Exton

Adrian accepted a glass of beef blood on the house and sipped. "Excellent." He met Nick's eyes and gave a minimal nod. "My thanks, Nikolas, for sparing Stefan." He sighed deeply. "He has always been impetuous and irresponsible, unable or unwilling to look past the immediate gratification of his whims, to see what you Americans would call 'the big picture'. He has fallen for a common fallacy of our kind - that because we are faster and stronger and virtually immortal, we must of necessity be 'superior'." He gives a tired smile. "Yet without so-called 'lesser' beings such as humans, we cannot thrive and our immortality becomes a curse of perpetual starvation."

"I mostly avoid humans," Nick says, his expression wary. "It's enough to be a monster without being reminded of it all the time. Alise and Laila treat me like anyone else, so it's easier for me to get along with them."

"For my part," Adrian says, "I feel that vampires must have some purpose beyond mere survival. Whence comes this strength, this speed, all these abilities, if they are not to be used to make the world better? I can do little, but within my own sphere - Deimos, I mean - we have virtually no crime. People know that I am fair and that my judgments are not to be set aside. We have no appeals process on Deimos - once sentence is passed, it is carried out within a week.

Stefan cannot understand the weight of responsibility that comes with leading; he sees only that the people of our island finance his lifestyle, and for him, that is as it should be. If I could not help my people - lead them, guide them, benefit them - I should be nothing more than a parasite.

But come, Niko - drink! It is, as you Americans say, on me."


"My poor Laila," Adrian says when she emerges from the back, "pray accept my apologies for whatever Stefan has done to you, since he has not the grace to offer them himself. And accept my apologies on my own behalf for not checking into your welfare before now." He smiles and arches an eyebrow. "It would appear that you have more than one protector to call on, but should my brother again make himself odious to you, I pray you, please get in touch with me or with Thea, upon the instant. I will not again permit Rath to stray so far from his boundaries, no matter what I must do to control him; on that, you have my word.

Also, I was thinking… you might want to celebrate your newfound independence with a glass or two of something. Thea has access to all my accounts; order whatever you like and charge it to me."