Ki stared at the wagon. They had followed the trail for two nights by air and had finally caught up. Angelique and Van were both in the wagon, and from what Ki could tell, Van was badly injured. He growled softly. How dare they! Van just laid there, unmoving, face twisted in pain. How dare they hurt his beloved! Folken had barely spoken to him for the entire journey, except when it was absolutely necessary, but he spoke now.
"Do you really love my brother?" he asked.
Ki sat quiet for a moment. He wasn't sure how to answer. He loved Van, he knew he did…but how could he convince Folken? Folken adored his brother…he would do anything to protect him. Ki needed Folken's goodwill and permission to take his brother away. The ceremony could be completed just as easily, if not more so, if Folken took Ki's place. Ki had to convince Folken of the true depth of his love.
"I love your brother as much as you love Angelique." He said simply, putting as much of his emotions into his voice as possible. Ki looked straight into Folken's eyes, willing his love to shine through. Folken gazed at him, then nodded.
"In that case, this rescue should be a breeze." Leaving Ki gaping behind him, Folken spread his wings and flew into the air. With no other option, Ki followed.
"So what's your plan?" he asked.
Folken glance below them at the slow moving wagon. "We pick off their sentries one at a time. They have been leaving four each night. That leaves four soldiers who will realize what happened when they wake up for their watch. After we take the sentries, we can try to kill a few while they're still in their sleeping rolls, but we can't guarantee that they won't make noise. At worst, we'll have to fight all eight in combat, if they discover our attempts to kill them. At best, we can pick them off one at a time, and never have to face them in true battle. You have your sword and a dagger?"
"A sword…no dagger."
"It will have to do. First, we'll head to the Fin Crossings vampire kiss. They can lodge us for the day, and maybe send someone to help us. If they are traveling, we can still use the house. As soon as night falls, we'll find their camp and begin Operation Beloved."
Ki grinned wryly. "Operation Beloved?"
"Well…isn't that what we've lost?" Ki sobered at the thought. It was bitingly true.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They had reached Fin Crossings about mid-afternoon. The soldier who had left was waiting for them with a large green jar and a cloth bag with several objects in it. After the captain checked the contents, he shoved the bag through the bars.
"This should be all you require?" he asked, almost making it a statement. Angelique ignored him, opening the green pot immediately. The smell of honey and marigolds wafted out. Van almost snickered. It seemed it was his destiny to smell like flowers. Angelique frowned at him and felt his forehead.
"A fever…I knew those burns would do this. Here…flip onto your back please." Van complied, laying on his back. Angelique spread the salve gently on all his burns…despite her care, it still hurt. Van bit his lip until the coppery tang of blood leaked into his mouth. Blood…hunger gnawed at his gut, reminding him about his newly changed metabolism. The soldiers had offered them food, but were refused. Not only could the vampire pair not eat normal food, but also they simply had no taste for it. And Van had no choice. Angelique had explained to him that the blood must be pure for the ceremony. If she were near starvation, she could drink his, but as long as there was the chance of a rescue, he could not take hers. It would be disastrous.
While his thoughts were occupied, Angelique finished spreading the last of the salve. It had numbed his burns until they were a distant ache, instead of the pounding agony they had been until then. The redness and swelling seemed to have gone down, but the burned portions of his skin, the truly black parts, were unaffected. He winced as she covered him with the blanket. The sun dimly lit up the cage through the blanket, and there had been a slight unease when they had been riding. Now, though, his body was covered and the unease gone. With two worries out of the way, Van drifted off into sleep. He would worry about the rest later.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ki touched down just outside of the Fin Crossings vampire safe house. Folken was slightly behind him, as Ki technically ranked him, being the elder vampire. The house was an impressive dark mansion. The ruling lord and lady had been there for centuries, as had most of their house. The Fin Crossings kiss was famous for their travels around Asturia and the surrounding countries, and it was unlikely that they'd all be in residence right now. If the main retinue were traveling, the only ones left would be the very young and the very old. Though not all the house was of the vampire breed (an impossibility with so few vampires anyway), the mortals were all aware of the true nature of the ones they served. Only a few trusted servants helped around the manse. With any luck, a few of these trusted servants would also be willing to help their master's relatives.
