Kevin The Vampire by Will Madden

Author:Will Madden [Madden, Will]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Square Straw Press
Published: 2016-10-02T07:00:00+00:00

6. A NEW REGIME

DEEP WITHIN THE SOIL of the nearby wood, the roots of trees strained and snapped as the mighty trunks leaned closer to hear Kevin’s response. When he finally spoke, the air crackled and popped with his voice, as if the earth had transformed itself into an amplifier to carry the sound.

“You want to destroy the Council of Ancients? You are out of your mind!”

“Oh Gaius,” Grackle sighed sadly. “I would be out of my mind not to. Something more sinister than inertia makes the Council slow to act.”

“And what could that possibly be?” asked Kevin.

As he lifted his gaze, Grackle’s eyes caught the moon. The reflecting light contorted and throbbed and nearly tore itself apart in the dance.

“Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. Uncle Miltie said that. The deeper the infernal circle, the more complete the power. During the upcoming war, the Council trusts it can defeat the humans, reduce them to cattle, save the Order of Vampires from annihilation. But the price will be terrible: scarcity of lifeblood will transform the world into a hell for living and undead alike. When that happens, the Council themselves will be like gods!”

“Gods of a wasteland.”

Grackle shrugged. “So what? Most people would eat shit if it would make them emperor of the shit-eaters.” The idea seemed to please him. “Vampires like you will forge bricks of gold for the ever-more-lavish mausoleums of your betters. You will buy powdered hemoglobin in a plastic bag, which you’ll mix with water and heat on a stove. This diet will ruin your eyesight until you’ll see an ugly pair of drugstore horn rims floating in every mirror. Nail polish will come in only three colors, one of which will be beige. You will spend all day complaining to the ten vampires with whom you share a tiny mass grave about splinters you got while sanding luxury coffins. The only music you’ll have to listen to will be parody versions of jazz standards as performed on Prairie Home Companion.”

“What? I like those.”

“Time will bring you 'round to sanity. And you’ll never taste a human being again that doesn’t subsist entirely on corn.”

“Blech! You really think the Council would invite all that to happen?”

“Hah! In a heaaaartbeat,” Grackle sang, with an ironic flick of his tongue. “You said it yourself, Gaius: bloodsucking vampires. And while I admire such a deliciously evil plot, I have no desire to fall foul of it. Neither do you. The solution is obvious. Eliminate the Council, and vampires like us will be free to destroy Quercus.”

“I don’t like it.”

An angelic smile crept across Grackle’s face. “Of course you don’t. You are not a traitor. But this is a critical moment, Gaius. The action–or inaction–we take today will prove the most determinant factor in the course of history, human or vampire.”

“Don’t look so giddy about it.”

Grackle struck his chest with both fists. “But I am giddy! You know how I love to drench my hands in the vitals of things.

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