A Dozen Black Roses Read Online Free Page A

of a human infant he wore as a belt-buckle.
    "Good evening, my dear," he smiled, standing behind Nikola so that his sinewy hands rested on her bare shoulders, the thumbs pressed lightly against her carotid artery. "Are you ready for tonight's performance?"
    "Almost." Her voice was as dry and brittle as papyrus.
    "You look ravishing, my pretty. Doesn't she, Decima?"
    The vampiress shrugged. She folded her arms over her bare breasts, making the nipple rings jingle. "If

    Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com ) you say so, milord."
    Nikola felt her flesh grow chili under Decima's gaze. The vampiress made no attempt to disguise her contempt for her sire's new bride. After twenty-five years as his consort, Decima had been cast aside in favor of the mortal dancer. She was too heavily enthralled to Esher to rebel against him openly, but Decima took great delight in making Nikola's life as unpleasant as possible.
    "You look troubled, Nikola," Esher commented as he stroked her hair. "Is there something bothering my sweet?"
    Nikola hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a voice as soft and uncertain as a child's. "There—there was a little boy on the street outside the club. He looked familiar. Who is he, milord? I feel that I should know him."
    Esher turned Nikola around in her chair so that she faced him. His eyes gleamed red and wet, like fresh wounds. When he spoke, it was as if thunder echoed in his voice.
    "You do not know the boy! You have never seen him before! He is a stranger to you! In fact, you did not see a child tonight at all! Do you understand me, Nikola?"
    "There was no child," she murmured, her pupils out of focus.
    "Very good! That's much better, isn't it? Don't you feel much nicer not thinking about things?"
    "Yes, milord. Very nice."
    "Now hurry up and get ready! You don't want to be late for your performance!" Esher smiled. "We'll leave you to finish your preparations. Come, Decima!"
    The vampire lord stepped into the hall outside, but the moment the door closed the indulgent smile twisted into a scowl of anger. "Why didn't you tell me the boy had been here?!?"
    Decima shifted uncomfortably and glanced at her boots, unwilling to meet his gaze. "I—I didn't think it was important, milord. I sent a couple of the Pointers to handle it."
    "Which ones?"
    "Cavalera and Cro-Mag."
    "And did they succeed?"
    "N-no. Cro-Mag was found unconscious in the gutter with most of his teeth knocked out. Cavalera is dead. Stabbed through the heart."
    "Seeing as how they're a congenital idiot and an illiterate, I'm not surprised they failed so miserably!"
    Esher snorted in disgust. "Do you have any clue as to who did this to them?"
    "Cro-Mag said something about an old man, but I don't know how reliable his account might be. He's suffering from a serious concussion. There's some brain damage—"
    "As if anyone would notice! See that he's made tonight's Example."
    "Yes, milord."
    "And have that child destroyed, once and for all! How can I hope to finish conditioning my new bride if her wretched brat keeps getting in the way? I've nearly got her turned, except where the boy's concerned!
    As long as he continues to live, he endangers the entire process! I have not spent all this time and energy on Nikola to have it ruined by something as insignificant as a human brat! Have I made myself clear, Decima?"
    "Perfectly, milord."

    ***
In earlier, if not better days, the Dance Macabre was a bar frequented by motorcycle gangs and other social misfits. Now it was an exotic dance club that catered to tastes far darker than anything dreamed up by even the most depraved of its former clientele.
    The interior of the club was divided into three areas: the vast dance-floor area, where pale-faced Kindred and humans mingled at tables; the combination runway/stage, where the dancers paraded for the audience; and the upper balcony, which was reserved for Esher and his minions. There was a standard bar