"Yeah. I can see that," I agreed. "The school might have a problem if I listed my dad's name as Griffin, one name only."
Mack snickered.
"Bearcat?" I asked. I'd only met him when Joey introduced him on the beach. He'd wandered farther down, giving Dad and my uncles time to talk.
"Is a shapeshifter, and was before he came to the Saa Thalarr as a healer," Dad said.
"Wow," I said. "That's sort of awesome."
"It is," Bearcat suddenly appeared beside us. "I have great hearing, thanks to what I am," he added. "It's called folding space, by the way. You may be able to do it yourself, someday."
"It's really folding space?" Mack blinked at Bearcat.
"Yes," he shrugged.
"Anybody hungry?" Joey appeared beside Bearcat. "I am."
"Pheligar is with Kiarra?" Dad asked.
"He said to feed the young ones; he has things under control," Joey said. "So I thought spaghetti might be a good idea."
"I'll help cook," Uncle Lion offered.
"Good," Joey's shoulders sagged in relief. "I was hoping somebody would volunteer. I make good garlic cheese bread, but my sauce isn't the best."
"Let's go," Lion grinned and Mack and I were transported back to the beach house.
* * *
Mom slept most of the afternoon, and I saw what Joey could do when she woke up feeling nauseated. He had her feeling better and eating in just a few minutes. We didn't get to enjoy the whole day like I thought we would, though.
Spawn attacked another cabin at Shaver Lake, and Uncle Dragon transported us straight there in a blink.
Chapter 6
Spawn ran from the carnage the minute we arrived, but it was too late to save anybody. Half-eaten bodies were strewn everywhere, but the birthday cake? It sat pristine and untouched atop a white tablecloth that someone had spread over a picnic table.
The worst part?
The birthday party was for kids. They couldn't have been more than eight or nine, and most of them had been devoured. Only bits and pieces remained, while the adults were dismembered and only partially eaten.
I felt sick—and then I felt angry. Strange, too, that all those emotions ran through me in three blinks. "Son, let's go after them," Dad tapped my shoulder.
"Yeah," I nodded. I wanted to take something apart right then, and the ugly, heartless creatures that did this? They were my chosen targets.
"I want to," Mack growled beside me. I knew his wolf was only waiting for a target after seeing what was left behind following a spawn feeding frenzy.
"Change now," Dad nodded to both of us. "I'll fold us in front of them. Dragon, Lion and your mother are already chasing them."
I took one more look at the bloody carnage surrounding the cabin before allowing my anger to force the Wyvern into existence. Mack was out of his clothes and turned to werewolf almost as fast. Dad folded space with both of us.
There! I heard Dad's voice inside my head. Jerking my snout in the direction he'd indicated, I saw them.
They were running straight at us. It didn't take a genius to figure out why after a few seconds—Uncle Dragon's Dragon, Uncle Lion's Lion and—wow. All I could think was wow. A unicorn, nine feet tall at the shoulder and shining white in the late afternoon light of a California day, raced between Dragon and Lion.
That's your mother, Dad informed me. Anything touched by her horn dies. Get ready, we're about to kill spawn.
I'm ready, I thought. I was ready. My breathing sounded like a bellows as I allowed my anger to become white-hot. Mack's wolf growled beside me.
You have mindspeech already—very good, Dad responded to my thoughts. Here they come. His claws formed on his hands, but he kept his human shape. I could see we still needed to have a conversation about that.
Not now, the spawn—twenty-four of them—hit us like a storm.
Mack and I allowed instinct to take over. I'm glad it was available to us—our animals killed the spawn that thought to attack or run past us. What we didn't get, Dad did. I'd never seen anything move that fast before. The spawn were fast, but he was faster.
Spawn dust exploded around us whenever we made a kill, and I can only imagine that it resembled a black cloud to anyone who might have seen it happening from a distance.
The only sounds, however, came from us—grunting, growling and hissing. Spawn are eerily silent—when they attack and when they die.
Mack's shoulder was sliced by one that got too close, but Dad killed it before it could make a second strike.
