Page 38 of Silent Stalker
“The newly vaccinated are to take it easy and rest while the healthy get to the work. Make your calls, and I will handle taking the notes. I have put in requests for soup, which I expect both of you to eat after we’re done here. A sip or two is sufficient if your stomach is sensitive this evening, Pepper.”
I saluted the woman. “I’ve found Master Lowrance is not good at listening to other sources of authority, but we shall attempt to be obedient.”
“An attempt is all I can ask for. A dim and distant hope, really.”
I leaned in Emerick’s direction and false whispered, “I feel like she thinks we’re unreasonable people out to misbehave.”
“We are reasonable people some of the time, and we do not misbehave nearly often enough,” he replied.
“Obviously, you two are feeling well enough to have intact senses of humor. Excellent.” Salania set her laptop and tablet on the table across from us and went to handle making the tea, shooing Ben out of the conference room. “And do close the door behind you.”
Ben wisely obeyed.
Emerick reached across the table, dragged the conference phone over, and stabbed at the keypad with a finger before pressing a button, which turned on the speaker. Two rings later, my father answered, “Mr. Lowrance.”
“I apologize if that took a little longer than expected. We had to move our tea station to the conference room. Recently vaccinated vampires are grouchy vampires without copious amounts of tea, as we’re currently barred from enjoying copious amounts of coffee.”
My father understood coffee, and he chuckled at Emerick’s quip. “Being forced to drink tea instead of a proper cup of coffee should be a crime. I was informed those who participated in the rescues all needed to be vaccinated?”
“Some of us received more vaccinations than others. Pepper required a complete set of vaccinations, as the process of being turned into a vampire tends to wipe out old vaccinations or render them significantly less effective. We had initially planned to wait until her health generally improved before vaccinating her, but last night’s incident mandated immediate vaccinations. I was vaccinated, as some of my vaccinations were coming close to due. It seemed fair to share the general misery. One member of our team did not require any vaccinations, as he had received all of his within the last year, but everyone else was vaccinated.”
I grabbed my tablet, turned it on, and wrote: Ben?
Emerick glanced at the screen and nodded.
“I see. I was not aware vampires had special considerations when it came to vaccinations.”
“Oh, we receive first chance at almost all vaccines. We reject problematic vaccinations, and there are magical traces that doctors can use to confirm if a vaccination would be dangerous to a human. So, we agree to test vaccinations up for human trial to make them safer for humans. We do this on a volunteer basis, although some governments will offer incentives to vampires to help with their vaccination testing.”
“Would you mind elaborating on that?” my father asked.
I rolled my eyes at my father’s blatant attempt to dig out more information on the nature of vampires.
“Certainly. Last year, several broods were asked to test a Zaire ebolavirus vaccine series while other broods were asked to test a Sudan ebolavirus strain. Once the vaccines were confirmed to have taken, the broods were then exposed to the virus to test efficiency of the vaccine. It allowed human trials of the vaccine to proceed at a faster rate. A third test, for Bombali ebolavirus, failed before it reached human trials, as the broods given the vaccine rejected it. The other two vaccines are now deep into human trials in Africa. We don’t know what would have happened to the Bombali ebolavirus vaccine recipients, but this is a modern example of how vampires help progress immunology through vaccinations. At current, vampires benefit from over thirty different vaccines, all of which are having their way with Pepper at the moment.”
My nose chose that moment to strike, and I sneezed so hard stars danced in my vision. With one of his low, evil chuckles, Emerick handed me the tissues. “I think that one rattled her brain in her skull. Are you all right?”
I blew my nose, grumbled over my status as a mucus generator, and grabbed my tea, taking a sip. “I’m fine. Just wait for the next coughing fit. That might be the one that does me in.”
“I am sure you will survive.” Emerick grinned and winked at me before saying, “So, regarding your employees. I have not yet been given numbers or names, but I was given a few details. From the limited statements we’ve had from them, which are mostly in the form of incoherent rambling, somewhat directed by gentle questioning, looking up missing persons records, and evaluating the age of a vampire through reactions with blessed wood, we were able to determine that most of your employees were detained, as humans, for a period of one to two months, after which they were made into vampires against their will. Their circumstances are quite similar to Pepper’s, but the maker was more confident of their survival so had not discarded them as truly dead. We suspect Pepper’s maker, who is possibly behind the making of these other vampires, is unaware that it takes longer to turn a woman into a vampire.”
“I see. Forgive my ignorance, but would you say this process is traumatic?”
My father, ask for forgiveness from anyone for anything? Confused, I opened a clean notepad on the tablet and began jotting down notes regarding my father’s current behavior and apparent change of heart.
“Yes, it would have been very traumatic. Pepper has been diagnosed with trauma-induced amnesia surrounding the events of her making, although some memories before and after are intact. Our psychologists have recommended against attempting to restore her memories due to witness testimony. No proper brood master would do such a thing to his or her offspring.”
“How do brood masters handle making a vampire? You call it making?”
The kettle beeped, and Salania went to work making a new pot of tea. With a puzzled expression, she gestured at the phone.
At a complete loss of what was going on, I shrugged and jotted a note on my tablet.
“We’re not all that particular over the term. Making or turning are equally valid. In our brood, the candidate undergoes the ritual in the comfort of my penthouse, and I attend to them in the aftermath until their fate is certain. Should they fail to rise, I handle their funeral arrangements. Should they rise, they spend the first week or two in my home, learning to adapt to their new life as a vampire. It can be quite stressful, even for the prepared. While we’re still human, becoming a vampire wakes many new instincts. Vampires belong in broods. We are extremely social. Young vampires require attention and comfort from their brood master—or mistress. Pepper is quite comforting to distressed vampires, which makes her uniquely suited for the recent incidents. This is part of what separates the masters and mistresses of broods from other vampires. Most masters need to cultivate the trait, but sometimes, vampires like Pepper show up, who have an innate ability to handle such situations.”
My father remained silent for several minutes, and outside of a few sneezes I couldn’t contain, we waited for him to collect his thoughts. Either someone had briefed Emerick on my father’s tendencies or he wanted to get through the conversation without causing some form of incident.
“I see,” my father finally replied, which offered me some hope he’d actually come to have some thin understanding of what it meant to be a vampire. As something was better than nothing, I kept my mouth shut and continued to wait. “Can you give me the best-case scenario, and the realistic scenarios for their recovery?”
