“So who do you think the Baron will choose as his new Claws?”

  The clicking of computer keys stopped. It started up again a beat later. “Interested in vampire politics now, are you?”

  “Well I’m part of it now, aren’t I?”

  The keyboard clicks stopped again. “I have a few people in mind. The Baron will consult all the current Claws for replacements, and we’ll give suggestions. But the Baron knows a lot of people, and the decision is ultimately his.”

  “How much does it pay?”

  The keys didn’t stop this time, but there was a scoff. “This isn’t a traditional job, Arthur. We do what the Baron asks, usually more, while pursuing our own interests. He gives us resources to accomplish both those things. We don’t walk home every two weeks with a check.”

  “So you don’t get paid, you don’t have a schedule, and you’re at his call at a moments notice.”

  Persephone looked past the computer, eyebrows furrowed, annoyance on her face. “Why are you pretending like you don’t know how any of this works?”

  “Well,” Arthur said, leaning into the sofa opposite Persephone’s desk, “As much as I like living in Glasshill twenty four seven, it would be nice to have my own place. Have some extra spending money. Be able to do what I want every so often.”

  “I can arrange that,” Persephone said. “The Baron knows your worth. It’s just that giving you presents isn’t really priority for anyone right now.”

  “Great. What about becoming a Claw?”

  For the first time ever, Arthur realized, he heard Persephone laugh. He would’ve blushed if he could’ve, embarrassed. She looked past the computer again.

  “You’re not serious?” But Arthur said nothing, just watching her, trying to mask his feelings. “You’re serious? Arthur why on earth would you want to become a Claw?”

  “Well you just said it. Resources. Power. Influence. Stand next to the most powerful man in the city. Maybe get to know a little bit more about…well, about whoever he works for, the bigger picture, that sort of thing.”

  “Arthur, you are in a very special position because the person who turned you is in a powerful position. Don’t misunderstand me, you are capable, and reliable, and have developed your own Potential well. But you are young. You’re less than a year old. Most people never even get to hear the Baron’s voice, much less meet him, or work directly for him, until they’ve proven that they can survive, they can fight, and they can uphold our laws.”

  “How long does that usually take?”

  Persephone pressed a key with a kind of stark finality, and rolled her chair away from the screen so she could look at Arthur directly.

  “It completely depends on the person. Claudia is only forty years old, but she ran businesses before she was turned. And after she was turned, started new business. Despite her personality, she’s completely, one hundred percent business minded. Anything she does she does to get ahead. Shiang, on the other hand, is over three hundred years old. He’s lived through the Qing Dynasty, the CCP, and both World Wars. So he knows a thing or two about how to be profitable in some pretty terrible conditions.”

  “Are you screwing with me?”

  “Nope. There are others I know even older than him. Not many, but some. And no matter what kind of horrible circumstances he lived in, Shiang always found a way to move things through quiet channels. You think it’s hard being a vampire now? Imagine how difficult it would be when your entire culture is highly skeptical, highly suspicious, and would burn people alive for any indications of sorcery? What do you think they’d do to someone who only comes out at night and never eats normal food?”

  “Pretty tough, I guess. Did he really have to live through all that?”

  Persephone shrugged, “I wasn’t there so I can’t say for certain, but it’s what I’ve heard from him. Look, the point is, you’re doing absolutely fine. Maybe the Baron will consider you for a spot, but there are older, wiser, and more capable vampires than you out there. This isn’t to diminish you in any capacity, Arthur. It’s to put things in perspective. Trust me, keep going the way you are, and you’ll rise up in no time. If that’s what you want. It might not be in Longley, either. There are plenty of other cities out there, bigger and more important than here, with all manner of vampires running them.”

  “Hm. What exactly are the rules about that? You know, leaving to go work for other people. In other cities and stuff. Am I supposed to bring a resume?”

  Persephone rolled her eyes, “You aren’t my slave, Arthur. You’re a free person. Obviously I expect a level of respect, and some degree of loyalty, on account of the fact I am your sire and I did more or less save your life. But if the time comes where you feel like you would be better off elsewhere, I’m not going to chain you to a table and force you to stay.”

