Dhampirica

XXV

SHE ARRIVED AT 11:25PM — a little later than she had intended. Soren dropped her outside the hotel and immediately drove off. She wondered if he knew why she was here or, at least, suspected it. She had certainly not been able to avoid Lord Dante's scrutiny. Yvanna wasn't one for parties, especially those that were late at night and at strange hotels.

She made her way inside the hotel, showing her ID to the doorman, who let her in and told her to press the elevator button for the 14th floor. The lobby was glamorous and not too busy at this time of night. When the elevator doors opened to the 14th floor, that was when the noise reached her ears. She walked down the hallway of ivory and beige walls and red-carpeted floors, coming upon a door with two security guards standing watch outside of it. Like the doorman, they checked her ID and allowed her in, neither of them surprised by a minder's presence.

Yvanna contained a shudder as she walked into the penthouse suite, finding herself immediately greeted by a skin crawling display of debauchery. She spotted nobles, vampire celebrities, dhampiri, and bloodletters alike. Save for the bloodletters — who were only there as food — they were all engaged in a drunken daze of inappropriate touches, scandalous gossip, and sleazy dancing. Her gaze zeroed in on Lord Carlos Beltran, who was currently in the midst of what seemed to be a pompous battle of egos with another noble in the lounge room.

As she considered a way to approach him, a champagne suit of ivory filigree stepped into her view, blocking her line of sight. "Fancy seeing you here," said a familiar voice. "Quite the coincidence, I must say."

She looked up, and hoped the groan of complaint in her mind had not been uttered aloud. Even if she was here as a guest, she still should know her place. "My lord," she greeted, her voice flat. "Is this really a coincidence or are you following me?"

Lord Luciano clutched his chest. "I should be asking you that, dhampirica. You're the last person I expected to find here. Besides, I have more important things to do with my time than following the likes of you around, despite how delightfully annoyed you get."

"Like blood, booze, and cock, I suppose?" Yvanna muttered, glancing over his shoulder to see if Lord Carlos was still there.

Lord Luciano took a short step to the side, blocking her field of view once again. "Precisely," he smiled.

Before Yvanna could figure out a polite way to tell him to get lost, somebody tapped her on the shoulder. West stood there, dressed in a sharp black and white suit and a look of confusion. "You called, so I came, Yvanna. Now, tell me why we're here and why we're dressed like this?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but found herself immediately interrupted by Lord Luciano who said, "I don't believe we've met." He crossed his legs and leaned against the wall, offering his hand. "Luca Azarro. Lord."

West nodded toward him, a polite smile on his face. "I'm familiar. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

"Oh, no," Lord Luciano replied, his eyes raking down the length of West with slow and deliberate ease. "The pleasure's all mine."

West ignored the suggestion in his tone and turned back to Yvanna. "So, what are we doing here? You don't look like you're on business."

"I am," she insisted. "I need to speak with someone, but I needed someone to keep a lookout. It's not safe for all these nobles to be gathered in one small place, what with the recent attacks."

West's gaze flicked around the room. "I understand, but did we have to come looking like this? If you wanted to do minder business, we should dress the part. No one's going to take us seriously this way."