Page 5 of Caller of Crows
"No," Sven protested, heart hammering in his chest. "I heard that you stick to your promises. To your deals. That you—"
"I do," Altair agreed. "But I do not recall promising you anything." He rested two fingers on top of the pulsing vein on the side of Sven's neck. "You want to be turned, but you're worth more to me as long as there's warm blood flowing through your veins."
Sven tried to swallow down the bile that rose in the back of his throat, tried not to let the vampire sense his panic. He'd let himself get trapped, and though he didn't know a way out, he'd always known that it could come to this.
At least, the vampire wasn't looking to kill him.
As long as he was alive, there was hope.
"You said I was more trouble than I was worth," he tried to reason with Altair. "You know there'll be people looking for me and it'll be tough for you to explain where you got the mortal blood you want to sell."
"It's true that I wasn't going to bother with you initially," Altair allowed. "But you made a compelling argument."
A compelling argument. Sven wanted to slap himself because he knew exactly what Altair was talking about. The moment he'd smeared his own blood on the vampire's lips. That was where Sven's gaze focused now. Altair's lips. Did they seem redder than they had in the park, or was that just Sven's imagination?
Surely, Altair could not still have traces of Sven's blood on his lips?
"Don't worry, mortal." Altair traced his fingers over Sven's jawline. "You're safe with me. I take care of my possessions."
"Is that why you put me in chains?" Sven asked sardonically. "Because you care about my safety?"
Altair smiled, baring his fangs. "In a way. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself again."
Sven glanced up at his hand. The cut he'd inflicted on himself had already healed somehow. Probably something that other vampire had done to him while 'examining' him. For some reason, Sven hated seeing his skin unmarred, as if nothing he'd done had any consequence. As if nothing hecoulddo would have any consequence.
Glancing back at Altair peering down at him, he refused to be defeated that easily, to admit that he was powerless.
Keeping his gaze locked on the vampire's, he bit his lower lip, hard, until a drop of blood welled from the wound.
A sense of triumph sparked in Sven's heart as he saw the hunger in Altair's eye, the obvious desire. The vampire was a creature of instinct, after all. No more elevated than Sven was.
Sven's triumph was short-lived, though, when Altair leaned in to lick the blood off his lips. The sensation of Altair's tongue on his skin sent shivers down Sven's spine in the worst way. He tried to resist the feeling, but then the vampire sucked on his lip and Sven's head spun as his blood trickled into Altair's mouth.
Fuck, what was happening to him?
A low sound escaped him, and then Altair's tongue pushed into his mouth in a possessive kiss that robbed Sven of every thought as the vampire's hunger seemed to become his own. His cock twitched with need as his body betrayed him, and if his hands hadn't been bound, he wasn't sure what he would have done.
The vampire's lips tasted of Sven's blood.
When Altair pulled away, Sven's heart pounded painfully as he fought to catch his breath, his mind whirling with a mixture of fear and unwelcome desire.
"Careful, Sven," the vampire said, using his name for the first time. "Don't play games you can't win."
* * *
Sven was left alone for a while after Altair exited the room. At least he'd been given a thin blanket to hide under—and time to think. Maybe a little too much time, if he was being honest, because his situation wasn't good, and thinking about all the various ways it wasn't good didn't exactly make him feel better.
He assumed that he was somewhere underground. Probably beneath the club, judging by the faint thumping of bass he could still hear if he strained his ears.
Knowing where he was was good—if he could find a way to get that information to someone. In a few days, his friends would start to worry, but since he'd left a note behind stating that he was looking to buy some special medicine so he wouldn't be missed immediately. He'd even asked a friend to look after his mother for a few days since he'd had no way of knowing if things would go south.
God, he hoped things hadn't gone south already.
He needed to get rid of his chains.
How to do that?
Could he bargain with the vampires?
