a breath to reply, I added, "Not one of yours, I'm sure." And I was sure, because I didn't taste the - slave's scent on the wind and hadn't detected any scent I smelled here on either attacker. But I wasn't gonna add that. Let my comment be considered a polite disclaimer with a hint of uncertainty in it.
"We were not expecting visitors."
I didn't reply to that, letting the silence work for me now.
"My mistress will not accept you in her sanctuary for long. You have a letter of passage?" the vamp asked. I detected a hint of accent in his tone, maybe Russian or one of the formerly Russian countries.
"I do. I carry a letter of concern for your mistress."
"Our mistress is unwell."
"So I hear. Leo sends his regards and his well-wishes to his longtime friend."
The night fell silent again for a whole minute, which is a long time in the dark with guns pointed at me, before the vamp spoke again. "Come this way." The light fell on him when he turned, and I recognized Nicolas Nivikov, a former vamp stray, from his photo; the Russian was Rosanne Romanello's heir. Ro took in all sorts of strays - vamps with no master and no hunting ground. This one had been a rival until they fell in love, and now he was her protector and her heir.
The blood-servants fell in behind me as I followed Nicolas up the low steps into the house. I didn't like that, but there was no way to refuse. The door opened, held by a blood-servant, ugly muscle who looked me over, taking in the weapons. He didn't like me carrying and wanted me to know it. I nodded once at him, a single downward thrust of chin. Duly noted.
The interior shutters I'd expected to see were in place, stacked back against the sides of the windows. The decor was done in Italian antiques juxtaposed against modern, southwestern art, with contemporary updates like comfy but traditional Italian leather furniture and soft Hopi-patterned rugs over Italian marble floors. Not that I knew much about Italian stuff, but the dossier on Sedona's master of the city had been detailed. Very detailed. The place smelled of leather and sage and blood and something vaguely sickly sweet I couldn't identify.
I was shown into the library, where the smell of leather was strong, mixed with the scent of old paper, ancient ink, and the mold that likes books. There, I waited for over half an hour as various blood-servants and house-vamps came and went, introducing themselves, offering coffee, tea, wine, a snack, a full-course dinner, and an opportunity to freshen my toilette, which I interpreted as a chance to use the little girls' room. I turned them all down. No way was I accepting anything to eat or drink in this place or back into a closed space with my britches down. I thought it was odd that Ro's Enforcer didn't show up and scope me out, but maybe he was watching on the well-hidden security cameras in the corners of the room. I thought about making faces at them, but controlled myself. I understood why the vamps and servants kept me constant company. The vamps wanted to sniff me, and the servants wanted to get a good look in case they had to kill me tonight.
At the thought, Beast rolled over deep in my mind, pulling her paws close under. It was a good position if she needed to launch her body - a strike posture, which meant she was paying close attention to everything, in spite of her silence. My growing sense of unease dissipated slightly knowing that she was awake and aware.
I was perusing the library's titles when Nikki-Babe appeared in the doorway. "This way, if you please," he said. I followed him through a receiving parlor into a small office, where a vamp sat in the shadows. The photo I'd seen of her had obviously been taken in this room, but Rosanne's illness had progressed since. Now she had pustules up her neck and across one cheek. Another was on her lip, as if the disease liked mucous membranous tissue.
She clutched a handkerchief, and blood dotted it. Her nose was bleeding. I had never seen a vamp bleed except from a wound. Had never seen one sick. Freedom from bodily complaints, illness, or needs - with the exception of blood and sex - was supposed to be a benefit of being a vamp.