Department 57: Bloody Crystal Read Free Page A

the first moment she’d seen him, she’d been drawn to him. That was the only reason she’d decided to serve the group of rowdies at the back. They’d been looking for trouble, that crew—or a good time—and Dave had been just too slow to stop her from going over there.
    Then she’d picked up Rhodri’s aura and knew he was a Talent. Only when she opened herself did she realize he was a vampire, when he showed her his family sigil—the symbol impressed on his brain like a tattoo—that identified the kind of Talent he was and his clan. Not that clans meant the same thing they used to, before migration and travel became more common. In the old days, vampires stuck together in clans, but once hunters had isolated them and wiped some out, vampires had made it harder to find them, deliberately dissipating. Clans weren’t clever. But the memory remained in the sigils.
    She’d been alone for so long the recognition had thrilled her like she’d stuck her fingers in a light socket. Not that she’d avoided her own kind, precisely. Just not many of them holidayed in Llandudno. And she’d grown used to being the only one around these parts. She’d had all those veins to herself. Working here helped, because it put her in touch with her potential blood donors. People wouldn’t remember things clearly in the morning. Easy prey.
    She wondered if she was breaking any obscure vampire laws and decided she didn’t care. But this man intrigued her, and she could learn from him. He worked well, knew his way around a beer pump and optics. She watched him neatly finish pouring a pint, and wondered why it looked so good, then realized. It was exactly right for pints around here. Drinkers in some parts of the country demanded no froth, some wanted a lot, but here they wanted a neat quarter-inch head, and he did that with precision.
    She watched him pour a Guinness—always tricky to get precisely right—and had to admire his prowess. “You really have worked behind a bar before,” she said on her way past to fetch a packet of peanuts. “Some people lie about it to get the job.”
    He grinned. “Yes, I’ve done it once or twice, but not for a while. Nice to know I still have the touch.” He finished the pint off with a flourish. “They put a pattern on the top of the froth in the States sometimes.”
    “We do it here now. You’ve been abroad much?”
    He grinned. “Once or twice.”
    Yes, although she could detect the lilt in his voice that spoke so distinctively of North Wales, it was barely there. He’d traveled, but this was home. “Where have you been?”
    “A few places.” He waggled his dark brows. “I’ll tell you later if you like.”
    She snorted. “Sure.” She’d heard a lot better than that. But not from a vampire. That in itself intrigued her. Not that she was about to tell him that. She walked past him, back to her customer.
    A wave of pure heat hit her, and she had to put out a hand to steady herself against the bar. Had he sent that, or did she pick it up all on her own? Whatever, it made her instantly horny, her nipples growing extra sensitive and her panties dampening.
    Bastard probably could do it with psi.
    A few hours later, she pushed back her damp hair. Without Rhodri, she’d have been a lot more tired. Plus, she needed to feed. That only made it worse. She glanced at Dave, and he jerked a nod. She could go. After collecting her jacket, she looked back. Rhodri was still serving, but Dave had closed the doors and customers were drifting out. The rush had thinned to a trickle an hour ago, when the clubs were gearing up. Now she had to get home. She didn’t live far away.
    Dave was always telling her that she should get a taxi or a car, but he didn’t know how well she could look after herself. Not that she had to. And she’d feed on the way, maybe get a nice hit from a drunk clubber if she was lucky. It would wear off as soon as her body processed the blood, but it would be nice while it