Toff couldn't say later how he'd managed to keep his feet—perhaps it was Roff, standing there with him, hushing him and reassuring him, telling him that this was the way things were. Toff watched as Oluwa stopped drinking from Cheedas' wrist, laying it down gently beside the cook's body. Oluwa held a wrist out to Gavin, who formed a claw on a finger and opened Oluwa's veins. Dark red blood welled up immediately.
Oluwa then held his wrist to Cheedas' mouth as Gavin raised the old cook up, and Oluwa's command to drink had Cheedas swallowing the vampire's blood. Radomir came in from somewhere and began counting off time. At some prearranged moment, Radomir called time, Oluwa removed his wrist from Cheedas' blood-covered mouth and Cheedas' heart stopped beating.
"That is the way of it, my child," Roff crooned softly, lifting Toff and carrying him from the room.
* * *
"We should know something soon," Oluwa sighed as Gavin lifted Cheedas from the floor.
"Oluwa," Lissa went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, allowing her head to droop against his chest.
"It will go as it will, little Queen," Oluwa soothed. "We should take him to the waiting rooms and clean him up a bit."
"You can't leave him here?"
"It is better this way," Oluwa said. "Come now; let me do my duty as a sire." Oluwa allowed Gavin to carry Cheedas away.
"Mom?" Tory's voice was shaky as he reached out toward Lissa.
"Honey, I'm so sorry you had to see that," Lissa went to her boys.
"Mom, Uncle Tony explained it to us two years ago. We just weren't prepared for the reality, and we weren't ready for it to be Cheedas," Ry wanted to weep or scream—he couldn't decide which.
"It's always that way, honey. You're not prepared for it to be the one it is. Cheedas had a heart attack, I think. I didn't see any wounds on his body."
"I can confirm that," Karzac appeared in a brief flash of light.
"What happened to Toff? Where is he?" Lissa looked around her.
"Uncle Roff took him."
"Did he see this?"
"Yeah, Mom. He did."
"Oh, no." Lissa raked a hand through her hair.
"We will explain to him, little firefly. We will do our best to make him understand," Karzac had hands on Lissa's forehead. They eventually wandered down to her abdomen. "The baby is fine and strong," Karzac allayed any fears in that direction.
"Avilepha, the Half-Fae difik has escaped." Kifirin was back to himself when he appeared in the kitchen. "With help, but he escaped, nonetheless."
"Let me guess—Zellar?" Lissa sighed as she looked up at Kifirin. His eyes still appeared completely black; otherwise, he was back to normal.
"Zellar and another," Kifirin confirmed. "We must hunt all three of them, now. If Tiearan had spoken his fears earlier, this might have been avoided. I grow weary of waiting for Toff to reach adulthood.""Eleven more years," Lissa muttered.
* * *
"Toff?" Lissa came into Toff's bedroom, followed by Ry and Tory. Roff was still there, Toff held tightly against him as they sat on Toff's bed.
Toff looked up as the Queen and the two Princes walked in. "Honey, I'm so sorry you had to see that. We wanted to wait to tell you about this. You have to believe me when I say that this is what Cheedas wanted. This is what he and many others hope for at the end of their lives." Lissa came to sit on Toff's bed. Ry and Tory stood behind her.
"What is it? What did he hope for? I saw that man drinking his blood." Toff's voice sounded sullen. Roff's wings rustled in agitation.
"Honey, I know they never taught you what Le-Ath Veronis means. I wanted to wait awhile before we told you, so you could get used to all this. That's not an option any longer."
"What does it mean? What are you talking about?" Toff wasn't sure now what he should do. He didn't want to go back to the Fae village and he was nearly too frightened to stay at the palace.
"Honey, Le-Ath Veronis is from an ancient language. You remember that Le-Ath Veronis was destroyed all those years ago? Nobody speaks that language anymore. Except Kifirin, perhaps. Toff, Le-Ath Veronis means Heart of the Vampire."
Toff struggled in Roff's grip, but Roff wasn't letting him go. "Sit still, little one and let us explain," Roff said softly.
"I have to explain what the comesuli truly are—what they were created to be," Lissa began. "You know how some insects have a nymph stage—they look much like an adult, only smaller?"
"Y-yes," Toff couldn't keep the stutter from his voice.
"That's what the comesuli are. Young vampires. Vampire children, you might say. If you decide to stay with us after we explain things to you, then I will show you the laws that govern Le-Ath Veronis. The first of those laws levies a death sentence against any vampire who drinks from a child. And as Cheedas told you, you are not considered an adult until you reach the age of twenty-nine. That means that no comesula under the age of twenty-nine can be considered for the turn. That is what Oluwa did for Cheedas—he has attempted the turn. We should know in three days if Cheedas survived the turning to become a vampire. Sometimes it takes longer than that, but if the body survives intact for three days, that is a very good sign that the turn will be successful. If Oluwa hadn't done what he did, Cheedas would now be dead. That is another of our laws—that the candidate must be dying and of good character before the turn may be attempted. Vampires are strong when they wake. We do not make criminals into vampires; their penchant for disobeying laws follows them into their next life."
