Destined by Morgan Rice Read Free Book Online

tension in the air, as the other vampires looked at each other, dreading the moment of audience.
    Kyle saw Lore approach an attendant, close to the Council, and whisper in his ear. The attendant, in turn, walked up to a judge, knelt down, and whispered in his ear.
    The judge turned his head ever so slightly, and the man pointed, right to Kyle. Even from this great distance, Kyle could feel the judge’s eyes bore into him, hidden in his hood. Despite himself, Kyle felt a shiver. Finally, he was in the presence of true evil.
    The attendant nodded, and that was Kyle’s cue.
    Kyle pushed his way through the crowd, and walked right out to the center of the empty floor.
    He stood in the small circle in the center of the room—the spot. He knew that if he looked up, directly above his head would be the hole in the ceiling, the oculus, open to the sky. In the daytime, it allowed in a shaft of sunlight; now, at sunset, the light was filtered, and very weak. The room was lit mostly by torches.
    Kyle knelt and bowed, waiting for them to address him, as was proper vampire etiquette.
    “Kyle of the Blacktide Coven,” a judge announced slowly. “You are bold to approach us unannounced. If your request does not meet our approval, you know that you risk the death penalty.”
    It was not a question; it was a statement. Kyle knew the consequences. But he didn’t fear the outcome.
    “I am aware, my master,” Kyle said simply, and waited.
    Finally, after a slight rustling, there came another pronouncement: “Then speak. What do you request of us?”

    “I’ve come from another time. Two hundred years in the future.”
    A loud murmur rose throughout the room. An attendant banged on the floor with his staff three times, and screamed, “Silence!”
    Finally, the room quieted down.
    Kyle continued. “I do not time travel lightly, as none of us do. There was an urgency. In the future, in the time that I live, there will be a war—a glorious vampire war. It will begin in New York and spread from there. It is the vampire Apocalypse we have dreamed of. Our kind will finally be victorious. We will wipe out the entire human race and enslave them. We will also wipe out the benevolent vampire covens, anyone who stands in our way.
    “I know, because I am the leader of this war.”
    There arose another loud murmur, followed by the banging of the staff.
    “But my war is not complete,” Kyle yelled over the din. “There remains but one thorn in my side, one person who can ruin everything we’ve achieved, who can ruin this glorious future for our race. She comes from a special lineage, and she has come back in time, likely to escape me. I’ve come back to find her, and to kill her once and for all. Until I do, the future remains uncertain for us all.
    “I come before you today to ask permission to kill her, here in your place, and time. I also would like your assistance in finding her.”
    Kyle lowered his head again and waited. His heart beat faster, as he awaited their judgment. Of course, it would be in their best interest to help him, and he could see no reason why they wouldn’t.
    But then again, these creatures, alive for millions of years, older even than he, were completely unpredictable. He never knew what agenda the twelve of them had, and their rulings always seemed as arbitrary as the wind.
    He waited amidst the thick silence.

    Finally, there was the clearing of a throat.
    “We know of whom you speak, of course,” came the gravelly voice of a judge. “You speak of Caitlin. Of what will be the Pollepel Coven. But who is, really, of a different, and far more powerful coven. Yes, she arrived in our time yesterday. Of course we know this. And if we wanted to kill her ourselves, don’t you think that we would have?”
    Kyle knew better than to respond. They needed their little point of pride. He would just let them finish their speech.
    “But we do admire your determination, and your future war,” the judge continued. “Yes,