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"You see the red stone behind the Princes?" he asked It was set on a pedestal fifteen feet behind the platform, an oval stone, about twice the size of a football "That is the Stone of Blood That is the key, not only to the do - what?" I asked

"Longevity Itto do with a long life?" I asked, puzzled

"The Stone serves several purposes," he said "Every vampire, when accepted into the fold, must stand before the Stone and place his hands on it The Stone looks as slass, but is ultra-sharp to the touch It draws blood, which is absorbed by the Stone - hence its na the vampire to the mental collective of the clan forever"

"Mental collective?" I repeated, wishing for the millionth time since I’d met Mr Crepsley that he’d use simple words

"You kno vampires can mentally search for those they have bonded with?"

"Yes"

"Well, using the ulation, we can also search for and find those we have not bonded with, via the Stone"

"Triangu - what?" I groaned, exasperated

"Let us say you are a full vampire whose blood has been absorbed by the Stone," he said "When a vaives his name, by which the Stone and other vanize him If I want to search for you after you have been blooded, I merely place my hands on the Stone of Blood and think your name Within seconds the Stone allows me to pinpoint your exact location anywhere on Earth"

"You could do this even if I didn’t want to be found?" I asked

"Yes But pinpointing your location would be no good - by the tiot to where you had been when I made the search, you would have ulation, which simply means three people are involved If I wanted to find you, I could contact someone I was bonded with - Gavner, for instance - andhiht that over in silence for a while It was an ingenious system, but I could see a febacks "Can anyone use the Stone of Blood to find a vampire?" I asked

"Anyone with the ability to search mentally," Mr Crepsley said

"Even a human or a vah to use the Stone," he said, "but the vaerous then?" I asked "If a vaot his hands on it, couldn’t he track every vampire down - at least all the ones he knew the naues to the at the hands of Arra Sails has not affected your powers of reasoning You are correct - the Stone of Blood wouldhands The vampaneze would be able to hunt all of us down They can also find those they do not know the names of - the Stone lets its user search for vampires by location as well as naland or America or wherever, then send out others to track theuard the Stone carefully and never let it leave the safety of the dome"

"Wouldn’t it be simpler just to break it?" I asked

Kurda, who’d been eavesdropping, laughed "I put that proposal to the Princes several decades ago," he said "The Stone could resist normal tools and explosives, the same as the walls of the doet rid of safely ’Throw the da down a volcano, I pleaded, ’or toss it in the deepest sea They wouldn’t hear of such a thing"

"Why not?" I asked

"There are a number of reasons," Mr Crepsley answered before Kurda could reply "First, the Stone can be used to locate va or in trouble, or those who are mad and on the loose It is healthy to know that we are joined to the clan by more than tradition, that we can always rely on aid if we lead good lives, and punishment if we do not The Stone keeps us in line

"Second, the Stone of Blood is necessary to operate the doors of the dome When a vampire becomes a Prince, the Stone is a vital part of the ceremony He forms a circle around it with two other Princes They each use a hand to pu their other hand on the Stone Blood flows from the old Princes to the new Prince, then to the Stone, and back again By the end of the ceremony, the new Prince can control the doors of the Hall Without the Stone, he would be a Prince in name only

"There is a third reason e do not destroy the Stone - the Lord of the Vampaneze" His face was dark "The myth says that the Vampaneze Lord ipe the vampire race froh the Stone of Blood we ain"

"How’s that possible?" I asked

"We do not know," Mr Crepsley said "But those were the words of Mr Tiny, and since the power of the Stone is also his, it makes sense to pay heed Now e concerning the Vampaneze Lord has struck at the hearts and spirits of many vampires With the Stone, there is hope To dispose of it noould be to surrender to fear"

"Charna’s guts!" Kurda snorted "I’ve no tiet rid of the Stone, shut down the do else, it’s one of the main reasons the vampaneze are loath to make a deal with us They don’t want to be hooked up to a ical tool of Mr Tiny’s, and who can bla with the Stone - they could never split from the vampire clan if they did, because we’d be able to use the Stone to hunt theht return to us, and then the va family of vampires - and the threat of the Vampaneze Lord would evaporate"

"Does thatto destroy the Stone when you are a Prince?" Mr Crepsley inquired

"I’ll mention the possibility" Kurda nodded "It’s a sensitive issue, and I don’t expect the Generals to agree to it, but in tiotiations between ourselves and the vampaneze develop, I hope they’ll co"

"Did youelection?" Mr Crepsley asked

Kurda shifted uncomfortably "Well, no, but that’s politics Sos back I didn’t lie about it If anyone had asked me for my views on the Stone, I’d have told them They just didn’t ask," he finished lamely

"Politics!" Mr Crepsley huffed "It is a sad day for vampires when our Princes voluntarily ensnare the his nose in the air, he turned his back on Kurda and stared straight ahead at the platform

"I’ve upset him," Kurda whispered to rin Then I asked if I’d have to bond with the Stone of Blood

"Probably not until you become a full vampire,"

Kurda said "Half-vampires have been allowed to bond with it in the past, but not in the nor to ask more about the mysterious Stone of Blood and the doed the floor of the platfor with Mr Crepsley’s

It was time to meet the Princes