Levi had used that question as a segue way before, but he didn't think he'd ever gotten such a sweet answer. He smiled at Mira. “Excellent,” Levi said, “Then you're used to donating and already know that your blood has value. Only instead of free movie tickets, we'd be offering you a significant rent discount. Cross and other organizations of that ilk consider your contribution a donation. My organization considers it a business transaction. Which is why we offer significantly more for your help.”
“As I'm sure you're already at least somewhat aware, Ms. Quinn,” Levi began. “Willow Creek is a rather unique town that attracts a lot of special residents who might need sanctuary. I've seen your boy around. He's special, isn't he? Witch? Warlock? Anyway, the bottom line is that, for a small town, this town has a significant number of vampires.” He looked at her for her reaction, and then he continued.
“You might not think giving your blood to vampires is as noble as donating it to the Red Cross, but when you really ponder it over, I think the two are rather comparable. There are a lot of stigmas about vampires, but essentially many of them are just regular people who were afflicted with a hard-to-live-with condition against their will and are just trying to survive. Vampires need blood. They cannot live without it. If they are not getting their blood safely from willing donors, they have to resort to getting it from unwilling donors in less controlled and safe environments. They're far more likely to hurt people. By offering this service, we do often save lives. Just not always the lives of people who are ill.”
“If you are still interested, how this would work is relatively simple. You'd sign the contract and we'd come to an agreement. Every couple months at a scheduled time a vampire would come and feed from you. A much higher discount is offered for tenants who are willing to let the vampire drink from them directly than the ones who choose blood bags. In order to afford your apartment, you'd probably need the higher discount. It still might be a little tight with your budget, but it would be definitely be doable, and if your boy wanted to offer his blood as well, the discount would be higher. Of course, whether you decide to have him involved or not is entirely up to you. You can also choose whether or not you want to remember the experience. Many tenants choose to be placed in a trance first. You might have to wear a scarf for a day or two, but vampire bites tend to heal relatively quickly.”
“Granted, there are always risks. But we do everything we can to minimize them. For example, the vampires teeth must be clean, and newborn vampires must be supervised and aren't allowed to drink from the neck. And there's risk with everything. The risk here is comparable to the risk you take any time you get behind the steering wheel of a car.”
“In exchange for the blood, the vampires who use this service are the ones who pay the difference in your rent, allowing you to afford a much nicer place than you normally could. The key to making money is time, and vampires have more of that than most people. Couple that with much lower living costs, and inevitably, most vampires end up wealthy. They have resource but need blood. You have blood but need resource. I don't make a profit off of this, but I don't lose anything either. Everyone wins.”
Levi finished speaking, and looked at her. “Do you have any questions?”