Page 129 - Microsoft Word - FANG EMPIRE - NOVEL.docx

Sygnosis held a sharpened wooden reed that she dipped in black ink made from the pulp of

desert plants. She put the finishing touches on the ancient vampiric glyphs that she had

meticulously drawn onto Omar’s face, neck, shoulders and arms. She was also covered in the

strange writing and their torsos were wrapped with white linen.

As GoGo watched, Sygnosis’ voice echoed in her mind. “The Starving will be hard on

Omar,” the vampire had said. “He will suffer and hunger for blood. He will become ravenous and

he will not know you. But whatever happens you must not interfere. He will scream out but you

must not touch him as he unspawns or he could mutate and respawn into a Megaron, a monstrous

creature.”

“What are these symbols?” GoGo asked.

“Letters of Lordship. If we are not marked with my family’s crest and lore, the

Ministerium will judge that Omar was transitioning through the Guf because he had succumbed to

the Vampire Death. They would not deem him a visitor and allow him to return to Earth. I am the

Rose of Astral Byzantium and my father’s word is hallowed, but the dishonor of traversing the

Guf unclanned would stain my name.”

“Does bloodlust follow us even to Astral Byzantium?” asked Sooth.

“No, we do not hunger for blood in the Astral Realm. It is only used ritually, to pull us

back through the Guf to the Terrestrial Realm. The Ministerium are the keepers of the blood

treasury. They guard it with their lives.

“Who are the Ministerium?” asked Omar.

“A great order of Guffin vampires, Guardians of the Guf. They are warrior monks. When

Darklings drink a large quantity of their own azulin they grow wings and transform into Guffins,

very sacred. My brother, Hyrum, chose that path. He will be alerted when we arrive and take us to

Sparth Castle, to my father.