That's when Dragon, Lion and Mom joined the fray. They trapped the spawn between us and it didn't take long after that.
I blinked as Dragon became himself and lifted a hand afterward. Piles of black spawn dust disappeared around us while Mack and I watched.
"Mack," Mom became herself again, "Let me see your shoulder." She walked toward us. "Justin, turn back, honey. Mack needs your shirt."
Joey arrived in seconds with a pair of pants for Mack, while I shrugged out of my shirt and offered it to him.
He took it with his right hand while Mom and Joey healed the slice on his left shoulder.
"Wow, I can barely see a red line," Mack said as he studied the mark on his shoulder.
"You did so well," Mom hugged him. "Your wolf is an amazing fighter."
"Thanks, Mrs. G," Mack's face went pink at her praise.
"You, too, honey," she came to me. "No wounds?" she looked me over, paying attention to my arms and head.
"I don't feel anything," I croaked. "Can we get some water?"
"We'll go home. The authorities will arrive at the cabin any minute, so Dragon will erase any evidence we were there," she sighed. "Come on, I'll take you this time."
We landed in the kitchen of the new house, and I realized then that we really hadn't spent much time in it. Too many other things had happened, when we should be enjoying our new home.
Pulling glasses from the cabinet, I filled them with cold water from the fridge and set them in front of Mom and Mack before getting some for myself. Dad, Joey, Dragon and Lion came in shortly after, so they got water, too.
"Thirsty business," Lion nodded his thanks when I set his glass down.
All of us avoided the subject of dead kids at a lake cabin. I didn't know whom to blame now that the actual perpetrators were dead, but somebody needed blaming, in my opinion.
Instead, I said, "Dad, tell me about your claws. Does everybody else have those?"
"No," Dad sighed. "I have them because I used to be a vampire. Before you ask, the old stories are true—real vampires die in the sun. It's a way of killing them."
"You lived in the dark?" I began, after shoving aside my initial shock. Dad was a vampire?
"For more than two hundred years," he nodded, his eyes meeting mine. "That's how things were for me when I met your mother. I keep my vampire abilities—they come in handy quite often."
"But what about," Mack began. He was werewolf; I guess it only made sense that there were vampires, too.
"You want to know about the blood, don't you?" Dad turned his gaze on him. "It's true—vampires drink blood to survive. Most drink bagged blood nowadays—it's safer for everybody that way."
"But," I said.
"Yes. If you're wondering, your mother doesn't mind if I bite occasionally," Dad said. "Although not while she's pregnant, unless I want to die. I believe Karzac or Pheligar would be happy to make that happen if the rules are broken. Before you ask, I don't bite anyone else. End of statement and no more questions."
"I guess it's not every day you learn your dad's a vampire," Mack observed philosophically. "Or a werewolf."
That made me laugh. Just a few days earlier, I'd have said someone was lying if they'd said that to Mack and me. The truth of it was now slapping us in the face. We went to school with humans, but we'd never been human. It was almost too much to consider.
"Should we watch the local news, or have we seen enough tragedy for today?" Mom asked.
"I'd say we've seen enough," Lion said. "Marlianna is coming tomorrow—we'll move into the guesthouse then."
"I'll look forward to that," Mom said. She hesitated for a moment. "Actually, Lion, can you ask her to come now? I have something for her."
"I can if that's what you want," he said.
"I do."
"Marli, my love, can you come?" Lion said to empty air. I gaped as Marlianna, Uncle Lion's wife, appeared from nowhere at his side.
"Kee says she has something for you," Lion grinned and put an arm around her waist. Aunt Marlianna's skin is the color of warm caramel, and she is so pretty that people stare if she goes anywhere with us. She leaned down to kiss Uncle Lion, who still sat at the island. It's not hard to see that they love each other a lot.
"You have something for me?" Marlianna smiled at Mom. "Congratulations, by the way, Lion told me about the baby." She couldn't keep the wistfulness out of her voice when she said that.
