A Call of Vampires (A Shade of Vampire #51)

“What’s an Exiled Mara?” Serena asked, prompting Jax to scoff. He was seething, biting the inside of his cheek, with no intention of putting down his sword. I could feel the anger radiating off of him, a black and unforgiving mist.

“Something my people are not proud of. Something we never speak of,” Jax finally replied.

The Exiled Mara looked down, a hint of shame flickering in her eyes. Safira sighed and stepped between the wards, slowly leaning forward to get a better look at the red symbol on the Exiled Mara’s neck. Safira hummed and nodded, then glanced at Jax.

“She’s not one of the originals,” Safira said. “She’s an offspring.”

“Are you serious?” Jax’s eyebrows jumped.

“Yes. That is not the original mark of a swamp witch. It was branded into her skin with hot fire. But she is one of them.”

“Who are you?” Jax shifted his focus back to the Exiled Mara, who trembled before him. I had a feeling he was being a little too hard on her, but, then again, I knew absolutely nothing about her or the Exiled Maras, so I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I analyzed reactions around the platform and noticed that all the Eritopian vampires present seemed well aware of what she was.

“I am Rewa, milord,” the Exiled Mara said. “Rewa, of House Xunn.”

“Hold on,” Serena burst out, irritated by how little information had been provided so far. I completely understood her, as I felt the same. “There are serious blanks in this conversation, and, before Rewa here says anything else, I would like you bad boys, so quick to draw your swords, to tell us exactly why she’s not welcome here and why you’re so aggressive toward her.”

A couple of seconds passed before Jax answered, lowering his sword.

“The Exiled Maras are our greatest shame,” he said. “Thousands of years ago, the Maras were a free people, with no allegiance to the Master Druid societies. We occasionally disagreed with them, and fought aggressively, as we preferred feeding from other two-legged creatures such as Druids, Lamias, Tritones, Bajangs, and Imps. We were eventually outnumbered and had to find better ways to feed, so we switched to an animal diet. We signed an agreement with the Master Druids, as well, and were welcomed into Eritopia’s civilized societies with arms wide open. There was only one condition.”

“Feed only off the animals.” Heron nodded, hate oozing from him as he glared at the Exiled Mara. I got my first clue then as to why they were so repulsed by her.

“Some of us, however,” Jax continued, “didn’t get that notice. Better said, they pretended not to get the notice, gleefully strolled into the Druid cities along with us, and began feasting on the local nobility.”

“Not only were they greedy, stubborn, and downright maniacal, they were also picky eaters,” Heron spat.

“It got so bad, so fast, that our society nearly fell apart. One third of our Maras continued hunting creatures that they were no longer allowed to touch. Most of them didn’t spare their victims, either. They fed until they killed them,” Jax added. “Then, the Druids intervened, with the support of the swamp witches. They were strict in their verdict and were determined to wipe us all out, much like we’ve recently wiped out the Sluaghs, because we’d been deemed evil, dark, and unrepentant. Because of this selfish subset of Maras, it was going to be the end of all Maras.”

“But you made your case, Jaxxon Dorchadas.” Safira gave him a respectful nod and a half-smile. “Your parents and your forefathers spoke out, and you all agreed to an alternative.”

“Indeed,” Jax replied, while the Exiled Mara looked up. “Those who had consumed the blood of the innocent were rounded up and cast off to another planet, somewhere outside of Eritopia. Somewhere far enough away and dark enough for no one else to ever cross paths with them again. The only reason they were spared in the first place was because they’d begged for their lives, sobbing and moaning like pitiful creatures. The Druids gave the Mara elders the freedom to choose what would happen to these criminals. And our ancestors chose to exile them, in a mass exodus facilitated by the swamp witches. We never heard from them again. We resumed our peaceful lives in Eritopia, we kept our distance from the cities, and we didn’t diverge from animal blood again, unless it was under the occasional Pyrope, the blood giving pact. Those who killed innocents for blood, however, were swiftly captured and executed. But we never spoke of the Exiled Maras. We never thought of them. We buried them in our past, without even bothering to ask where they’d been sent.”

A good minute passed as the story sank in across the platform, and all eyes settled on Rewa, who brought her hands together and bowed before us.

“Please forgive me,” she sobbed. “I am not my ancestors. My parents aren’t, either. We are good Maras, and we’ve come a long way since then, milord.”

“What are you doing here?” Jax’s voice thundered.

“Milord, we were cast off to a planet very far from Eritopia. Many miles are between our worlds, and just as many years between who we are today and who we were when we were banished. It became our home, called Neraka, in a distant galaxy with barren planets as neighbors, three suns, and three moons. Our existence is peaceful and harmonious. We feed off the animals and have formed a good relationship with the indigenous people of Neraka.”

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Milord,” Rewa nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks, “our people have been disappearing for the past two years. Innocent creatures, children and elders, males and females alike. We cannot explain it, and we cannot find them, either. Something evil treads our world, milord, and we cannot defend ourselves against it because we don’t know where to look for it or how to fight it.”

Silence fell heavily between us, and I noticed the glances exchanged among our people. Rewa saw them as well, and let out a defeated sigh.

“Milord,” she said. “It’s gotten worse in the last month. They’ve been vanishing by the dozens. Two hundred and fifty-seven of our people, our friends and family, gone without a trace. I am here because we need help…”





Caia





(Daughter of Grace & Lawrence)





My most ardent question at that point was related to how Rewa had made it all the way back to Eritopia in the first place. As expected, Jax was just as curious.

“You used swamp witch magic to get here,” the Lord of Maras said, apparently unimpressed by her plea for help. “Where did you get it from?”