Encounters (The Elder Origins #3) by Bre Faucheux Page B

watched as Jamison and the others per formed their healing practice on Caspar’s victims. She knew she would eventually need to learn how to do it herself. But for now, she only desired to be left alone. After the deed was done, she rarely returned to the stable if only to check on their progress. Akecheta and Mahkah taught them how to hunt for blood without killing, which proved simpler than any of them expected. Jayden took to guarding their small gathering and urging away townspeople without having to utter a word.
    A few of Caspar’s victims saw fit to leave within days of being healed, not wishing to learn everything that they could from them. Jamison accepted this as inevitable.  The way people dealt with their new reality would always be different.
    Madison found herself returning to the fortress they had nearly burned to the ground. The cavern caved in and was impenetrable. During the day, what was left of the local village population worked on the fortress. Noble men would visit the workers from time to time to see their progress. It was the perfect area to build such a structure, she thought. From it, all the surrounding lands could be viewed. Armies could be gathered, and the region was protected. Although a significant amount was still charred from the fires, she expected the forest would heal in time. The rain saved most of the land surrounding the fortress.
    After the workers had left, she wondered it s walls. The sky leering down on her was more ominous than it had been when she was at sea not even a year prior. And even though her new eyes and body could sense the brittle atmosphere with greater sharpness, she felt nearly numb to the future ahead of them.
    “Why so somber?” asked Jamison from behind. Madison had her legs dangling off the side of the tall stone wall of the fortress, which was beginning to look more like a castle in its form.
    “You realize that their children will never grow old?” she said gazing forward. “Their lives are forever paralyzed in time.”
    “Their mother and father are only thrilled their children are not dead.”
    Madison looked at him, her empathy clearly revealed in her eyes. Jamison took the spot next to her and gazed at the view before them. It was different somehow. Everything was a foggy mist before, as if the region held secrets that couldn't be viewed by anyone. Now, the moon’s light illuminated everything. They could see the expanse before them even after the sun had gone.
    “Their way will be much more difficult, yes, I agree. But they will have each other. In the same way you and I have each other. And these men with us are our family now. They are your brothers as they are mine.”
    Madison nodded in agreement.
    “He was one them, Madison,” he said, his tone severe. She knew he required her full attention. “A long time ago, Inazin was one of them.”
    “One of who?”
    “The Vam-pyr-ei-ak,” he said.
    Madison thought back to Inazin, not sure how she could have missed something like that.
    “The rayen does more than just protect from those who can perceive us, Madison. It protects from other vampyrs sensing us.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Because he told me,” he said. “He wore rayen around his neck to keep other tribes, including you from sensing he was not human. He lives through the centuries; he takes a wife with each generation, and provides for his people. We are of a long line, one that must be preserved. We are not the first to take this journey of watching man’s progress and guiding it. But we must be the first to succeed.”
    “I am not following, Jamison,” she said quickly.
    He waited before responding, allowing her to absorb what he had said. “The name of their tribe was the Vam-pyr-ei-ak, as you well know. In their native tongue, it means “elders,” and elders meaning the “old ones” of their tribe. They lived through the centuries to guide their people. And Inazin had been one of them. In fact, I believe that