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drain me over a minor misunderstanding later. I have to ask: Why would someone interfere with your blood, in particular? Why would someone want to hurt you? I mean, some other reason beyond your lack of personal charm or regard for communicative technology.”
    His cheek barely twitched with the effort to frown at me. “That’s classified information, Council business,” he said, slurring the S ’s slightly. “I can’t discuss it with you.”
    “Oh, well, I’ll just go right ahead risking my neck without the full picture, then,” I muttered, crossing my arms.
    “Full disclosure wasn’t part of our agreement.”
    “The agreement is being amended,” I shot back.
    “And why am I not allowed to amend the agreement?” he demanded.
    “I suppose ‘Because I said so’ isn’t a sufficient answer?” I asked. When this failed to bring about a response, Irubbed my hand over my eyes. “I brought you into my home. The least you can do is tell me why I made such a stupid decision. And before you insult my trustworthiness again, I might remind you that I have access codes to the homes of nearly every member of the Council. I know who and what they eat. I know when they’re fighting with their spouses, and when they’re having sex with people they’re not supposed to, and when they’re fighting with their spouses because they’re having sex with people they’re not supposed to. And I never breathe a word to a single soul, living or otherwise. It’s safe to say I can be trusted to use discretion.”
    Cal stared at me. I shot my best stern, irritated expression right back, which didn’t seem to faze him in the least. I really needed to work on my stern expressions. Apparently, they only work on teenage girls … or Gigi was just humoring me.
    “There has been a series of vampire attacks on humans,” he finally said, his tongue thick and slow. “Sporadic, across the country. Horrific, bloody attacks with no apparent motive, vampires who have shown no previous signs of aggression lashing out at human companions and tearing them apart. The Council is doing its best to keep it quiet, because we don’t want to cause a panic in the human community. As best we can tell, the vampires in question all suffered a form of poisoning. The compound is like steroids for vampires, on an exponential level. It brings out the worst of our aggressive, territorial behaviors while enhancing our strength and lowering our inhibitions.”
    “Why would someone do that?”
    “How old are you?” he asked. “Twenty-two, twenty four?”
    “I’m twenty-nine,” I grumbled.
    “So you’re old enough to remember what it was like following the Great Coming Out. The burnings, the ‘accidents.’ The all-out lynchings of vampires. While that’s died down over the years, there are still conservative religious groups out there that would like nothing more than to prove to the world what vicious, dangerous animals we are.”
    “How many attacks have there been?”
    Cal began to protest. I jabbed a finger toward his face, which he did not seem to appreciate. “If you tell me that’s classified information, I will shove my size-seven shoe up your rear.”
    “Charming,” he muttered. But my off-putting foot-to-rear threats might have been some sort of stimulant, because he seemed to focus more clearly on what I was saying. I would analyze that disturbing development later.
    “There have been a dozen attacks over the course of the last two weeks. The first few were written off as random acts of violence by vampires who were too young to control themselves. But then the violence began affecting older vampires. Vampires with no history of harming humans. We went through the trash left at their homes. They all consumed Faux Type O, which in itself wasn’t unusual. It’s the most popular brand of synthetic blood on the market. But in each attack, the affected vampirehad consumed Faux Type O that was part of an experimental batch made by