The siblings nodded in perfect unison. “It means that, should one or more of us get hurt, no one else from GASP is to engage these people,” Tristan said. “It’s a risk that Esme and I are both willing to take, especially if it gets us closer to a day-walking cure. I don’t know about you, Dad, but I’m kind of tired of hiding from the sun and living in darkness. I think I speak for the entire species, at this point.”
Ben shook his head. “Dad, if you and Mom get hurt out there, we won’t just sit back and do nothing. You know that, right?”
“I need you to at least consider it,” Derek replied. “Haven’t our worlds been through enough, already? If the worst-case scenario comes to happen, and we find ourselves in danger on Trexus-2, then so be it. We can’t start a war with another civilization over the day-walking protein. It’s ridiculous. I will not have the blood of any other Shadian or GASP agent on my hands for this, okay?”
Esme smiled. “Besides. We’re assuming the terrible version of possible events, and we haven’t even left Earth yet.”
“That being said, it’s why Sofia and I are leading the mission,” Derek said. “Should we be successful, we’ll return with enough blood samples for Amal and Amane to synthesize a cure for our sensitivity to sunlight. If we fail, then that’ll be it. I have faith that our children, our grandchildren… our family and friends will be able to take over.”
“God, Dad, stop being a drama queen,” Rose muttered.
I had to laugh, just to defuse the swelling tension that threatened to cloud an otherwise beautiful, moonlit morning. “You’re right, it’s not going to get to that. We just wanted to make the protocol clear, that’s all. We’ll know when to leave and what to do once we get there. It’s truly unhealthy to start speculating now,” I said, looking at Julian and Ariana. “Tristan and Esme will be fine. At the first sign of trouble, we’ll reassess our situation.”
“But the data we’ve gathered so far did not yield any information about them being a hostile nation,” Tristan replied. “The few images we got from the telescopes did not reveal any conflict zones or other indicators of violence. That says a lot.”
Things didn’t look grim at all, from my perspective. We were leading a small team into a new world, hoping we wouldn’t have to steal the blood we needed for the day-walking cure. Naturally, resorting to such methods was still an option, in case the creatures didn’t want to give it willingly, but this, too, required that we make ourselves look friendly and trustworthy in order to get away with it.
Frankly, I was looking forward to putting this mission behind us. Achieving a cure for the sun would make our lives incredibly easier. Getting this out of the way would then allow Derek and me to go back to our plan for another child. We hadn’t abandoned the idea at all, but we’d agreed to put it on hold, at least until after the trip to Trexus-2.
We’d been through so much that we needed to take our time, going forward, regarding our decision to adopt. The universe felt different, after we’d almost lost everything in our dealings with the Hermessi.
But if we got through this mission without a hitch, then I knew we’d be in a good position to finally raise another Novak in The Shade. A clear sign from the universe that we could truly move on.
Esme
I didn’t want to be afraid of what we’d find upon reaching Trexus-2. Compared to what our people had been through in the past, I was really happy with a plain exploration mission. To be fair, after GASP’s dealings with the Hermessi and Ta’Zan’s programmed Perfects, I had a feeling we wouldn’t be dealing with such extremes.
This was important for Tristan and me. Our grandmother had been a revered and beloved immune. The gene had skipped over our mom, as well as my brother and me. But if there was anyone who understood the value of blood as life force, it was us. This was our opportunity to make vampirism more comfortable. For too long our kind had lived in the shadow of night, slaves to darkness and fearful of the sun.
Personally, I didn’t care that much for the day-walking protein itself. I’d become accustomed to my nature. I’d grown fond of the night and the moon. But my brother longed to walk in the daylight again, and so did my parents. I was doing this for them. I wanted to see them happy.
Besides, from a tactical perspective, the fewer weaknesses that our species had, the better positioned we’d be in the future. Vampires could live forever, if they were careful, and being able to live in both daylight and darkness would be an extraordinary advantage. In my family, I was the only one who applied a military approach to pretty much everything. Unlike Tristan, I’d loved my time at West Point, and I’d enjoyed every second of GASP training as well.
