Page 2 of Taste of Fate

“Thank you for coming, everyone,” she said solemnly, eyes glassy as she scanned the room. “No one is happy about this day. This is the hardest decision any of us have had to make, and we did not make it lightly.”

She turned to pick up a framed document on the stool next to her and held it up for everyone to see. The paper behind the glass was ancient and frayed at the edges. Whatever words that had been written were now faded to the point of being barely visible.

“This is the original agreement made two-hundred-and-fifty years ago between the human colony of Sapien and the ruling vampire clan. At the time, that clan was Carpe Noctem, but power is constantly shifting in the vampire world.” Nancy set the document down and laced her fingers in front of her. “The agreement is as follows: Upon receiving a blood pet from Sapien every half century, the leading vampire clan will forbid any feedings, kidnappings, or blood rituals being imposed upon our citizens.” She looked solemnly over the crowd. “Since the inception of this agreement, the vampires have always honored their end. We have been able to thrive in a world that works against us because of this sacrifice we must make.”

“Here, here.” Harold thumped his cane on the stage in a show of support while low murmurs of agreement swept over the crowd.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes, crossing my arms while I propped one foot against the wall. Robin glanced at me and smirked, knowing exactly what I was thinking. Could it be any more obvious who would sleep easily in their beds tonight, their necks cozy and safe from any and all fangs?

“No one looks forward to this day,” Nancy went on. “And yet, we must look deep within ourselves to find gratitude for the Selection.” Nancy took the microphone from the stand and began walking across the stage, staring directly into people’s eyes like some kind of evangelist. “The clans fight amongst each other, and humans near them get caught in the crossfire. A human man, woman, or child walks down the street, and a vampire can make a meal out of them with no consequences. These poor, misguided people are at constant risk with no community to protect them.”

A few people in the crowd began to cry. Roughly a third of Sapien had someone close to them, a parent, child, or sibling, leave the settlement to see what life among the vampires was like. None of them had ever come back.

Sapien’s walkaways weren’t the only ones either. Other human-only settlements were now ghost towns because their populations had either been fed upon or integrated into vampire society.

No one from Sapien ventured into clan territories much, but everyone knew the rumors. People whispered about humans switching to a nocturnal schedule and allowing their blood to be drunk, either freely or in exchange for money. They became neighbors, friends, employees, and even lovers of the monsters who ruled us.

Sometimes, when Amy’s bullies were especially cruel, and the council did nothing to stop it, I wondered how much worse it could really be out there.

Nancy let out a shaky breath and wiped one of her eyes, not that I could see any tears. “One sacrifice for fifty years of peace. Fifty years of not having to worry about the monsters that come lurking at night.”

Tell that to Amy, who got dragged from her bed by the Hoyle brothers and dumped in the pigpen one night as a “prank”, I thought bitterly. The poor thing had nightmares of being kidnapped for months after that.

I didn’t have the physical strength to dish the same treatment to two grown men, but I was petty enough to dump pig shit inside their boots and all over their laundry in retaliation. Amy had begged me not to, but they left her alone after that so I considered it a success.

“Fifty years is over half of a lifetime for most of us.” Nancy had reached the far end of the stage and began retracing her steps toward the middle. “What’s better? Giving up one person to them once, maybe twice, in a lifetime, or losing dozens of us, maybe even more, to their fangs in that time?”

“Keep telling yourself that, Nancy,” I muttered.

Robin snorted.

For all I knew, Nancy was probably right. But based on how hard she was trying to convince the crowd that this was the Only Way, it didn’t feel right. I personally couldn’t think of any solid proof that humans were any better than vampires. How did we know our walkaways didn’t want to come back?

“As long as our humanity is preserved, as long as the loyalty to our species keeps going,” Nancy said passionately into the microphone. “For the good of humanity, we will continue to bear the burden of this bittersweet agreement.”

Harold thumped his cane again and soft applause sounded through the room. I wondered if anyone, in our two-hundred-fifty year history, fought or spoke out against the agreement. If they had, there was none of that rebellious spirit in the room now. Just quiet, reluctant acceptance.

Nancy replaced the microphone on the stand and straightened her spine. “Thank you all for listening, and for contributing to the good of our community. I’ve kept you all long enough. As painful as this is, I won’t stall any longer.”

She took a deep breath that shook a little. “The person who has been selected as the blood pet is…” Her eyes lowered, unable to make contact with anyone in the room. “…Amy Aster.”

There was a beat of stunned silence. Then I heard Amy’s squeak of shock next to me, followed by blood roaring in my ears.

What the fuck?

For some reason, I never expected it to be her. But once the full force of reality hit me, it made perfect sense.

“No.”

I stepped away from the wall and in front of my best friend, spreading my arms as if to shield her from an attack. “No fucking way, that’s not happening.”

“Tavia.” My name from Nancy’s lips carried a note of warning across the room. “I understand this is difficult?—”

“I’ll go instead.” The words left my mouth before they were a fully formed thought in my brain, and it took a few seconds to process the full weight of what I was saying. But there was no way I could let Amy be the blood pet.

She was treated like shit here, yes. But better the devil we knew than the devil we didn’t.

And with her health conditions, being regularly drained of blood would be far more difficult than for most people. For her, it would be nothing short of torture.

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