Page 39 of Taste of Blood
“Until what?” I ask, knowing the answer.
“They die.”
Jesus, fuck, though I guess it’s no worse than being forced into an illegal blood den.
“How long has it been since you were transitioned?”
“Transitioned?”
“Turned into a vampire.” God, the ignorance. Did this Python character not tell them anything?
“Oh. Let’s see. It was springtime, so about six months.”
“And were there a lot of them when you came aboard?”
“They come and go. Some didn’t do so well at first, and, well, the Python said they had to go.”
Yeah, I can imagine what that entailed.
“So does he have a headquarters, like a house or a building of some sort?”
“I’m not telling you that.”
No, I didn’t think he would, though it was worth a shot.
“Will you let me go now?”
“Let me take this information to my boss and see what he says.”
I start toward the door and Jerry cries out, panicked. “Wait. I can’t…the smell. I can’t stay here.”
“It’ll only be for a little while. I should be back within the hour.”
I flip off the light on my way out, ignoring his protests as I lock the door.
♦ ♦ ♦
“The Python? What kind of fucked up name is that?” Dante growls.
We’re sitting in his office sharing a drink; him, Gio, and me. Other than his personal guards outside the room, most of the guys have either gone home or are out on runs, so we’ve got the place to ourselves. I’m actually surprised Dante stuck around. Guess this whole Outlier thing has him spooked.
“I tried to get the guy’s real name out of him, but he said that’s all they knew him by.”
“And you say there’s a couple dozen of them?”
I shrug. “Give or take. It’s fluid.”
“Fuck. I do not need this.”
I’m sure he’s wondering what the odds are for nipping this in the bud without attracting Guild attention. I’m not an expert in how the Black Guild works, but it’s been my experience that they find out anyway, so it’s probably better just to come clean and take their assistance. Since I’m sure Dante doesn’t want to hear that right now, I wisely keep that opinion to myself.
“Did you get anything off the van?”
“Name and address of the owner. I’m going to check it out later.”
“Take a couple of guys with you. We don’t know what you’ll be walking into.”
“You sure you want them to know?”
