0277: The Vampire's Daughter, Book Three

Henry and Gan left the room and, as had been decreed, escorted his guards out of the castle. “Pleasure to see you both again,” was Gan’s parting shot as the castle doors closed.

“That was unnecessary,” Henry said, after the doors had shut.

“Both of them betrayed me,” Gan responded. “Was I supposed to shower them with hugs and kisses and fare yea wells?”

Henry laughed. Then, quite seriously, he asked, “Is there a place where we can talk?”

“I assume you wish to talk in private?”

“Yes.”

“Come, we’ll run Sol off from the tower and talk there,” Gan said, pointing up at Sol, who had returned to his usual place almost as soon as Henry and Gan went to meet with the vampires Gan had assembled.

When they arrived, Gan greeted Sol and said, “Sol, I hate to ask this, but Henry and I need to discuss some logistics. It seems that he is going to be staying with us, and, unfortunately, his army is going to be camping out on my front lawn. I want to ensure that they don’t do too much damage.”

Sol looked out at the army, then back at Gan. “So that is the outcome. A stalemate. I suppose it could have turned out worse. I’ll let you two talk about whatever it is you need to talk about, though I know very well logistics isn’t the issue at hand.” He walked down the stairs, leaving Gan smiling widely.

“He has greater power than he realizes, but, slowly, he’s starting to use what God has given him,” Gan said to Henry after Sol was out of earshot.

“His gift is reading minds?” Henry asked.

“Yes, and he is good at it. He just needs more practice.”

“Is he as good as you?”

“He could be better, I suspect,” Gan answered.

“So, as a test of your skill, what do I want to talk about?” Henry asked very seriously.

“There are three topics you would like to discuss, only two of which you were planning to bring up. The first is, indeed, what to do with your army while you wait. The second is what to tell the royals, as they are bound to find out that you’ve done nothing more than wait for Sol to come out and give himself up. And, the third is what I think will happen now that the group downstairs is in one room.”

“Yes to all three, but I guess you knew that,” Henry joked dryly.

“As for the first, your troops can stay as long as necessary, but they should pull to the right behind that tree cover. That way they aren’t as visible to the humans. I don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to the castle. The answer to the second is that your idea of bringing along an old flame of mine has backfired, as she has already run off to tell the royals of what she perceives to be your failure. I suggest you get a very trusted confidant and have him bring back word to King Loui of France, who happens to be the last vampire that attempted to take my castle, that you don’t believe it possible to take Sol by force without excessive loss of life. I suspect he’ll defend you on that. I’ll make contact with some of my friends in high places to put in a good word for you. Either way, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you need—or join my ragged band if the royals are stupid enough to doubt your abilities.”

“Thank you Gan. I appreciate what you’ve suggested and offered. I’ll have the troops move under the trees over there,” Henry said pointing. “And I’ll send a man off strait away.

“What about the third question?” he asked.

“I’ll answer that when you are brave enough to ask it,” Gan said with a smile, before turning and walking down the tower steps.



[The Vampire's Daughter: An ongoing vampire story. Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.]