behaviour to continue. Not here. How long do you think it will be until the humans stop coming? Or until the other Masters decide to get involved?”

  “I will deal with those involved in tonight’s events. But they are young, Eve, and all young vampires have trouble handling their feeds. I have to take that into account. We have all taken a life at one time or another. They just need time.”

  “I understand that.” I had seen enough vampires in my life to know that the younger they were, the less control they had. But in my opinion, the older ones could do with a lesson in control also. “But these guys are taking the piss. I think we need to get some more guys in on security or something.” Some better guys.

  We had four vampires that were classed as club security, Vince being one of them. The other three did their
best, but they just didn’t have the experience or the strength needed in which to do the job efficiently. Whereas Vince just couldn’t be bothered. I got the feeling that he enjoyed the carnage the young ones reaped. We needed someone older, stronger. Someone with a lot more experience fighting and controlling vampires.

  Running his hand through his short blonde hair, he began flicking through the paperwork on his desk. “Just leave and deal with the clean-up, Eve.”

  Had he forgotten what day it was? Maybe I could get out of here before he remembered and escape back upstairs to my apartment.

  The loud bang of him slamming his hands down upon the desk had my heart almost flying out my throat. “If there is one thing I hate more than inventory it is these damn Council of Masters duties. I swear them sods just send me all this paperwork so they don’t have to do a damn thing themselves. I know for a fact that Sabrina has never filled out one of these forms – not that I would complain to that bitch’s face. She’s fucking psycho. I think I’ll leave all this crap until tomorrow, or…” he said, glancing over at me, “you can do it.”

  Great, more work. He would have me filling out all his Council paperwork every day from now on. That was the way it always was. He was the owner of Sinister, the one with his name above the door, but I was the one doing all the work trying to keep the place going. More and more of his responsibilities were being shoved off onto me. Now it seemed that I would be taking on his Master responsibilities too… the ones he actually bothered with.

  Ramming all the papers into an almost overflowing drawer in his desk, he sighed. “Have these all in your office by tomorrow night and completed within the week. I’ll be heading home as soon as I’ve fed.”

  Okay, so maybe he hadn’t forgotten.

  Gideon and I had a deal. In exchange for his protection and a roof over my head, he would get to feed on me once a week. I was to be available to him only – which so wasn’t a problem. If it weren't for the fact that I needed somewhere to live – and to afford that I needed a job – I wouldn’t let his fangs anywhere near me.

  Sighing heavily, I moved around the desk to stand before him. I hated this. It always made me feel like food, like cattle. Raising my arm, I placed my wrist in his outstretched palm. He never fed from my neck like I saw all the other guys doing each and every night. No, he fed from my wrist, a place that was easily hidden from the sight of others.

  As far as any of the other vampires around here knew, I was off limits completely. No one was to feed on me. Gideon had made it his job to install the warning that if any vampire were found to have fed on me without his permission, they would die a long and painful death. No one was stupid enough to piss off a Master vampire. And luckily for me, Gideon wouldn’t give anyone permission. I was his and his alone.

  Running his nose along my wrist, Gideon sighed, his voice full of hunger and desire. “I can never get over how fantastic you smell. Your scent is truly mouth-watering.” Flicking his tongue out to lap at my sweaty flesh, he groaned. “And you taste even better.”

  “Stop playing and just do it already.” He knew how much I hated being bitten.

  Most people loved Friday nights. It was one of our busiest nights at the club, everyone wanting to celebrate the end of the working week. But me? I hated them, dreaded them even. Friday night was feeding night.

  “You spoil all my fun.” He smiled wickedly at me before biting down upon my wrist.

  As his sharp fangs penetrated my fragile flesh, I gritted my teeth so that I didn’t cry out in pain. A vampire’s bite could be a very erotic thing – apparently – but if you fought it, didn’t allow the chemicals that were released from the bite to numb the pain and turn into pleasure, it could be very painful. Every single bite I'd ever received had been pure agony.

  After what felt like forever, but was only a few seconds, he released me, licking my wrist clean of the few droplets of blood which had escaped his mouth. “Delicious,” he sighed in contentment, leaning back in his chair, his eyes burning with power and strength. “Organise the clean up before you head up to bed and start looking for a new batch of cleaners.”

  “I’ll do my best, but I think we may have a few problems on the cleaning front. I actually believe that we may have hired every single cleaning company within a hundred mile radius in the past year alone. We need to come up with a solution, and soon.”

  “Tomorrow. We will talk about it tomorrow.”

