Chapter 3

Ulrich stayed well out of Odd's way as he moved his essential junk out of their room; watching his friend pack would have been too upsetting, and he was depressed enough already. Even knowing that most of the non-essential junk was staying put, because Odd was coming back eventually, didn't help his mood any.

When exactly did I get to like the fact that those two idiots were sharing my room? That had probably been the miracle when Odd and Kiwi first moved in: Ulrich hadn't gone wolf-style territorial. Of course, he'd met Odd on neutral territory – one of the classrooms. That undoubtedly helped defuse the territorial response to the purple punk. Kiwi, on the other hand…

Finally Odd cleared out, and Ulrich went back into his dorm. His first deep breath almost convinced him to ask for a different dorm, or sleep outside: the scents of Odd and Kiwi were heavy in there. He sighed in lonely melancholy and closed the door.

Ulrich lay awake on his bed for a long time that night. He had often longed for Odd to shut up so that he could sleep; now the silence was deafening.

I need to talk to someone. Was anyone even up? He highly doubted that Jeremy was: the boy genius hadn't been able to get out of PE today. Aelita was probably asleep, too, although she was a light sleeper. Odd was in the infirmary; sedated, no doubt. William? I don't want to talk to William.

What about Yumi? She's practically nocturnal – no way is she asleep already. Ulrich had almost convinced himself to find his cell phone and call when said phone went off, startling him off his bed and rushing around his room in search of the thing.

Finally – "Hello?" he said into his phone.

"Good evening, Ulrich," replied a familiar and welcome voice.

"Yumi! I was just thinking about calling you."

"I know. Missing your roommate already?"

Ulrich made a face. "Yeah…how did you know?"

"How did you know that I was in trouble with Elder Mandy – to the point that you dragged your anemic self out of bed to go look for me?"

"Uh…" That was a good question; he hadn't given it any thought.

"I think it's an effect of my drinking your blood and leaving scars on your neck. It's like having a bond."

"Cool. Okay, that makes sense."

"Odd's not there right now, is he?" It wasn't so much a question as a statement.

Ulrich sighed. "No."

"He hasn't moved out, right? I mean a lot of his stuff's still there, right?"

"Well…" Ulrich glanced at a drawer that wasn't quite closed. "…Yeah, he left a lot of junk behind."

"Anything important, or can't you tell?"

Ulrich snorted. "He left his math book, for one thing."

Yumi laughed.

"I guess Delmas'll at least make him come back for that."

"Seriously though, Ulrich, you'd better not still be worried about Odd being afraid of you. He's never shown any concern about me after I bit him – and he knows your biting him was his own fault. Besides, he's crazy. He's not scared by things that would terrify sane people. He'll be sleeping in your room again the minute he's allowed."

Ulrich smiled. "Thanks, Yumi. What's happening in the world of vampires?"

"Akem Manah will be in the neighborhood some time this week."

"Who?"

"Elder Akem Manah," Yumi said slowly, enunciating the name. "He runs an underground casino, according to rumor. I hope he stays at a hotel or something, because I don't know that I'm emotionally ready for another houseguest so soon after that nightmare runaround with Elder Mandy." Yumi sighed. "But it's the law of the perverse: because I don't want him here, this is where he'll stay."

Ulrich scowled. Something wasn't adding up. "Where is that casino?"

"Vegas. Can you believe it?"

"What's he doing in France, then?"

"Ulrich, I don't even want to know. I don't want to know and I don't want to see him. The people who gamble at his casino aren't using money…"

That had gone without saying, and Ulrich said so. "Where does he store his earnings, the blood bank?" Ulrich asked dryly.

Yumi was silent on the other end for a long moment. Ulrich was about to ask if she was still there when she said, "Vampires don't just take blood, Ulrich. Just thought I'd mention it."

Ulrich had opened his mouth to ask his previous question, but no sound came out. He had to close his mouth and try again. "So his gamblers don't pay in blood…"

If he was expecting Yumi to confirm that, he was surprised. "It depends."

I'm not asking, I'm not asking… "On…"

"What kind of stakes they're willing to play for."

Then it was Ulrich's turn for the long silence. I had to ask, didn't I?

"I can hear you breathing."

"Yeah, I know…I'm trying to decide if I'm gonna ask the other stupid question."

Yumi laughed. There wasn't much humor in it. "Go ahead, ask."

Ulrich hesitated, and then burst out, "What else?"

"What…oh, what else can vampires take from humans?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, everybody knows about the blood-drinking. There's also plasma…"

"That's in blood, right?" That was all he could remember about plasma, right off-the-cuff. "There was…" he paused. "There was this joke I heard once about two vampires going into a bar…"

Yumi snorted. "And they order a blood and a 'Blood Lite.' I've heard that one."

"How much diff is there between blood and plasma? For a vampire, I mean."

"Some vampires are allergic to some blood types, but all vampires can drink plasma from anyone. Blood has more of what a vampire needs, though."

"At the casino, would plasma be worth more or…"

"Plasma's lowest. Blood is next up."

"What's on top?" Ulrich couldn't believe he'd actually asked that question – he could practically guarantee that he wouldn't like the answer. He was right, too: it made his blood run cold.

"To play the biggest games at Akem Manah's…you gamble your soul."