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look cunning. “Oh yes, I know it was a fight between Erik and a posse of were in the O’Leary’s barn.” Dante eyed the man, surprised when he didn’t back down from his rather over-the-top obnoxious stance.
    “Bravo.” Dante inspected his fingernails. “So what do I care?”
    “I can give you the current lords of the were. On a platter.” At this Dante’s interest finally piqued. “No one outside their tribes and clans knows who leads. It’s a closely guarded secret.”
    “Not to me.”
    Dante sat up in his chair, more active than he had been in years. “I’m listening.”
    “There’s a network of people who make it their business to know the doings of the were.”
    “And you would have me believe you are one of this society? A member of the Altor Custodis?”
    “You’ve heard of us then?”
    Dante waved his fingers in a gesture of boredom. “I’ve heard rumors in my day, but never have I met one who claimed to be of their number.
    They watch my kind as well. I always thought it prudent to steer clear of them. I’ve had enough beings hunting me.”
    “We would not hunt you.” The mage had the temerity to smile. “Not if you joined with us to hunt the were.” Dante almost remembered what it felt like to give a damn. Almost, but not quite. It had been so long since anything had managed to make an impression on him that he felt little, if anything, for the other beings inhabiting the planet. They were transient anyway. But he alone was enduring. Cursed by his immortal existence, Dante cared little for anything other than his own comfort, and even that was sorely tested at times—like this most recent imposition by the puny human magic user.
    Still, Vabian offered some diversion from his endless nights and Dante rather relished the idea of pitting himself against a pack of were creatures. He didn’t like the were much. Such creatures were in fact the only beings who offered any sort of challenge to one such as he. It would be interesting to see how this human’s plans played out. Plus, the were owed him justice. They had cost him the life of his friend. They’d
    killed Erik—the one human in centuries who’d gotten close to Dante. The young firewitch had been like a brother to him and his death at the hands of the were had been painful as well as unjustified. Oh yes, the were owed him justice.
    For that reason, Dante would agree to lend his considerable abilities to the scheme. That and to relieve some of the incessant boredom of his existence.
    Dante sighed heavily, standing from his throne. Tall and lean, he possessed a sinuous grace that had the ability to mesmerize his prey.
    “All right. I’ll help you, but you must provide for me in return.” Dante crooked his finger and Vabian moved forward. For the first time, Dante read fear in the human’s eyes. Good, he thought, the magic user was finally learning to be wary of me.
    “What do you want?” Vabian’s voice was thin and reedy, laced with apprehension.
    “Now what does any vampire want? Your blood, magic user. I’ll help you in return for your blood.”
    Strictly speaking, Dante didn’t need to feed from this human. He was well able to survive a few days between feedings and he’d fed only the day before, but the blood of gifted humans had an appealing quality. Magic users especially had tasty blood that fortified a vampire more than a normal human. Only were blood was more potent, but even over his many centuries, Dante had only tasted were blood once. And that once was enough to haunt him for the remainder of his days.
    Still, it was a rare thing for a magic user to fall prey to a vampire, so this opportunity was too good to pass up. Such a delicacy as Vabian’s blood would be worth a little expenditure of energy on Dante’s part.
    Vabian stepped forward, his eyes shifty. “I agree to your terms, so long as you take only a little. I need my strength to succeed in my plan.”
    “But you need me for the same reason,