Vampire Elite (66 page)

Keeper of Death
: can command the elements to create natural disasters (for example, tsunamis, hurricanes).
 

Keeper of Life
: can create and restore life within twenty-four hours of an individual’s death.

Keeper of Balance
(the Amiti Queen): can create and restore balance.

Legacy of Tyr

An immortal law enforcement organization. The Legacy of Tyr has existed for several thousand years, but it rose to prominence following the establishment of the Confederation of Immortals, when it took as its primary goal enforcing the Code of the Confederation: the laws of No-Kill and No-Show. The Legacy consists of several thousand elite, highly trained warriors of different immortal subspecies who operate in groups of four or five called
families
and are stationed all over the world. The Legacy also created Sanctuary, providing shelter for abused immortal females.
 

The Legacy’s patron god is Tyr, the Nordic god of justice, law, and order who protects the two realms—of gods and humans—and keeps them from collapsing into each other and being annihilated. In homage to Tyr, Legacy warriors have his rune, Tiwaz, an upright arrow, tattooed on their right hands.

Life-Force

A living essence in immortals’ bodies that constantly regenerates and is the means by which they avoid aging. Vampires can exchange life-forces with each other by drinking from each other’s veins in a ritual called Shay-Nefer (
Good Destiny
), considered the ultimate expression of devotion. After completing the Shay-Nefer ritual, if one partner dies, the other dies as well because their life-forces have intertwined.

Mirror Skill
 

A power granted by Hathor and accessible to any Amiti over five hundred years of age; it allows them to teleport through and communicate with each other using mirrors or other highly polished surfaces. Teleportation using the Mirror Skill requires two mirrors of sufficient size for the Amiti’s body to fit through, one installed at the point of origin and one at the destination. It also requires either another Amiti at the destination point, serving as an “anchor” for the teleporting Amiti to travel toward, or near-perfect visualization skills so that the Amiti can project an image of the desired destination onto the mirror in front of them.

Nightwalkers

The lower of the two castes of vampires. As distinct from Sekhmi, Nightwalkers are not pureblood vampires, making their vampire characteristics (heightened speed and strength, hypnotic power) inferior to Sekhmis’. Sekhmi used their superior powers to establish dominance over Nightwalkers and reinforce this dominance by commissioning sorcerers to develop a curse preventing Nightwalkers from tolerating exposure to sunlight and being able to sense Amiti energy.
 

Nightwalkers are forbidden, under penalty of death, from blood-bonding with Amiti or keeping them as bloodstock. Although some Nightwalkers obey this law, feeding only on humans or other immortals, others ignore the risks and find ways to obtain sources of Amiti blood. Indeed, blood-bonding with Amiti renders their powers equal to those of Sekhmi and nullifies the effects of the curse—effectively erasing evidence of their difference from Sekhmi so that they can survive undetected as Nightwalkers.

Order of the Eye of Ra (The Order)

A secret Amiti organization created several millennia ago with the goal of freeing Amiti bloodstock from the vampires. All Keepers of the Key and all Avengers are members of the Order, but other than that, the exact number and identity of the Order’s membership are unknown.
 

Pink Sunset (or Red Sunset)
 

The most popular drink among vampires, commonly offered at social and business functions. Pink Sunset is a blend of Amiti blood and alcohol, usually Champagne. It is mixed in different proportions; with a higher concentration of blood, it is referred to as Red Sunset.

Pride

The name given to Sekhmi family units who live together, borrowed from the term used for lions’ social units in honor of the lioness goddess Sekhmet. Prides may include blood relatives, close friends, and Amiti blood-bonds. The strongest member of the pride is the Alpha. Sekhmi in general are very wealthy, and members of Sekhmi prides share assets including real estate, bank accounts, businesses, vehicles, and bloodstock.

