Page 19 of Tainted Blood

“Yeah, yeah…” Isaiah sighed heavily and continued preparing his own meal.

I found a seat, a lonely armchair, and waited in silence, like Alexius, for Isaiah to sit down.

“Everly, you know that little conversation we just had?” He looked at me, ignoring Alexius’s intense intrigued expression flicking between us.

“Yeah?”

“One more thing to add to it. Because Alexius isn’t your sire, he doesn’t have standing to keep you against your will. There will be people looking to drive a wedge between you to get you into their nest or household. A scandal would help them do it because it would look bad for Alexius to keep you in his if those sorts of rumors are going around.”

“Do you think I care if I look bad to the vicious gossip mongers of our world?” Alexius mumbled crankily, his dark eyes narrowed on Isaiah.

“I don’t think you care about looking bad tothem, no… but I think you care about your honor, which would come into question,” Isaiah countered. “Now, why don’t we relax for a moment and let me enjoy this blood. Then I’ll show you the rest of the house and the grounds. It’ll be a wonderful way to pass the rest of the evening.”

9

The rest of the mansion was a lot of stuff I was used to, just bigger. Unused rooms for storage, private parlors, an entire wing of the first floor was dedicated to offices, and some show bedrooms on the top floor in case any humans came to investigate. Most of the staff didn’t live in the building, but unlike Jacob’s nest, many lived on the property, in an off-limits staff building that was monitored with cameras from every angle. I had no desire to investigate it, so when Isaiah made that declaration, I only shrugged.

The grounds were just as expansive as they’d appeared. The most impressive area was the award-winning garden behind the main building, creating many private corners and shadowy areas for guests to take a break from the prying eyes of others.

“It’s stunning,” I murmured as I wandered through the garden, several steps behind Isaiah and Alexius.

“Isn’t it? I got advice from a gardener I know and passed it along to my groundskeeper, so he could hire the right people to maintain it properly.”

Alexius’s long, weary sigh wasn’t missed by anyone.

“It was me. I talked to him about what would grow best here and survive the seasons with proper care.”

“I figured,” I said, smiling as we passed a pink flowering bush. I had no idea what it was, but it was pretty, thanks to the soft pastel of the pink.

“Beyond the garden is the pool. It’s Olympic-sized, as well as heated and enclosed. Right over there is the pool house.” He pointed at the single-story building as we rounded a bend. “Much of the rest is open field until you reach the tree line. There’s a surprising amount of game in the area, and hunting is a favorite activity when people visit.”

“What happens to the animal after you kill it?” I asked mildly, wondering why a bunch of vampires would hunt deer when they couldn’t eat it. We couldn’t drink animal blood, and we didn’t need meat at all. I figured it was given to the humans on the staff, but it felt archaic—nobles hunting for sport and the game prepared for the table.

“I have a standing rule that all game must be given to the staff for proper handling. They’ll prepare the trophy for whoever got the final shot and keep the meat for themselves. They do need to eat, Everly. They are human.”

“Obviously. I figured as much, but I was curious.”

“I see. You do have a higher level of understanding of what happens behind the scenes than most new vampires.”

“Don’t you teach new vampires about it before you Turn them or even after?” I asked mildly, wondering if my knowledge of how a nest ran was something unique or just that I was ahead of the game on something for once.

“I teach those I intend on Turning, certainly, but you, myself, Alexius here… We’re the upper echelon of vampires.” I must have made a face because he smirked at me. “No, I didn’t misspeak when I included you. You were a human from Jacob’s nest when you worked with Alexius to discover the truth behind his death. You’re still working with him, and he’s the most well-known enforcer of our laws. There’s a certain level of education we’re expected to have and pass along.” Isaiah waved about. “All of this is visual status, but it’s not required.

“Look at Alexius, living in a city by himself with a small staff, which is all he requires. It’s modest compared to many, but it’s updated and current with most of the latest features to help protect us. He purposefully ignored so much in our world, but he’s not a fool, either.”

“Knowledge is as important as raw power,” Alexius confirmed as he looked over a flowering vine, something about it keeping him entranced, but not so much that he missed what we were talking about. “But one can’t know everything.”

“Certainly, but we know more than most in our own ways. Everly is adept at technology and while she needs a bit of polishing, knows how a nest runs. You know battle as a vampire better than any I’ve ever met or heard of. I know how to weave through those who also hunger for power and have for centuries. We’re educated, that’s the point I’m getting at. The vampires coming here are also educated, but not every vampire is.”

“Look at the new vampires we killed in Alaska. Turned without proper guidance, uneducated on the laws, then shoved in a direction with newfound power and hunger they didn’t properly understand,” Alexius added, finally turning away from the moonlight white flowers. “Many vampires never go further than having a job and doing it well for a more powerful vampire.”

“Exactly. They don’t need to know how a nest works, how to fight, or how to handle politics. The job of education falls to several people, but beyond making sure someone understands the laws, that education is tailored to the individual by those educating them. Master or Mistress of the nest, the sire if the sire is around…” Isaiah shrugged. “So, you know more than the average vampire about how a nest actually works because you lived it. You understand the structure, the power balance of human versus vampire, both in the best of light… and thanks to Edwin, the worst.”

“I guess the vampires of Jacob’s nest sometimes didn’t really understand things,” I said, nodding as I looked over the garden, thinking back on those days. “Then again, I didn’t really understand nests from the perspective of a vampire. I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did.”

“You weren’t properly prepared to be Turned through education and explanation. Truthfully, most vampires aren’t.” Isaiah sighed. “If you were, nothing would have been surprising. As a human, you were only a member of the staff, so there were limits to what was said or explained.”

“How many vampires are Turned at random? You make it sound like a lot…”

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