Page 5

Immortals Reborn

“ Y ou totally conned Mairead, didn’t you, Balthazar?” Grayson asked as he, Balthazar and Caemorn stepped outside of the human dorm. “You knew you could beat her with one hand tied behind your back!”

“Me? Con Mairead? Never!” Balthazar chuckled, looking utterly pleased with himself. That, of course, confirmed Grayson’s belief.

“Yes, he did.” Caemorn drew up the tall collar of his form-fitting black coat. The Kaly Vampire was dressed all in black that night. Boots, pants, shirt and coat. With his pale hair and silver eyes, he looked striking.

Balthazar was similarly clad, but in midnight blue with silver silk. Their outfits were a mixture of modern and old. Both favored the knee-high black boots and flared collars.

Very vampirey actually.

“You acted like you thought he was in trouble, Caemorn,” Grayson pointed out.

“Yes.” A put upon sigh escaped the Kaly Vampire. “Sometimes I forget what a narcissist Balthazar is.”

“My narcissism did not make that shot.” Balthazar sniffed. “It was a one in a million shot, by the way.”

“No, but you wouldn’t have made the bet if you hadn’t been certain you could make the shot,” Caemorn corrected. “I am betting that you contacted Seeyr to discover the outcome.”

Balthazar actually smiled. “Well, you never know when you’ll want a favor.”

“From Mairead ?” Grayson’s eyebrows lifted. “You know--and you must know--that she’d do anything for you. She wants to become an Eyros Vampire.”

“Does she? Hmmm,” Balthazar said with a shrug. “There are so many who want to be an Eyros that I lose track.”

“As if she hadn’t been beaming her desire into your head from the moment you walked in this morning.” Grayson rolled his eyes.

Caemorn smiled at him in what Grayson thought was solidarity.

They had started down the main road towards the circle of palaces.

The red and blue moons were now low in the east. The new “day” had begun.

Grayson was surprised that he felt no discombobulation from not seeing daylight.

But he’d worked night shifts for years. Sunlight had been something he’d seen at the edges of his waking life.

Even though the nights had been more dangerous, generally, when he was homeless, it also had allowed him to use his powers to defend himself with fewer people to see or understand what they were seeing.

Still he found himself rather relishing this night time existence more than he’d thought he would.

“Did you make sure that the other Bloodlines would have some fledglings to choose from?” Grayson asked. “I mean the students can’t all want to be Eyros Vampires.”

“Every student is potentially applicable for every Bloodline,” Balthazar answered primly.

“I don’t believe you.” Grayson shook his head and snorted.

“Oh? And why not?” Balthazar lifted an eyebrow.

“Because, besides the two of you, Seeyr is involved in the school and picking the students, right?” Grayson waited for them both to slowly nod.

“And you need every Bloodline to buy into this new way of doing things, right?” Another nod.

“So I’m betting that some students--maybe every student--is perfect for a certain Bloodline.

Maybe even better than that. Maybe you’ve even narrowed it down to students being perfect for certain Vampires in certain Bloodlines.

Probably high ranking members of each Bloodline. ”

Balthazar and Caemorn exchanged looks. Balthazar laughed. Caemorn sighed.

“Maybe you should tell your friend, Ryder, that,” Balthazar said.

“So there are students that are meant for certain Vampires?” Grayson confirmed.

“We’ll just say your ideas have merit,” Caemorn remarked dryly.

“But, as I told you before, Grayson, talk is cheap,” Balthazar reminded him. “They’ll have to discover it for themselves. We pick better than they do and this class will prove it..”

“That probably will just make Ryder more unhappy,” Grayson guessed as he chewed his inner cheek.

“Weryn Vampires are a much smaller Bloodline than the others. Well, except for Seeyr, but seeing the future is crazy-making.” Balthazar shrugged.

“Turning into cool animals? What child doesn’t want to become a wolf or a bear or a mighty, majestic stag?

They should be one of the biggest Bloodlines, but they are insular and prejudiced. ”

“We are fixing their shortcomings,” Caemorn said succinctly.

“He definitely won’t be happy to hear that,” Grayson remarked dryly, though he could see both Vampires’ points.

Crossing his arms at the wrists behind his back, Caemorn stated, “If Vampires were logical, our offer should have been snapped up already. But their prejudices against our Bloodlines and romantic ideas about finding fledglings are holding everyone back.”

“ Romantic ?” Grayson lifted his eyebrows.

