Exposure

July 4th 2276

217 years after the fall of The Seats.

She stalked through the crowd, looking as close to a vampire as I had ever seen her in public. Hatred glinted in her eyes. My jaw dropped, and I scrambled to clamp my hand over my mouth. Too late, I realised it would do me no good. The sight in front of me was just too funny.

Leo, our permanently angry empath, would never live this down.

Camera, I gasped, reaching for my husband’s hand. We need a camera.

As if he had been forewarned, and with a speed that was almost a blur, Ray produced a camera, snapped a couple of pictures, and then hid it again. He stood tall, mouth clamped shut, all his energy focused on keeping that perfect posture. All mine was stuck somewhere between disbelief and wondering if I’d woken up in the wrong universe.

"If you so much as sniffle…" she growled, walking straight past us.

I stared after her. How?

Rules are rules, Ray muttered, staring after Leo, a smile cracking through the façade.

That may be so, but when we had all been volunteered to help our small American college celebrate the Fourth of July, no one had mentioned anything of the bright pink jester variety. Watching it jangle around the corner as she stormed off… unforgettable. I leaned on Ray, hand clamped tight over my mouth, snorting my laughter through my nose. Not only was her hat a pink so bright it rivalled the sun, but the rest of her outfit matched.

She’s going to kill someone!

Actually, Poppy said, grinning broadly as she sauntered over to join us. She threatened to remove the principal’s privates if he didn’t agree to let her off the hook. It was rather entertaining, watching the man squirm as he tried to reason with her.

Judging by the sparkle in Poppy’s brown eyes, the sight was one she had approved of. I wondered which would have been worse: Leo growling her way through threats. Or Poppy inflicting her full wrath as a former ruler of the immortal world on the poor principle.

Ray chuckled and shook his head. Seeing her dressed like that is more than enough entertainment for me.

Not for me. Tell me everything!

Hey! I thought I was taking you to lunch, Ray protested.

After I get details. I kissed him briefly. The show starts in half an hour, and we’re breaking now anyway, so you can still take me to lunch.

I’ll keep you to that.

I fully expect you to.

Poppy offered me her arm, and we ambled through the crowd, retelling the story of our six feet three principle cowering as Leola towered above him, demanding she be allowed to change.

Had she not been surrounded by humans, she might have eaten him for it.

Of that I have no doubt!

~***~

We were still laughing ten minutes later when Ray found us. With a deep bow, he extended his hand. May I escort you to lunch, milady?

Hmm, I’ll think about it, I teased, turning back to Poppy.

As I did, a slight growl escaped him, low and dangerous. Strong arms wound around my waist and pulled me against his chest. The growl turned to a purr, the vibrations steady and delicious.

Ray, behave yourself.

I looked up to see a twinkle of mischief light his grey eyes. Only if you let me take you to lunch.

If I must. I sighed and leaned into his embrace, feeling the tickle of his loose hair against my neck as he leaned down to kiss me.

Get a room, you two, Leo snapped, as she walked past us.

We’re in one.

I meant a private one.

I answered in the sweetest voice I could manage, I know.

Gah! She stormed off, her heels striking out an ominous rhythm on the tiled floor.

I think she’s upset.

Really? I asked, feigning shock. Whatever gave you that idea?

Come on. We’d best find our table before she decides to poison your lunch.

Again.

Leo had proven to be a wonderful chef over the years, but it wasn’t beyond her to slip something into my food whenever she was annoyed. If it came to a choice between being killed over dinner or her smashing more of my antiques, then I would happily lament the loss of my priceless vases.

Ray and I followed Leo to our table, where we were greeted by an extra face. Issac reached for his wife, Poppy, and perched her on his knee, linking his arms tight around her waist. His eyes drifted to Leo, narrowing in on her.

With Ray’s mentor and our resident diplomat here, at least my lunch would be safe.

I thought you were in meetings all day? Ray asked, pulling a chair out for me.

We broke early for the unveiling. His gaze drifted back to Leo. Just in time, too, it seems.