"That's what I have for you," Mom offered her a tired smile. "As First among the Saa Thalarr, I am giving you permission and the ability to get pregnant. To both of you. My word is law."
A brief flash of light followed her statement. I have no idea what all that meant, but Dad, Joey and Dragon perked right up and Marlianna turned to Uncle Lion with a happy squeal.
Lion stood really fast, hefted Marlianna into his arms and they disappeared.
"Kiarra, what did you just do?" Pheligar, the tall, blue man appeared, his arms crossed over his chest in disapproval.
"What should have been done a long time ago," Mom snapped at him.
"You are dangerously close to overstepping your authority," Pheligar pointed out.
"But I didn't. Admit it—this is only fair," Mom defended herself. "If I can get pregnant, it's fair that someone else should, too. Especially since they want that more than anything. Marli is a healer. It shouldn't affect much with her—Joey can fill in for her when needed when she's too far along. Nobody deserves a baby more than those two."
"I would like to argue this with you, and you should have consulted with me before doing it," Pheligar grumped.
"What's stopping you from arguing now?" Mom demanded.
"This has been a trying day for you and the others. A better time will come and we will discuss this use—and potential abuse—of your position."
"You have to ruin everything, don't you?" Mom snapped.
"I realize your hormones are affecting your body and your temper. As I said, a better time will come for us to discuss this."
"You are an insufferable blue ass," Mom shouted.
"As all of my skin is blue, it is only logical that my ass, as you so inappropriately put it, is also blue."
How often does this happen? I sent mindspeech to Dad.
With frightening regularity, he replied.
Can we go out to eat tonight? I think Mack's gonna cave in.
We can, if we can pull your mother away from the Larentii.
"I'm hungry," I announced, interrupting the argument. Mom had stood and started shaking a finger while yelling at Pheligar, and that didn't look safe to me.
"Look," Mom said, "If you want to continue this argument, you can make yourself look human and go out to eat with us. Mack and Justin are starving."
"I did not start this," Pheligar huffed.
"Then either come with or take a hike," Mom flung out a hand.
Without blinking, Pheligar caught her hand, patted it and put it at her side. "I will accompany you," he said. Mack and I gasped as he transformed himself. He looked like someone who could be your neighbor, with glasses and everything. I clapped a hand over my mouth—I'd seen this guy before—right after Mack's life was saved.
"Holy cow," I mumbled between my fingers.
Please do not let your werewolf friend know his life almost ended. He has enough worries, a strange voice—Pheligar's voice—sounded in my head.
Sure thing, I sent back. Oddly enough, he didn't seem surprised that I had mindspeech. My curiosity about the Larentii reached an all-time high at that moment, and I was determined to learn all I could about him and his race.
We didn't go to Giorgio's, which disappointed me, but it was just as well—Pheligar, Mom and the others wanted to talk business. We ended up in a private room at our favorite Japanese restaurant instead.
If Mack had turned to werewolf, he'd have wagged his tail because he loves sushi.
"The young ones are curious, and as little information was given them earlier," Pheligar began.
Mack and I learned about the Saa Thalarr that night. We discovered that Saa Thalarr meant Hope and Vengeance in a long-dead language. We heard how they were a race created specifically to combat spawn and those that made spawn—the Ra'Ak. I hadn't heard that word before and wanted to ask questions immediately.
"Here." Joey held out a hand, where a tablet appeared. The thing was, I'd never seen a tablet like that one before.
"It's a comp-vid," Dad said. "You'll learn more about that later. Joey has images of Ra'Ak. Understand those are difficult to come by," he added.
Holding the comp-vid so Mack could see, too, I studied the giant serpent depicted on the screen. "How big?" I asked.
"Average size runs twenty to forty feet, with younger ones smaller and older ones longer—they grow all their lives," Mom said. "Three to four feet thick at their widest. If you meet one of the longer ones, then you know he's one of their strongest and most cunning fighters to have survived so many centuries. When they're not fighting us, they fight each other."
"You fight those things?" Mack shook his head.
