A Vampire's Life Book 3

Chapter Seven - Scarlett

"Is he in the army or something?"

"Uh, kind of." he hesitates.

"Reserves?"

"It's not like your army, it's hard to explain." he shrugs, obviously trying to avoid the conversation.

"Why don't you explain it to me?"

"Vampires don't have armies like the humans. If there is a war everyone serves, man or woman over the age of eighteen, unless you are looking after children."

"So it's like conscription?"

"Yeah..." he screws up his face. "Only with vamps versus humans it's pretty easy, more like a buffet dinner for us."

"Charming." I scoff.

"You asked."

"So do you know what they are for?"

"Of course."

"Well come on then."

He sighs as his shoulders drop, pulling the draw open more.

"Medal of Gallant Service." he points to a six-point star attached to a blue and red ribbon.

He was about to move to the next one when I stopped him.

"What did he do?"

"Slipped into a camp, freed prisoners, took down a butt load of slayers and brought the vamps back. By himself."

"Oh." I say very quietly.

"So this one's just a basic service medal that everyone got."

He points to a round medal, looking very much like a coin attached to a gold ribbon.

"Who's the dude?"

"That would be King Lucian Grigore Eliade, sadly dead at the hands of his snake of a younger brother."

He seems rather bored with it as he passes his fingers along the medals.

"Distinguished service, Medal of Honour, Service Medal."

He sighs as he pulls the tray out revealing more of them and a length of red material with a coat of arms on it.

"Is all of these from one war?"

"No." he frowns with a grin. "Various badges, you know, the usual."

"Have you got this many?"

"I gladly, have not seen a war yet." he says as he flicks the tray back into the draw and closes it.

"If I could give you any advice about this room it would be not to touch this draw, I promise you that you won't survive if touch them."

"Why? Is he not proud of his service to his people?"

"Bad memories, Scarlett. Lost many friends and family members. If he had the choice these medals would never see the light of day nor will he talk about how he got them."

"You said it was pretty easy, buffet dinner, remember?"

He shrugs at me.

"Doesn't mean that a person wouldn't suffer. When everyone goes out to these things, the chances of seeing a family member go down increases dramatically." he looks at me, his eyes a little glassy. "Well, he's seen it."

He clears his throat as he picks a military jacket up off the floor, hanging it back onto the rack.

"How about we move along, I don't really want to feel like shit today."