The Vampire & the Rebel (Completed)

Part 3: Chapter 29

Jamie seemed to be barely injured at all, and he was worryingly eager to take on a council building full of vampires who exceeded him in age and quite likely in power, although he surely outranked the majority in skill and strategy. I did not think I had it in me to lose him twice in a week.

Still, we pressed on. My humans and fledglings and allies streamed in with me. Many of them knew their way around from years—or even decades—of familiarity with the wide corridors. I smiled as we defeated one enemy after another and I raged after any of my people fell to the unworthy council.

I spotted Drak from the corner of my eye and was pleased to see that he had not yet gotten himself killed. If he did, it would be almost as bad as it would be to lose Jamie.

"Glad to see that you're still alive, old friend," I commented as Drak pushed a wooden stake into one of the younger vampire fodder the cowardly council was throwing at us. If they had even the slightest spines they would step forward to meet their fates.

The vampire turned to dust, and I saw Drak cringe at what he had done.

"You too, love." His voice sounded almost normal. I hoped this fight was not breaking a part of him.

Kind monster that I was, I decided to take his mind off the fact that he had just destroyed another person, deserving or not, the best way I knew how. "I rather like knowing that your shifty self is out there somewhere, free in nature, spreading your mush liberally around the wilds. It sets a bar that I can always surpass."

"Be as nasty as you want, Vienne. I know you love me, too."

I rolled my eyes as I regretfully broke the neck of some poor council fledgling. "Peace loving beatnik."

It did not feel quite as accurate considering that he literally had bloody ash on his hands, but I was not going to correct myself if he did not call me out on it.

"Stodgy government...rebel?"

I grinned with my fangs. "Haha, yes! Revel in the chaos that will birth my new order!"

"That gave me chills. Not in a good way. In a terror sort of way, Vienne."

I smiled wider. How amusing. "Don't be silly. New Hollywood will be glorious. You've nothing to fear, Vice President."

"I never know if you're serious about that or not." I had not been serious at first, but the more I talked about it...

Another foolish young vampire attacked me, and I slipped out of his way and put him out of his misery.

"Of course I'm serious. If the new order does not produce some quality media in a couple of centuries, I'll simply plot another rebellion."

"Not any of the starved leeches wandering around in here," Jamie commented, apparently completely ignoring the conversation.

"Because the council is—was—full of cowards and morons. It's rather less full than it once was now." I smirked at the thought. It would be very empty soon if I had my way.

"It's strangely quiet in here," Jamie commented in a low voice, scanning the area around us with his usual seriousness.

I shrugged. "Well, they're probably all hiding in some chamber like the vermin they are. Perhaps they ran out of poor young vampires to sacrifice. I wonder how they motivated them to throw their lives away."

"Maybe we should aim to be stealthier," Jamie said in a tone that well told me he disapproved of my lightheartedness.

"Perhaps," I agreed silkily. "Or perhaps we should keep talking and tempt them to come to us."