Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
His eyebrows shot up as she pulled her arm out of his hand and headed for the door.
“You drink while you’re on the job?”
“Not that kind of drink.” Sky was already pushing her way out of the front door, shoving the guardian aside.
“Officer?” the guard called after her, but Sky ignored her for the moment. Torin was right behind her and she could tell he was wondering what the fuck was going on, but she didn’t care.
She walked away from the ambassador’s tower, scanning the broad, paved lanes of Region Twelve. At last she saw what she needed—the blue and white striped awning advertising a small shop on the corner.
“Where are we going?” Torin asked as she made her way across the street, heading for the shop.
Sky didn’t bother to answer him either. She was feeling weak and shaky again—she needed to get into the shop quickly.
Opening the door, which caused a tiny bunch of gilded meecen bones to rattle, she pushed past an important looking female Serpentine to get to the counter.
“I beg your pardon!” The expensively dressed customer hissed, clearly affronted.
“Sorry—Peace Keeper business,” Sky told her. She was dimly aware of Torin behind her, but she didn’t care. If she didn’t get some nourishment soon, she was definitely going to faint.
“Can I help you?” The Serpentine woman behind the counter looked as disapproving as the displaced customer.
“Blood—don’t care what kind,” Sky told her, baring her fangs. “It’s an emergency—please!”
“Oh, well…” She saw the shop owner take in her pale face and the Peace Keeper logo on her chest. She turned her head and called, “Vasquer? Come out at once.”
An effete little male dressed in a blue and white striped vest and blue trousers came out of the back room. He took one look at Sky and seemed to see her need, because instead of coming around the counter to sit with her at one of the elegant, spindly tables that dotted the shop, he simply reached across it, offering her his bare wrist.
Sky took it gratefully. Leaning down, she sank her fangs into his scaly flesh and sucked deeply of the life-giving flow. The thin, bitter, oily blood had never tasted so good and she gulped greedily, sucking from the small wounds her fangs had made as she felt the strength flowing back into her.
At last, she felt steady again and was able to lick the wound closed.
“Thank you,” she said to the little male, who nodded and pulled his hand back across the counter. “How much do I owe?” she added, speaking to the shop owner.
“Five creds,” the female Serpentine said crisply.
It was five times the going rate for a few sips of blood, but Sky paid it without complaint. Leaving a five-cred chip on the counter, she turned to go…only to see Commander Torin standing there, staring at her in apparent surprise.
“You…” he said and cleared his throat. “You’re a Pitch Blood, aren’t you?”
“So what if I am?” Sky pushed past him and left the shop, hearing the bones clatter as she went. The giant Kindred ducked out of the shop behind her and joined her on the street.
“I didn’t know,” he said in a low voice. “I mean, I saw your fangs but I thought maybe…”
“Did you think I was half Serpentine?” Sky demanded. “I’m not—I’m full blooded Kindred like you. My mother and father were both Blood Kindred from Tranq Prime but after my father died, my mother moved us here. She did that so people like you wouldn’t stare at me the way you’re staring right now,” she added.
She still didn’t know why she’d gotten so weak all of a sudden. Usually she could go all day on just a few sips of blood. Maybe it was just the shock of seeing that awful crime scene. When she closed her eyes, she could still see it—the eyeless body imprinted on the insides of her eyelids, refusing to go away.
What she didn’t need right now was the big, stupid Kindred staring at her and judging her—either for her weakness or her thirst or both. She glared up at him, daring him to say something.
At last, Torin shook his head.
“Forgive me,” he rumbled. “I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just…Pitch Blood males are rare enough. I’ve never heard of a Pitch Blood female before.”
“Well, here I am!” Sky spread her arms. “Maybe you’re not quite so sexually attracted to me now, hmm? Now that you know I need blood to survive?” she snapped. “Well, that’s fine with me—I don’t need your kind. I never have.”
She whirled to go and was surprised to feel a big hand on her shoulder.
“Wait!” Torin spun her around and stared down into her face. “I said I was fucking sorry, didn’t I?” he said, frowning. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just…surprised, that’s all.”