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  To the both of you, love is all the sweeter for the struggle that is won.

  GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND PROPER NOUNS

  ahstrux nohtrum (n.)

  Private guard with license to kill who is granted his or her position by the King.

  ahvenge (v.)

  Act of mortal retribution, carried out typically by a male loved one.

  Black Dagger Brotherhood (pr. n.)

  Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength, as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they are the subjects of legend and objects of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds, e.g., a gunshot or stab to the heart, etc.

  blood slave (n.)

  Male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. The practice of keeping blood slaves has been outlawed.

  the Chosen (pr. n.)

  Female vampires who had been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. In the past, they were spiritually rather than temporally focused, but that changed with the ascendance of the final Primale, who freed them from the Sanctuary. With the Scribe Virgin removing herself from her role, they are completely autonomous and learning to live on earth. They do continue to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, as well as Brothers who cannot feed from their shellans or injured fighters.

  chrih (n.)

  Symbol of honorable death in the Old Language.

  cohntehst (n.)

  Conflict between two males competing for the right to be a female’s mate.

  Dhunhd (pr. n.)

  Hell.

  doggen (n.)

  Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggen have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors, following a formal code of dress and behavior. They are able to go out during the day, but they age relatively quickly. Life expectancy is approximately five hundred years.

  ehros (n.)

  A Chosen trained in the matter of sexual arts.

  exhile dhoble (n.)

  The evil or cursed twin, the one born second.

  the Fade (pr. n.)

  Non-temporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.

  First Family (pr. n.)

  The King and Queen of the vampires, and any children they may have.

  ghardian (n.)

  Custodian of an individual. There are varying degrees of ghardians, with the most powerful being that of a sehcluded female.

  glymera (n.)

  The social core of the aristocracy, roughly equivalent to Regency England’s ton.

  hellren (n.)

  Male vampire who has been mated to a female. Males may take more than one female as mate.

  hyslop (n. or v.)

  Term referring to a lapse in judgment, typically resulting in the compromise of the mechanical operations of a vehicle or otherwise motorized conveyance of some kind. For example, leaving one’s keys in one’s car as it is parked outside the family home overnight, whereupon said vehicle is stolen.

  leahdyre (n.)

  A person of power and influence.

  leelan (adj. or n.)

  A term of endearment loosely translated as “dearest one.”

  Lessening Society (pr. n.)

  Order of slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.

  lesser (n.)

  De-souled human who targets vampires for extermination as a member of the Lessening Society. Lessers must be stabbed through the chest in order to be killed; otherwise they are ageless. They do not eat or drink and are impotent. Over time, their hair, skin, and irises lose pigmentation until they are blond, blushless, and pale-eyed. They smell like baby powder. Inducted into the society by the Omega, they retain a ceramic jar thereafter into which their heart was placed after it was removed.

  lewlhen (n.)

  Gift.

  lheage (n.)

  A term of respect used by a sexual submissive to refer to their dominant.

  Lhenihan (pr. n.)

  A mythic beast renowned for its sexual prowess. In modern slang, refers to a male of preternatural size and sexual stamina.

  lys (n.)

  Torture tool used to remove the eyes.

  mahmen (n.)

  Mother. Used both as an identifier and a term of affection.

  mhis (n.)

  The masking of a given physical environment; the creation of a field of illusion.

  nalla (n., f.) or nallum (n., m.)

  Beloved.

  needing period (n.)

  Female vampire’s time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a female’s transition and then once a decade thereafter. All males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.

  newling (n.)

  A virgin.

  the Omega (pr. n.)

  Malevolent, mystical figure who has targeted the vampires for extinction out of resentment directed toward the Scribe Virgin. Exists in a non-temporal realm and has extensive powers, though not the power of creation. Eradicated.

  phearsom (adj.)

  Term referring to the potency of a male’s sexual organs. Literal translation something close to “worthy of entering a female.”

  Princeps (pr. n.)

  Highest level of the vampire aristocracy, second only to members of the First Family or the Scribe Virgin’s Chosen. Must be born to the title; it may not be conferred.

  pyrocant (n.)

  Refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.

  rahlman (n.)

  Savior.

  rythe (n.)

  Ritual manner of asserting honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offended chooses a weapon and strikes the offender, who presents him- or herself without defenses.

  the Scribe Virgin (pr. n.)