  We could talk about it until the cows came home, but if he didn’t figure something out soon, it would be him out there scrubbing blood off the walls, because I sure wasn’t going to do it. He needed to pull his finger out and do his job for once, instead of leaving everything up to me… again.

  Thayne

  Nodding to the guy on the door, I entered the club, my eyes adjusting almost instantly to the dark interior within. The scent of blood clung in the air, the strong aroma of bleach and numerous other cleaning products failing to hide it from my strong vampire senses. Making my way through the crowd to the bar, I noticed many glinting dark eyes following my every step. I was new in town, here on business, and this was my first stop… and hopefully my last.

  I was here to see Gideon, the Master vampire of this region. I needed to gain his permission to stay and hunt in this area. There had once been a time when I could travel anywhere I wanted without having to obtain permission from some big shot, but times had changed. For the better, I guess. But the new ways certainly didn’t make my existence any easier.

  Gaining the barman’s attention was easy. The moment I placed my hand on the bar top he was there before me, glaring daggers. “You’re new.”

  “That I am. I'm here to see Gideon.”

  “Office is through there,” he said, indicating to a door on the other side of the dancefloor before heading back down the bar to serve those waiting.

  It took me a while to navigate my way over there. It seemed that with every step I took, I was either stopped by a vampire wanting to know my business and if I had permission to be here, or a damn familiar would wheeze their way before me and practically throw themselves at my feet, begging me to change them. I told each and every one of the vampires that it was none of their fucking business why I was there, and as for the permission thing, if they would just get the fuck out of my way, I would have it… hopefully. As for the familiars, I never have and never will turn a human. I was a lone soul. I didn’t need a youngling following me every damn place I went.

  Before I could even grasp the handle the door opened, the dark shadow of Gideon standing in the doorway. He wasn’t the largest vampire I had ever met, but neither was he the smallest. And when it came to becoming a Master vampire, size had nothing to do with it. This guy radiated power and was not someone I wanted to piss off… yet. If I were going to pull this job off, I would need to get in this guy’s good books.

  “What are you fucking doing here?”

  It looks like that may be a bit of a problem.

  “Hello, Gideon. Nice to see you too. Mind if we talk?”

  Here’s the thing. My line of work does not make me many friends in the vampire world, quite the opposite in fact. And with the new Master system in place I was having a very hard time getting any Master to allow me to stay in their territory for any length of time. The perks of being an assassin.

  “We will talk, but then you are out of here.”

  Shit!

  “So let me get this straight,” Gideon said a few minutes later. “You not only want permission to stay and hunt in my area, but you also want a job? Funny, as far as I was aware you already had one. Hadn’t you taken it upon yourself to run around killing your own kind?”

  That I had… for a price.

  “I'm between jobs right now,” I lied. “Thought I would find someplace to settle down for a while.”

  “Not here you won’t. I only give jobs to people that I trust, and I have no trust in you.”

  Things were so not going the way I had planned. It was highly imp
ortant that I remain here, in this area, in this club. I was here on a favour, a big one. The Council of Masters didn't trust their newest member, Gideon, and as a favour for an old friend – one of the other Masters – it was my job to find out if their instincts were correct. I couldn’t exactly do that if I wasn’t allowed to remain here.

  “You have twenty-four hours in which to feed and leave.”

  “Now hold on. What have I done exactly to make you hate my ass? We have met a grand total of two times, and you’re acting like me being here is the worst thing on earth.” Or like he didn’t want me here to discover his secrets, which I had a feeling were plenty.

  “I just don’t like murdering sons-of-a-bitches hanging around in my territory without proof that they are not here to kill one of my people,” he yelled.

  “I'm not here to kill anyone. I swear.” And that was the god’s honest truth. For the first time in decades, I had a job that did not involve death – at least not by my hand. What happened when I found out the truth of Gideon’s rise to Master and handed him over to the rest of the Masters was none of my business.

  “It doesn’t matter. My decision is final. If I or any of my people finds you in the area after the twenty-four-hour limit is up, you will find a price upon your own head. Is that clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  “I have no use for an assassin around here.”

  He did, he just didn’t realise it yet. The strong scent of blood flowing from the building just proved that. This place was having problems, big problems. Problems that would only get worse if he didn’t hire someone with the experience needed to solve them.

  “And by the way,” I said as I reached the door, “you need to hire better cleaners or better security. The stench of bleach and blood in this place is at an all-time high.”

  Things were worse than I had originally thought. It had only been an hour or two since I had left Gideon’s office and taken up residence on the second-floor balcony – from here I could see the entire of the main floor, every dark corner – and what I had seen was not good.