"Everything about them is poisonous," Joey said. "Scales, teeth, spikes, all of it."
"That takes the term snake to a whole new level," I breathed.
"It's part of our job to heal scale poison—that's the least harmful," Joey explained. "Teeth or spike injuries can be fatal if they're not treated immediately after the Ra'Ak dies."
"Why does the Ra'Ak have to die first?" Mack asked. I hadn't realized how valid that question might be, and felt a chill seep through me when Mom answered.
"Every challenge we make against the Ra'Ak is to the death," she said. "Worlds depend on the outcome of a challenge. If we win, the planet lives. If the Ra'Ak win, they devour and destroy it. They haven't won a fight in more than fourteen thousand years. They'd love to take one of us down because of that."
"How many of you died before that?" I asked. I had to know—I was beginning to realize that my parents had a dangerous vocation.
"Many," Pheligar answered.
"Too many," Dragon amended the Larentii's statement. "When Kiarra became First, things changed. She carefully measures the Saa Thalarr's talents against the necessary requirements to save the world in question."
"She consults me every time to help determine what is needed," Pheligar said. "It is my job, as Liaison to the Saa Thalarr, to aid as much as I can without interfering. My race does not interfere as a rule, but acting as Liaison is considered a great honor among my peers."
"Wicked," Mack whispered.
"Who was First before—did they die?" I asked.
"Not dead," Pheligar said. "Retired. He did not consult as he should have. He and I had many disagreements."
"Looks like you and Mrs. G have disagreements, too," Mack said.
"These disagreements are different. She will never place a life in jeopardy because we fail to agree on every minute detail," Pheligar said. "We each have our say. We do not dislike one another because we disagree. Not at the core of our relationship, anyway. I cannot say the same about her predecessor. Much of our disagreement stems from the differences in our primary races. Larentii and humans are vastly dissimilar."
"Don't get him started by asking what the differences are," Mom said. "You'll be here all night."
"Are you suggesting that I take too long to express my thoughts?" Pheligar lifted a blond eyebrow at Mom.
"No." She hunched her shoulders. "I feel sick again," she mumbled. "I wish
they'd hurry with our food."
"We will not have that," Pheligar declared and pulled her onto his lap. One hand went to her forehead, the other to her stomach. Light formed around both for a few seconds.
"Feel better?" he asked, his voice soft.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"I'm thinking about contacting Merrill," Dad said as Mom settled onto her seat again. Our food was delivered two minutes later while Dad talked about bringing Uncle Merrill to Fresno. When the waiter left, he explained that Merrill, with the help of a werewolf named Daniel Carey, could teach Mack and me about hunting spawn.
"You should know, Son, that Merrill is a modified vampire," Dad said. "He's a vampire who can walk in daylight and eat normal food."
"Seriously?" Mack breathed.
"Seriously."
"Will Grampa Frank come with him?" I asked. I hoped Grampa Franklin would come. "Does he know about all this?"
"He knows. Merrill knows. You can say anything to either," Mom said. "And to Daniel."
"Knowledge of the race protects itself," Pheligar said. "If you attempt to tell anyone who doesn't know already about it, you will be unable to speak. The secret effectively keeps itself."
"That means Gina can't know," Dad said. "I'm sorry, but we don't know her well enough yet. You'll have to keep your other side secret around her until she's approved by your Mother and Pheligar. Even then, she won't be able to talk about it to anyone else, so you see how difficult it could be for some people to know this about us."
I hadn't considered those things before—that someone could be forced to keep a secret and it could cause them harm. What if Gina wanted to tell her mother, and couldn't get the words out? It sounded painful.
"I'll keep the secret," I promised.
"Good," Mom said. "Does anyone have more rice?" Dragon handed her a bowl.
* * *
Kent, England
Private files of Charles, Secretary to Wlodek and the Vampire Council
Merrill stalked past me and into Wlodek's private study. He had a right to do so; he was Wlodek's oldest living vampire offspring and a King Vampire. None in the vampire community could stand against Merrill's strength or compulsion, should he choose to exercise either.
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