Chapter 122 Ch. 92
“An alliance that would end badly,” Imogen continued, her eyes going distant. “Once the vampires realize they would take the catalysts for themselves.”
“But what is so wrong about our existence?” Zara said, her voice breaking. “Why are they so… why can they not accept the power that comes with us? I mean… we can coexist… just stay away from each other…”
“The power your kind possesses is too great.”
“There will always be someone at the top of the chain!” exclaimed Zara.
“Everyone,” Imogen said, going back to the petri dishes, moving them around. “Everyone wants to be at the top of the chain. The Veiled especially… catalysts should not exist amongst us for the same reasons dragons had to go extinct.”
“That doesn’t make any sense… I—”
“From your fairy tales, Zara, what are the chances of any creature against a dragon?”
“Like 1%?”
“Good. Your fairy tales on dragons are fairly accurate—dragons bond with a human. The human's death, or the dragon's death, can easily end the other,” Imogen explained. “The dragons give the humans a gift… a power. Humans can misuse it… can exploit it to kill a dragon and strip them of power.”
“A good number of us did that to your kind centuries ago,” Ethan said quietly.
“A catalyst is what a dragon is to a human, but with a vampire instead,” Imogen continued with a sigh. “A perfect match that greed destroyed. Dragons destroyed thousands of humans as revenge. Catalysts did the same… they were going to wipe out vampires. But you see, vampires are crucial in the supernatural world.”
“Why? Why are any of them crucial? Why must there be so many…” Zara trailed off, not even sure what to say then.
“Let’s think of it this way—back to fairy tales. Ever since the Skrykes died, dragons didn't have much use except, well, giving powers to their human riders. Dragons and Skrykes had powers that could match…”
“What are those?”
“Mystical beasts,” Imogen said with a wave of her hand. “Wild like dragons but with ice shard breaths… they had warlocks as riders. They constantly attacked human villages. And they hated dragons. It was a fair fight. But you see, once the Skrykes were gone… there was nothing to fight or hunt… dragons had to be gone because of the chaos. Humans didn’t need them for protection against Skrykes and warlocks. They just wanted the powers from bonding.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. It’s history repeating itself after maybe millennia. But here is the thing: catalysts never really had a fair match. Dragons and Skrykes—fair match. Werewolves and vampires? Fair. Fae folk and witches… sirens… all fair,” Imogen said. She moved a glass rod through the bubbling liquid. “But there was nothing in the world made to hunt your kind, love. Nothing made to keep you in check once you decided to stop being a gift and started being a threat.”
“So we are just… errors?” Zara asked, her voice cracking as she leaned against the cold edge of the table. She looked down at her hands and felt a sudden chill. “We are just something that wasn't supposed to happen?”
“You were supposed to be the balance to keep everyone in check. Most powerful… but the world does not actually want balance,” Imogen replied, setting the rod down with a soft click. “The Veiled believe they are the ones who keep the world running. They think they are the surgeons of the supernatural world, and your kind, Zara, are the cancer they missed a few centuries ago.”
“That is a horrible way to put it,” Ethan muttered, stepping closer to Zara and resting a hand on her shoulder. He had known about the lore—or at least he thought he did—but now that Imogen was explaining it… “She is a person, not a disease.”
“To them, there is no difference,” Imogen said, shrugging her shoulders. “Think about it, Ethan. You are an Original. You are immortal. You have lived through wars and seen the world change, and you think nothing can ever truly kill you. Then along comes a girl who can take all of that away with a single thought. How does that make you feel?”
Ethan didn't answer right away. He looked at Zara, his fingers tightening just a little on her shoulder.
“It makes me want to make sure she is always on my side,” Ethan said.
“Exactly,” Imogen laughed, though it sounded dry. “But the Veiled do not want to take the chance. They know that if one vampire gets a catalyst, that vampire becomes a god and would cause chaos… the need to take over. And if that catalyst decides they do not like the vampires anymore? They can turn an entire clan into humans in a single night. To a vampire, being human is a fate worse than death. It is the ultimate fear. I mean, it has happened before— the vampires were only lucky because of help from my coven.”
“Well we deserved it,” murmured Ethan.
“What made you change?” Asked Zara. “Your five never liked my kind… would you have killed me if circumstances here were different.”
“Yes, nothing personal little girl. Indoctrination works wonders in your mind. You are born into something so you know it as the only right way until you encounter something… or someone different.”
“Like my mother?”
Imogen ignored the statement. “You can then choose the side you want, knowing there would be consequences if you go astray.”
“So the veiled leaders know they are wrong for that?”
Imogen shrugged. “I do not like to speak of my coven.”
“Okay… a different question then. So the dragons were killed because humans were greedy, and we are being killed because vampires are greedy and afraid,” Zara asked, her eyes filling with tears. “It is the same story over and over again.”
“It is the way of the world, love,” Imogen murmured, turning back to her petri dishes. “Greed and fear. They are the only two things that ever really move the needle. The clan that attacked us last night… they want the greed part. They want your blood so they can fly and jump and burn. But the Veiled? They are the fear part. They just want you gone so the world stays the way they like it.”
“And now they are working together,” Ethan said, his jaw clenching.
“It is a perfect alliance,” Imogen agreed, nodding her head. “The clan provides the muscle and the captive source—your mother—and the Veiled provide the ancient poison, Aeuthrin, to wipe out anyone who stands in their way. They get to be gods, and the Veiled get to cross the last catalyst off their list once they are done using whatever clan they are working with.”
“But why bother?” Zara asked. “I mean, it’s just vampires, isn’t it? Why do the Veiled care so much? Why do other—”
“There are a lot more complexities to your kind and their gifts, Zara. Complexities that are not fully known—powers, untapped magic—even the Fae do not like you lot. Sirens, wolves… no one.”
Zara felt a wave of nausea roll through her. She looked at the spellbook sitting on the counter.
“We have to find her,” Zara whispered. “We have to find my mother. If they are using her to kill people, then she is suffering. I can feel it. I think that is why I saw those visions about my mother sometimes… I thought it was just me missing a mother I never knew… since I learned about her.”
“If we go after her, we are walking right into a trap,” Ethan warned, turning her to face him. “What if they want you to come for her, Zara? That is why they used that poison on my father. They wanted us to know they have her blood.”
“I don't care,” Zara said, her eyes flashing with a spark of that orange flame. “She is my mother, Ethan. And I am tired of being the one who is hunted. Plus I want to know her…”
“Getting Zara’s mother would be wise,” Imogen advised. “And they don’t expect you to know she’s not dead.”
Ethan looked at her for a long time, his red eyes searching hers. “Well, we track them and fight a war; we will give them one they will never forget.”
“You are starting to sound just like him,” Imogen commented, not looking up from her work. “Like your father, I mean.”