“Fuck you!” I spit.
“My time has come. When I return, you will either all be dead or thriving.”
“You’re a shitty mentor.” I don’t want his help! I won’t suffer through the absence of losing a parental figure again.
“A mentor is not a constant hand that holds you, Tristen. I will return eventually. If you follow my advice, I will grant you more. Make a new breed of warriors, keep the world safe, and use the runes to defeat the evil that seeks to devour you.
“I’m giving you the power of becoming a marker, Tristen. One day, you will understand how I feel and why I cannot be a constant shadow.”
“I’d rather be a fucker who shoves my sword up your ass!” I grind out.
“I’ve seen your soul. You want others to think it’s gray, murky. It’s not. There is honor in you that years will sharpen. You’re young, you have so many trials yet to come, but you have survived so much already. You’ll endure this. Titus will be…” He glances at Selene. I want to cut his eyes out of his body. “In a deep state soon. He has a lot on his plate. It’s time he had help.”
What the fuck does that mean?
He waves his hand. My body moves like a doll until I’m lying on the floor. Dust clogs my nose. “I thought you swept the floors,” I taunt even as fear grips me like a vice.
Elderan flashes a crooked grin. “You’re the better person. I see that now.” He crouches down next to me.
When I look into his eyes, light shoots forth, like a star in the night sky cutting through darkness; it grips me. Makes me feel small and insignificant.
He continues, “I’ll explain how it works. I’m going to give you the power to make a stronger breed of vampires. You will bite them, drain them dry, and right before they pass over, you will feed them your blood.”
Bite a vampire?!
“The girl,” Selene whispers, grabbing Elderan’s attention. “Tristen, that small child with the Shade, Titus said she fed from a vampire.”
I press my tongue to my fangs. I don’t want them to vanish and appear as Titus described. Ladies love my fangs.
“Oh no, he’s not going to be like her, but fast thinking, Selene. Fast thinking will be what…” He snaps his mouth shut and pretends to cough. “Anyway, I am not making you what she is.”
“What is she?” Selene presses.
“She is… a creature born of anger, pain and jealousy. She is Nerina’s.”
“That girl is the monster Nerina made?” I question. My fingers tingle. I can’t hunt down children.
“Nerina made many creatures here that went awry, but yes she is the one that feeds off of magic. Evil has taken over her. That child is just a shell now. Perhaps she could have been something else if given a chance. Some wild dogs can be trained if someone were only to take the time to love them. Nerina’screatures feed off magic. I never said it had to be good magic. Consider that suggestion.”
I grind my teeth. He speaks of innocent life like it’s a deck of cards he can shuffle around. “I’m not a shell you can have, Elderan!” I shout.
“There’s that pompous prick.” Elderan shakes his head. “So be it. Let’s focus on you.”
The blood drains from my face. “Never mind. Talk about the girl.” Why did I do that? Because I was scared and wanted answers. Now I have more questions.
“Oh no. This is a lesson. You wanted attention, now you will get it.”
“I wanted answers!”
“You’ll get them,” he applauds himself. “As I was saying, you will have the magic to change vampires, bite, feed to the point of death, then offer them your blood. They will change.”
I fight to move. I can’t. This is happening. I accept it and start asking questions. “Change how?”
He kneels and opens his palms. A small ball of bright white light appears. He hems and haws, looks at me like I’m a cauldron he’s going to cook a stew in. “I need warriors to look after the book, to look over the magic of these lands.
“Hmmm. Actually, let’s amend this.” Elderan shakes his hand like a pepper shaker.Crack! Spark!“You can change others, not just vampires. That’s more fair.” He moves his fingers, causing the magic to dance. “You can change anyone, so pick wisely. Pick those who can be warriors.
“Let’s add more, make this fun. We need to strengthen you and those you select. Your magic won’t run out. You won’t need blood to fuel it either. Yes, I like that.”