  Mystical force who previously was counselor to the King as well as the keeper of vampire archives and the dispenser of privileges. Existed in a non-temporal realm and had extensive powers, but has recently stepped down and given her station to another. Capable of a single act of creation, which she expended to bring the vampires into existence.

  sehclusion (n.)

  Status conferred by the King upon a female of the aristocracy as a result of a petition by the female’s family. Places the female under the sole direction of her ghardian, typically the eldest male in her household. Her ghardian then has the legal right to determine all manner of her life, restricting at will any and all interactions she has with the world.

  shellan (n.)

  Female vampire who has been mated to a male. Females generally do not take more than one mate due to the highly territorial nature of bonded males.

  symphath (n.)

  Subspecies within the vampire race characterized by the ability and desire to manipulate emotions in others (for the purposes of an energy exchange), among other traits. Historically, they have been discriminated against and, during certain eras, hunted by vampires. They are near extinction.

  talhman (n.)

  The evil side of an individual. A dark stain on the soul that requires expression if it is not properly expunged.

  the Tomb (pr. n.)

  Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin or her successor, or candidates for induction.

  trahyner (n.)

  Word used between males of mutual respect and affection. Translated loosely as “beloved friend.”

  transition (n.)

  Critical moment in a vampire’s life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, he or she must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and is unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally in the mid-twenties. Some vampires do not survive their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to dematerialize.

  vampire (n.)

  Member of a species separate from that of Homo sapiens. Vampires must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive. Human blood will keep them alive, though the strength does not last long. Following their transitions, which occur in their mid-twenties, they are unable to go out into sunlight and must feed from the vein regularly. Vampires cannot “convert” humans through a bite or transfer of blood, though they are in rare cases able to breed with the other species. Vampires can demater
ialize at will, though they must be able to calm themselves and concentrate to do so and may not carry anything heavy with them. They are able to strip the memories of humans, provided such memories are short-term. Some vampires are able to read minds. Life expectancy is upward of a thousand years, or in some cases even longer.

  wahlker (n.)

  An individual who has died and returned to the living from the Fade. They are accorded great respect and are revered for their travails.

  whard (n.)

  Equivalent of a godfather or godmother to an individual.

  PROLOGUE

  Dhunhd

  Four weeks, two days, three hours…

  …and exactly thirteen minutes prior to the Present.

  To be immortal was to never know death.

  As the Omega, brother of the Scribe Virgin, master of all lessers, spectacular purveyor of evil upon the earth, arrived at his lair in Dhunhd and became corporeal, the entity reminded himself that he was immortal.

  He would not die. Never, ever. No extinction for him.

  Fuck the Dhestroyer Prophecy.

  Stumbling forth, he repeated to himself over and over again that he was going to live forever, and rule in hatred and chaos for an eternity and beyond, because he was energy and energy was not just the basis of the universe, it was the universe. Energy did not end, not as long as there were galaxies above the earth, and suns to create light, and planets that do-si-do’d in their orbits. He was infinite, nothing more powerful than he up above on earth, or down below, here in Hell—

  Where was he?

  The Omega stiffly pivoted and attempted to ascertain his location amid the labyrinth of gray halls. Hadn’t they been white once? Or had they been black? As his mind refused to provide him with an orientation and tripped over its own recollections, he was forced to confront all he’d been refusing to see within himself. He was often lost these recent nights, even in the alleys of downtown Caldwell, even here in his den where he’d played and fucked and recharged for an eon. And why was he afoot? Ordinarily, he would have simply summoned himself unto where he wanted to be in this, his dominion. Ordinarily… he would not have been this depleted.

  But he would not die, never, not ever. No extinction for him.

  Fuck that prophecy—

  Why had he come here?

  Ambulating again, in hopes of finding the purpose that had propelled him to this down below, he messy-processed through the corridors of his quarters and tried not to relive the past. After all, one only did that if the present was bad and the future offered no prospects for betterment—and such a hopeless place was not where he was within his destiny. No, if he currently desired a mental return unto prior events along his timeline, he was merely indulging in pleasant memories, the look back unconnected to his situation—

  He was lost again.

  Or mayhap that was “still.”

  All appeared the same, the corridors, the rooms, the torture stations with their chains and their stains, running together and forming a visual one-note that should not have confused him, but did. With his cognition tangling, and a shocking physical frailty gathering momentum, the Omega’s legs went out from under him and he fell to the hard floor on all fours. The insult to injury was that the pain upon his palms and knees was not sweet. It offered no sexual thrill, and worse, provided no impetus for him to rise and fight further the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The stinging sensations simply… aged him.

