Blood of Gold (31 page)

“No, Terrill,” she said. There was a reproachful tone in her voice that froze him in place. ”You have heard my words, but you have not understood them. You can kill all the Shadow Vampires, but more will take their place.”

“Then I’ll deal with them,” Terrill said stubbornly.

Sylvie sighed. “The more you kill, the more hate you display, the more you humiliate them, the more Shadow Vampires will arise. Through vengeance and anger, the Shadow will feed and grow stronger. You must defend yourself, you must set a good example, but you must not become as they are.”

Terrill opened his mouth, saw the earnestness in her eyes and stayed quiet.

#

The power indicator on Butler’s phone blinked off.

Got it!
he thought triumphantly
. I’ve got the best recording ever made by anyone, anywhere!

The phone was snatched from his hands. A nerdish-looking vampire with black glasses was glaring at him. “Give me that, you jerk! Get the hell out of here before one of the less enlightened vampires decides to have a human snack.”

Butler suddenly became aware that everyone was staring at him. He backed away, turned and ran for his life.

Epilogue

Marc posted the recording that night.

It became a sensation.

Terrill and Sylvie retreated into the wilderness of the Strawberry Mountains outside John Day.

They went back to living in the motor home, but their followers began building them a cabin in the nearby meadow.

One evening, while Sylvie was busy helping them and Terrill was sitting at the tiny dining table with his laptop, catching up on the latest news from the Internet, there was a soft knock on the door.

“Come in,” he called over his shoulder.

Jamie came in, shaking her head. ”More vampires showing up every hour. Most of them aren’t ready.”

“Is Hoss still here?” Terrill asked.

“Yeah,” Jamie replied, wincing. ”He’s hanging around the periphery. That little girl, Charlotte, follows him around like a kitten. I’m telling you, Terrill, he isn’t even close to being ready for the blood of gold.”

Terrill laughed. ”He may not be ready for a hundred years. But something tells me he’ll get there.”

#

Over time, the cabin grew into a sprawling house, and Terrill and Sylvie took up cattle ranching so they wouldn’t have to buy raw meat every week. The neighbors didn’t understand why they never sold any of their stock.

Pilgrims, seekers for the blood of gold, vampires in search of redemption, continued to come and go. The other Golden Vampires spread the message, and Marc continued to refine
The Testament of Michael.

Somewhere on the other side of the world, someone wrote
The Jeremiad of Kelton.

Marc showed it to Sylvie on one of his visits.

She just smiled and ruffled his hair.

About the Author:

Duncan McGeary is the owner of the bookstore Pegasus Books of Bend, located in downtown Bend, Oregon. He is the author of the fantasy novels Star Axe, Snowcastles, and Icetowers, and the author of several horror novels, including Led to the Slaughter and the Vampire Evolution Trilogy. His wife Linda is also a writer; together they attend a writer’s group in Oregon. Duncan has two children: Todd, an artist, and Toby, a chef.

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