Sion watched as Kali pored over her books strewn all over the table in their rooms. She worked feverishly, flipping through pages like a woman on a mission and only stopping occasionally when some stray fact made her pause for a moment.
Always impressed with her ability to research, he wished he could be more useful to her in this, the most important task any of them who were part of the Order could complete. If she could decipher the Prophecy of Idolas, they may find the way to defeat the Archons and their allies who would be sure to pose a significant challenge to the stability of the vampire world.
Who was he kidding? They’d likely pose an insurmountable challenge to the Sons and the Order. Seven warriors and a bunch of bureaucrats would have little hope of defeating the legions of evil the Archons could throw at them.
“I think I found something, Sion. Can you help me out here?”
He shook his head to rid it of the negativity he secretly harbored for the fight that loomed ahead and smiled. “Sure. What do you need?”
Kali handed him a book opened to a page that contained what looked like a flowchart or a family tree. “I need you to hold that for me and make sure not to lose the page. Something’s jumping out at me, but I need to check out the book Nico gave me a while back before I’m sure.”
She returned to her scouring pages of old books as Sion watched. Finally, after five minutes had passed, he said, “I feel like I should be doing more than acting like a bookmark.”
Kali looked up from the book she studied and laughed. “You know you’re more than that, Sion.”
“I’m supposed to be the intelligent Son, and here I am holding books for you.”
“You are intelligent, but this is where I shine. You shine with mechanical things, remember? I’m pretty sure you made it possible for Vasilije and Sasa’s dishwasher to go into hyperspace.”
Her joke made him smile and for the first time since he found her, he saw the old Kali from back at the monastery. But her expression changed to a look of sadness and he knew what had happened with Vasilije and Sasa still weighed heavily on her mind.
“You didn’t do anything you should feel bad about, Kali. Vasilije and Sasa will find each other again if they’re meant to be.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Are you okay? You seem off since we got back from the bar.”
She forced a big smile and nodded a little too much for him to believe she really was okay, but it wasn’t his way to talk about feelings. He’d barely been able to figure out how to deal with her when he found her a mess because of the Bliss, and if he could never have to go through that again, he’d be thankful.
“I better get back to work. It won’t be long. If you’re tired of holding the book, lay it down, but just put something on the page so I don’t lose it.”
Before he could say anything, she turned back to those books she spent so much time in. He wanted to say he liked being a part of what she did and didn’t even mind being her bookmark like he’d joked, but she felt far away from him and to find out why would mean he’d have to be open to whatever emotions she might be experiencing.
So instead, he simply sat silently watching her as she did what came naturally to her and he did what came naturally to him. At least since he’d become vampire.
Fifteen minutes later, Kali raised her head and looked at him with confusion in her eyes. “Do you know anything about Solenne’s background?”
“Solenne?” he asked. “I know she’s French by birth and has lived almost all her life in France. She was made vampire by Saint’s brother, Teagan. Other than that and that she’s married to Saint, I don’t know anything more. Why?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ve wondered since I first heard that Archon thought there was something special about her blood if there could be a reason for that. It just doesn’t sound logical that her blood could be the foundation for a drug like Bliss if there’s no reason for it.”
“So what are you thinking?” he asked, unsure where she was going with all this talk of Solenne and that crazy Archon who’d kept her hostage for her blood.
Kali pushed away the books in front of her and pulled his laptop toward her. “I’m thinking I need to do some investigating about her genealogy. It might be nothing but a wild goose chase, or it might be something, but I want to check it out so I can know for sure.”
“What are you looking for?”
Kali shook her head. “I don’t want to say just in case I’m way out in left field with this idea, but I will say this. If what I think is true, Solenne is far more important to this prophecy than I’d ever considered.”
She set off searching online for details about Solenne’s human ancestors while Sion studied the page she’d asked him to save for her. Generations of descendants of Idolas had all been catalogued for the past five hundred years, but none of the names he read rang any bells.
Not that he knew Solenne well enough that anything should jump out at him. Come to think of it, he didn’t even know her last name.
Sion watched Kali and saw her eyes open wide. She’d found something.
“What is it?”
“Claude Messier. I remember seeing that name somewhere. Is it on that page?”
He looked down and scanned the page for the last name Messier but didn’t see it. “No, no Claude Messier here.”