The Project

A secret international research organization run by humans. The Project conducts scientific research on immortals with the goal of unlocking hidden potential in the human brain and achieving immortality for humans. The Project’s staff includes ambitious scientists from various fields (medical doctors, neuroscientists, geneticists, biologists, physicists, etc.), entrepreneurs who believe in the Project’s work and provide financial support, and
shadows
, humans with highly developed psychic and other paranormal powers who serve as the Project’s guards. The Project owns thirteen laboratories worldwide, all of which are disguised as research stations conducting more conventional scientific research.
 

Queen of the Amiti
 

The ruler and protector of the Amiti people and the most powerful of the Amiti. In addition to possessing individual powers like those granted to all Amiti, the Queen has the Gift of Ra, is the Keeper of the Mystery of Balance, and has the power—and responsibility—of naming other Keepers of the Key. All of the Queen’s powers are transferable only from mother to daughter at the time of the Queen’s death.
 

Ra

A primary deity of ancient Egypt, consort of Hathor, and god of creation and of the sun. The threat to Ra made by humans served as a catalyst for Sekhmet to manifest and almost destroy the word. Ra assisted Hathor in creating the Amiti people, granting a part of his power, the Gift of Ra, to the Amiti Queen, so that she could more effectively protect her people from the dangers and challenges of life on earth.
 

Sanctuary

A system of providing shelter for high-profile immortal females whose lives are at risk and who lack other sources of protection. Most commonly, Sanctuary is provided to females who face abuse and whose abusers are too powerful for them to escape by other means. Sanctuary was created by and is provided by the Legacy of Tyr. Females granted Sanctuary live as members of Legacy families, with Legacy warriors forbidden to pursue them romantically or sexually. A female leaving the family to which she has been assigned loses the privilege of Sanctuary.
 

Sekhmet

Egyptian warrior goddess; also goddess of destruction, healing, and the sun. Another aspect of Hathor, Sekhmet was locked in Hathor’s consciousness and broke free when the life of Hathor’s mate, the god Ra, was threatened. Sekhmet created vampires during her deadly rampage, and is vampires’ only deity. She is worshiped by both castes of vampires, Sekhmi and Nightwalkers.
 

Sekhmi
 

Also known as the Vampire Elite or simply the Elite, Sekhmi are the upper class of vampires, as distinct from the Nightwalkers. Sekhmi are all pure-blooded vampires, direct descendants of Sekhmet, from whom they took their name, which also translates from ancient Egyptian as
powerful
. The offspring of Sekhmi-Amiti unions are also regarded as Sekhmi; because Amiti were created to complement vampires, their offspring maintain all the powers of their vampire parent. Sekhmi are much stronger than Nightwalkers and they are immune to sunlight.
 

Shadows
 

Humans with highly developed psychic powers and other paranormal abilities who serve as the Project’s guards. Shadows also kidnap immortals to be used for the Project’s research.
 

Shay-Nefer
 

Shay-Nefer (translated from ancient Egyptian as Good Destiny) is a Sekhmi ritual involving exchange of life-forces. This exchange creates a mutual commitment that lasts until death: once the life-forces are intertwined, one partner’s death will result in the other’s death as well. It is considered the ultimate expression of devotion between partners—and because vampires generally do not believe in life-long commitments, it is extremely rare. Shay-Nefer can be established between any two vampires independent of gender and their relationship (e.g. blood relatives, friends), but it most commonly occurs within romantic relationships, viewed as a type of wedding and called the Shay-Nefer Mating Ceremony.
 

Shield, or Energy Shield

One of most important of Amitis’ powers, enabling mature Amiti to block the unique energy they emit from detection by vampires. Amiti gradually develop their shielding ability beginning in their early twenties. As with other powers, shielding powers can be enhanced by blood-bonding. Skilled Amiti can shield the energy of other Amiti as well as themselves; for example, until shielding is mastered, Amiti parents shield their offspring.
 

