ALL NOVEL 342 Gray Vale 2
Zagan stared back at the elder vampire, meeting the challenge of hearing his name with a glare. But Nelo appeared at ease, smiling kindly with the knowledge that he would hear what he wanted now. There was no use for Zagan's resistance.
"I can help you. I know all there is to know within these books," Nelo encouraged. "Give me something to ponder. It will bring me great pleasure."
Zagan stared at the gray stone floor, clenching his teeth together. He did not like being forced to do anything. It went against his vampiric nature.
"I felt a heart beating within my chest, and I coughed up some of the blood that I had taken from her," he forced through gritted teeth.
"From her?" Nelo repeated the detail. "What is her name?"
Requesting a name was requesting control. "Why do you wish to know it?" Zagan asked, his glare intensifying.
"Out of curiosity. This female is important to you," Nelo chuckled.
"No, she is not," Zagan scoffed. He was not withholding her name for that reason.
"You do not understand her importance, I see. But I am telling you a fact. If her blood has done this to you, then she is not only of paramount import to you, but also to the rest of our kind," he told him.
"Why?" Zagan growled, a protective instinct arising from somewhere he didn't recognize.
Nelo smirked and gestured toward a pair of chairs. "It is a very interesting story. Let us sit and discuss it."
Zagan grudgingly took the seat that was offered. He hated his kind. He hated that he must rely on another vampire for the answer to his question, but Nelo appeared delighted.
"Do you know how vampires are made?" Nelo asked, a teasing smile gracing his lips.
"Turning one who is bitten," Zagan rolled his eyes.
"Has that ever worked for you?" Nelo tilted his head in curiosity, but he clearly knew the answer. It had not.
"I figured there was something…" Zagan frowned, trailing off in his admission.
"You figured there was something wrong with you?" Nelo guessed. "There is nothing wrong with you. It does not work that way. Why do you think all of our kind remains in this dimension? We could go out and turn all kinds of creatures into the undead, virtually taking over one dimension after another, but we do not. Our numbers remain as they are."
"But that is what we are told," Zagan's frown deepened. "These are lies?"
"They are stories," Nelo shrugged. "Stories are meant to entertain and inspire. But they are also a vehicle of control."
"Control?" Zagan questioned.
"Control over knowledge and belief. This is a tool used by the dynasty," Nelo explained.
"What does this have to do with my situation?" Zagan grumbled the question in frustration. He did not have any interest in what concerned the dynasty of royal vampires.
"If I am correct, you have found something exceptionally rare that has not happened in centuries. You have found a mate," Nelo said, eyes gleaming. He looked like a predator that had just captured a fat, tasty meal.
"What?" Zagan sputtered a laugh. "That is preposterous. Only royals have mates. That is why they are royals."
"That is not the kind of mate I am referring to," Nelo replied.
"That is the only kind of mate that vampires have," Zagan countered.
"You have been misled as most have who do not spend their endless days within the walls of an athenaeum. The royals do not have mates. They have partners who are strategically chosen to maintain power and the purity of the race. If they were mates, they would breed. But they are incapable," Nelo explained.
"That is because vampires are incapable. We are not living. How can we breed?" Zagan replied venomously. This was ridiculous.
"And yet you were living for a few moments after drinking from that female," Nelo pointed out. "Were you not? You felt a heart beating in your chest. Your body was preparing to mate."
"No," Zagan shook his head, refusing the information that was being given. It was impossible.
"It is best that the royals do not find out about this," Nelo whispered. "You will never see your female again, nor will you be allowed to leave the gates of Gray Vale."
Nelo stood from the chair while Zagan sat, dumbfounded. This went against everything he knew about his own kind.
"There have not been new vampires in centuries, but it seems that might change," Nelo smiled. "I will give you a book to take. It is not one you would find on any bookshelf. And then I think it is best that you leave vampire territory and avoid returning… at least until you come with purpose."
With purpose? What purpose would that possibly be? Zagan wanted no part of these lands nor of his kind, and he absolutely wanted no part in creating new members of his kind.
When the elder vampire returned with the small book and handed it to Zagan, he placed a reassuring hand on Zagan's shoulder once again.
"I do not want to mate or breed," he confessed. "I do not want any part of it. I hope you are wrong."
"I have been around for a very long time. I am rarely wrong," Nelo smiled. "And this is something that has called to you, has it not? You left our lands to forge your own, and in the process you have stumbled upon something that was forgotten to most."
"I did not leave for that purpose," Zagan hissed. "I am unsatisfied…"
"Perhaps you are unsatisfied because your destiny lies elsewhere. Perhaps you are unsatisfied because those who are in leadership here are not true or honest or right," Nelo whispered.
These were treasonous words. This whole conversation was treasonous.
When Zagan appeared ready to object further, Nelo patted him on the back and then disappeared from there. So the male was capable of moving fast.
Zagan glared at the empty room now surrounding him and then down at the ancient book in his hands. Like a vampire concerned with protecting its identity, it bore no name. He tucked it safely into his jacket and rose to leave the territory he so despised.
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