The Champion

by H. P. Mallory

  “Two vials.”

  “Is that all?”

  Varick appeared vexed. “You ask much of me, Luce. I am a finite resource. My health has already suffered considerably.”

  “We have been through this before.” Luce sounded irritated. “Power comes at a price. If you are not willing to pay that price …”

  “I did not say that.”

  “Good. Now hand them over, please.”

  Varick handed Luce two vials containing a dark red liquid. “How are the experiments coming along?” Varick asked.

  “The results are encouraging. Several Daywalkers that were ailing considerably are now much stronger. And we have just had another who has survived his twenty-fifth birthday.”

  Varick nodded. “And now you must fulfil your part of the bargain.”

  Luce nodded and, to my amazement, placed his palm on Varick’s forehead. There was a distinctive buzzing sound, and my impression was that a lightning bolt had passed from Luce’s body into Varick’s. Luce’s form shuddered and twitched, while Varick’s shook violently and he fell to his knees. It was clear what was happening: Varick was giving his own vampire blood to Luce, in return for Luce’s magical powers.

  I knew first-hand how valuable vampire blood was to Luce. In the not-too-distant past, I had been captured by Luce and his tribe and all but drained of my own life blood. I would have died, had Bryn and Jolie not rescued me just in the nick of time, and had Bryn not donated—for the very first time—her own sweet, sweet blood.

  Luce used vampire blood to boost the health and extend the lives of his army of Daywalkers. These creatures were similar to vampires, with the exception that they could exist without limit in daylight. I had also heard it said that they were swifter and stronger than we nightwalkers, but I strongly doubted such was the case. Besides, what good were they when they could barely survive beyond their twenty-first birthdays? I was looking forward to my six-hundredth celebration.

  Varick recovered himself and labored back to his feet.

  He seemed satisfied, as if he had gotten what he desired. Luce, too, nodded in approval.

  “What you lose in blood, vampire, you shall gain in magical powers.”

  “And my other powers?” Varick asked.

  “I have not forgotten. When we rise up and defeat Jolie, you shall become my second in command.”

  I was flabbergasted. Rise up and defeat Jolie? I could scarcely believe my own ears. My worst fears had come to pass and Varick was, indeed, betraying his own tribe!

  I sensed their meeting was coming to an end. Rather than risk apprehension, I dematerialized, several times, back the way I had come. I did not stop until I reached the safety of the Kirk. Once there, I sat on the side of my bed for a long while, trying to process it all, before I shared the information I had just gleaned. To call it sensitive was an understatement. Explosive might be more accurate.

  I was pulled out of my reverie by a light rap on the door. I caught her delightful scent before I saw her.

  “The door is unlocked,” I said.

  She opened it and faced me expectantly. “Well?” she asked.

  “How did you know I was back?”

  “I thought I heard something,” she answered with a shrug before she showed herself into my dormitory and sat upon the edge of my bed. “Did you find anything out?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Tell me.” Bryn was all eagerness.

  “It is worse than we feared.”

  “What?”

  I regaled her with the details.

  She was silent for a good minute afterwards, clearly shocked at my story.

  “How could he?” she said at last.

  I shrugged. “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. More than anything, Varick craves power. He has resented me greatly ever since my abilities and status began to exceed his. And he has always felt that he would be a better leader than Jolie. I can only surmise that he considers joining forces with Luce to be his best chance of achieving his dastardly goals.”

  “I wish it wasn’t true.”

  “As do I, princess.”

  “I guess we have no choice but to tell Jolie right away.”

  “Quite so.” I sprang to my feet. “Shall we?” I held my arm out for Bryn, which elicited a little giggle. Nevertheless, she placed her own in the crook of mine and we retired to Jolie’s.

  The irritable warlock Randall answered the door, dressed inappropriately in his bathrobe. He frowned at us in quite an unwelcoming manner, first class tosser that he was. Honestly, I had no idea what my queen saw in him.

  “What is it, Sinclair?” he asked, sounding vexed. “It’s past ten o’clock, you do realize. Do you want to wake up Emma?”

