Page 14 of The Vampire's Mercy

I couldn’t have gotten through this past year without his support. He’d been such a rock, holding me close through some of the darkest nights.

He scratched at his brown, buzzcut hair, those sharp green eyes twinkling, that tickly beard when we kissed.

I didn’t love Hal, but I cared about him deeply. Met him five years ago when he arrived at our lost friend Suzanne’s sanctuary in the town of Cosgrove, north of Oreflame. We became fast friends, then fuck buddies a few years later. We found comfort in each other after Suzanne’s death, and then Pearl’s, always finding physical solace.

I trusted him with my life.

By Aidan, I missed Suzanne. My hero, savior of us executioners who needed shelter and safety. She gave us hope that one day we’d right the wrongs, rebuild the world in the correct, vamp-free way. A true acolyte of Aidan, a mage, and all-round diamond.

Cancer took her six months ago.

“Sorry, mate,” Hal said, stroking his chin. “I really am coming up empty here.” He twiddled his fingers, the orange sparks of magic dancing.

Mages drew from Aidan’s Fire to cast spells, a power only they were privy to touch. Always human, mages were branded at birth with a small spiral on the face, drawn in permanent orangeink to set them apart from regular humans. They honed their magical skills at Schools of Magic, which were still open across the world. They were never able to be executioners, their bodies too weak to handle the influx of extra bloods. That’s where humans with no magical ability came in. Like Terry, a human my sister and I met out on the road. The poor guy got shot in the stomach one night, a group of bounty hunters finding us—a time before we were shielded from scanning. We had to leave him to die or get killed ourselves.

I carried the guilt with me every day.

Picking up my drink from the frosted glass coffee table, I took some hearty gulps of coffee.

“Aidan will guide us to the truth,” Hal said. “I promise you.”

Absolutely. I knew that. Aidan was our everything.

In the ancient Quintrealm, creatures of Hell burned their way across the lands, dooming the living to endless torment, never granted a moments peace from Heaven because the other deities were, well, not doing anything to stop it. Too caught up in their decadent eternities.

Hopeless days. Dark. Empty. Not how a world should work.

Aidan, one of those deities, descended from Heaven to save everyone. Unable to stand any more of the endless suffering, he arrived with his sword of heavenly fire to smite the pricks.

Man, I bet he’d looked so awesome.

After the liberation, he left us with love and freewill, although there were some conditions to that freewill:

Build temples for prayer and comfort.

Never lose sight of His gift.

Bask in His love.

Always remember there is light in any darkness.

Working out well, huh?

Not many people attended temple services now, only the odd faithful straggler.

But I did. I lived here in His light. Hoping. Praying.

Scheming.

Oh, did we scheme here in this flat. Hal and I were part of a network of rebels waiting for the right moment to deliver the final blow. I didn’t have access to the contacts and stuff, but Hal did. And he’d been planning tonight meticulously, researching the vampire king’s movements heavily, everything leading to this.

It was up to me to deliver the final blow. Soon, I’d be in the hornet’s nest.

I shuddered, the anticipation an endless flutter in my guts.

“Everything’s good for tonight,” Hal said, popping open a packet of cured beef bites.

Yuck.