Passion of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 5) by Bella Klaus (read novels website txt) 📕

that they made contracts of varying lengths with humans and supernaturals, offering them services they deemed beneficial.

I nodded. “What do they demand in return?”

“It depends on the cat.” He raised a hand at an albino lioness, who flicked her head in acknowledgement. “A person who fails to negotiate with the hellcats will have their soul devoured or the cat will consume the life-force of a firstborn. Macavity made a contract with our family to guard the children in exchange for spending his ninth life as a shifter.”

“Right,” I muttered. Suddenly, these cats didn’t seem quite so cute. If I really thought about it, the little beasts could be absolute thugs. Look at what they did to birds.

I paused to wave at five kittens with startling blue eyes and brown-striped fur. They sat together in a row, staring up at me as though begging me to take them home.

Valentine gave me a gentle pat on the back. “Time’s running out.”

“Right.” I continued down the walkway, giving the kitten quintet a wistful glance. What was it with me and pretty cats? Those five looked like they would drive a very hard bargain.

A tiger who was more black than orange walked alongside us, narrowing its turquoise eyes. It had the look of a security guard, but it didn’t rap on the glass to ask what we were doing out of bounds.

We left the cat section and passed enclosures separated by opaque glass, each about twenty by twenty feet and each decorated in different colors. All contained the same furniture: a double bed with a quilted headboard, two armchairs arranged around a small dining table, and a large unit that housed a fifty-foot-wide flat-screen TV, games console, and an array of books.

Its inhabitants were all taller-than-average men with muscular frames, many with similar frames to Valentine. I turned to him and asked, “Are they all Neutrals?”

“More or less,” he replied. “Irdu requires them to train with weights to increase their blood volume, and they eat a special high protein diet that builds up lean muscle mass.”

“Are they prisoners?”

He shook his head.

I glanced from one enclosure to the other, looking for signs of Jonathan. At the eighth, a man lay beneath the covers with a mop of messy blonde hair.

“That’s him,” I whispered.

Valentine moved me aside and raised his hand toward a door panel.

I grabbed his arm. “What are you planning on doing?”

He stared down at me as though the answer was obvious. “This is the man who stalked you, kidnapped you, and injured Macavity,” he said in a calm voice that made my stomach lurch. “Turn your head if you don’t want to watch him die.”

My eyes bulged, and my lungs forced out a shocked breath. He was just going to walk in there and murder someone in cold blood? This was just like Nut and Geb and Benny from Überwald. Worse, because I was just standing there gaping at Valentine as he announced his intention to kill a man who was technically a relative.

Before I could utter a protest, the scent of brimstone stung my nostrils, accompanied by a demonic crackle of magic. I whirled around to find a demon standing behind us, carrying a staff topped with a cat head with blinking amber eyes.

The demon’s skin was a shade darker than Valentine’s with thick black brows and a mustache that curled around his cheekbones to even thicker sideburns. He wore a black headdress embroidered with gold thread and a matching collar that hid most of his bare chest. I glanced down to see if he had paws or cloven feet but his bottom half was covered in leather pants and boots.

He bared brilliant white teeth filed into sharp points and stared at us through amber eyes that matched those of the ornamental cat. Something told me that his true appearance would be even more terrifying.

“King Valentine,” the demon said in an oily voice. “I trust that you are enjoying our facilities?”

“Very much so,” Valentine replied, sounding casual.

The demon’s gaze turned to me. “And you are giving your charming guest a tour of my facility?”

“I came to kill that Neutral.” Valentine hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “How much do you want for him?”

Since Valentine had already announced his intentions to commit cold-blooded murder, I held back my reaction to study the demon, who reminded me of those humans who loved cats so much that they changed body parts to make themselves look more feline. By now, I was about eighty percent sure that this was Irdu, but didn’t want to assume.

The demon drummed his clawed fingers on his lips and hummed. “My O-Neutrals aren’t for sale.”

“Irdu.” Valentine shook his head and grinned. “You’d sell your own mother if I offered you the correct price.”

My heart thudded a rapid beat. Part of me hoped that the demon would refuse to hand Jonathan over for slaughter, but if he was just holding out for a good price…

I didn’t like Jonathan at the best of times, but I couldn’t sit back and watch him die. My stomach acid bubbled, burning through the last of Hades’ delicious shortbread cookies. Anything I said now to disrupt the flow of conversation might lead to Irdu jacking up the price. It was the first thing Aunt Arianna had told me about negotiating with the demons at Devil’s Bakery, who could never give a person a straight answer when they just wanted to buy a chocolate eclair.

My teeth worried at my bottom lip. I was torn between saving Jonathan and not contributing toward Valentine getting scammed.

Indifference was the key to getting the best price. A person who acted too keen or too conflicted about the sale ended up with the demon twisting things to their advantage to squeeze out your last penny.

Irdu launched into a long monologue about deferred revenues, return on investments, and net present values that Valentine clearly understood but made my head spin.

They argued numbers until Irdu placed a hand on his chest and sighed. “You are