“Vampires are romantics. I see you are, too, Grayson, from your expression as we’ve discussed this,” Balthazar chuckled.

“I am not --”

“You so are! I can read your thoughts, remember? Not just those emotions you are telegraphing loud and clear!” Balthazar chuckled some more.

“You enjoy knowing what everyone really thinks way too much,” Grayson groused.

Balthazar patted his shoulder companionably. “I enjoy many things, but being right has a very special place in my heart.”

“So what romantic thought was I having? Allegedly having?” Grayson asked, curious despite himself.

Balthazar rubbed his hands together as if relishing telling him just as much. “You want to think that fate will bring together Master and Childe, don’t you? Your gut tells you that what Caemorn just said can’t be right!”

“Okay, yeah, I guess it does sound sort of artificial .” Grayson scrubbed the back of his neck.

“If I said I located your true love through a woman who can see the future, a man who can read minds and another that can see the soul, would you still think it was artificial? Or would you call it magical ?” Balthazar asked as he gazed up at the star-studded sky, not at all looking where he was going, but like with the pool game, putting his feet exactly where they needed to be.

Grayson couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, okay, I see your point. That does sound rather magical. But you making sure that there are perfect fledglings for the Weryn still won’t make Ryder happy.”

“Of course not. It will show him that our way of choosing is superior.” Caemorn sniffed. “Weryn think they are special, different from other Vampires, and better for it.”

“I didn’t mean that. Okay, maybe some of them think that,” Grayson said with a grimace. “I think he’ll be unhappy, because it will just make it harder for him and his people to stick to their guns about their traditions.”

He started chewing his inner cheek as he wondered whether one of these students was meant for Ryder. Daemon had named Ryder to lead the Weryn at the school so it made sense that he would have someone special--made just for him--here. Grayson’s stomach seemed to curdle inside his body.

Am I keeping him from finding that person? Grayson wondered. But I don’t want to give Ryder up. Not just yet. I’m going to have to give him up in the end. Or he’ll give me up. So should I be standing in the way of him discovering his chosen fledgling?

“What has he said to you about that?” Caemorn asked.

“Just that fledglings were created for a war and that they were chosen to be cannon fodder so the crazier they were the better. Or something like that,” Grayson said. “He believes that this school will encourage Vampires to make fledglings for reasons other than they want them.”

He said “want” but he had almost said “love”. Yet did Lawson love Ryder? It was a selfish love considering how he had acted with his fledgling. But maybe Lawson was one of those Vampires who had been made by the damaged Children from the War. Maybe that explained some things.

“Ryder and Demos are exceptionally good hunters of those sick Children from the War.” Caemorn pursed his lips.

“They just don’t want that again. And they want to be in control of who they choose to join them,” Grayson said.

“They are in control,” Balthazar said. “All the work that Seeyr, Caemorn and myself have done only works if they find it worthy and choose their fledglings. Think of it like a dating app for Vampires but with an excellent algorithm.”

“Would it really be so bad to have the Bloodlines choose their own fledglings? Like the old days?” Grayson asked.

Balthazar let out a shrill laugh. “Oh, by the Gods, no. There are so many bad ideas there.”

“But it worked before!” Grayson felt nettled at the laughter.

“Only because humanity didn’t know about us before. A Bloodline’s reach couldn’t exceed its grasp back then,” Balthazar explained. “Just think of an arms race of Vampires.”

“So keeping things secret meant that you couldn’t turn all of the rich and powerful people?” Grayson asked.

“Yes, even as we speak, humans seek ways to take our blood and turn themselves. There are plenty of Vampires who would help them to get an edge,” Caemorn explained.

“So the school is to show them that--”

“We offer the best method of gaining fledglings. Also, some--like the Weryn--are honorable and would, if they agreed to this method, stick with it,” Balthazar said. “Seeyr, Kaly, Wyvern and Eyros all have us, their Immortals, to control them and we’re all on the same page. The others do not yet.”

“When I spoke to the other students in my dorm, they were convinced that getting fledglings would become a game here, too,” Grayson pointed out. “That the Bloodlines would try to outdo each other. Whoever got the most won . Didn’t matter if the fledglings were a good fit.”

“Oh, they may try that.” Balthazar looked amused.

“But it’s the same thing you’re worried about in the world--”

“This is a contained, controlled system,” Caemorn stated. “Every variable has been considered here.”

“That just sounds like you’re begging for something to go wrong,” Grayson grimaced.

“Oh, another pessimist! Just like you, Caemorn!” Balthazar chortled.