Ezra's mind raced as he processed the information.
The stakes had been higher than he'd realized. Vampires were not the freely roaming creatures he thought they were. They had a government which regulated them and made laws.
This was his life now.
He felt a renewed determination to master the power within him, to ensure that Valaren never endangered them again. And to ensure that no one challenged them again.
"The Custodians will arrive soon." Gen set Olivia down gently. "They'll clean up the site and make sure there's no trace of what happened here. They'll also bring blood packs to help us recover. It's part of our system to protect ourselves and our world from human discovery."
Ezra glanced around the room, still awed by the destruction and the forces that had been at play. The importance of the Custodians' role became even clearer. They weren't just cleaning up messes. They were preserving vampire lives.
These janitors were the real heroes of the vampire society.
"What are the other laws?" He asked. "You said it was the first law."
Gen turned wildly spinning eyes to him. "The Vampire Society has five laws. The Law of Secrecy, The Turning Law, The Law of Authority, The Population Law and The Council Law. They're much more complex but I'll give you the summary for each."
"The Law of Secrecy." Gen raised a finger. "Absolute secrecy about vampires must be maintained on the pain of death."
"The Turning Law." She raised a second finger. "All vampire turnings must follow lawful regulations."
"The Law of Authority." Another finger rose. "All vampires must obey all relevant authorities."
"The Population Law. Population limits must not be exceeded so as not to attract a culling."
"Population limits?" Ezra leaned forward. "Are vampires restricted from increasing the population? In fact, can vampires procreate?"
"No. Vampires can't conceive children but they can turn others. However, vampire population is heavily restricted by the council."
"How? Why? Aren't more vampires a good thing?" Ezra sat confused. What's wrong with these vampires? Shouldn't there be more freedom?
"Before the Death Wave? Nobody cared. After the Death Wave, most vampires would agree that more vampires are a bad thing."
"I've heard you guys talk about this Death Wave. What is it?"
"The greatest killer of vampires ever known." Gen chuckled. "The Death Wave began with a very stupid vampire. Darius Night. Before the Death Wave, vampires had an empty throne and were free to do whatever they wanted."
"Empty throne?" Ezra pondered. "So, they did have a king."
"Yes. We did." Gen smirked. "The progenitor was the vampire king but since he left to God knows where thousands of years ago, the throne had been empty. Vampires did whatever they wanted. Took whatever they wanted and it came back to bite them in the ass."
"Thirty years ago, vampires were numerous and filled every corner of the earth. Darius Night was one of those vampires. Nobody knows what he did but we know he pissed off some science guy and bragged about how he was a vampire and was essentially immortal."
"Well, science guy didn't take it well. Shut himself inside his lab and cooked up a virus that bypasses humans and specifically targets vampires. And guess what? It worked." Gen chuckled in delight. "It didn't just stop there. The virus killed Darius and kept spreading, using humans as vectors for transmission. That was the beginning of the Death Wave."
"Before anyone knew what was happening? Half the vampire population was dead and vampires now had an epidemic on their hands. Those ancient vampires who couldn't be killed by anyone died because they didn't wash their hands." She laughed. "Isn't it funny? A human became the only being on earth to kill more than a million vampires."
"What happened?" Ezra asked, his curiosity piqued.
"The smart vampires quickly found safety in the ark. Every vampire was invited to hide inside it but most refused. Those who refused were mostly old and arrogant and they all died. That is why the oldest vampire still living is just four hundred years old."
"Inside the ark, the vampires collectively decided that all vampires must be kept in line. In order to protect the remaining vampires and keep another Death Wave from happening, the council was created and signed by all vampires present."
"After the creation of the council, all vampires were registered and the new government came into power. The Vampire Council. Five seats, five vampires. There you have it. A history lesson."
"Ah." Ezra nodded in understanding. "That's why there are population laws."
"Yes. Too many vampires would be hard to control. Each Count is only limited to a maximum of thirty vampires under their control. Each City lord is limited to a maximum of fifty vampires under their personal banners. Each City Lord is also limited to ruling over a maximum of five Counts."
"So," Ezra made a few quick calculations, "there can only be a maximum of two hundred and six vampires in a city? That's a lot."
"Compared to thirty years ago, that's tiny." Gen said. "And it's a maximum of two hundred and twenty-seven. We've still got ten peacekeepers, ten janitors and one arbiter. However, most Counts don't have up to thirty vampires under them. You never know when you'll see a human that catches your eye and you wish to turn them."
"Damn." Ezra hummed. "This is the first time I'll be saying this out loud. This wasn't what I expected."
"It's not all bad." Gen smiled at him. "I still haven't met a poor vampire."
Ezra was reminded of his debt. Millions of credits. "That's a comfort. How about that last law?"
"The Council Law." Gen grinned like a woman spoiling for a fight. "The Law I hate the most."
Ezra turned to stare at her, hearing the emotion in her voice.
"All major decisions regarding the society must go through the council."
He waited patiently as she swallowed a lump in her throat.
"The law that killed my family."
Ezra didn't know what to say but the decision was taken away from his hands.
"C7V202107?" A voice called out as three masked women entered the room. They were wearing the same blank mask that X had. And they were heading straight at them.
Oh God. Not again.