Harland's tone was hesitant, as though he didn't really want to tell her whatever it was that she should know.
"Go on," she urged, watching as he scuffed the dirty floor with his heel.
"He's not what you think," interrupted Jackie, one hand on her hip, the other rubbing at her chin. Selene scowled at her.
"What do I think?" She snapped, glaring at Jackie as she asked the question, and some of the men raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances at her defensiveness.
"You think he's a good man trapped in a Vampire's body. You think he cares for you."
He does care for me, but I'll be damned if I'll ever tell you why he does.
Selene kept quiet, and flattened her dress against her thighs with her hands, feeling the embroidery scratch her skin.
"He's cruel. He's one of the cruellest there has ever been. He invented the Bleedings. He made human deaths a form of entertainment." Jackie threw her hands in the air as she spoke, and Selene wondered if she were going to hit her.
"I know."
"That's not all," said Harland, puffing out his chest.
Selene nodded, encouraging him to continue. He gritted his teeth and looked away from her, staring at a spot on the wall instead.
"Have you heard of Epershand?" He asked.
Selene's eyes widened and she saw some of the men acknowledge her surprise. They moved closer, packing around her.
"I have."
"Do you know what it is?"
"No."
"It's the most wicked of his inventions," exclaimed Jackie, jumping on the spot. Richard Mason reached out a hand and held her still, allowing Harland to continue.
"He doesn't just own theatres, Selene. He also owns a place called Epershand. It's a secure compound where Vampires can go for sex; sex with humans. It's essentially a high class brothel, but the people in there are held against their will. There's no way out; they live there until they die, or are killed, which they often are. They're prisoners, and they don't get paid, other than in board and food. They're undesirables, which is ironic..."
"What are you saying, exactly?"
"I'm saying that Hector exploits humans."
"All Vampires do that."
"Not like this. He pays the institutions for children when they are young, sometimes before they are even born. He hand picks them before any of the other Vampires get to choose their quarry. These children have no owners, the way you have Hector, and Jackie has Diana-"
"Blood, I'd kill that bitch," murmured Jackie. Harland raised an eyebrow and continued:
"- and all the other dancers have their owners too. But these people, these Undesirables; they're unbranded. Actually, what I mean to say is that they're not branded on their feet."
Selene's thoughts spun, like a spider weaving a web, ideas hanging precariously like water droplets on the silken threads.
"Hector charges rich Vampires a small fortune to enter, and then more on top of that, depending on who they want and how they want them, and how many of them they want at any one time. There are extra charges for every little thing. Biting or drawing blood, or inflicting pain of any sort, comes at a premium, and actually killing costs a small fortune; but everything can be paid for. A Vampire's every filthy desire can be sated within the walls of the compound."
"I don't believe it."
"It's true. Sometimes he picks them from amongst the prisoners at Central Control. If they are particularly attractive, they get sent to Epershand instead of being sent to a Bleeding."
"No..." Selene hesitated, remembering Arthur's words before the fight had broken out.
"Hector has been somewhat remiss in sending fresh flesh to Epershand."
"Yes Selene, it's true."
"It can't be. Where is this place?"
"It's on an island, off the north coast of Scotland."
"But he's always in London. How can he run Epershand and the Bleedings? He can't be in two places at once."
"He's not. His brother is."
"But they don't speak to one another."
"They argued, nearly a hundred years ago. We don't know what it was about, but it caused a terrible rift. Before then they had run Epershand together, but Hector was always in charge: he was the boss. Arthur did whatever Hector wanted. But after they fought they were no longer able to stand the sight of one another, let alone work together. Hector came down to London and started the Bleedings with the support of the Great Matriarch. But he continues to choose the majority of the children who get sent to Epershand, and the prisoners, and the profits from Epershand are split 50-50 between him and his brother. So whether or not he ever actually goes there is beside the point."
"It can't be true."
"It is. They brand them with an ampersand on the inside of their wrists. The Stanley brothers' whores."
