Page 2 of I Dated a Golden Vampire
“Home.The ship.Wherever.I need to find a place to settle, but it is difficult to find one where I can match the culture and feel at ease.It is no longer in the capitol.”
“When does the ship leave?”
“A few days.My sister and her bridesmaids are insane with delight.We all have our travel documents, and they are ready to have fun.I am just ready to start over.”
It sounded desperate, but Zera said, “What about your cat?”
“She passed at the beginning of last year.The last of my ties is gone.”
“What about your family?”
“My sister is getting married to a nice, normal human, and their freak sister is footing the bill.I doubt I will see them once the wedding is over.”She looked at Zera.“I just want to be warm, by any means.The weather here is too cold, and at home, it is even worse.”
“I really can’t say anything to change your mind?”
“Sure.Find me a blood-drinking active in a warm climate who will let me work from home, and I will stay on your payroll.”
Zera’s head lifted.“Really?”
“Really.”
“Give me your ship’s itinerary, and I will see what I can do.”
Cabree shrugged.“Sure.But I am filing this date as the one-year mark.From now, you have one year to replace me before I just go.”
Cabree put on her sweatshirt and mittens and nodded, heading out of the restaurant to snorts of laughter.She was so cold.She was going to have to treat herself to a bloodletting in the biolab before she headed home.That would warm her up.
* * * *
Zera stalked into thelab where Tycho was chatting with Kritz and Arcady.She growled at him.“Out of the building until further notice, Tycho.”
“What?”
“Your horrible sense of humour has cost me a good friend and an excellent security programmer.I want to beat the hell out of you, but I am going to settle for kicking you out of all Z-Corp-related facilities until I calm down.”
Tycho frowned.“I don’t understand.Who did I offend?”
“My friend Cabree.She signed up for BDC a few years ago, before we moved to Aksalla.She’s a circulatory active.Her blood builds up and cools her.She wears a ton of sweaters and sweatshirts just so her hands don’t freeze.You were supposed to be her first trial date.Her blood is gold, enhancing, and so very sweet.She was working on the security systems here and heard you talking about the date to Kritz and Arcady, laughing and saying that her blood would give you high cholesterol.”
She went to a terminal and brought up an image of Cabree after donating blood compared to her normal cold self.
Tycho looked at the difference and blinked.“Oooh, shit.”
“She needs regular blood draws to keep herself warm.She wanted the BDC to provide them, but because you were not interested in that date and we were moving, she got lost in the shuffle.She’s never had a date, never became an escort, and as such, no patron can insist she remain accessible.I am losing the best security programmer and functional programmer in the world.And it’s all because you called her fat.”
Tycho blinked.“I didn’t know.I only got the silhouette.”
There was a harsh beep from Zera’s com.The wordsCommand Overrideappeared.Cabree’s voice was the liquid honey that it always was, but there was steel as she said, “Zera, don’t you fucking dare blame him.This was a cluster fuck all the way down, and he has his quad, and they are a match.Arcady likes biters, so he gets what he needs, and she gets what she needs.I actually need someone who wants to use me as food, as much as that hurts to say.That isn’t him.He was just where I would have started.That didn’t happen, so I changed my focus again and again.It shouldn’t be this hard, Zera.I just want to be warm and write code.That’s all.Time to seek my fortune elsewhere.” Cabree was quiet.“Tycho, Zera recants her edicts banishing you from her properties.As a shareholder, I get a vote, and I vote that your attentions were not worth the punishment.”
Zera watched Tycho reel from the insult.“Right.She’s spoken and given me my com control back.”
Tycho blinked.“Did she say that on purpose?”
Zera held up a finger and left the room.She went to the nearby research lab and grabbed a vial.She carried it back to Tycho and wiggled it in the air.“This is her blood.”
Kritz stared.“It’s gold.”
“Tycho, hold out your hand.”
