“How many vampire cities are there?”
“Worldwide?” Kanin shrugged. “No one really knows. It’s constantly in flux, you see, especially within the smaller regions. Cities rising and falling, attempts to take over another’s territory, disease or rabids wiping out whole populations. But the largest vampire cities, like New Covington, have survived since the plague, and there are perhaps a few dozen, worldwide.”
“All ruled by a Master.”
“Usually. Like I said before, there are exceptions, but, yes, most cities are ruled by a Master.”
That meant there were several very strong, probably very old, vampires out there. That was something to keep in mind, though it sounded as if most of them stayed in their cities, like Salazar, and never ventured beyond the Wall.
“Beneath the Prince,” Kanin continued, “are the Type-2s, the vampires who have been sired by a Master. They are not as powerful as the Prince, but they are formidable in their own right, and usually make up the council, the elite guard and the Prince’s trusted seconds. Are you following so far?”
“Type-2s?” I bit down a smirk. “I was expecting something a little more…exotic, and vampirey-sounding. Type-2 sounds like the symptoms of a disease.”
Kanin shot me an exasperated look. “The bloodlines of certain old families are extremely long and complex,” he explained in a sharper voice. “It would be pointless to explain them to a new vampire, so I am giving you the simplified version.”
“Sorry. Go on.”
“Beneath them,” Kanin continued, “are the Type-3s, the mongrels, and these are the most common and least powerful in the hierarchy. They have been sired by either a Type-2 or another mongrel, and they are the type of vampire you will most likely encounter wandering the streets. Mongrels make up the vast majority of the population, and they’re the weakest of us all, though still stronger and faster than any human.
“So, the stronger the vamp who sired you, the stronger you’re likely to be?”
“To a point.” Kanin leaned back, resting his palms on the desk. “Before the virus, vampires were spread across the world, hidden from mankind, blending into society. Most of them were mongrels, Type-3s, and if they occasionally sired another vampire, they would always create a mongrel. The Masters and their covens were few and far between, secluded from the rest of the world, until the Red Lung virus hit. When the humans began to die from the virus, our food source disappeared, and we were in danger of starving or going mad.
“Then rabids started to appear, and things grew even more chaotic. At that time, we didn’t know whether the rabids were the final effect of the Red Lung virus or if they were something new, but there was mass panic for both humans and vampires. Eventually a few ingenious Masters devised a way to keep the few remaining, noninfected humans close, creating a never-ending food supply in exchange for protection from outside threats. And so the vampire cities were born. But there are so few Masters now.” He paused and looked away. “And that means fewer vampires every year. It’s only a matter of time before our race disappears completely.”
He didn’t sound sad about it. More…resigned. I blinked. “What do you mean?” I asked. “I thought you said mongrels or Type-2s or whatevers could create other vampires. What do you mean, you’re dying out?”
He was silent, his eyes dark and far away. Finally, he looked up, staring right at me. “Do you know how the rabids were created?” he asked in a soft voice. “Do you know what they are?”
I swallowed. “You mean, besides the obvious?”
“They’re vampires,” Kanin continued, as if I hadn’t said anything. “Originally, rabids were vampires. In the early stages of the plague, a group of scientists discovered that vampires were immune to the virus that was killing the human race. Up until that point, our race was virtually unknown, hidden and scattered throughout the world. We were happy to remain the monsters of Halloween and horror films. It was better that way.”
“So what happened?”
Kanin made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. “A fool of a Master vampire went to the scientists himself, exposing our kind, wanting to ‘save the human race.’ Apparently, he thought—and rightly so—that if mankind went extinct, vampires would soon follow. The scientists told him that vampire blood was the key to finding a cure, that they could beat the Red Lung virus if they only had live samples to work with. So, the Master tracked down and captured other vampires for the scientists to experiment on, betraying his own kind for a cure that would save the world.” Kanin shook his head. “Unfortunately, what they created, what they turned those vampires into, was far worse than anything anyone had anticipated.”