Psalm of Vampires: Chapter 26
The End
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Well, that was easy. Who would have thought that the events unfolding in Singapore would end with such sudden finality?
Longtooth volunteered to come to Singapore with us so that Philip could better study his blood. He said that he had been commanded to kill multiple humans in the Atlanta area, but that he had circumvented a few of the commands by overfeeding and falling unconscious. He didn’t avoid his commands out of concern for humans. Instead, he resisted because he, like Moreland, believed that the myth and fiction of vampires had served our species well over the last hundred years. He didn’t like humans, but he said he was never interested in returning to the days of open warfare. I believed him.
The Singapore police continued to insist that an alien race had attacked Singapore. Their insistence was so obdurate that I suspected somebody there, very high up the food chain, so to speak, knew the truth.
Bennie and Philip, the first members of the new House of Chua, proclaimed their desire to end vampire dependence on human blood, and to work toward achieving a permanent peace between vampires and humans.
The CDC in America declared that the “plague” that wiped out three towns appeared to be under control. The Serbian authorities remained silent regarding their devastated towns along the Danube.
Meanwhile, the Battue remained a mystery. The only people aware of their sudden interest and prowess in high-end technology were a small band of vampires and humans who had little in common, few resources, and no real level of authority in the world. All we could do was wait for their next move.
By now, you’re probably wondering, wait. What about Daphne? And Charly?
No story can unfold for me without that question being answered.
There was a moment when Philip thought he had detected Daphne’s tracking device in the Malagasy forests of Madagascar. The signal disappeared after a few seconds, never to return. I couldn’t imagine what motive the Kalonoro, the vampire clan that frequented the area, would have for detaining her and Charly.
A week had passed since the Goa assault on Singapore. I could wait no more.
Maybe you’re better at reading the room than me, but Owens sent a shockwave through my body while I was sitting in Bennie and Philip’s lab, paralyzed by a new depression, a kind I had never felt. I couldn’t flash myself to Madagascar. I had never been there. I knew next to nothing about the Kalonoro. Maybe Owens heard me lament to the brothers about the lack of news and my helplessness.
He was carrying a large box as he sat down next to me at a lab table after my latest whine fest. He saw my white violin in its open case on the table. I never did play for the few surviving Mouras Encantadas. Without knowing where Daphne was, I didn’t think I ever could. “Why’s the case open?” he asked.
I shrugged without saying anything. Brilexus and her crew were nowhere to be found, anyway. Everything seemed pointless. Maybe I thought that the open violin case would somehow draw Daphne to me.
Owens set his box down on the table and slid it toward me. “Told the bosses today I’m gone,” he said.
“You quit the police force?” I asked.
“Uh-huh. I don’t know what the right thing is, Mourning, but I know this. What they are doing is a cover-up. They know damn well what they were up against and they’re hoping the problem is just going away? Nope. Gotta be a better way. I don’t know what that way is yet, but I know there’s a better thing to do here.”
“Yeah, well, you’re just one guy.”
“Garrison is staying. He’ll be my law enforcement inbox.”
“That’s nice.” I really didn’t give a damn. “So you’re just carrying the stuff from your cubicle around with you?” I asked, looking at the box, wondering why he’d bring stuff from his office to Singapore.
“No, man, that’s for you.”
I looked at the box but didn’t try to open it.
“Go ahead. It’s for your library,” he said.
I reluctantly opened it, wondering what kind of awful game he was playing. When I peered into the box, I saw his grandfather’s five bound scrapbooks stacked on top of each other. They were tied together by two pieces of twine. Damnit if a tear didn’t try to squirt out of one eye. After losing the influencers to the Wurdulacs, I was pretty sure I’d be shutting down the estate and moving on, leaving the library behind, but Owens’ sentiment blew me away. Maybe I’d continue to drag the library around with me no matter where I went, after all.
Like I said. Maybe you’re better at reading the room than me, but I didn’t expect this from Owens.
“Anyway,” Owens said. “There’s no way I could have gotten the PTO I needed.”
“PTO? What the hell is that?” I didn’t care, but I asked anyway.
“Paid Time Off.”
“Oh. Yeah,” I tried to understand. “I can see why you need a mental health break. It’s been a pretty crazy couple a weeks.”
“Hey, man, I don’t need a mental health break. I need the time off to help you find your girl. Madagascar is a long way away, in a lot of respects.”
I looked at him in stunned silence. “I don’t know what to say,” I finally said. And I didn’t.
“That’s okay, I like it better when you don’t talk,” he said with a straight face.
“Back at you, Owens,” I replied. We fist-bumped, and talked about Madagascar.
The End
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