IM01 - Carpe Noctem by Katie Salidas Page B

go on.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm my frantically beating heart.
    Below the five marked rules was another group of words in Latin. Lysander looked back down at his book, translating the words.
    “ ‘To be exiled is to be lowered in status, equal to that of mortal men. Members of the coven are free to prey upon the exiled and condemned, and use their blood to strengthen themselves.’ ”
    My hand clenched into a tight fist in my lap. Oh, God, that’s how they are going to do it. They are going to hunt us down and feed on us.
    Lysander looked up from the book, meeting my frightened eyes. “Our laws were not met with approval from many in our newly enlarged family. When we began enforcing them, a small faction decided to break off and start a new coven. Even in a city as large as Rome, it was hard to contain two covens, and for at least a century, a feud was fought between our coven and the members of the new house. The feuding spilled over into the streets of Rome, and the city became victim to the fighting of our two families. On many occasions, the streets of Rome erupted in flame as immortal brothers attacked one another, trying to gain control of the city.”
    He turned another page in the book and pointed to a frightening picture of streets ablaze and people running in terror.
    “Rome was changing around us. The old gods were being replaced by Christianity, and the Romans saw many emperors come and go. I and many of our family grew tired of the feuding between the covens. We had stayed in Rome too long, so I pleaded with Kallisto to give up control and move our coven somewhere else.”
    Okay, this might be good. Kallisto listened to him back then. Maybe there was some hope here.
     “After much debate, she agreed, and we left Rome, searching for a new place where our family could live in peace. This started a trend that would continue throughout the modern era. We would move to a location and set up a home. After a century or so, we would move on. A period of peace and prosperity among our coven lasted through the twelfth century. Life was extremely comfortable, and we were happy to watch the world developing around us.”
    Again, the thought crossed my mind. Why would Lysander want to leave, if coven life was so wonderful?
    “We eventually made our way to what is now France, and it was there that we met the gentle-man you saw tonight.”
    He turned the page, showing a large drawing of Edmond. Lysander’s body tensed and his eyes narrowed.
    “Edmond was a wealthy land owner and immediately took Kallisto’s interest.” He spoke in a carefully controlled tone. “We had lived as rulers and mates for more than a thousand years without much incident until he came along. She turned him, and his home became our own. Kallisto took to spending all of her time with this new fledgling. She lavished affection on him and saw to his education personally. They would disappear together for days at a time, leaving me to maintain order among the coven, whose numbers had reached above fifty.”
    Wow, that’s a huge coven .
    Lysander’s lip curled into a sneer. “Edmond’s mortal status secured for us our home and wealth, and Kallisto used this to grant him a position of power in the coven, a title and award, which she had not done for others in the past. This brought unrest among the coven again and threatened to split our house apart, as had happened in Rome.”
    He let out a long sigh.
    “Edmond was rapidly promoted to her personal adviser, and rumors threatened that I was about to be unseated as Kallisto’s mate and king. My supporters wanted to wage war and destroy Kallisto and her new consort, but I would not allow it. I loved Kallisto, despite her infidelity and politics, and could not bear to harm her. I never did have a taste for war, so I prepared myself to leave the coven.”
    He turned the page again. This picture was horrific, a twisted and deformed blob of people and blood. I cringed and looked away