had taken from me, everything it had withheld. In that sense I guess I was on the rebels’ side. But listening to Icarus speak, an icy hand skittered up my spine. I’d let myself get carried away kicking the hornets’ nest and I was pretty sure before this was all over, I’d be the one to feel the Troika’s sting. "What have I done?" I whispered, mostly to myself.
Icarus smiled that smile that transformed his ravaged face. Only this time it scared me. “You just gave us the weapon we need to defeat the Troika.”
I frowned at him. “What kind of weapon?”
“The same one that’s been at the center of every good revolution.” He tilted his head. “A good story to inspire the troops.”
With that, he rose to check on the cockpit again. Dare nudged me out of the way to get to the kid. I dropped onto a bench across the way.
Through the side window, the stars were laid out like a blanket of diamonds. At that altitude it was easy to forget all the destruction and violence, the hopelessness so common on the ground. Up there it was easy to imagine a future where Rabbit could grow up healthy and happy. One where I was able to live on my own terms without someone wanting to use me for their cause.
I looked down at the red lotus totem Sister Agrippa had given me. The one that was a symbol of her faith. Faith that terrified Castor so much it cost him his life. I squeezed my hand around the red disk until it bit into the palm. Maybe it was time for me to have a little faith, too.
Through the rover’s cockpit and toward the horizon, I saw another sign of hope. While behind us The Factory still burned like Hephaestus’s forge, up ahead another fire glowed, one far more dangerous to the Troika than any man-made inferno. Dawn streaked across the lavender sky in a fury of orange, yellow and red, announcing the sun’s imminent arrival.
The sun was the enemy of every vampire—a fire demon. But I was a human, and to my kind the sun was an angel of life. It nourished our crops and our livestock. It warmed our skin and helped us see. It provided us with energy and a reason to rise every morning.
I closed my eyes and imagined absorbing its heat into my pores and filling up my chest cavity with its awesome power.
My name was Carmina Sargosa, daughter of Alexis Sargosa. And like the sun, I would rise above the Troika and finish the work my mother began. I would burn every last vampire to the ground.
Red means life .
An Interview with Jaye Wells
How does the world of Meridian Six fit into your Sabina Kane or Prospero’s War series?
It doesn’t fit into either, actually. It’s something totally new. Originally, I wrote a short story about this character that appeared in a tiny anthology no one’s read. But the story kept tugging at me over the years, so I decided to expand the short story into a novella.
So it’s an entirely new world altogether, but I think my readers will find lots to recognize in Meridian Six. She’s tough and smart, but also broken and haunted. Those are my favorite characters to write.
More vampires? Is this a theme with you?
I knew when I finished my Sabina Kane series that I wouldn’t be able to write a contemporary vampire story again for a while. The mythos in that world too so much work and I didn’t want to do another one unless it could be original.
I love writing about vampires because they are amazingly flexible archetypes. They can be good guys or villains, depending on your needs. For this world, I needed them to be the ultimate totalitarian regime.
As for whether they’re a personal theme, well, I think it’s more of a societal theme. Vampires are the ultimate narcissists, right? They’re monsters that look the most like us, but they also act the most like us. I’ve known my fair share of psychic vampires and I’m sure most of my readers have, too.
You’re known as much for the humor in your work as the intricate world building and emotional gut
Icarus smiled that smile that transformed his ravaged face. Only this time it scared me. “You just gave us the weapon we need to defeat the Troika.”
I frowned at him. “What kind of weapon?”
“The same one that’s been at the center of every good revolution.” He tilted his head. “A good story to inspire the troops.”
With that, he rose to check on the cockpit again. Dare nudged me out of the way to get to the kid. I dropped onto a bench across the way.
Through the side window, the stars were laid out like a blanket of diamonds. At that altitude it was easy to forget all the destruction and violence, the hopelessness so common on the ground. Up there it was easy to imagine a future where Rabbit could grow up healthy and happy. One where I was able to live on my own terms without someone wanting to use me for their cause.
I looked down at the red lotus totem Sister Agrippa had given me. The one that was a symbol of her faith. Faith that terrified Castor so much it cost him his life. I squeezed my hand around the red disk until it bit into the palm. Maybe it was time for me to have a little faith, too.
Through the rover’s cockpit and toward the horizon, I saw another sign of hope. While behind us The Factory still burned like Hephaestus’s forge, up ahead another fire glowed, one far more dangerous to the Troika than any man-made inferno. Dawn streaked across the lavender sky in a fury of orange, yellow and red, announcing the sun’s imminent arrival.
The sun was the enemy of every vampire—a fire demon. But I was a human, and to my kind the sun was an angel of life. It nourished our crops and our livestock. It warmed our skin and helped us see. It provided us with energy and a reason to rise every morning.
I closed my eyes and imagined absorbing its heat into my pores and filling up my chest cavity with its awesome power.
My name was Carmina Sargosa, daughter of Alexis Sargosa. And like the sun, I would rise above the Troika and finish the work my mother began. I would burn every last vampire to the ground.
Red means life .
An Interview with Jaye Wells
How does the world of Meridian Six fit into your Sabina Kane or Prospero’s War series?
It doesn’t fit into either, actually. It’s something totally new. Originally, I wrote a short story about this character that appeared in a tiny anthology no one’s read. But the story kept tugging at me over the years, so I decided to expand the short story into a novella.
So it’s an entirely new world altogether, but I think my readers will find lots to recognize in Meridian Six. She’s tough and smart, but also broken and haunted. Those are my favorite characters to write.
More vampires? Is this a theme with you?
I knew when I finished my Sabina Kane series that I wouldn’t be able to write a contemporary vampire story again for a while. The mythos in that world too so much work and I didn’t want to do another one unless it could be original.
I love writing about vampires because they are amazingly flexible archetypes. They can be good guys or villains, depending on your needs. For this world, I needed them to be the ultimate totalitarian regime.
As for whether they’re a personal theme, well, I think it’s more of a societal theme. Vampires are the ultimate narcissists, right? They’re monsters that look the most like us, but they also act the most like us. I’ve known my fair share of psychic vampires and I’m sure most of my readers have, too.
You’re known as much for the humor in your work as the intricate world building and emotional gut
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