"You don't eat any of them? I've spoken with Youon. Even he says they feed six times a year from the worlds not worth saving." I was still a little huffy, I'm afraid.
"We also feed six times a year. From the criminal population. We choose our target carefully and go after them. Crime is low on our worlds as a result. Tell me you did not take blood from humans and I will accept your self-righteousness."
"I did take blood from humans. I never killed to do it," I snapped. "And becoming vampire to begin with was never in my plans, your high and mightiness." We were just about done, here. I rose from my seat.
"Wait. Please, sit," he held a hand out toward me. "Calm yourself. I did not mean to upset you or open wounds. You seem to have more than your share of those."
"Well, did you plan to become Ra'Ak? In the beginning?" I was poking at him, now.
"No. That was definitely not in my plans. I was selected, of course, as it is supposed to be. An old cleric—that's what I was, of a now dead religion. Not unlike how the vampires turn theirs, I believe. They are supposed to take someone of good character and death must be imminent? Isn't that right?"
"That's what the rules say. They didn't apply in my case."
"They were ignored, in your case," Ildevar nodded, his brown eyes gazing at me sympathetically. I didn't know whether to buy that or not. "I have the abilities any Ra'Ak has and yes, please try to accept that I mean you no harm and in fact intend to be kind. Our Copper relatives, once they decided to break away from our traditions, went after the strong and corrupt instead of the honorable and steady-minded for their turns. They intentionally evolved the race into the killers they are now. I hear you are responsible for nearly destroying the race." I watched his face as he made that statement—there was no evidence he disliked that fact.
"Yes. I was responsible. That is why I consider any Ra'Ak an enemy. Except for one. If what you say is true, then he must be a throwback to a better time."
"I might wish to meet him sometime," Ildevar said idly, toying with Lendill's abandoned mug of tea.
"You'll have to prove yourself to me before I ever approach him with that idea, and he's no longer Ra'Ak, actually."
That statement made Ildevar Wyyld's eyebrows lift in curiosity.
"Then perhaps if you trust me enough one day to introduce me to your friend, I'd like to discuss how he's no longer Ra'Ak with you. We'll table that for now. You know what Norian is, I presume."
"I know what he is."
"I think of him as a distant cousin to my kind, then. I would like to name him as my heir, but there is the problem of his mortality. While he'll live for centuries, he'll die eventually, unless something is done. I wanted to ask you to make him vampire, so he would become immortal and rule Wyyld should I choose to retire."
That brought a loud snort from me. "You do not care for him? You do not wish to do this?" Ildevar actually looked hurt.
"Ildevar Wyyld, you haven't caught up with the last few pages of this novel," I informed him. "If I give Norian blood, he'll become immortal, all right. You see how I can walk around in daylight?"
"I assumed your Larentii accomplished that for you."
"That's what people are supposed to think," I said, dropping my eyes.
"The Larentii are not involved?"
"No. Neither is Kifirin."
"He was my second guess."
"Well, he didn't have a hand in it, either."
"Will you tell me how this was accomplished, then?"
"Initially, my father gave me blood. That allowed me to walk in daylight. I've evolved, since then." That was putting it mildly, but I didn't want to go into twenty questions with a Ra'Ak, no matter how benign he seemed.
"And your father—how did he do this?"
"Have you heard of the Saa Thalarr?" That was my trump card, and I played it now. Ildevar's eyes widened in shock. He'd heard of the Saa Thalarr, all right.
"That is what your father is?"
"He's retired, now."
"Ah." Ildevar was settling down, now, getting used to this bit of news. "Did that make you one of them?"
"No. They have no claim on me."
"Interesting."
"Yeah. Don't think to get to them through me, either. It won't happen."
"I would not ask such a thing." Ildevar now sounded hurt. "I know of their long struggle with the evil that the Copper Ra'Ak became. I know they were created to keep them from destroying all the races. I have no argument with them or their purposes. What I am asking is for you to trust me, if you can. I care for Norian, if I care for anyone. He is a kindred soul, in his shapeshifting. I hope we come to have that in common, little Queen. He cares for you—I know this much—and if you would consent to make him immortal, to take my place one day, then I would be most grateful."
"I was already considering it," I grumped. I may have been pouting a little, too, but it seemed to amuse Ildevar Wyyld.
"Then I hope I have not interfered and changed your mind. Although I did detect a bit of a quarrel between you, did I not?"
"People disagree all the time."
"Yes they do. But if they care for one another, then the quarrel should have no impact on their relationship."
"It depends on what the quarrel is over."
"You wish to spar with me?" That made him laugh.
"Not particularly. And it isn't because I'm afraid of you." I raised a hand to hold him off.
"I've watched the vid from Refizan too many times to count, little one. I know what you can do and I do not wish to challenge you."
"Well, I saw what the Ra'Ak did to Le-Ath Veronis, when they killed the last Queen." I didn't tell him that I was that queen, reincarnated. I figured that would muddy the picture. I still had a hard time dealing with it myself.
"Yes—the dark races have no reason to love my kind." He nodded in agreement. "Of course, most of the dark races are dead. Only the vampires, werewolves and a handful of others managed to survive. Norian is one of those races that somehow made it through, but then his kind are not tasty enough for my cousins."
"Wow. That didn't stop them from destroying Le-Ath Veronis or Harifa Edus."
"I know. The vampires and werewolves opposed them. The others hid. It is that simple, little Queen."
"And the High Demons stood by and watched." I was nodding too, now.
"Yes. A shame, actually. They might have intervened and brought things back to the way they should have been. They did not and here we are. There are no females among the twenty, did you know that? If we couple with a humanoid, it can damage them. We have to be extremely careful if we take anyone to our bed."