“And who is Gershom exactly?” she asked. “Is he a vampire leader or something?”
Seth shook his head. “Until recently, vampires have always been very solitary creatures. For thousands of years, they lived or traveled alone or only in pairs. Even seeing three together was a rarity.”
“Why?”
“Because their insanity drives them to attack each other. The madness that afflicts them is often accompanied by paranoia and inevitably compels them to commit and relish committing violence. But in recent years, vampires have banded together in unprecedented numbers, first under Bastien before he joined our ranks, then under a vampire who declared himself their king, then with mercenaries. And it has escalated over the years until today, when we suspect Gershom is now leading them. Gershom is not a vampire. He also is not an Immortal Guardian. He is what we call an Other.”
Dana frowned. “Another what?”
“Not another. But an Other,” Seth clarified, enunciating the difference. “He is an ancient. Many of the immortals you saw here today are quite young by our standards. Ethan is a mere century old.” He glanced at Aidan. Have you told her your age?
No.
Seth returned his attention to Dana. “Heather and Sarah have only recently transformed and are considered youngsters. Aidan is considered an elder because he is somewhat older than most of those you’ve met.”
Dana slid him a look. And Aidan didn’t have to read her mind to know she was trying to guess how much older.
“I,” Seth continued, “and Zach are Others. Or we were once. We are ancients, too, though the rest of the immortals kindly call us elders. We were amongst the very first immortals in the world. We have in fact, been around since shortly after the Great Flood.”
Dana stared at him. “You’re not talking about the one in the Old Testament, are you? The one in the book of Genesis?”
“I am.”
“The same one mentioned in ancient Egyptian, Greek, Mesopotamian, Hindu, and Mayan mythology?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes widened. “You’ve lived thousands of years?”
“Yes. Millennia ago, the Others decided to withdraw from humanity. They decided they would not interact with mortals or do anything that would alter the natural progression or fate of humanity.”
“Why?” Dana asked. “I don’t understand. I’ve seen the wondrous things Aidan can do. And he said you can do even more. Why would you withhold that? Why would you not use those gifts to aid humanity and advance our society?”
“We had good reason,” Seth answered, “to believe that if we tampered with humanity, if we altered mankind’s fate in any way, if we interfered in any way, Armageddon would unfold.”
Dana turned to Aidan. “Seriously?”
Aidan nodded. He didn’t know what “good reason” Seth and the Others possessed, but he trusted Seth’s judgment. “I’ve heard David compare it to the hypotheses that are often put forth in time-travel movies in which the men and women who go back in time are told that if they alter anything, if they so much as kill a butterfly or step on a bug, they could change the present in disastrous ways.”
“Who is David?” she asked.
Seth answered. “My second-in-command.”
Confusion clouded Dana’s pretty features as she turned back to Seth. “But you’re here. How is that not interference? Doesn’t that contradict what you’re telling me?”
Seth nodded. “I’m here now because I defected from the Others a long time ago. I deviated from the path. The Others did not. They steadfastly clung to it, believed in it, and—for several years after I left their ranks—wanted to kill me for abandoning it.”
She shook her head. “If you really had reason to think tampering with mortals would spark Armageddon, why did you deviate from the path?”
Seth gave her a faint smile. “Because I fell in love with a mortal. A human woman. And I gladly risked everything to be with her. To this day I do not regret it.”
Aidan could relate. He would risk anything to be with Dana.
Seth lowered his gaze for a moment. “After I lost my wife…”
Dana glanced up at Aidan. Because she was human?
He caught the thought clearly. Yes.
A human whose daughter had trusted the wrong person with their secret. Seth’s wife and both his children had been slain as a result. But Aidan wouldn’t tell Dana as much unless Seth wished it. That was Seth’s story to share, not his own.
“I needed a new path,” Seth finished his thought. “I needed something to…” He hesitated, then shook his head. “I needed a new path.” He met Dana’s gaze once more. “So I took it upon myself to lead the Immortal Guardians. To guide them. I was older, wiser, had seen more of the world, had learned from past mistakes. And when vampires began to prey upon humans and roamed unchecked, I believed that pitting the Immortal Guardians against them would balance the scales, not tip them. The Others objected. But, unbeknownst to them, I had begun building and increasing my power, so they could not stop me. I took the risk. And, thus far, it has paid off.
“The Others still tread the same path they always have. They watch. They do not participate. They do not interfere. And they disapprove of my own interference. Zach was also an Other. He is an ancient like myself. He steadfastly clung to the path of the Others until he met and fell in love with Lisette a couple of years ago. Then he, too, defected, which caused some upheaval.”
A bit of an understatement.
“But we soon discovered that Zach was not the only Other to abandon the path. Gershom deviated as well. But Gershom did not deviate for the same reason Zach and I did. There is no love in Gershom. Quite the contrary. We believe he has slowly, without the Others realizing it, been descending into madness, much like the vampires Aidan and the Immortal Guardians hunt.”
Dana scowled. “Well, that’s just great. A madman who is as powerful as you are running around out there?”
Aidan nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
Seth leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Gershom apparently wants to kick-start Armageddon. He wants to watch the world burn and delights in sparking chaos.”
“Wonderful,” Dana muttered.
Aidan squeezed her hand. “But we’re doing everything we can to stop him.”
Seth nodded. “In his first attempt, Gershom did his damnedest to sow dissent amongst our ranks and did succeed for a time. Much to my regret, I briefly believed Aidan was working against us.”
Dana cut Aidan a look. Was the vision I saw of Seth trying to kill you showing me the past?
Again, he heard the thought clearly. No.
Damn. She frowned at Seth. “How could you believe Aidan would betray you? Why would you believe it? Aren’t you friends?”
Aidan saw guilt enter his leader’s countenance and sought to erase it. “We are,” he told Dana. “But there was compelling evidence. Had Seth and I not been as close as we are, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
She didn’t seem to like that.