Harlowe nodded. “It’s a death trap now.” Her eyes softened. “I don’t want anyone else to go through the same thing as Castral.”
Understandable. I didn’t want that either.
Kane smacked his hand on the table with a groan and pointed a wagging finger toward Zach’s face, the noise and movement catching the attention of the rest of the mess hall. “You tell me something, Mr. Public Relations. Why can’t we just feed in the Mortal Plane? Going to the Immortal Plane is annoying and dangerous, and I’m tired of it.”
I could sympathize with Kane; the vampires were risking their necks, going back and forth through the dangers of the Immortal Plane. But we’d had this conversation before. We couldn’t have hungry vampires running around and feeding on the very citizens offering us asylum. Even if someone ended up being a murderer, Scotland and the international community would have a fit.
Zach drew himself up straighter, temporarily ignoring his dinner. Over the last few weeks, while finally recovering from the bullet wound in his right leg, my brother had grown into the role of public relations expert for our group. He worked closely alongside the Bryce siblings, monitoring both public and international opinion.
“The Mortal Plane may be less dangerous in terms of monsters, but you still have enemies and threats here,” he said firmly. “Feeding in the Mortal Plane could derail our Scottish asylum and the Bureau investigation in America. Everything is tenuous. Right now, we’re building a house of cards and praying it doesn’t fall,” he explained gently.
I picked at my food but didn’t eat. My mind churned. Zach was right. Our current state was anything but stable. Until the international community decided how to deal with or integrate vampires into human society, the vampires couldn’t hunt humans. A month ago, I would’ve found that perfectly reasonable from a not-super-down-with-murder perspective… but now I grew more and more concerned about my vampire friends having to brave the Immortal Plane. I bit into my food, appreciating the ease with which we humans could eat right now, enjoying the full taste of it.
“I understand,” Harlowe muttered. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Kane simmered next to her, visibly chafing at Zach’s reasoning. His scowl told me he grew impatient. If the situation with the Immortal Plane continued to worsen at this rate, the vampires might have to starve again or space out their feedings to near starvation.
“Tomorrow we’ll look for another stone circle or some other doorway,” Kane said gruffly. He slouched, eyes on the tabletop, and didn’t say any more.
Still, I appreciated that he was at least trying to be optimistic in his own way. He was stubborn, and that wouldn’t change, but I found him easier to deal with now. Dorian certainly seemed to appreciate having Kane back.
“Sounds like it’s all bad news today,” Louise said mournfully. Harlowe shook her head.
“Not quite,” she countered. “Although Castral’s injury was bad, he told us everything after the medics stabilized him. He got captured, but it meant he got close enough to hear the hunters talking when he pretended to be unconscious. They thought he was one of the vampires they’d seen near Siron, a huge lake in the mountains.”
Kane grinned wildly. “More vampires.”
The corner of Harlowe’s mouth lifted slightly, but her eyes stayed serious. “The Immortals sounded angry that they had known of the group’s alleged existence for some time but hadn’t caught them yet. They wanted to persuade Castral to talk when he woke up, hoping to connect our group with those at Lake Siron, but he managed to get away, and we dragged him through the portal in time.”
“You know what that means?” Kane asked with a gloating smile. “If the vampire community still stuck in the Immortal Plane is strong enough, we won’t have to hide in the Mortal Plane anymore at all. We could reclaim the area.”
The vampires might have allies waiting for them in the Immortal Plane. I leaned back in my chair, trying to imagine what that might look like. They could have hidden in caves like the vampires did here in the Mortal Plane. They must’ve found some way to evade the Immortals.
“Too bad we rescued Castral so soon,” Kane lamented after a pause. “Maybe we could’ve learned more.”
Harlowe cast a sidelong look at him. “Maybe. That’s assuming he lived long enough to tell us.”
Gina fidgeted with her napkin. Roxy put her chin in her hand, her glare made even fiercer by the scar that sliced through her eyebrow. Zach looked thoughtful, obviously processing the new information. Were they wondering what type of immortal ghouls these creatures were? The Immortals certainly seemed intelligent enough to threaten our vampire allies. Could they match vampires’ strength and speed, both of which were far superior to our human abilities?
I needed to ask Dorian more about the Immortals, but it was like pulling teeth. The vampires were trying to keep the existence of the Immortals a secret from the government, not wanting a repeat of humans contacting Immortals and working together to kill the vampires. And there was little time for questions that weren’t immediately relevant; our recent conversations had been focused on educating me about the finer points of vampire existence, to help me in any government hearings I might be called to. We weaved our talks in through stolen moments away from strategy discussions. It was odd to be able to spend more time with each other, and I enjoyed it despite the constant low buzz of pain in my chest.
“Could we help more vampire survivors if we found that group?” Roxy wondered aloud. “We could bust in and grab them before the immortal creeps notice we’re there.”
Bravi ran a hand over her face, humming with thought. “It’s unlikely. Lake Siron is a day or more on foot from any entry point that I know of. If we went via redbill, we’d have to go through the tear, which, even if you were allowed back into America, is even farther away from the lake.”
“Even if we could get in, staying beyond the reach of Immortals’ eyes is difficult and dangerous,” Harlowe added. “I’m reluctant to even consider the idea.”
“Hard not to be, after watching Castral get chewed on,” Neo piped up from his place next to Arlonne and Gavril at another table.
I was surprised he had joined us this evening. The newer vampires from Kane’s group didn’t always come to dinner. It wasn’t like they could eat with us, and not all of them were interested in the social aspect.
He moved to sit by us, his movements quiet and deliberate. “What I will say is that before we followed Kane through the tear, we heard similar rumors. There’s supposedly an underground vampire group that established a safe colony in the Immortal Plane. They send scouts to fill up on dark energy that they bring back to feed the rest of the colony.”
An underground fugitive group that strategically ferried back dark energy to feed its members? Sounded familiar. It must be necessary, since the immortal enemies knew the group was there. I wondered if their hideout was as precarious as some of ours had been. Near Lake Siron, Kane had said. What kind of place was that? Probably a crater full of bubbling black water, hiding creatures with long, oozing tentacles that would snatch anyone walking by. It seemed like when it came to the Immortal Plane, all I could imagine were terrible, strange creatures with malicious intent. To be fair, my experience so far had demonstrated this to be the norm.