“Check further back then. I know I saw it there.”
Flipping the page, he ran his finger through the levels of descendants and finally came to the name. “Got it! Claude Messier, born 1346.”
“Reims, France. Died in 1400.”
Sion drummed his fingers on the book. “That’s a pretty long life for someone born in the time of plague, isn’t it? He must have been a pretty hearty fellow.”
“He was a descendant of Idolas, Sion. Hearty isn’t the word for it.”
“So what does this have to do with Solenne?”
Kali closed the laptop and grinned like she knew a secret. “He’s her ancestor. Solenne is a descendant of Idolas.”
“Holy shit.” Kali’s news stunned him.
“Yeah, and I’ll go you one better. She’s one of only a handful of women who can count themselves as direct descendants of Idolas. That makes her even more special.”
“So that’s why her blood is different and makes that Archon go wild for it?”
“Exactly. Even before she became a vampire, Solenne was a unique being, but as a vampire, she’s even more special. That’s why her blood is so powerful.”
Sion tried to wrap his mind around all Kali had just told him. Solenne being a descendant of Idolas, like the Sons, seemed incredible. Never in all his years as a Son had he heard that there were females descended from Idolas. He’d just assumed he and the other Sons were the only descendants left.
“Do you think she knows?” he asked, unsure of what to say.
“I doubt it. It’s important that she does know, though. It explains so much about why the Archon who became obsessed with her found her irresistible.” Kali stopped for a moment and then added, “Not that she’s not gorgeous.”
Sion stared at her for a moment and wondered why she bothered to add that part. “We need to get to the Order and tell her. They’ll be interested in knowing what you found.”
A look of horror passed over her face and she shook her head. “No, no. I can’t go back there, Sion.”
He couldn’t understand her fear of facing the rest of the Sons, which made him the last person she should be around at that moment. She knew it too and bolted from the room when he said nothing.
Of all the Sons, Sion lacked what she needed, even as he wished that wasn’t true. The emotions that came so naturally to her were part of a past he’d left behind long ago and didn’t even know how to welcome back, if he’d wanted to.
Which he didn’t.
Emotions had made him a rash, violent man when he was human. As a vampire, he’d finally found a way to cure himself of all that, and for many years he’d lived almost as a machine. But he’d been happy that way. No mess, no fuss, no feelings.
Well, happy may have been an exaggeration. More like content, but there was a lot to be said about accepting life as it is, even if that meant being alone.
Except now he wasn’t alone.
Kali had brought out something in him he’d thought had left with his humanity, and he wanted to have that again. But to have that meant he needed to accept other parts of his old life, parts that involved emotions he feared would once again take him over and make him that monster he’d been as a young man.
The sound of Kali’s quiet sobs just a few feet away in the bedroom made his chest ache, so he slowly followed her in there, all the while trying to think of what to say to make her stop crying. He found her sitting on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands and her body making tiny heaves with each sob. For a moment, he watched her and wished he was any other male on earth, vampire or human.
Then she looked up at him and even though he had no idea what to do to make her feel better, he knew he wanted to more than anything else.
He sat down next to her and took her hand in his. When her crying slowed, she lifted her head. “I bet you wish I’d stop, right?”
“All I wish is that you knew no one blames you for what happened to Thane.”
Kali wiped her eyes and shook her head. “I can’t go back there, Sion. I know what they must think. It’s because of me that Thane’s dead.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“You said it yourself. I had no right to interfere in the relationship of a vampire and her maker. I should have stopped her. If I hadn’t…”
She began sobbing again, leaving her sentence unfinished, and Sion gently pulled her into his arms. Her body heaved against his chest, and for the first time since he’d been turned vampire, he felt real sadness, the kind of sadness that settled into the heart and made it truly hurt.
Stroking her hair, he whispered, “I was wrong, Kali. You weren’t responsible for what Sasa did any more than I was. I’m sorry I said those things. It was wrong of me.”
“The rest of the Sons blame me. I know it. And they should. I should have stopped her from going to Rome. I should have done more.”
He tilted her head back and saw her red-rimmed eyes still filled with tears. Cradling her face, he wiped her cheeks with his thumbs. “It wasn’t your place to stop her. You simply did what your heart told you to. There’s nothing wrong in that.”
