Blood Candy Read online

  “We’re a peaceable family,” Blake interjected. “It’s in our best interest to have good relationships with mortals, lycans, and vampire families alike. We refrain from drinking human blood because we want to break the old molds and change the way the world works.”

  “My son is very wise for his age. ‘Make love, not war’ has been my motto for a long time.”

  Candy didn’t really care about whatever point Anastasia was trying to make and she wanted nothing more than to turn her attention out a window rather than have to hold the vampire girl’s pale-eyed gaze. The longer she sat in the car with the vampire girl, the more uncomfortable she became, until it felt like she was freezing.

  “I should warn you,” Anastasia said. “They will ask you some personal questions. Keep calm and answer only what they ask. Don’t elaborate and keep it to a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ I’ll do most of the talking, and remember what we discussed. You and Blake have been madly in love for months, and you have accepted his request to be bound to him.”

  Candy nodded. She hoped they wouldn’t ask anything she might stumble over.

  “It won’t be that bad,” Anastasia said, as if she could read the worry on Candy’s face. “They may ask where you and Blake met each other; if they do, say at a local club. Those places crawl with vampires and no one will think twice about it.”

  “What do you mean about being bound?” Candy asked her.

  Anastasia appraised Candy for a moment before she answered. “I suppose you should know. These things aren’t told to mortals unless they will be bound to a vampire or family, but you’re a unique case. Simply put, being bound to Blake is akin to being married to him. Just like in a marriage you swear to have relations only with him, both the carnal nature as well as that of the blood. The binding is generally complete when he takes your blood for the first time. Like marriage, it’s an old and mostly useless ritual, but it serves a purpose nonetheless.”

  Candy wasn’t sure she understood. Blood bonds and blood slaves, she didn’t understand and she didn’t like it. When the car came to a stop, Anastasia must have seen her mix of confusion and dread. She called for the driver to wait before opening the back door.

  “I don’t expect you to understand everything I’ve said. To put it bluntly, vampires rarely fill in their mortal companions with details because there’s no reason to. The only thing you need to know to make this work is this: you love Blake and you want to be with him. Understand?”

  Candy nodded.

  “Very good. We’re ready, Milford.”

  The driver opened the back door. Anastasia stepped out first, followed by Blake. He offered his hand to help Candy like a gentleman. They were on the lower level of a parking garage somewhere in the city. After a moment the SUV pulled in with the Misfits. Not long after that, a red Ferrari with tinted windows parked next to the town car. Chester stepped out, dressed in a blue blazer and dark slacks.

  “Glad to see everyone’s okay,” he said with a nod to Candy. When he noticed Felicia, he gave her a smile and a wink.

  “Well hello,” Felicia said with a sideways glance at the expensive car. The rest of the Misfits rolled their eyes.

  “Our guests are waiting,” Anastasia said in a forceful tone that carried in the confined garage. “Lead the way, Chester.”

  With one last smile for Felicia, Chester made his way over to a metal door imbedded in the concrete wall. He held the door open, waiting until everyone had passed through, his eyes lingering on Felicia the whole time. A long corridor bright with strip lights opened out beyond the door. It sloped downward at a slight angle with pipes and ducts running its length. Candy felt like she was in a tomb.

  “Where are we?” she said.

  “An old fallout shelter,” Blake answered at her side. “We maintain it for uses such as this. It’s neutral ground.”

  Chester led the group deeper down the corridor, their footsteps echoing against the close walls. The other end opened into a high ceilinged room made of bare concrete, most of which lay within the confines of darkness. When Chester turned to the right, Candy noticed three men standing around a conference table. One of them was Nigel, another Rupert, and the last a tall man with bleach blond hair wearing a black greatcoat with gold buttons on the lapels.

  “Here they are,” Nigel said. He took a few steps towards the Mullins and Misfits, and then with a sweep of his arm invited them all over to the table. “My dear Anastasia. Have you been introduced to Hayden Kingsley?”