  “Again.”

  Persephone paused. “I’m sorry?”

  “You’re not going to chain me to a table, again,” Arthur said.

  Persephone stared. “You can leave right now if it means I don’t have to hear your whining.”

  He waved a hand, “I’m just kidding, I’m kidding. Maybe you’re right. I’m probably getting ahead of myself. Honestly I don’t even know much about how our society works outside of Longley. I don’t even know a lot about how much of it works in Longley.”

  “That’ll come with time. I’m here to help you along, as I’ve been doing. But eventually you’ll start to see beyond the veil. Plus, despite everything I’ve said, your name is becoming a hot topic on account of everything that’s happened.”

  “What are they saying about me?” Arthur said, sitting up.

  “Do you really want to know?” Arthur nodded. “Well…they’re saying that Persephone’s newborn has managed to kill a lot of people.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Arthur’s face fell. “Seriously?”

  Persephone put on a soft, comforting smile, “You asked. Don’t let it bother you. Most vampires only care about a few things. Where to get their next meal, where to get their next fuck, and who got killed recently. They don’t concern themselves with our politics beyond surface level things. You’ll only be as relevant as the person who turned you, at least at first.”

  “Sounds a lot like humans,” Arthur said, getting a grunt of confirmation from Persephone. “Wait, did you say, get their next fuck?”

  She raised an eyebrow at him, “I did…and you’d better choose your next words carefully.”

  Arthur raised his hands defensively. “No no, I wouldn’t…I mean, I would, I…what I’m trying to say is I didn’t know we…could. Do that, still.”

  He couldn’t tell if Persephone was going to rip his head off or throw him out the window, or both, as her stony expression never changed. Eventually she spoke, to Arthur’s relief.

  “We can. When you use the Blood to take the appearance of being alive, you can make anything you want work again. Your heart. Your stomach. Tongue, taste buds, lips. Everything.”

  Arthur felt like this was a very important detail that had never been mentioned to him, and had assumed up to this point that all vampires simply became celibate. Strangely, any kind of desire to actually have sex had more or less completely left him at this point. The only thing he really desired on a base level was to drink blood.

  “It doesn’t quite match the same level as feeding on someone, not by a long shot. But, you can still feel it. And it’s hard to get rid of our old mortal inhibitions and traditions. Lots of us still want romance, relationships, that sort of thing. Sex is part of it.”

  “...but not you,” Arthur said slowly.

  Persephone tapped her finger against the desk. She took a moment to respond, as if she was being careful about what she wanted to say.

  “I’ve found, that in our world, trying to make attachments with people only leads to pain and problems. It sounds cliche, but it’s true.”

  “But it can’t all be about business. You’ve got to have people to share it with, right?”

  “I used to think that. What about you? Do you believe that?”

  Arthur looked down at the floor. To some degree, he felt like he was just reciting the same old tropes that people seemed to pass around so commonly, mostly back when he was human. But, he didn’t really have anyone special like that either. Persephone was the closest thing he had to a friend, and the rest of the vampires he’d been introduced just felt like colleagues. Friendly, but he wasn’t sure if he’d trust them with their lives. Except for one.

  “I’m not sure, actually.”

  “Well,” Persephone said, “If you decide to hold to those ideals, be careful about who you choose to be with. And, be ready to die for them. Because if push comes to shove, some vampires will try to hurt you by any means possible if you’re in their way.”

  Arthur was looking down at his own hands like maybe they had answers for him, but there was nothing written on them. Just cold, dead flesh. A reminder that maybe his human ideals didn’t exactly translate one to one to this new world.

  “What made you decide the opposite?” he asked.

  “I don’t want to get into that,” Persephone said, rolling her chair back behind the desk and beginning to tap away at the computer again. That was the signal for him to shut up, or change the subject.

  Looking at Persephone, Arthur came to a sudden realization. She had power, both personal and political. She had wealth. She had the ear of the most powerful person in the city. She was incredibly intelligent, reliable, and efficient. She was also dangerous, and at times extremely scary, not someone you’d want to be on bad terms with yet. She was simultaneously beautiful, terrifying, and lethal. These were all things that even as a mortal most people would want.