You caught the back end of our favourite councillor’s exploits, then. Perhaps not wise to bring it up again, not when Leo was already in such a foul mood, but I couldn’t resist.

I think everyone will have at least heard about it before the end of the day. He chuckled, neatly dodging the slap that came his way.

Leo went peculiarly quiet all of a sudden, looking down at the table. I don’t suppose it’d help if I asked you to drop it?

Oh, dear. Am I going to have to watch what I eat for the next week? I scooted my chair away from my food. You only ever go quiet and remorseful when you’re in an exceptionally bad mood.

The glare she shot in my direction was the personification of if looks could kill. All of the meals I ate would be cooked by my own hand for a week or two. At least she had the sense not to try and pull anything like that around my psychic niece, Lizzy. Not only could Lizzy see it coming, but also she had grown very protective over her daughters, Jasmine and Sophia. Leo and Poppy’s tempers combined had nothing on Lizzy when her twins were concerned.

A loud whistle drew our attention to the front of the room. The celebrations were starting. People hurried for their chairs, talking in hushed voices, as everyone turned their eyes to the big screen set up for the occasion.

The news was already playing. A world-wide, live broadcast of the events. It had been a long time since something had been broadcast so widely. With it being such a notable occasion, five hundred years of American independence, celebrations far beyond the norm were being held all over the country. The entire world was watching, waiting for the unveiling of an unseen monument. No one had been told what it was going to look like, and security around the construction had been so tight even I didn’t stand a chance of sneaking a look.

Give it a couple of centuries, and maybe the world will be watching us, I muttered.

Things were going exceptionally well with the new rulers, the new Seats, or rather Seat.

When I had finally contacted an old friend of my mother’s, he had suggested a different way of looking at the organisation for the rulers. Instead of several small groups, all fighting each other for the title of king, he had suggested one ruler, or a pair. Two people to give commands, and a secondary layer of enforcers to carry out their requests.

Perfect. The enforcers were hand-picked, the best of the best. Loyal, trustworthy, strong minded and strong willed. They had no problem following orders, and no issue with working under someone else. Carne had been the perfect choice to lead them. He was old, powerful, intelligent, and one hundred percent perfect for the task I had asked of him.

The only reason he agreed was because he knew my mother. He told me the most amazing story about how they had met, and I almost didn’t believe him.

The grey haired Cornish vampire, born sometime around two thousand BC, had survived the wars, and that brought its own level of respect. Few people had survived that time, vampire or otherwise.

It will be longer than that, Al whispered, leaning over from Leo’s side. No chance the vampires are going to give up their only sport so easily.

A quiet excitement fell over the room as someone switched on the sound and the television began its blaring announcements. We fell into silence as well, although not quite as excited as the rest of the room. Most of us had been around long before Independence Day had even been a dream in the minds of the mothers of the men who started it.

Just as the announcer began their history lesson of the origins of the day, my phone rang.

Hey, Lizzy. You watching this?

"Get out! Now. Drop everything and get out! It’s too late to change it..." she carried on, frantic and broken, not making an ounce of sense.

Lizzy, what do you mean it’s—

I didn’t need her to answer. The exact thing she was talking about was playing out across the giant projection screen for the entire world to see.

Oh, shit.

It’s bad, Aunt Sere. Everything’s gone so wrong. Lizzy’s worried voice barely reached me. You need to get out of there, now.

Serenity, is that what I think it is? Ray asked, watching the events unfold.

Yes, I whispered, not listening to Lizzy anymore.

The camera zoomed in on the crowd, but we weren’t paying attention to the masses of excitable humans. Off to the side, running down an alleyway, was a woman, arms and legs pumping, head twisting and turning as she threw frantic looks over her shoulder.

When she broke out into the crowd, the sun caught her, showing the look of pure terror on her face, and the gaping wound on her neck. Her mouth was open in a scream, but the sound blended into the waiting chants of the crowd. Hot on the woman’s heels was a man, just an ordinary man to anyone who didn’t know what they were looking for. Any vampire watching the screen would know it was a one of their own chasing the woman out into the crowd. The witches would know what he was, and every Keeper in the world would suddenly be looking on with abject fear. The same fear that clenched at my heart.

