The Empty World | The Empty World Sequence [complete | rewriting]

Fifteen

Shade introduced the two Vampyres as Angel's children-in-blood, Ardor and Ganymede. Several people asked similar questions, "When did Angel turn others?" and, "Why weren't they captured by the Redjacks?"

Ganymede, the boy, laughed.

"We didn't know she was hunting others," Ardor said, soft, breathy voice with a southern drawl. "We only suspected near the end. Then, we saw on TV."

"Was all over the net," Ganymede said, with an accent Morpheus could only guess might be Cockney. He looked at Spider and laughed, "Terrorists attack US government data processing center to protest claims of ghost detainees at black sites."

Absinthe smacked Spider up the back of his head for his 'terrorist' statement, but drew her hand away in pain as many small spiders climbed onto her hand.

"We were tortured!" Faye shouted, "Shade! Didn't you tell her? This one is a child, and the other clearly has unfinished business!"

"Faye, it's done. Ardor and Ganymede are not responsible for that. Those rules are not our own."

"What does...Faye mean?" Ardor asked.

"She's asking Shade why he didn't stop Angel from turning us, being I'm a kid and you're...you know." Ganymede raked his eyes up and down Ardor's body to make his point. "They had big fights about it," he said, addressing the group.

Faye continued to tell them, anyway, "Some groups of Vampyres have rules. One of them being you don't turn Humans that won't be able to survive immortality in their shape, like babies or children. It's unlikely someone Ganymede's size could ever turn another, even if he wanted to-"

Ganymede interrupted, "If someone mistakes me for a minor, I tell them I got an auto-immune disease."

Faye continued, speaking over him, "You don't turn those with those with any kind of conditions that are going to draw unwanted attention, like 'auto-immune disease'," she made finger quotes, "or some nervous eating disorder that's going to make them vomit blood."

Julien flicked his right middle finger at Faye.

"Or who have unfinished business, like being virgins, or undecided if they want children in the future, or planning sex reassignment."

"Faye!" Athen snapped.

She flinched, looked at Shade, then whispered, "And you don't turn those who have moral beliefs that are going to interfere with their being a Vampyre, like priests, or- social warriors."

"Athen," Shade said quietly, then waited as Athen grasped Faye's arm and drew her from the room. "I take responsibility," he told those remaining. "It's true there are groups of Vampyres who have such rules, but they are not our rules, and probably would have excluded not a few of us, Faye included. Those of us here, Vampyres, were turned with some sense of love or compassion, and I cannot condemn that." He looked down at Ganymede, sitting close by, "Any fights I had with Angel were just that: between the two of us. She's contained, for now."

"I've come to collect her," Ardor said.

"No," said Shade flatly.

"Let me speak with her," Ardor requested.

"No, Ardor. Faye was out of line, but it is true that some people, when turned, can show themselves to be ill-suited to this life, or to draw unwanted attention. Angel did both. What she did was wrong, whether she convinced herself it was to help mankind against monster, or to serve someone who wished to force me to act."