Epilogue

Dad and Murph’s raid a few days before had been successful; at least that’s what I’ve been told. Both the vampires and the Weres in my life have been very careful not to let me know exactly where this old church was.

I also never seem to be fully along which leads me to believe that maybe Vince hinted to my parents about my momentary insanity, probably worried I’d slip back into it and try again when he wasn’t around. He didn’t have to worry.

Today is the day of Christian’s funeral. Vicky’s was yesterday. There were friends and family there, mostly vampires and a handful of weres. My grandparents had brought max with them when they’d come down and the boy at least was overjoyed to be back in the arms of his mother.

The event was sad and quiet and Murph had retreated to the his room with a baby as soon as we’d gotten home.

Over the last few days the new papers and internet blogs had been over flowing with monster hype. There seemed to be three major steams of thought. The first and loudest was outrage from a predominantly female populous saying that attacking mothers and babies was barbaric and the feints should be caught and executed.

Then there was the group of bull headed humans yelling that werewolves were going to eat their babies and that the government should issue identification armbands, and that all non-humans be put into concentration camps. They used the term “Species reservation facilities” but they meant the same thing to me at least.

And the third was the group of ever skeptics that could have a fairy fly in their face, be apologized to and the silly humans would swear it was a small bird. They said that there was no such thing and that this was a hoax. But, nobody was listening them much.

I was shaking my head at the most recent post on one of the blog sites, saying that the poster was the boyfriend of a vampire and he found out because she passes out cold dead at sun rise. I looked out the window at the setting sun and shook my head again.

“Keara?” said a voice from behind me and I looked around. Vince was dressed in yesterdays black suit and leaning in my door frame. “You ready?”

I nodded and stood up. I was in black jeans and a black long sleeve V-neck shirt. I took him outstretched hand and he pulled me into him. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Vince placed a kiss on my forehead and we left the house together.

Christian’s wake was being held in the oldest church in New York City. His body was being buried in our garden next to Vicky, with a granite statue of him as a header. We weren’t planning on the statue, but when we’d told the man the name on the headstone he’d insisted that he do a life size version free of charge.

Vince and I arrived a half an hour early but the church was already half full. Full of people that I didn’t know and for a moment I’d thought that we were at the wrong wake. Then I saw my mother.

She spotted me and made a B-line through the crowd of mourners. “Keara!” she whispered. “Who are all these people?”

“I don’t know…” I whispered back. “Maybe he wasn’t in the basement with his plants as much as we thought.”

As looked around I saw people from every walk of life, there were some women that I was pretty sure could be found on a corner at night wear very little clothes and a rather lot of makeup. There were a couple of bums from the park, people that perfectly ordinary and then there were a few people dressed in very expensive clothes and smelt like money.

A women in her thirties and dressed in a designer dress caught my eye as I scanned the room and she came over to me. Mom had already wandered off but Vince was still with me, his hand place comfortingly at the small of my back.

“Hello,” the women said in a soft whispery voice. “You must Keara…”

“I- um… I am?” I stumbled and ended my sentence in a questioning manner. The lady understood what I meant.

“I’m Lorain Wallins, Christian was a dear friend and he spoke of you often. He brought you to my home once but you were probably to young to remember. You were only four or five years old at the time. He wanted to show you my bird room..” She told me, remembering some far off time.

I did have a vague memory of a room full of colorful band exotic birds but I’d always assumed it was a dream I’d had.

Not knowing what else to say and noded my head in her direction, “ It’s a pleasure to meet you again.”

She nodded back and it was then that the organ music started, signaling the start of the procession. People took there seats and person after person went up to speak. There was an old homeless man that told a story about how Christian had help him save hundreds of cats in the city. How they’d broken into animal adoptions places and pet stores and left the cats there.

Lorain got up next and talked about how he’d given joy to her life after she became a widow.

A woman with a dozen kids crowded around her got up and told the filled church how Christian used to take the children of an orphanage to the park and ice skating.

Mom talked about how He’d been one of the nicest people she’d ever known and Murph wished in well were ever he was now.

Then it was my turn, Mom told me I didn’t have to speak but I wanted to. I walked up to the podium and took a deep breath, everyone here new about vampires, we’d been referring to them all day and two of today’s speaks had said openly that they’d been Christians bleeders, that was good because I didn’t have to be careful about what I said.

“Growing up the way I did was easy and hard at the same time,” I began. “Easy because I had everything I could ever need or want, and hard because I couldn’t know people, I couldn’t make friends and go to school like others girls my age. Christian was more than just a crazy uncle with a cat suit. He was my best friend. He showed me more amazing things, got me to smile in my most dismal moods. Christian was a one of a kind creature and a firm believer in reincarnation.” I tipped my chin up and looked at the decorative church ceiling. “I love you, you crazy cat. Look me up in your next life; I’ll be waiting for you.”

I bowed my head and I heard my mother sob. One tear leaked out of my right eye and Vince came up the podium, kissed my forehead and led me back to our seats.

The press conference and the air surrounding it was tense. There were a lot of nervous and high powered beings from the mythical community gathered among nervous and high power officials from the human community all gather together and they all knew about each other.

