Free We Shall Rise by J.E. Hopkins Page A

appeared in front of them. The first thing Kaden noticed was the white leather heeled boots that covered every ounce of flesh up until mid-thigh. Those thighs revealed a mocha colored flesh similar to Reysa’s, but not nearly as exotically smooth.
    “Welcome to my palacio,” spoke the deep masculine voice.
    Kaden looked up and saw the rest of the figure. She wore a long, platinum blonde wig that dramatically contrasted with her dark skin connoting her North African heritage. Her face was heavily adorned with silver and blue make up matching the Dallas Cowboys' Cheerleader outfit she wore. That square jaw, Adam’s apple, and broad shoulders--among other obvious features behind those tight mini-shorts—left no doubt that Diamonde was not a woman. Underneath the costume and cosmetics was a man.
    Reysa’s mother-father comment now made sense. Diamonde may have carried herself as a woman, but she was genetically all male. Knowing Maddie, he could understand her fractured relationship with her mother-father. Maddie may have been a stripper, but she was rather conservative at heart. She would never have been able to accept that her father was a transvestite.
    Diamonde approached them, focusing on Reysa. She or he affectionately kissed her cheeks. Grabbing Reysa’s hands, she cried, “Ah, my darling Reysa. It is so good of you to come see me. I’m all frenzied with worry and despair. Everything is falling apart around me and I don’t know what to do. I have survived so much in all my 483 years. I have seen empires crumble, monarchs assassinated, human wars ending in the loss of millions of beautiful promising lives, the end of the Cowboys' championship dynasty, and now the self-destruction of all immortals looms and I fear I am powerless to stop it. I always thought that humans would be the death of us, but now I fear we will destroy ourselves. Hate tearing us apart at the seams. Soon, there will be nothing left. I’ve already lost so much. My beguiling Maddie and now my innocent Yasmine may have befallen a similar fate.”
    Reysa led a distraught Diamonde to one of her plush silver couches. “Diamonde, please do not give up hope. We’ll find Yasmine. That girl knows how to survive. She’ll use every survival instinct you taught her to fend off harm. We’ll get her. I’m so sorry we could not save Maddie.”
    “It was Maddie’s time. I felt it. I knew from the moment I first held her that her life would be too short. I wanted so bad to save her from that fate, but I could not stop it.”
    “Diamonde, did you get the same feeling about Yasmine? Did you feel her life would be short?”
    “No. But now I don’t what to think. Yasmine would never just disappear. She would always call me. She never hated me the way Maddie did. Yasmine was never distant. My idiosyncrasies never embarrassed her like they did Maddie. Yasmine accepted me. Maddie hated me for not being the parent she wanted. It is so hard being a parent–as you will one day understand Reysa. We can never fully please our children, but we must love them always. Maybe one day, they will love us the same. For me, that will never happen with Maddie, but I still have a chance with Yasmine.” Diamonde quickly brushed away the tears that wanted to fall. Sensing her pain, several of her pets appeared at her feet offering comfort. She bent down and petted them gently. “These children do love me unconditionally. Enough of this crying. I cannot smudge my makeup. It takes too long to fix up this divine face.” Diamonde stood up and turned her attention to the two handsome vampires who watched her closely, as if trying to comprehend the mystery that was Diamonde. She was used to the reaction and loved it.
    “Fresh meat,” she purred as she sized up the two very different but equally gorgeous vamps. “May I offer you a drink? We keep plenty of blood around just in case a vampire comes to visit.” Before either could respond, she clapped her hands loudly and