(no subject)
The knock on the door was not a surprise, of course. Harold had all but demanded it, giving the news where the right ears would be able to hear and pass the news along. The only unknown was who would be on the other side of the door.
Harold set his book aside and answered the door, greeted by two surprises. First, that it was Julian who had come first. Second, that he had someone with him.
“A bodyguard?” Harold shook his head, opening the door for them to enter. “Really, is that necessary?”
Julian made no comment as he and his guard walked in.
Harold shook his head and waved a hand. “Please, make yourself comfortable. I have not been here long, so the room is somewhat sparse.”
Julian sat down gracefully, pensive perhaps, but perfectly at ease. It was the first time Harold had seen Julian like that since the day Mathias had died. It brought to mind the old days, before Harold had been the eldest and had suddenly found himself responsible for all of his kind. They hadn’t been friends, but they had worked together. They had been comrades. Countrymen. In an odd sort of way, kin.
Since Harold had become eldest vampire, distance had grown between him and the others. The question was, how long would he last? How would he rule? How would he die? Who would be next? How could one turn a child’s rule to their advantage? So, from the start he’d had to be ruthless. He’d had to be quick, clever, and utterly unforgiving.
He’d hated every moment, and so had everyone else.
“Is it true?” Julian asked, breaking his silence at last.
Harold nodded. “I’ve met Solari. She confirmed it. There have been no new vampires since shortly after Kaed was created. The trauma of the mere idea has sent many into the sun. I don’t know what’s happened to the rest.”
Inwardly, Harold felt like he had aged a century in the last decade, when the rumors had begun. He would always look like a child of ten, like a waif too young to care for himself. It had once served as a sort of social camouflage. Now he dodged inquiries from officials who did not know to keep their questions to themselves.
“Four-hundred and ninety-two, though? You know that number exactly?”
“To the name,” Harold said. “It is my responsibility to know. It’s something no one else has ever understood...”
Julian nodded, though. “Oh, I think I have an idea.” His smile was kind, but sad. He glanced at his guard a moment, then met Harold’s eyes and held them. “Did you count me in that number?”
“Of course.” What a crazy question.
“You should stop.”
The words made no sense for a full minute. Harold just stared, forgetting to breathe, and then he noticed. The only kinship he still felt with Julian was of memories they’d shared. There was not mystical bond between them anymore. Julian’s skin was tan, and his eyes had taken on a new level of intensity that went beyond the vampiric.
“No,” Harold said. “Julian, I need you. If I die, Sark is the eldest. He’ll undo us all, further than he has done. You are next in line behind him...”
“If you die,” Julian said, “why would you care?”
It was a question that stung. He’d bared his soul, told the ugly truth, expected some understanding...
Julian’s guard put a hand on his shoulder, a wordless conversation passed between them through glances and body posture that Harold could not understand but could recognize. He’d had such conversations himself with those he had held closest. Even with Mathias himself, before the previous eldest vampire had ended it all.
“I didn’t mean it to sound so cold,” Julian said, softening around the edges. “Of course you care. You’ve built your empire and cared for your pawns in the only way you knew how...but you know how it’s done. The eldest rules. If that is Sark, so be it. I know his role in Kaed’s creation, I know what he intended, but if you are gone, you are gone. It’s up to him to either find a solution or watch the destruction of vampire kind in our world. Believe me, it would not be the end of vampires in all the worlds. And, since Solari, Casali, and now Kaed cannot be killed...vampires will eventually rise again.”
“You would be a better leader,” Harold said, feeling like he was grasping at straws that were blowing through his fingers in a hot wind. “You have compassion. An artist’s soul. You could be the architect of a new age.”
“Harold...” Julian shook his head. “I have a kingdom already. And I will not help you kill my sire just so you can abdicate your own throne.”
“I would not abdicate,” Harold said. “I do not desire my own death. I must be realistic, however. Not all vampire deaths in the last ten years can be explained by suicide. Most have not been. It is as if an invisible force is plucking us from the earth one at a time. I cannot guarantee my survival.”
Julian still shook his head.
“We were like kin once,” Harold said. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“I would not be here if it did not,” Julian murmured. “Sark is still my sire. And your world is not longer my own. Just keep living if it means so much to you that vampires go on.”
Harold felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “Four-hundred and ninety-one.”
Julian nodded, though not unsympathetic. “You could beg Kaed for answers,” he said. “I don’t have any to give. I have a family, a real family, to look after now.”
“Children?”
In an instant, Julian’s guard looked a thousand times more threatening.
“Yes,” Julian said.
“Congratulations,” Harold said, almost bitterly. “And relax. It’s not a threat. But you have to know...if they are bitten, they will turn. It could undo-“ He broke off, looking at the guard with worry. “I’m desperate, but I’m not stupid. I’ll leave them alone, I swear. But keep an eye on your sire. If he knows they exist, he might have the same thought.”
Julian exchanged another one of those looks with his guard and finally nodded. He was concerned, at least. It meant something. It meant that he had not lost his ability to care.
“If you wish to increase your chances of survival, you might want to remain here,” Julian said at last. “You’ll have to watch yourself, and not step on any toes, but the muns tend to keep us safe from all but our own stupidity. Or impending plot device.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Harold said. He hadn’t planned on staying, but...
“Good luck,” Julian said, standing.
