CHAPTER 4
THE AUCTION HOUSE WAS located in an old money neighborhood only a few miles over on the train from their apartment block.
Dani hurried down the dark streets, conscious of the vampires she could sense lurking in the shadows, waiting until it was time for bidding to begin.
She knew security was good. Probably, she was safer on this street than anywhere else in the city.
Matching sanguines to wealthy vampire buyers was a profitable business and the auction house wouldn’t risk losing out on their cut because some rogue vampire decided to snatch a girl off the streets.
The knots in her stomach twisted tighter as she read off the gold lettering at the end of each gate until finally coming to the address she’d once found on a slip of paper in Nadine’s coat.
The mansion that lay beyond the iron bars was old and gothic with multiple towers rising towards the night sky.
The hair at the back of her neck stood on end as she made her way up the walk and stared up at the imposing door, its dark red paint the color of blood.
Dani bent over double, sure she would be sick. She was terrified of what awaited her on the other side of that door. And yet, she had to do this.
It was only going to be one time.
Just once that she had to let one of them feed from her.
Blood addiction happened after repeated feedings. She was selling her blood one time and that was all. It would buy them enough time for Zander to get her approved as Ava’s guardian through the courts and then maybe her insulin would be covered by insurance.
An icy wind swirled across the sidewalk. Dani pulled her wool coat tighter around her mother’s dress. Before she could stop herself, she hurried up the steps and rapped the brass knocker with shaking fingers.
“Identification?” A small slit beside the door slid open.
Quickly, she pulled out her phone and swiped to the QR code that would allow her information to be uploaded. From inside, she could hear the sound of typing. She tapped her toes, trying to keep her feet from freezing in place.
“Do you have a referral?”
“What? Um, no. I… a friend used to come here. That’s how I got the address.”
She thought better of giving them Nadine’s name, unsure what her status with the auction house was. Once someone’s blood tested positive for street drugs, their name was blacklisted at the official houses.
“I’m sorry.” The woman peered out the crack in the door, scrutinizing Dani with reproachful eyes. “But our house takes on new sanguines by referral only.”
“Please, can’t you make an exception?”
Dani wrapped her coat tighter around her shoulders, feeling the folds of her mother’s red silk dress whisper against her ankles.
The snow was coming down heavier now. She thought of Ava back at home, her sister growing weaker every day from lack of proper food and medicine. She hadn’t come this far to fail now.
“Our clientele has very specific tastes.”
“And what makes you so sure I’m not what they’re looking for? My blood is clean. I’ve never been fed from.” She extended her wrist, showing it was unmarked.
“You should go home to your family. You’re just like the other girls who knock on my door with dreams of silvers in their eyes, only to panic at the last second when they realize they can’t go through with it.”
Dani bent so they were eye to eye. “My sister is sick. I’m not leaving here until you let me in, and I swear to you, I won’t turn back, no matter what I find beyond that door.”
The woman sighed, but Dani could tell she was weakening. “I’m not supposed to let in first timers without a sponsor.”
“And that’s why she has me,” said a voice from behind her.
Dani turned to find Giselle from the legal aid center standing on the stoop.
Her dark hair was arranged on top of her head and pinned in place with a pair of chopsticks.
Her gray eyes were outlined with the smoky winged eye Dani could never get right, Evan couldn’t care less about, and Ava at ten, was somehow the master in the family at applying whenever Evan managed to snatch a bag that contained cosmetics.
“Sorry I missed our meeting time.” Giselle hooked an arm through hers. “The trains were running late in my neighborhood.”
“That’s right,” Dani said brightly. “My sponsor. Now will you let me in?”
Sighing, the woman pushed a button, buzzing the door open.
Giselle led her into a spacious foyer. A sweeping staircase curved along the far side of the room.
She found her gaze drawn to the artwork.
There were rich oil paintings of manicured estate gardens.
In another, orange poppies danced lightly in the wind.
She wished she could step into the painting of the girl in a rowboat, floating on a pond on a sunny day.
She’d always been desperately curious to see glimpses of life from before, how the world had once been so very different before humanity had slowly driven itself to a breaking point with its own insatiable thirst for wealth and power.