“Do you believe that, Sion?”
What he believed was that Thane and Sasa had endangered them all with their inability to accept who her sire was, and Thane had betrayed Vasilije as much as Sasa had. Then the two of them had risked all of their lives.
And for what?
He couldn’t understand either of their behavior. But that didn’t mean Kali should bear the guilt for their actions.
“I believe that you meant no harm, Kali.”
Her lips turned up in a tiny smile. “I wish things were different. I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn’t. And then when he died, I just unraveled. I didn’t know how to handle the guilt, so I turned to the one who’s supposed to be able to make it go away. And now you’re stuck here dealing with my crazy emotional outbursts, the one vampire who probably hates them more than anything else.”
“I don’t hate your emotions,” he said, actually telling the truth. He didn’t hate her or how she felt. He just didn’t know how to deal with all of it.
She pulled away and straightened herself, wiping her tear-drenched cheeks. “I’m fine now. You better get going so you can meet with Solenne and the rest of the Sons. I’ll be here doing work, and hopefully I’ll have more of the prophecy figured out by the time you get back.”
Sion reached out to bring her back into his arms, but she turned out of his hold and walked out to the living room. Even though he wanted to think what he’d said hadn’t made her leave, he guessed he was to blame and a twinge of regret pinched at him. He didn’t want to be cold and unfeeling. He just didn’t know the right things to say.
As he watched her bury herself in her books, he wished he did.
“I better get going. Are you going to be okay here?”
Kali looked up from her research and nodded. “I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
She returned to reading her books, and Sion stood at the door unsure of how to say goodbye but already missing her. Something about Kali touched him. He wasn’t sure how, but she’d broken through where no other female had in over half a century. The thought of leaving her alone there bothered him. He didn’t want to admit that part of that came from the fear that she may slip back into her addiction without him around.
He walked over to where she sat and put his hand on her shoulder, an action almost entirely foreign to him but one he suddenly felt he needed to do. She stopped her reading and looked up at him with a look of confusion in her eyes.
“Is something wrong, Sion?”
“I just wanted to say I’m going to miss you while I’m gone.”
“You are?”
“Yeah, I am.”
The look in her eyes softened, and she gave him one of her genuine smiles that always made him happier. “I’m glad to hear that. I thought maybe the other night…you know, because we haven’t since…”
Her words came out with an awkwardness he wasn’t used to from her, and he wanted to let her know that night had meant something to him. More than just something.
It had meant everything to him.
“I had a good time. I mean, that night was…” His words seemed to have the same problem as hers. He stopped and stilled his mind from racing with thoughts of how her body had felt next to his and said, “When I get back, I hope we can pick up where we left off.”
Her eyes grew wide, but her gentle smile remained. “I’d like that, Sion.”
When he bent down to kiss her and taste her lips, he knew he’d truly miss her until he saw her again.
*
Sion stood in the meeting room at the Order’s headquarters waiting for the rest of the Sons and Solenne to arrive. He’d given them no real information about why he needed to see them on such short notice, preferring to save his words for when they were all in front of him.
Vasilije arrived first, which normally would make Sion happy since for all his hedonistic tendencies, the Romanian had a sharp mind and even sharper wit to match. Rarely had Sion ever not had a good time talking with him, but now since all that had happened with Sasa, Vasilije appeared to wear a pall over him. Gone was the sarcastic side that always seemed to be able to ferret the truth from the bullshit, and in its place a far more somber part of the fellow Son had come to the forefront, heralded by the serious look in his eye and a frown Sion had never remembered seeing on him.
“Sion, it’s good to see you,” the Romanian said in a happy tone he sensed was forced. Extending his hand, he shook Sion’s and added, “It looks like Prague has been treating you well.”
For a moment, he couldn’t tell if Vasilije saw something in him that betrayed what he and Kali had grown into or if his comment had just been a flash of that old Vasilije coming through.
“Nothing like winter up north,” he said, preferring to believe his statement had been nothing but innocuous.
“Reminds me of home,” Vasilije said in a faraway voice.
And with those four words, Sion knew that what happened to the monastery and between him and Sasa hadn’t faded into the back of his mind.
He couldn’t blame him. While he may not have been the kind of man who spent much time on emotions, especially regret, losing one’s home and Sasa couldn’t have been easy to handle.
