Book Three, Chapters 0271 to 0280

The Vampire's Daughter
Book Three

Chapters 0271 to 280
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0271

Gan and Sol watched as the vampire walked back to the caravan with which she arrived. Several male vampires came out to meet her. They stood talking for some time, before Sol asked, "I can't read a thing, can you?"

"No, they are covering their thoughts well," Gan replied.

"What do you think they will do?"

"Sol," Gan said, turning to him, "it doesn't matter. If they attack, they will not take the castle. Even if I have to destroy this place myself to prevent their success."

"That is not comforting," Sol said.

"It wasn't meant to be. It is a simple fact. I've wired the entire castle with explosives for just such a situation. From day one, I had a backup. At first it was nothing more than strategically placed barrels full of gunpowder imported from China. The setup is far more complicated today, but should be equally, if not more, effective at destroying the castle and all of those inside."

"Yourself included?" Sol asked.

"If necessary."

"And what if I don't particularly wish to be in your castle when you start playing violins and blowing the place up?"

"Then you should have hired a different assassin," Gan said with a smile. "Besides, I'm not convinced they are ready to fight. They have a large army, but they know my men can defeat them, especially with the castle. The only real way to hurt us is from the air, but I doubt they could muster an air strike without drawing undue attention. That means it needs to remain a small skirmish in which I have the upper hand."

"So what do you believe they will do?" Sol asked.

"They'll sit and watch," Car said.

"They will try to stop you from ever leaving," Belinda followed.

"Yes," Gan said, "that is what I believe they will do. They will set up camp and try to reason with me some more while ensuring that you do not escape. Of course, they might try to send an assassin to kill you, but that would be folly, at least for the assassin."

As he said that, another vampire walked toward the castle.

"Gan," the vampire yelled well before reaching the gate.

"Henry," Gan replied, "it's nice to see you. What brings you for a visit?" To his men, Gan said, "Open the gate."

Henry laughed as he walked up to Gan, Sol, Carmelinda and Belinda. When he got close enough, Gan said, "Henry, this is Sol, I think you know him by reputation."

"Yes," Henry said, putting out a hand to Sol. Sol, hesitantly, took hold of the offered hand and shook it. "This is nothing personal, you know. I, for one, am not particularly fond of the Zionists, at least not since that annoying rat took over for John Paul. That said, the old crowns seem to think rather highly of the clan.

"They never did quite understand why John Paul picked up and headed to the New World. He was, to some degree, discredited, but they still listened to him. I think it makes them feel like they are still in God's good graces to support the clan, even if it meant supporting Paul. Funny thing is no one really liked the bastard. Glad he's dead myself." He laughed again. It was a full-bodied and honest laugh that made Sol want to trust him.

"No," Henry said, "I don't see the point in this. But orders is orders, so I've got to do something here. I tried to tickle Gan's fancy with a little eye candy, but I didn't really expect it to work. I even brought along an old flame of his for the job."

"That was an interesting touch, but ineffective. At this point, I'd much rather kill her than do anything else with her. You do remember that she betrayed me, don't you?" Gan asked.

"Yeah, but that was so long ago," Henry answered. "Anyway, I figured it was worth a try. You know, settle this thing peacefully."

"You consider my death peaceful?" Sol asked, a little perturbed.

"Well, as peaceful as possible," he answered with another big laugh. "After all, I know of you, but I don't really know you. That said, I'm getting a good feeling about you. You have some spunk," Henry said, again laughing. "Anyway," he continued, but more seriously, "I don't want to see lots of good vampires die. Do you guys have any ideas on how to end this without a fight?"

0272

"I tend to think you leaving is a good idea," Sol said to Henry, causing another big laugh. Sol smiled and laughed himself.

Henry looked at Gan and said, "I see why you like the kid, he's a good apple. And I can't get too angry at anyone who killed that little Zion rat, anyway."

"I didn't kill Paul and I certainly didn't kill John Paul," Sol said.

"Funny, the rest of the world seems to think you did," Henry said, looking closely at Sol.

"John Paul was an important vampire in my life. I trusted him and he trusted me. I would never have betrayed him like that," Sol said.

"And what of Paul?" Henry asked.

"I wish I was the one who killed that bastard, but I wasn't."

Henry continued to look at Sol for several moments. He then turned to Gan and asked, with a nod of his head, "He's telling the truth isn't he?"

"Yes, I believe he is," Gan said without hesitation.

Henry looked closely at Gan. "You aren't just taking him at his word, are you. You know he is innocent."

