Amongst the Order (Watchers of the Veil #1)

Chapter 11

Fifteen people began at the table; five were out within half an hour. I was clueless to how the rules worked so every nod of approval or shake of my head was faked in order to blend in. From what Alex had whispered to me, Alfie was a confident player. An older woman, knocked out at the half hour mark, squeezed his shoulder as she walked past and wished him luck for defying her expectations.

"You're doing well for a child, Mullein," said The Collector.
"I... thank you." He picked up his dealt cards. The Collector smiled.
"You remind me of myself when I was your age. My dad had me play this for hours until I mastered it. I should teach you sometime."
Alfie glanced at his cards; four of hearts and five of spades. Alex lowered his gaze – not a good sign for this hand. "I'd be happy to," he replied.

A friendly lie. Well done, Alf.

Alex knelt towards my ear. He had been overseeing Alfie's playing style for a while now, while Florence and I kept quiet in the back. She was bouncing on her heels, checking over her shoulder with every loud boom of music or chorus of laughter. "He's confident. I'll stay here while you and Florence explore the party."
I finished the drink I had received from Leopold long before the game began. "A good idea. Flo." I nodded at the door. "Let's go outside for a bit."

***

Florence followed me without complaint and we re-joined the wild party inside the manor. I warned her there could be anyone there; human, witch, werewolf or vampire. I tried to ignore her grinning at the prospect of a handsome werewolf but noticed her joy falter when we entered a new room.

This room was darker, with nothing but a red light making shapes out on the dancefloor. At first I thought we were walking into a room full of couples far too drunk and excited to keep their hands off each other, but when I bumped into a young man – hardly older than Alfie – my hand pulled back coated in a thick warm liquid.

Blood. Fresh blood.

Fangs glistened in seductive scarlet within an ocean of ecstatic, smiling vampires. They swayed and danced with victims just as frenzied as themselves and gorged on their necks. Bile stung my throat and Florence held onto my arm.
"Are they—?"
"Vampires." I nodded. "Yes."
Her jaw shook. "They're just... they're just." She sighed. "Can we go back out there?"
She didn't even need to ask. I put my hand on her back and shielded her. "Of course. Come on."

As I turned around, a figure hooked my attention. A tall vampire, veiled in platinum hair reaching his waist, leaned over a balcony on the next floor, overlooking the blanketed chaos beneath him. This may have been a ballroom once, intended for nobles to waltz and gossip all night while basking in elegance and decorum. Now it was stained with a far more sinister dance.

The vampire smiled from his perch as he caught my eye and I ushered my cousin from the room.

A bouncer stopped us at the door. "You two vampires?"
I shook my head. "No. Human. We were just leaving."
"That's alright, ladies." The friendliest voice we'd heard all night. "I'm just stationed to enforce the feeding but you're safe to go."
I frowned. "Enforce?"
"Yeah. No killing, no unwilling hosts and no newbie vampires."
"Why?" said Florence.
He almost laughed. "The young ones get too excited. The sight of blood turns them feral so we keep them to the other rooms."
Her brows arched. "This isn't feral?"
The bouncer shrugged. "Part of the Collector's policy. He caters to all his guests." His face darkened. "Hey, you! Get off her!"

He charged for a vampire digging his fangs into a screaming girl's neck. She clawed at him till the bouncer shoved him back into the crowd, being grappled by other more dominant members of his kind, and escorted the crying girl outside with an arm draped over her, reassuring her that she was safe. It was nauseating to watch.