Valentine's Resolve (Vampire Earth 6)

"Are you familiar with your concept of a phased array?"

"No".

"A team of horses, perhaps?"

"Yes, of course".

"It's the same principle. Joined minds able to do what one cannot. It helps me keep tabs on my enemies... and my allies. Which reminds me, which are you?"

"An enemy".

"I admire your candor. Are you here to kill me, Vaal-eyen-tine-Dee?"

"No. I can't imagine how I'd do that".

"You've proven yourself inventive in the past. But you must know your limitations. Watch out for Blake. He'll forget himself someday and kill you, I expect. These constructs have very poor impulse control. Speaking of impulses, you've got strong ones toward my old friend Adler. What kind of a man do you think he is?"

"A madman", Valentine said.

"You're wrong. In any case, he's set me back years. Not that years mean much to me, of course. I shall rebuild, better and more carefully, once he's gone. Sooner or later".

"I want to make it sooner".

"You do, of that I'm certain. Your wobbly little scale is quite tipped where he's concerned. I'd like to do it in Silas-Em's life span; he is a talented sort and I shall hate to lose him to age. This new generation thinks the most piddling acts of conformity merit a brass ring. Where is the desire for greatness?"

"Maybe you're breeding it out of them. Herd talk and all that. We've still got it in the Free Territories".

"Dream on, Vaal-eyen-tine-Dee", Duvalier's voice said. "Are you sure you're not mistaking free range for free land ?" The voice shifted back to Ready Reader's. "Oh, and now we're tipping back for love again. You're more fun than a good treetop swoop on a breezy day, Vaal-eyen-tine-Dee".

"And my ring?"

"You do want it, after all. And food and a warm wet mouth and poke after poke into delicious juicy pussy and then a steaming hot bath. Are you toying with me, man, channeling the baser urges?"

Valentine kept fantasizing.

"Maybe you're not as interesting as I thought. In any case, I've no doubt you intend to go through with your plan. Your wish is granted. Adler's destruction would be worth eight-count of rings to me. Cross me and you will end up in the tank until your body rots. You can barely comprehend how long that will take".

"Don't forget my island".

"You'll find them cold and rocky after your Caribbean, but something can be arranged". Light poured into the tunnel. "You may leave now. Good-bye".

One of the human forms jerked as its tether balloon changed color. His eyes opened behind his mass of drifting hair and he waved. Valentine saw the eyes widen, and he tore his gaze away and fled back into the receiving room. The man floating in there was the Bear Rafferty.

* * *

"You don't look so good, Valentine", Silas said. "Did you see that little girl? Some comedian stuck a..."

"No", Valentine said. "I saw someone I knew, briefly".

"You need some air". He turned to the Reaper. "Can we go into the greenhouse?"

For a moment it seemed as useless as talking to a statue; then their escort Reapers moved to flank the other door. Silas waved Valentine over and it opened.

Valentine smelled fresh, humid air and open space. Above, a crystalline dome diffused and admitted light, whitening the sun a little. A red path covered with a no-slide coating led them up to a little prominence, with a couple of comfortable human lounge chairs before a pool, which flowed over into a waterfall somewhere below.

Staggered was the only word for what Valentine felt. The space was bigger than any stadium he'd ever seen, and filled with a winding archipelago that was half-bayou and half-beachfront.

Red and purple trees topped with bristles of tresslike leaves dropped green vines into the water. Spongy-looking yellow growths clung to the bare trunks of the trees, sending out vast, delicate webs to catch deadfalls from above. Wind swirled around the interior of the dome.