"I know he did not kill John Paul. I could care less about the other one," Gan said. "But he has no reason to lie about one and not the other."

"Well now. This is a pickle. If you didn't kill John Paul, who did?" Henry asked Sol.

"Paul."

"What? That doesn't make any sense," Henry said.

"You said yourself Paul was little more than a rat. John Paul left for some time and he had just come back. Paul didn't like the idea of giving up control of the Zionists, so he used me as an excuse to kill John Paul. He blamed me for the death," Sol said.

"Now that is an interesting story," Henry responded, nodding his head. "But I don't think the old crowns are gonna believe it. And I certainly can't go back to them empty handed to tell it to them."

"Well, he isn't leaving," Car said.

"Hello Carmelinda," Henry said. "I didn't see you standing there behind Gan. Still cute as a peach and cheeky as hell." She pruned her face into a grimace at his comment and jumped at him. He caught her in his arms and they exchanged a big hug. "This little lady is the best damn assassin outside of Gan," Henry said to Sol. "She almost killed me once while I was on assignment protecting one of the old crowns' cad offspring."

"Yeah, your lucky to be alive," she said to him.

"And don't I know it," Henry answered with a grin as he put her down. "Well, if Car's taken a liking to you, I know you can't be all bad. But that doesn't really matter much in the present situation. I'm still open for any ideas that don't include a big battle and lots of vampires dying."

"Henry," Gan said. "I'd like to talk to you in private in my castle about some issues surrounding Sol's stay here. I think you'll find the answer you are looking for if you humor me."

"I like humor," Henry said, "but something tells me I won't be laughing after this conversation. You aren't going to kill me are you?"

"That was not my intention. If you would like, you can bring a guard along. Bring that back stabbing bitch if you would like."

Henry laughed loudly again, "I might do that. But I want two guards and I want them with me at all times."

"You will have them near you at all times, but I can't allow them to be with you at all times. You'll understand why as we talk," Gan said.

"So why not tell me here?" Henry asked.

"Because you wouldn't believe a word of what I told you," Gan answered.

0273

"O.K., I'll bite," Henry said. "Just let me go back and get the back stabbing bitch." He turned and walked out.

Gan and Sol watched as he walked away. A group of vampires huddled around him and talked.

After several minutes, Sol said, "You won't talk to him here because you don't want to divulge the information you are going to give him to me."

Without turning, Gan said, "You read that from my mind?"

"Yes."

"You know," Gan said, turning to Sol, "if you practiced more, your ability would be much stronger. It's rather impressive what you've been able to achieve with what little training that fool sire of yours could provide. If I had a few years with you, you could really get somewhere."

"Get somewhere? It doesn't look like I'm going anywhere at all anytime soon. You might just get those few years to train me as you see fit. I could use purpose, sitting around waiting is starting to drive me nuts."

Gan laughed. "Youth," he said. "You're immortal, time is virtually meaningless."

"I'm only immortal if I don't get killed, and my ability to avoid that seems somewhat limited at present."

Gan looked at Sol and said, "And yet you don't seem to fear death at all."

"You can't live life fearing it will end."

"No, you can't. But I doubt you have anything to fear at present. Henry is a good man. He will listen to reason."

"Reason that cannot be shared with me."

"That's right," Gan said, turning back to the convoy outside the castle. Henry was just starting back with two female vampires close behind him. "That jokester is going to bring her, what a..."

"Do you want me to kill her?" Car and Belinda asked in unison.

"Oh, I would love it," he said. "But you will leave her alone. For now. However, should she threaten Sol in any way, please feel free to ignore my directive."

"We will," they said.

"Gan," Henry said, walking up to the door. "I've brought my two escorts. You know Sara."

"And I know Jennifer, too," he said. "But I suspect you knew that."

"Yeah, well, there's nothing like a little reunion. Besides, I don't know your castle like they do," Henry said.

"And they don't know it as well as you think they do," Gan replied.

"I fancy you're right about that. But what little they know is more knowledge than I've got, so I've prepared as best I can. Let's get this show on the road."

"Yes, lets. Car, Belinda, you will stay with Sol. I'll take our newest guests with me. If there is any sign of danger, kill Sara first and then Jennifer. Do your best to let Henry live," Gan directed. Sara looked away from Gan as he said this, but Jennifer's face showed a glimmer of fear before hardening.

"Follow me," Gan said, walking into the inner court.