Not that my brother couldn’t hold his own—on the contrary, Tristan could be a fierce fighter when he wanted to. But he never exhibited my passion for combat. No, I was the soldier among the Vaughns. I took after Great Uncle Xavier.
“How long till we take off?” I asked, glancing back at the shuttle. Douma and Dmitri were both inside. I could see their figures through the smoky windshield, fiddling with the control panel. Lumi, Nethissis, and Kailani were preparing the spell paraphernalia, their proprietary blend of herbs, minerals, and powders, which they would place in ceremonial bowls at different points across the pentagram. The symbol was to be drawn in the sand, around the shuttle.
“I’m not sure. Maybe an hour or two, tops,” Sofia replied. “I’d rather we take our time with this and make it to our destination safely.”
“No, I agree,” I said. “Sorry, I’m just anxious.”
Tristan shot me a grin. “Relax, sis, we’ll get there.”
I probably wouldn’t have done this without Tristan by my side. My brother and I shared a deep, unbreakable bond. He was my courage, and I was his comfort. We’d always been like this—to the outside world, I was the warrior and he was the scholar. But there was more to us. Tristan had a tendency toward violence when it came to protecting the people he loved, so having me around tempered that part of him, because I was more than ready to kick and claw at anyone who dared to try and hurt us.
At the same time, I drew my strength from him, especially in new situations such as this. We were going to another world, a foreign place about which we knew little to nothing. All I needed was to look my brother in the eyes to know that I could pull through, no matter what. Derek seemed to understand the dynamic between Tristan and me, perhaps better than most people outside our family.
“You two are so tight,” he said, smiling. “You remind me of Ben and Rose.”
The vampire twins chuckled softly, giving each other loving grins. I could only imagine what they’d been through, especially after the Hermessi incident. Ben had returned from the beyond twice, now. I was in awe of the guy, all starry-eyed whenever I looked at him.
“I’m serious,” Derek added. “Not all siblings I’ve come across are so close to each other. Ben and Rose have a good reason, being twins, but you two… I’m a little stumped.”
Dad laughed. “They’ve been like this from the moment Tristan was born. Only a year in this world, and Esme already knew that she’d be looking after him for the rest of her life.”
“As they both grew up together, the feeling became mutual,” Mom said. “The small difference in age must’ve played a part, but Julian and I think it’s mostly due to their characters. Tristan and Esme simply love each other beyond everything else.”
Sofia smiled at us, and I felt like one of the tribespeople my brother and I used to study in the Amazon jungle. Like we were the ones being observed, in our natural habitat, with our bonds and habits and such. “That will get you both a long way,” she replied. “A good brother or sister can make all the difference in the world, when it truly matters. I mean, look at Lucas, Derek, and Vivienne.”
The reminder prompted Derek to stifle a chuckle of his own. Sofia gave him an innocent smile, though we all knew where she was going with this.
“It’s true,” she continued. “Lucas was a difficult vampire in his heyday, but after he died and came back, he changed, deep in his core. Derek and Vivienne have a better brother now than they did before. And my husband is absolutely fair in his assessment of you two, as well,” Sofia said, looking at us. “Your strong bond is something worthy of admiration.”
“Now we’re both blushing,” Tristan muttered.
“Oh, if you want, we can start telling them about all the times you two were absolute handfuls,” Mom shot back. “All the trouble you got yourselves into.”
“No need,” I replied dryly.
Dad scrunched his nose in his typical “If I had a penny for all the times they’ve given me white hairs” fashion. “I’m just glad you two stayed on Earth, where you were supposed to be, during the Hermessi episode.” He sighed, surprising both Tristan and me. I’d expected a different remark from him.
I gave Sofia and Derek an apologetic smile. “We wanted to help, you know.”
“You couldn’t have done anything. Don’t worry about it,” Derek said. “It was out of our hands from the very beginning. Honestly, I only hope that we never have to deal with that kind of enemy ever again.”
“Speaking of which, how is River feeling these days?” I asked Ben.
I knew the entire affair had taken its toll on her. She’d practically lost her entire family in the blink of an eye. Even though she’d been happy upon their return, I knew it couldn’t have been easy for her to cope with the flurry of emotions that came afterward, when all the dust had settled.
