"That wasn't interfering. It's nothing compared to what some of the others have done."
"Amara, we both know that." Griffin pulled her against him. Amara was beautiful, with long, dark hair and almond-shaped dark eyes. Griffin had fallen in love with her the moment he'd seen her the first time. Nothing changed for him over the years. He still loved her as much as he ever had and she still loved him. "I haven't heard anything from Dragon or Pheligar and I don't know if I should ask. It might raise suspicions. They don't know I'm being punished."
"Like you'd care if they knew," Amara snorted, burying her head against Griffin's chest. Griffin stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.
* * *
I walked the streets of Refizan's capital city through a moonless night. A part of me knew that Dragon was right; there wasn't any way I could have taken on three hundred priests. Not without being seen, anyway, and I'd had Dragon as a passenger. He was too important to expose to those shitheads.
Dawn was scheduled to come in another two hours of Refizan's twenty-eight hour cycles. Karzac and the other physicians at the hospital had managed to save the Vice-Governor, but the man was blind now; his body brutalized. He would be scarred physically and emotionally. As I might be, after seeing the bodies of those two poor girls. I hoped they were in a better place. Many were the times I'd heard of some horrible thing done to the innocent and it made me want to take away the pain and fear they'd experienced before they died. For them, death had come as an escape from those things. Death wasn't always the enemy, as many people thought. It was what came before death that we should worry over at times.
I thought again about the disc that Pheligar placed on the back of my neck and found myself wondering how good it was and if I'd still drop over in a rejuvenating sleep when the sun rose. Sunlight wasn't capable of destroying my body, now. At least that's what I'd been told. I had mixed feelings about it, actually. If they left the disc there and it truly did work for a hundred years, the means of taking my life had been effectively removed. Was this a plot Griffin and Merrill hatched between them, so they wouldn't worry about me? I shook my head in confusion.
A dog barked off in the distance; I was now walking into a residential area and I scented the vampire before he reached my side. "What do you want?" I asked unkindly as his footsteps echoed mine on the concrete walkway.
"I haven't seen a female vampire on this planet in a very long time," he replied softly. I hadn't glanced at him at first—my nose told me what was necessary to know. I looked at him now. He wasn't tall; perhaps five-eight or so, with a thin build and elegant, well-shaped features. Finely dressed, too—he wasn't wearing the usual loosely woven trousers and tunic. He wore a dark suit fashioned of expensive silk cloth; I could smell it. Blond hair was carefully brushed away from his forehead and dark gray eyes held mine for a moment.
"What would you say if I told you I wasn't from around here?"
"I think I would believe you," his eyes crinkled a little when he smiled. He was old—very old. Much older than Wlodek, even.
"Please tell me you're not in league with Solar Red," I said, looking away from him. We'd continued our walk while we talked. He was checking me out just as much as I was looking him over.
"Those criminals," he snorted. "We do what we can, but it is difficult to predict where they will be from one night to the next and we have to make sure we are not seen or suspected, else they will hunt us down during the day."
"Yeah. They're funny that way," I grumbled.
"I assume that is sarcasm, as I do not believe that Solar Red is amusing in any sense of the word."
"You are correct, sir," I said. "I am Lissa and I have only been here a few days."
"Lissa, I am Gabron and it would be remiss of me if I failed to notice that Solar Red's troubles have only begun within the past few days."
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that," I said.
"Do you have a particular destination in mind?" he asked as I walked aimlessly along.
"No," I sighed. "I don't even know where I am. I just saw something horrible earlier and I've been trying to get it out of my mind by walking."
"I also have been walking lately. Mostly I wonder what will be left of our planet if Solar Red has its way."
"Are there temples in other cities?" I halted and turned to Gabron.
"A few, but most are much smaller than the one here. The majority of their priests are concentrated here, in our capital city. They are attempting to get a better hold elsewhere, but they truly do not have a good hold here. They are making an effort to rectify that, and swiftly."
"I know," I nodded, beginning to walk again. Gabron discreetly kept pace with me. "Do you know why the Refizani government is so reluctant to move against this religion?"
"We have not had this sort of problem in thousands of years," he replied. "We are peaceful, have no army and are disinclined to believe that anyone might be capable of such evil. Few are willing to stand before these priests and denounce them as well; that creates a target, as you may have guessed already. What the Governor of the Realm must do is pass a motion to remove them from our planet, and with the legislative body often at odds with the Governor, this is not so simple a task."
"So, nobody can get together and move against them, is that what you're saying?"
"Sadly, that is exactly what I mean," Gabron nodded slightly. "And as you might suspect, there may be a few legislators who are accepting bribes from Solar Red, in order to champion their cause. Or to keep them away from their door—it no longer matters what reasoning they employ. I believe this is why the Vice-Governor was attacked; he spoke openly against these devils and nearly died for his troubles."
"Yeah." I understood that, all right. I'd seen his near-death first hand. "Look, I wish I had more time to talk, but I really should go home, now," I said. Dawn was getting closer. No vampire, no matter where they were, would ever be unaware of the sun's approach.
"If you will tell me where you live, I will walk you there," Gabron offered. I had no idea if he were being polite or if he just wanted to know where I lived so he could keep an eye on me.
"I honestly don't know the address; I just know it when I see it," I said. I didn't add that I knew it from overhead and not from the street.
"I understand your caution, little Queen. However, if you need anything or merely wish to talk, come to this address," he lifted a business card from a pocket and handed it to me. "Anyone there will honor your wishes if you ask to speak with me."