Page 59 of The Vampire King's War

VAMPIRES VERSUS ZOMBIES

Daemon undid the bowtie around his neck and stuffed it into the pocket of his tuxedo pants. Then he unbuttoned his shirt so that a ‘V-shaped’ section of his chest was exposed. The cool night air slid over his bare skin like a lover’s caress.

He toed off his shoes and socks. The grass of the museum’s back park was damp from dew. He curled his toes against the wet earth and closed his eyes as he simply enjoyed the physical sensation of standing barefoot in the grass.

This was a turning point. A moment of change. A moment of decision. He would not back away from it. The best laid plans in these moments were turned to dust and blew away in the wind.

He tipped his head back and let his senses flow outwards. He smelled death on the wind, of course. He felt Kaly’s bony fingers stretched out over the city, aiming their rage towards this small bit of parkland. He knew that Kaly was not going to stop until the dead were noticed.

But does Kaly not realize that humans love a good versus evil story?

Even though Kaly had created the Order, they did not truly understand people. Or rather, they were limited in their understanding of the brighter aspects of human nature. He knew that those around him wanted to wait for another time to reveal the existence of Vampires and himself as king. But this turning point told him that to walk away, to hide in the shadows, would be a mistake.

Will the humans be afraid? Yes.

Will they distrust all Vampires because of Kaly? I do not know that we could avoid that in any case. They are our prey after all. But they can also become us.

If we go back to skulking in the shadows, the darkness that covers us will be incomplete anyways.

Too many will see.

Too many will not forget.

Too many will be haunted.

And they will create greater nightmares about us than if we simply reveal ourselves.

Despite the whiff of death and rot, there was so much life still all around him. The city with its tens of thousands of inhabitants sang to him. Their hearts thumped. The blood whooshed in their veins. They talked. They laughed. They wept. Their machines honked and squealed and brayed. There was the hum of electricity that powered so many of their technologies flowing through the air.

In addition to the sweetness of decaying flesh that walked on bony feet towards them all, he could smell the exhaust and ozone, the fresh green grass, the tang of the nearby sea, the miasma of all living things. He nearly let himself kneel down in the grass and commune. But now was not the time for this singular contemplation. Now was the time of revelation.

“What are you going to do, King Daemon?” Seeyr asked.

He opened his eyelids and smiled at the other Immortal. She looked like the human’s idea of justice with that blindfold over her still missing eyes. It would take much time before they returned.

“You’re here, Seeyr. You always like to see your prophecies come true,” he said. “So you already know what I’m going to do.”

She colored slightly. “Yes, well, seeing history being made is rather thrilling even when one glimpses it ahead of time.”

She was dressed in a celestial blue gown that twinkled under the moonlight. One of her delicate hands was on one of Sophia’s slender shoulders. The other shoulder was occupied by Meffy. Daemon reached out and scratched Meffy between the ears. The cat closed his eyes and purred.

Sophia, who wore a babydoll dress of white and blue that matched Seeyr’s in many ways, looked around her with wide eyes. “There’s a lot of dead here. Kaly must be straining themselves to control so many from the Ever Dark.”

“They have a form here. In this city,” Daemon corrected her.

Her large eyes widened. “How do you know? Did they challenge you and then run away? I imagine that Kaly runs from you whenever they see you now.”

Daemon chuckled and petted her much like he had Meffy. “I heard them. It is another Eyros form or they could not have spoken to me in my mind.”

“Not one that came to House Ravenscroft then?” Seeyr tapped her pale chin.

“No, Balthazar…” Daemon tilted his head and saw what he had known would happen had occurred. Caemorn and Balthazar were starting on their journey as Blood Brothers. It was not one that either of them had ever expected to take, but it was a path that would be good for both of them. It was one hurt he could fix. “Balthazar would have known them immediately. Caemorn will hunt them down when they return together.”

Seeyr and Sophia turned towards him. They were open-mouthed. He had managed to surprise two Vampires who could see the future. He felt amused.

“Kaly turned them both,” he added.

“That explains it then!” Seeyr whispered. “How their Second Lives have been so intertwined. Why Christian is Speaker to the Dead.”

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