“How have you been doing here?” he asked, hoping to hear something of a rundown about the weather in Greece or even a locker room type of story about his taking some Greek girl.
Vasilije shrugged and looked off into the distance. “It takes some getting used to.”
Sion had no idea if that referred to living in Greece or living without the woman he loved. And he hoped Vasilije wouldn’t tell him.
They stood in awkward silence in the large meeting room until Terek and Dante joined them. For his part, Terek seemed to be handling the loss of his vampires in the attack on the monastery far better than his friend. Always far more introspective, he could fall back on his belief in spirituality to help him get through difficult times, but the Romanian didn’t have that to help him.
“Sion, it’s wonderful to see you again,” Terek said with a genuine smile Sion appreciated.
Dante chucked him in the shoulder and flashed him his quintessential California surfer boy smile. “Sion, you son of a bitch! You’ve missed all the fun here. How long are you back for? And where’s Kali? I was hoping to get to know her a little more now that we’re all here on her stomping grounds.”
What fun Dante could be referring to puzzled Sion. They’d lost one of their own, Vasilije had been betrayed and Terek had lost some of his family, and the Archons were still planning on their takeover of the vampire world. What part of that was fun?
But he didn’t want to ask him in case the clyten became his usual tactless self and blurted out something about Sasa in front of Vasilije. So Sion simply nodded and said, “Kali’s back in Prague working on the prophecy. I plan to return after our meeting tonight.”
“Yeah, so what’s this all about anyway? Oh, did you hear we have another clyten in our midst? That kid of Ramiel and Noele is something else.”
“I did. I hear he’s growing like a weed too. At this rate, you’ll have a partner in crime to do all your clyten things.”
Dante laughed, but Ramiel, who had overheard Sion’s comment, chimed in as he walked toward the group, his deep voice intentionally stern, “Over my dead, fucking body, Dante. My kid’s not going to be hanging out with you.”
“Aw, why not? We clytens have to stick together. There aren’t many of us. We’re like limited editions.”
Ramiel avoided his question and turned to face Sion. “How have you been? We heard things were pretty bad up there. How’s Kali doing?”
“She’s doing better. That Bliss is bad, though. I saw some ugliness I haven’t seen since before I was turned. Vampires and humans alike. The Archons really outdid themselves with that shit.”
Everyone stared at Sion as he spoke, and even Dante turned serious. “What are we talking about here? I mean, I was turned in the 1980s when everyone was doing coke and getting high.”
“Coke is nothing compared to this, Dante. I saw bodies that barely had any flesh hanging off them, and still those vampires would have given anything to have more Bliss. It’s bad. Think the worst things you’ve seen with bleeders and multiply it by a thousand and you’ll be getting close to what this shit does to the poor bastards who get addicted to it.”
The men around him stood with their mouths hanging open at the news that the Bliss epidemic was even worse than they’d been told. Still sometimes in his dreams he saw those pathetic souls he’d stepped over each night as he searched for Kali. Each and every one of their faces would forever haunt him as much as the ones he’d seen during the war.
“It’s not all bad news, though. As soon as Saint and Solenne get here, I’ll be able to tell you all some good news. Until then, Ramiel, tell me about your boy. I hear he’s pretty special.”
Ramiel beamed at the mention of his son and began to tell the story of how they’d realized Theron was a clyten when they found him standing outside in the sun. Never before had Sion seen fear in the Visigoth’s eyes, but when he talked about losing the little boy that day, he saw fear flash in them.
“Well, Kali says you shouldn’t be surprised when he shows some ability like Terek’s too,” Sion announced. “She thinks it might be any day that he’ll start to be able to read minds.”
Ramiel looked like he might stumble back against the wall. “Are you fucking kidding me? Any day now he’ll be almost my size with the ability to walk in the sun, and now you’re saying he’ll probably be able to read thoughts too? I’m not sure I should tell Noele. She doesn’t need to be upset now.”
Sion picked up on the hidden meaning of his words immediately but preferred not to ask any questions. Dante, as usual, chose differently.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying? You dog!”
Nodding, Ramiel grinned like the proud father he was and would be again soon. “Yeah. I wasn’t going to say anything about it because I know everyone’s going through shit everywhere and I didn’t want to rub it in, but she’s pregnant. In just a few months, there will be four of us. Between us, I just hope the baby is a normal kid who doesn’t grow overnight and have all these special things about her. I’m not sure we can handle two kids like Theron.”
