Keeping his secret a secret was never easy for Haden.

Yes, he could walk in broad daylight for a short time without much trouble and salt and garlic was easy to avoid by merely stating he didn't like their taste. Silver was not really an issue, since they used the precious metal for military purposes only, so no silver jewelry or utensils to worry about.

Avoiding the animals was more problematic. Horses and dogs were quite common on every military base since the Apocalypse and the decline of civilization. And they hated the undead. So Haden needed to make extra effort to avoid being close to animals if he didn't want to arouse suspicion by driving them crazy merely by his presence.

All these small signs alone wouldn't have been enough for anyone to find out the truth about him, thanks to the well known 'fact' that the zombies were all mindless cannibalistic monstrosities. However, the gossip about sentient zombies became more frequent, especially at bases like Jukava, which were close to the undead infested territories.

So, Haden mostly kept to himself, avoiding the company of others. As such, it was no wonder that he was among the last ones who received the news of Kaleg Ronos' return, despite the fact that he was a high ranking security officer officially.

"You should have notified me," he said to Ulmra.

The commander didn't answer him. She seemed to be deep in her own thoughts. They were alone in her room, so there was no need for military formalities, but Haden was really annoyed by the fact that everybody treated him like a spoiled child, including Ulmra, who should have really known better.

"Commander Ulmra Zarin, as your superior officer, I demand an explanation!" He said, not even bothering to hide his anger.

The commander looked at him thoughtfully, not really bothered by his outburst.

"You want an explanation, sir? Very well, here is your explanation: we are doomed. Plain and simple, so I couldn't care less about your hurt ego, Haden."

He was stunned. The situation must have been really bad, if Zarin reacted that way.

"Ulmra, please, tell me what happened."

"I received a message from one of your… kind."

"A… a zombie? Another sentient zombie?"

"A vampire, as he calls himself. You heard about vampires, right?"

Haden nodded. Everybody heard about those mythical creatures, who ruled the Earth, before the first elementals defeated them. They were the creatures of the old religion, before the Dome, when the elementals were worshipped as gods, and the vampires seen as demons, who were jealous of their power and tried to steal it for themselves to enslave humanity. But the gods defeated them in the primordial times, banishing them to the Void for all eternity.

"But that's impossible. They're just a legend."

"Then, you are a legend. Congratulations," said Ulmra dryly. "According to this Prince Artsu, at least some parts of the old legends are true. There was indeed a war between the vampires and the elementals at the dawn of human history. Well, more than one war. In the end, the elementals won. However, there was no banishing anyone to the Void or anywhere else. They simply killed every vampire they could find. But they couldn't find them all. Some of them survived for a while. They plotted their revenge throughout the ages, until their time came."

Haden frowned. Ulmra was obviously talking about the First Purge, the elimination of the elementals. But it was done by the golems, not the vampires. Unless, the undead were truly responsible for it, guiding the events from the shadows.

"I am not a big fan of conspiracy theories, Ulmra. I mean seriously? Millennia old vampires manipulating human history without anyone noticing? I mean before the Purge there were plenty of mind readers, memory readers, not to mention seers. Someone would have noticed."

The commander shrugged.

"I don't really care about this conspiracy theory, whether it's true or false. It's in the past, and the future is what I care about. The bad news? The vampires rule the world. Most of it, anyway. And they finally want to crush us, like the annoying insects we are to them. The good news? Artsu is offering us an alliance. But he wants to discuss it with the Lord Protector, directly. If what he says is true, this is our only chance."

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Haden sighed. He never drank a seer's blood, but even without a sixth sense, he could tell what it's meant. It was not realistic either for Tunem to visit this so-called vampire, or that they smuggle Artsu to the Saltblade. And it was quite obvious that their would-be-ally did not trust the normal channels of communication.

"He wants to speak with Tunem telepathically," he said.

"Yes. And somehow he is aware that we can provide the opportunity to him. So, you need to visit Artsu personally, to create a telepathic link between him and the lord protector."

"Very well," he said. "I will go."

"That's for your brother, to decide, but likely he will agree."

