Prologue

Another body. He sighed as he stepped over it, muttering under his breath about the mess it had made.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was an eerie enough place after hours. Scatter a few bodies in its private wings and it was a total fucking nightmare. He hated museums in general; too many artifacts littered the place, so many cursed it was a wonder his kind hadn't been exposed yet.

He stopped in the doorway of what appeared to be a very cluttered office. Yet another body was strewn across the floor, this one a young male museum attendant half in uniform. He lifted an eyebrow as he eyed the female seated behind the desk.

"I was getting in a final feed before sunrise. This had better be good," she told him, licking blood off her fangs.

"My apologies. I suppose I should have waited until tomorrow night to make good on our deal," he dryly. "I thought you might like to know that the ward was breeched an hour ago,"

"Really? This is what you call me for? A breech in your little ward? These things happen each day, witch. With rising frequency, might I add," she said with a pointed look in his direction.

The witch made a frustrated sound, smoothing down his velour coat with a hand to compose himself. "Not like this. Something powerful, something raw has crossed over into our territory. This is a courtesy call to keep your eyes peeled."

She considered this for a moment. Then scoffed, rising from the chair. "Is that all you have to say?"

"It is," he said. "Dismissing this would be a mistake,"

"Then I suggest that the next time you decide to bother me so close to sunrise, that you have real information to share. A name. A place. A threat assessment. Are we clear?"

The witch's gloved hand fell to his side. It twitched there for a moment; the vampire eyed it with wicked smirk, a dare in her eyes. His hand went slack.

"This partnership works because it is built upon mutual cooperation and respect. Don't forget that. If you're pissy, than that has nothing to do with me,"

Her fangs disappeared. "True enough,"

The vampire reached for something on the table. She tossed it at him, and he caught it quickly, a little startled to find that he now held some artifact. He didn't have to be an expert to know that what he held was incredibly old—and incredibly priceless. At it's center was a gemstone.

He turned the amulet over in his hands reverently, happy he had not taken his gloves off when he'd entered the museum. "Scythian? Parthian?"

She laughed. "Hardly. It's older than you'd know,"

The witch continued his careful observation. He moved a hand over the artifact. "It's…it's enchanted," he said. "Warded…protected…"
He froze. "This isn't…it can't be…?"

"Exactly. It can't be,"

The vampire took the amulet back from him, closing her fist tightly around it. When she opened it once more, the stone around the diamond had been crushed to dust, and only the diamond remained, a quiet sign of her strength.

"A decoy," she said bitterly.

"No," he lamented.

"You're upset? Imagine spending years—centuries, only to find a bloody decoy," she said. She dropped the diamond to the floor. Seeing his expression, she scoffed. "Small, for my tastes, now that I've found you. You've made me much bigger,"

The witch's eyes did not meet hers just then. He cleared his throat. "Yes, and perhaps it is best if we lay low with the diamond production. The AVL has been trying hard enough these days to get us under their shoe. We don't want to raise more suspicion,"

"I hate when you're right," she agreed dismissively. "Very well. Rest the forge. You don't mind a cold winter, do you?"

"I'll manage," he promised.

"Good."

He ducked his head and turned to leave. At the door, she called him back.

"And darling," she smiled coldly. "If this... raw power becomes an issue, I want to know about it before it comes to that, understood? I don't care if whatever it is just passes through. Chances are, it's nothing to worry about. Anything powerful and with half a brain cell would know to fall to their knees before me and ask to be allowed into my territory. All the same…keep watch,"

"Already on it."

Hey hey hey! Welcome back guys to those that have been on the Lust for Life journey! This here is the teaser/prologue; if you think this is short, just know that it's 3 times what the initial information was!

Read on, and welcome to the next installment in the series!