Free Rajmund by D. B. Reynolds

orgasm. But there would be no memory of Raj and no lasting or negative effects. He'd taken only what he needed, less than if she'd donated at the local Red Cross. He strode out to his car, feeling strong and alive once again. It was still early, although no doubt later than Krystof would have preferred. But the old vampire lord's house was only a short drive and whatever waited for him there, he would now face it at full strength.
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    Chapter Eleven
    The BMW responded readily when he turned onto Delaware Avenue, and he had to force himself to back off the accelerator. That was the danger of drinking too well. It left him feeling high and invincible, never a good combination when facing one's Sire.
    He went in through the back door, nodding to the two guards stationed just inside the house—their faces were familiar, and they clearly recognized him , although he didn't know their names. He swung through the empty kitchen and into the hallway, where he took the basement stairs downward, resisting the urge to take them two at a time.
    The room below was crowded with vampires, but they were little more than a wall of meat between Krystof and whoever came down the stairs. Krystof preferred to surround himself with weaklings, vampires who presented no challenge to the vampire lord's authority. If the old man had known ahead of time how powerful Raj would turn out to be, he probably would have drunk him dry and left him for the undertaker all those years ago.
    But the truth was no one knew the full extent of Raj's power, not even Emelie. He kept it carefully shuttered for the most part, using only what he needed to get the job done. It was dangerous enough that Krystof considered him a threat. There was no reason to advertise just how much of a threat he really was. Of course, it was Raj's strength that brought him to the vampire lord's lair this evening. He'd had a chance to think about Krystof's abrupt summons, and that scenario was the only one that made sense. Whatever was going down in Buffalo, it was serious enough that Krystof wanted Raj's power at his back. Raj only hoped he'd survive whatever it was.
    One of the newer vamps—a bulky Latino male Raj had never seen before—emerged from the crowd and thrust out his considerable chest in challenge. He was physically imposing, but registered not even a trickle on the power scale, which was all that mattered. Raj studied the younger vampire through half-lidded eyes and gave him a lazy smile. “Jozef,” he drawled as he looked over the idiot's shoulder. “If you value this pup, you better call him to heel right now."
    Across the room, Krystof's head of security looked up and swore as the pup in question shoved himself into Raj's face with a snarl.
    "Morales, you fucking idiot, stand down,” Jozef snapped. He crossed the basement and shoved at the vampire's thick chest. Morales stiffened against the push and only stared harder.
    Raj chuckled. “This one might be too stupid to live. You sure you want to save him?"
    "I said stand the fuck down .” Jozef shoved harder, sending the other vampire crashing through the crowd to smash into the hard wall on the other side. At Jozef's nod, two of the others held the idiot back when he would have rushed right back into the fray. The security chief shook his head in disgust. “Sorry about that, Raj. He's so new we have to lock him up at sunrise or he'll stand out there and watch the pretty lights in the sky."
    "Maybe you should put him down then, do us all a favor. What's he doing here?"
    "Krystof likes him."
    Across the room, Morales grinned at him in triumph, but Raj only laughed. The puppy obviously didn't know it, but Krystof's favor meant a vampire was too stupid or too weak to pose even the tiniest threat.
    "Our master's waiting for you,” Jozef said. Which meant Raj was late and Krystof was pissed.
    Raj shrugged, unconcerned. “It was late when he called last night. I barely made it into town