Page 30 of Flock This

I sat in the chair across the desk from him and gave the fake name I often used. “Ash Lorien.”

“When were you bit?”

“A week ago.”

He furrowed his brows but didn’t look up from the paper where he wrote down my answers. “And you were bonded by just one bite? Must be a powerful vampire. Do you understand what happened?”

I nodded, then recalled he wasn’t looking at me. “Yes. I kept showing up here and didn’t know why. Someone explained it to me and told me to come up to this floor.”

“You’re taking it well. Most humans freak out when they aren’t explained everything from their master.”

I almost choked on the word master. Talk about a gross term that both my human and crow hated. Still, I kept myself silent. Bray would kill me if I got myself caught in the first five minutes.

“So what happens now is we’ll monitor your progress. Thralls are made by the introduction of vampire venom into the bloodstream. When a vampire feeds, that venom makes the feeding process easier, to calm the human and keep them from fighting back. It also keeps the wound from healing too fast. They’re supposed to close the wound by using an antivenom in a second bite. If they fail to release that antivenom, they infect the human and potentially create a thrall. Sometimes it takes a few times, sometimes it can happen in just one.”

I had to admit, his explanation was well done. He must give this spiel often, especially given just how many thralls I’d seen walking around.

“So how long will it last?” I asked.

“The infection will last the rest of your life. You could try to let another vampire bite you. If they’re stronger than the one who bit you first, they could replace the old mark with a new one, making you their thrall.”

“Why would I want that?”

“Because thralls need their master. They suffer without one. We have medication that will help with the physical symptoms, but it is far from perfect. It won’t prolong the thrall’s life and they won’t be as strong as they would otherwise be. Additionally, if the vampire who made you dies, you will die unless you have a new master.”

He finally looked up and sat back in his chair. “You’re young and pretty. I’m sure I could find a vampire willing to take you in. Those with masters live better lives and have more advantages, but it’s up to you. The process of changing masters is painful and dangerous as well. It doesn’t always work, especially if we don’t know how powerful your original master was. For now, I’ll set you up with appointments to get the medication. It needs to be taken weekly. If you miss a dose—you’ll start to feel it fast.”

Yet another reason I’m glad I didn’t end up letting Kelvin help me.

The thought of being not only bonded by literally addicted to another person stroked uncomfortably against all my worst spots.

Still, the vampire didn’t seem bothered by my concern. He kept going, telling me all the details as he filled out the paper before him. “You’ll be assigned a room on the eleventh floor, which is for all thralls who don’t reside with their master. If you end up wanting a different master, they might let you live with them, but you’ll have to see. What skills do you have?”

“I’ve done a lot of cleaning before.”

“Cooking?”

“I’m not great,” I admitted.

“Computers? Medical?”

“Computers break when I get near them, and I don’t have anything more than basic first aid skills.”

“If a vampire is going to bite someone and not deal with it, why can’t they at least pick useful people? Fine—I’ll assign you to housekeeping. You’re pretty enough, and since you don’t have a master, you can work in the upper floors. That means you’ll clean common vampire areas.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Hadn’t my job as a courier been a similar situation? Because I had no place, I’d gotten access to areas no one else did. Likewise, since I lacked any master, I could clean common areas for the vampires without anyone getting territorial.

It worked fine for me, though.

“Vampires have their own thralls clean their personal quarters, so you won’t be asked to do that unless a vampire requests it—usually because they don’t have any thralls to do the work, so they ask for a masterless thrall. Go up to the fifteenth floor when we’re done here and check in with Honor Josiah, the head of housekeeping. She’ll show you around and explain your duties and expectations. Press your hand here.” He held out a flat board that reminded me of an induction cooktop.

When I did as he said, a light at the top flashed green.

“You’re now registered in our system, which will grant you access to areas you’re approved for. Just use your palm against any reader.”

I sat there, waiting, worrying that this was going way too well. In my experience, when things went too well, it just meant I should expect one hell of a crash and burn.

He looked up from the paper with an annoyed look on his expression. “We’re done here.”

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