"That's when the comesuli become whole, child. While you have no genitalia now, if you are turned one day, you will wake with what you did not have before." Roff's voice was gentle and even.
"But what if I don't believe you?" Toff shuddered at the images he'd seen before—Cheedas' blood, drank by another.
"You should believe me," Roff turned Toff around so he could look into Toff's eyes. "I was comesula, once. Only a few of us—honored among the comesuli—will become Winged Vampires, however. Child, you will be a Winged Vampire one day, if that is your choice."
Toff's shock was now complete. Roff—a vampire? But he'd walked in daylight earlier. Toff's memory was dim, but he thought that vampires were kept in darkness because the sun would kill them.
"I know what you're thinking. There are a few of us who are not just vampire now. We have been changed somewhat, so we can walk in the sun," Roff nodded. "Most vampires still have to live on this half of the planet because the sun burns their skin. I can assure you that one day, if this is your choice and the Queen finds you worthy, you will be as I am—able to walk in daylight as a vampire. Not many receive this gift, child. And it is a gift, make no mistake about that. Someday, I will introduce you to the vampire who is my sire. His name is Flavio and he is a patient parent."
"As is Oluwa," the Queen added. "Oluwa and I have known each other for a while and I trust him. I cannot say that about many people—vampires included."
"Are all your Inner Circle mates vampires?" Toff ventured to ask.
"No, honey. Only Gavin, Tony, Rigo, Aryn and Roff are vampires. Drake and Drew are Falchani, but they are also Spawn Hunters for the Saa Thalarr. Winkler is a werewolf and a Spawn Hunter. Ry's father, Erland, is called Lord Erland Morphis and is high in the court for my grandfather, King Wylend Arden of Karathia. Garde, Tory's father, is Gardevik Rath, Prime Minister and brother to Jaydevik Rath, King of the High Demons on Kifirin. You know what Norian is—you've seen that. What you don't know about him is that he is heir to Ildevar Wyyld, the founding member of the Alliance. Karzac was Refizani, once, but is now a Healer for the Saa Thalarr. Nissa's father, Shadow Grey, is a Master Wizard of Grey House and Grandson of Glendes, Eldest of Grey House. Rigo was once Rigovarnus the First, a High King on Hraede. The Larentii—Connegar and Reemagar—are the most powerful race among those from the light side of the universes. Thurlow and Kifirin, well, let's just say that both of them are minor gods. Kifirin outranking Thurlow, of course."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Toff wiped dampness from his cheeks. "Why are you being so nice to me? Surely it isn't because I might be a Winged Vampire someday."
"No, honey, that isn't the reason." Lissa looked carefully at Roff before she answered Toff's question. "I knew your father when you were tiny, Toff. In fact, I was going to adopt you after your father was in an accident. That's when the Green Fae came along. They thought they were kidnapping King Wylend's grandson and heir to the Karathian throne. They picked the wrong baby. They wanted to force the Karathian Warlocks to help them when they came under attack by the Vionnu and one of their renegade religions. The Full Fae can do what they call flashing to take themselves from one world to another. The Half-Fae can't do it—it causes their bodies to disintegrate. They would have to leave their Half-Fae children behind to be slaughtered by the Vionn army, or they were going to have to force a Karathian to help them. They kidnapped the baby they thought was Wylend's heir to make things come out in their favor. They got you instead. You, who were about to be adopted by the Queen of Le-Ath Veronis. I went to Vionn to keep the Fae—Full, Half and otherwise—from being destroyed, expecting to get you back afterward. I was very wrong."
"Mom, you never told us this," Ry sounded lost.
"Honey, there wasn't any point, was there?" The Queen reached out to take his hand and squeezed it gently. "I thought Toff was lost to me when Tiearan came and told me afterward that Redbird placed a mindbond on Toff. He would think of her as his mother. He didn't even recognize me when I tried to take him. He was screaming and holding onto Redbird. She stole him away from us in a way that couldn't be reversed. Toff was around two when that happened, and the Larentii said that if we tried to reverse the mindbond it could damage his brain, he was so little. I was forced to leave Toff with the Green Fae. Eventually they were attacked again, and in order to make sure Toff remained safe, I had to bring all of them here. Kifirin and Thurlow have promised judgment against them when Toff comes of age. That's eleven years from now."