Ki knocked on the door heavily. A young lad of about nine opened the door and peered out, eyes adjusting to the black of the night. "Can I help you, sirs?"
"Yes, is Lord Krinove here?" At the boy's headshake, Ki tried again. "Lord Dalva?" This time the boy grinned and nodded.
"Of course he's here! He thinks all that traveling is frivolous. Shall I inform him you are here?"
"Yes, please. We need to see him immediately." The young lad nodded for them to follow, and dashed off down a hallway. Ki had no trouble keeping up, despite the twisting of the hallway…He probably knew this mansion better than anyone did but Lord Dalva himself. The boy stopped in front of a large oak door and knocked politely.
"Yes?" A deep but shaky voice answered.
"Lord Dalva, two vampires here to see you." Ki started a bit. He hadn't realized it was so obvious…but then, to a boy like this who practically lived his whole life with vampires, the signs were not hard to spot.
"Very good, send them in." The boy opened the door and ushered the pair in. A soft click came from behind them as the door was shut. In a large, battered armchair by the fire sat a wizened old man who looked almost eighty. In reality, he was probably over a thousand. Turning to look behind him, the old man smiled. "Ah, Kiosun, it is so very good to see you again. And this is your mate?"
Ki bowed. "No, my lord. This is Folken Fanel, Angelique's mate."
"Angelique, eh? Well, I must admit, he is her type. Eheheheh! My, she was such a headstrong young one! Thrown so quickly into her powers. And then saving her brother, too. She finally settled down? Good, good…" Dalva wheezed. Ki paused, then carefully introduced his problem.
"Lord Dalva, though Folken is not my mate, I have found my true mate. I-"
Ki was cut off in midsentence. "Well then, why didn't you bring him?" Dimly seeing Ki's expression, the oldster paused. "It is a him…?"
"Yes, lord. However, there is a problem-"
"Well, then, what's the problem? Isn't he a vampire?"
"Not yet, but he has the blood-"
"Well, what else could it be? Hmm…knowing you, you're afraid he doesn't love you in return."
"I-Yes-"
"Don't worry, young'un, I'm sure he does. That uncertainty does keep you on your toes, though. Heheheheh. I remember when I was just a century old, there was the prettiest young girl. Ooh, my, she was a quick one! Every time she'd look at me…" The old man trailed off dreamily. Ki suppressed a sigh. Lord Dalva got more senile every decade.
"Lord Dalva, please hear me out. The problem is this. My beloved, Van Fanel, Folken's younger brother, is the heir to the kingdom of Fanalia."
"I don't see the problem. Folken got out of it, didn't you, sonny?" Dalva grinned gap-toothed at them. Folken smiled thinly. Ki continued, ignoring the interruption.
"Van's mentor, Balgus, somehow got wind of the fact that Van is a vampire. So he sent the Fanalian special guard to capture Van. They succeeded in getting both Van and Angelique. We've planned a rescue but we need more people to help. With only two, it will be very dangerous. Can you send someone to help us rescue them?"
Throughout his speech, the old man had remained silent. Now he rang a bell and the page entered.
"Robby, please get out guests a secure…very secure…room for the night." The servant boy bent over as Dalva whispered something else and nodded, leaving quietly. Dalva turned back to them.
"I regret to tell you this, but with everyone traveling, there is no one to go with you."
"We had expected as much, but were hoping for a room for the night, so we could rescue them tomorrow." Ki said.
"I realize that. However, I can't allow you to do that."
Ki paused in confusion. "Can't allow us to do what?" he asked, sincerely puzzled.
"Rescue them, of course. You would betray us. The vampiric race."
"No, I wouldn't! We must rescue them, or they'll be burned at the stake! They'll die!"
"You know I love Angelique like my own child…We just can't afford the exposure of our race to anyone!"
"You don't understand! The guards already know! Balgus knows! The only way we can stop them is to kill them! We have to rescue them, now!" Ki shouted. Folken remained impassively behind him. The old man pulled the bell rope again and four burly men ran into the room armed with torches and firebrands. Evidently, Dalva had trained them well to deal with unwanted vampires.
