Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton Page A

part of me always wonder what it would have been like if I had just said yes? Probably. But I could live with it.
    He was staring at me, the laughter dying from his eyes like the last bit of light seeping from the sky. “What are you thinking, ma petite ?”
    â€œCan’t you read my mind?” I asked.
    â€œYou know I cannot.”
    â€œI don’t know anything about you, Jean-Claude, not a bloody thing.”
    â€œYou know more about me than anyone else in the city.”
    â€œYasmeen included?”
    He lowered his eyes, almost embarrassed. “We are very old friends.”
    â€œHow old?”
    He met my eyes, but his face was empty, blank. “Old enough.”
    â€œThat’s not an answer,” I said.
    â€œNo,” he said, “it is an evasion.”
    So he wasn’t going to answer my question; what else was new? “Are there any other master vampires in town besides you, Malcolm, and Yasmeen?”
    He shook his head. “Not to my knowledge.”
    I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    â€œExactly what I said.”
    â€œYou’re the Master of the City. Aren’t you supposed to know?”
    â€œThings are a little unsettled, ma petite .”
    â€œExplain that.”
    He shrugged, and even in the bloodstained shirt it looked graceful.“Normally, as Master of the City, all other lesser master vampires would need my permission to stay in the city, but”—he shrugged again—“there are those who think I am not strong enough to hold the city.”
    â€œYou’ve been challenged?”
    â€œLet us just say I am expecting to be challenged.”
    â€œWhy?” I asked.
    â€œThe other masters were afraid of Nikolaos,” he said.
    â€œAnd they’re not afraid of you.” It wasn’t a question.
    â€œUnfortunately, no.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œThey are not as easily impressed as you are, ma petite .”
    I started to say I wasn’t impressed, but it wasn’t true. Jean-Claude could smell it when I lied, so why bother?
    â€œSo there could be another master in the city without your knowledge.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWouldn’t you sort of sense each other?”
    â€œPerhaps, perhaps not.”
    â€œThanks for clearing that up.”
    He rubbed fingertips across his forehead as if he had a headache. Did vampires get headaches? “I cannot tell you what I do not know.”
    â€œWould the . . .” I groped for a word, and couldn’t find one—“more mundane vampires be able to kill someone without your permission?”
    â€œMundane?”
    â€œJust answer the damn question.”
    â€œYes, they could.”
    â€œWould five vampires hunt in a pack without a master vampire to referee?”
    He nodded. “Very nice choice of word, ma petite , and the answer is no. We are solitary hunters, given a choice.”
    I nodded. “So either you, Malcolm, Yasmeen, or some mysterious master is behind it.”
    â€œNot Yasmeen. She is not strong enough.”
    â€œOkay, then you, Malcolm, or a mysterious master.”
    â€œDo you really think I have gone rogue?” He was smiling at me, but his eyes held something more serious. Did it matter to him what I thought of him? I hoped not.
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œYou would confront me, thinking I might be insane? How indiscreet of you.”
    â€œIf you don’t like the answer, you shouldn’t have asked the question,” I said.
    â€œVery true.”
    The office door opened. Dolph came out, notebook in hand. “You can go home, Anita. I’ll check the statements with you tomorrow.”
    I nodded. “Thanks.”
    â€œHeh, I know where you live.” He smiled.
    I smiled back. “Thanks, Dolph.” I stood up.
    Jean-Claude stood in one smooth motion like he was a puppet pulled up by invisible strings. Richard stood slower, using the wall to