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He shuddered against me, arms hugging me close. I could tell he was ready for sacrifice without looking, but I had to glance down anyway. He was ready. I pulled free of him, gently. “You’re ready to go back to the vamps, Seth. I think you’re ready to make a sacrifice.” I made myself look him in the eyes.

He bent and kissed my forehead, gently. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

We walked back to the vamps hand in hand. But it wasn’t the vampires that made me uncomfortable as we crossed the room. It was the humans. Bernardo looked like he was reconsidering my status as untouchable Madonna. Olaf had an almost hungry look on his face. It was closer to the way werewolves looked at you on the night of full moon than the way a man looks at a woman. Edward had a slight frown between his eyes, which for him meant he was bothered by something. The vampires looked about like I’d expected. Itzpapalotl looked serious, as if she hadn’t known I could call the power up on purpose. It’s why they’d apologized for dragging me up onstage earlier.

I gave Seth over to Chualtalocal like a father handing the bride to the groom. Then I moved back to stand by Edward. He looked at me, as if he was the one trying to read me for a change, and failing. It was almost worth it, if I could confuse Edward.

“Did you enjoy yourself, my cat?” the goddess asked.

“Yes, holy mistress, I did.”

“Are you ready to make sacrifice?”

“Yes, holy mistress.”

“Then do so.” She looked past him to me, as if she didn’t like what she saw. Something about what I’d done with Seth had disturbed her. Had she expected me to take him off in the corner and just do him by hand like a fluffer in a porno movie? Had the fact that I’d used power as well as mild sex disturbed her? Or had she seen something I hadn’t, or understood something I did not? No way of knowing short of asking, and admitting that kind of ignorance to master vamps is a good way to get killed. So no questions about magic, just eventually, hopefully about the case.

Seth picked up the small silver blade again. He cradled his flesh in his hand and set the tip of the blade against himself. I caught Bernardo turning back towards the door. The blade tip bit into flesh, and I looked away. I think we all did, except for Olaf. It might have startled him the first time, but he was over the shock. Blood was being spilled, flesh being cut. Olaf couldn’t miss that.

He watched the cutting, but then I caught him turning away out of the corner of my eye, and I had to look. I had to see what was bad enough for Olaf not to be able to stomach it.

The vampire had gone to his knees. I guess maybe I’d expected him to just lick the blood off, but he wasn’t. He was sucking at it the way that Diego had sucked at Seth’s ears, except this wasn’t an ear. The vampire had covered almost every inch of Seth with his mouth. Seth’s eyes were closed, and there was a look of concentration on his face.

I looked away again and found myself meeting the dead eyes of the four fallen nuns. Those empty, angry faces were almost harder to stare at than a vampire going down on someone. I literally turned my back on all of them and found that Olaf had done the same thing. He was hugging himself and staring at nothing. His discomfort rose off of him in almost visible waves. Even with his back turned, the sounds carried. I wished for the ringing in my ears to get worse.

Soft, sucking sounds, wet sounds, the sound of flesh in flesh, and the sharp intake of breath that was probably Seth. His breath came in three fast pants, and he spoke, “Please, holy mistress, I am not sure of my control tonight.”

“You know the punishment,” she said. “Surely, that is incentive enough to hold yourself in check.”

I glanced back then and found that Seth was staring back over his shoulder at the four women in the corner. When he turned back, he looked scared. The vampire was still feeding, sucking, throat swallowing. Surely, the wound had healed by now, unless they’d made a second wound while I was being embarrassed