"Guards…take them to the dungeon!" Dalva screamed like a feudal warlord. Ki snorted at the drama. Old men tended to have delusions. Surely, the guards wouldn't…
Actually, they would. When neither vampire moved, the nearest man jabbed the brand perilously close to Ki's arm. "Get moving!"
Ki bared his fangs and hissed. "You cannot be serious!"
The man gestured again. "You wanna take that risk?"
Ki lowered his head in defeat. "Dalva…why can't you see logic?!" he said desperately.
"Take them away! Take them away! I cannot listen to their useless prattle any more!" he screamed, spittle flying. Ki curled his lip in disgust. They were dealing with a madman!
The guards led them down the carpeted hallways to a red and gold furnished bedroom. The door had a huge padlock on the outside and the door was reinforced with huge metal bars. Thoughts of escape dribbled away. As the were pushed inside, Ki turned to the guard with the brand. "When will Lord Krinove be back?"
"Two days from now. If you can convince them to free you, Lord Dalva will have no say in it. I will inform them of you as soon as they return." The guard's voice was almost sympathetic. Ki nodded and flopped onto the bed, closing his eyes. Folken sat carefully in a nearby chair.
"Two days from now will be too late. It is probably close to morning now. Van and the others should reach Fin Crossings at noon. In two days, they will be in Fanalia. We will not be able to rescue them then." Folken said expressionlessly. Ki nodded miserably.
"I blew it. Dalva is even worse now than he was twenty years ago."
Folken softened a bit. "You couldn't have know. We'll make it out of here, don't worry."
Ki propped himself up on an elbow. "How?"
Folken smiled. "Like this…" he said, and outlined his plan.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Van carefully put on his soft silk shirt. The fabric shushed quietly against his tender skin. The burn salve had worked quite well. The black skin had flaked off leaving bright pink scars behind. The partially burnt parts were still red, but rapidly turning back to white. Angelique's burns were almost gone. They were still chained hand and foot, but the guards had loosened them enough to compensate for small movements. Angelique was sleeping now, although it was after midnight. Half the guards were asleep…the other four and the captain lay awake around the fire, keeping watch on both the prisoners and the perimeter of the camp. Everything was silent. The men weren't even dicing or drinking, except for the captain. In Van's experience, captains who drank in front of men they'd forbidden to drink didn't stay captains very long. Van peered out into the gloom, watching for any sight of a rescue.
The forest was empty…nothing stirred. He frowned and looked closer. Despite the proximity to the camp, something had to be moving. A rabbit, or owl, or maybe a family of night-lizards. Still, the only time the forest was silent was when there was a large predator out there that no one else could see. Either way, it meant trouble. Van carefully scrutinized the tree line again. When he had first met Ki, he'd been sitting in a tree…
Suddenly the guard captain broke into his thoughts. "See something of interest out there? Men…perform full perimeter check. Split up. North, south, east and west, then report to me. If this vampire scum sees something, I want to know what it is!"
The guards nodded and split up. After a few minutes, Van heard a very muffled thud from the west. This was followed closely by another thud and gurgle from the south. The captain didn't seem to hear it though, and Van blessed his enhanced hearing. Something out there had happened, and obviously, the captain wasn't supposed to hear it. Van prayed it was the rescue attempt and gently shook Angelique awake.
"What? Huh?" she asked blearily.
"I think what we've been waiting for is here," he breathed in her ear. The captain stood up slowly.
"I have to piss," he groaned and lurched into the trees. The sound of liquid hitting moldy leaves drifted through the clearing, then a short groan and the distinct noise of a body hitting the forest floor. Van grinned. This had to be the rescue attempt!
Two more thuds from the north and east heralded the death of the final two patrol guards. Folken and Ki drifted into the clearing, Ki with a ring of keys and a sword. Folken went around to the sleeping guards and slit their throats silently, so that none of them had a chance to yell. Van grinned in admiration. This was as perfect a rescue as he'd ever seen! Not that he'd seen many, but still!
Kiosun walked over to the cage and unlocked the door, and expression of worry on his face.