"If he'd ever fucked you, we could have got you the tatts too Selene," said Jackie, a wicked smile breaking out as she spoke.
"I don't...I can't..." Selene's tongue wouldn't form the words she wanted, and her brain couldn't form the sentences. She felt her chin begin to tremble and she bit her lip. Hector was a monster; he was truly evil. She thought of his face as he called her name, and a deep pain soared right through her chest, and she heaved out a sob.
Harland looked shocked and stepped backwards; the others moved away too, as if she were infectious. She let the tears fall, not caring that they were staring at her. She heard Jackie speak:
"She's confused. She thinks she's in love with him."
No, that's not it. Is it?
Selene couldn't even bring herself to contradict Jackie. She didn't know what she felt for Hector anymore; it was like a bird's nest of emotion, made up of all sorts of spiky twigs and feathers, hard and soft all entwined. She propped her elbows on her knees and let her head fall into her hands, allowing the tears to fall onto her dress. She tried to brush them off her cheeks with her fingers before they fell, but they were too prolific so she gave up. She was aware that the others were talking about her, but she couldn't hear; sadness rushed in her ears like a deafening waterfall. She clutched at her heart as though it would break, or perhaps it was already broken and she was trying to hold the pieces together.
"Why me?" she asked after a few minutes. At first they didn't hear her so she cleared her throat and repeated the question. The room fell silent and they looked at her.
"What?" asked Richard Mason.
"Why me? Why did you bring me here? Why didn't you leave me with him?"
The men began to shift uneasily, looking at each other with awkward fleeting glances. Jackie looked at her feet. Selene began to feel frightened; there was something sinister about the way they communicated with awkward movements.
"Because he loves you," said Jackie.
"And he has something we want."
"What?"
"The boy," said Harland.
"Who?" Asked Selene.
"The boy who used to live here. The boy that Hector has locked up in his house. The boy with the poison blood."
They know.
"Why do you want him?"
"For his blood. Don't you realise what his blood could do, Selene? It could kill every Vampire in the country."
"He doesn't have enough blood in his body to kill every Vampire in the country." Selene said it matter-of-factly, but as she spoke their meaning dawned on her.
"He's the Blood Rebel, Selene," said Jackie.
How could she have been so stupid? She hadn't even realised that Xander fulfilled the prophecy: born to a human mother. She had listened to his story without really thinking about it or analysing the meaning.
"Do you believe that?" She asked.
"Yes. His blood is lethal. He has the power to save humans from oppression."
"You mean he gives you the power to save humans? You can't just take all his blood; not without killing him. You just want to use him!" Selene began to realise that these people didn't really care about Xander as a man; for them he was a nothing more than a weapon, and a deadly one at that. They would use every last inch of him to kill as many Vampires as possible.
"We'll stagger the attacks, allow him time to recover," said Harland.
"It won't work. They'll realise what you're doing and start turning people to compensate."
"She's right," said Richard Mason. "We need to plan carefully. We would need a weapon that took them all out at the same time."
"I still don't understand what you want with me. How can I help you?" She asked.
The men began to shift, looking away from her. Even Harland hesitated to look her in the eye, and once more she felt a sense of foreboding, of fear that tugged at her limbs, urging her to run away from these people.
"We need to use you, as bait. We want to lure Hector out, get him to bring Xander in exchange for you." Harland kicked the floor as he spoke, scuffing the toe of his boot.
"You're ransoming me? I've been kidnapped? Oh blood, this can't be happening!" She stood up, intending to run, but her foot was caught in her dress and she stumbled. Virgil reached out and caught her, and bent his head down to look her in the face. His eyes were so green that Selene couldn't help but stare, and when he smiled at her she almost smiled back, before recollecting that she was furious at them all.
"We won't actually give you back to him. We've rescued you from one of the most evil Vampires in the country; we're not going hand you over. We're just going to pretend we will."
"And then what?" Selene's cheeks reddened and she clenched her fists.
"And then we'll kill him."