(58) Two vampires, a ghoul and a shifter.

"I'm going to be alright, Piers, I promise," Roderick said, his voice weak but firm. "Helmut found me in time." He smiled slightly, adding, "Obviously."

"How could you have let them—I mean you're old, almost ancient, they shouldn't have been able to—"

"They were older, the King's elite guards, they got the drop on me."

"If Helmut hadn't gotten there in time—"

"Do you think you could finish at least one sentence, Piers," Linden said with a chuckle.

"This isn't funny, Linden," Piers hissed, never taking his eyes off Roderick, or releasing his hand. "He almost bled out."

"But I didn't, Piers. It takes more than a few cuts to kill me."

"A few hundred," Helmut muttered, remembering how he'd found Roderick. The vampire was hanging by ropes from the rafters in the bedroom. It looked as if claws and knives had pierced every inch of his body. Some of the wounds had closed but it was apparent that the weaker Roderick had gotten, the less his body was able to heal itself.

After cutting him down, Helmut had transported him, bloody and close to death, to the estate just long enough for the servants to feed him. While there, Helmut found out that the King's agents had indeed come to the house soon after he'd taken Piers and Linden away. They had searched every inch of it, and the surrounding buildings, threatening to kill the servants if they didn't reveal the location of the young men. Luckily, the servants were able to tell the agents they didn't know. Sensing that was the truth, the agents had left them alive.

"All right, a few hundred," Roderick admitted. "But what's past is past. I'm here; we're all here, and safe." He looked to Helmut for confirmation of the last.

"Safe as houses."

Roderick cocked an eyebrow. "Considering the last couple I've been in I'm not certain that's a recommendation, Helmut."

"In this case it is. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to leave Piers to play nursemaid and take my boy back to our house."

"For fun and games?" Linden asked with a grin.

"For housecleaning," Helmut growled, straight-faced. "And if it meets with my approval, then possibly a reward. So move it."