0244: The Vampire's Daughter, Book Three

Sol's concern about having to defend his mind from three or more powerful vampires proved to be unfounded. In fact neither he nor Jamie saw the trio over next few days. And aside from watching the nine other arrivals over the next month or so, Sol saw no outward sign that anyone other than he and Jamie were in the inner castle.

Both Belinda and her twin Car made frequent visits. Belinda to see if she could hurt or kill Jamie, which she nearly accomplished a couple of times, and Car to stop her and ensure that her two wards' needs were taken care of.

It was actually a pleasant time for Sol, as it allowed him time to think. So much had happened in so short a time that he hadn't sat down for any stretch of time to just review. Jamie, meanwhile, offered a pleasant distraction.

One thing that constantly drifted into Sol's mind, however, was that he was, for the first time, truly on his own. He would live or die based on his own actions because no one was there to save him.

His entire life as a vampire had been in the shadow of someone more powerful than he: His Sire, Thomas, Sabastian. He no longer had that protection. Jamie was a good friend and the love of his life, but not someone that could help to protect him. Sure Jamie was relatively powerful on a one on one basis, but not when compared to the types of vampires that were showing up or to a hoard of even young vampires that might attack Sol as a result of the blood hunt.

Sol spent a good time contemplating this topic in the tower before Gan arrived. His black limo pulled slowly to a stop and was quickly swamped by his men. Sol was surprised to hear them actually cheering their master's return. It was almost a battle cry.

The driver got out, walked around and opened the passenger door. Gan stepped out of the car and put his hands up to silence the crowd. He said some things that Sol couldn't hear, then, looking up at Sol, he waved and walked into the inner court. Since dawn was approaching, Sol headed into the castle, too.

A loud buzzer shocked Susan awake. She shot up in her bed, looking around at the other girls with whom she shared her room. It had been a month or so, and still she wasn't used to the boarding school's schedule. Not too surprising given that her mother was a prostitute and heroin addict, for whom time wasn't really a material issue, and her current guardians were, on the whole, mostly vampires.

Of course she didn't share that with the other girls, they wouldn't understand. Susan didn't really understand, either, but she knew it was as it should be. She also refrained from talking about her frequent evening guests and private lessons, privileges that her bunkmates weren't allowed.

Susan got up and followed the other girls to the bathroom. As was the custom, the headmistress stood at the bathroom door watching each girl enter.

She didn't speak to any of the other girls, but as Susan passed, she asked, "Did your tutoring go well last night?"

"Yes Headmistress," she answered.

"Good, we want to make sure you catch up with the other girls as quickly as possible. We want all of our girls to be prepared for life, even you."

"Yes Headmistress," Susan said, walking past her groggily. She could hear the other girls chattering about her and her private lessons.

Susan felt more alone than ever before.



[The Vampire's Daughter: An ongoing vampire story. Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006. All rights reserved.]