  Upon Nigel’s introduction, the man with the blond hair came around from the table to give Anastasia a gracious half bow. He was eerily pale and had several silver rings on both of his hands, some etched with insignias. Anastasia gave a slight nod of her head.

  “Of course we’ve been introduced,” Hayden said in a forced American accent that didn’t sound quite right. “A pleasure as always, Miss Mullin.”

  “Lord Kingsley.” Anastasia didn’t give him a second more of her attention. She turned her eyes to Rupert. “I don’t believe I’ve been formally introduced to your brother.”

  “Please, call me Hayden. The rightful Lord Kingsley is currently predisposed.” He snapped his fingers and Rupert came quickly to his side, not bothering to hide his contempt for Blake and the Misfits along the way.

  “This is Rupert. Pride of our father’s eye,” Hayden said.

  “My pleasure,” Rupert said with a fake smile.

  “Yes, it is your pleasure,” Anastasia said.

  Rupert tried to awkwardly sustain a smile, but his face slowly hardened into a scowl.

  “This is my son Blake and his mortal love, Candy,” Anastasia said. “The others are friends of the family and material witnesses.”

  Rupert’s lip twitched. Hayden looked Candy over with a wry grin and then he went to the far side of the table to take a seat. Rupert sneered first at Blake and then at Jimmy before he joined his brother. Anastasia, Chester, and Blake took seats across from the Englishmen. There was nowhere else for the Misfits to go other than the end of the table.

  “Jolly good,” Nigel said. “Now that we’re all familiar with each other, allow me to introduce the Magister of New England, who will be presiding tonight.”

  A man stepped out from the shadows as if he and the inky darkness had been one. The man was tall and pale with long black hair, dark eyes and a prominent nose. He took slow steps to the head chair, his depthless eyes passing over each individual in turn. Candy couldn’t discern his apparent age because, like all of the vampires she had encountered, he exuded an unnatural youth. Though he was tall and built like a man who had done long years of hard labor, his skin was smooth and unmarred.

  “Magister Fernando Fedora,” Nigel said. “As Magister of New England and a neutral party, he will mediate the grievances of the Mullin and Kingsley families. His judgment will be final and fully binding.”

  “Magister,” Hayden said, his head and eyes lowered.

  Anastasia kept her eyes on Fernando. “El Capitan,” she said with a nod.

  The Magister smiled. His voice was deep and sensual, marked with a Spanish or Portuguese accent. “I haven’t been called that in a long time.”

  “Lovely,” Nigel said. “I will present the item of dispute between the families.” His eyes, along with most everyone else’s, went to Candy. “Miss Candy Shuler. Would you rise for the Magister, please?”

  Candy slowly stood, feeling stupid for having worn the shirt with the huge face of a cartoon mouse on the front. She kept her head bowed under the pressure of Magister Fedora’s eyes. Blake took her hand beneath the table.

  “You can have a seat now,” Nigel said. “Magister, the table is yours.” He took a few steps back, crossed his arms, and waited for the show to commence.

  The Magister looked once more around the table. No one was safe from the ferocity in his dark eyes before he took his seat. Candy found herself looking down when he merely passed his gaze over her.

  “I’ll hear from you first, Miss Mu
llin,” the Magister said. “It’s my understanding both families have made a claim on the girl in question. Tell me about it.”

  “It’s simple,” Anastasia said with a glance at the Englishmen. “The mortal belongs to my son. They are in love and he has claimed her.”

  “That’s a lie!” Rupert burst out, drawing the ire of both the Magister and Hayden. Magister Fedora’s harsh eyes demanded respect from everyone at the table quite effectively on their own without need of a single spoken word. Rupert lowered his head in submission, if not from unabated fear.

  Anastasia continued, “As I was saying. My son and Candy have been in love for some time now. Rupert made a mistake, and should he confess to his mistake my family will not bring further grievances against him.”

  Rupert clenched his fists. The Magister turned his attention to the Englishmen.

  “I’ll hear your side now.”