“It’s like gas and gunpowder all gathered in one place.” I whispered to Vince.

He grimaced in agreement. “Let’s just nobody lights a match.” He whispered back and I nodded.

There was a mix of security type people of all races present around. Nobody wanted to send their leaders out here without layers of protection. There were guards around the respected leaders, in the crowd, on rooftops, and patrolling the surrounding buildings.

Over the next few hours several beings spoke and when it was Dads turn I sat up a little straighter and leaned forward.

“Hello,” he said to the crowd that was made mostly of being supporting there speises and reporters. “I am Reeve Valdez, Lord of the vampires in the lower city district. My colleges have gracefully elected me to speak on the behalf of all the New York City vampires. I can not speak for all vampires for the same reason the there are no Were’s speaking tonight. It’s not my place. I can say this: Vampires can’t turn into bats, we can go out in the sun and we do not have adversions to holy items or garlic… though garlic dose smell quite bad. We do drink which by our law is to be obtained from a willing body or from a blood bank. Now I assume there are questions?” he inquired.

He picked a spunky looking blonde of the reporters all clamoring for his attention.

“Lord Valdez?” She said his name like a question, inquiring if she’d gotten his title right. He nodded and she continued. “You mentioned your laws, You have vampire laws?”

He nodded again. “Yes, there are overall law and then a district lord has the right to put others in effect as need arises. The over all laws include being discreet, not killing humans unless in self defense, and only turning one human into a vampire. We govern ourselves; we have been doing so for centuries and will continue to do so.”

There were other questions that dad answered one of the sillest being a young man with glasses asking why Dad hadn’t worn his formal cape.

Dad blinked. “I haven’t worn a formal cape since 1407 and I only did it because a friend was getting married and his young wife’s mother made me.” He thought for a moment and added. “Oh wait, I did at a Halloween party a couple years ago because my wife’s mother made me.”

There was a chuckle threw the crowd and the questioning continued. Dad eventully bowed and thanked the crowd, saying that his second in command had something to say. This wasn’t in the program but nobody tried to stop Murph as he stepped up with and arm full of baby.

“You’ve all seen the news reports, the young woman that died was my wife, and this is our son, he was only a few hours old when his mother was killed and I never got to see him in his mother’s arms. I waited a hundred years to Find Vicky, and it’s a hot fire poker to my soul to loss her so soon. My friend Reeve and I have taken care for the leader of the group that was responsible for her death but there are still his followers out there and I urge our people and everyone else to be carful.

I believe that this coming out is a good thing. Over a thousand years ago we were feared and respected, our kind hunted down humans for food and fun. Then we went into the shadows and we became the hunted. I think that it’s time we worked together as equals, I believe that history need not repeat itself.” He looked down at the baby in his arms. “This is my son and it is my hope that when he grows up he can walk down the street without fear. We can make a better better future, for all over your children, for ours, and for my little Christian; named for the most peace loving vampire this world has every seen. The hero that died trying to protect my future.

Years later little Christian, in the shape of a dark colored couger, played with a redish brown wolf named Max in the garden behind our threather. The moon was full and I was watching the kids with Vince sitting next to me.

Our parents had gone to dinner to celibrate the conviction of the last know leaders of the group that had come to be known as the Red Moon Hunters. Vince and I had been invited but neither of us thought it was far that the kids would be left behind with a babysitter.

I leaned my back against a white marble statue of a man that had been so many things to so many people and Vince ruffled my hair, effectively ruining the romantic stillness of the garden. I laughed and he scooped me up.

He started toward the kids playing by the coy pond and I had a bad feeling. “Vince don’t you do it!” I ordered, half laughing because I knew I wasn’t going to be obeyed. He grinned and tossed me into the water. The coy fish scattered and I came up spluttering. “Vince!” I yelled.

“Run men! To the fort!” Vince and the other two laughing Were’s took off for a fort they made out of a shed that had appeared in the garden a while back.

The boys had phased. Max, fully human looking with Vince and Christian, with his feline eyes and little sharp fangs. He also had a long tail and cat ears on top of his head that he could hide if he wanted but usually choose not to.

They’d pushed something heavy against the door by the time I’d gotten out of the coy pond to the their little club house but with a little effort I got the door open enough to slip inside the dark room. There was a work bench with a TV and radio set up on it. A cooler that looked fire warped and an old couch set up.

The was a rope ladder that lead to the second story that was more or less a loft where the guys kept sleeping bags for their camp out needs. I heard giggles from the loft and was pelted with water balloons. “Hey!... I’m gonna get you!”

“Vince!” Yelled Christian. “There’s a girl in the fort!”

Max yelled, “She’s broken through our primary defenses!”

And Vince added. “Run Men! Run” and they escaped through the little window up there and I heard them head for the house.”

The world we lived in was a lively one, human knew about magical creatures and there were still those that thought we didn’t deserve the right to live. But now, under the full moon and chasing those I loved the most, it was hard to dwell on them. After all, this was our future we were creating, it we’d make sure it was gonna be a good one.