  But, Arthur also realized that she was lonely. He stood and exited the office, removing his phone from his pocket, and dialing Claudia’s number. A few moments later the line picked up.

  “Hey, will you be a the club tonight?”

  “Arty, must be important if you decided to give me a call,” Claudia said in her usual playful tone. “I wasn’t planning on it, what’s up?”

  “I think it’d be better if I told you this in person,” Arthur said.

  “...ok, is this something bad?”

  “No. I want to…know something, but I need to hear it from you directly.”

  Claudia laughed over the phone, “That might be the weirdest thing you’ve ever said to me, but it’s kinda fun. Sure. I can be there in twenty.”

  The line hung up. A little over twenty minutes later, Arthur saw a sleek, red Porsche pull up in front of the club. They weren’t open today, so there was no traffic outside and no line, and as Claudia got out of the car Arthur couldn’t help but grin to himself. She lit a cigarette as she came over to him, leaning against the wall outside the club.

  “So, what’s up,” she said, handing him the cigarette. “I came all the way here just for you.”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to know…well, I wanted to know if…how do I put this.” Claudia raised her eyebrow, but let him continue. “What do you care about?”

  “Well…I care about the clubs I run. I care about doing right by the Baron. Trying to get ahead in this miserable life we find ourselves in. I try to take care of my own people when I can. You know, the usual stuff.”

  “Right. I guess what I’m trying to ask, is…have you ever cared about…other people? Like, romantically?”

  “Well duh,” Claudia said flippantly, “I’ve had my fair share of boyfriends. Both before I was turned and after. Life would be too dull if you didn’t have some fun every now and again. I feel like that probably should’ve been obvious by now.”

  “That’s not what I mean. I mean…the other night you came to me and told me I could be more. Do more, you know. And I want to know if that came from a place of trying to get ahead, or if it came from somewhere else. If it came from a place where there’s room in your life for more than just business.”

  Claudia was leaning against the brick wall, cigarette lazily held in one hand, legs crossed and staring at Arthur like he had just spoken a foreign language to her. He realized that he might have just said something really stupid, and had half the mind to just turn around and head back inside. Until, she laughed. Claudia laughed, and smiled at him, and then kept laughing. Arthur couldn’t figure out if he should be embarrassed or relieved. Though, he’d prefer to not be laughed at twice in one night.

  Claudia took a step forward and kissed him on the lips. Her lips tasted like some sort of sweet, fruity gloss and had just a hint of cigarette smoke. Arthur realized he had subconsciously used his blood to feel again as soon as she touched him. She took a step back, smiling at him.

  “So…that was a good question?” Arthur asked.

  “That was probably the worst attempt at a pick up I’ve ever heard,” Claudia said with another small laugh. “But…the answer is yes. If I have to live this cold, sad existence, then I’d rather do it with someone I can trust. Someone who I can just talk to. Like a normal person. Who isn’t always trying to get something out of me.”

  Arthur couldn’t help but smile stupidly, his dumb grin causing Claudia to snicker at him again. This time he didn’t care.

  “I…good. I feel the same way. It’s been a crazy, weird ride for the past two years and…well, honestly you’re one of the only people I feel like I can actually talk to.”

  Claudia gave him one of the most beautiful, genuine smiles a woman had ever given him that for just half a second made him feel like his heart might have actually pumped blood again for the first time this year. But, all he could think about was how absurdly lucky he was to have managed to pull this all off, especially with someone as gorgeous as her. She clicked her keys and the bright red Porsche beeped once, unlocking itself.

  “Well come on,” she said, making her way to the car.

  “Where are we going?” Arthur asked.

  She shot him a mischievous grin, “Oh if we’re doing this, we’re not beating around the bush. When you’ve been dead as long as I have, first dates are a little old.”

  Arthur didn’t protest as he got in the car alongside her. None of the previous warnings about Claudia came to mind as he watched her depress the pedal and speed the Porsche down the street. The only thing that he thought about was how beautiful she looked in that dress. And that he’d decided, if he was planning on living out the rest of this cold, monstrous existence, doing it with someone else was the right choice.