The group congratulated Ramiel, and Dante clapped him on the back, joking, “You never know. It could be another clyten. And what’s this business with saying her? Is it a girl?”
“We don’t know, but Noele wants a little girl. I’ll be happy with whatever it is as long as it’s healthy and Noele is okay.”
Sion couldn’t help but feel Thane’s presence in the room as they joked about how life had changed for Ramiel, and even as everyone laughed, including Vasilije, he felt a pang of sadness that their fellow Son and the one closest to Ramiel couldn’t be there to see the joy and happiness that had come into his life because of Noele and their children.
Saint and Solenne finally arrived and as they joined the group, Saint asked, “What’s all the laughing about? Did we win this war and we can all go back to living our lives? Because if that’s why we’re here tonight, I’m good for it.”
Dante shook his head and explained, “Nope. We’re still on track to kick some Archon ass, but Ramiel was just telling us how Noele is going to have another baby. He’s hoping for a girl this time too.”
Saint’s usual serious look disappeared from his face, replaced by one of his genuine Irish smiles. “Ramiel, please tell Noele how happy we are for you guys. You deserve all the good you get.”
Solenne hung back as the men all found their seats at the conference table, but Sion approached her to escort her to the head of the table. Confused, she stopped him. “It’s okay. I don’t mind staying in the background.”
“Not anymore, Solenne. You get a seat at the table from now on.”
She looked at him with complete bewilderment in her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
Saint repeated her question. “Sion, why is Solenne going to sit at the head of the table all of a sudden? What’s going on?”
Solenne hesitantly sat down in the seat and looked up at Sion. He nodded as if to tell her that’s where she belonged and began to present the information Kali had found in her research.
“Gentleman, Kali figured out why Solenne’s blood is so appealing to that Archon. You’re no ordinary vampire, Solenne. You’re a descendant of Idolas, just like the rest of us. While you may not be a Son of Navarus, you’re as powerful a vampire as we are. More, actually.”
“More?” she asked in a shocked voice. “Sion, you and Kali have made some mistake. I’m not a descendant of Idolas.”
“You are as much as the rest of us here are. Kali traced your lineage and found the connection. And what makes you even more unique and powerful in our world is that you’re a female descendant of Idolas. Solenne, your blood is powerful, and that’s why the Archons synthesized it to create Bliss.”
Looking down the table, Sion saw that once again he’d shocked his fellow Sons. Saint in particular looked stunned at the news.
Terek spoke up first. “So are you saying Solenne is chosen like us?”
Sion looked down at her and shook his head. “I don’t know if that’s what I’m saying. What we know is that this is the reason that Archon wanted her blood. From what Kali said, even as a human, Solenne was special.”
“How about that?” Dante said as he clapped his hands together. “I always knew you were something pretty special, Solenne, but I had no idea you were one of us.”
She shook her head and frowned. “I’m not one of you, Dante. You guys are Sons of Navarus. I’m just a vampire whose blood tastes different than everyone else’s. That’s all.”
Sion saw she didn’t want to accept who she really was, but he couldn’t let her think she wasn’t someone special to them in their fight against those who’d enslave the entire vampire race.
“Solenne, your work with the doctors is going to help us save millions of our kind who’ve gotten trapped by what the Archons did with your blood. Only you can do that. You’re the key to that solution.”
“Hey, Saint!” Dante said, breaking the serious moment. “Maybe you should begin training with Solenne now. We’re going to need all the help we can get when the time comes.”
Saint’s expression told everyone at the table that Sion’s news was the last thing he wanted to hear, but when he spoke, even Dante understood his true feelings. “Solenne isn’t training for anything. She’s my wife, not a Son or a warrior to be thrown against the legions of Archons and their minions.”
He stormed out without a glance at anyone, including Solenne, and as she rose to follow him, she mumbled her apologies. “I’m sorry everyone. Sion, please tell Kali thanks for all she’s doing.”
The room fell silent, and each man avoided the gazes of those around him because none of them could know what Saint and Solenne were going through. He’d just gotten her back and now their lives had been changed once again in one fell swoop.