  “Of course we don’t want to wake up Emma,” answered Bryn crossly, thereby saving me the bother. “Do you really think we’d be here this late if it wasn’t important?”

  “Bloody hell,” Sir Grumpus responded, and opened the door. “Come in.”

  “Thanks for nothing!” said Bryn.

  “Charmed, I am sure.” I gave him my best sardonic smile, and he scowled at me.

  “Just wait until your baby is born and you’re up half the night.”

  “As it happens, I am already up all night, so I do not anticipate a problem.”

  He slammed the door behind us, quite loud enough to wake the baby princess, I might add.

  “Who is it, Rand?”

  Jolie emerged from her bed chamber clad in a white bath robe. Her hair was in a messy braid and her cheeks were flushed, suggesting that we had, indeed, awoken her.

  “I told them it was too late,” whined the tosser.

  “It’s all right. Bryn. Sinjin. What is it?” Alarm flooded her features. “Is it the baby?”

  “No, no,” Bryn reassured her. “Nothing like that. But Jolie, we do have some very bad news. You’d better sit down.”

  “Okay.” Her flushed cheeks grew instantly paler, and we all followed her into the kitchen and sat around the table, where I proceeded to relate the night’s happenings and the background to our surveillance of Varick.

  “Oh, God.” Jolie held her face in her hands when I had finished my devastating tale. The tosser rubbed her shoulders reassuringly.

  “Varick can’t get away with this,” he said.

  “On that we are in agreement,” I said, and nodded my assent.

  “What are you going to do, Jolie?” Bryn placed her hand over her sister’s, and we all looked at the queen.

  After several seconds, she took a deep breath and squared back her shoulders.

  “This is the ultimate betrayal. And the ultimate betrayal must be paid for with the ultimate punishment.”

  “You mean …” I started.

  “I mean Varick must be put to death.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Bryn

  I shocked myself by being shocked. My upbringing in Luce’s tribe had been harsh. I’d seen fellow tribe members executed for all sorts of crimes, big and small. I’d been able to accept that as a necessary part of life. The rotten elements were excised for the good of the whole. But since then, my world view had changed drastically. And such an execution seemed so out of place in such a beautiful location as Kinloch Kirk.

  I couldn’t get over Jolie, either.

  My sweet, kind sister ordering the death of a man she’d considered a trusted advisor. Just like that. It was hypocritical of me, really, when I thought of the amount of lives I’d taken in battle. I just didn’t think of Jolie that way. But she was the queen, of course. She was just doing her duty for the good of her people. Someone had to make the tough decisions, and the task fell to her.

  We left Jolie and Rand shortly afterwards.

  I knew my sister wouldn’t get any sleep after this discussion. I might struggle with it myself. At least I felt comforted by the large, solid presence of Sinjin by my side, as we linked arms on the way back to our rooms.

  But when we reached our bedrooms, he stopped
abruptly.

  “ Bete Noir ,” he began as he turned to face me. “I feel the need for a head-clearing stroll. Care to join me?”

  “I’d love to.”

  Sinjin inclined his head and smiled a smile that made my stomach lurch. He changed direction and led us towards the cliff path—a place that seemed to be his favorite, as I’d found him here many times before.

  The views were magnificent. The moon was almost full and reflected vividly in the ripples of the ocean. Wispy clouds blew across the moon’s milky white in the indigo sky, concealing its silvery light, then revealing it in turns. I glanced up at Sinjin as he stared beyond the sea, towards the horizon. My heart caught in my throat, and I was sure I’d never seen a more beautiful man. The moonlight was his natural element, and it enhanced his features to perfection. But he looked so serious, too. Almost troubled, something which was absolutely unlike him.

  “What is it, Sinjin?”

  “I have known him for a very long time.”

  “Varick.”

  “Yes.” His voice sounded faraway. “Centuries, even.”

  “You’re sorry that he’s going to be executed?”

