“Well, well,” Jackal purred, smiling as he came into the room, shutting the door behind him. “What do we have here? Another vampire has snuck into my little kingdom, I see. I thought I felt something odd tonight. Suddenly, all the craziness outside makes sense.” He tsked at me and shook his head. “Did you burn down my theater? That wasn’t very civilized of you. Now I’m going to have to find another spot to hold the ritual dismemberments.”
He stopped, folding his arms and watching me with a patronizing look, maybe because I had drawn my sword and had sunk into a ready stance, waiting for him to make the first move. That weird feeling of familiarity, of déjà vu, crept up again.
“Well, this is awkward,” Jackal continued, not looking the slightest bit concerned with the appearance of weapons. “It seems we have different ideas of what’s going to happen tonight. You see, I don’t want to fight you. I don’t get many of my kin through here, especially the beautiful, sword-wielding variety. But I must have pissed you off in the past, because I feel I know you from somewhere, I just can’t remember where or how.”
“I don’t want a fight, either,” I said and nodded to Jeb. “I’m just here for him. Let him go, and we’ll get out of your city right now.”
“Ah, well, that’s going to be a problem.” Jackal sighed, rubbing his chin. “See, I’ve been looking for the old man for quite some time now, ever since I heard about the scientists and their project. I need him to develop the cure. He says the information is incomplete, so I’ve given him everything he needs to finish it. I’m doing a good thing here.” The raider king smiled, charming and handsome. “All I want is to end the curse of Rabidism. That’s not such a horrible thing, is it? Wouldn’t you do the same, if given the opportunity?”
I didn’t trust him. That couldn’t be the whole reason. “Where did you hear about the cure?” I asked. Jackal shrugged.
“My sire told me about it.”
“Sire?” I suddenly felt weak. No, it couldn’t be. That feeling of recognition, the instant connection, the sudden knowledge that he wasn’t just a random vampire. I knew, beyond a doubt, what he was going to say next, and wanted to scream at him to stop.
“Creator? Father figure?” Jackal made an offhand gesture. “The one who Turned me. He found me in the desert, dying of exposure after bandits killed my family, and made me what I am. I’ll always be grateful to the stuck-up prick, but we never saw eye to eye on a lot of things. A few months after he Turned me you could say we…parted ways. He called himself—”
“Kanin,” I whispered.
Jackal narrowed his eyes.
“How did you…” He paused, staring at me, as if seeing me for the first time. Then he threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, of course! That’s the connection! I knew I knew you from somewhere. Kanin, you lying bastard. What happened to that vow that you wouldn’t Turn anyone after me?”
I stared at Jackal, trying to process it. Kanin was our sire. He’d Turned Jackal, same as me, so that meant we were…siblings? Was he my brother? I didn’t know how this worked in vampire society. This was the one thing Kanin had neglected to teach me.
“What a shock, huh, sister?” Jackal grinned, utterly delighted. I started, unused to hearing that word. Sister implied we were related. Family. “Well, this is too perfect, isn’t it? You can’t turn on me now, right? Not your dear older brother.”
“You are not my brother,” I growled, coming to a decision. Jackal raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “I want nothing to do with you, not after what you’ve done.” I remembered Darren, pleading and frightened, right before the rabid pulled him down. I remembered Dorothy’s sightless gaze, staring up at the sky. “You killed my friends, and I will not forgive you for that.”
“Friends?” The raider king snorted, crossing his arms. “Humans aren’t friends, sister. Humans are pets. Food. Minions. Not friends.” He gave me an easy smile. “Oh, they have their uses, I suppose. They’re entertaining sometimes. But even they realize that we vampires are the superior race. That’s why, deep down, they all want to be like us. Take the minions out there.” He jerked his thumb at the window. “I give them freedom, let them come and go and kill as they please, but do they stay away?” He shook his head. “No. They always come back, because they hope that someday, if the curse is lifted, I will reward their service and make them just like me.”