Jason

Renie stared back at Kendrick, apparently lost for words.

"That's bullshit," Jason said, then winced. Ysanne had specifically called for everyone to be on their best behaviour, and that probably didn't include swearing at their visitors.

He made apologetic eyes at Ysanne, but she didn't seem to notice.

Jason cleared his throat and tried again. "You can't strip them of their human rights. They're still people."

"No, they're not. Vampires are not human beings; therefore they are not entitled to the same rights as humans." Kendrick looked smug, and Jason wished he had something to throw at the bastard.

"Prime Minister, is this accurate?" said Ysanne.

McGellan weighed her words before answering. "Technically, yes. The Human Rights Act protects humans, but as Mr Kendrick pointed out, vampires are not humans."

"But . . . this is ridiculous," Renie spluttered.

"You drink blood. You live forever. You can't go out in sunlight. You have superhuman strength and superhuman healing. Ergo, you aren't human," Kendrick said.

"We're still people." Renie's voice rose to a near-shout, trembling with anger and emotion, and she half-rose out of her seat.

Edmond took her hand, murmuring something Jason couldn't hear. Renie sat back down, clinging to Edmond. Her mouth was pressed into a tight line, holding back anything else she wanted to say.

Maybe that violated Ysanne's code of conduct too, but this time Jason didn't care. He'd braced himself for things to get bad, but he hadn't thought they'd get this bad, this quickly.

Losing their humans rights?

Surely that couldn't happen. They might be vampires, but they were still citizens. Almost everyone in this room had lived in this country longer than Kendrick had been alive – much longer. Didn't that count for anything?

Even Davis looked startled. "You cannot just revoke their rights."

"I haven't revoked anything. The law has." Kendrick still wore that same smug smile.

"This can't be legal," said Jason, beseeching the PM with his eyes.

"The reality is that we are facing a situation unlike anything we ever imagined. The Human Rights Act is supposed to protect the citizens of this country –"

"Which includes vampires!"

McGellan didn't react to the interruption. "But Mr Kendrick is right. Vampires are not humans and therefore they are not subject to the same rights."

Jason closed his eyes, wondering if he was actually stuck in some horrible nightmare. "Let me get this straight," he said. "In the United Kingdom, in this day and age, you are proposing to strip an entire group of people of their basic rights?"

"No, we're saying they never had those rights to begin with," said Kendrick. "We can't strip something they never had."

"What about Renie and Roux?" said Jason, indicating them with his hand. "They've only been vampires for a few days. Up until then they would have been protected under that Act, so yeah, actually you are proposing to strip them of those rights."

"They lost those rights the moment they relinquished their humanity," Kendrick said.

"I didn't relinquish anything," Roux snapped, her eyes blazing red. "DeSanti kidnapped me and turned me without my consent."

Kendrick just shrugged.

He really didn't care, Jason realised.

Before Roux had been turned, she and Ludovic had dealt with suspicion and hostility from Detective Chief Inspector Ray Walsh. Gradually, Walsh had changed his attitude when he realised that Ludovic and vampires like him weren't the bad guys. He'd cared about what happened to Roux, and he would have done even if he was still prejudiced against vampires, because even he was capable of recognising that what had happened was not her fault.

But Kendrick was of a different breed. The moment Roux became a vampire, regardless of the circumstances, she had ceased to be a person in his eyes. Now she was just a vampire, something other, something without rights. And actually, from what Jason had seen of the man, he probably would have felt the same about Roux even if she'd still been human. She was an ex-donor. She was a friend of vampires. She supported them.

That was enough to make people like Kendrick hate her.

"What happens now, then?" asked Gideon, looking at Kendrick with hard eyes. "Do we have time to pack, or are we to be thrown onto the streets immediately?"

Jason tensed, knotting his hands together.

No matter what Ysanne had said about good conduct, no matter what anyone said about the law, he would not sit here while his friends were turfed out of their home. Sending them onto the streets at this time of day was practically a death sentence for Renie and Roux.

Where were they supposed to go?

What were they supposed to do?

"No one is being thrown out," said McGellan, her deep voice ringing throughout the room.

Kendrick scowled.

Jason bet that if Kendrick had his way, the vampires would be dragged out of Belle Morte by their hair, and thrown to the mercy of the angry crowd outside.

