Chapter 48: The Marking

April 1999

As we walked into the conference room, Tayla stood up at the end of a long table. “Ambassadors, would you please welcome my good friend Malcolm Harris and his wife, Rachel, the two mortals you are so eager to meet with. Malcolm! Rachel! Please, sit next to me.”

As soon as we sat, the doors burst open. Then, a figure slowly but deliberately walked in that I had been dreading to meet since I had become aware of his existence.

“I object to this mortal’s admittance to this royal audience! It is wrong! It violates our ways and he is a threat to our Orders, even our very existence! I demand his removal! I demand their lives.”

It was Rascha, the Prince of the Order of the Clan of the Black Velvet. He was an imposing creature, devilishly handsome, and intimidating. He reeked of power and confidence, and he dared to demand of Tayla, the Vampire Queen.

Tayla was already standing as she said, “What are you doing here? How dare you demand of me! Have you no respect? Did I summon you? Your arrogance has inflamed my wrath as well as your insolence! Stand down, my brother!” Her voice was changing. I knew that when her voice changed, it was because she was getting angry. Tayla’s dark eyes began to glow red, and the teeth began to show. Rascha moved slowly, as if in slow motion over to where Rachel and I were standing. His back was to Tayla.

That was a mistake.

“Prince Rascha, please face the Queen!” begged one of the envoys of the Black Clan. Apparently, to turn your back on the Queen was an ultimate show of disrespect. Even in the world of mortals, custom dictated that to turn your back on a person of authority constituted rudeness. This was no different.

The next thing we all knew was the power of the Queen’s wrath unleashed on her brother. In a loud shout, Tayla pushed her arms out in unison, projecting Rascha past us into a wall. As he crashed into the wall, the impact placed a dent into the drywall. He slumped into the floor but not for long. Quickly he arose, dusting himself off, and turned to laugh at his sister. “Is that your best, sister? You cannot hurt me anymore than I can hurt you. We all know this! Nevertheless, you plan to use this mortal to do what you cannot do. You are out to kill me, I know. I know it and all our clansmen know it as well.”

“You have had your assassins in your service for much longer than I have known Malcolm. Moreover, you have attempted to kill me already with those despicable Jackal soldiers of yours. That was unforgivable Rascha! The worst of it is that your assassins wounded Malcolm! I will not forgive that. Let the blood of the Jackals we consumed be on your head, Rascha,” Tayla fired back!

Voices were rising as well as tempers. I really did not want to be here, as I felt extremely uncomfortable that Rachel and I were in the middle of this brother-sister fight. This confrontation was not your usual sibling rivalry.

“You send your envoys, and then you lie in wait, invading my business, so you can attack my friends? Your usual display of treachery never ceases to amaze me, perfectly timed with these ambassadors, I can only assume. It coincides with your continuous lack of integrity. Do you think you could rule this kingdom, with your scruples and lack of control? I do not think so! I forbid it! You will never have this throne, or my crown. You can wager on it if you like. I would sooner see you destroyed than give it up.”

Rascha started walking around the table to where Tayla was standing. As he walked up to Tayla, nose-to-nose, the two of them turned into very ugly and frightening creatures. The power of confrontation is an astounding thing. It can bring out the worst in people and in this case, it was doing just that. Tayla was in trouble, as Rascha was forcing her to play his game. At times like these, it is hard to keep one’s wits about them. Why I was able to keep mine is beyond me. I knew that Tayla was having a great deal of trouble dealing with her demon, while at the same time confronting Rascha’s demon. I prayed that God would send more angels to bind up demons as we were in a room full of vampires and I was not quite sure how many that would take.