Page 110 of Caller of Crows
"No." A chorus of vampires groaned, and one of them actually threw their hands in the air in frustration. "You just want us to suffer."
"Suck it up," Altair commanded. "At least with Monopoly, I'll know your vampire powers won't give you an advantage over Sven." He gestured at the tables, and several vampires started dragging furniture around, setting up an open space for them all to sit around while Mordyn grabbed an old-looking board game from one of the shelves. "We'll be limited to eight players, so I'll draw names."
Only a few moments later, the players had been chosen, and Sven wasn't surprised to find himself among them, along with Keegan, Iskander, and five other vampires, one of them being the doctor who'd examined him the other day. Unsurprisingly, Mordyn managed not to have his name drawn, and Altair opted to continue serving as a judge for this particular game.
Sven hadn't played Monopoly very often. Growing up, they'd only had one set of the game to go around, and it had been missing a few pieces, but as the game unfolded, he enjoyed himself more than he thought he would. Under Altair's watchful eye, every rule was followed meticulously, and none of the vampires tried to cheat Sven, although they all delighted in taking his money when he landed on their properties.
"I don't think I'm going to win this," Sven mused a couple of rounds into the game after buying a hotel for one of his properties and promptly landing on a spot owned by a vampire called Cyril.
"It's not about winning," Altair said. "It's more about not losing." He motioned at Keegan, who was almost all out of money after being stuck in jail while all the good properties were bought up. "They're bleeding him dry."
"Guess this is a vampire's game after all," Keegan muttered when he rolled the dice again and failed to avoid paying another hefty rent.
Sven laughed; he couldn't help it. Of all things, he'd never thought he'd find himself playing Monopoly with a bunch of vampires. After being terrified of the creatures of the night for so long, it was surreal to see them acting like normal people, grumbling about unfair dice rolls.
"Having a good time?" Altair asked softly, resting one hand on Sven's thigh under the table.
"Yes," Sven admitted. "But I wouldn't mind leaving early if you had other plans in mind for the evening."
"The sooner you force Keegan into bankruptcy, the sooner we can leave here."
"I heard that," Keegan remarked from the opposite side of the table.
Altair merely gave him a sly smile and motioned to the board. "Less talking, more playing."
Keegan glared at Altair but complied.
"I hate you all," Keegan declared twenty minutes later to a round of laughter from the coven as he gave his last hundred dollars to Iskander. The big vampire took it wordlessly, counting out the bills while Keegan resigned. "This game is rigged," Keegan complained as he leaned back in his chair.
"You couldn't predict that?" one of the other players, a vampire by the name of Serena, teased. "Such a sore loser."
"Aww, come on," Mordyn consoled Keegan, clapping him on the back. "And I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll come up with for next month's event."
"I'll figure something out," Keegan replied. "How do you all feel about a masquerade?" he asked as if he'd already given this idea some thought, and Sven wondered if maybe he'd seen his loss coming after all.
"Will there be dancing?" another vampire asked. "I love dancing."
Keegan nodded. "Of course there will be. Anything you want." He paused a moment, looking around the room. "I predict that it's going to be a full success."
"Approved," Altair said easily. Though Sven got the impression that maybe he just wanted to get back down to the basement because he got up as soon as he'd finished speaking, pulling Sven up along with him. "Good game," he said, bidding farewell to his coven. "Remember that Keegan and Mordyn are on clean-up duty."
"We all know why you're in a hurry to get out of here," Mordyn noted as he packed up the game.
Altair smirked at the vampire but did not bother responding to him, choosing instead to turn and address the rest of the coven. "Sleep well and be ready to get to work at nightfall."
And without further delay, he swept out of the room, taking Sven with him.
ChapterThirty
The minute the door to Altair's room closed behind them, Sven turned to look at Altair. His vampire's eyes were sparkling with anticipation.
"That was a fun night," he commented, slipping out of Altair's grip to walk backward to the bed, slowly undoing the buttons of his shirt. His movements were a little awkward because he still only had one hand to use, but he didn't let that stop him from trying to seduce the man who'd called him his ‘mate' earlier.
Altair watched him like a hawk.
Or like a crow?
Speaking of crows, Lissa had vanished at some point without Sven's noticing. But that was probably for the best; he didn't need an audience for this.
