A Fall of Secrets

“How did you find this place?” I asked.

“This place is legendary. Most vampires know of it. It had been thoroughly destroyed by the hunters when they destroyed the Maslens’ coven. But since then, we’ve managed to not only rebuild it but also reinstate security. We have a number of witches living here with us. Hunters still know about this place, but they can’t get inside.”

Having walked full circle, Jeramiah gestured toward the glass elevator.

“You’ve seen this lower level now, more or less,” he said. “Of course there are the human chambers. They’re down in the basement.”

“Where do you keep your half-bloods?” I asked.

“Most of them live among us. Those who serve us stay in servant quarters built into our apartments.”

“What about the man I just half-turned, Tobias?”

“Oh, yes. I put him down with the humans for now until he stabilizes a little. Then we’ll decide where to put him up…” Jeramiah frowned at me. “I haven’t offered you any blood since we arrived. Would you like some?”

I ran my tongue over my lower lip. Truthfully, I could really do with some blood. I nodded. “Please.”

“In that case, let me take you straight to my apartment—my refrigerator is fully stocked. You can explore the other levels another time. They’re mostly just filled with apartments and halls similar to what you’ve seen on the lower level anyway.”

We ascended in the elevator up to the highest level and stepped out. I followed him forward. He stopped after we passed the fifth door. Withdrawing a key from his pocket, he slid it into the keyhole and the door clicked open. It was dark inside. He flicked a switch and the lavish apartment lit up.

“Jeramiah?” a groggy female voice called.

Jeramiah smirked. “That’s my half-blood, Marilyn,” he muttered. Raising his voice, he called, “Hey, baby.”

He led me toward a door at the end of the hallway that was ajar. He pushed it open to reveal a huge, dimly lit bedroom. A blonde girl lay stretched out on the bed, apparently naked but for a sheet wrapped around her. I backtracked into the hallway, leaving Jeramiah and his girl alone.

“So you brought Joseph back with you?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Jeramiah replied.

She appeared in the doorway, still wearing nothing but a thin white sheet, Jeramiah standing behind her. She was pretty with large brown eyes and pale, freckled skin. She gazed up at me, squinting in the light.

“You’ll have to excuse my girlfriend,” Jeramiah said, sliding his hands around her waist and kissing her shoulder. “Marilyn can’t be expected to look presentable at this time of day.”

“Hi, Joseph,” she said, winking at me. “Nice to meet you.” Her eyes roamed my body as if she were undressing me in her mind.

Apparently noticing, Jeramiah gripped the back of her head and pulled it down as he planted a forceful kiss on her lips. “Watch where your eyes wander,” he said.

He rolled his eyes at me before leading me away from the bedroom. I caught Marilyn still eyeing me from the doorway as we walked away. Jeramiah took me into a large kitchen. There was a beautifully carved rosewood table in the center. Stored in cabinets above the sink were silver cutlery and a number of crystal glasses.

The vampire strolled over to the tall fridge in the corner. When he opened it, it was filled with shelf upon shelf of jugs filled with blood, except for the bottom level, which appeared to have some human food—Marilyn’s, I assumed. He pulled out two large glasses from one of the cabinets and set them down on the table. He filled them up with blood and handed one to me. I eyed the glass, sniffing it before taking the first sip.

The cool liquid glided down my throat like sweet ecstasy, lighting up my taste buds. This was the most delicious blood I had tasted since turning into a vampire.

Jeramiah was watching my reaction with mild amusement. He raised his dark brows. “Good?”

“Yeah. Really good. Where do you get this blood?”

Jeramiah flashed a smile. “Let’s save some surprises for later, shall we?”

He began drinking from his glass, draining it in seven gulps. He poured another glass for himself, then topped mine up. I stopped after three glasses. I could have consumed more, but I was still holding out hope that I might be able to wean myself off human blood and replace it with animal blood. So while I was here I wanted to accept only what was absolutely necessary for me to not feel hungry.

“Shall I take you to your room now?” Jeramiah asked. “You look like you could do with some rest.”

I gave him a faint smile. I doubted I’d be able to sleep, but I was eager to be alone. “Yeah, I’m pretty exhausted.”

Jeramiah stood up and placed the blood back in the fridge. He gestured casually to the glasses. “My servant will clean those up.”

“Marilyn is your servant?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“No, no. She’s my girlfriend. There’s another half-blood living in the rooms at the back of my apartment.”

Truth be told, I was surprised that Jeramiah had made a girlfriend out of the half-blood. I had just expected them all to be used as servants. It made me feel at least a little better about this place, that not all half-bloods were enslaved.

We exited Jeramiah’s apartment, stepping back onto the open veranda connecting all the apartments. He pointed to a door on the same level, on the opposite side of the atrium.