Sol and the two girls stood watching. "I hope I don't have to kill Henry," Car said, breaking the silence. "I don't much care about the other two, but Henry is a really nice vampire."

"He seems it," Sol said. "His laugh is so honest. It's like a child's laugh."

"Yeah, that's what I like about him," Car said. "Still, I'll bleed him dry if I have to." The comment was made without any change in her tone or demeanor.

Sol looked at her with his head slightly tilted and thought how odd a little girl she was. It was at that moment that he noted how similar she was to Susan. It wasn't just that both were children in body. It was the maturity with which Car and Susan acted.

"How old are you?" Sol asked.

0274

"I think we've talked about it before," Car answered. "And it is normally considered rude to ask a woman's age."

"We have talked about your age, but not directly," Sol said. "Now I'm asking directly."

"I've lost exact count, but I'm several hundred years old."

"You remind me very much of another little girl I know," Sol said.

"Well," Car said with a wry smile, "she must be a very beautiful, intelligent, and wonderful little girl."

"She is. Perhaps some day you will meet her."

Gan had, by this time, brought his three guests into the castle. He took them down the dark stairwell to the suite of rooms at the bottom. Jamie stepped out, having heard voices, only to stop awkwardly.

"Not who you expected?" Gan asked.

"No, not at all."

"You must be Jamie, Sol's consort," Henry said. "Don't worry, I've no intention of killing you."

"Thank you, I appreciate that. But Sol is my consort, I am not his consort," Jamie said.

"How have you managed to survive this long?" Gan asked rhetorically. "It amazes me that someone as bright and promising as Sol would even associate with you."

Jamie, taken aback, sputtered, "I.. I.."

"Don't answer," Gan said, waving his hand in Jamie's face. "Just go back into your room where you'll be safe. And don't come out again until you are sent for."

Jamie, still looking shocked, walked into the room and closed the door.

"Henry, you and I will continue alone from here," Gan said. "The women will remain here."

"So be it," he answered.

"Sara," Gan said, "try not to steal anything while we're gone." This caused Jennifer to chuckle. Gan gave her a little smirk, before turning and opening the one door through which Sol wasn't allowed to go. Henry, with a large smile on his face, followed.

After the door shut, Sara looked at Jennifer and asked, "You think that's funny don't you?"

"Yeah, kind of," she answered.

Sara shook her head and leaned up against a wall. "The least he could have done was leave us somewhere with some chairs."

Inside the room, Gan had Henry sit in a large armchair. The room was little more than a large den. Very similar to other such rooms in the castle. Across from the chair in which Henry was sitting was a large fireplace. The walls were covered in animal furs, assorted tapestries, and adorned with animal heads and weapons.

"So what have you brought me to your private den to tell me?" Henry asked.

"I haven't brought you here to tell you anything. I've brought you here to show you something."

"Well, then, what have you brought me here to show me?"

"I'll be right back," Gan said, walking through the fireplace.

"It's a good thing that wasn't on," Henry yelled after him, but Gan didn't answer. He sat there for what seemed an eternity before Gan came back through the fireplace.

"You're still awake," Gan said with a smile. "Come."

Henry got up and followed Gan into the fireplace. At the back, they took a sharp left and then a sharp right and, ultimately, found themselves at the entrance to a large meeting room that appeared to be carved out of rock. At the far side of the room was a pool of dark water. On either side of the pool were doorways carved into the rock. In the middle of the room was a large table with chairs around it.

The room was empty.

"Great, you've brought me here to see an empty room. It's a pretty room, mind you. I particularly like the pool, but I still don't understand why I'm here," Henry said, with a laugh.

Gan laughed, but said, "Sit, I'll ask the others to come in now."

As Henry sat, Gan went to one of the doorways and came back with the White Vampire. The other vampires followed behind at a respectable distance.

As he watched the procession of vampires come from the two doorways and take their seats, Henry's jaw went slack in awe.

0275

After all of the vampires had taken their seats, Gan said, "I assume I don't have to make any introductions."

"No, no you don't," Henry answered, before getting up and bowing to the assembled group. He then walked over to the one Sol had begun calling the White Vampire and knelt in front of her.

Gently, and tentatively, he took her hand. She didn't look at him, but allowed him to bring her hand to his lips for a kiss. "My Lady," he said.

She made no reply, but pulled her hand back and placed it back on the armrest of her chair. Henry, still bent at the waist and facing the White Vampire, withdrew and returned to his seat.

Gan, standing by Henry, looked at him for a moment and then scanned the group. "What now?" he asked to anyone who would answer.

