“A drug?” Piscary shocked Trisk with his intent gaze. “You can do this?”
“Me? No,” she said, and he frowned. “But Kal can,” Trisk added, not liking that the dweeb stood to make a fortune from this. “One of the compounds he used in his graduate thesis increased blood production to the point where it was a detriment. I’d be willing to bet he could work from that, making a product that would allow one or two living vampires to safely supply a master with enough blood.”
“That works for me,” Mrs. Ray said, eyeing Professor Thole right back when he stared at her in betrayal. “I say we come out,” she said as she proffered her shot glass and he filled it. “As long as the elves provide a metabolism booster to the vampires.”
“You’re serious?” Professor Thole said flatly.
“Why not?” She sipped her drink with an appreciative mmmm. “Are you telling me the media campaign you’ve been waging the last twenty years was for nothing? All that positive PR you’ve been pumping into Hollywood was so you could remain hidden? Cormel is right. It’s time. They aren’t ignorant savages anymore.” She looked at Daniel, her smile bright. “And neither are we. They need help, and as Dr. Plank exhibits, they’re willing to accept it and us.”
Professor Thole shook his head, and on Daniel’s shoulder, Orchid clattered her wings, frustrated. “I’ve been out there,” Daniel said, his voice almost bland after the rich tones of the Weres and vampires. “They’re hurting, and they won’t care if help comes in the form of a witch spell or a neighbor who can turn into a wolf on the way to get you some groceries.”
Unconvinced, Professor Thole capped the bottle and put it away. “You’re only trying to save your skin,” he muttered.
“Are you blind?” Orchid shrilled, startling Daniel as she rose up on a column of bright silver sparkles. Even Piscary turned to look. “Listen to me, you lunkers. Breaking the silence is likely the only chance for my people to survive. I’ve been everywhere the last three weeks, and I have yet to find a mate. It’s because we have to hide. It’s killing us one species at a time. The only people flourishing since the industrial revolution are those who can pretend to be human. That’s not living. It’s not even surviving anymore. It’s our world, too.”
Colonel Wolfe made a low growl of discontent. “Do you realize how difficult it would be to get a consensus from all the various Inderlanders? In time to be useful?”
“Do you know how hard it will be to remain hidden?” Trisk countered. “Because it’s coming out whether you like it or not. Thanks to the plague, our combined numbers are now greater than theirs. They’re shaken, looking for a way out of the madness. Unless you want to destroy Cincinnati, New York, Boston, the entire world? How many Detroits do you think Inderlanders will put up with before they rebel against their own leaders?”
But clearly both Professor Thole and Wolfe refused to budge, and Trisk’s hope faltered. If she couldn’t convince them, there’d be no hope of convincing any others. They had to come out of this room united.
“I think we can all agree that elves have made a shitfest out of this,” Cormel said, and Trisk frowned. “The question is, can we turn the dire prospect of the faltering human species into a boon? Can we find the courage to be the monster and save them?” Hands spread wide, he smiled with a professional warmth that said all would be well. Much of it was his vampire charisma, but Trisk didn’t care since it wasn’t being used against her. “The question is simple,” he said, hands falling. “Do we break the silence to save humanity, or let their numbers drop even more due to secondary diseases and throw them and us into a new dark age?”
Eyes averted, Professor Thole set his empty glass in the sink as Colonel Wolfe sat down, a grim expression on his face.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Orchid said, startling Trisk as she flew from her. “Don’t be so scared of the wasp in the room. Not everyone has to come out. If a family wants to remain in hiding, they can, continuing to masquerade as human. God knows you’ve gotten good at it.”
The silence grew, and Trisk fidgeted as Piscary looked at each one in turn, his eyes narrowing when they landed on Professor Thole.
“Fine,” the witch finally said, and emotion zinged through Trisk. “I’ll inform the coven of moral and ethical standards what has passed here along with whose fault this really is. They can decide. I still think it’s a mistake.”
Beaming, Trisk gave Daniel’s hand a tight squeeze. They’d done it. Or at least half of it.