Blood Brothers (Lumley novel)

Plot

It is revealed that after the Battle in the Garden (Necroscope III: The Source) while recovering from the ravaging of his mind by his son The Dweller, Harry Keogh fathered two sons unknowingly with a Szgany woman Nana Kiklu, in Starside/Sunside. The book covers the boys growing up among the Szgany of Lardis Lidesci. With the vampires destroyed (Necroscope V: Deadspawn) by Harry Keogh and Lady Karen with the help of the wolf The Dweller the Szgany have stopped travelling and settled into towns. The boys grow up with their mother in the Lidesci town named Settlement with their friends and especially a girl named Misha and Lardis' son Jason. The boys suffer from dreams and sometimes nightmares of people whispering in their graves and they also talk to three wild wolves who for reasons unknown to them call the boys their uncles.

We also learn of a long forgotten part of the world to the far east of the known Starside/Sunside. Discovered a long time ago by an exiled Wamphyri Lords Turgo Zolte and now home to around 40 Wamphyri Lords and Ladies and similar Szgany tribes all under the command of the Lord Vormulac Unsleep. But whereas the Szgany of old Starside fight back against the Wamphyri, the Szgany in Turgosheim have become worn down and supplicant. Settling in towns and allowing the many Wamphyri to visit and take as they want, using a tithe system where they are forced to choose or find a certain number of "volunteers" to be taken and used by the Wamphyri. Aggravated and tired of the Turgosheim life and aware that the land in the west is free of vampires a group of six travellers flee Turgosheim for the west.

As they grow older Nathan and Nestors once close relatationship deteriorates due in part because of their affections for Misha. While they are fighting over the Szgany girl their unprepared village is attacked by the Wamphyri led by Wratha. After the attack Nathan journeys away from Settlement, believing his mother, brother and Misha have been taken by the Wamphyri he ends up alone, weary and destitute and ready to die in the desert. His deadspeak thoughts are answered by a dead elder of the underground desert dwellers the telepathic Thyre. Wanting to help Nathan the dead Thyre Rogei guides him to a resting place of their ancients where he is found by the guards there.

Nestor, also injured in the attack on the village ends up in the hills, his memory damaged due to a head injury and believing he is a Wampnyri Lord. Nestor witnessing a duel between two Wamphyri Lords, Vasagi the suck and Wran Killglance, rivals and part of Wrathas group out of Turgosheim. His intervention in the form of a crossbow bolt fired into Vasagi allows the Killglance Brother to win. He is then "rewarded" by Wran for his help with Vasagi's egg and he becomes Wamphyri.

Nathan, previously shunned by the dead of the Szgany, is immediately taken in by the Thyre and becomes famous among them, communicating with their dead and making many friends. Nathan becomes a conduit for the dead Thyre to talk to and teach the living Thyre, reuniting lost loved ones and telling them of new contraptions and inventions they have designed while dead. Learning to use his telepathy while traveling east with the Thyre across their many towns and underground outposts Nathan eventually ends up in Turgosheim.

In Turgosheim Nathan finds a supplicant Szgany tribe and is put into the tithe where he is taken to the manse of the Wampnyri Lord Maglore The Mage. Intrigued by Nathans intelligence, colours and demeanour Maglore does not vampirise him, instead choosing to keep him around as a companion or "pet". Nathan spends many months in Maglore's manse learning about Turgosheim and he also meets another untouched human, the female Szgany girl Orlea. All the time keeping his powers and mentalism hidden from the Wamphyri Lord Nathan eventually 'escapes' on a flyer and goes back to western sunside and the Szgany Lidesci. Where he is reunited with his mother and marries Misha.

Upon Nathan's return Nestor senses him and is enraged to find him back. Believing in his broken mind that Nathan is an "old enemy" Nestor attacks Nathan and Misha along with his lieutenant Zahar, injured in the brisk skirmish Nestors flyer crashes near a leper colony but not before Nathan is thrown through the Perchorsk gate by Zahar on Nestors orders.