The Rules of the Red - 2014 Watty Award Winner |✓|

Chapter Nine - Part Two

it’s because of that, that many Vampires don’t make it past fifty years without getting themselves killed.  But your Maker is the one meant to help you distinguish that fine line between controlling your hunger and allowing it to control you. Feeding without killing, learning how to survive on animal blood when you have nothing else, choosing to turn your humanity on or leave it off… these are all things your Maker teaches you. And unfortunately, Cole never got to experience that. His Maker left him in the first six months, and for two centuries Cole gorged himself on women and blood. But forensics at that time were not very well developed, and of course, we Vampires have a few… special talents, so he was able to go undetected, for the most part.”

I studied Tidus for several seconds, realizing that his wisdom ran some deeper than I had imagined. He wasn’t just a handsome, angry face. He was intelligent, and thoughtful, and wise. And I resented him even more for being so. Because it only made him that much harder to resist.

“So what changed? Why were the Supernaturals so upset with Cole?”

“At that time, Hunters hadn’t yet made their way into society, so we Vampires only had ourselves to keep each other in check. And even though no one wanted to deal with Cole, many were afraid that sooner or later, a Human would take one of those Vampire rumors about him seriously.”

“So you made him see the light, then? He acknowledged the error of his ways?”

But Tidus shook his head no.

“I didn’t have to. By the time I found him, he had already run into Isobel. He told me about how he met a woman – a Human woman – that had seen the monster in him and hadn’t cared. Cole had intended to make Isobel his victim, but she was the first Human he had met that had been unafraid to die. She gave him hope for his Humanity – something his Maker had failed to do.”

“Well, that would be a beautiful story if he hadn’t still been an obvious sociopath and a murderer.” I replied, completely unmoved.

“Then I guess that it would surprise you to know that in His human life, Cole had been both a humanitarian and a scholar. He opened a school for young boys to help them prepare for universities when they were older, and he even opened up a nunnery for women who were either too old or too ugly to find husbands. But if he had had a loyal Maker, who respected the Rules of the Red, he might have saved Cole long before Isobel had.”

With a heavy sigh, Tidus looked down at the Countess’ evil ring. And at once, I knew that his words meant that he truly had felt sorry for Cole and his Human bride. Which also meant that clearly Tidus wasn’t as emotionally empty as he seemed.

“Anyway, Cole said he was changed and I believed him.” Tidus continued. “He promised he would be more discreet with his kills. He even claimed that Isobel was helping him to experiment with living purely off of animal blood. So I left, and the next I had heard he was gone. I kept an ear out for news of him for a few years, but I never found him. I’ve always just assumed he was dead – that Neona had actually found a way to kill him.”

“And what about the curse then? Doesn’t that throw a wrench in Claudia’s plan for the ring?”