At first the crowd didn’t notice the woman, barrelling though them, blood soaking into her t-shirt. Then one did, and another, and another. The shouts of the crowd, full of cheer, faltered and ceased. All eyes turned to the screaming woman.

Screaming about the vampire who had taken a chunk out of her neck.

Poppy gasped, her eyes wide with the realisation of what was undoubtedly going to happen. The sun’s out.

Bright and warm, it glinted off the unveiled statue that no one was paying any attention to. The vampire didn’t seem to notice. As soon as he stepped out from the shadows, not pausing at all in the sun, I could make out the slow singing of his flesh. If he got hold of the woman, she would be his last meal.

He pushed his way through the crowd, cutting down anyone in his path. A swipe of his hand left someone cradling a broken arm. Another was left crying out as his leg was snapped.

Of all the times to be so thirsty, so delusional he didn’t even notice the masses of heaving bodies all around.

The vampire got exactly what he wanted. His fangs elongated into their deadly points, and came down on the woman’s neck with determined precision…

My God, the entire world is watching this.

No one would be able to explain this away. Not when the police finally snapped out of their daze, and attempted to take down the vampire. When they couldn’t physically remove him from the dying woman, whose only noise was her final gurgle of life, they pulled out their guns. One shot in the leg. One in the shoulder. They did nothing.

The sun killed the vampire first.

With slow precision, the second the woman’s life belonged to the vampire, the sun did what no one else could do. The sanity had returned to him, and the peaceful look on his face said he was welcoming death. Surely his fate would be worse if the new Seats discovered his exposure. They wouldn’t let him burn to a crisp so easily.

The screams of shock that had filtered through the nearest of those in the crowd were suddenly amplified as they watched the disintegration of the vampire. In crystal clear detail, the vampire burned until there was nothing more than a pile of muddy ash. Even his bones were gone.

"Serenity Synclair, you pick up this phone, right now!"

What did you see, Lizzy? Ray asked, having taken my phone from me.

The reporter was giving out disjointed facts. The number of times the vampire had been shot. The fact the woman was dead. The shock at the pile of ash in the middle of Times Square.

It would only be a matter of time before the world came to the right answer; Vampire.

If it hadn’t been the whole world watching, we might have stood a chance. If it was only the few people in the square, we could have worked with them, changed their minds about what they had seen. A special effects stunt. A bullet-proof outfit. Anything. Even if it was only remotely believable.

But no, the whole world was watching.

Are there any flights today? Ray’s words snapped me out of my daze.

Just you two are going, Lizzy continued. The others’ll be on a different flight. I need them to get to the colony as soon as possible. Martin’ll pick them up from the airport. Leave everything; I’ll get someone to clear the houses out as soon as possible. Oh, and your accounts have been cleared out, I have Callie working on that. This is going to get ugly before it gets better.

How bad is it? My voice was barely a whisper in the deathly silent room.

We have one shot of making this right, and I don’t think it’ll work, I heard her say. It may already be too late. We’re talking global exposure in the next twenty-four hours, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.

What’s our one shot?

It’s time to tell the world vampires exist.

Chapter Two

We went unnoticed as our little group left the gym, slipping into the marred summer day. They were all transfixed on the screen, mumbling their own speculations, listening to the ramblings of the reporter.

None of the horrified mumblings hinted that anyone had put two and two together, but it was on each of their minds. No one wanted to be the first to claim it was a vampire in the midst of the carnage.

What do I need to do?

You need to get to Spain. Lizzy’s words were rushed. Pass me to Poppy.

Poppy, Lizzy needs a word. I handed over the phone as she slid into the car. To Ray I said, We’re going back to Spain.

Exposure. Complete and utter exposure. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. When the vampires came out to the world, it was supposed to be on agreed terms. We weren’t meant to be forced at the hands of one insanely suicidal creature.

Centuries! We were centuries away from that point. Millennia even.

What are we going to do? I whispered, letting the despair leak out into my voice.

