Prophecy of the Undead (22 page)

Apolinar smiled at Yuri. “See what a lucky man you are? You could talk to this woman for a thousand years and still learn from her each time she opens her mouth.”

Casimiro said in an aside, “Or you can find other uses for her open mouth.”

Keisha blushed and all of the men laughed.

Yuri stopped first. “I hope to enjoy every possible use of every part of her for a very long time. As you and Apolinar have found strength in uniting your very souls, so do I hope to achieve the same with this precious woman.”

Yuri’s hand was in her hair, tilting her face up for a passionate kiss. This allowed Keisha time to stop blushing at being the center of attention.

César sighed, “I see there is no possible hope of my winning this lovely woman away from you. There is nothing for me to do but wish you well.”

Casimiro spoke again, “So, all of that stuff about neutrinos and virtual particles, black holes and atomic power—all of that is now in your head from sharing blood with Keisha?”

Apolinar nodded. “Yes. I feel profound love for her, for helping me to become a more well-rounded thinking man. I’m so glad she feels she got something from me as well.”

Casimiro frowned. “Why is it that I don’t feel any immediate changes in myself?”

Apolinar smiled at him. “Perhaps there is nothing noticeable in you yet because you have had no need of any new abilities you have gained. I didn’t realize until early today, while I was awake and you slept, that the plan I came up with, what I said to him, could only have occurred to me using analytical skills and a scientific methodology that I have never possessed before.”

Keisha smiled at Apolinar. “I’ve never sung in the shower before I shared blood with you. I never saw or appreciated colors the way I do now. I never felt able to accept someone else’s love, or return it, before you changed me. I’m proud that you gained from me as well, since I felt like I got all of the benefits.”

“We all gain from each other when we share blood with others of our kind,” Apolinar said with a nod, “That might be the only thing which allows us to face the return of the gods nine years from now.”

César leaned forward. “You still believe they are coming back? That they want to negotiate with us for mortals to take back with them to serve them?”

Apolinar nodded. “I have never been surer of it than I am now. I spent many years trying to convince myself that the Mayan was just delusional or suffering from a vampire version of dementia. Everything that happened to us convinces me that we need to be ready to face them when they get here.”

“How?” Yuri asked.

“Why? It’s not us they want to enslave,” César said. “Just the mortals, and
dios mio,
there are plenty of them to spare. In fact, getting rid of a few million of them would allow the planet to support the remaining ones for quite a while longer. Over-population has been a problem too long ignored. Maybe allowing for the herd to be thinned would be a good idea.”

Keisha was shocked. “You would give up your fellow humans to an alien race—for god-only-knows what purpose—without any sense of guilt?”

César shrugged. “They are nothing to me.”

Yuri patted her arm gently. “All of us have been vampires for much longer than you, my sweet. We don’t have the immediate connection to any living mortals that you do so we don’t care as much about what happens to them.”

Keisha shook her head. “I’ve spent my entire life doing research to help people, to provide cures for diseases, to prolong lives, and to improve the minds of my fellow humans. I can’t suddenly decide they aren’t worth saving just because I’m not like them anymore.”

Yuri observed, “The two men who killed you weren’t worth saving.”

“No they weren’t. Yes, there are lots of humans who aren’t worth saving. But there are so many who are. So many who deserve a chance to improve themselves and to live a full life. They don’t deserve to be sold into slavery to an alien race by a bunch of sanctimonious, blood-sucking demons who don’t remember their roots as humans.”

Casimiro sighed.”I’m afraid I just now realized what I gained from you, beautiful Keisha. I have to agree with you. I have been a vampire for close to five-hundred years. I have always been interested in observing the new directions that human intelligence takes. I embrace new technology as it is created and I always look forward to the next big discoveries. After sharing blood with you, I find myself loathe to sacrifice any of the mortals we depend on so intimately for their blood, as well as, for the fruits of their labors.”

“Does that make you a bleeding-heart vampire?” Keisha asked with a grin.

The men all smiled, with Casimiro nodding. “I’m afraid so.”

“Then what are we going to do about what is going to happen in another nine years?”

Apolinar stood. “That, my dear, is something we should apply our considerable analytical skills to for the very near future. I will contact many of those I know who are of our kind, to discover their feelings and share my own. I suggest that we all do this, then share our knowledge regularly.”

César nodded. “I suppose I would miss the hustle and bustle of the over-crowded cities where a willing donor can always be found.”

“We really can’t be sure what the aliens are like, can we?” Casimiro looked around.

“Do you mean they might want to enslave some of us as well?” Yuri asked in surprise.

“They might.”

“It’s like that old quote from the days of World War Two,” Keisha began.

At the general look of interest from the others, she continued, “It was said by Martin Niemoller, a German minister, about the inaction of the German people when Hitler began his extermination policies. He said, ‘First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.’”

The men looked at each other, and then looked back to her, nodding.

“So, what you are saying is that in trying to plan to save the mortals, we might also save ourselves?” Apolinar asked.

Keisha nodded.

“Then I propose that we do as I have said and contact each other regularly to compare our discoveries. Nine years may seem like a long time to mortals but for our kind it is past in the blink of an eye. We have much to do and little time to work with.” Apolinar turned to César. “We don’t want to impose on your hospitality any longer, my old friend.”

César bowed. “You are always welcome in my home, Apolinar—as are the rest of you. We have shared an adventure worth remembering, which freed me and mine from the horrible machinations of the mad Mayan mummy. I will be forever in your debt. I may not be as convinced as you are of the danger our kind might face but I will keep an open mind.”

Apolinar stood, joined by Casimiro, Yuri, and Keisha.

“We will fly back to Merida tonight and use our round-trip plane tickets to get back to the USA.”

“Agreed,” Yuri said, adding, “I’ve had more than enough of this oppressive weather to last me a thousand lifetimes.”

Casimiro smiled and nodded at his countryman. “Me too. Like they say, I don’t mind the heat, but I hate the humidity.”

There was laughter and a general feeling of good will as they bid their host farewell and walked out into the muggy air of midnight on the Yucatan peninsula. With a nod, Apolinar ascended into the night sky, joined by the others, and they began their journey back to their homes. Each made a silent promise to use their talents to discover how to fight the return of the Mayan gods.

The end of the beginning...or is this the beginning of the end?

About the Author:

Fiona has always had stories in her head, with characters telling her about their lives. Often she wakes up with entire story arcs that she has to feverishly write down before starting her day.

Now that her four children are erudite young adults, she hides from everyone for hours, bringing the stories to life.

She hopes you enjoy your short trip into her mind as you meet some of the heroines and heroes who live there, and now on these pages also.

If you want to read more, she has a series of six contemporary romance books about the members of a large Hispanic family, The Reyes Family Romances. She also wrote two books about female spies who work for a top-secret international agency, as well as two stand-alone contemporary romances.

Visit her at:
http://www.fionamcgier.com
where the first page is her blog.

She is the member blogger on the 16th of each month at
http://www.sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com

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Prophecy Of The Undead