Grandma Redbird sighed. “They’re too vulnerable in those blinds. There’s so little shelter in them. I know vampyres are resistant to the cold weather, but it’s just awful that they have to run from place to place like they do. The stress of not having a truly safe place must wear on them.”
“That’s why they were so excited to find the cave,” Tina agreed. “But Dragon told me that right now it can only hold about five people, and that’s if they don’t mind being crowded together. They’re working on expanding it, but you know that ridge is mostly rock and hard red dirt. It’s slow going, especially in the middle of winter.”
“Wait, did you say Dragon? As in Dragon Lankford?” Kevin said.
“Yes. Dragon Lankford used to be the Tulsa House of Night’s Swordmaster—before Neferet began the war,” Tina said.
“Is his mate, Anastasia, here too?” Kevin asked, excitement lifting his voice.
Tina nodded. “She is.”
“G-ma! Zoey told me to find Dragon and Anastasia Lankford—that they could help me for sure.”
“Then we are on the right path,” G-ma said with a smile.
“Man, I hope so.” Kevin stood after giving the Scotties one more group petting. “So, you were saying that the Resistance doesn’t really have a headquarters?”
“They did have a headquarters, but that was before Lenobia and Travis were trailed, trapped, and killed—along with their horses …” Tina’s words broke off as she tried to compose herself, obviously too upset to continue.
Grandma Redbird reached out to her, hugging Tina sympathetically, and then finished explaining for her. “Lenobia and Travis had created a headquarters for the Resistance in the middle of Keystone National Park. It’s more than seven hundred acres, and except for the areas near Keystone Lake and Dam, it’s wild and undeveloped, even though it’s only about an hour from downtown Tulsa to the park. It was an excellent place for a rough camp, especially as Lenobia managed to smuggle several horses out of the House of Night when she and Travis left for good. Someone betrayed them. Lenobia and Travis stayed with the horses, drawing the Red Army away from the rest of the Resistance and the innocents they were helping to safety. They were slaughtered. Lenobia, Travis, the Resistance members, the innocents, and every single horse.”
Kevin bowed his head, sadness and regret filling him.
“You were there, weren’t you?” Tina’s voice was filled with gravel.
“No. And I thank Nyx for that. I was still a fledgling when that happened, and fledglings are never part of an actual deployment. They’re not good weapons yet. They have to be fully Changed before enough of their humanity is wiped out for them to be dangerous and expendable.” He grimaced in disgust. “I heard about the slaughter, though. My general, his name was Dominick, gloated about the victory. It—it made me sick. It still makes me sick.”
“I’m glad you weren’t there,” Tina said, her voice still shaky. “I don’t believe I could bear having you in my home had you been involved in that. Lenobia was a good friend. And those horses …” She shuddered. “I can’t think about what the Red Army did to them.”
“I’m sorry,” was all Kevin could think to say.
“Show me. Don’t tell me. Help us stop Neferet and the misery she’s unleashed upon this world, and I’ll believe you’re truly sorry,” said Tina.
“I will. I promise.”
Tina nodded briskly and then motioned for them to follow her into the fragrant kitchen. With the herd of Scottie dogs trotting around their feet, Grandma Redbird and Kevin made their way slowly after Tina, careful not to step on paws.
“I imagine you’ll want to be on your way to join them quickly?”
“Yes. That would be best,” Grandma Redbird said.
“Actually, you’re going to save me a trip. I baked a dozen loaves of bread and finished canning my blackberry jam. Never knew vampyres loved fresh bread and jam so much before Neferet changed our world, but they certainly do.”
Kevin’s mouth was watering as he watched Tina finish packing the bundles of fresh homemade bread and jam into canvas bags.
“Who doesn’t like homemade bread?” he said. “And yours smells incredible.”
Tina stopped to look at him. She shook her head. “It’s tough to get used to it.”
“It?” Kevin asked.
“I suppose you is a better word than it. What I meant is it’s tough to get used to having a red vampyre who acts like a normal, rational person in my kitchen.” She snorted and added, “It’s almost worth going out with you in the cold and dark to see their reaction.”
“I don’t expect that it’ll be easy for them to accept me,” Kevin said.
“You want the truth?”
Kevin nodded.
“It’ll take a miracle for them to accept you.”
“That’s okay.” Kevin grinned at her. “I have it on good authority that Nyx is in the miracle business.”
“For your sake I hope so.” Tina returned to packing the canvas bags.
“For all of our sakes, I hope so,” Grandma Redbird said.
“Okay, Miracle Kevin, help me carry these.”
Tina loaded Kevin down with as many bags as he could carry, leaving only one for his grandma. Then they followed Tina out the back door and past a built-in pool from which mist was rising like forgotten spirits.
“That looks awesome!” Kevin said.
Tina smiled. “That and the Scotties are my two major indulgences. Well, if you don’t count my love of craft beer and pasta. I keep that pool heated all winter. It’s a beautiful thing to float in it and stare through the mist up at the stars. Makes me forget how messed up our world has become.”
“My friend, would it help to tell you that because of what has happened to Kevin, we have a real chance at defeating Neferet?” Grandma Redbird said.
“Sylvia, I would love to believe we could go back to how it used to be.”
“How about more than that?” Kevin spoke up. Both women trained curious looks on him. “How about a world where humans and vampyres are truly allies and friends? Like the two of you are with the Resistance. It’s more than possible. I’ve seen it. It can work, and it makes for a world that’s better than what we had here before Neferet started the war.”
“You’re not from around here, are you, son?”
“Actually, I am. Let’s just say I’ve traveled a lot recently.”