Murder in Vein (2010) (22 page)

Dodie grabbed Madison by her shoulders and gently shook
her, staring into her wet eyes. "You are no such thing, Madison
Rose. No such thing. You hear me?"

"But ... but...," Madison stammered. "I think I wanted him
to do it. I think I liked it. I..."

Dodie's face softened as she tried to find words that would
teach and comfort the girl at the same time. She moved her
hands from Madison's shoulders and brought the girl back into
her embrace.

"Being bitten or having your blood sucked is a very intimate
act, Madison, as you've just learned. It's a lot like sex in that
way. While it can be painful, it can also bring intense physical pleasure. We're not sure why, but it does. I think that's why so
many of the living are into it, and why so many of the vampire
movies and shows have sexual themes"

"It felt as if... as if he'd screwed me." Madison's voice was
small and edged with disgust. "And I let him."

"Emotionally, Madison, he did. But you were also seduced,
and by a man, it seems, well versed in mind control. Most of the
coven leaders are very skilled at that. It's how some keep many
of their followers loyal for so long. They mentally enslave them,
especially the younger ones."

Dodie released Madison and held her so she could look into
her face. "You are a good person, Madison. I know that, even
if you don't. No matter what you've been through-no matter what you will go through in the future-never lose sight of
the fact that you are a good and valuable human being." Dodie
lightly touched Madison's chest, directly over her heart. "In here,
pure gold. And don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

Madison started crying again. No one had ever said anything
like that to her before.

"I know it, and so does Samuel," Dodie continued. "Don't
think for a moment that Samuel La Croix would have spared you
had he thought you weren't worthy."

Madison remained quiet, trying to believe what Dodie was
telling her about herself.

Dodie touched Madison's cheek with a fingertip. "Wilhelm
should never have done this to you, and he knows it. Especially
since he was under the impression that you're with Colin. There
are certain codes within covens, even for the high priest."

Madison took a deep breath. "I think that's one of the reasons he did do it, because he thought Colin and I ...," her words
drifted off. "He has a thing for Colin"

"That may be, but it's still no excuse. Lord Wilhelm has lots of
pretty and willing followers he can suck from without seducing
you." Dodie's voice turned harsh before she caught herself and
toned it down.

Dodie stood up and smoothed out her long robe. "Let me see
the wound. I want to make sure it doesn't get infected."

While Dodie went to get her first-aid kit, Madison slipped off
her top and studied her neck wounds in the mirror. They were
larger than she expected, and she asked Dodie about it.

"Didn't you say Lord Wilhelm had fangs?" Dodie asked, cleaning the wounds.

Madison flinched as the alcohol hit the raw openings. "Yes.
Dental implants that look like real fangs."

"Then I'd say that after he made the cuts, he inserted his
fangs, making the openings larger so he could suck more."

Madison's stomach lurched at the thought.

Dodie readied a needle and swabbed Madison's upper arm
with more alcohol.

"What's that for?" Madison asked.

"It's a tetanus shot," Dodie explained as she jabbed Madison
with the disposable syringe. "I want to make sure you stay well."

"A tetanus shot? You just happen to have one laying around?"

"This might hurt for a day or so." Dodie put a small bandage on the puncture. "From time to time, vampires bring their
human lovers to me for first aid. Even in a mutual consent relationship," Dodie told her, "things can get carried away. And it's
not as if they can go to a doctor without raising questions." When she saw Madison's face go pale, Dodie added, "Don't worry, it
doesn't happen often."

When Dodie was satisfied with the state of the wounds on
Madison's neck, she said, "Come on now, let's both get moving.
Before long, Samuel and the others will be here"

Madison groaned as she slipped her sweater back on.
"Another council meeting. Dodie, I'm really not tip for it tonight.
Or for going out with Colin to Bloodlust-especially not that."

"Yes, dear, you are up to it." Dodie smiled at her. "I know you
are. Besides, it's not a council meeting, it's just Samuel, Colin,
Mike, Doug, and me. Mike has some more information on your
friend Evie."

Dodie started to leave, but Madison stopped her. "Dodie," she
began, struggling to find the words. "Thanks. For everything."

Dodie smiled at the hurt young woman and opened her arms.
Madison fell into them again, this time not in despair but in
relief.

Doug, now dressed, poked his head back into Madison's
room. "Everything okay?" When Dodie gave him a positive nod,
he entered. In his hands were two pieces of fruit.

"Here, Madison," he said, holding them out to her. "You'll
need to eat something."

"Thanks, Doug, but I'm not hungry."

He pushed them on her. "We don't know how much blood the
bastard took from you. Probably not much, but you still should
eat a little something."

Madison took the fruit. "You heard?" she asked Doug.

Doug gave her a sheepish grin. "Unless we're asleep, we hear
everything." He looked at Madison with compassion. "However you came to us, Madison, you'll always have a safe haven here.
Know that."

Still clutching the fruit, Madison walked up to Doug and put
her arms around him. She buried herself against his strength
while his wife looked on with a smile.

"Thank you," Madison murmured.