"Van, Angelique, are you alright? I-oomph!" he said as Van threw himself in his arms. Angelique followed at a more sedate pace, walking to Folken and hugging him tightly. Van was oblivious in a surprised Ki's arms.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After the quartet was reunited, they rode the guards' horses back to Angelique's farm. The horses were of fine stock as well, and they didn't want to leave the silly beasts in the woods. They'd probably get themselves eaten in a quarter hour.
Two days later at the farm, Ki and Folken explained everything.
"How did you escape?" Van asked.
"Well," Ki answered, "Your brother is better at the escape arts than he has any right to be. He used some string and a bent spoon to open our door as soon as night fell. I still have no idea how it works, but it did. After that we found a room with an open window and flew out. We found you a couple hours later, and you know the rest."
Van grinned at his brother. "I guess Balgus' training came in useful after all. Ironic that it simply defeated his true purpose." Folken smiled back at his energetic younger brother.
Ki laughed. "Ironic indeed! But speaking of Balgus, he won't give up just because his special guards failed. He'll just send more, and if our trail could be traced once, it can be traced again."
Van sobered at the thought. "Indeed…the truth is that Balgus loves us, and hates to see the kingdom fall into a cousin's hands after he fought so hard to keep it for us. He fought the advisors who wanted to throw father and mother out when they found out she was Draconian, he organized the militia to protect from invaders, and he's raised us to take the throne. No matter what logic says, he won't give up all that hard work just because we don't want the crown. No matter whom the responsibilities fall to, he won't let us get away with disgracing him. He has too much pride." Folken nodded, confirming Van's assessment.
"What can we do?" asked Angelique.
"We have to confront him somehow. We can't just hide from him forever. Or at least, for his whole lifetime."
"No," Folken responded. "No, we can't. But I do know what our next move is."
Ki looked up curiously. "What?"
"You two will complete the bonding ceremony! Ki was so sluggish from exhaustion when we were rescuing you that I am truly surprised he made it back. And Van, with your burns, used much energy in their healing. The salve was not all that healed you. Vampires heal unnaturally fast. However, that didn't leave you with much in reserve. You two will complete the ceremony tonight! In fact, since Angelique and I have fed every night since we were reunited, both from each other and the horses, we are well enough to leave for Lokia right now. We should reach there well before dawn. Laike will return in two days with the new horses. If you are not done by then, you both will die. Unless Ki feeds from elsewhere and abandons Van. He may survive. But Van will surely not. Now, Angelique and I are leaving, we love you, good luck, and goodbye." Folken said firmly, as Angelique nodded emphatically.
The two were out the door and winging away to Lokia before Van could truly grasp that they were leaving. Ki sighed gently. "Typical," he said, and refused to explain to Van what he meant.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Van sat sharpening his sword beside the fireplace. Ki was tidying up the house since the soldiers had practically trashed it and they hadn't had time to fix it before Angelique and his brother had left. Van held the sword edge to the light and scrutinized it. Perfect! Ki finished a few minutes later. The pair had slept the day after Angelique had left, so were as well rested as they could be, under the circumstances.
"So Ki, how is this ceremony performed?" Van asked, curiosity roused. Ki winced slightly.
"Ah…well, it's sort of…complicated. It is rather hard to explain. To be absolutely frank with you, the pair of vampires, which are hopefully in love, or things could get complicated, they, umm…" he coughed and blushed. Van's eyes widened as the suspicion at the back of his mind was realized.
"So we need to make love?" he said bluntly. Ki ducked his head in embarrassment.
"Pretty much, yes. Then we must drink each other's blood to be bonded for eternity. If there is no love, the younger vampire, for reasons we don't understand, goes crazy. As I did. If there is half love—meaning one loves, but the other does not, the vampire that loves is stricken with immeasurable guilt. Again, the vampire race doesn't know why, but we suspect it is for survival of the fittest. Believe me, once the ceremony is started, it all falls naturally. You'll know what to do."
