Page 174 of Vameer

“Did you come with information?” I draw The King’s attention back to me.

“I have a plan.”

He tells me. And I listen.

I couldn’t find any information on King Tosa. And since I couldn’t ask anyone, not wanting to bring this meeting to anyone’s attention, I’m going in blind.

But I know he’s old. He looks about fifty, and since vampires don’t age like us, I’m guessing he has a century or three on the Vadas brothers. His features are a blend of various traits, and not for the first time, I wonder if he’s from a background unknown to modern people.

“I will require you to bring more humans.” His voice grates.

“This is my personal team; we will remain outside.”

“Bring fifteen.”

I nod. I can find fifteen men.

And this time they’ll be protected by The King’s guards. So hopefully they won’t end up sliced in half.

“Will all your men wormhole to get there?”

He stares at me.

At least, I think he’s staring at me.

When he still doesn’t answer, I shrug. “Just asking. I don’t care how you travel.”

“Any other questions?”

About a million. “Why are you including me in this mission? I’m under no illusion that you could do this without me.”

“When Vameer is dead, I want everything that he stole from me. You are a representative of your government. I want you and the rest of the world governments to recognize my sovereignty. And I want to be left to live my life under my own rules. No interference. By anyone.”

I nod, acknowledging I heard his request, not agreeing to it. “What did he steal from you?”

King Tosa leans forward. “Everything,” he hisses. Then he stands back upright, like he’s remembering himself. “He stole my kingdom. Drowned my army. Sank my ships. Emptied my coffers. Burned my home. All because he thinks he’s better than everyone else.” He takes a step back. “I want him dead. And I want my lands returned to me.” The rest of his vampires take a step back as well. “Be ready.”

Then, they leap, straight up into the sky.

When the last of them disappears from sight, the men beside me exhale and sag.

“We all agree that dude is terrifying, right?” The man on my left chuckles.

“Yup,” the other replies, then looks at me. “We gonna get our hands on some of those cobalt bullets?”

“Caught that, did you?” I turn back to the car, keeping my nerves on lockdown. “Bullets and fifteen volunteers.”

“Not it,” the men say at the same time, then laugh as they walk to their vehicle.

I drop into my seat and pull the door shut. Then I undo the buttons at my throat and pull in a deep breath.

What I need is for King Tosa and Vameer to kill each other. Because if The King succeeds, he’s going to be very disappointed when he finds out that I do not represent my government, and that none of his demands will be granted. Especially the gift of land.

Who the fuck does he think he is? A king of a land no one has heard of. No one cares.

When this first started, I had the backing of my bosses. Of the government. Because I saw an opportunity to either capture an unknown or kill a threat before it killed us. They saw the sense in it. But after New York, when I was the only one with balls enough to actually put a plan together, they turned their backs on me.

I almost scoff.