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“It is a sad story,” Tamara said, offering me whiskey and fetching me a glass.

“Monica was my friend,” she finally said. “I knew the day she met Tommy at that horse fair that I’d lost her. They’d fallen instantly in love. Nothing would keep them apart but the tribe didn’t want her to go.”

“Why?” Tamara shook her head but didn’t answer.

“Is it because she was sho’qa’i?”

“She was supposed to protect the tribe,” Tamara said, her voice urgent. “She knew that, but Tommy wanted her to leave, so she left.”

“Why did she have to protect the tribe?”

Tamara sighed and shook her head. “The Wak’aha’a kept horses and goats but our main work was mining the occillite.”

I had heard of occillite. It was a kind of mineral found in a specific mountainous area. When forged and mixed with steel, weapons of great strength and power could be crafted. I had learned about it during training. It killed the most savage beast, including the uber vampires; the oldest and most powerful creatures known to exist. The occillite rapier was one of the most expensive and rare weapons on earth and I had only seen one once.

“It was secret work, understand? We didn’t talk about it,” said Tamara. “We made blades, knives, that sort of thing and once every couple of months, someone would come to the city to sell them.”

“Who bought them?”

“There were special traders, weapons people, I don’t know who. We had to keep the work secret from the vampires who were always looking to destroy the mines.”

Tamara said, “After your mother left, we kept going for a while. There was a woman who was said to have some gifts. She was supposed to cast a spell of protection on us but it didn’t work.”

Tamara told me that some years after my mother left, she had accompanied the man taking a load of the occillite to town. When they returned some days later, the entire tribe was gone. Where their community had been, there was a huge mound of earth, like a rockslide. They had searched the ground, digging in the soil, but it was like the Wak’aha’a had disappeared without a trace. Their huts, their paddocks, even their animals, had all gone without a trace.

“We left as soon as we could. I came here because I had some friends here. They helped find a job for me.”

“And the man?”

“He’s gone, I don’t know where.” I had a feeling she was lying.

“What was his name?”

She looked at me. “Why do you want to know?”

I told her how my family was attacked, and my mother was killed. She had tears in her eyes when I told her how I had survived for days surrounded by dead family members. Then, later, how I almost died again and how I feared I was in danger again.

She nodded slowly. “You have the mark on you.”

She got up, signaling that our visit was at an end. “I will ask around, and I will let you know but you must be careful.”

“But things are quiet now?” I meant after the Wars, there was no more conflict; no bloody battles between vampires and humans.

Tamara shook her head. “Evil is everywhere,” her voice was barely louder than a whisper. “It hides in the dark and moves when no one sees. Don’t draw attention or make a noise. If they see you, they will pounce.”

I didn’t know what she was talking about.

Even though she sounded irrational and was probably drunk, I had a feeling she was not delusional.

She knew something and she was afraid.

Chapter 16

Jack

Perhaps I had been too distracted.

Kaya and I had started spending time together, some nights at the Castle when I knew Simon was away but also at her place. I wanted her to see that I didn’t mind the child, that I could make myself useful. Not that I was particularly fond of the child but she was sensible and quiet and this I could handle.