leave. She did and Vince knew Viktoria had become wary, he could discern it from her movements, the slight straightening of her shoulders and back, the way her brows moved together ever so slightly.
He hadn't told Viktoria about everything he'd heard in the lounge, just that Jon was out to get them and that he was getting inside help. Vince didn't need Viktoria saying the wrong thing to Maria and tipping his brother off to the fact that Vince knew what he was up to.
Sighing, head aching, Vince glanced out the window. It was around four- thirty, he would be seeing his Viktoria in a few hours. Hoping to pass the time faster, Vince slid into a heavy slumber, unaware of the lies being planted in Vikto ria's head as he slept.
* * *
Tori glanced out the window of the foyer, the sky was a dark purple, feathers of gray clouds dusting away the day, replacing it with the night. She would be returning to Vince within a half of an hour, but even that short time-span seemed so long.
Sighing and picking up a scarlet vase with twelve black roses in it, Tori moved to a table in one of the main floor's lounges that was used more than the others that just seemed to be there for decoration. Tori was setting it on a coffee table- blood table, she thought, a quiet hysterical giggle bubbling to her lips. She turned and nearly ran into Maria who was standing not even three feet behind her.
"Tori!" Maria smiled warmly at her and immediately Tori felt a pang of wariness course through her. Maria, despite her happy-seeming voice, radiated nervous waves that Tori could feel, for her mind, body, and senses were heightened by the vampire blood in her.
"Hey, Maria." She murmured softly and tried to skirt the servant girl who Vince had ordered her not to talk to. Maria just stepped in her way, though, demanding her attention.
"I need to talk to you, Tori, it'll only take a few moments, but I think it would be VERY important to you..." Maria trailed off, revealing some of her angst as she bit on her thumb nail nervously.
Nawing on her bottom lip, mulling over what Vince had said, Tori sighed and said, "What about?"
"Well," she looked around the room nervously for a second as if she were scared someone other than Tori was listening. "Well, I heard Vince talking to some vampire on the phone while you were asleep this morning and he said some things I think you may want to know....I don't want to start anything, Tori, but I thought we were friends, so I'm going to tell you.
"I hear Vince talking to a vampiress , he was planning on...on getting rid of- of a servant...the servant was you. He said he was going to sell you to that vampiress . That woman was then going to sell-off your blood to other night creatures until you were...until you were dead."
Tori was struck silent. She could feel the compassion and worry in Maria's voice, she believed her utterly, after all, why would Maria of all people lie to her? It was an absurd thought. And if Tori was being honest with herself, she'd realize that if Vince knew that Maria had overheard him, then he would command Tori not to talk or listen to this servant...
The room was spinning around Tori, her stomach heaved with anxiety, fear, and her heart thumped as it cracked into pieces. She could only ask one question, "Why?"
"Vince was saying that if he sold you to the vampiress , that she'd have to keep her word about not telling the Guardians that he had exceeded the number of leeches in his territory." Maria explained and it all fell in place before Tori.
Vince was just using her, seducing her so she felt comfortable with him, so she wouldn't suspect anything and when it was time he'd just ship her off to die a slow and painful death. It sounded like something Vince would do....the only thing that bothered her the most was that she had thought that she was changing her long-time companion and possibly lover....
Tori got the overwhelming