  He turned to me slowly, his hands behind his back, his face a solemn mask. “No, Bete Noir . I am sorry that I am the one who must do it.”

  “You?” I said, and shook my head. “But, why …”

  “It would become part of my duty as Chief Protector.”

  Of course. “I’m sure if you had a word with Jolie…”

  He shook his head decisively. “No, it is my duty and, thus, it must remain my duty.” He resumed staring at the ocean. “He taught me everything I know,” he said, after a while.

  At the strange sense of fondness in Sinjin’s tone, I knew the time had come to tell him what Varick had done… or attempted to do to me.

  “There’s something you need to know, Sinjin.”

  He looked down at me with arched eyebrows and curious eyes. “Pray tell.”

  “When Varick offered to give me the information about Luce and Dureau’s curse,” I started.

  “When Varick wanted to feed from you,” he corrected me. His jaw clenched as he said the words.

  “Yes… there was more I didn’t tell you. A good bit more.”

  He was fully facing me now. “What? Why did you fail to leave details out?”

  I took a deep breath. “Because I wasn’t ready to share them yet,” I started.

  “Why?” he asked with narrowed eyes. “What more went on?”

  “When I wouldn’t let Varick feed from me, he… didn’t take no for an answer.”

  Sinjin’s expression instantly changed, and the anger in his eyes was palpable.

  “Go on,” he urged.

  “He tried to force himself on me and I had to use the Flame to get rid of him.”

  “Varick forced himself on you?!” His eyes were white and incandescent, and his hands were fists at his side.

  I nodded mutely.

  Sinjin turned to face the sea again. He took a few steps forward until he stood perilously close to the edge. Then he held his arms out to the side, as if summoning the elements. He lifted his head and let out an almighty roar, full of rage, hurt and fury.

  My stomach dropped down to my toes. “Sinjin?” I started.

  He turned his glowing eyes on me, and his expression betrayed nothing.

  “Did he hurt you?” he demanded.

  “No,” I said as I shook my head. “I… was able to fend him off.”

  “You should have told me immediately,” he said as he inhaled deeply.

  “I’m sorry,” I answered as I chewed my lower lip. He was right—I shouldn’t have held back. Not to protect Varick, at any rate. “Does it count that I’m telling you now?”

  His fangs were longer than I’d ever seen them, glistening in the moonlight and nestling on his full ruby lips.

  “Oh, yes,” he said.

  Sinjin

  How to capture the bastard and bring him to justice...

  It would be no mean feat. Varick would no doubt use his dematerialization skills to great advantage. I could make sure I followed him, wherever he went, but I would need more muscle at my disposal, too.

  Having received my queen’s express permission, I approached Odran, King of the Fae, a trusted member of Jolie’s council of advisors. Odran and I had a checkered history. Unfortunately, he knew that I held him in the greatest of contempt, as I considered him more ape than man. We had also vied for the affections of Bryn when she first came to Kinloch Kirk. Naturally, she had chosen yours truly, even though Odran had asked her to marry him! The nerve of the fool!

  The blond oaf was lounging on his chaise when I located him, munching on a bunch of grapes like a Greek god of old. He eyed me suspiciously upon my arrival in his chambers.

  “What dae ye want, Sinclair?”

  “A fine way to greet a compatriot, I must say!”

  “Ye’re nae compatriot o’ mine.”

  “Charming,” I grunted. “Very well. I shall get right to the point. I require… your assistance. Your queen requires your assistance.”

  “Aye? In what?”

  “To assist me in the apprehension of Varick.”

  “Apprehension?”

  Did I mention Odran was thick as two short planks? Nevertheless, I did my best to explain to him, in common layman’s terms, everything that had transpired with Varick. His mouth gaped open unattractively, full of half-masticated grapes, as he attempted to digest my story and the grapes.

  Disgusting sot.

  “Nae!” he said finally, sounding quite like a horse. “Ah dinnae believe it.”

  “You have my leave to clarify everything with our queen.”

  “Aye, that Ah will. An’ Ah dinnae need your leave tae do so, vampire.”

