5. Australia does not seem like a pleasant place for a vampire.
FIVE
Australia does not seem like a pleasant place for a vampire.
“Six years ago, Jeremy Breckenan’s mother perished at his father’s hand to fuel necromancy meant to bring their eldest son back from the dead,” Alheen announced before falling silent.
We waited, and I feared I understood what the ancient vampire would tell us next. Rather than bear through the quiet, I asked, “Did either of them rise?”
“No, but he caught the attention of a vampire, one of unpleasant repute. Such rituals create fluctuations of magic we can sense, especially older vampires. Pleased with the necromancer’s drive, this vampire offered to turn his son.
The vampire deceived the Breckenan family.
Instead of the eldest son being raised from the dead, he killed and raised Jeremy Breckenan instead.
As young vampires tend to do when uncontrolled and turned in violence, Jeremy turned on the nearest living thing, his father.
After killing his father, the rest of his family fell to his thirst. From what I have investigated, the rest of the Breckenans had already died, usually from their vile magic turning on them.
The vampire responsible refused to take Jeremy Breckenan into his brood.
” Alheen wrinkled his nose. “I sent that vampire to his final rest myself upon learning the truth. I was not kind about it.”
My father narrowed his eyes. “Did you take his blood?”
“I did, and I took his brood at the same time. Those who could be salvaged are in rehabilitation in Australia. Those who had strayed too far from the light rot with no hope of rising again.”
“Australia does not seem like a pleasant place for a vampire,” I noted.
“I sent them to the deepest part of the least hospitable desert I could find to maximize their suffering. Should they survive their penance, they will walk the straight and narrow,” he assured me.
“For now, they understand they are in an appropriate brood, they must pay penance, and they will have opportunities to live a good life in the years to come, assuming they do not cross me. They have learned not to cross me already. I beat their manners back into them.”
My father sighed. “While distasteful, it is sometimes quite necessary.”
“With this lot? I expect a few more sessions before they have fully learned their manners. I shocked them with how rapidly I taught them the first round. The ones wise enough to respect my authority still live—and the ones who refused to accept the lesson were put to their final rest.” Alheen met my gaze with a solemn expression.
“While I hope you will not have to deal with it often, it is a reality you will have to face as a brood mistress.”
I narrowed my eyes and targeted Ben. “When was the last time someone had the manners beat back into them?”
“You, on the roof the night when we brought you home,” he replied.
In hindsight, I had gotten a little beaten, although that had been more emotionally than physically. Damn. “That is rude. Before that?”
Ben pointed at Emerick. “We gave him a few lessons on why brood masters do not get into trouble in the garage.”
“When he weaponized your car?”
He nodded. “While we have been expressing ourselves with our vehicles, the guild’s enforcers did have a few rounds with him on the mat as a reminder of why he needs to be more careful.”
Color me unsurprised. I rolled my eyes at the drama before snuggling close to my husband. “And when was the last time you beat manners into someone you are not happily wed to, Mr. Lowrance?”
He chuckled. “I would say it has been around two years now. The traitors in the brood were not beaten. They were humanely dispatched; like most broods, we are strict about conduct, and the deliberate violation of others carries a death penalty. We did confirm their guilt before execution, however. I am only counting those who did not commit such a heinous crime.”
I winced. While I’d been aware there had been traitors in the brood the night I’d slipped away, giving Emerick the space he needed to handle the issue directly, I hadn’t realized it had resulted in death. Fortunately for my sanity, I hadn’t met the conspirators.
I couldn’t think of anyone I hadn’t seen for a while in the brood.
“I see. Tomorrow, please fill me in on who was executed and why so I’m aware. So, normal broods have embraced the ‘fuck around and find out’ method of discipline, and the finding out is either a beating they won’t forget or execution?”
“For severe violations of our code, yes,” my father’s uncle confirmed.
