[Anita Blake 17] - Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton Read Free Book Online Page A

, isn’t it?”
    I frowned at him. “Thanks, Jason, that makes me feel so much better.”
    He grinned and shrugged. “Who are you going to feed on in Vegas?”
    â€œThere’s Crispin,” I said.
    â€œYou can’t feed on one little weretiger for long.”
    â€œI can feed on anger now, remember?” I’d discovered that ability only recently. Jean-Claude couldn’t do it, and neither could anyone in his bloodline, which meant if I were only gaining powers through him, I shouldn’t have been able to do it either, but I could.
    â€œYou know, you haven’t got that down to a science yet,” he said.
    â€œNo, but it works.”
    â€œAnd whose anger are you going to feed on in Vegas?”
    â€œI’ll be hanging around with cops and suspects; please, we’re an angry bunch.”
    â€œIf you feed off them without their permission, it’s illegal. I think it’s even a felony.”
    â€œIf I fed blood, yes, but the law hasn’t caught up to the vamps who can feed through other things. If I fed on sex involuntarily, then it would be covered under the date-rape psychic and magic ability law, but if I feed on anger, it’s a gray area.”
    â€œWhat if they find out? The cops already think you’re one of us.”
    I thought about it, then shrugged. “Honestly, the way most warrants are worded, I’m sort of encouraged to use any metaphysical abilities in pursuit of the bad guys.”
    â€œI don’t think feeding off them is what the warrant means,” he said.
    â€œNo”—I smiled—“but it’s the way it’s written. The law is all about how it’s written and how you can interpret it.”
    â€œWhat happened to the girl I met a few years back who believed in truth, justice, and the American way?”
    â€œShe grew up,” I said.
    His face softened. “Why do I feel like I should apologize on behalf of all the men in your life for that?”
    â€œDon’t flatter yourselves; the police helped toughen me up, too.”
    â€œYou’ve only fed on anger a few times, and it’s not usually as good a feeding as the ardeur .”
    â€œJean-Claude can divide my ardeur up among all of you while I’m gone. He’s done it before when I’ve worked with the police.”
    â€œYeah, but that’s only a temporary measure, and it works better if you’ve had a really good feeding before he tries it.”
    â€œYou offering?” I asked.
    He gave me a wide grin. “And if I say yes, what then?”
    â€œThis is a trick to delay me until Jean-Claude wakes up, because you think with him awake I won’t be able to just fly away.”
    â€œI think you have a hard enough time saying no to just little old me; if our master wakes and says, ‘Don’t go,’ could you defy him?”
    I was suddenly afraid. Because Jason was right; whatever was happening with me and the men, Jean-Claude was the hardest to resist. It was almost as if it hadn’t been my necromancy that kept me safe from him controlling me but my lack of proximity. It was almost as if simply being too close to him too much of the time was wearing my resistance and my independence away.
    â€œThanks, Jason,” I said.
    He frowned. “For what?”
    â€œNow I am going, because I don’t know if I could go if he woke up and told me to stay. That’s not cool. I’m a U.S. Marshal and a vampire executioner. I have to be able to do my job, or what am I?”
    â€œYou’re Anita Blake, Jean-Claude’s human servant, and the first true necromancer in a thousand years.”
    â€œYeah, his pet necromancer.” I went for the door to tell the guards to send more guards to help tote and fetch.
    Jason called after me, “You’re one of my best friends, and I’m afraid for you in Vegas.”
    I nodded, but didn’t turn around just in case seeing one