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Chapter 25
For six nights the Brotherhood waged war against Queen Debra. For six nights she, Yvonne, Angie, and myself beat them back. The attacks were random, and often involved many more vampires then ourselves, but the Brotherhood was young. Their eldest was not quite a century old. We defeated them easily and made them pay for their acts with their lives. On the seventh day, the remaining members went into hiding and we sought them out.
With fang and claw and wooden spike, each member of the Brotherhood was eliminated. Some bent the knee to Queen Debra, and she exiled them instead. The women who served the Brotherhood were also condemned to death. My sister had no desire to repeat her folly in Holland. In three weeks from the start of the war, New Orleans was ours. This was only the beginning.
The Count, as many referred to the King, was not pleased with Debra's actions, nor did he like anyone who challenged his rule. He left his inland home of Baton Rouge and traveled to the city of New Orleans. He took up residence in his Algiers palace. Guards protected the compound constantly as large search parties were sent out to find the Mistress and her disciples. That's how the King referred to us. When his minions dwindled, vanishing night after night, the King finally decided to sue for peace.
The lone messenger found the four of us in the Lower Ninth Ward on a Thursday evening. As instructed by the King, he knelt before my sister Debra and handed her a note. It was a peace offering from the King. He was granting all of the lands of Texas, which included New Mexico and Oklahoma, to Queen Debra in exchange for her leaving Louisiana and causing no further problems for the King. My sister refused. What the King did not realize it was he she was after. Debra sent the messenger back to the King with her reply. She would require a face to face meeting to discuss her terms.
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