17
"Oh, isn't she just an adorable little thing!"
Godric glanced to his side, where Irin seemed to be attempting to melt into his body to avoid the eyes curiously examining her. He constricted the arm around her waist a little tighter to soothe her, sending the King's progeny a measured look.
The woman had taken a few steps towards them, away from her Maker's leather seat, and the rest of the gathered vampires—the King, his Sheriffs and a few assorted progenies—were staring at his stray as if she was the key to all his secrets and power.
After centuries involved with vampire politics it didn't really surprise him; progenies were usually the height of emotional investment, the bond forged an immensely personal experience, and he was aware of his reputation as having absolutely no weak spots, no emotional attachments to be exploited. Of course, his bond with Eric was relatively well known in the higher-up hierarchy, but no one old enough to be of any importance were so foolish as to see his Viking as a weakness in any form. The little, scared female clutching at his side… was obviously a different story.
"Aw, and she is shy." Clarissa had stopped a few feet away, angling her head in an attempt to get a better look at Irin's face—which was stubbornly hidden against his chest. She looked over her shoulder to her King and Maker. "Look at how cute she is, Randall. How can you not want to Grandfather one?"
The King sighed, rolling his eyes exasperatedly. "Daughters. Just wait, Godric, your little one will soon enough forget to bide her tongue in the presence of her Elders. Clarissa, my dearest, come now, and leave my Sheriff's little one be. We have urgent matters to discuss; let us not waste the Authority's time." He nodded politely in Nora's direction.
The pout the female sent her Maker was borderline insolent, but the King had all days spoiled his Child and lover well beyond what was wise for a Maker. Predictably, his only reaction was to give her a mildly chastising look before kissing her hand and rising from his throne. "Shall we?"
Godric let the rest of the vampires file in after the King as he left the grand room he'd received his Sheriffs in, waiting until last so he could discretely check up on his youngest without the looming presence of the many strangers.
Her strawberry head popped up from his shoulder the second they were alone in the room, and he felt a smile pull at his mouth at her somewhat disorderly hair. Despite Isabel's best efforts she did not look much like the lady he knew the Latina had envisioned when she prepared his kitten for this visit.
"You are doing well," he ensured her, easing up on his hold around her midriff. "We will be in a meeting for the rest of the night. Do remember to stay quiet and close to me at all times."
Irin's head bobbed obediently, the firm pressure of her slim figure against his side indicating that he probably wouldn't have any problems with keeping her near throughout the night.
"Good girl." He offered his hand for her to hold on to, as opposed to his shirt, and she clasped on tightly.
The oval table in the meeting room allowed for all to see each other, yet let everyone know who was calling the shots; King Randall was sat at the head, his Daughter on one side and Nora on the other, engaging in light conversation with the Authority's representative while waiting for the Sheriff of area 9. Godric was well aware that the King disliked being kept waiting, and he normally wouldn't have exploited his position as the only vampire in the state who could test the monarch's patience without risking the loss of a limb, but he'd rather mildly antagonise Randall than have Irin throw another fit due to his negligence.
He steered them towards the two remaining chairs next to Clarissa and sat down, releasing his hold on Irin so she could get into her own chair. His gaze slid down the table and over the eight other Sheriffs and the two progenies brought by Four and Six. He didn't meet with them often, preferring to do most cross-area business over the phone or via email, but the few in-person summits over the past century had never featured such grim expressions. Nora's presence had lent a new layer of seriousness to an already sombre situation, and the ambience in the room reflected it.
"Let us start this meeting by thanking Chancellor Gainesborough for taking the time to travel all the way to Texas to aid us in this most serious threat to our territory. I apprec…" The King's speech halted as two clunks pre-empted a small form clambering on top of the ancient Sheriff's lap, limbs digging in to his thighs and torso while the baby vampire currently ignoring any etiquette taught to her during the last week got comfortable.
Godric glanced around the table; the incredulous stares were impossible to miss, as was the pair of expensive, black shoes lying discarded next to his chair.
