Eva shuddered. Sometimes Serena would look at her like she was a meal. But she would always rein in her hunger. Especially if Eva pointed it out.
This guy was on a whole other level of creepiness.
“I’m no fool. I had my doubts that I could fight a demon. Let’s just say that if I die, people might look around in my belongings. If they look around my belongings, they might find something that will lead them here. I take it that this place is supposed to be secret?”
Eva fought to keep a wince off her face. She was suddenly glad that she hadn’t given in and killed him.
“So let’s make a deal.”
“What,” Eva said through grit teeth, “did you have in mind?”
“The upcoming event. My school wins, you freely give up your blood. Not all of it. I’m not so crass as to kill my subjects. Having another blood doll on campus, especially one with such an interesting scent, shouldn’t be thrown to waste so easily,” he said. Despite his face still being pressed into the dirt, his tone carried the confidence of someone who had already won the event.
Frankly, it pissed Eva off. Everything about him seemed designed to tick her off.
She had seen other students talking with the vampire. He didn’t have quite the social following that Saija had, but he definitely had admirers in the student bodies of all the schools. Aside from herself and those she had told, the nuns, and maybe the professors, Eva didn’t even think anyone knew he was a vampire. He didn’t even have that exotic allure going for him. She couldn’t see why anyone would want to exist near him.
“And if you lose?”
“I don’t tell anyone about whatever it is you’re doing here. I won’t tell them when I win, of course. It is just a handy bit of insurance.”
“Blackmail.”
“If you want to look at it like that.”
Even if she won, there was nothing stopping him from making another ‘deal’ before the next event. Or finding some other excuse to use the ritual site against her.
He needed to die. But not until after she found whatever message he left for other people.
Maybe she could get the nuns to do the actual killing. Though they would need to be kept on a leash until
“Fine,” Eva said. “Fine. I’ll play your little game.”
“Oh good. I knew you would see reason.”
Eva grit her teeth as she further dug her heel into the vampire’s back, grinding it back and forth.
“I don’t suppose you would be willing to let me up,” he said, voice slightly strained.
“Hmm. Not sure about that. Our agreement was that you winning the first event means I have to give up some blood. So long as I follow that, you wouldn’t tell anyone about this place. Never in our agreement did I say that I wouldn’t handicap you by breaking every bone in your body. Just trying to decide which I want to start with.” She added a little more pressure to the small of his back. “I’m thinking right around here.”
He let out a strained whine before a weak little chuckle escaped his lips. “You demons and your literal contracts. But we didn’t make a contract. We made a deal. Deals can be altered. I should think that excessive bodily harm would be grounds for changing the deal.”
Eva had honestly expected that. Which was the only reason she hadn’t actually broken his back.
She finally stepped off him, giving him a decent kick to the side in the process.
“Get out of here,” Eva said. “And don’t come back. If I find you around this place again, I’ll kill you regardless of your messages to other people.”
He flashed another wide smile as he pushed himself back to a proper standing position. “Don’t worry. I have what I need from here.” As he spoke, he brushed his hands down the front of his clothes. He glanced to his chest with a look of abject horror. “My suit!”
The vampire—who, Eva realized, she still didn’t know the name of—started frantically brushing at his suit, trying to remove as much dirt as possible. Under other circumstances, Eva might have taken amusement and joy in his suffering. Now, she just stared, eyes cold and unfeeling.
“Leave.”
He snapped his eyes up, eyes narrowed for a moment before he let out a small snort. “See you around, I guess.”
Eva didn’t respond. She watched and waited as he sauntered off. Only when he finally left the range of her ability to sense blood did she let out a sigh.
“Sorry,” she said, turning around with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Apart from speaking, she kept her lips firmly shut. No need to flash a view of her sharp teeth. “I didn’t mean to frighten you two.”
The faint outline of a man solidified from a partially gaseous form just behind a fully-armored Juliana. She hadn’t even removed the metal around her face. Even though the vampire was gone, Srey stayed just behind the human, barely peeking out over her shoulder.
