Page 47 of Tainted Blood

I obliged, understanding that logic and adding it to the puzzle about why supernaturals regularly used video calls.

“Thank you,” Isaiah said without looking up. “Let’s get this started…” He put his phone down and sat up, adjusting his suit’s jacket and tie. He went from a tired, seemingly mortal man to the ruler who sat on the Tribunal.

The monitor came on, and there was a black screen for several seconds before Maria came on the screen. There were two vampires with her, neither I recognized.

“Five dead,” she said softly. “Six wounded…”

“Yes. I trust you received the names I sent.”

“I did, and they will all be missed. I read the report you wrote for me as well. Samas lost control, transformed into some sort of… monster, for lack of a better term, and killed the other casualties in the ensuing fight. It was the combined efforts of many survivors of the attack that led to his defeat. Troubling that it took as many as you wrote here.”

“Alexius, you might best be able to tell her exactly what we were dealing with so she can understand.” Isaiah looked at my silent mentor.

Alexius started slowly, explaining how many didn’t know exactly what was going on when it started. It left them all with a slower reaction time than they normally would have had, himself included. He told her about the speed of Samas’s transformation and how it felt like he had grown stronger with every moment that passed. He was faster than everyone in the room, more powerful than everyone combined, and they had been losing.

“Distracting him with fire was the only way Isis and I could deliver the finishing blows,” he concluded.

Maria whispered something in a language I didn’t recognize, but I knew a prayer when I heard one.

“Yes, I’m certain the gods can help us with this,” Isaiah mumbled. “Don’t accept blood gifts. We’re not sure if this was his age or whatever he and Ramman brought into my home.”

“Like you, I’ve never accepted those sorts of gifts, but I will pass the word along to those I know do. We were lax in that rule when it came to this group, but it seems we all need to remember it’s a risk and not just in terms of angering the other supernaturals. We have specific rules about the blood they brought into our presence, which were verifiable sources and willing donors. However, I’ll admit I didn’t check every time.”

“Neither did I. Certainly not with Ramman and Samas. Age has privileges, and since it was only the two of them partaking in whatever they brought, I decided not to risk my life pursuing the issue.”

I wanted to strangle both of them for being lax about it, but I could understand it logically. Samas and Ramman were more powerful than both of them. They had power due to their intelligence, not physical strength or the largest army. They made the right allies, played the political games necessary, and they stayed on top. That meant not testing two vampires as old as Samas and Ramman on their habit, so long as it didn’t cause a lot of trouble. If I had been in Isaiah and Maria’s position, I would have probably gotten killed centuries ago for doing the very things they never did.

I hated how power afforded people the ability to break the law, but it was true for humans, and every vampire used to be human. I hated it but wasn’t surprised by it.

“For the best.” Isaiah crossed his legs. “With no complaint from another supernatural species, even if they refused to say anything, it would have been dangerous to investigate what they were getting and how. We would have needed hard evidence of their wrongdoing because without it, they would have fought for their privacy. Others would have felt we were overreacting or abusing our positions, and that would have left us with too many enemies among those worth keeping as allies.”

“I don’t know if I could have killed both Samas and Ramman, even if they had been involved with something illegal,” Alexius added. “I would have needed help, and I’m uncertain I could convince someone of the right age to do it.”

“Well, it’s over now,” Maria said, shaking her head. “Ramman, if he’s smart, won’t touch any blood that doesn’t visibly come out of a healthy human for a very long time.”

“Let’s hope. Now, I wanted to show you a few images and get your opinion on them. Everly pulled these from the security footage. While you look over them, I want to explain my thoughts. With or without your agreement, I’ll be reaching out to another species tonight.” Isaiah lifted the manilla folder and opened it, starting a slideshow of the pictures for Maria on camera.

“Now, I didn’t want to send these digitally because I don’t want them getting out. I can send you physical copies, but only if you can guarantee no one will have access except you.”

“I can guarantee that,” she said, studying the images intently. “Isaiah…”

“They look like something you and I have seen before, don’t they?”

“I believe I can guess who you are going to reach out to, and I would like to be part of the conversation, but tonight might not be the night for it. You are trying to resolve a situation in your home, so I will hold back on the politics until everything has concluded.”

“You see it, then? When it began and while we fought, I wasn’t paying attention to the details, but once it was over, it was the first thing that came to mind.”

“Can you both explain to Everly and me what you mean?” Alexius growled softly.

“Samas didn’t become an unidentifiable monster. He became ademon,” Isaiah answered, looking over his shoulder at Alexius, whose eyes went wide. “However, I don’t believe he became atruedemon.”

“No, but there are those in this world who aren’t true demons,” Maria murmured.

“Exactly.” Isaiah nodded.

“The cambions,” Alexius whispered, leaning back in his chair. “The human-demon hybrids.”

“Half-demons?” I asked, looking at all of them. “What? But you said you wanted to talk to the queen of the nagas. Nagas aren’t demons, right?”

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