We go to Spain. We talk with Carne, and we go from there. We’ll be fine. Ray pulled me into his arms. Give it twenty-four hours before the world knows what’s happening. By then, we’ll be in Spain, and we’ll be ready. Maybe this is how things were meant to be.

"Ray, you’ve only ever seen a fraction of what the human race is capable of. They can be so destructive. If they turn on us, what then?" Despair gave way to panic, making my voice shrill.

I never thought I would see the day when we were preparing to reveal ourselves to the human race. That day was supposed to be centuries after my time. My children’s great grandchildren were the ones who were supposed to orchestrate that transition.

Lizzy wants you back. The strain in Poppy’s voice was clear.

Worst case scenario? I asked.

You’ve already seen the worst case scenario, Aunt Sere, she said. As destructive as they can be against their own, they are doubly so against others.

She was, of course, referring to the time when the humans had burned the witches. Most of the people committed to the stake, the gallows, and the waters, had been human, but the human race had believed them to be something else, and caught in the accusations had been too many witches of the immortal kind.

"I know. Okay. Anything you can tell me will be appreciated. I need to know how much is best to reveal, as well as when the best time will be. Preferably, I want to get this done before the world is left to come to the conclusion on their own. I had a whole list of questions in need of answering. Starting with, What do I tell them about us?"

We can either tell them we’re a different type of vampire, or the truth. Personally, I’m much happier if we pass you off as their ‘human’ liaison. She kept pausing in odd places as though she was thinking. The Weres, however, want to be left in the dark. As do the witches.

You spoke to Anna?

Martin spoke for the Cats, and he contacted the other elders. James is speaking for the witches, in place of Georgianna. They’d all rather the world remained oblivious to their existence.

I sighed, relieved to see that we were pulling up at the airport. I’d rather the world didn’t know about any of this, but I don’t see how that’s possible anymore.

It isn’t.

Chapter Three

The flight proved to be far too long, and far, far too crowded. Despite the holidays, the plane was packed, and full of gossiping humans all eager to discuss the only thing remotely interesting in their tiny lives.

Did you see the news?

What was that thing?

That poor woman.

They keep playing it over and over.

Did you see the police? Shot it twice and it didn’t even flinch. Then it just disintegrated.

The whispered voices gave me a headache. Thirty seconds into the flight, and I was ready to walk to Spain. Unfortunately, time was against us and walking was not a viable option. Still, the idea tempted me.

When we land, Carne should be waiting for us, I told Ray as our second flight finally began its descent.

The hours we had spent crossing time zones, and listening to gossip, had passed with excruciating slowness. Each one had ticked by at such a snail’s pace that I was sure we were at a standstill in mid-air. It wouldn’t have surprised me one bit to find that the plane’s engines had stalled out and we were actually just floating in the sky. Even though the main flight had been a mere six hours—the joys of technological advances—it had been too long.

People just did not seem to understand the concept of shutting the hell up.

Yes, there had been a murder broadcast on television for the world to see. It wasn’t the first, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Yes, the entire world knew about it. They would have done anyway as soon as the papers hit the newsstands the following morning.

Yes, something strange and unusual had been the cause of that murder.

Did that mean everyone had to talk about those same few seconds of footage for an entire six-hour flight? None stop?

No!

My temples pounded with a need for silence. Instead of being the personification of calm, ready to take on the world, I found myself on the edge of picking up my old habit of pacing.

~***~

Natalia met us off the plane. She was a stunning vampire and the second of our new ruling duo. I could easily see why Carne had been so taken by her. Hard to imagine the woman had ever been lost in the world she now owned. Barely an inch taller than me, she was as intimidating as Poppy and as fierce as Leo. She had short, inky black hair, framing a stunning oval face. Her eyes gave away just how much she saw, and just how intelligent she was. The dark skinned Italian had endured a rough ride into the world of myths and legends, but she had come out the other side with a glow on her skin, and joy in her voice. Carne had helped put those things there.

