Fated

Chapter 13

Asher spent most of the night waiting for Lucas to come back with what he had requested. He needed to learn to trust the young vampire, especially if they are going to be working together to protect his Beloved.

When Lucas displaced into the shadows of the closet, Asher let out a sigh of relief.

“Do you have all the items?”

“Yes, I do. Blast it, why can’t I displace into somewhere without the shadows?” Lucas swore.

“I forget how young you are. We are natural creatures of the night. Therefore we can only go into areas where there is darkness. As you age, you will have more control to displace into a corner of shadow when the rest of the room is light. But for now, you are limited.” Tossing a bottle of blood substitute towards Lucas, they clinked their bottles and started drinking.

“Why did you agree to mentor me?” Lucas asked after a couple of sips.

“Before the last incarnation of the Queen died, she advised a room full of people, including the vampire who became the King after this meeting, that she wanted us to procreate responsibly. She wanted to place limits on how many we could create, foster positive families, and allow for vampires of all ages to rule, not just the Elders.” Asher remembered the meeting well, “The Queen was masked as always, protecting her identity. The now King claimed her as his Beloved. They went behind the scenes, and the new King threw this woman, whom we now know to be the true Queen, accusing her of murdering the Queen. She was beheaded on the spot. My heart both started and stopped again that day, standing in the crowd.”

“Why didn’t she protect herself?” Lucas asked.

“Her identity was always protected, no one knew her true identity. If the King claimed her, his ability must be along the lines of persuasion. People tend to believe him.” Asher answered simply.

“What’s your ability?”

“I can find anything. Queens, books, a random item that was never before seen. I just have to know the name of what I’m looking for, and it becomes obvious to me where it is.” Asher smiled at Lucas’s enthusiasm.

“How old were you when you knew this was your ability?”

“Around one hundred. I worked as a palace guard before that. I discovered my gift when we received word that Dracula was trying to breach the palace. I just knew where he was and we stopped the threat.” Smiling at Lucas, he added “You should know yours in the next couple of years. They make themselves apparent.”

“How old do you have to be to qualify as an Elder?” Lucas asked.

“Around 900 or so, not including human years.”

“Why isn’t it older?”

“Honestly, the oldest member of the vampires is around 1300. We tend to war internally a lot, and the Queen constantly being murdered doesn’t help. No one trusts us. Our closest ally at this time are the Witches.”

“Why don’t other species like us?”

“The King clings to old ideas, and the more Vampires we create who don’t know our ways, the more we expose the Supernatural world. Other species want the Queen Mother in place. She ties us all together, without her, we will never have respect from other species. You haven’t learned any of this before now?”

Lucas looked down. “I was attacked in an Alley, I woke up in a coffin and had to dig myself out. They thought I had died. I was on my own, starving. I realized my hunger was getting out of hand so I chained myself down. Then you found me.”

“I’m so sorry, Lucas.”

“You’ve been great to me. I can’t ask for better.”

“It doesn’t make what you went through okay.”

“It looks like I have the chance to put the people in power who will stop what I went through. I can’t ask for a better opportunity.”

“It may cost you your life, you know,” Asher said, looking him in the eye.

“I’d consider it the greatest honor.”

Asher smiled and glance at the clock. “I have to get her coffee and meet her now. Will you be alright?”

“I’ll be fine. Go and protect her.”