Read Online The Shadow Zone 2: Winning Madeline by Isabella Jordan - Free Book Online Page B

run the house.”
    Madeline nodded, seeming to consider this. “The vampires are stronger,” she said after a moment.
    “Yes.”
    “How is it that humans and vampires can get along here?”
    Okay, now he thought he knew where she was heading but he wanted to clarify. “In what regard?” he asked.
    “Humans are food for vampires. Right?”
    He loved her way of simplifying it. Now, how to explain it? “The vampire servants aren’t allowed to feed on their human counterparts here. Rick won’t allow that. That would lead to your next question, an obvious one -- how are the vampires fed then? How are all of us -- Rick and myself included -- fed? Isn’t that what you want to know?”
    Madeline nodded, managing to look guilty.
    Tipping her chin up with a finger, he stared down into her eyes. “Why wouldn’t you wonder that? It’s a good question.”
    When she said nothing, he continued. “For a time, we did hunt humans. We aimed for the dregs mostly, the ones who committed crimes against each other. We hunted human monsters. But our council realized, as we all did, that the human numbers have been dropping at an alarming rate for the last half century. They decided we had to find another way to feed. Their solution was cloning.”
    Madeline’s eyes rounded in fear.
    “Technically, that’s still the law of the land, though…”
    “What?” She was brave, wanting to know more. He’d give her that.
    “There have been problems with the cloned blood. It’s been causing strange effects in some of our kind over time.” He wouldn’t go into detail about that. “Some of us pretend to go along. Rick recently came up with another way that we can have human blood, real human blood as was intended by whatever evil force created us, and not destroy the source of our existence.”
    “W-what way?”
    “Just like the castles and villages of a time… more familiar to Rick and I, he is the noble lord so to speak and there is a village of people who work his land and depend on his protection.”
    Now her expression was clouded by confusion. He had to remember that he didn’t know what education, if any, she had. “On the other side of this manor, is a village of humans like you. They live on and work the land that Rick owns,” he explained.
    “Work the land?”
    Maddox nodded. “They grow crops of food that humans eat. They produce wheat and barley, vegetables. They grow fruits, raise livestock for meats and milk. They are farmers. They work the land to provide food for everyone -- the humans -- and in return, they are allowed to live there and prosper. Rick provides anything they need.”
    “How does that feed the vampires?”
    Clever girl. “There is one other requirement of the humans in the village. In exchange for their support, their protection, they provide blood for us.”
    “How…” Worry darkened her lovely face. “Do you pick someone or…”
    “No, no.” He didn’t like the way her hand trembled as it clung to the plate of grapes on her lap. “It’s not like that at all. All of the villagers of proper age and size give blood, in small amounts, every few weeks. They aren’t even required to give enough to weaken them. Those who are ill or too old don’t have to offer blood at all. It’s a rather large village and they just need to provide enough for Rick, his guests, and his vampire servants. There aren’t many of us.”
    “How do you… Do you bite them or…”
    “No, Madeline. That would be cruel. They draw it themselves, using needles and storage bags.”
    “Your kind doesn’t mind that?” Madeline revealed more by the moment what a sharp mind she had. As if she could become more appealing to him.
    “It’s not the natural way we’d prefer to feed, no. But the compromise works. It’s a way for us to feed ourselves and ensure our survival, and at the same time, we provide the humans support and protection so they can survive. Madeline, the humans in the village live good lives. They