For a moment no one replied, but then Henry stood up and said, "Well, my Lords and Ladies, my original purpose was to bring Sol back to the Kings and Queens now seated in Europe. If that was not possible, I was to kill him. I now believe that attempting to kill Sol would be a mistake, as taking this castle with Gan here would be difficult. Taking it with all of you here would be suicide."

"A fine decision," one of the female vampires stated.

"I still have something of a problem," Henry continued. "If I return without Sol alive, or dead, my life will be at stake. I am no more willing to die foolishly on the battle field than I am in the royal courts."

"Then you must wait," said a large male vampire.

"If I may be so rude, what am I waiting for?" Henry asked.

"Our decision," yet another vampire stated.

"And how long am I to wait?"

"Until our decision is made," the large vampire said. "We have material issues to consider in the present situation. We did not convene to rush into anything. If our timing is inconvenient for you, then I suggest you..." He stopped and looked at the White Vampire. "My Lady," he said, and, then, with a changed tone, "Henry, the matter at hand is of grave importance. We must consider many things and this takes time. We would like you and your troops to remain outside the castle until we are done deliberating the matter. When we are done, you will be informed as to our decision. Then you may make a more informed choice as to what you must do next."

Henry looked at the large vampire and then at the White Vampire, who had not changed her gaze. To Gan he asked, "May I remain in the castle?"

"Yes, so long as it is agreeable to the others," Gan answered.

"It is," a female vampire answered.

"I will send my guards back to camp to explain that we are to blockade the castle so that Sol cannot escape. We will not, however, impede the activities of any other," Henry said.

"I think that's fine," Gan stated.

Everyone in the room sat idle for several moments, none sure what to do or say, before the White Vampire looked at Gan. He nodded toward her and then turned to Henry and said, "Let me show you to your room."

"Yes, that would be nice," Henry said, standing and bowing to the assembled group. Again he walked over and kissed the White Vampire's hand. This time, however, she turned and looked at him.

0276

The White Vampire and Henry looked at each other for quite some time before Henry said, "Yes my Lady."

Another long stretch of silence ensued during which Henry looked deeply and seriously at her expressionless face.

"I will not do anything to harm him until you decide what needs to be done," he said before getting up and walking back to Gan. The pair left the room silently.

Once they were back in the study, Henry said, "I see why you wanted me to come down here. I would never have believed you could have brought that group together in one place without starting a war."

"I didn't bring them together, Sol did," Gan answered.

"Was it Sol or John Paul?" Henry asked.

"It was John Paul's letter, which was quite persuasive. But make no mistake, the reason they are here is Sol."

"Sol has been here for quite some time. The Royals assumed you were holding out for a ransom, which they seemed willing to pay. I'm sure they didn't suspect this. I don't even know what they would do if they found out about this meeting, let alone what could be done. How long have they been deliberating?" Henry asked.

Gan looked at him and said, "It took me months to find them all and get them here. Since that point, we have been discussing what to do. I am a supporter of Sol, as I have had dealings with him in the past. The others know of him, but have no reason to trust him other than the letter from John Paul. We have, thus, only just decided that he should be brought before the group in some fashion. Now we are deciding what way he should be introduced-one at a time, small groups, or a full audience."

"They certainly take immortality seriously, don't they?" Henry laughed, before asking seriously, "What dealings have you had with the lad?"

"I was once sent to kill Thomas in the New World after he had resigned his post as head of his clan. I brought an elite group with me. Sol and a team of Enforcers stopped us. In the end, it was just the two of us left fighting. He almost killed me.

"I'm not sure why he didn't, but he let me live with two provisions. The first was that I would never return to the New World. The second was that I owed him a rather large favor.

"God works in mysterious ways. It must have been destiny that our paths intertwined that day. I thought I lost because I needed to be humbled. But, now, I see that it was so much more than that. I lost because I needed to be ready when the time was right."

"Ah yes, you can never have too much faith. Isn't that what you always say?" Henry asked.

"Yes, that is what I say and believe," Gan answered. "If only I could practice what I preach a little better than I do."

"So what now?" Henry asked.

"You dismiss the two whores outside and I bring you to your room. You will, of course, stay in the inner court, however, I must ask that you refrain from killing my other guests. That would, as you might suspect, lead to an untimely death."

"I wouldn't dream of it. In fact, until a decision has been made over Sol's fate, I am to protect him with my life."

"Is that what she said to you?" Gan asked.

"That and more," Henry answered.

0277

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.

