Book 3: Safety in Numbers

Rainer

The feeders are still at the camp, trying to untie the ropes around each other’s wrists. They haven’t thought about raiding the truck for anything sharp and were making due with whatever they could find around the camp. They all look surprised to see Lydia and I return. I make a beeline for the truck and find the knives the Blood Takers left behind and hand them over to the feeders.

“Lydia insisted that we don’t leave you behind,” I tell them. “I’m giving you the option to follow us, or you can go on your own. The choice is all yours.”

“Where are you headed?” one of the women asks.

“Burgundy Bay. King Basil’s kingdom is to the east from here. I suggest getting out of Red River and somewhere where the leaders aren’t allies of Carmine Falls and King Myenas.”

One of the humans, a teenage boy, asks, “Will we be welcome there too?”

“You’ll be free to return to human territories once we reach Burgundy Bay,” I assure him.

“I