"For now, we are going to discuss how vampires plan to function in the modern world," McGellan said.

"For now?" Ysanne said. "That is no guarantee we will be allowed to remain in our Houses."

Again, McGellan weighed her words. "There are no guarantees of anything. You will be allowed to remain in these Houses for the time being, for your own safety as much as anything."

Kara's face darkened – she probably didn't like the idea that she was ever at risk from humans – but she didn't say anything.

The reality of the situation was that although vampires were physically stronger than any human, humans massively outnumbered vampires. Ultimately, they would win if war broke out, and vampires couldn't afford to forget that.

That was a key reason why Ysanne had fought so hard not to jeopardise the vampire/human balance.

"But our living arrangements can change, is that correct?" Ysanne pushed.

McGellan looked steadily back at her. "Yes. For now, you are not to be evicted, but that is no guarantee that things will not change in the future."

Kendrick's eyes gleamed with malevolent promise. Jason highly doubted the man would stand by while the vampires continued to enjoy their mansions. He would fight to have them thrown out – maybe not here and now, but at some point.

Still, there wasn't much any of them could do about it now.

"Very well," Ysanne said.

Backing down on this point was probably torture for her, but she knew which battles to fight and which to leave for now.

"So," said McGellan, consulting the paperwork she'd brought with her. "Perhaps the first issue we need to discuss is the matter of blood. Although you may remain in your Houses, you will not be permitted human donors. For the time being you have been surviving on bagged blood, but you cannot be supplied with it indefinitely."

"Why not?" Renie asked.

"Because there are human beings who need it more. Donated blood is supposed to be for the sick and injured, not for vampires," Kendrick said.

"We'll starve without it," she said, meeting his glare with one of her own.

"What about animal blood?" McGellan asked. "Can you drink that?"

"We can, but it is not as good for us as human blood," Ludovic spoke up.

"If the matter boils down to simple preference, then you may just have to suck it up." McGellan grimaced. "No pun intended."

"It's not as simple as preference. We need human blood to stay strong and healthy," said Ludovic.

"All the more reason to keep you on an animal diet. It seems that vampires are at their most dangerous when they're strong and healthy," said Kendrick.

"We cannot survive indefinitely on animal blood. What you are proposing is to effectively starve us, to keep us physically weak." Outwardly, Ludovic kept his composure, but his voice was almost a growl by the end.

McGellan considered it. "I find myself agreeing with Mr Kendrick here. The general public are afraid. Virtually overnight, vampires have gone from international celebrities to bloodthirsty monsters, war-mongers and paedophiles. I think most people would feel happier if vampires were physically weaker."

"We don't hurt people," said Kara, leaning across the table. Fangs peeped between her lips, and her German accent seemed to thicken with her rage. "What you are suggesting is torture. If we were human, you would never consider this."

Kendrick heaved a loud sigh. "But we've already established that you're not human, dear, and therefore not entitled to the same rights."

Kara turned her furious glare on him. "I am not your dear."

"You can't starve them," said Jason.

McGellan turned an enquiring eye on him. "It is not starvation. They would still be fed."

"They can't survive on animal blood. They can't get everything they need from it. Listen to them. When someone tells you that what you're doing is torture, you should be paying attention."

"Concessions must be made –"

"Nope, not like this. If you take away their basic right to proper food, then every other basic right is at risk. And I know you're arguing that they're vampires so they don't have any basic rights, but that's horseshit and you know it. Legalities aside, you still have to employ some basic fucking humanity."

Kendrick's lip curled. "I'm not sure the word of a Vladdict carries much weight here. You're just afraid of losing your idols."

Jason squared his shoulders. "They're not my idols. They're my friends."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something flicker across Gideon's face, but it was gone before he could decipher it, and he wasn't about to break eye contact with the man currently trying to intimidate him.

"For years, vampires and humans peacefully and happily coexisted. Yes, that's all been messed up now, but that doesn't mean it's beyond repair. But if we want even a chance of salvaging this, for everyone's sakes, you've got to stop looking at this as vampires versus humans, and start looking at both groups for what they are – people. Drawing lines in the sand doesn't help anyone," Jason said.

"Pretending that vampires are people doesn't help anyone, either," Kendrick snapped.

