The figure was not tall, but he carried an air of nobility. Black eyes bright as stars watched them calmly, and the Black Gemstone earring on his right ear glittered in the firelight. Darkness gathered around him like a prince of the King of Darkness.
Cloak's silhouette and the gray-haired princess stood stunned, as if struck by a Spell. Cloak's silhouette recovered first. "You're that boy?"
Annan, six months shy of adulthood, corrected him. "I'm a man."
"Man or boy..." Though the vampire was his enemy, he had no wish to kill Annan. "What a beautiful treasure the Prince has bestowed upon us..."
"You're vampires?"
If they had been Ratfolk, they would have praised the "Rat God" instead.
Cloak's silhouette opened Cloak, revealing black antique formalwear and an aged, deathly pale face with bared fangs.
"Boy, would you like eternal life, a youthful body, and status? You could become a Distinguished Guest of the most beautiful Count. Vampires seeking your favor would line up from the Bloody Council to the Prince's resting place. You would rise faster than anyone to become a Baron, a Viscount, a Marquis, perhaps even a Count..." the old vampire whispered seductively.
The gray-haired princess seemed to hold little authority. She stood to one side in silence.
"I refuse."
The old vampire's hideous smile froze.
"I'm one of the Long-lived Races. I already have a long life. I'm a Sorcerer. I already have extraordinary charm. I'm a City Lord. I already have ample power..."
As he spoke, a thought struck Annan: Vampires sound like an inferior version of Sorcerers...
Wait, vampires couldn't be something Sorcerers cooked up too, could they? Sorcerers and bats? Ugh... It's Sorcerers like that who give the rest of us a bad name!
The old vampire looked disappointed. Cloak spread like a