At the center of the foyer, a small pond with a delicate water feature rippled softly. A group of orange and white goldfish scythed through the shimmering water.
“Not what you were expecting?” Giselle asked dryly. “Just wait.”
Before she could answer, a girl around their age appeared, hands out for their coats. When she tried to keep her phone, Giselle shook her head.
“It’s not allowed. For security reasons, you understand? They can’t run the risk one of us might release photos of one of their clients.”
“I just need to text my sister, let her know I’m all right.” With shaking fingers, Dani pulled up the texting app. Sure enough, there were three missed messages from Evan, each one more worried than the last.
Evan: Where are you?
Evan: Ava woke up and you were gone.
Evan: I have someone working on tracing your phone. If you’re in trouble, you don’t have to text back, just hang on.
Dani: I’m okay. I should be home in a few hours.
She sent the message, then immediately regretted it. Would she be home in a few hours?
Evan: You’re scaring me. Where are you?
Three dots appeared. Her sister was still typing.
Evan: I’m sorry for what I said. Please tell me you’re not out there trying to find marks at this hour on your own because we had a stupid fight.
Dani: No, you were right. We swore we would never lie to each other even when the truth was hard to hear.
Evan: So where are you?
The servant girl cleared her throat.
Dani: I have to go. I’ll be back by morning.
Evan: For fuck’s sake, Dani. Tell me where you are.
Tears stung her eyes as she powered down the phone.
Without that last connection to the outside world and with her coat gone, she felt suddenly vulnerable.
While the foyer was warm, it did nothing to make her feel any less exposed, the strapless bodice of her dress leaving her shoulders and arms bare. She tucked her hair behind one ear.
Giselle squeezed her hand. “Come on. The food’s this way.”
She followed the other woman down a short hallway to a small room where tables were set up with platters of fruit and pastries. Half a dozen women were standing in small groups, eating and chatting.
“Take as much as you want,” Giselle said in a low voice.
“Whoever buys you for the night may feed from you several times, so you’ll want to keep your strength up.
” She handed her a white china plate and began filling her own plate with slices of juicy pineapple, bright red strawberries Dani could scarcely believe were real, and sugary green honeydew.
“All of this comes from the fae wildlands?” She speared chunks of fruit and took a cup of the sweet yogurt dip.
“Pretty sure it’s not nearly as wild as everyone is led to believe.
” Giselle popped a grape in her mouth. “I’ve heard King Finneas moderates the seasons so they’re able to grow crops year-round.
The only wild part is the forest bordering vampire-controlled land where the trees definitely will eat you if you cross into their territory uninvited. ”
Dani took two croissants, one filled with chocolate, the other with cream cheese. She wanted to ask if there was any way she could box up the leftover food, take a few pieces of fruit and a pastry or two back to Evan and Ava, but guessed it wouldn’t be allowed.
“How many girls sell their blood each night?”
“Ten to twenty most nights. And then there’s a separate auction for the men.” She nodded to a silver tray with crystal glasses of various juices. “You’ll want to drink something sweet. The sugars from the fruit give the blood an appealing bouquet of flavors.”
Dani chose a glass of strawberry-orange juice and took a bite of the first croissant.
The layers of buttery pastry instantly crumbled against her tongue.
She moaned, wanting to load her plate with everything on the table and fill up with as much as she could.
When would she ever see this much rich food again?
But the last thing she needed was to get sick, or worse, be too slow and sluggish to move quickly if something were to go wrong and she needed to run.
“Thank you for helping me.” Dani finished her first croissant and took a sip of the fruit juice.
It was sweet and delicious, tempting her to go back for another glass.
They also had pineapple-mango. She tried not to think of how her blood would taste to whatever vampire ended up buying her.
“Obviously, this is my first time and I’m freaking out a little. ”
“You’ll be fine. I know you’re here for your sister.” Giselle’s voice softened. “That makes it easier, if you have something else to focus on. The first time you’re auctioned off, bidders will pay a premium for someone whose veins are untouched, a sanguine who hasn’t been fed from before.”
They finished their plates and Giselle led her to another room where stations were set up for hair and makeup. Motioning Dani into a chair, Giselle examined the contents of her bag and took out a curling iron and brush.