Page 53 of The Diary of the Vam'pir Jacques

Inka and the rest all disagreed with me. They made it plain that they thought we were wasting our time and effort, but we refused to give up, thinking that we were right. We were proved so when the news hit Kaltos of the impending disaster. Most of the population refused to believe that Kaltos was in any danger and closed their ears to Marel’s rumour-mongering, as it was called.

Kaltons, arrogant to the end—so different from the race that had birthed me.

A quarter of a century had changed them into people I did not recognise. So fickle was their personalities.

The only thing I was able to get approved was a record of banned individuals at our refuge. Inka’s parents, D’vid’s family,and Claudias all topped that list. Kaltons might have us on a hit list. We had them on one, too.

Chapter Ten.

The Kaltons hadn’t even stepped foot on Mora before they began to start trouble. The ungrateful assholes refused to be anywhere near us. It occurred to me that those who moved first were the ones who harboured the most hatred and fear towards the Vam’pirs. Despite our list of those who were banned from Mora, these were haters of Vam’pirs. But they were willing to believe the portend of disaster Marel had discovered.

They were proven correct about us, so they must be right regarding the comet, too.I am being sarcastic here. The Vam’pirs couldn’t believe what they were seeing or hearing. Gratitude was completely absent. Those who supported me, joyfully kept repeating ‘I told you so’ numerous times and with great glee.

Luckily, they didn’t land on Mora for a couple of weeks, as they wanted to pack all their goods and belongings. These Kaltons obviously believed there was some truth in what Marel had stated.

During that time, Li’zel and I, along with Ami and Nathan, had formed pairs, as had the others who mistrusted the Kaltons. We searched deep into the forest, looking for an ideal place to live.

Ami and Nathan soon located a set of caves set back in a wooded valley. As I looked down into it, I knew they had found our new home. The cave system was completely and utterly perfect.

The valley ran deep and wide. There, the trees grew wide and tall, and were in abundance. It would be an utter bastard to clear them, but it’d be done. The caves above the valley were deep, and no flicker of sunlight would touch us in their depths. We would be able to live in them and organise the valley in our own time. The valley was quite distant from Mora, and it would take them several days of travel to reach us.

Even better, there was a second set of caves at the end of the valley, that the Moran’s could shelter in during the planetary upheaval.

Indeed, there was no way of knowing the valley was there unless you stumbled across it by accident, as we had. The valley had narrow ends that could be easily defended if necessary. In the middle, the area widened, giving us ample space to build whatever we wanted. The walls were steep and were solid rock; you would have great difficulty trying to attack from above.

Also, the height of the trees meant, if we desired, their widespread branches would hide any buildings. It depended on how we built.

All Morans would reside here in peace—human and Vam’pir.

However, the decision was taken to separate the Vam’pirs from the Morans. Just for our protection.

The other Vam’pirs were shocked that we had searched and found somewhere. Needless to say, they were grateful we had, when the Kaltons faced us in heated anger and demanded we leave. The Morans couldn’t believe their ears and fell over themselves to apologise.

Morans offered to drive the Kaltons deep into the forest and leave them there to carve out their own life, but I reminded them that others would surely follow.

The agreement was to ensure the Kaltons lived far from both the Morans and us. We desired them at least three days away. If the Kaltons found their way back to the Morans, we would be warned they were coming. It protected both parties from possible attack.

Marel didn’t think the beach a safe place to leave the Kaltons. He strongly believed that there might be high tides caused by the collision of the comet. I’d have cheerfully left them to drown but was overruled. Leading them away from us, we found another wide valley that they could easily utilise. That offered at least five weeks journeying between the Kaltons and us.

I wished that I’d let the Kaltons rot, but general human generosity (not displayed by the Vam’pirs who were willing to let them die) refused. The Kaltons used emotional blackmail to push the Morans into looking for somewhere for displaced Kaltons to live.

It was Vam’pirs who found the New Kaltos for them. We would not help them build it; they would have to do that for themselves. Vam’pirs had given them some of our land; what more should we do for them?

Fuck them all, I say.

We did help build another Mora for our people, and they had decided that it should have a new name. They were to call it Har’ches—meaning hope in your language. Mora would be deserted. If it remained standing after the comet hit, maybe some people could come back and keep it as a border town.

Vam’pirs had just begun building Har’ches when the first boatload of Kaltons landed. Their ways remained unchanged during our absence. Instantly they began bickering with theMorans, not willing to understand the Morans had been prepared to help them.

Both Vam’pirs and Morans had discussed how the Kaltons were to be housed, and over a hundred tents graced the beach.

They were allowed to stay one night, and then they would begin the march to their new home. There, they could build it themselves, as I already have said.

This was met by outcries and several small riots. Fortunately, the Kaltons numbered only a hundred, whereas there were over three thousand Morans. (Quite a few were children, but the Kaltons did not know that.)

It was amusing that the Kaltons actually thought they’d be able to move into Mora and take it from the Morans. The sense of self-entitlement was disgusting. Kaltons were unwilling to work and construct a new home. They expected it done for them. Well, they got the shock of their life!

The situation the Kaltons were in was clearly explained to them, and if they didn’t like it, then they’re free to leave. Why should we care what they did?

---