Chapter 28

“Things have settled,” Gamila said.

“Good. Everyone is okay, then?”

“We lost a comrade.”

“Oh.” I stood, but then sat again. “Lost?”

“He is gone.”

“I thought we were…immortal. Undead? We can…be lost?”

“Yes. Gone from this realm to another. Valmont is no longer with us.”

“Wow.” I sat and stood again. My reaction to bad news was that of a jack-in-the-box. “Someone…attacked him?”

“Yes. A band of vampires who wished him harm for no other reason than him being different from them.”

“Jesus. This world is as fucked up as the one I came from.”

“In ways. That is why I warned you to be careful and locked you in here to be safe.”

“Well…thank you for that. So, what happens to an immortal being when he…What happened to Valmont?” I hadn’t known him long, certainly not well, nothing beyond the briefest conversation. Still, it was sad.

“He is an angel now,” Gamila said.

“An angel? Like in Heaven?”

“Like that. A seraph. A guide.”