0278

Henry laughed loudly for a moment, and then went silent. He looked at the floor, took a deep breath, and turned around to look out over his army. He was in a desperate situation and he didn't like it.

He knew full well that at the first chance to turn on him, Sara would run back to the Kings and Queens and tell them everything and anything she knew. And with her limited knowledge of the situation and hatred for Gan, she was probably going to turn a bad situation into a very bad situation.

"I've been loyal for so long and I just know those self centered bastards are going to believe her over me," he said through gritted teeth. He put his hands on the wall and looked down at Gan's training camp. "I can't bring myself to join this motley crew, no matter how good they are at their job."

He stood motionless and virtually thoughtless for several minutes before sighing and closing his eyes.

From behind him Sol said, "It seems you are in quite a pickle."

Henry turned quickly and put on a big smile. "Not so bad as it looks," he said.

"You're lying, I can read it a mile away."

"Yes, I am. I have to protect you until the..." he stopped. "Until the vampires that have gathered make a decision about your fate. But as I speak to you, word is being sent to the Royals that I've betrayed them."

"Despite the fact that you haven't," Sol interjected.

"Yes," Henry said, "despite the fact that I haven't.

"But the Royals are a jumpy lot. They see betrayal around every corner. It won't matter that I've never once betrayed their confidence in all my years, even when I have done things for them that they knew I didn't want to do. They are so caught up in their own lives, they can't think beyond themselves.

"Gan suggested that I send a trusted lieutenant to make my case. I will, but I'm not convinced it's going to help. He also said he'd send word to some of his confidants."

"But that will just look like you've joined forces with Gan," Sol broke in.

"Yes. I don't know what to do," Henry said, turning and looking out over the army again. "I'm stuck."

"So why protect me? If the Royals want you to kill me, why not kill me?" Sol asked.

Henry laughed. "You are a brave soul! Sol, there are vampires and then there are vampires.

"Today the world is overrun by a shabby group of know nothings who think they can do no wrong. There was a time when nobility meant something. When a king was a king and a queen was a queen because that honor was earned. The right to the title may have been handed down to them, but the right to become royalty was earned through hard work and, often, strength.

"Now the court is just a hedonistic joke. Then... Sol, then it was a power. Decisions were made that rocked the world. We've let that power slip through our fingers. The humans could be our servants, like it was so many years ago.

"Now we live like parasites. It saddens me, but except for a select few, no one has been strong enough to stop it."

"So the group in the castle? How are they tied to what you've just said?"

Henry looked at Sol for a long time, before saying, "They are the true royalty. Generations have passed since they were on the thrown. They gave up their seats because time had aged them beyond caring about daily issues. They knew they couldn't lead our kind any longer because to them a year is but a day, a day a second.

"But they left their power in careless hands and it is too late to go back. God help us all, however, if they decide to reclaim their crowns. Little would stand in their way," Henry said, averting his eyes slightly.

"You haven't told me the whole story," Sol said, "but I understand enough. I have one last request... Tell me about the White Vampire."

0279

"The white vampire?" Henry asked, "You must mean Meredith."

"I don't know what her name is. All I know is that she is tall and pale," Sol said. "Although I've encountered her, she's never spoken to me as such. It was more like she screamed at me."

"Yes, that would be Meredith. She doesn't talk, at least not anymore. She communicates through her mind. When she opens her mouth to talk all that comes out is a scream."

"Why is that?" Sol asked.

"I don't really know. I was young when it started to happen. It started much like what the humans call Tourette's syndrome. One day she started screaming when she wanted to talk."

"But it isn't like screaming," Sol said. "It's more like white noise."

"Yeah, I think that's a fair description of it."

"It was like she wanted to converse with me, but she couldn't. It was almost painful to see, let alone hear," Sol stated.

"Oh, trust me, I know it's painful to hear. You should see her when she's mad!" Henry said, laughing heartily. "But it really is painful for her. As I said, I was there when it happened. I watched her pain. It got to a point where she simply couldn't talk at all.

"My guess is that you shielded your mind from her, so she couldn't communicate with you. Either that, or she wanted to read your mind and didn't have any other way to tell you to lower your defenses.

"I was shielding my mind. At one point I was asleep and she managed to read a good deal of my history, but I awoke and she left," Sol said.

"From what I can tell, she doesn't mean you any harm," Henry said reassuringly.

"You've met her since you've been here?" Sol asked.

"Yes. I've had an audience with the entire group."

"She's the only one I've had any real contact with," Sol said.

