The family, mostly the council members, were gathered around all involved in the heated conversations around me, but my thoughts lingered to Mary. My dear Mary who is so young. The Draconians were a real threat, and unlike Earth where our anonymity keeps us from all out open war, Sosaria’s knowledge of our existence is going to appeal to them as a catalyst for open war. I cannot remember the last time I’ve had an all out open battle… not in centuries. Would it come to this here in these lands?
We have so much at stake here. Here is where we have most of our younger vampires, where they are safer in a sense from the deadly rays of the Earth’s sun. Malas’ sun is weak and allows us a certain freedom within it. We also have our mortals here… the majority of them… like my daughter, Brelynn and my grandchildren, Rose and Antonio Romanus. So much to protect, but in my heart… my immediate worry is my Mary. She is not going to want to leave us in this time of need, but its so much safer for her to be back on Earth. I know her, I know what she will say, she will be adamant about staying by my side, by Pandora’s side. She will be afraid of loosing us, of loosing Lestat and Louis… who undoubtedly want to stay and fight with us (and frankly I’ll need them, especially Lestat). But I cannot keep my head in the game, keep my mind clear, if I am constantly worrying about Mary.