A small part of him appreciated the humorous notion that she'd decided to get rid of the shoes before climbing him like a baby koala, sparing him from the pain of the heels while completely disregarding any and all embarrassment caused by her inappropriate behaviour. He felt her pale arms sliding around his torso, the short sleeves of her pretty dress bunching up over her shoulders as she buried into his chest, settling into what had become her favourite position when he was working.
He probably should have reprimanded her; after all, Isabel had put her through hours upon hours of lessons to avoid causing insult to the regent with exactly this type of occurrence, and it really didn't portray the well behaved and obedient progeny a respected Sheriff could have expected to sire.
Sighing inwardly the dark haired vampire wrapped his one arm around her back, mildly annoyed by the restrictive suit fabric's resistance, and politely returned his attention to King Randall. Nothing other than tears would be accomplished from scolding the girl, and any damage to his stoic reputation had already been done by the obvious display of their normal interactions, which—truth be told—weren't particularly dignified. Cuddling just wasn't done among vampires.
Of course, no one had told his stray that.
The King blinked once at the lack of reaction from him, but then seemed to remember that he'd been in the middle of opening the meeting. "I appreciate that we all would rather spend this time securing our areas, but as the first bastion for the Northern Americas I believe it vital that we set out parameters for preventative measures and compile a suitable strategy, should the infection spread across the ocean. To that effect, Chancellor Gainesborough will be instructing us on current knowledge and expectations. Chancellor, if you please?"
Nora's narrowed eyes slid from her Maker to the rest of the table, and Godric recognised the determined set of her shoulders, though to anyone who hadn't spent decades with her she would appear completely unfazed. The need for composure worried him; from the previous week's meeting he was aware of the seriousness of the situation, but his oldest Daughter was cut from steel and groomed by Eric and himself to be calm in the face of any threat. It would seem that the Authority's efforts to quell the outbreak were not going to plan.
"I will get straight to the point, then. A very aggressive virus infecting vampires is spreading rapidly from an unknown location in Eurasia. The infected exhibit irrational, violent behaviour, do not respond to normal interactions and will attack anyone they see, not distinguishing between vampire, human or animal. They are stronger and faster than what is normal for their age and extremely difficult to kill, though decapitation and staking works. However, the results are… different than in a healthy specimen. The virus spreads via bite, and only to other vampires. After infestation, the victim will typically change behaviour within five to ten minutes." She paused, looking down for a short moment to let those who had not previously heard these details digest the information.
"There is no known cure, and our scientists are, to put it bluntly, clueless. In the past week, it has spread down southern Europe and into northern Africa, and the human authorities can no longer be kept in the dark. There have been mentions of quarantines; the UN is on the brink of getting involved… the situation is past dire."
"You tell us this now?" Three, a male of a mere two hundred years, who was relatively new to his position of power, had gripped the table in agitation, his voice rising with alarm.
Cool grey-blue eyes landed on him. "And when did you expect to be informed, Smithz? Before every European, Asian and African King, Queen and Sheriff? You cannot begin to imagine the havoc these… creatures inflict; information goes to those who need it, and now, that is you. If you had any wits, you would have hoped to live in ignorance."
"Are there indications that it is spreading to the Americas, then, Chancellor?" the King interjected, sending his Sheriff a warning glance.
"No, Your Majesty." Her chilling gaze finally moved from the squirming Sheriff. "But it spread to Africa, despite strict border control. At this point, we are unable to guarantee that it will not be a global pandemic, which is why we are alerting every vulnerable Kingdom in the new world. If the infection reaches the shores from South, Texas is the funnel that could control the spread to the rest of North America."
"What is the Authority's stance on involving the humans?" Godric was well aware that—as always within Vampire Society—secrecy had been the first order of protocol, but the mention of the UN indicated that that was not an option for long; a rather unsettling fact. Only once before in the history of civilisation had vampires come close to this level of exposure, during the Witch War, and times were… very different, then.
Nora nodded lightly in acknowledgement of his question. "We are about to open discussions with certain organisations and governments; rather they see us as an ally than the enemy to be conquered. However, as of yet the situation is to be contained. We will inform everyone if and when the situation changes. And now… I suggest you all see exactly what it is we are up against."