Harold just nodded. A sense of hopelessness had moved in long ago, and it swelled within him once again. Julian and his guard left, and Harold was lost in his sense of impending doom.
Harold set his book aside and answered the door, greeted by two surprises. First, that it was Julian who had come first. Second, that he had someone with him.
“A bodyguard?” Harold shook his head, opening the door for them to enter. “Really, is that necessary?”
Julian made no comment as he and his guard walked in.
Harold shook his head and waved a hand. “Please, make yourself comfortable. I have not been here long, so the room is somewhat sparse.”
Julian sat down gracefully, pensive perhaps, but perfectly at ease. It was the first time Harold had seen Julian like that since the day Mathias had died. It brought to mind the old days, before Harold had been the eldest and had suddenly found himself responsible for all of his kind. They hadn’t been friends, but they had worked together. They had been comrades. Countrymen. In an odd sort of way, kin.
Since Harold had become eldest vampire, distance had grown between him and the others. The question was, how long would he last? How would he rule? How would he die? Who would be next? How could one turn a child’s rule to their advantage? So, from the start he’d had to be ruthless. He’d had to be quick, clever, and utterly unforgiving.
He’d hated every moment, and so had everyone else.
“Is it true?” Julian asked, breaking his silence at last.
Harold nodded. “I’ve met Solari. She confirmed it. There have been no new vampires since shortly after Kaed was created. The trauma of the mere idea has sent many into the sun. I don’t know what’s happened to the rest.”
Inwardly, Harold felt like he had aged a century in the last decade, when the rumors had begun. He would always look like a child of ten, like a waif too young to care for himself. It had once served as a sort of social camouflage. Now he dodged inquiries from officials who did not know to keep their questions to themselves.
“Four-hundred and ninety-two, though? You know that number exactly?”
“To the name,” Harold said. “It is my responsibility to know. It’s something no one else has ever understood...”
Julian nodded, though. “Oh, I think I have an idea.” His smile was kind, but sad. He glanced at his guard a moment, then met Harold’s eyes and held them. “Did you count me in that number?”
“Of course.” What a crazy question.
“You should stop.”
The words made no sense for a full minute. Harold just stared, forgetting to breathe, and then he noticed. The only kinship he still felt with Julian was of memories they’d shared. There was not mystical bond between them anymore. Julian’s skin was tan, and his eyes had taken on a new level of intensity that went beyond the vampiric.
“No,” Harold said. “Julian, I need you. If I die, Sark is the eldest. He’ll undo us all, further than he has done. You are next in line behind him...”
“If you die,” Julian said, “why would you care?”
It was a question that stung. He’d bared his soul, told the ugly truth, expected some understanding...
Julian’s guard put a hand on his shoulder, a wordless conversation passed between them through glances and body posture that Harold could not understand but could recognize. He’d had such conversations himself with those he had held closest. Even with Mathias himself, before the previous eldest vampire had ended it all.
“I didn’t mean it to sound so cold,” Julian said, softening around the edges. “Of course you care. You’ve built your empire and cared for your pawns in the only way you knew how...but you know how it’s done. The eldest rules. If that is Sark, so be it. I know his role in Kaed’s creation, I know what he intended, but if you are gone, you are gone. It’s up to him to either find a solution or watch the destruction of vampire kind in our world. Believe me, it would not be the end of vampires in all the worlds. And, since Solari, Casali, and now Kaed cannot be killed...vampires will eventually rise again.”
“You would be a better leader,” Harold said, feeling like he was grasping at straws that were blowing through his fingers in a hot wind. “You have compassion. An artist’s soul. You could be the architect of a new age.”
“Harold...” Julian shook his head. “I have a kingdom already. And I will not help you kill my sire just so you can abdicate your own throne.”
“I would not abdicate,” Harold said. “I do not desire my own death. I must be realistic, however. Not all vampire deaths in the last ten years can be explained by suicide. Most have not been. It is as if an invisible force is plucking us from the earth one at a time. I cannot guarantee my survival.”
Julian still shook his head.
“We were like kin once,” Harold said. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“I would not be here if it did not,” Julian murmured. “Sark is still my sire. And your world is not longer my own. Just keep living if it means so much to you that vampires go on.”
Harold felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “Four-hundred and ninety-one.”
Julian nodded, though not unsympathetic. “You could beg Kaed for answers,” he said. “I don’t have any to give. I have a family, a real family, to look after now.”
“Children?”
In an instant, Julian’s guard looked a thousand times more threatening.
“Yes,” Julian said.
“Congratulations,” Harold said, almost bitterly. “And relax. It’s not a threat. But you have to know...if they are bitten, they will turn. It could undo-“ He broke off, looking at the guard with worry. “I’m desperate, but I’m not stupid. I’ll leave them alone, I swear. But keep an eye on your sire. If he knows they exist, he might have the same thought.”
Julian exchanged another one of those looks with his guard and finally nodded. He was concerned, at least. It meant something. It meant that he had not lost his ability to care.
“If you wish to increase your chances of survival, you might want to remain here,” Julian said at last. “You’ll have to watch yourself, and not step on any toes, but the muns tend to keep us safe from all but our own stupidity. Or impending plot device.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Harold said. He hadn’t planned on staying, but...
“Good luck,” Julian said, standing.
Harold just nodded. A sense of hopelessness had moved in long ago, and it swelled within him once again. Julian and his guard left, and Harold was lost in his sense of impending doom.