There was a long pause, where nothing was said. Ki seemed nervous, and Van found himself beginning to understand why. The half-love thing…Ki was worried about it. That much was obvious from the way his eyes were looking everywhere but directly at Van. Van half smiled. "I guess we have nothing to worry about then."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Nani?" Ki said, confused. Van had the oddest smirk on his face, and Ki didn't know why.
"We have nothing to worry about," Van repeated. "If you say the ceremony will fall naturally, then I believe you."
"B...but..." Ki stuttered. "Maybe it would be better if you did it with your brother, I mean, you need to have love on both sides, and I know you and your brother love each other." Van shook his head, the same smirk teasing the corners of his mouth.
"No. It would work, true, but unless you don't love me, then why wouldn't it work with you?"
"Unless I don't love…" Ki repeated as if he couldn't quite believe what he'd heard. "No! I do love you, it's just that I was afraid…" Ki trailed off, embarrassed. Van softened and walked over to Ki.
"You were afraid that I didn't love you. You couldn't have been more wrong. I do love you, Kiosun, and there is no one I'd rather perform this ceremony with." Putting his arms around Ki's shoulders, Van kissed him full on the mouth. Ki responded in kind, pulling Van tight to him.
Ki gently pressed his tongue inside Van's willing mouth, deepening and prolonging the kiss. Van moaned softly.
Finally, they broke apart, both slightly breathless. Ki broke into a brilliant smile. "I love you Van. I have loved you ever since you were five, playing in the field with your brother. I loved watching you sword fight and pilot a guymelef. Watching you grow up made me realize how wonderful you were. When I found out you liked only guys, I almost died from relief. This…this is beyond my greatest fantasy."
Van smiled. "Well, koi…now that I'm all yours, what will you do next?"
Ki mock-leered at him. "I guess we'd better perform the ceremony."
Van grinned. "I guess so…"
Ki gently led him to the bedroom and closed the door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Van looked around the bedroom. Ki had tidied it up quite well. The bed was made, the broken chair thrown out, and everything smelled nicely of soap. Ki came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Van. "Hey lover," he breathed.
Van turned around to face him. "Mmmm…" he said contentedly from within the protective circle of Ki's arms. Ki looked down warmly at him.
"Why did you always…reject my advances if you loved me?" he asked, needing to know.
"I…was afraid." Van admitted. "I've only done this once, you know. I wasn't sure how to act. And I was afraid of what might happen if you found out. If anyone found out."
Kiosun nodded and hugged him tighter. "I understand." Then he bent down and once more claimed Van's lips, guiding him to the bed at the same time. Both of them ended up unbalancing and sprawling on the bed, laughing. Ki rolled onto his side and propped himself up with an elbow. "You're always so serious Van. I haven't seen you laugh very often. Why is that?"
"I suppose it's because I never had much to laugh about, after my family left. I've had to mature so quickly. Then when I began to take care of Fanalia, I couldn't let the people see how young I really was, so I acted older. After I met you, you were just so fun to be around, but at the same time, I was uncertain, so I acted as neutrally as possible, under the circumstances. I mean, with being a vampire and all."
"Hmm. So, once you become more comfortable, you'll loosen up a bit?"
Van glanced over sharply at the tone of Ki's voice. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes and a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "I…guess so." Van answered cautiously. Ki grinned and pulled Van to him, kissing him soundly.
Van willingly participated, happy with the world for once. He had his brother back, the kingdom wasn't his problem anymore, and he had found his beloved. As soon as the ceremony and Balgus were taken care of, everything would be perfect.
During Van's musings, Ki had somehow managed to undress them both and pull the blankets over them. Van lay next to him, skin on fire where it touched Kiosun's. Ki seemed content for the moment just to hold him, and Van had no objections. Finally, Van looked at Ki.
"How do we complete the ceremony?"
"First, we show our love for each other the physical way. Then, we bind our souls together in blood. Then we'll never leave each other, for eternity."
