Charlaine Harris - Crimes by Moonlight

Alexis’s eyes narrowed for an instant, then she smiled. “I can see where you might be amusing. Come visit me in a few years, and we’ll talk.”

“I’ll count the days.”

“Well done,” Stella said as she and Mark moved away. “I haven’t seen Alexis smile in decades.”

“Really? I thought she was a hoot. What was that about your bravery?”

“Very few of us are offering the Choice these days, what with the economic downturn.”

The tradition was for a vampire sire or dam to settle a chunk of change on their undead offspring, which Stella had done for Mark, even though as a successful financial planner, he already had a solid nest egg. The two of them met when he took over her investment portfolio and had only known each other a few months when she offered him the Choice.

“Does that mean that all the other vamps here tonight are older than I am?”

“Probably.”

“Great. I love being the low vampire on the totem pole.”

“No one cares about that.”

“Please. Every meeting between vampires is a pissing contest, and you know it.”

“Don’t be silly.”

Just then the guest of honor arrived. Mark had seen a portrait of Stella’s sire, but even without it he’d have known Vilmos the second he strode in. There was something about the way he chose which people to acknowledge, and how the other vampires almost wriggled in their eagerness to be noticed. It wasn’t his looks, though he was devastatingly distinguished-it was sheer force of charisma. Vilmos dominated the room.

“Don’t look now,” Mark whispered to Stella, “but I think he’s about to start marking his territory.”

Stella elbowed him, but was watching Vilmos as intently as everybody else. That initially included Mark, but when he made himself look away, he noticed another person who wasn’t watching. A gorgeous human woman with flaming red hair was pointedly looking at a statue in the corner of the room and, when Mark glanced back at Vilmos, he saw that the vampire was staring at her, as if he could make her look his way. Slowly, all the other people in the room, vampire and human, followed the direction of Vilmos’s eyes, and soon everyone was watching the sublimely oblivious woman.

It was Ramon who broke the spell by clapping his hands, and a moment later a crew of waiters began to circulate with toothsome morsels to tempt the palates of vampires who no longer needed anything but blood. Since Mark still had to eat at least one full meal a day, it was most welcome-he’d been afraid there’d be no solid food.

Unfortunately, that meant that his mouth was full when Vilmos sauntered in their direction, and he suspected that the older vampire had planned it that way. Vilmos embraced Stella at length before turning to regard Mark appraisingly.

“So,” he said, “this is the new member of our line. Tell me, Stella, is it true? What I’ve heard about his talents?”

Stella raised a delicate eyebrow in polite inquiry.

Vilmos laughed heartily. “I refer only to his financial acumen.”

“Mark is a genius,” she said simply.

Deciding that modesty wasn’t called for, Mark didn’t argue the point.

“Then perhaps I have work for him,” Vilmos said. “My own financial adviser has sadly passed away.”

Stella gave Mark a prompting look, so he said, “I would be happy to make some recommendations.”

“Splendid!” Vilmos said. “We shall talk later.” He embraced them both before moving on.

“Did I pass inspection?” Mark asked.

“Tentatively,” Stella said. “Just be warned that I heard that Vilmos’s previous adviser didn’t die of natural causes.”

“Message received.”

Mark knew that, objectively, it was quite a celebration. Food and beverages were served in abundance, there were plenty of willing blood donors available, and the band was excellent. Admittedly, Mark wasn’t expecting bluegrass, but Stella explained that Vilmos was currently fascinated with the form. Had anybody treated Mark as something other than Stella’s arm candy, he would have had a terrific time. As it was, he would rather have been watching wrestling, and he hated wrestling.

Even the humans seemed aware that he was just a pup, relatively speaking. When he approached the lovely redhead who’d resisted Vilmos’s charm, she said, “Sorry, I’m taken.” Before he could protest that he was just looking for conversation, she retreated to the side of a trim-looking specimen who could have stepped out of any boardroom in corporate America ifhe’d still had a pulse.

Interestingly, Vilmos was watching her, too, and for an instant the civilized veneer slipped away to show avarice.

After that, Mark stayed with Stella, pulling her onto the dance floor as often as possible to keep from having to listen while he was assessed as though he weren’t even in the room.

As dawn approached, the guests began to leave for their beds. Mark heard the redhead complaining that her feet were sore, and her vampire companion whisked her up the stairs in his arms. Several vampires laughed at the display, but Vilmos wasn’t among them.

Clearly there was a story there, but Mark couldn’t get it out of Stella that night. They barely had time to strip off their finery and wash up before snuggling in bed as the sun rose. Then they slipped into death together.

Mark was still able to move around during the day, and woke a little after noon. He’d intended to catch up on some paperwork while Stella lay in bed, but a note had been slipped under the door to tell Mark that there was a package waiting for him in the hall. When he opened the door, he found that Vilmos had arranged for a fat stack of financial data to be left for him. It was presumptuous as hell, but for Stella’s sake, Mark was willing to see if he could help.

After checking in vain for a CD or spreadsheet printout, he sighed and got out his laptop to create a data file. Entering and analyzing it took the rest of the day, and he began to think that whatever had happened to Vilmos’s previous adviser, it wasn’t enough.

Mark still had an hour to go before he could expect Stella to rise when he finally stood and stretched. Hungry for actual food, not just blood, he wandered downstairs to see what was available. Since there were humans around, there had to be something. The ballroom was empty, but in an adjoining dining room a handsome array of meats, cheeses, fruits, and vegetables was waiting. As Mark helped himself, a servant came to offer him something to drink.

At first, he was the only one at the table, but halfway through his meal, the redhead came in and filled a plate. Considering how she’d acted the night before, Mark wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d gone elsewhere to eat, but instead she joined him.

“I don’t believe we’ve met formally. I’m Mark.” He didn’t give a last name. Vampires usually didn’t.

“I’m Reinette.”

“Pleased to meet you, Reinette. That was some party last night, wasn’t it?”

“Not bad,” she said, “but just wait until Geoff’s-it’ll be much nicer.” She watched him for a moment. “You’re still a baby, aren’t you?”

“I bet I’m older than you are.”

“I mean a baby vampire. Geoff never eats food.”

Mark couldn’t think of an appropriate response, so he kept on eating.

“Who’s your sire?” Reinette asked.

“My dam is Stella.”

“Stella… Oh, one of Vilmos’s line. He bid for me, you know.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Vilmos really wanted me, but Geoff outbid him.” She held her hand out. “Geoff even gave me this ring as a signing bonus.”

“Very nice,” Mark said, which was a massive understatement. It was a wondrous confection of diamonds and emeralds.