  Hayden smirked across the table at Anastasia before addressing the Magister.

  “It’s not as simple as the lovely Anastasia would like it to sound. My brother came upon the mortal in question on her own, and I stress that she was unmarked and thus unclaimed. It’s my belief the Mullin family has been colluding with the so called witnesses to claim the girl as their own. Their whole story is a laughable fabrication.”

  The Magister knocked a gavel on the table. “Who are these witnesses?” he said with a perturbed glance over at the Misfits. They slinked down a little in their chairs. Jimmy cleared his throat and stood up.

  “My name’s Jimmy. I was there, uh, the night in question.”

  “What night in question?” the Magister grumbled. “All I want to know is who you mortals are.”

  “We’re the Misfits. We . . . I was there the night in question.”

  “Enough about the night in question. What are ‘misfits’?”

  Perplexed, Jimmy said, “That’s who we are. The Misfits.”

  The Magister gave Anastasia a disturbed glance. “These people are friends of your family? They look like a gang of clowns who lack the mental capacity to answer a simple question. This is the type with whom your family consorts?”

  “The company my family keeps has no bearing on the matter at hand,” Anastasia said, a little agitated, and seemingly the only person in the room who didn’t cow beneath the presence of the Magister. “He’s a witness to what happened not only on the night when Rupert first tried to forcefully take Candy, but on several other occasions of his stalking as well.”

  “Someone tell me about the night,” the Magister said, short on patience.

  The Mullins looked to Candy. She swallowed her fear and tried to find the courage to talk in front of all the vampires. It took a few attempts to finally get her mouth working.

  “He attacked me,” she said. “He charmed me and made me do things against my will.”

  “This is nonsense,” Hayden said in a calm tone. “She’s clearly been coached into saying this. My brother didn’t charm her.”

  Magister Fedora’s eyes burned into Candy. “That’s a serious accusation. A public display of glamour is a serious crime. Are you sure that’s what happened? Are you sure you want to keep that statement on the record?”

  Beneath the intensity of his gaze, Candy thought perhaps she should say no and call this whole thing off. She found the courage to nod. The Magister watched her for a long time, making her even more uncomfortable. She wondered, as he continued watching her with narrowed eyes, if he was using some kind of vampire power, some way to descry the truth from her very soul. Finally, he turned to the Misfits and glowered at them in the same way.

  “I cannot discern the truth to these statements and as such I have no choice but to take the word of a vampire over that of confused mortals. The right to claim is given to he who first takes the blood. When was this first done?”

  “Last night,” Anastasia said, though she wasn’t pleased to make the confession.

  “And the Kingsley family?”

  “Three nights ago,” Hayden said with a self-assured grin.

  “The Kingsley’s have rights.” The Magister lifted the gavel up over the table.

  “The law is less than clear on these matters,” Anastasia said before the gavel came down. The Magister lowered the hammer, giving her time to speak again. “According to law I could bite and claim every mortal under the acquaintance of any other family. The fact of the matter is the girl and my son are in love and have been for some time. Where is it written that a mortal cannot be courted over a frame of time? The law does not fit this situation.”

  “I ask that the Magister not take any of this nonsense into consideration,” Hayden said. “She cannot prove her son was courting the girl. As a matter of fact, I proclaim everything she and her mortal nitwits say a lie.”

  “Can you prove this?” the Magister asked Anastasia.

  “I needn’t prove anything. This isn’t a mortal court of law. The girl is on my side of the table. She is here with me in my domain.”

  The Magister leaned back in his chair, his eyes searching Anastasia. “Possession does not give blood rights,” he said, and then his eyes went to Candy. “Though it’s clear to me the girl has taken the side of her choosing.”

  “She could be charmed!” Rupert shouted.

  Anastasia glared across the table and said, “We all know she’s not charmed. Aside from the fact my family doesn’t practice such immoral acts, you can clearly see she is here of her own free will.”

