paced the room, his hands on his hips. “I hoped I could spare you from all of this, but it appears that’s not possible now. Bella…”
“Wants to unite all otherworldly creatures, and so far she’s just succeeded with the vampires.”
He nodded. “I see that bloody bastard Sinjin discussed it with you. Yes, that’s so. Anyway, it’s Bella’s wish to unite all the non-human species.”
“Why?” I interrupted.
He cupped his hands behind his head and exhaled. “It’s a good plan in theory. There’s too much warring between the legions—that is the vampires kill the weres and the weres kill the fairies, and so on. Bella believes we would be much more powerful if we…”
“Could all just get along?” I inted, regretting the cliché and overused statement, but it just seemed to fit. “But for what purpose?”
Rand sighed and stopped in front of me. “Do you recall when I told you witches and warlocks are a dying breed?”
I nodded as he continued.
“About three centuries ago, a group of humans discovered a band of vampires and witches in the woods of Gratz, Austria. The humans attempted to escape, but the vampires defeated and fed on them, leaving them for dead. But some of them weren’t dead and they survived the attack.”
“Did they turn into vampires?” I interrupted.
“Not exactly. It’s not possible to turn into a vampire unless you drink the blood of a vampire at the same time he drinks your blood. Anyway, somehow vampire blood did make its way into some of the humans and although it wasn’t enough to turn them into vampires, it gave them extra strength and the quickness of a vampire. They became what we call Lurkers, humans who seek to destroy all otherworldly creatures. And their population has increased over the years. Now, they’re the biggest threat to our existence.”
And my existence. The thought wasn’t a pleasant one.
“So, Bella wants to unionize to defeat these humans? What’s so wrong with that?”
“In theory, it’s all fine and good, but Bella is not the ideal candidate to lead such an effort. She’s out for herself and would take advantage of the position it would put her in.”
I nodded, feeling the situation was finally making sense. “So, how do I figure in this?”
“She wants to give everyone reason to join her. You’re that perfect reason.”
Well crap and a half, this couldn’t be good. “Why?”
He shook his head, annoyed I wasn’t following him. “There wouldn’t be any bad blood between the creatures if you can bring back all their dead. In a way, we’d all start from scratch again, no harm done. That and it replenishes the union. No beings would ever need to die.”
“Strength in numbers.”
“Yes, so when news spread of Jack, I went to Bella, and I made an agreement with her. She was to leave you alone. I told her you weren’t as strong as I’d thought and that I did the majority of the reanimation myself. Clearly, she didn’t believe me.”
My shoulders slumped, and I stared straight ahead, looking at everything, but seeing nothing. “So, that’s why Bella invited me to this party?”
“Yes, she wants to announce that you’re now working for her.”
My mind spun like a roulette wheel, and I wished I’d never agreed to come here. “Are you on her team?”
He shook his head. “No, I haven’t yet agreed to anything. I was quite surprised to receive the invitation here tonight. I can only surmise Bella wanted to show me how many have alreadyjoined her ranks to entice me to her side.”
“I see.”
“Having you here tonight was much more important to her than having me join her legion, though. You’re the newest and most valuable addition to the unionizing efforts. And now that you’ve shown your face, you can’t return to your old life.” There was a finite sadness to his voice.
I couldn’t bridge the idea that my being here wouldn’t allow me to return to my former life. “I’m not a prisoner. I can just
“Wants to unite all otherworldly creatures, and so far she’s just succeeded with the vampires.”
He nodded. “I see that bloody bastard Sinjin discussed it with you. Yes, that’s so. Anyway, it’s Bella’s wish to unite all the non-human species.”
“Why?” I interrupted.
He cupped his hands behind his head and exhaled. “It’s a good plan in theory. There’s too much warring between the legions—that is the vampires kill the weres and the weres kill the fairies, and so on. Bella believes we would be much more powerful if we…”
“Could all just get along?” I inted, regretting the cliché and overused statement, but it just seemed to fit. “But for what purpose?”
Rand sighed and stopped in front of me. “Do you recall when I told you witches and warlocks are a dying breed?”
I nodded as he continued.
“About three centuries ago, a group of humans discovered a band of vampires and witches in the woods of Gratz, Austria. The humans attempted to escape, but the vampires defeated and fed on them, leaving them for dead. But some of them weren’t dead and they survived the attack.”
“Did they turn into vampires?” I interrupted.
“Not exactly. It’s not possible to turn into a vampire unless you drink the blood of a vampire at the same time he drinks your blood. Anyway, somehow vampire blood did make its way into some of the humans and although it wasn’t enough to turn them into vampires, it gave them extra strength and the quickness of a vampire. They became what we call Lurkers, humans who seek to destroy all otherworldly creatures. And their population has increased over the years. Now, they’re the biggest threat to our existence.”
And my existence. The thought wasn’t a pleasant one.
“So, Bella wants to unionize to defeat these humans? What’s so wrong with that?”
“In theory, it’s all fine and good, but Bella is not the ideal candidate to lead such an effort. She’s out for herself and would take advantage of the position it would put her in.”
I nodded, feeling the situation was finally making sense. “So, how do I figure in this?”
“She wants to give everyone reason to join her. You’re that perfect reason.”
Well crap and a half, this couldn’t be good. “Why?”
He shook his head, annoyed I wasn’t following him. “There wouldn’t be any bad blood between the creatures if you can bring back all their dead. In a way, we’d all start from scratch again, no harm done. That and it replenishes the union. No beings would ever need to die.”
“Strength in numbers.”
“Yes, so when news spread of Jack, I went to Bella, and I made an agreement with her. She was to leave you alone. I told her you weren’t as strong as I’d thought and that I did the majority of the reanimation myself. Clearly, she didn’t believe me.”
My shoulders slumped, and I stared straight ahead, looking at everything, but seeing nothing. “So, that’s why Bella invited me to this party?”
“Yes, she wants to announce that you’re now working for her.”
My mind spun like a roulette wheel, and I wished I’d never agreed to come here. “Are you on her team?”
He shook his head. “No, I haven’t yet agreed to anything. I was quite surprised to receive the invitation here tonight. I can only surmise Bella wanted to show me how many have alreadyjoined her ranks to entice me to her side.”
“I see.”
“Having you here tonight was much more important to her than having me join her legion, though. You’re the newest and most valuable addition to the unionizing efforts. And now that you’ve shown your face, you can’t return to your old life.” There was a finite sadness to his voice.
I couldn’t bridge the idea that my being here wouldn’t allow me to return to my former life. “I’m not a prisoner. I can just
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