Chapter 2 Kal #4
Tess and Kal proceeded to lay out what they’d witnessed in as much detail as possible.
Kal tried to remain somewhat dispassionate though he found himself choking up a little talking about how the kids had attacked each other because they were so hungry.
It was getting to a few Council members, he noticed. That was something.
By the time they were through, Loren was sitting at the table with the Council members.
Kal watched him observe his fellow members, clearly looking for some emotional response.
About half of them looked affected, a few looked totally uncertain.
Kal wasn’t sure what that meant for their chances but once they’d finished he grabbed Tess’s hand and squeezed it.
The less she said at this point, he thought, was for the better.
“We will confer,” Loren said. He didn’t look very optimistic. “You may wait outside. We’ll call you back in.”
Out in the echoing corridor, Tess paced impatiently while Kal leaned against a wall.
The Council, he suspected, wasn’t going to give them much.
He was already thinking about the plans Tess had laid out to liberate this creche.
There were around thirty resistance members at Urbana, all hiding out in the second dormitory under the very noses of the Vampyren men who stopped by to have sex with the breeders on campus.
Thirty would be enough, he hoped. Although wherever they ended up taking the children would need some staff, and they’d need trade contracts for supplies, especially blood…
“The only humane answer is to abolish the goddamn creches,” Tess said. “And that isn’t going to happen.”
“No,” Kal agreed.
Tess was pacing down one end of the hallway all the way to the other at a hurried pace and he sighed and went to meet her one of her laps, making her stop in front of him and clutching her shoulders.
“This isn’t going to happen quickly,” Kal said.
“They came and they brutalized us,” Tess said fiercely. “And now they brutalize our children. Andtheir children. Most of which are the product of rape.”
“I know,” Kal murmured. She leaned into him and he took that as a signal that he should hug her. It was still sort of an alien impulse to embrace someone in a way that wasn’t sexual. There was no hugging on Vampyr. He found it rather comforting, although the purpose now was to comfort Tess.
“You’re a stiff hugger,” Tess said, chuckling into his shoulder. That made him tense up more, but she just pulled away and patted his arm. “You’ll get used to it.”
“You can come in now,” a guard said, having pushed open the chamber doors.
Kal followed Tess inside and they stood at attention again.
He was already thinking about the ride home.
They would move on the creche quickly, he mused.
But there would be a little time, he thought, to spend time with Tess and get to know her further.
They would eat tonight and he’d stay in her bed again.
But he couldn’t think about that now. The last thing he needed was to get an erection while speaking to the Council.
“We’ve discussed your report,” one of the Council leaders said.
His name was Mahn, Kal had learned in the course of the meeting.
He was peering down at notes he’d made on a pad of paper.
Kal suspected he just wanted somewhere to look other than into their eyes.
“Obviously, we still require the breeding of offspring to continue the Vampyren race but...”
Tess snorted at that and Kal shot her a look. She clenched her jaw and looked away. Mahn sighed heavily. He seemed conflicted.
“ But,” Mahn said, “we agree that conditions might be improved for these children. We’ll need to devise real standards first and get everyone to agree to them and then educate our inspectors accordingly.
But this is a good start. We will discuss those new standards soon.
We believe this is a fair compromise and I think we all know the relationship between human and Vampyren is evolving.
Let this groundbreaking agreement be a beacon for our future peaceful cohabitation. ”
Mahn ended his little speech, and the Council looked up at Tess and Kal expectantly, as if they all deserved some kind of congratulations.
The only exception was Loren who slumped in his seat, eyes narrowed, looking unhappy about the whole thing.
But despite that he got to his feet and cleared his throat.
“Thank you for… meeting us halfway,” Loren said. “I hope this is a first step in further negotiation between human and Vampyr.”
Tess said, “But—
Loren shook his head, and she snapped her mouth shut, glowering as the three of them left the Council chamber. But in the corridor, Loren bid them goodbye, looking apologetic about the whole thing.
“This was never going to happen all at once,” Loren said. “Itisa start though, Tess.”
“Tell that to the kids feeding off each other in the creche,” Tess bit out. With that, she turned on her heel and stomped outside, sneering at the Vampyren guards as she went.