Chapter 5: A Way In

"So, I'm curious, you said he pays you at the end of each week. How do you get paid?" Charlotte asked once the two women found a little table at the back of the café to sit at.

"Just as you would get paid at any other job. Lord Hunt pays us each about five hundred a week," Shayla answered and took a sip of her coffee.

It was surprising to hear that a vampire lord would offer an actual payout to his contractors. While it wasn't unheard of to be the case, it just wasn't common. Most were paid in other, less conventional ways. Such as being offered a place of residency with their lord or they would be showered in lavish gifts. Charlotte had found that in most cases, the wealthy vampires treated their contracted suppliers more as lovers than they did employees.

From the sound of everything Shayla had discussed with her about Lord Hunt so far, this was not the case. He remained an enigma even to those that he allowed to stay on his property. Despite being given access to the castle grounds, they still knew very little about Lord Hunt himself. It was just as Mr. Mosey said; he seemed to keep everything very business-oriented.

"How does Lord Hunt get his blood from you if everything is so professional?" Charlotte asked without masking her surprise.

"He keeps a sharpened silver knife with him and when it's your turn to supply, a cut is made to the palm," Shayla explained. She motioned with her hands the act of slicing her palm as she spoke.

It was interesting to learn how Shayla managed her life with her chosen career path. There was no better word for it than that, given instead of a lifestyle choice it sounded like nothing more than another job. The task of taking care of the castle grounds fell upon the contracted servants, according to Shayla. Everyday they were assigned different maintenance jobs. Once you completed your task, the rest of the day was yours and the castle grounds were open for roaming.

The way she described it to be was that each night, Lord Hunt selected a different person among them to take blood from. He wouldn't visit them until after the sun had gone down, to which a cut would be made on their palm and their blood drained into a chalice. When the deed was done, their hand would be carefully wrapped and then they'd be dismissed.

It sounded as though that was the only time that any of them got close to Lord Hunt. Even then, he treated it as a transaction more than anything else. It was no wonder that even the servants did not know much about their employer. There was never an opportunity provided that they might be able to learn more about him. After hearing that, Charlotte concluded that there would be only one way she was going to get in to speak with Lord Hunt again.

"I know you said you're a historian, but are you interested in working for Lord Hunt?" Shayla asked after Charlotte's barrage of questions had come to an end.

"What?" Charlotte responded in surprise just after taking another sip of her own coffee. "Me? Working for Lord Hunt? I actually haven't considered doing that."

"You just seemed so curious about the way he treats his servants and how he conducts himself," Shayla said, confused.

"Yes, I'm interested in knowing about him. Like I stated before. It just all seems very curious to me. He's not your typical Vampire Lord," Charlotte replied with a little wave of her hand, as though dismissing her statement.

"In my opinion, if you're really after knowing his story and Willow Creek's history, you might consider it an option. Lord Hunt has been part of this town for a long time and I'm not sure he ventures out of his home much these days, anymore," Shayla replied. She finished off her drink and stood from the little table the two had been chatting at and then added, "Thank you for the coffee and the chat. I hope you find what you're looking for, either way. Good luck."

Charlotte watched her go in silence. Shayla's words had her thinking, maybe she was right. There didn't seem to be another way she was going to learn anything about Lord Hunt. He was more elusive than anything or anyone she had ever come across. Truthfully, she wasn't entirely too keen on the idea, but she didn't think she had any other options either.

Never in her life would she have thought she would be even thinking of going to a contract agency. It wasn't a lifestyle that Charlotte had ever found much interest in. Especially with the reputation it gave most vampire lords. The last thing she wanted was to be considered someone's property, even if she were treated like a princess.

This would be different, she told herself as she left the little café. Lord Hunt appeared to be much more professional than most vampire lords she had come across. Which meant he would be more likely to treat her more like a person and less of an object or a play thing. While she was fascinated by the history of vampires, she was not thrilled to be offering herself up to one personally.

Despite her doubts on the subject though, she found herself standing at the entrance into Mr. Mosey's agency about fifteen minutes later. It was a squat little brick building at the other end of the main street in Willow Creek. A perfect little building for a tiny office. A town this size probably didn't need anything bigger.

After taking a deep breath, she entered the small building. The waiting area only consisted of three chairs and a tiny end table before a tall reception desk. The office was quiet and empty, aside from the person sitting on the other side of the front desk. It was a relief that there wouldn't be another person here to witness her doing this.

"Excuse me," Charlotte addressed the older woman on the other side of the desk. "Um, I'm here to speak with Mr. Mosey. My name is Charlotte Barnes."

The woman squinted for a moment. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No... I just came by. I've spoken to him before–" Charlotte began to explain but was stopped when the woman held up a finger to silence her.

She stood quietly waiting and watching the woman while she picked up the phone on her desk. The only sound in the room now while she waited was the confirmation the woman made with the person on the other end of the line. Finally, she set the phone down and turned her attention back to Charlotte.

"His office is just right around the corner," the receptionist said and then immediately went back to whatever it was she was doing.

Without another word, Charlotte walked past the desk and around the corner to find the office she spoke about. The door was left ajar, so she gently pushed it open in her approach. Behind another desk sat the man she met before. Only, unlike the woman at the front, he stopped what he was doing and greeted her with a smile.

"Miss Barnes, welcome! Have a seat," Mr. Mosey greeted and gestured to a chair directly in front of his desk. "What can I do for you today?"

Charlotte closed the door behind her and came across the room to sit as he invited her to do so. Already she felt a little uneasy about being here. Perhaps it was because she knew she was about to contract her blood out to a vampire. Again, she had to remind herself what this was all for and how much of a gentleman Lord Hunt both seemed and sounded to be.

"Mr. Mosey, I would like to enter a contract with Lord Hunt," Charlotte said slowly and gave him her best smile.

Charlotte couldn't believe the words that had just left her lips. If it had been any of her other works, she wouldn't have believed that she would consider signing up with an agency. After talking with one of Lord Hunt's servants and understanding a little more about his habits, it sounded like if she truly wanted to get his story, this was going to be the only way to do it. But as she waited for Mr. Mosey to gather the paperwork, she couldn't help but think to herself, was she really prepared for what it meant to be a vampire's servant?