Daisy turned her head, and, after examining her face, Venom released her jaw, though he shot Holly a look to ensure that she kept hold of Daisy’s wrists. “What are you doing here?” he asked the vampire. “Were you with one of the dead men?”
A hard shake of Daisy’s head, hate in the stare she shot toward the decapitated heads lined up on the pool table. “My master gave me to them for a week,” she spit out. “To reward them for something.”
Holly’s stomach twisted. This was why she would’ve never voluntarily signed up for a normal Contract. Those under Contract had few rights. For a hundred years, they were the playthings of the angels. It wasn’t always like that, of course. Dmitri had been with Raphael since the start, and he’d said things that made Holly think the two had been friends even before Dmitri was Made.
Janvier had come out of Neha’s court far more educated, and experienced in travel and diplomacy than when he’d gone in; he’d also been trained in how to use the kukri blades with lethal skill. Ashwini was treated like an asset by the Tower. So not all those under Contract were destined for a hellish life—but there was no way to know, was there? You could end up with someone powerful but “human” like Illium, or you could end up with a bastard who lent you out to his friends for them to abuse.
“Who is your master?” Venom asked.
“He’ll hurt me if I tell.” It was a rasping whisper.
“You’re not going back to him,” Holly said before she could stop herself.
Venom’s head lifted, turned toward her. But she refused to back down. “I’ll talk to Elena,” she said, speaking to both him and Daisy. “She’ll help.” The Guild Hunter turned angel was still human inside, didn’t look at the world through the jaded eyes of an immortal.
“The name of your master,” Venom said, returning his attention to Daisy.
This time, his voice demanded absolute obedience.
Daisy had no hope of standing against him. “Kenasha,” she whispered. “My master is Kenasha.”
Venom’s expression didn’t change. “When did you sign up to be his?”
It was an odd question. Vampires didn’t get to choose under which angel they served out their Contract—the Tower was in charge of assigning new vampires to angels. And not all angels qualified; they had to be strong enough to control newborn vampires. Holly knew there had to be other prerequisites, but she’d never had reason to find out what.
“He’s been my master for . . . a long time,” Daisy said lifelessly. “I don’t remember.” Her eyes returned to Holly. “I thought I knew you. But I don’t remember anymore. Why don’t I remember?”
“It’s all right,” Holly soothed before Daisy could panic. “You’re exhausted and weak. We’ll talk when you’re stronger.”
There were noises lower down in the house, the sound of steady, unhidden movement echoing up the steps. Venom glanced back over his shoulder. “The Tower team has arrived.”
Holly forced herself to release Daisy into that team’s care. “She needs medical attention,” she said to the powerful vampires who’d responded to Venom’s call.
They ignored her.
Holly had learned to live with the reality of being the lowest non-mortal on the Tower totem pole, but it still made her grit her teeth . . . as something inside her whispered: You can kill them all. Strangling that mad voice she tried to pretend didn’t exist, she anchored herself firmly to the here and now—where she was weird but didn’t pulse with power like those around her.
The Tower vampires turned their cool, dangerous eyes toward Venom. “Take her to the infirmary,” he said, indicating Daisy’s hunched-up form. “Keep her away from anyone else—and under constant guard. I want her blood tested. It’ll have mine mixed in with it.”
“Yes, sir.” Two of the vampires left with a terrified-looking Daisy, two remaining behind. Holly noticed with a corner of her mind that they were all wearing plastic covers on their shoes.
The last thing Holly saw before the three disappeared from sight were Daisy’s panicked eyes as the woman twisted to look back at Holly, tears melting from her irises. Not about to leave the weak and abused vampire alone among strangers, Holly moved to go after her.
Venom closed his hand over her biceps, holding her in place. “You can’t help her.” An unforgiving statement.
“Fuck you.” She tried to wrench out of his hold, failed. “What’re they going to do to her?”
“Exactly what I said.” Releasing her only when it was too late for her to catch up to the ones who had Daisy, he spoke to the other vampires who’d responded. “Clean up this mess and tell me about anything unusual you find.”
“Yes, sir.”
“There could be clues here,” Holly muttered, rubbing at her arm.
Venom’s sunglasses were still on, but she could tell he was looking at the place where he’d gripped her, and where she was now rubbing. She dropped her hand, not about to appear weak or soft in front of him.
“They’re a fully trained forensic team,” he told her, right as the others said they were going to retrieve their gear from the van. “Let’s leave them to it.”
Holly had to admit she was glad to be outside; it was still dark gray and drizzling faintly, but the air she drew into her lungs was welcomingly fresh. The stench inside had begun to get to her. “Why did you ask Daisy that?” she asked after Venom hung up following a low-voiced call. “About when she’d signed up to serve this Kenasha bastard?”
When Venom glanced at her, she reached out and snatched off those stupid sunglasses. She was half-tempted to throw them in the gutter and stomp on them, but, cognizant that they were probably worth six months of her salary, she folded them neatly before closing her fingers around them.
He smiled at her, tiny water droplets catching on his eyelashes. “When are you going to give those back?”
Never. “Maybe if you answer my question.”
She expected him to block her. If this was Tower business, she had no right to the information. She spoke to cut him off as they crossed the road to where he’d left his car. Of course it was still there, not a scratch on it. “I’m part of the team that works in this section of the city. I need to know if something is going on that shouldn’t be.”
She didn’t know if it was her words, or if he’d decided to trust her—after all, she’d made it clear she wasn’t about to incur Raphael’s wrath by spilling secrets—but he said, “I know who Kenasha is, and, as I suspected, he currently has no vampires listed as being under his care.”