A small yelp from his lap made him instinctively tighten the grip on his progeny as she twisted around to stare at Nora with huge eyes, simultaneously seeming to melt impossibly closer to his body. "No! Don't bring one in here!"
Several pairs of raised eyebrows from around the table were turned in their direction at the completely uninvited input from a baby progeny of a—albeit powerful—Sheriff.
Godric contained his heavy sigh at the overdramatic tendencies and uncanny knack for disturbing at inopportune times of his charge, attempting to shift her a little so she wasn't covering his entire torso with her own, small frame. "Apologies; my progeny seems to have picked up a certain influence from modern culture and is convinced that the infected are zombies."
"Zompires," a sulky mutter sounded from against his chest.
He gave her a stern glare, which was ignored as she was busy burying into his chest in an effort to hide herself and, seemingly, shield his body from 'zompire' attacks by covering him in baby vampire. Deciding to give her a stern talking-to at a more opportune time—when in private quarters—Godric nodded politely at Nora in an attempt at shifting focus back to the matter at hand.
"'Zompires'? Of course!" Clarissa smiled brightly, looking from his stray to Nora. "Well, that is what they are, isn't it? Vampire zombies?"
"My dear…" Randall interrupted his excited lover. "Zombies were poisoned humans, trickery made by the voodoo priests. Nothing remotely like this infection."
The female rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, you old ones; I keep telling you to watch more movies with me." Her eyes flickered to Nora in appeal. "Surely, the Authority must be aware of the similarities between the way this infection is spreading and pop culture's description of zombie apocalypses; when they attack, do they go for blood or flesh?"
"Blood. I will ask the researchers for any useful links to this phenomenon you are referring to." Nora managed to keep the emphasis on 'useful' just light enough for it not to be an outright insult to the King's mate, before she sent Irin's form a slanted look. "Now, if it is agreeable, I will show you a video of an attack."
She pressed a button underneath the table, which made a large flat screen appear on the opposite wall. Another press and it flickered on.
Godric managed to grab Irin by the chin before she twisted around to see, lifting her face slightly to meet his gaze for a brief moment. "This is not for your eyes," he whispered, ignoring her resulting pout; there was no need to terrify his already fragile—and highly excitable—progeny with what was likely to be unpleasant footage.
As it turned out, his premonitions were accurate. What appeared on the large screen was every bit as disturbing as Nora's report had suggested; the recording was possibly from el Casco Viejo in Bilbao, judging from the architecture, but whoever had taped it was jolting it too much to give a clear image of any landmarks. What was clear in the frame, however, were the hundreds of people in the narrow streets out enjoying the night, the sound of music… and then, screams.
It came from somewhere to the back, and the camera caught what appeared to be ripped-off limbs flying off-frame as the crowd broke in unnatural haste, revealing what was ploughing ahead.
The attacking vampire looked… wrong, though the extended fangs and unnatural strength used to tear limbs from bodies clearly marked it as one of their kind. What was meant to be the whites of his eyes were almost fully red, the skin was ghastly greyish green, and the look on his face… Godric unconsciously clutched the form in his arms tighter—receiving a grateful kiss to his collarbone in return— at the sight of the infected's facial expression. There was not a shred of consciousness there, just pure, sick rage. He had seen many horrifying things in his long life, few of which had ever unsettled him. This man made the list.
The screen continued to display several minutes of mindless destruction until a new figure zipped into the frame; a healthy vampire seemed to have arrived and decided to put a stop to the carnage. Or at least try.
"That was the local Sheriff – Carolina Hernandez, 800 years old and vastly respected throughout Southern Europe for her power," Nora informed them softly.
The reason for the use of the past tense to describe the Sheriff quickly became apparent as the infected swivelled around, snarling, to face his attacker.
"They are no longer interested in human blood," Nora said as a surprisingly short fight—surprising, because Godric had met the woman a few centuries ago, and she had already been a strong fighter back then—ended with the brunette on her back. Her scream, piercing through the other shouts of human terror, when teeth dug viciously into her neck ended abruptly as her throat was torn out and the infected feasted on her blood.