"They are people. They may be different to you or I, but that does not mean we can treat them as less than human," Davis said.

Something ugly slid through Kendrick's eyes, but he didn't say anything. Like Ysanne, it seemed that he knew which battles to pick. But this was one he was setting aside, rather than permanently walking away from. If he was right and the Human Rights Act really didn't include vampires, then there was no way he wouldn't continue to use that. It was one of the most vital pieces of ammunition he had.

"Us older vampires can drink animal blood, as long as it is not all we have to drink, but younger vampires like Renie, Roux, and the children need human blood. Depriving them of it is nothing short of cruel," Ysanne said.

McGellan slowly nodded. "I see. How often do they need it?"

"I wouldn't want them to go more than a day without it."

"And you older vampires? How long can you go?"

"Quite a bit longer. It may not be pleasant for us, but we can go days without drinking if necessary."

"So perhaps a compromise is necessary. I shall see about ensuring that you still have blood coming into the mansion, but it will be a reduced amount," McGellan said.

The set of the Ysanne's mouth suggested she wasn't happy about this, but she didn't argue.

"What about all your prisoners?" Davis asked.

Jason couldn't help a small shiver. He'd been trying to pretend that Jemima and Etienne's captured minions weren't still in this House, with all the people they'd tried to kill, but it wasn't like anyone had had time to sort out a more permanent solution.

Ysanne considered it. "I have no objection with them being fed solely on animal blood."

"What's going to happen to them, anyway? They have rights, too."

For a moment Jason was sure Ysanne was going to disagree, but she didn't. "Truth be told, I am not sure what we are to do with them. We built the cells for transgressors, but we never predicted this kind of situation. I will be happy to discuss their future, but only after we have secured our own. My priority is to the people who live here, not the ones locked in the cells."

"But you're not hurting them?" Davis questioned.

Ysanne's lips thinned. "They have been chained with silver to prevent them from escaping, and I'm afraid that is quite painful. But if preventative measures are not taken, then they may escape again, and more people will be at risk. I don't believe anyone wants that."

"Is this ban on donors permanent?" Edmond asked.

"In light of the circumstances, I think it has to be. It would be criminally negligible to allow more people to become donors," McGellan replied.

"Since when is it up to you?" Jason asked.

She gave him a look that was only slightly patronising. "I am the Prime Minister," she said, as if that explained everything.

"So? That doesn't mean you have control over the lives and choices of everyone in the country."

"Recent circumstances have proved that being a donor is far too dangerous –"

"No, they haven't," Jason promptly cut her off. "How many donors died because of Etienne and Jemima? Six, and Roux was killed by DeSanti, which makes seven. Now, how many donors have lived in this House over the last ten years?"

"I haven't the faintest idea."

Jason looked to Ysanne.

"Four hundred and thirty six," she said.

"And how many of them were hurt or killed?"

"None."

"Exactly. And Belle Morte is just one House. Say each House has had approximately the same number of donors over the last decade – that rounds up to more than two thousand. That is a hell of a lot of people, and all of them came and went without more than a broken nail. So your argument that being a donor is too dangerous just doesn't wash, does it? Because while those seven donors died pretty close together, and that was a horrible tragedy, it was also the first time anything like that had happened. There's nothing to suggest anything like it will ever happen again. Saying that all donors should be banned because a tiny percentage of them died is like saying all sports should be banned, or childbirth, or driving."

"These things really aren't comparable," McGellan said.

"I disagree. Strongly. Being a donor has always been about choice, and it still can be. Everyone in the country knows what happened here, and if people still want to apply to be donors, then they should be allowed to. The contracts can be altered, more money can be offered, other restrictions can be put in place, whatever it takes, but leave people the choice. If there are still people out there who want to feed vampires, then let them. That way you're not taking anyone's choices away and you won't have to worry about where the vampires are getting their supply of food from."

Kendrick sneered. "So basically you just want everything to go back to how it was before. No changes at all."

"I don't think the donor system is broken. I think it worked before and it can work again. Maybe it will have to be adapted in some way, but it can work."

"This is nonsense," Kendrick said.

"Why? Because you don't like it? Because you hate vampires and you want to see them fail?" Jason challenged.

"Jason," said Ysanne, a note of quiet reprimand in her voice.

