Vampires Don't Sparkle: Deathless Book 3 by Chris Fox

shadow. He nodded at a plush armchair neighboring his. Mark hesitated for an instant, considering. If he sat, that would open a very small door. Agreeing to one task led to accepting another, then another, until it became natural to accede to the next one. That was a dangerous road, especially when the one guiding him down it was a creature reputed to control minds.
    If he remained standing, he might make it through a short audience, but even now his legs had begun to tremble. He’d been unconscious for days, maybe even weeks, and if he pushed it, his body would fail. Fainting during the middle of the meeting would throw him far more off balance than agreeing to a simple request.
    Mark sat. He leaned into the chair in spite of himself, letting out a more audible sigh of relief than he’d have liked. Then he waited as the silence stretched. This was the next test. Most people could not abide an uncomfortable silence. They’d say almost anything to fill it, often revealing things they’d never intended. Mark had used the tactic to great effect many times, and he wasn’t going to fall for it here.
    “What must you think of me?” the man began, leaning forward in his chair to catch the firelight. He reached up with one thumb and pushed at his upper lip until it exposed his teeth. His canines were elongated in a way Bela Lugosi had made famous nearly a century before. “I have fangs. Unnatural eyes. Your brain senses I am a predator, and every instinct screams to flee. Even now your limbic system is flooding your system with adrenaline. Given your weakened state, that will carry quite a price in seven or eight minutes.”
    He paused, giving Mark a chance to speak. Mark remained silent.
    “Worse, you know I am affiliated somehow with the virus which wiped out over ninety percent of your species, a crime greater than any committed in your recorded history. So far as you know, I have, in a way, killed more people than all other causes combined,” the man continued, leaning back in his chair so only his eyes were visible. The effect was eerie, and no doubt quite intentional. “If there was ever an embodiment of the word evil, surely it must be me. You long to destroy me, yet even now there is another emotion slithering through your mind: fear. Fear that I can compel you to serve me. Fear that I have an unnatural means of control.”
    He paused, placing his pipe between too-white teeth. Then he waited, no doubt studying Mark’s reaction. It was the smart tactic. Time was on this thing’s side, not Mark’s. The clock was ticking, and he had to find a way to gain some tactical leverage. “You know who I am,” Mark said, finally. “Why don’t you grant me the same courtesy?”
    “A fair request,” the man said, giving a half chuckle. He leaned forward again, eyes gleaming. “You’d know me under many names. I was Ah Puch among the Maya. Brahma among the Hindu. Usir is my current name, a mispronunciation of an ancient one. One you’ll recognize, I’m sure. Among the Egyptians I was called Osiris.”
    Mark swallowed, blinking rapidly several times as he sought to process what he’d just heard. Part of him knew the physical tells would be used against him, but that just didn’t matter. This thing had been multiple gods throughout history. The revelation was nearly unthinkable. This being had likely guided the human race since the Pleistocene, and possessed the accumulated knowledge of that entire span of time.
    “You’d like to ask about my motivations, I’m sure. What benefit could there possibly be in wiping out humanity? Why kill so very many people?” Osiris asked, giving an exaggerated shrug. He wore the type of smile that suggested he was enjoying this. “The situation is far more complex than that, I assure you, Director.”
    “If you’re just going to compel me, why bother with the recruitment speech?” Mark asked. It was uncharacteristically blunt, but he was losing ground and had few options. He