the clubs. He said if there were some, they probably didn't have a town like Port Henry
to support and help them get what they needed and he figured they'd probably… er…
hunt at the clubs."
He grimaced apologetically, then admitted, "We were too old for the clubs. The young
women thought we were a couple of old perverts. No one would tell us anything. After
the third trip with no results, Mabel decided to go the way of the singles ads. She felt
sure there must be at least one lonely male vampire out there."
"I thought she was crazy, but…" He gestured around the table. "Her way was more
successful than our attempts."
The men at the table were silent for a moment, and then DJ stood abruptly. "I need to
go to the men's room. Victor?"
Nodding, he stood to follow, knowing the younger immortal wanted to discuss this
latest information.
"I thought only girls traveled to the bathroom in packs, but you male vamps do it too,
huh? Is it in case someone tries to stake you while you're taking a leak?" Brunswick
asked as they moved away from the table, and then added, "You won't have to worry
about that here. We're vampire friendly in Port Henry."
Victor ignored him, his mind chewing over what he'd learned as he followed DJ to the
washroom and waited as he slipped into the minds of the few men there and made
them leave, done with their business or not.
"Well?" DJ said as the door closed behind the last man. "Can we go home now? She
didn't put the ad in the paper or spread the rumors around Toronto."
"No," Victor acknowledged. "But she has shared the knowledge of her existence with
mortals."
DJ waved that away impatiently. "There's no law against that. Marguerite's servants
know, and most immortals have one or two mortals in the know. Hell, half of Argeneau
Enterprises is made up of mortals who are aware of the secret and sworn to silence on
the matter."
"But Brunswick and the other mortals here aren't staying silent on the matter," Victor
pointed out.
DJ ran a hand through his hair in agitation. It was obvious that the more they learned
about the woman, the more the younger man was feeling sympathy for her.
Victor suspected he was thinking none of this was her fault, but Victor knew the
council wouldn't see it that way. Immortals were extremely careful of whom they
shared the information with for precisely this reason, and if nothing else, Elvi Black had
failed to ensure the people she entrusted the information to were trustworthy. Having
a whole town know you were an immortal was hardly being cautious and discreet.
"What if we warn them to silence before we go?" DJ suggested hopefully.
Victor just shook his head and reminded him, "She's biting mortals." Which meant she
was on a collision course with the council and it wouldn't be pretty, but it was their job
to take care of such matters.
DJ let his breath out on a sigh. "I was hoping you'd forgotten that bit." Scowling, he
shook his head. "Who the hell was her sire? He should have told her it was wrong."
"How do you know she doesn't know it's wrong?" Victor asked dryly.
"She'd hardly be doing it so openly if she knew the consequences," DJ pointed out.
"Using it as a ritual of manhood for all the young men in town is hardly sneaking
around and biting boys in the dark. She can't know it's against our laws."
"Hmm." Victor supposed that was true. Unless the woman had a death wish and
actually wanted her head cut off, she probably didn't know what she was doing was
wrong. "Well, it appears that will be our next objective. We need to find out if she is
aware of our laws, and who her sire is."
"What does it matter who her sire is?" DJ asked with surprise. "He can't be held
responsible for her actions."
"He can if he didn't tell her our laws."
"The only sire likely to turn a mortal and not bother telling them our laws is one who's
gone rogue."
"Exactly," Victor agreed.
"Ah." The younger immortal nodded with understanding. "We may have a rogue we
don't know about. He might have turned her and left her to her own devices." He
nodded again, then asked, "Would the council punish her if she didn't know she was
breaking our laws?"
"Ignorance is no excuse, even in mortal court."
DJ sighed and shook his head. "It seems a shame. If she doesn't know any better, there
was no intent."
"You sound like a lawyer marshalling his defense," Victor said with a smile.
DJ shrugged. "Maybe I will defend her in front of the council. I like her."
"You haven't even met her yet," Victor pointed out with a laugh.