"Speaking of Tunem, you know his orders regarding me entering the Cursed Ruins."

She watched him for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"I know, but… This is madness," she said. "Sending our only two elementals and you to the enemy… What is Tunem thinking?"

"The boy can hide, and, thanks for your training, not only himself but another person too… You can sense the zombies before they see us. I can do all those things too, and the undead leave me alone. Well, the zombies at least."

"It's still too risky."

Haden turned away from her and looked outside of the window. They argued about it since his arrival. The funny thing was, that he actually agreed with her. He would have preferred to go alone. Maybe he should. Actually, why not? Tunem always wanted him to be more determined, more initiative. Void, he might even wanted him to act against his wishes once in a while.

"I will need the boy's blood, and yours too," he said finally, with as much determination as he could muster. "At least half a liter of both. I'll go alone. I will have a better chance on my own."

"What about Tunem's orders?"

"I take full responsibility. I'll leave tonight."

***

He left the base in the Mist. The plan was that he should reach Artsu, let him speak with his brother, and then return to Jukava without anyone noticing. Well, anyone but Tunem, of course. There was no way they could keep it a secret from him.

Before he left, he read Kaleg's mind himself for directions, how to get to Artsu. It was too bad, they didn't have an eidetic's blood, which he could have used to modify Kaleg's memories. The kid knew too much, and his plans of vengeance also was a risk factor they didn't need so they left with no choice but to lock him up, same as his dad. Ulmra wanted them separated, but Haden wouldn't have it. So he ordered that they should put Kaleg right next to his father's cell, strictly forbidding him to tell his father about what he learned from Artsu.

According to Kaleg's thoughts, he returned through the old subway system. Which was filled with zombies, of course, but the boy's vampire escort– Hamos, his name was– was enough protection for him, the zombies left him alone. So, it seemed logical that as an actual vampire– it still felt strange to think about himself as such– he could just as easily reach Artsu's domain going the same way backwards.

So he did just that.

Walking in the subway brought up memories from his childhood. His family lived in a small town not too far from the capital. His father was a soldier, of course, so they didn't see him too often. His mom worked in the capital as a lawyer. He and Tunem often spent their free time together in Galtra City. He remembered the first time he traveled by the subway. He thought it really exciting back then. Going through the dark tunnels inside the well lit cars was a pleasant experience indeed.

Now though… The dark tunnels were there, alright, but as for the well lit cars… Well, there were a few wrecks here and there.

When he got near the first of such wreckages, he started to think, maybe setting out alone wasn't such a good idea after all. Anything could hide in the dark, and just because he was an undead it didn't mean that his night vision was any better than a normal human's. The reason why most undead saw better in the dark than the living was simply because they lived in the dark, so their eyes adapted to it. Haden's not.

He could have used a flashlight, but that would have attracted unwanted attention. So, instead he occasionally drank a plastic vial of Ulmra's blood, using Thought to sense if there was any mind nearby, sentient or not, living or not.

Sadly, a single vial, containing a deciliter of blood, granted him Ulmra's ability for less than ten minutes, and he only had three remaining, and about an hour's worth of journey through the subway. And he was determined to use mind reading on Artsu himself, or at least one of his servants. It was risky, but they needed more information desperately. So he could only use Ulmra's blood sparingly.

Luckily, he also brought some of Zehno's blood, so after he ran out of a vial of telepath's blood he switched to mistling's blood. He planned to drink from Ulmra's after that again, but before he lost Zehno's ability, while still in the Mist, he felt a feeling quite similar to that of the Mist itself. It was cold,moist and... hollow. The very same hollowness, which he felt, when he used an elemental's ability, which meant, that another vampire was using one of the dimensional aspects. He also noticed that he left the Mist, the moment he felt the other vampire's Void-tainted usage of the Water. What was that?– he thought.

"Well, you're not whom I expected," said a voice from the darkness before him. "Or, rather, you're not what I expected."

He couldn't see who the speaker was, but he knew he was a vampire which meant that likely he was Artsu's man.

So, the diplomatic mission begins, he thought.