Doug Dedham gently wrapped his arms around the young
woman and gave her a tender squeeze. "You know," he told her
quietly, "I once had two daughters. One was about your age when
I was turned. Abigail and Caroline. I still miss them every day.
Every year. Hell, every century." Madison looked up at Doug. He
looked down into her face with warmth. "Maybe one day you'll
let this old man tell you about them."

Madison eased herself out of his arms. "I'd like that, Doug.
Truly."

Dodie beamed with happiness. "You like lasagna?" she asked
Madison, who nodded with a slight smile. "Good, because I'm
going to make it for your supper tonight before the meeting.
Mike will be joining us."

t seems that Evie Banks was involved with vampire covens,"
Mike Notchey told the group gathered around the Dedhams'
formal dining table.

He'd announced the news earlier to Madison and the Dedhams over a dinner of lasagna and salad in the kitchen. Doug and
Dodie had their usual animal blood-a new concoction Dodie
had whipped up in the blender, mixing cow's blood with that of
wild boar. At the last minute, she'd added a dash of sheep's blood
for extra flavor.

Mike had seemed edgy during the meal and said he had other
news that he didn't want to share until everyone was together.
But whatever it was, it agitated him further, like a large splinter
pushed deep under his skin, when Madison told him she'd visited Bat Beauty to get more information.

"Damn it, Madison;" he'd barked after slapping his fork down
on the table. "That was a very stupid and dangerous thing to do."

Madison shifted her left shoulder. She hadn't told Mike about
Wilhelm, and she was pretty sure the Dedhams hadn't told him either. Doug had warned her, though, that Samuel would know
just by looking at her and might bring it up at the meeting. Dodie
confirmed that, saying Samuel could read a person's history as
if it were stamped on their forehead. She also advised Madison
that it would be best not to show fear if he questioned her about
it. Show respect, Dodie had said, but not fear. Madison was not
looking forward to the piercing stare of Samuel La Croix's dead
eyes.

"It's not like I'm in prison here," Madison shot back at Mike.
"I was told I could go anywhere I wanted."

"That doesn't mean you can behave stupidly. There's a reason
why we sent Colin with you last night." Mike picked up his fork
again but didn't go back to eating. He looked at Madison. "Are
you at least going to tell me why you went back there?"

Madison rolled her eyes at him. "Colin remembered later that
there was once a woman at Bat Beauty with a bloodline. Wilhelm
said she'd left the coven to marry, but we wanted to make sure
she didn't just disappear. I went to ask him for some information
on her."

"And did Wilhelm give it to you?"

"Yes, he did." Madison looked down at the food on her plate
and stuffed a forkful of pasta into her mouth before she said anything more. The Dedhams were silent.

"And?" Mike prodded.

Madison chewed, swallowed, and took a drink of the iced tea
that had been freshly brewed by Pauline earlier in the day. "I did
a search online using the information Wilhelm gave me. There
were a lot of Sylvia Hannafords around the country, but I did
find a wedding announcement for one here in California. Based
on the photo I also found, I'm pretty sure it's the same one."

"So Wilhelm was telling the truth" Notchey went back to
eating.

"The announcement was for several months ago, but I
went on Facebook and found her. Lucky for me, she's using her
maiden name of Hannaford as her middle name now." Madison
played with her food. "As of this afternoon, she was posting to
Facebook about her pregnancy. So there's one less dead girl with
a bloodline."

"Good job," Mike said, half under his breath. "Stupid but productive."

Samuel listened intently while Mike continued filling them in on
Evie Banks. Once in a while he jotted down some notes.

"They found more than just a little proof at her apartment,"
Mike continued. "Clothing, photos, books. She even had a small
altar in a closet. Seems she was dabbling in witchcraft."

"Any particular coven?" asked Samuel from the head of the
table. Colin was sitting to Samuel's left. Next to him was Madison. Doug and Dodie were on the other side of the table, to Samuel's right. Mike was seated at the opposite end, as before.

Mike shook his head. "Buddy on the case said there was no
sign of any one specific coven, vampire or witch, but they did
find photos of her taken at a party at Bloodlust. He recognized
the setup in the background. But there was also a matchbook
from Fang Me mixed in with her other trinkets."

"What about Bat Beauty?" asked Colin.

He was already dressed to go out to Bloodlust right after the
meeting, and so was Madison. Tonight she was wearing snug
black jeans and a black, clingy, sleeveless knit top with a mock turtleneck. The tiny bandage from the needle puncture was
gone, and the turtleneck covered the larger bandage protecting
the wounds Wilhelm had inflicted. Half of Madison's hair was
piled on top of her head in a carefully disheveled manner, and
she was wearing red lipstick so dark it was almost black. She'd
purchased the lipstick and heavier eye makeup between her trip
to her apartment and Bat Beauty. Dangling from her ears were
large antique-looking earrings, another purchase made today at
the drugstore where she'd bought the makeup. When she'd come
downstairs for the meeting, every man but Doug had stared in
fascination. It had made Madison uncomfortable, but judging
from what she'd seen of the club scene so far, she was sure she'd
fit right in at Bloodlust.