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“So, if it gives us ten days this time, it’ll give us a thousand days if we use the power of three when we do it?” Etta asked.
“I believe that, without the power of the orgy, the most you’ll get splitting the death energy between two vampires will be approximately five to seven days, which means, with the power of three, you could possibly get four to eleven months out of each death in the future.”
“To my knowledge, this information is not in our archives,” Ryan said. “I feel certain Ruth would’ve told me of the possibility, had she known of it. She knows everything in our written library.”
“Can you use the power of three to keep from needing to kill as many supernaturals, to keep from aging?” Etta asked Ryan.
Ryan looked to Mordecai, who said, “It’s certainly worth experimenting around with. I would suggest comparing notes with Blaze, but Marco would prefer you keep this to yourself.”
“I have no intention of telling our people that we can power up a vampire so he or she defeats the sunrise, but if I can power myself more, it’s something my fellow slayers will need to know,” Ryan told me.
“Will you want them knowing you’ve created the oaths necessary to join in such a union with two vampires?” I asked him.
“And what are the odds your people have an opportunity to oath with either vampires or shapeshifters?” Etta asked. “It won’t be information they can use.”
Ryan looked at her, then me, then back to Etta, and finally looked at Mordecai. “Symbiosis. The clownfish and anemone. Vampires and shapeshifters use it, the permanent oath allowing the vampire to have someone they can trust to keep them safe when the sun reigns, and the shapeshifters gain powers and long life. Was it always meant for the slayers and vampires to be able to form a symbiotic relationship?”
“Sometimes, humans and their supernatural counterparts get in their own way.”
Mordecai often gave answers that weren’t, and in this case, it was likely he wasn’t supposed to tell us about certain things, so he answered with a generality. In a nutshell, he was saying vampires and slayers were meant to work together, despite what the lore of both our races told us.
I looked to Ryan. “Nothing has to be decided tonight.” I realized it was morning, and I corrected myself. “Today. This morning. How odd to be awake in the morning. At any rate, it is my hope you’ll agree to some experimentation, so we know the limits of this newly discovered gift.”
“My goal is to keep Etta safe and happy, so yes, I will agree to forming a power-of-three union with the two of you, and we will experiment with this once everyone’s power equals out. I feel it’s doubtful the two of you will return to your former power levels. I believe the victory has permanently altered both of you.”
“Florida might be a problem because of this night. I sent power to Kendric’s people, when I sent it to all of my people.”
“I felt that, too,” Cora said. “I own Florida, so it was natural for the power to go to the Florida wolves, but it shouldn’t have gone to the vampires.”
“Which brings us to another thing,” I told them, and I took a seat because this was going to take a while to muddle my way through.
“I’m going to talk to Kendric and Augustus, probably Zander, Gavin, and a handful of others who claim a state, or states, about forming our own ruling body, or vampire board, or maybe we’ll call it a Council, but I don’t necessarily want to copy the European version.”
“Who will run it?” Ryan asked.
“My initial thoughts are that being Master of a state puts you on the board, and I suppose the least violent way of confirming the power hierarchy would be for everyone to have sex with each other.”
“Perhaps a Vampire Congress?” Cora asked. “Since there’s no official census for supernaturals, maybe the number of votes per vampire could be reliant on the number of square miles in the vampire’s territory?”
“I like that,” I told her, “though we’ll have to fancify it. In old Rome, it was the Senatus, and both the Latin and old Greek forms are the same.” I pronounced it as it was in ancient Rome: SEN-ah-tuse, with a hard s on the end. “Though, with vampires, I don’t think a vote by territory size will fly. More likely, the strongest five will vote after all vampires in the room have discussed the issue. All will have a voice before the vote, but only the top five will make the actual decision.”
“An excellent blueprint to present to the others,” Mordecai said. “Kirsten will need to know, and if both Kirsten and I know, we’re going to tell Nathan.” He looked at Cora. “It’s up to you to create the deal with Kirsten about who she can and can’t tell, and who those she tells can and can’t tell, before you share the information with her.”
And then he was gone.
“Blaze and Augustus are also here, in another part of the underground,” Ryan told me. “I feel it would be good for you and Augustus to brainstorm about your Senatus ideas. Do you want me to ask Blaze if Augustus is available to speak with you?”
I sat and considered the ramifications, and shook my head. “No. We can wait a few hours for that talk. It’s plausible I’d awaken sometime around noon, or possibly even before, with as much power as I took in. What I need right now is a brainstorming session about how to deal with the European Concilio. This should be done tonight — so we pull away from them while I’m still powered up, and while they’ll think twice before engaging me.”
“Kirsten flashed Kendric and Becca back to Miami, and I believe Brooke and her people are back in Alabama,” Cora said.
“And maybe we have fifty vampires in our new Senatus,” I said. “The Master of each state, even if that state is the territory of another Master.” I shook my head as soon as the last word left my mouth. “No. Too many. You’ll need to be a Master with no one over you in order to be included. It will be up to me to talk to the Masters under me, and to bring their opinions to the floor, should I feel it necessary to do so.”
“Agreed,” said Etta.
Chapter 29
Cora