"I'm not surprised," Henry responded. "She was always very inquisitive. Got her into a great deal of trouble, as I recall. A few times I had to go get her out of trouble. I remember once she wanted to meet the Father, so she ran off and..." He stopped and looked at Sol with a smile. "I shouldn't finish that story in present company, I'm sorry I even brought it up. You have a way of making people feel very comfortable around you."

"I'm glad to hear that, but I would have preferred you finish the story," Sol said. "So how exactly do you know her?"

"I am of her blood line."

"What blood line is that?"

"She is of the four. A direct descendant of Og. More than that, I do not know," Henry answered.

"So you are a descendant of Og?"

"Yes."

"And what of Gan?"

"I don't really know. It isn't something we've discussed."

"You are lying."

"Yes, I won't discuss another's lineage. If you want to know, you can ask Gan," Henry replied.

"I may do that, but tell me more about the four. There are many of our kind that don't even believe they exist. And yet, in the last year, I've met several vampires that seem to claim direct relations," Sol said.

"The four," Henry started. "Yes, they exist as surely as you and I. I've met Og and Minitosa. I've not had the pleasure of meeting the other two. They are interesting, to say the least. Very old. I've been told, though I don't know for sure, that one of the two I've not met, and I don't know their names, is very primitive. Almost tribal. I can't confirm that, now, but it's what I've been told by more than one of our kind."

"What about the father?" Sol asked.

"I've never met him, but if the four exist, why wouldn't the father?" Henry asked rhetorically.

"Elizabeth told me that it was just a story. All of it is just a story to give us meaning. To tie us back to God in some way."

"I wouldn't believe everything your sire tells you," Henry replied. "She is a beautiful vampire, but she has her own agenda. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but she doesn't, and hasn't ever, followed the normal path."

0280

"Some vampires would try to kill you for making such disparaging remarks against their sire," Sol said, sliding down the tower wall and sitting on the floor.

"Ah, but not you," Henry said, as he sat next to him. "You have lived so long outside of our culture here in Europe that you don't really know what it is like to be a vampire in the Old World. And when you moved to the New World, you were thrust into a role you probably didn't want."

"Yes," Sol said. "But that isn't why I'm not defending my sire's honor. I simply don't think she really knows herself."

"That could be true."

"I think she is too much of an intellectual to believe the stories. In fact, I think she is too much of an intellectual to believe in anything. I've been so caught up in it, that I guess I simply followed her lead," Sol said.

"Yes, that was her problem, she always thought too much. Never liked to listen. It's why she and Thomas always fought, but it is also why he holds a special place in his heart for her," Henry stated.

"I don't know if you know the history or not, but Thomas was the head of the knights for many years. He butted heads with your John Paul over religion and the prophecies of the demise of our kind.

"Thomas lived by the blade and if he couldn't touch and feel something, it wasn't real. Well, when John Paul convinced the kings and queens of the day that he was to be the seed of our destruction, they locked him up and killed all of his offspring.

"After many years of captivity with nothing to prove that he was the one that would bring the end of times, they let him go. By that time, the court was changing and new blood was starting to take over the court. John Paul was discredited in the minds of the newer royals, and the last remaining of the old group were slowly fazing out. Thomas was able to gain back some, if not all, of his former stature.

"I reported to him for a time before he was stripped of his command. After he returned, I was shifted to head up the personal guard that protected the royals. Which was one of the worst jobs I've ever had. The new royals are, well, not quite as classy as the old crew. But when the opportunity to move to the New World came up, Thomas jumped at it. I think he thought he could make himself a king in the New World, something he could never have attained here. What happened from there, I think you know."

"All too well," Sol added, leading Henry to a big laugh.

"After Thomas left, I asked to take on my former post. Thomas and John Paul, who followed him over the New World to keep an eye on him, faded. Science took over where faith seemed to have failed. The end of the story is that the new kings and queens, much like your sire, don't believe the scriptures and they have, thus, fallen out of the minds of most of our kind."

"Most, but not all," Sol said.

"Yes, most have forgotten, but not all."

"Do you believe?" asked Sol.

"I try to, but it's hard."

"The old royals?"

"Yes, they believe, but they have been closeted away for years and haven't seen the world change."

"The old royals, they are the ones that are here?" Sol asked.

"Most of those here are old royals. Some are close confidants of John Paul," Henry answered.

"Is the Keeper here?"

"No."

[The Vampire’s Daughter: An ongoing vampire story. Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009. All rights reserved.]