At this point it seemed that whoever was filming it had had enough, and the video cut out to the sounds of human distress and running feet.
The meeting room was quiet as a grave for a few moments as they all processed what they'd just witnessed, until Nora once again spoke. "It took the King of País Vasco and five of his subjects to take down Carolina, after she turned. What you need to know is that, apart from their improved strength and speed, their lust for vampire blood drives them to fight with the sole objective to rip open your veins and feed. It has taken many skilled warriors by surprise, costing them their lives—we are not used to being preyed upon. If the infection spreads here, you better get used to it. They will slaughter humans, but at the scent of a vampire their focus will shift entirely until they have drunk every last drop of vampire blood available. There seems to be no limit to their hunger. And unless a bitten vampire is decapitated—they will change. Once the transition is completed, a stake through the heart will also work."
"How do we fight them?" The strained voice belonged to the Sheriff of six, who had grabbed her progeny by the hand as the younger vampire was visibly shaking next to her.
"In groups, and quickly. There is no reasoning with them, even if they used to be a close friend. There is nothing left. Be ruthless, or die. All of you." Her eyes slid to Godric. "Even the eldest among us can be taken down by these beasts; an ancient was infected in Vietnam last week. Five other ancients had to fly in to take her down, and in the meantime she'd managed to spread it to more than twenty younger vampires. One bite is all it takes.
"I suggest you arrange teams of your strongest underlings within each districts and train them, so you have a defensive force ready if the worst should happen."
King Randall—sporting an unusually queasy expression—nodded. "It will be done. Texas will be ready." There was only a smidge of his normal arrogance in the dark tone.
Nora nodded, getting to her feet. "We pray that you will. And now, if you will excuse me; I have a flight to Mexico to catch before dawn."
She was out of the room before anyone had had the opportunity to get to their feet and offer her the normal respect her position as councilmember demanded, giving Godric one last, lingering look.
"Well." The King said, looking out over his shaken subjects. "I believe we could all use some refreshments and the chance to discuss this informally among ourselves before retiring for the day. Tomorrow night we will discuss the formal procedures before everyone returns home to implement them. I expect everyone's full support in this—if this comes from the South, Texas will stop it from spreading further North.
He wasn't the only Sire who had to soothe his young one during the informal part of the meeting, though not even Clarissa climbed onto her Maker's lap, and the general method applied to calming frightened youngsters seemed to be a gentle touch or a few soft words of reassurance.
But then again, no other progeny there was likely to climb the curtains or accidentally teleport across the room if their emotions got the better of them, so Godric didn't mind keeping both arms tightly wrapped around his anxious Child while mumbling soothing promises of protection until her shaking wore off; she may not have seen the attack, but the noises and the room's general reaction to the video had apparently been plenty frightening.
"Have some blood," he encouraged, as huge, violet eyes in a pale face finally reappeared from the lining of his jacket. A smile spread on his lips when the look of terror was momentarily replaced by excitement at that one word. He nodded to the table at her questioning look, and she twisted around and grabbed one of the champagne flute filled with O negative that'd been placed on the table while they had been otherwise preoccupied. She gulped it down in two mouthfuls and then—with more care—took the other flute and turned back around, offering it to him.
"I am not hungry, Irin, thank you." The sight of a few drops of blood left on her full bottom lip made him unwind one arm from the firm grip and gently wipe it off. "You can have it."
She frowned at him, eyes sliding from his face to the tempting glass. "But… You need to eat too."
Her obvious fight between concern for his wellbeing and desire for human blood made him grin, and he prodded her nose with the still-blood smeared thumb. "I am very old, youngling; I do not require much sustenance. You can drink it if you wish, or let it be thrown away, but I will not have it." The grin widened when his words were instantly followed by a rather swift downing of the red liquid and a scowl at his teasing suggestion.
"I do believe this is the first time I have seen a smile from you, Sheriff."
Godric turned his attention from the redhead on his lap to his King, bowing his head lightly in acknowledgement of his liege lord's attention. The man was watching their interactions closely, a speculative expression in his golden brown eyes.