Silver Steel

A common metal alloy to which Amiti are vulnerable, silver steel is used by vampires to temporarily suppress Amiti’s powers. Used as a material in constraints such as chains or cuffs, it can weaken Amiti; a much more effective use is to introduce it to the bloodstream via weapon or injection. The extent and duration of silver steel’s suppressive effects varies widely, on average suppressing an Amiti’s power completely for a few hours.
 

Three Doors to the Mystery (Quest, Keepers’ Quest)

The name of the quest every Keeper of the Key must undertake in order to claim their full Keepers’ powers. After being named a Keeper by the Amiti Queen, a new Keeper faces three challenges—difficult decisions or actions—related to the Mystery she or he was appointed to Keep. Typically the Keeper is unaware of which decisions or actions constitute the Three Doors, and their status can change to reflect changing circumstances. As soon as the third task is completed, the third door is opened and the full power of the Keeper is unlocked.
 

Vampires

Immortal subspecies who must feed on the blood of humans or other immortals in order to survive. Vampires grew from drops of Sekhmet’s blood spilled during her rampage across Egypt eight millennia ago. They have an unlimited lifespan and can reproduce with each other, other supernatural subspecies, or humans. When born, they are virtually identical to humans, coming into their powers when they reach full physical maturity at around twenty-one years of age, at which time they also begin to require blood. Their preferred blood source, and the only source on which they thrive physically, is Amiti. Vampires are split into two castes: Sekhmi, or Vampire Elite; and Nightwalkers. The vampire leader is the king or queen, who wins the title in a physical battle for the throne.
 

All vampires possess extreme speed and strength; rapid healing; the ability to hypnotize humans; and simple energy manipulation (e.g. energy blast, moving small objects without touching them). Like most immortals, vampires can be killed only via methods that separate the head from the body or that destroy the body as a whole (e.g., burning, exploding). Contrary to popular mythology, death does not cause their bodies to disintegrate independently of whatever force has acted on the body. For example, the body will disintegrate into ashes only if it is burned; the misconception that all vampires’ bodies turn to ash at death may originate in the fact that the mode by which Amiti kill their blood-bonds is immolation, and because the Amiti blood-bond need not be present for this to occur, it is relatively common for vampires to burn into ashes with no clear cause.
 

Vampires are also sensitive to silver: used in the environment or in constraining devices, it weakens their powers; and when introduced into the bloodstream via weapon or injection, it can completely debilitate them.
 

Wereanimals

A large immortal subspecies, also referred to as
weres
, consisting of creatures capable of shapeshifting from human to animal form, and in some cases an interim or hybrid form as well. To outsiders, wereanimals seem very similar, but they experience group affiliations primarily with wereanimals who share their animal type (e.g. werewolves, werejaguars, werehyenas, and weretigers each have separate group identities).
 

Winged Demons

An immortal subspecies whose appearance is identical to humans’ but who possess retractable wings and can fly. Their strength and speed are almost as powerful as vampires’. They can sense violent death, human or immortal, within a radius of forty to fifty miles, and can tap into energies that reconstruct the incident for them, helping to identify the victim, culprit, and circumstances. Winged demons can also produce a powerful blue energy blast that immobilizes any immortal or human at whom it is directed. These powers make them indispensable to the Legacy’s mission, facilitating detention of suspects and investigations of violations of the Code’s No-Kill law. Every Legacy family includes at least one winged demon, and they make up much of the Legacy’s leadership.

About the Author

Irina Argo
is the pen name for two friends who co-wrote this book.
Irina
lives in a pretty dark world: by day she’s a clinical psychologist at a juvenile correctional facility, where she deals with the extremes of human behavior on a daily basis; at night, she cares for her husband, who was paralyzed several years ago. Writing has always been her passion, and now it’s what brings light into her life. She is originally from Russia, where she worked as a TV journalist.
Jo-An
is a Leo, a lioness emerging to follow her dream: to write a book of her own. As the owner of a costume shop for many years, she was able to satisfy her creative nature and allow it to flourish. She believes that anything is possible if you believe in yourself. She currently resides in California with her five cats and one husband.