Finding Blood (City Underdark #1)

The Dilemma

"Ranphoros is not the devil."

"He certainly looks like one."

"He is not," said Hugo, stepping into sight. "You are wrong."

Yoven looked startled to see the man appear - especially that Hugo was frowning, obviously stepping in just to defend the honour of his lord. Barmond raised a hand in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. Fury, that he had kept bottled up to this point, bubbled up to the surface.

"Stand back, you toadish oaf," he hissed. "You did enough."

Hugo seemed shocked by the sudden anger. He gave Barmond a look, searching his face for... something, then nodded and stepped back into the shadows of the doorway. Barmond turned his back to him, but Yoven kept glancing at him, as if checking that he would suddenly attack.

"You are safe now," said Barmond. "You are with me."

"Safe? With you? How am I supposed to be safe? You're a vampire. You're the worse--"

"I will not hurt you, Yoven. I promise."

"Then what will you do to me?"

Barmond sighed. "How about we sit down and talk about it? And then I will answer all of your questions."

They moved to the other room, Hugo stepping to the side in front of them to let them pass. The latter didn't sit down with them but chose to remain in the background, staying in his role as an observer. For a sheep among wolves - no bad pun intended - Yoven was relatively calm. Barmond could relate to him, he still remembered the first time he had come in contact with the strange, dark underbelly of the world, almost forty-five years ago.

"What is a red retainer?" Yoven asked.

"Well-- That is a human," said Barmond, "that gives blood to a vampire on the regular. Knowingly. So the vampire... they bite their retainers when they get hungry. And a vampire can have several retainers, but each retainer only serves one vampire."

"Are their other vampires here? In Gardel?"

"No." Barmond shook his head to emphasize his point. "They are forbidden. Except for me, but that's a whole other story."

Yoven nodded, pensive. He then pointed at Hugo.

"And he is a werewolf, like the others," he stated.

"Oh?" said Hugo. "That's quite clever of you to guess. I didn't transform in front of you. In fact, I think only Irene did."

"You didn't have to. Before... all of this... I mean, before I was without a job, the master would go on hunting trips, and I'd help take care of the dogs. I wasn't the dogkeeper, per se, but she told me that dogs like to think in packs and that they obey the strongest dogs. So I watched them do, and I learned a little." Beat. "What I'm trying to say is that they were acting the same way towards you."

Barmond snorted. That was one way to call Hugo a dog, even if Hugo himself didn't seem to mind it. He just nodded and smiled at Yoven. It was the sort of smile that warmed one's heart, it radiated good intentions, and really, Hugo had no business knowing how to smile like that. Barmond's joy was short-lived, and he quickly brought Yoven's attention back on him.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"Hmm. Does... does a red retainer serve a vampire as a man-servant does?"

"Not... as intensely. A vampire generally tries to salvage their retainer's strength when they can. If you're asking me how you'll be treated, I'll have you know that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."