Blood Draw: Book Two of the Blood Type Series (complete)

An Ultimatum

"Did you see the look Mr. Abernathy gave Josiah?" I said in the car as John was driving me home. "I think someone's in trouble."

"Josiah's not my favorite vampire, and I especially don't like that he's your sire, but he should have been seeing to your care from the beginning. Say what you will about Mr. Abernathy, but he doesn't tolerate a dereliction of duty. You won't go hungry now."

John flipped on the windshield wipers and squinted through the glare of frozen rain that had started to fall. "Speaking of blood . . ."

I looked at him sharply, not liking the ominous tone of his voice. "What about it?"

"Andrew Larsen didn't have any new prospective Donors for me this week."

"I thought you said there'd been no significant decrease in the number of Donors."

He glanced at me before returning his eyes to the road. "The Donors are still out there. Mr. Abernathy told Andrew to stop seeking them until further notice."

The constant knot in my stomach pulled even tighter as I remembered seeing Mr. Larsen at the Abernathy mansion. I was starting to get a better picture of what they must have been talking about.

"We'll be okay for a while," John said. "Still, we have to add new Donors into the rotation to prevent depleting the blood supply. Bleeding the same human too often is not healthy for any of us."

"At this rate, there will be a lot of hungry vampires wandering the streets," I said. "What if they start rioting?"

"Rioting vampires would definitely attract attention," John said.

"Do you think Mr. Abernathy intends to expose vampires so we can live in the open?"

"That seems risky."

If Conrad Abernathy was leading a coup against civilized vampirism, hungry rioters would be the least of his concerns. In fact, he'd probably encourage them.

"Let's go to The Marauder's Cove and see if anyone's talking," I suggested.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," John replied. He slowed the car and made a U-turn in the otherwise empty road.

**********

The vampire bar was practically empty. I didn't know if it was because of the late hour—it was just after three o'clock in the morning—or if it was because the rising cost of blood had already started affecting vampires' discretionary spending.

"This isn't good," John whispered, leading me to a table and motioning for me to sit. "Stay here. I want to check something."

I watched him disappear behind the black curtain at the rear of the bar. Hidden from view, I knew, were live Donors and their paying clients. I tried not to think about them too much, though.

"Just as I thought," he said, returning a moment later. He slid into the seat opposite mine. "Usually we have four Donors back there. Tonight there are only two."

Donna ambled over just then, looking especially bored with not many vampires to wait on. "Hey, y'all. What can I get you?"

My stomach rumbled, but I didn't have any cash on me. John opened his wallet and peered inside, sighing audibly. "Bring us a pint and two glasses, please."

"You got it," Donna said.

I folded my hands in front of me. "I'm not hungry."

"I know you are, Blake. You need to eat."