"My Child is a source of much joy, Your Majesty." There was no point in denying a close bond to the girl; her open displays of affection had negated the explanation of her expected behaviour as merely the actions of a newly turned.
"Obviously so." He cast a glance at his own Daughter, who was engaged in debate with the Sheriff of area seven, though her hand still rested in his. "I regret that you did not get the opportunity to bond for longer before bringing her here; perhaps a little extra time would have seen you proudly present a mate, hmm?"
"I do not question the importance of this meeting surpassing the convenience of bonding uninterrupted with my progeny." There was no need to take the bait and comment on the possibility of a mating bond; if he denied it, the question of why he had finally chosen a new progeny would only intensify, and if he agreed… well, there was no reason to further magnify her status as his one, entirely too obvious, weak spot.
"It seems such a thing is a luxury of the past," Randall agreed, tilting his head as she looked at her. "Nevertheless, I imagine that you must desire a few moments in privacy after this eventful evening; you and your Daughter have my blessing to retire until tomorrow nightfall. We will not be discussing anything of importance before then."
Godric nodded his appreciation at the monarch, more than a little relieved at the prospect of getting his stray into private quarters before her staring at the King from the safety of his arms turned insolent. "Thank you, Majesty. Irin, come along."
The click from the door as he locked and bolted it was the most comforting sound he'd heard all night. Perhaps he'd been getting too comfortable in his nest over the years, letting the security of never leaving his own domain for more than a few hours at a time sharpen his distaste for gatherings in unfamiliar territories. A long period of his life had been spent travelling night after night, burying into the ground in a new location every dawn. Back then, the inherent dangers brought by a wandering life had simply been what he knew, and even bringing a newly turned Eric with him had only seemed natural.
Now, with the little stray currently preoccupied with exploring the lavish room as if she was truly the kitten he named her for, anything not involving his own fortified walls made him uncomfortable. Of course, that could also be explained by her less than reliable behaviour around others. Others, who could harm her.
"Irin."
Stopping her rummaging through a cabinet drawer she looked over her shoulder at him at the sound of her name.
"You were not entirely well behaved tonight." He filled his voice with just enough disappointment to ensure her continued attention, but—hopefully—not enough to cause tears. "I asked that you stay quiet, and you didn't."
The expected pout formed on her pretty face. "But… I thought…"
"You thought that I would allow an infected in your presence." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You were foolish, Daughter, and you spoke out of turn."
She sighed heavily and muttered 'I'm sorry' in a not-entirely-convincing tone, but Godric took the lack of argument as a victory nonetheless.
"And then there is the 'zompire' incident…"
A semi-rebellious glare was aimed in his general direction. "The King's Daughter agreed."
"Clarissa is not much more than a Child herself—merely 70, I believe. And an excitable nature. No one asked for your opinion."
The rude sound omitting from her definitely didn't go with the expensive dress and luxurious surroundings.
"Irin."
"I haven't asked for your opinion on my behaviour, yet I'm getting it anyway." She had turned all the way around, slim arms folded over her chest and the insolent stare he'd feared she would offer the King fixed on him instead.
The transformation from the scared little thing clinging to him all night into this argumentative girl made him shake his head in exasperation, but at least she was clearly becoming fully comfortable around him; her combative stance held no ounce of fear. "And you will continue to do so until you gain full control of yourself. I will not accept any further uninvited outbursts for the rest of the stay, Child, is that understood?"
Her amethyst eyes narrowed in annoyance at the dismissal. "Yes, old man."
"Father or Maker is quite sufficient." He turned around, shrugging out of the suit jacket and carefully folding it over the back of a chair. "Now, unless you further wish to test the boundaries for how much lip I will tolerate I suggest you get changed for bed."
A small growl sounded from behind him, which made the corner of his mouth twitch. She was a stubborn one, but nothing good would come of demonstrating his dominance at this time; insolence or not, she was acting out due to strain and needed comfort more than a lesson in obedience. That much he had learned from their limited time together.
"Go change, kitten." His tone was softer as he started unbuttoning the stiff shirt wrinkled by her loving attention. "Dawn is near."