Sidi looked at Jinnah's expression on his monitor. He seemed changed with all this new concern for the Darkling. Laila had confirmed that Jinnah had met with Orchid. The Haven Keeper must have said something that really affected Jinnah. "All right. But Jinnah, how did that meeting in the Village go?"

"Pretty well. You were right. They never wanted to use the video against me. Oh! Sidi, Orchid said something about Affan!"

"Affan? What?" Sidi hoped Laila had not been plying him for information just to give it to Hakim Affan.

"He said that he was going to speak to Affan, it sounded as if he knew him. But, then he said he would make a point of seeing all the candidates. There's only Sialkot running otherwise, but she doesn't have a strong party behind her, and, well, Muslims are in the majority."

Sidi was relieved the association with Affan was unlikely. "Orchid must be-- how do you say --covering all his bets. It's this debate in Islamabad that will really count, and then the tour afterward. You'll take Victoria and Majnun with you?"

"Yes," Jinnah said.

"I will talk to you later then," Sidi said. He let Ahmed go back to his preparation.

Sidi turned to look again at Laila. She looked like a corpse laid out. He expected that he would have to break up with her sometime in the future.  The Darkling had their Haven, but there did not seem to be local clubs to support humans who entered relationships with them. Sidi had found only a few foreign language texts on the subject. Vampyres were said to eventually exhaust Human companions. In some cases, there was the offer to join their number, but Sidi did not want to become one.

But for now, he liked having Laila.

He was thinking about fixing himself supper when she woke. Sidi heard her make a sort of moan. And when he looked to his bed, he saw Laila's limbs stretching. Her arms reached up, her legs opened. She lifted each leg and pointed her toes in the air. Her legs finally fell to rest with bended knees.

Laila's head turned towards him. It seemed for a second her movement had the mechanical quality of a stringed puppet. Her eyes fell on him, bright pink. She reminded him of the rabbits that must have died to supply her with that imported blood she drank.

She was beautiful. Laila sat up with this same almost mechanical movement, and then her gestures became languid.

"Come to me, Sidi," she said.

He went to her. Sidi felt her arms slither about his shoulders and then Laila's fangs stabbed his neck. He never liked the entry itself, but it was over fast, and then he would have Laila pressed close and sucking at his neck. She never left open wounds but always a bruise.

Laila drew away and licked her lips. "Thank you, Sidi. I do always seem to wake up wanting you."

How could anyone not want to possess her body? A dancing blood-drinking goddess was what she was. Sidi removed his clothes and got into bed with her.

She never seemed to tire of this. She would never get pregnant. She would never pass a disease to him. And she felt as feverish as any Human woman.

But, it was the blood that gave her satisfaction.

Laila had told Sidi that that she was young for a Vampyre, turned only a year before. So, she'd never lived in a time when she was allowed to kill Humans

Her maker, Miko, a Japanese Vampyre with dyed flame-red hair, was ancient in comparison and had told Laila how it had been in times past. Laila had said Miko could send the memories right into her mind. Laila had confessed those memories of drinking until one was empty and the other full excited her. And she had promised this was not for Sidi. She promised the older ones wouldn't have let her have a Human friend until they knew she could control her urges.

The fact that initial matter-of-fact conversations about blood and vampiric urges had not sent Sidi running had cemented the foundations of their relationship.

Once, Sidi had asked why the Darkling had bothered to form the Union and to make those agreements with Human leaders, if it meant they couldn't kill. Laila had not been alive then, but she said that giving it up must have been preferable to being hunted and killed in turn. Darkling were a minority on the planet and they could be destroyed. The advent of electronic ID and instant information had made it impossible to hide the fact that they lived ageless and immortal, barring destruction of their body. They had needed to assimilate into society once and for all.

And for this great and historical surrender, and all the knowledge they brought with them, they only asked to be treated fairly. When one knew one of the Darkling, as Sidi knew Laila, it was hard to think of them as anything more or less than a Human person. Different, of course, but still people.

Laila lay beside Sidi in his bed. "I'm going to go see Miko," she said.

"Very good," said Sidi. He watched her get out of bed and take her contacts from their small container. When she looked up, she had brown eyes again. "Laila, what did your bloodline do before coloured contacts were invented? In ancient times?"

"In ancient times, they lived in graveyards and murdered Humans. They didn't need to hide their eyes."

"And now, if you are citizens, why do you hide your eyes?"

"I do it because Miko does. But, they do help a little against the light. And it keeps most Humans from staring long enough to see were are not merely without pigmentation." She made a show of touching the tip of her tongue to her sharp fangs.

"Yes."

"Maybe, the Old Fathers saw it as a mark of weakness. Our line is unable to resist the sun very well. Somehow, we save face by hiding our hair and eyes when associating with the other Vampyres."

Sidi watched Laila dress, then fold up her shroud and packed it in her bag.

"Will you be going to Islamabad?" he asked.

She looked up quickly. "Yes. Orchid is taking a group of us there. I think that they are also going to perform privately for someone who lives in Islamabad."

"In the Capital? I'm sure anyone wealthy enough to hire them would have to be in the government."

"I can't tell you, Sidi. I don't even know. Orchid knows. He knows who all his fans really are, and he keeps it all secret. But if I had to guess, I would also guess it was someone connected to government."

"Does he ever use that information? I don't mean to blackmail them. But maybe he asks them nicely for favours." Sidi watched Laila clutch her overnight bag.

----------------

Secret: No idea who the Old Fathers actually are, they are just these legendary spawn of Asbeel that spawned further generations and apparently lived as late as the 20th century.