Essence (Nectar 3)

“Listen,” Tristan said, “I know there’s something wrong in me, in us. Of course I fucking know that. I’ve been fighting that for the past few months, since I first laid eyes on Kyla. She’s collateral fucking damage for whatever it is that’s fucking wrong with us! I’ve been fighting who I am for weeks. I’ve been fighting to protect her and fucking failing because I’ve been under your influence, Constantin’s influence, because I’ve been under the influence of my own fucking ego, because I’ve been fuckin’ blood drunk.”

Sam had a glazed over look, “Whatever’s in that patch dulls that wrong for me. Whatever’s in her blood, it dulls that wrong for you, her brother’s blood, for my sister. I want what I never got but I also wanna stop playing the mind fuck games that go along with the councils, the royals. Maybe we can fix this and then I can go and find my Kyla out there somewhere.”

Tristan shook his head, “There isn’t another one of her.”

“Maybe not for you, but for me, maybe my girl is out there. A girl with blood that strengthens me, with a personality that makes me want to be worthy. Someone I can have a future with, a family…”

“Fuck,” Tristan grunted. He could hardly believe it but he felt Sam. Sam meant this.

Sam cleared his throat. His voice was thick, “So, Sasha has an errand and then she’s willing to take us back. If you wanna think it over, you can stay here and do that. If you want to get her there, which I believe is a safer place, we can go in about 3 hours. She has a big house, plenty of room, and the facilities to do what she thinks could help. All private. Security systems. And respect from the others to give her space when she asks for it. No one needs to know you’re there.”

“Give me the location and the lowdown on the place. If I decide to come, I’ll meet you there. If I need more time, I’ll text you.”

“Alright.” Sam slapped him on the shoulder, “I’ll head out. I’ll be there.”

“Gimme more facts on the place before you go.”

“It’s a small island, real small. Slice of paradise, actually. Just a few hundred acres and it’s one of the coalition’s Pacific settlements. Picture a bit of a modern-day hippie commune. They’re not radicals man, they’re like the tree-huggers of the vampire world. They share resources. They have their own councils, affiliations with others who are likeminded. On this island there are a dozen males ¾ of them are turned the others true but none are royal. Sasha is one of five females, she and one other are royal, and save one or two who are on what she’d describe as the centre area of the scale as she micro-doses them with Kyle’s blood. They’re a medical commune, of sorts. She has a mini hospital and research facility there. As she’s royal she’s done a little programming on all but the other female royal. They’ve volunteered to be programmed in a way that will protect secrets if they’re apprehended by vamps outside their coalition. They leverage humans when they must but their approach is blood bags most of the time. They’re trying to transition to where they don’t need to deceive humans in order to feed. That’s their ultimate goal. And Sasha has a few formulas that look promising. They do have firepower on the island in case anyone who’s against them finds them. There are settlements like theirs in a number of places.”

“What sorts of numbers are we talking outside this island?”

“A couple thousand members globally. They’re not huge but they are growing and they’ve got a handful of elders who are on board for change.”~~~Tristan decided to meet Sam down at the pier. He and Kyla took a cab down there after he’d planned for a few contingencies. He wouldn’t board the boat with Sam and his sister and he had a plan b and a plan c for if things went wrong on this trip.

“I’ve chartered my own ride,” Tristan told him when Sam met him at the pier, a sickly Kyla on his arm, his duffle bag over his other shoulder and he was pulling a wheeled suitcase with his free hand.

“They won’t know how to get there.”

“Then tell them.”

“I’m not sure Sasha would --- ”

“I’ll influence them to guard the information accordingly as well as to forget it.”

“She might suspect that you’ve already put orders in place that’ll..”

“I’ll do it, in front of her. I’m not coming without having a ride. I’ve also got additional reinforcements that’ll be close to the island. I’ll take care of programming them, too. My ride will stay on the water, anchored far enough out to be safe and close enough to evacuate us if need be.”