Page 56 of Cloak of the Vampire
CHAPTER 21
“I don’t feel safe,” Zoey whispered into the darkness from her bed in the shared guest room. “This place reeks of booze and sex, and I’m scared Renaldi will just pop up at the door.”
All the girls, including me, hummed in agreement. None of us felt safe, especially after the day we’d just had. And the worst thing was, we were having to stay here for two more days.
After the showdown between Ragnor and Renaldi, everyone returned to that harem room, and I acted as if I’d just come back with everyone else. Ragnor then reintroduced Renaldi, who was far more cowed and haggard after Ragnor’s treatment, and Stefan, Renaldi’s Lieutenant, took us on the tour.
The Renaldi League dabbled in gambling and liquor making. It had its very own distillery and a chain of casinos spread across Las Vegas and beyond. The League swam in money just as much as Bowman’s, and it showed; everything colored gold was actually pure gold. Every crystal was actually a real diamond.
None of us girls wanted to be here anymore, especially since it seemed that the women of Renaldi’s League had only one role here while the men took over key roles of making sure the League ran smoothly. With all the women being brunettes, Zoey and I, and a couple others, felt like we were personally being targeted.
The contrast between Atalon’s classy League and this slimy, sleazy one was staggering. It had me wishing we were back at the Rayne League already.
Unfortunately, when it was time to leave after the tour, Abe informed us that our rented bus refused to start, and that the mechanic said it would take two days to fix.
Meaning we were staying at the Renaldi League until our bus was up and running again.
Which didn’t bode well for any of the girls present.
“Our Lord didn’t seem to approve of Renaldi’s ... welcome show,” Cynthia wondered out loud now from her bed next to mine. “Perhaps we can ask our Lord to get a room at some hotel.”
“I doubt that,” said Jane, another classmate. She sounded quite convinced too.
I didn’t disagree with her, but I was curious. “Did you hear anything, Jane?” I asked quietly.
Jane sighed. “I’ve been sitting with Carlos at the front of the bus. I overheard some stuff.”
At once, all of us turned to her. I flipped to my stomach and put my chin on my hands, staring at her with avid attention. She sat cross-legged on her bed right in front of mine, her dark hair falling in tight curls onto the mattress. She seemed to preen under the sudden attention.
“So Abe has been talking to Logan a lot this past week,” she told us eagerly. “They usually chatted when our Lord was on phone calls and took to the back seat for privacy.”
She straightened, jutting her chin as she projected an air of importance. “Apparently, our Lord’s presence on this trip was quite a shock.”
If I hadn’t been paying attention before now, that would’ve slapped me into focus.
“It seems that our Lord joined at a last-minute notice, and his reasoning was that there are more dangers than usual out here, so much sothat he needed to keep an eye on us for safety measures,” she said, her voice dropping and turning mysterious.
The other girls gasped. Even Tansy to my right didn’t seem to be in her usual head-in-the-clouds state as she stared at Jane with open worry.
“That’s scary,” murmured Aisha, another classmate.
Jane nodded gravely. “I know.”
“So that’s why you think he won’t let us stay at a hotel,” Zoey summarized.
“Exactly,” Jane replied. “If our Lord believes we are in constant danger, he wouldn’t want any of us to be anywhere he can’t see us.”
A strange feeling crawled into my gut. Could it be that Ragnor had come because of me?
Or maybe I was giving myself far too much credit. His world didn’t revolve around me. He was a Lord of a vampire League. He had subjects to take care of, newcomers to protect until he could sell them off to the highest bidder, and a reputation to maintain. He wouldn’t take a leave of absence for two weeks to join a road trip with hisnoobsjust because I was there. That was a stupid, self-involved notion.
Maybe there really were dangers out there for us. I wouldn’t know; when it came to Ragnor’s enemies, or the Vampire Society’s enemies as a whole, I was clueless.
That was an unnerving thought.
“If we’re already talking about our Lord,” Cynthia piped up, “then what do you think about him and Renaldi?”
Jane snickered. “You mean the fact that he practically holds Renaldi by a leash?”