  In a manner that was wholly incompatible with immortality.

  Sitting back on his knees, he regarded his filthy robing. The folds had been a brilliant white once, and from beneath them, the dense black of his essence had always spilled. Now, the draping was gray and his aura was as well, gray as the walls around him, the ceiling above, the walls in all directions. With a dull hand, he brushed at the red bloodstains of the four lessers he had just indoctrinated, humans no longer, soulless vampire hunters their new lease on life. He told himself that the portion of essence that he had imparted unto them was the reason for his current wilting, but he knew it should not have made any difference. He should have had enough of a reservoir to turn a hundred humans into his servants of evil if he so chose.

  In the past, he would have been able to… do…

  His thought became as lost as he was, traveling off route in his mind, diverting from the sad reality that had initiated it as if going into hiding.

  In its place? A sinkhole of defeat that drained even more of the evil’s strength. For all the centuries he had been at war with his sister’s fanged creation, he had always failed to acknowledge that loss for him was a possibility upon the battlefield that his anger and jealousy had conceived. He had recognized only his inevitable triumph over his sister, and he had relished the trophies of the war, those corpses of her birthed species, those vampires she had seen fit to bring into existence because she had been granted a single act of creation. Each death had chipped away at her heart, and the satisfaction he felt with that agony had become the meal he liked best.

  It had been such fun, for so long.

  Now, however… all those to-and-fros seemed like a struggle conducted by another, the victories as unresonant as if they had never occurred. And as he tried to recall the sadistic joy he had once felt, he pictured Butch O’Neal, former human. If the Omega had only known that capturing the Brotherhood’s pet would endanger his very existence, he would have avoided that mortal like the… well, plague.

  Some Trojan horse O’Neal had been. Instead of being a corrupted vessel embraced by those warriors, a weapon of infiltration for the Omega, the sonofabitch had been a tool against the maker who had infected him. The evil had literally engineered his own destruction—and as he considered the manner through which their paths had crossed, he wondered if he could have taken any defense against the Dhestroyer’s creation. It was as if that human had found him, not the other way around—

  “Arrest thee now this wasted reverie,” he muttered.

  Bracing himself, he forced his torso and his unreliable legs into a concert of movement that returned him to his height. And then he shuffled forth once more.

  He was immortal.

  He was never going to die, not ever.

  He was immortal. He was never going to die…

  The cadence of the words became the steps he took, a metronome that propelled him even as every extension of leg tired him further. And some time later, mayhap it was the matter of a year, a glint of something bright caught the evil’s attention. Stopping himself, he saw that he was upon his private bedding area, and there, across the barren space, a dagger, silver and sharp, stood upon a marble stand, suspended in thin air on its razoring tip.

  Yes, he thought. That is why I have come. I remember now.

  Propelling himself over to the weapon, he willed his robing off—and when he couldn’t accomplish even that simple magic trick, he brought trembling hands up to the ties at his throat. It had been so long since he had had to work anything mechanically that he fumbled with the knot he had previously manifested with his mind.

  The Omega did not want to dwell upon the inefficiency, the ineffectuality of his ten digits. And in any event, he eventually became naked.

  He held out his palm to summon the blade. When the weapon refused to heel, he was forced to reach forth and take the hilt of that which ignored his call. The grip was familiar as he curled his hand around it, but the dagger seemed as heavy as a boulder as he removed it from its invisible buttressing.

  Lowering his head, he looked down at his sexual organs. Like every other inch of his “body,” they were but an image that functioned, a prosthesis with bodily fluids, a corporeality that suited his purposes when he needed it, and disappeared back into a closet of illusions when he did not.

  Using what felt like the last of his strength, he gathered the soft weights of the balls and cock in his palm. He had a thought that they were warm and heavy in combination.

  The dagger glinted again as he brought the blade under that which hung from his hips.

  “I will not end…” he said hoarsely. “I will never end.”

  And yet as he made the pronouncement, he had a thought that it was a lie. Not a vicious one, but a pitiable one.

  He did not want to be over. When time had been his to squander, he had wasted it on much that had not mattered, in the manner of a rich male before a marketplace of beautiful things. Now that seconds were precious, he missed the largesse he had once had like a loved one who had departed dearly.