  “Very well. Let us depart.”

  And with that, I grabbed Odran by his trunk-like arm and dematerialized with him, only to reappear moments later outside Jolie’s front door.

  “How dare ye funnel me here without askin’ me permission!” the King of the Fae spluttered in disbelief, even as his pallor looked a bit green. Sometimes those who were not prepared for my mode of travel suffered for it. Were I in a favorable mood, I might have found that little tidbit amusing.

  I rang the doorbell. “Oh, do shut up, you bloody Neanderthal,” I grumbled. “Do you not realize that time is of the essence here?”

  “Even so …”

  Jolie opened the door, mercifully silencing Odran’s tiresome protests.

  “Odran, Sinjin, come in.” She ushered us into the house and took one of Odran’s shovel-like hands between her own. “Thank you so much for agreeing to help us, Odran. Your people really need you, and I appreciate the fact that you’ve risen to the occasion.”

  “Och … aye … boot o’ course, ma queen. Anythin’ fer ye an’ our people.”

  I rolled my eyes, mostly to myself.

  “I knew I could count on you,” Jolie continued as she gave him another wide smile. “It’s not a pleasant task, I know.”

  “Sae it’s true then?” the ape asked.

  “Yes, when you rub two sticks together, you can produce fire,” I mumbled.

  Jolie looked at me and tried to hide her smile, but it was quite obvious in the lines around her lips.

  “Aboot Varick,” Odran continued, completely unaware of my jab.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Jolie responded.

  She then proceeded to give the King of the Oafs a potted summary of everything that had transpired, in terms that even he could understand. I decided not to mention the part where Varick had attempted to force himself upon my lady. That was Bryn’s story to tell, not mine.

  “Okay,” Odran said when she had finished. “Ah never had a great likin’ for that vampire, or any other vampire for that matter,” he shot a daggered look my way, to which I offered him a gentlemanly smile. “Boot Ah never would have suspected Varick o’ this.”

  Jolie sighed. “I know.
It’s all very shocking. And upsetting.” She squeezed Odran’s arm. “But I’m so relieved I can rely on you.”

  “Ye can, mah queen.”

  He looked inordinately proud at her words, the dim-witted fool.

  “So, can we get on with it, then?” I masked a fake yawn.

  Jolie smiled at me, and Odran scowled.

  “Yes, good luck, gentlemen,” she said.

  I would need all the luck at my disposal to keep this idiot from messing everything up. Involving him already felt like a colossal mistake. But I needed someone strong, and ape-man here fitted the bill.

  I had to admit, his Fae magic was powerful. That might come in handy, too. I had no idea what magical powers Varick had received from Luce. I had considered involving Damek. The boy was strong and getting stronger every day. But he was still young and inexperienced and prone to being overwhelmed in stressful situations. There was a time when I might have considered asking Bryn, fearsome warrior that she was. But there was no way I would risk her now, not to mention the upcoming sprog. Unfortunately, Odran was the best I could come up with on short notice.

  Egad.

  “What’s the plan, Sinclair?” he asked as we walked away from Kinloch.

  “So simple that even you might understand.”

  He stopped walking and turned to face me. “It’s nae too late fer me tae change ma mind, vampire.”

  “Apologies.” I really had to keep myself in check, for I did not want to go up against Varick alone. “The plan is to wait for Varick to arrive back at his place, and once he does, we grab him.”

  “That’s yer plan?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did ye come up wif it all by yerself?”

  “I beg your pardon?” I glared at him.

  Odran tittered. Tittered!

  “Do you have a better plan?”

  “Och Aye. Ah do, as it happens.”

  “Do tell.”

  This should be good.

  “We wait till he’s asleep an’ grab him then. Take him unawares.”

  It was not a bad idea, but I was not about to admit as much.

  “Sounds rather cowardly, and it would require that we wait. I prefer to strike while the iron is hot, as the saying goes.”

  “I’d rather be called a coward than dead. An’ there’s naethin’ wrong with gainin’ the element o’ surprise.”