She was a rarity in the vampire world, someone who killed on a regular basis, had few problems with the sun, but also regretted each and every life she took. There were times when something went wrong in the transformation between human and vampire. Ray and Issac were the most notable, and Natalia made a third. The only difference was that she did kill, where Issac and Ray did not.

She and Leo got along famously. Both vigilantes who took great pleasure in rooting out the evils in the world.

Serenity, it’s good to see you again, even under these circumstances, she greeted me, her accent old and heavy.

I wish it were under better circumstances. I happily accepted her embrace. Have you heard any news?

Unfortunately, a lot can happen in six hours. However, we’d best take this discussion elsewhere. We don’t want two vampires turning to dust in the space of a day. The smile on her face was a forced one, framed by a slight crease where her sun block was applied a little too thickly.

~***~

Our drive into the Spanish mountains was a short one, culminating in a steep climb up a narrow, rocky path. We remained silent as we clambered over rocks and through crevices. All deep in thought, hurrying to get to the safety of the shadowed caves.

If ever there was a time when we needed to be natural diplomats, it was now. Unfortunately, diplomacy didn’t come naturally to vampires. They much preferred killing their opponents than sitting talking to them.

Issac, I said, as I stepped into the cool of the cavernous entrance, why don’t we have Issac with us?

How could I have missed the most obvious thing in the world? He had been a diplomat in his human life, an emissary whose purpose was to liaise with people of another country, people who naturally mistrusted him simply because of his homeland.

I think Lizzy must have plans if she didn’t send him, Natalia answered, inputting a security code into the door.

Things had changed a lot in the Spanish caves since my first visit. Gone were the vampires, precariously toying with the sun in an effort to guard the entrance. In their place stood a thick steel door, with more locks than I had ever used in my life.

Did I ever tell you about the time I broke Elena’s nose? I asked, turning to Ray for a change in subject.

In all the years I had spent traipsing back and forth in the mountain caves, I hadn’t thought of that moment. A memory from a time long since forgotten.

Since when do you break people’s noses?

Since a certain vampire tried to use her power on Poppy. It was too much and too far, so I punched her. She didn’t try it again. I could still remember the crunch as her nose broke under my fist.

Do you ever think things would have been different? Natalia wondered aloud.

Absolutely. My statement was taken the wrong way, earning me confused stares from both vampires. Had we not acted, how long do you think it would’ve been before they succeeded? Had they been successful in their attempts, we’d have been in a much worse situation than we are now.

Of course, and then where would we be? Clearly the question was rhetorical. Come, let us find Carne, he should have some news for you.

~***~

We found him sitting in his private chambers. The doors had been replaced and no longer bore the crests of the previous Seats, but the insides were identical; lavish beds, opulent furnishings, and cave walls that were more exclusive hotel than underground hideout.

There you are. Natalia greeted him warmly. Is there any news?

Please don’t tell me there’ve been more deaths, I begged, fearing the worst.

Not at all. Most vampires are worried they won’t be able to carry on as before. They want to know what we plan on doing about the situation. A small, smug grin tugged at his lips.

Oh, I wasn’t expecting that. Wide spread disregard for the rules, deaths in the hundreds, and a free for all buffet with the human race as the main course, but not concern for secrecy.

We remember all too well what happened to the witches. None of us wish to see a repeat of that.

I heaved a sigh, pulling a chair closer to Carne’s desk. I have no desire to see any of you hunted down because of this. If it comes to that, then we’ll help you just as we did the witches. However things go, we’re on the fence until someone makes us move.

Chapter Four

By the time the sun set once more over the Spanish mountains, making monsters out of the shadows and doing nothing for the feeling of dread building in my stomach, we were on a plane to Switzerland. We were expected, too, thanks to Lizzy. It still amazed me what she could accomplish with a phone call and the right words. She also confirmed I was going in as a human liaison, and not a Keeper. She saw things working out a little better if we only revealed one race to the humans.

I feel like I’m in a monkey suit, I complained. The occasion was rare that I wore suits, and even rarer that I felt comfortable in them.

You look beautiful, Ray told me, again.

But how am I supposed to run in these things? I pointed to the three-inch heels that