Jason simmered down. Much as he hated Kendrick, he couldn't let it get personal.

"The reality here is that the donor system worked perfectly well for ten years, and the tragedies that happened recently weren't the fault of anyone in this room," he said.

"You mentioned that the system would have to be adapted. What changes do you propose?" Davis asked.

Jason's tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. He honestly hadn't thought that far ahead. "I...I don't know exactly," he admitted. "But it's not for one person to decide. It's something that needs to be discussed and debated, not outright cancelled."

Davis nodded, a hint of warmth creeping into her eyes. "I agree."

Kendrick snorted.

Gideon

Hours passed as vampires and humans debated whether the donor system really was salvageable, and what changes could be made to it.

Kendrick was predictably unhelpful, insisting that re-establishing the system in any format was inviting more bloodshed, but McGellan seemed willing to listen, and Davis was firmly on the side of the vampires.

But, as far as Gideon was concerned, the real star here was Jason.

One could argue that he had the least to lose out of everyone in this room, yet he was arguing with the most passion. There was a chance he was putting himself in danger to do it, too.

Gideon didn't miss the way Kendrick looked at Jason, his eyes dark with disgust and loathing. Jason was a threat – perhaps more of a threat than the vampires themselves, at least in a political sense. It was easy for Kendrick to brand all vampires as 'other' and turn his followers against them, but he couldn't put Jason into the same category. Jason was a bridge between humans and vampires, and Kendrick wanted to burn those bridges.

Under the table, Gideon's hands curled into fists. If Kendrick tried anything, if he put one toe out of line where Jason was concerned, then he'd have Gideon to deal with.

Although, physical violence didn't seem like it was Kendrick's style. He was here to turn words into weapons, to dehumanise vampires so that no one would care when others attacked them. He'd subtly encourage that kind of violence, but he would never get his own hands dirty.

Coward.

Jason had to know the danger he was putting himself into, but it didn't stop him, and that amazed Gideon.

Where did he find that inner strength?

As a vampire, Gideon was physically stronger than Jason ever would be, but there were so many times in his life when he'd chosen to keep quiet rather than making a stand. Jason had a core of steel, and in some ways that made him stronger than many vampires.

But would it really make a difference?

Gideon had not forgotten what he had seen on Jason's phone – the anger, the hatred, the fear. He didn't know if that was a truly accurate representation of how the general public saw vampires, but it went hand in hand with the protestors outside, painting a picture of a country that no longer wanted his kind here.

As the meeting progressed, Kendrick constantly reminded the room that everything could be moot anyway since vampires didn't have rights. He had latched onto that like a dog with a bone, and he was not going to let go.

It seemed that everything under discussion might only be temporary measures. Vampires were keeping their Houses, for now. The donor system was being talked about, for now. Discussion had moved away from blaming all vampires for the crimes of a few, for now.

But Gideon was keenly aware that the issue of vampire rights was the elephant in the room.

If vampires were not legally protected under the Human Rights Act, then they would always be in danger. Their homes would always be under threat. People like Kendrick would always want them gone, and they wouldn't hesitate to vocalise that.

What good was this meeting if Kendrick could undo everything, anyway?

What good was any of it?

Jason had been quiet for a while, and Gideon peeked sideways at him. Jason was staring down at the tabletop, his forehead knotted, deep in thought. He blinked and gave his head a little shake, perhaps sensing Gideon's gaze on him. When he met Gideon's eyes, he looked like he wanted to smile but he couldn't quite manage it.

Gideon didn't know how to interpret what he saw in Jason's eyes. There was fear, but determination, too, a glimmer of that core of pure steel that Gideon knew he possessed.

"There's something else we need to talk about," Jason said, looking around the room. "You'll probably think I'm crazy, but please just hear me out."

Kendrick narrowed his eyes, but McGellan's expression remained firmly neutral.

"Go on," she said.

Jason took a deep breath; Gideon could hear his heart thudding in his chest. Whatever he was about to say, it was making him nervous.

"As you all know, one of the most important laws vampires have in place is that humans can't be turned, except in cases of emergency. Which didn't happen up until recently." His eyes slid to Renie.

"What's your point?" Kendrick sounded irritated.

"That law needs to change," Jason said. "We need to legalise turning humans."