Page 84 of Empire of Death
“Yes, but you sailed around the seas for six months,” he said. “Said you met lots of people. Can any of those people help us?”
The only time I’d thought about Viper was when I realized the Barbarians were a type of vampire. But I never considered asking them for help. They were so far away, and our connection had been brief…and mainly physical. I got the impression thathe might have wanted more if our circumstances were different, but I refused to prey upon a good man’s heart. “I did meet some vampires on the trip.”
“You met vampires?”
I nodded.
“And you’re just mentioning this now? Do they have anything to do with the fact that the Barbarians have vampires in their army now?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because they’re a different kind of vampire.”
“Are you an expert in vampire species now?” he snapped.
“Shut up. I’m not in the mood.”
“Trust me, I’m not either. You said you met them. You didn’t say you were attacked by them.”
“Because I wasn’t. They were friendly.”
“Why?” He cocked his head, his eyebrows raised.
“Why what?” I couldn’t care less if my brother knew I’d bedded a vampire, but I thought I felt Callum in the room, observing the conversation and invisible to the naked eye.
“Why were they friendly?”
“The same reason a dragon wouldn’t attack you unless provoked. Not all monsters are evil.”
“I just don’t understand.”
“I can send a message to them. They might help…I really don’t know. We don’t know each other that well. My time there was brief. But they’re far away, at least a month’s journey by boat. I’m not even sure if they would make it in time even if they left the moment they received my letter.”
Hawk stared at my face, but his mind was somewhere else. “When you talked about the battle, you made it sound like you could move from one place to the next within a heartbeat. When you asked Jack to search for the platinum, you made it sound that way as well.”
Since it wasn’t a question, I didn’t give an answer. Just stared at him.
“Perhaps you could make this request in person. Increase their chances of offering aid. Because if they said yes, that could drastically change the outcome of this war. We would have vampires to fight their vampires.” Hawk phrased the request gently, careful not to pry into exactly how I could accomplish this.
“Like I said, we don’t know each other that well. I don’t think fighting a battle across the world is a worthy cause. Because the outcome of this battle wouldn’t affect their lives at all.”
“The Barbarians seek complete domination.” Callum appeared at the side of the table where Commander Maverick had stood before he departed the room. He stared at me for a heartbeat, and then his attention turned to my brother. “With a horde of dragons in their service and ambition bigger than their galleons, they will try to conquer the world. It will affect them—eventually.” He turned back to me. “You need every ally you can find. If there’s a chance to gain them in your ranks, proposition them.”
My eyes flicked from Callum to Hawk, trying to understand if my brother saw him.
Hawk stared right at him, like he did.
“I will take Lily to their lands,” Callum said.
My heart did a somersault—because now I knew Hawk could definitely see and hear Callum.
“And we’ll also take the opportunity to ask about the platinum. We’ll need it to heal the wounded, reanimate your father.” He looked from me back to my brother again.
Hawk gave a nod in agreement.
What was happening right now?
