Enduring Service by Regina Morris

recording?”
    Shaking his head, Liam continued, “A hypnotic repetitive message. Something about medical practices and the support of collecting more blood. Warehousing blood so to speak, from newborn babies to volunteers, as well as standard medical practices to collect blood during routine medical physicals.” Liam rolled his hands, “and it continued and continued.”
    “Sounds like the entire recording focused on blood.”
    Liam took a deep breath and squinted his eyes at Mason. “Your name is Mason, right?” When Mason nodded, Liam added, “Seems like a lot of blood. Do you… people… require a lot? I mean, I’m assuming the perpetrator to be one of your kind.”
    And here was the second matter Mason needed to deal with. Liam knew too much. Mason broke his presidential facade and spoke honestly with the man. “Son, if your fishin’ for some answers,” he began in his southern dialect, “I’m sorry, but this dog just won’t hunt.”
    Liam took a deep breath and stood his ground. “I know the president isn’t one… but I know you are. You don’t have to bother denying it.”
    Mason sized up the human. “Then I do believe you and I need to have ourselves a talk.”
    He crossed the floor and gazed deep into the human’s eyes, but Liam looked away.
    “I’ll tell you what I know. But if you try to do any of your mind games on me, I’ll warn you now. I have a stake in my pocket.”
    Mason stepped back, knowing full well he could overtake the human at any time. “What gave me away?”
    Liam scanned down the hallway. The staff seemed busy performing their tasks and the other agents kept guard on the house and grounds. He stepped into the room and closed the door the best he could, leaving it ajar on its hinges. “It wasn’t you. At least not right away. I first suspected the lady doctor who keeps tabs on the president’s health.”
    “Sulie?”
    Liam shrugged. “I don’t know her name, but her face is unforgettable. She’s a total ten and someone who caught my eye when I began working for the president. Ten years have passed since my first day on the job. She looks the same age as when I first laid eyes on her.”
    Nodding, Mason understood. Sulie always kept to her base Jahrling age if possible. She always remained in the background doing medical exams on the president and not much more. But even with the limited human exposure, someone was bound to notice.
    “And then there was you.”
    Mason glanced up at Liam. “What about me?”
    “The last two trips to Camp David, you didn’t eat. I kept tabs on you afterwards, even photographing you with a special camera to detect heat signatures. You don’t give off body heat.”
    Mason felt a nagging pain in his gut. If he had to guess, he would say the telltale sign had been his nose putty or even his colored contacts. He could have sworn he had been careful during his time with the humans, but well, he couldn’t give off body heat. He also couldn’t eat any food. And there was only so much pushing the food around on the plate to make it appear as if you ate some of it that he could do. With a hand brushing through his white hair, and a sigh escaping his mouth, Mason asked, “Anyone but you know?”
    “Know about your kind? And that you work for the president?” Liam shook his head and let out a wry chuckle. “No. I didn’t want to lose my job and end up in the looney bin.”
    Mason knew what he had to do. The man had become a liability, a threat to their very existence. He had to compel the man to forget everything he knew about vampires. He took a step closer to the human, thinking he should just quickly get the memory wipe over with. But, how far back did the wipe need to be?
    “Besides,” Liam said, his voice a little softer. “I also know about vampires for another reason.”
    It was the first time Liam had used the word vampire. A chill ran down Mason’s spine. He had never told any human his true nature, and for an outsider to