Page 116 of Blood Lovers

Poor Syrsee. I take her hand, pull her close to me, and put my arm around her shoulder, hugging her, showing affection at her vulnerability. I lead her back in the direction of the greenhouse, talking gently to her now. “Of course not, little treat. No one has explained anything to you. The Guild has done nothing but feed you lies. But it’s time for you to know the truth. Let’s have that conversation now. But don’t worry. I’ll be here for you. I’ll hold your hand through the whole thing.”

The helipad lounge above the greenhouse is warm and cozy. And even though I can tell that Syrsee is disturbed that she is sipping hot chocolate and nibbling gingerly on a croissant after what just transpired, she does these things anyway. Out of habit, I suppose. A desire for something normal in a world swirling with madness.

I wait for her to settle. And when she finally looks up at me with expectations, I begin.

“Do you know how many vampires live in the world?”

She shakes her head.

“Come now. You grew up in the Guild. They must’ve told you something.”

“They…” She sighs. “They said you were the only one.”

“That’s true, to a point. But they never mentioned the others?”

“They said there were three of you, but only you count.”

I smile at this, delighted that they have finally admitted the truth of my power. “That’s correct, to a point. Here in America—which includes Canada and Mexico, but not the rest of Central and South America—I am the Lord King. I am the only one who matters. But I have two contemporaries. Lucia and Josep. They live with me on the compound. You will meet Lucia straight away, but Josep is rather old and reclusive. Lucia was not born a vampire the way I was, the way Ryet was. She was made as a halfbreed. Josep—well, just forget about him for now. The important thing for you to understand is that I am Lord King of America.”

I don’t think Syrsee is impressed. She has stopped nibbling on her food and she’s looking me in the eyes, but she’s not catching on.

“One. There is but one of me. But with Ryet, there is now two.”

“OK.” She shrugs. “So what?”

“If there is only one vampire, he can call himself Lord King all he wants, but it’s meaningless to the others around the world. With two, I am now suddenly formidable. Making a true vampire is not an easy thing to do. Ryet—if he lives through this next part, and I’m expecting him to do this—will be the very first vampire born in over a thousand years.”

She’s squinting now, which means she’s thinking. Which means perhaps she is not just an idiot with a pretty face. She can reason. At least a little bit. “How… I mean, why? Why is it so hard to breed?”

“Well, one must have three things to make a new vampire. You need a mother, a father, and a… you. A little Black witch with Black blood. And this must-have combination is difficult to achieve.”

“Because you ate us out of existence.”

“There is truth to that. But in my defense, Black witches are also hard to breed. You need a mother, who must be a Black witch herself, and you need a father who—”

And here dear Syrsee leans in, giving her ignorance away. She has no idea how Black witches are made. So she snaps at me. “Who what? Finish that sentence.”

“A father who comes from Darkness, of course. Like the rest of us.”

“And what would that be? Who is this dark ‘father?’”

“We all have the same father, dear girl. The Darkness is our father.”

“Darkness?” She makes a scowling face. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You will know Him one day. Because one day, he will come to you, dear Syrsee. And when he leaves, you will be with child. And that child will be a new Black witch.”

“So… some ghost is going to rape me in the future and I’m going to have its baby. Is that what I’m hearing?”

“It won’t be rape, of that I’m sure. You will lust for the Darkness. You are part of it, after all. You will open your legs—”

“That’s enough. You’re sick.”

I shrug. “At any rate, that is why it’s difficult. The Darkness won’t waste his time on just anyone. He is a picky fucker. But, that answers your question, yes?”

“What does this have to do with anything?”

“Oh, this is everything. This is my problem. Obviously, I cannot have a child. I need a woman to do that. And there are no female vampires. There are only Black witches. And yes, your kind is nearly extinct. I don’t know the specifics of the breeding programs in other parts of the world, as those vampires cast me out a long time ago. But as far as my breeding program goes, it has been an abject failure until now.”