“I don’t want you to think I’m cheap. I wasn’t sure if gold or silver would affect you, so…”
He held up the thin braided cord. At its end dangled the token. “That’s why you chose leather and wood?”
“Yes. I was pretty good in Shop, and I made it myself.” It had been a circle, and I’d cut it apart with a jigsaw, giving each piece a zigzag edge. They would fit like two pieces of the whole, which was what they were.
“This is more than ‘pretty good.’” His nostrils twitched. “Wait a second. This wasn’t a red stain you used to make the words stand out!”
“No. When I was carving the words, the gouge slipped, and I cut my finger.”
“Blood? Your blood?”
“Yes.” I hadn’t intended it, but once it was done, I realized it was perfect, as if it bound us more tightly together.
“Vampyres wear only thei
