Brandle (Thirteen Guests)

Brandle

"My master gave it to me," she murmured.

"He made a good choice then. It is a he, isn't it?"

Zarra cringed. "No."

He sensed her discomfort without surprise. Most vampires had a strange relationship with their masters. They were bound to them by blood, but often hated them at the same time. It created an interesting dynamic that even he wasn't free of. "A she? Well, she must have had some taste, at least. Enough about her. I'm more interested in you. Do you have a mate?"

Angelica gave a huff and pulled him away. "Would you leave her alone? She doesn't want to talk to you."

"And you do, I suppose?"

"Not particularly." She flashed Zarra an apologetic smile. "You'll have to excuse him. He's too old to know better."

Before he could argue, William walked through the door wearing an open jacket and his usual dour expression. He bypassed their host to make a beeline for Brandle and Angelica. "Good. You came."

"Of course we came. We couldn't miss it." Angelica surveyed the room coolly.

Brandle looked for Zarra, but the redhead had slipped away. "I hope you're not going to spend the entire party getting in the way."

"In the way of what?" William asked.

Angelica answered impatiently, "He was trying to lure a poor helpless female into his bed."

"I never said that was the destination," Brandle replied testily. "I was just trying to talk to her. She looked rather fetching."

"Fetching is a little old fashioned considering you have a new name, don't you think?"

William looked from one to the other. "What new name?"

As Angelica filled him in, Brandle gave the room a last once over in search of the woman, but she was gone.

"That's bloody ridiculous," William said. "Almost as ridiculous as this security thing." He looked to Andrei and called, "Why was my luggage searched?"

"The Guild is very thorough," their host answered evasively.

"Why are they here in the first place?" William pressed.

Andrei cleared his throat. "There is an unfortunate climate at the moment. You heard about the attacks by the Children of Shadows?"

A blonde in a low cut dress joined them. "Andrei was worried they might attack us."

Angelica gave the vampiress a once over, as if checking to see which of them was more attractive. "Why on earth would they do that? They're only attacking government buildings. Unless Andrei's joined a Council?"

"No," their host drawled.

A bell tinkled and they looked towards the doorway. A servant bobbed her head and Andrei called loudly, "Dinner is being served in the formal dining room. If you would follow me?"

They filed out of the room and down the corridor. The formal dining room, as Andrei called it, was massive. Polished pillars held up the long chandelier studded ceiling. The walls were papered in a delicate print, and carved sideboards looked elegant and expensive. The room's centerpiece was a long table – no doubt made of several individual ones placed together – encircled by at least fifty matching chairs. Each place was set with a napkin, spoons, and three crystal glasses.

They took their seats and servants bustled in with heavy trays. One laid cut glass bowls of spices and the others carried glass decanters of crimson. They made the rounds, filling the smallest glass of each guest – the first course. Polite chatter followed, intermingled with sipping. A second course was brought with a new array of flavorings, and then dessert; the blood of baby calves sprinkled with cinnamon.