Legion grimaced. “He–”
“Kaly brought me back into the Vampire world,” Balthazar found himself saying. “And he… he loves me.”
Legion shook their head. “No, you are wrong. You–”
“He does. It’s rather stunning. He’s been taking care of me.” Balthazar’s eyes went distant as he thought of all Caemorn was doing. “You know, I thought he wanted to be in the Eyros Palace all the time, because it's justnicerthan the Kaly Palace. But that isn’t it at all.” He shifted in his seat, leaning forward. “He stays for me. To make sure I’m all right. To keep an eye on me. Goodgrief. Huh. All this time and I thought it was me taking care of him. Making sure he doesn’t fall back into the bad habit of believing he’s alone. But he is doing the same for me.”
“Roan would never do that!” Legion snarled.
“No, he wouldn’t. Because the Roan you and Shaela here know isn’t him any longer.” Balthazar pursed his lips. “And, it’s strange or maybe not, I don’t… I don’t feel the pain I used to feel.”
“Pain? I will make you feel pain and–”
“I always thought that there was something wrong with me that Roan didn’t care for me. Why would a Master loathe his creation so much?” Balthazar mused. “I thought I was completely over it when I killed him. The first time and then the second time. Looks like I will definitely get a third. But there was still something in me that mourned.” He looked up at Legion who was glaring at him, but whose mind was completely reeling. “I haven’t felt that at all since Caemorn has been by my side. Isn’t that something?”
“You are deluding yourself.” Another growl.
“No, I’m not. Because, you see, I’m an Eyros–I’mtheEyros–and I always keep looking for the truth no matter how much it hurts,” Balthazar said with a faint laugh. “And the truth here is that while I thought I was saving him, Kaly has been saving me. He’s been savingme.”
Balthazar realized that he had connected to Caemorn’s mind at some point–maybe the connection had always been there–and he realized his peace came from knowing the truth. His Master loved him. There were no ands, ifs or buts. There were no qualifications. Caemorn–not Roan–was the reason he was here again.
Eyros reborn. Eyros remade. Eyros is going to kick butt.
His silver-eyed gaze focused on Legion. “Now, you’re going to tell meeverythingyou know. Because I am Eyros, Childeof Kaly, Immortal and Vampire Lord. Nothing and no one can stand before me.”
A MATTER OF TIME
A week later…
“So, there I was, facing off against two Weryn. One was twice my size! The other was thin as a whip, but had a crazed look in his eyes. They move like the animals they can shift into when they’re in their human forms. It’s wild,” Nero said. “Vampires are fast in general, but Weryn Vampires are something else.”
“Ryder glides more than walks,” Mairead said. “I wonder which of his animals he takes more after.”
“Ryder can turn intoanyanimal, plus Ever Dark creatures,” Nero explained.
“So perhaps he takes after most an Ever Dark creature,” Eiji offered.
“That’s so cool,” Mairead laughed.
Eiji and Nero were seated on the couch together while Mairead was seated across from them. The three of them had been having tea and hearing some of Nero’s stories about the past, including this one about two Weryn War Children who had decided Nero had insulted them. Mairead could listen to himand Eiji for hours. She told herself to record their stories on her phone–it was a brick in the Ever Dark otherwise–but she always forgot, getting caught up in stories of fights, heists and romantic entanglements.
“So what did you do?” Mairead asked. “And what didtheydo more importantly?”
“Well, I–”
There was a knock on the door to the dorm room.
“Who could that be?” Eiji asked. “Hue would just come in and Grayson is not here.”
Grayson was the one that got the most visitors. It was always interesting to see who came to whisper with him, but Eiji was right. Grayson wasn’t here and Vampires always seemed to know that. Nero was sitting up straight and his eyes were fixed on the door, but he didn’t look anxious to let whoever it was in. This both intrigued and worried Mairead. So she decided to answer it herself.
“I’ll get it,” she said and rose up from the couch.
She opened the door and a girl–a teenager really–with blonde hair done up in two pigtails and a smile so wide that it closed her eyes was standing there holding a white envelope. She reminded Mairead of a living anime character. Mairead blinked. Who was this kid?
“Hello!” Their visitor said brightly. “I’m here to speak to Eiji Goda!”
Eiji lifted his head and looked over to the door. Nero was still doing his best to resemble a pointer dog. Mairead kept a firm hold of the door. She wasn’t sure who this was or what they wanted with Eiji, but she didn’t like Nero’s reaction. Yet he wasn’t saying anything or moving. It was almost as if he could see the train coming down the tracks, but couldn’t escape it. Well, she wasn’t frozen.