Van nodded and was swept away in the sensations Ki offered him. They made tender love together, and at the height of their passion, Van gently bit Ki's neck, and the latter returned the favor. Metallic, heavy blood filled Van's mouth as wave after wave of pleasure hit him. He felt his canines lengthen and become more solid. A strange sensation swept through his wings, causing them to unfurl. Through the corner of his eyes, Van watched as his wings turned complete matte black, reflecting no light. His eyes blanked out for a moment, and when his sight returned, the previously dark room seemed lit up as if with hundreds of candles. Strength coursed through his limbs as the sensation of many pins rained on his skin; everywhere they touched leaving enhanced senses. Smell, touch, even hearing increased a thousandfold.
At the same time, a presence in his mind grew stronger and more clearly defined. A bright voice whispered in his mind
Inseparable, for eternity.
Van echoed the thought in his head, answering, magnifying the words, and making them true.
However, few things last forever, and the ceremony was the same way. After the last echoes of the voice left his head, Van and Kiosun fell back against the pillows, Van retracting his wings, embarrassed. Ki saw the look and shook his head. "Don't be embarrassed. It always happens."
Van grinned ruefully and took stock of himself. Everything seemed larger, fuller. Complete. Instead of being exhausted, as he expected, he felt refreshed and renewed. Ki looked the same way. But there was something different…the presence in his head was still there. He called to it experimentally.
Hello?
Yes? Kiosun glanced at him. Van's eyes widened.
Kiosun?!
Of course.
Oh my…
Ki was grinning insanely. Oh my indeed. The ceremony worked, all the way! There was love on both sides…so much, that the Powers That Be granted us this gift. We will never be separated, no matter the distance between us physically.
Can we shut it off? Van wondered.
What, sick of my company already? Ki teased. Of course we can. Just imagine that you are surrounding that little spot in your mind where my presence is with a glass bubble. Then, I won't be able to hear what you're thinking, and I won't be able to talk to you. I mean, I can't hear what you're thinking anyway, just the thoughts that you direct at me and the emotions too strong to cut off. And the bubble can pop in an emergency, so we needn't worry about getting completely cut off, even by accident.
Oh. Van tried this a few times, then banished the bubble. How do you know about this?
There was a mental sort of shrug. I just do. Like if you went out hunting right now, you'd know exactly how to seduce a victim properly and feed. Of course, you might accidentally kill the person, since you haven't learned control, but the knowledge is there. Basic survival instinct. Vampires have a lot of that.
Van rolled this over in his mind, looking for the information that Ki told him was there. Sure enough, he knew exactly what to do. Will I need to know how?
Yes. We cannot subsist off each other, much as I'd love to. Every week or two we each will need to feed off another. Person or animal, it doesn't matter. Laike, Folken and Angelique use the horses. We will too, until we establish ourselves and start our own farm.
Oh.
Although, now that I think about it… Ki looked him over once. We better not touch the horses until you learn control. Not that you don't have any! He hastened to reassure, as Van looked at him offended. It's just very hard, the first few times, to control the hunger. Have you ever heard of bands of criminals and brigands disappearing?
Van nodded. It was a great mystery to the law enforcers, how groups of bandits were killed every once and a while…usually about five or ten years apart, huge numbers of thieves and generally evil people would have their throats ripped out and their bodies publicly displayed beside the road. Van had a suspicion now about what happened, confirmed by Kiosun's next words.
They wouldn't have long to live anyway…they'd get caught, or an ambitious underling would kill them and take their place, so the vampires made a pact to train young vampires on the brigands and cutthroats. A kiss is actually dedicated to making a list of truly evil men, the men of the very worst sort. No small-timing thieves get on the list, only the cold ones who murder for a living. We'll get a copy of the list and begin your training by practicing on them.
Van nodded agreeably and yawned. Ki chuckled softly. For now, we'll sleep. The next two days will be spent entirely together, and then Laike should be back. We'll travel to Lokia to inform your brother and Angelique about the good news, and then we can begin to scout around for good farm territory while training you. Once we've found a place secure and remote enough, we can begin thinking of a way to get Balgus off our backs. Is that ok?
Looking down at Van, Ki realized he was already asleep. Ki smiled tenderly and settled Van in his arms, certain now that there would be no embarrassment come morning. Before he drifted off to sleep, he sent one last mind wisp in Van's direction.
Goodnight, beloved. A dreamy echo chased Ki's thoughts into peaceful oblivion.