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me?
 This is an unwise avenue of discussion.
 Is he really that powerful? Is it impossible?
 That and more. Abraham has studied long in vampire lore. He knows very well
what he is capable of, and has pushed those boundaries further than perhaps any other
living vampire. He revealed a rather startling talent to me last night, unwittingly I think,
when he caught your breath. I knew that in close proximity, his power over others minds
was significant, but I did not know that he could allow you full reign of your thoughts
while cutting off access to otherwise involuntary functions. I do now know how to do
that, do not know how he did it, and do not know how to fight it.
 Okay, but suppose somehow he died. We can t kill him. Fine. But say tomorrow
Abraham... I don t know... gets hit with a nuclear bomb and is turned to ashes. What
would happen to us?
 Us. Very well, Two. On a purely speculative basis -- as what you speak of is
simply not a possibility for a wide variety of reasons -- I think I can answer that. What
happens when the head of a line dies? It depends on the age of his children, and the type
of vampire.
 If you kill an Eresh vampire, his children may be significantly weakened.
Certainly any half-vampire he has created will revert to human form. Full vampires may
or may not revert, depending on the amount of time that has passed since the change. If
someone killed me, Two, you would revert to human form in a matter of weeks. You ve
not been changed nearly long enough for it to  stick, so to speak.
 If someone, somehow, killed Abraham, the effects would be less drastic. Melissa
and I have made the change completely and will not revert. Tori might revert, but I have
no way of knowing if her mind would return with her humanity, and at this point the
physical changes may not completely fade. It is possible that she would be very strong
and very fast, for a human being... comparable perhaps to one of the other vampire
strains. There would be no effect on Samantha, or on you, if Abraham was killed.
 So, continuing this interesting but, unfortunately, rather useless line of thought,
if Abraham was killed, it would have little effect on the present situation, beyond
possibly allowing Samantha the opportunity to return to her normal life, since he would
no longer consider her his property.
Two watched him, frustrated, knowing that he would not lie to her, but unwilling
to believe the task was not within some realm of possibility. No guarantees on Melissa,
Theroen had said, but would it not at least give them more time to work on the problem?
 It would indeed. Theroen had picked up her thoughts.  But that in itself is not a
guarantee, and an attempt on Abraham s life would assuredly lead only to the cessation
of our own. If Karma exists, I ve been living on borrowed time since Lisette... died. But I
could not bring myself to sacrifice your life so needlessly.
 We have to do something, Theroen.
 Yes, we do, but the choice is not ours, Two. We have three options. The first is
the easiest. We leave. Melissa, Tori, and Samantha stay. The second: we stay for as long
as possible, against Abraham s will. Melissa is eventually engulfed by Missy, Samantha
is kept in a state of half-vampirism indefinitely and is likely warped by Missy s
teachings, Tori continues her mad existence, and eventually Abraham s evil drives me
away. In the interim, there will be little other than despair, and the end result is no
different from the first option.
 Then there is the third...
Melissa had turned to listen to Theroen again, and her eyes said she knew what he
was to say. Theroen grimaced, looked at his sister with deep, sad eyes, and continued.
 The third is a possibility that Abraham must at least have guessed at, and is
likely fully aware of. Had he expressly forbid it last night, I would have acceded. He did
not. He told me only that they were his, and he wished that they remain here. He leaves
me to make my own decision on how to interpret that. The third option is that I risk
Abraham s wrath, and slaughter the rest of his line.
Melissa s eyes were hard and glassy, but if more sobbing threatened, she held it at
bay. She met Theroen s gaze, her mouth a thin, white line. Two looked between both of
them, and at last shook her head.
 No. That s crazy. There s a fourth alternative, whether you want to admit it or
not, Theroen. The fourth is that we attempt the impossible and try to kill him. We have
to!
It was Melissa who spoke.
 Don t be ridiculous, Two. I m going to die. Pick any scenario, and at the end of
it, I still die. I d rather not go with your life, and Theroen s, on my conscience.
 But if he dies, maybe Missy will...
 Disappear? I told you, Two. I ve known Missy for a very long time now.
Abraham woke her up, yes, but she doesn t mean to be put back to sleep. If I believed
there was the slightest chance of that, I might agree with you, but even then probably not.
So put it out of your head, now. You re going to get yourself killed talking like that.
Theroen waved his hand, dismissing the idea.  Abraham knows the difference
between threat and idle speculation. If anything, hearing Two speak in this manner would
only amuse him. Were you to attempt it, Two, I do not think he would be particularly
upset with you. He would likely welcome the entertainment. He would destroy you, of
course, but he would do it smiling.
 We cannot fight him, and even if we could, even if we pulled off the miraculous,
what would be the purpose? The inevitable end for those we would be trying to save does
not change. It is too much risk for no reward.
 Well that s fucking great. I hate all of the choices, Theroen. Two was beyond
anger. Beyond tears. Her voice was hollow, exasperated, depleted of hope. Melissa
looked at her with sympathy, as if Two was the true victim.
 I m not fond of any of them myself. I m not entirely certain which I would
choose, if the choice was mine. It is not. Melissa knows, has known for decades, that it is
not. The choice lies with her, and I will abide by her decision, even if she chooses your
fourth scenario.
Melissa sighed, shut her eyes, leaned back against the couch. Tears, tinged pink
with blood, slipped down her face, but she did not lose her composure. After a long
minute in which Two thought her own heart had ceased to beat, Melissa looked up at the
ceiling, and then over at Theroen. Her face was hard, and rage danced behind her eyes.
Rage at them? Rage at Abraham? Rage at the situation? Two could not tell.
 I want a promise.
 Anything, Melissa.
 Take Samantha with you. Don t leave her here for him to pervert. I know it goes
against what he asked, but he can t care that much. She s just a human. Promise me
you ll take her, Theroen, and get her home. You can make her forget. Will you promise?
 You have my word, Melissa.
 Good. Then I want you to kill me. I d rather you than her. Kill me, and kill Tori,
and when Abraham rages, spit in his fucking face and tell him it s from me.
* * *
It had been twenty minutes since Melissa had departed, and Two still felt numb.
There had been little more in the way of conversation after Melissa s choice. She had
asked Theroen when, and he had said only  Not yet. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]