“Vampires like your husband tend to be gentler when disciplining milder violations, which is why everyone tends to be shocked when the beatings or executions happen. And yes, we had heard about the executions—and the rumor mill was being quite cautious to keep you from finding out, Pepper. Your husband’s behavior had reminded people that he is old, he has strength, and he has a willingness to raise his hand should it prove to be necessary.
This is a good thing for your brood. Everyone is already rather aware you are adept at the execution portion of preternatural punishments.
You’ve built quite a fortune for yourself if my evaluations of your bounties is correct. ”
“I’m also a penny pincher,” I confessed. “I would be paying for my Wagyu if Emerick wasn’t so skilled at hiding the bills from me.”
My husband laughed, gave me a squeeze, and kissed my cheek.
“After relaying the information on Edgar to the Japanese broods, we aren’t paying anything for the Wagyu for either of you.
It turns out they, unbeknownst to everyone, had a young child rise recently.
The mother hasn’t been willing to let the child go, and the Japanese have not been willing to traumatize her further.
She is willing to have an eternal infant, and the babe is happy.
They could not justify killing the boy. And so he lives, and he will have a chance to grow because of you. ”
My father sighed, a heavy sound full of pain. “How long ago?”
“The boy rose six nights ago. Nobody is sure how, but he suffocated in his crib. His mother had been sleeping, and his father, a brood master there, had been attending to brood matters. The news of the infant is not public yet.”
“Give them my number. I will help them the best I can.”
After a moment of contemplation, my father turned to Clarke. “Should you be willing, I would like you to accompany me to Japan with your bride so we can better assist them.”
“We’ll go,” my mother said, and she grinned at my father. “That was adorable, and I’m going to spread so many rumors over how you are a horrifically doting parent.”
“You are an evil woman,” my father muttered. “Is the mother human or vampire?”
“Vampire,” Emerick replied. “They waged a long and hard battle to bring their baby boy into the world. They understood there would be predisposition, but culturally, the Japanese have a young age of consent for children born to vampires; they are brought up among the brood, and vampires there are respected. They are the guardians of the night, and those who stray face far harsher punishments than most. But that is part of why they hesitated to stake the infant. They waited several hundred years to have a child, and both were willing to have a beloved infant for all eternity if need be. Their willingness to sacrifice their lives for their baby made the difference.”
“How often does this happen? That a baby is born, dies, rises, and is then killed?”
How close had I come to enduring such a fate?
“Once every twenty or so years,” Alheen reported.
“Should one of our family find out about the issue, we will show up and evaluate the situation—and handle it should it be necessary. Some of the children simply cannot thrive even as an eternal infant. They are often like you, with some unknown but horrific defect barring them from life. You were the only one prior to this boy’s birth, so I fear it was overdue.
Vampirism can only go so far in sparing a young life. ”
My heart hurt for the Japanese family, struggling as my parents had struggled. “So, let me see if I understand this. Dad, you knew your uncles tend to deal with this issue, so you hid that I had suffered from a heart defect so they wouldn’t come deal with me. Correct?”
“Correct,” he confirmed. “They found out when you were a teenager. Alheen contacted me, and it’s impossible to hide your nature from truly ancient vampires.
You have a presence about you. You never met him, but he could sense you from a distance.
Upon receiving evidence you grew without complications, he opted to ignore the situation.
It was clear to him you thrived, I was taking care with your upbringing, and you were not a risk to humanity.
I am sure he’ll go be a pest in Japan soon enough. ”
“Your work with Pepper will change how we handle these situations. Some of the infants will not live; their bodies are simply not compatible with life, and most cannot undergo the sort of operation you did. You were fortunate. You could be treated. None of the children I put to their final rest could live a painless life.”
“That’s terrible. Why do you think this happens?” I asked despite fearing the answer.
“It’s likely the predisposition for vampirism makes it so the pregnancy does not naturally terminate when they are not compatible with life,” my father replied in a gentle tone. “The real problem is our nature. We have a difficult time letting go of young life.”
I read between the lines: after my birth, my father would have stopped at nothing to see me reach adulthood.
We’d all gotten more than a little lucky, I supposed.