  “She’s not charmed,” the Magister agreed with an agitated glance down his nose at the British vampire. “It’s clear both parties want the girl and both parties have rights to some degree. Therefore, I pronounce this to be settled through contest. The winning family will have rights to the girl and both families shall not bring grievances against the other in her regard again.”

  Rupert slammed his opened palms on the table. “Bollocks!”

  The Magister lifted his hand as if he meant to reach out across both the table and Hayden to strike Rupert. Hayden leaned back and Rupert cowered. The Magister slowly lowered his hand back down.

  “Don’t speak out again you little shit,” the Magister said. The Misfits all smiled at the tongue-lashing. “This is the Mullin’s domain. They decide what form the contest takes.”

  “Give us a moment to confer,” Anastasia said.

  The Mullins and Candy walked away from the table. The Misfits joined them, Jimmy going straight to Candy’s side. “This isn’t fair,” he told Anastasia. “You never mentioned anything about a contest.”

  Anastasia ignored him. “Figure out a way to beat them,” she said simply to her sons, and then she went back to her seat at the table. Everyone made a tight circle so they could talk without being overheard. Blake and Chester were deep in thought.

  “What exactly does he mean by a contest?” Felicia said.

  “A challenge,” Chester said, all too happy to answer her question.

  “What kind of a challenge?” Were-Jew said.

  Blake sighed, seemingly conflicted. “A duel. Pistol duels are still very popular, but my aim is terrible. And Rupert’s too fast for me to take with a rapier. I don’t know what I could beat him at.”

  Candy was astonished by the talk of dueling with deadly weapons but she kept her mouth shut. These vampires were trying to claim her as if she was livestock and their safety wasn’t anywhere near as important as her own.

  “Remember little brother, it’s a contest between families,” Chester said. “I think I could take Rupert, but I’m not sure about who he’d choose as a partner. Hayden is head of the family while their father is away, so there is no doubt he knows what he’s doing.”

  “I can’t think of anything,” Blake said. “I need time.”

  “I need your decision,” the Magister said on cue.

  White Paul passed a worried glance from the brothers, who were deep in troubled thought, to Candy. “You’re so screwed,” he said.

  Blake lifted a finger to him. “I
don’t want to hear a word from you. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  Chester glared at White Paul as well. “Is he the jerk who wrecked the bathroom?”

  Felicia stomped her foot. “Enough of that! You’re wasting valuable time.”

  Blake shook his head. “Maybe Monopoly?”

  Everyone groaned.

  “Yeah, let’s leave Candy’s fate to the dice rolls in a Monopoly game,” Jimmy said.

  Magister Fedora’s voice boomed, “I need your answer.”

  The vampire brothers passed grave glances to each other. Medium Dave, standing outside the circle near the table, snapped his fingers. “How about basketball?” he suggested.

  The gavel smacked the table. “Basketball it is!”

  Everyone spun around on Medium Dave. “What?” he said. “Basketball was invented in America so these British guys can’t be good at it. And besides, Blake used to be captain of his team, right?”

  When the Magister stood up, Candy could have sworn the shadows behind him swelled and followed. “Two nights from now at nine o’clock,” he said. “I’m not familiar with basketball, so I’ll need a rundown of the rules. The girl is to stay with the Mullin family until then.”

  “I’m quite familiar with the game. I can referee,” Nigel offered.

  “Standard rules. Full court, five on five with fifteen minute quarters,” Blake said.

  Hayden grinned. “Suit yourself.”

  “I’ll leave it to Sir Nigel to find a suitable location,” the Magister said. “See you there, Miss Mullin.”

  He swept out of the room, melding back into the shadows near the door.

  “Yes, see you there,” Hayden chided. Rupert blew a kiss to Candy and then followed his brother out of the room, laughing all the way.

  Blake threw his hands up. “Great.” He pointed at Medium Dave, his eyes narrowing. “Who told this asshole he could talk?”

  Jimmy reluctantly spoke on his friend’s behalf. “It’s not like you came up with anything, and you’re supposed to be good at basketball. This sounds like it’s probably the best chance we have.”