by Nadia Heaton
Lisette’s gaze hardened as she surveyed the vampires watching her, most of whom still seemed unconvinced. “Before I was crowned, every coven in the world had a chance to speak up against it. None did. You all had your say. You made me queen, and I take that seriously. I am hoping to convince you, but if your hatred blinds you too much to see the simple truth, then I will go with option two.
“I am hereby ordering each and every one of you to cooperate fully with my plans to make peace with witches. You don’t have to like it, but you will obey. As your queen, it is my right to demand this from you. It is not an order I give lightly, but I believe it is necessary. If any of you want to challenge me for leadership, now would be the time to do it. If not, you’re going to have to make peace with following orders, whether or not you agree with them.”
No one in their right mind would challenge a witch-vampire hybrid for leadership. Lisette would be able to tear any one of them apart without breaking a sweat. Ariana found herself grudgingly admiring their new queen. It couldn’t be an easy job, but Lisette was right – they had selected her for a reason. Maybe she really did know what she was talking about.
Regardless, Ariana knew that Lisette was also right about her own authority. If she obeyed, vampires had to follow. She’d given in her vote like everyone else in support of Lisette. Ariana, like everyone else, had witnessed the kind power in a vampire who was also a witch, and knew that they needed her.
There was a tense silence as everyone looked around, wondering if there would be anyone suicidal enough to challenge Lisette. Such challenges were fights to the death and they all knew it.
When no one spoke up, Lisette seemed to relax slightly. “I don’t want to be a dictator; that’s not why I took this job. I still want to hear your opinions. I may give orders you don’t like at times, but I am not strong enough to do this alone. Almost everyone here has many years more experience than I do. While our mission is set in stone, how we go about it is still being determined.
“I want each of you to think about how you can contribute to making peace with witches. I will be giving out individual orders as needed, but I am open to ideas. I want all of you to speak freely, without worrying that I’ll get offended. That’s all I have to say for now. I’m going to leave you to discuss this amongst yourselves. When you have questions for me, I will be here.”
With that, Lisette retreated to the back of the stage, Savion and Jermaine following her. She was still present but giving them space to talk to each other about her new orders. It was a good move. While Ariana was certainly interested in where the situation would go from here, her primary goal at the moment was to help Julio.
“Come on, let’s go talk to Lisette.” She took his hand and started leading him toward the stage.
3
Lisette seemed to be expecting someone to approach her, but she looked surprised to find a mortal accompanying a vampire. Ariana hesitated, waiting to see if they would be turned away, but Lisette beckoned them forward.
Ariana stayed a protective step ahead of Julio, stopping what she hoped was a respectful distance in front of Lisette.
“My queen –”
“Please, call me Lisette. I’ve gone my whole life without being called queen, and I don’t want to start now.”
“Lisette. This is Julio, and I’m hoping you can help him. He can’t speak, and I’m sure it’s the result of a witch’s curse.”
Lisette was looking at Ariana very strangely, her expression somewhere between confusion and disbelief. Ariana trailed off, unsure how to react.
“Lisette? Shall I continue?”
“What? Sorry, could you repeat that?” Lisette shook her head slightly, still giving Ariana a weird look but seeming to focus once more on the conversation.
“Julio has been cursed by a witch. He can’t speak – Julio, show her.”
Julio opened his mouth, and multicolored butterflies burst forth.
Lisette’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re right, that’s definitely a witch’s curse. Julio, come closer, please.”
He did as he was told while Ariana looked on nervously. Lisette put a hand on Julio’s chest, closing her eyes. A soft white glow emanated from her hand, brightening for a moment before fading completely.
Lisette sighed. “It’s a powerful curse – powerful enough that I can’t undo it. Only the witch who cast it can, at least that's how it seems. Julio, if you agree, I can use magic to enter your mind telepathically. I’ll be able to see who attacked you that way, but it’ll only work if I have your permission.”
Julio looked at Ariana, his eyes questioning. “I’d go for it,” she told him. “This is your best bet.”
She didn’t know why he trusted her – after all, they’d only just met – but Julio took her word for it. He nodded at Lisette, stepping close to her once more.
Lisette put her hand back on his chest. “I’ll try to be as brief as I can. It’s invasive, having someone in your mind, but it’s a recent memory I need to withdraw, so I shouldn’t have to go too deep.”
Her hand started glowing again, and this time, Julio grimaced as though in pain. Lisette’s brow was furrowed in concentration, but her spell seemed to be causing Julio pain, or at least distress.
Ariana had half a mind to pull them apart, but Julio had asked for this. She reminded herself that just because he couldn’t speak didn’t mean he wasn’t able to stand up for himself. Lisette wasn’t holding him in place; he could easily step away if he decided he’d had enough.
After what seemed like an eternity, the glow from Lisette’s hand finally faded. Julio stumbled back. Ariana caught him before he could go toppling off the edge of the boulder stage. “Well? Did it work?”
Lisette nodded, but didn’t speak. She looked angry – more than angry, she looked furious. “Give me a moment.”
Ariana and Julio waited while Lisette retreated a short distance away. The vampire working security was summoned by some unheard signal, and he hurried to Lisette’s side. Ariana couldn’t resist the temptation to edge closer. She wanted to know what they were saying.
She caught only a few words. “…wanted to forgive her… was trying… but now this…”
At that point, Savion spotted her and herded her further away, until she and Julio were both standing well out of even vampire earshot.
When Lisette returned, she looked upset but determined. “I will research a way to help Julio. I can’t promise it can be done, but I can at least put a solid effort into it.”
“I have a better idea. Tell me the name of the witch who did it, and I’ll have her reverse the spell between her screams.”
Lisette smiled sadly. “I’m afraid that won’t work. Not with who this is. She won’t reverse the spell – if anything, she’s likely to make it even worse.”
“What’s her name?” Ariana insisted, but Lisette wouldn’t say.
“You let me deal with this. With magic, there are infinite possibilities. Don’t lose hope, Julio.”
Ariana’s instincts were screaming at her to demand an answer, to fight for one if she must – but that wouldn’t be smart. This wasn’t just another vampire, this was the queen.
“Can you at least tell me why she did it? Did you manage to get that from the spell?”
“Yes. Julio was unfortunate enough to stumble upon a witch coven doing a sacred ritual that none may witness. The place was probably warded against vampires, but I doubt they would have thought it necessary to do so against mortals. Not many people hike as far into the woods as Julio did. Anyway, the coven leader must not have wanted him speaking about what he saw, so he cursed away his voice entirely. It was a stupid solution. She could just as easily have gotten his oath and let him go.”
“What was it that he saw?” Ariana glanced between Julio and Lisette. Any information they had on witches could give them a potential advantage.
“I’m afraid that’s not for you to know,” Lisette said gently. “Some things should stay with the witc
hes. Trust me, what they were doing isn’t a danger to us.”
Ariana resisted the urge to prod for more information. “Thank you for your time, Lisette. May I visit you sometime to check up on your progress with finding a cure?”
“Of course. My door – my palace, that is – is always open. I meant what I said about wanting to work with you all to find a peaceful way out of this situation.”
Ariana decided it wouldn’t be very polite to tell the queen her plan was stupid, so she kept quiet. There was no way she was going to antagonize the one person with a shot of helping Julio. A small line of vampires waiting to talk to Lisette was forming.
As Ariana and Julio backed away, Lisette stayed where she was to take audiences, but Savion and Jermaine followed the two of them.
“What do you intend to do with him?” Jermaine glanced curiously at Julio. Bringing a human to a vampire meeting was a far cry from the norm.
Before Ariana could reply, Julio started making frantic gestures while backing away slightly. Jermaine and Savion stared at him in confusion, but Ariana was able to understand what he meant quiet easily.
“We know you won’t tell anyone, Julio. Don’t worry, no one is going to hurt you for knowing about us. Jermaine was just asking because Lisette needs to know where to find you when she has the cure. Right, Jermaine?”
“Right,” Jermaine agreed, giving Julio an apologetic look. “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Actually, I’m not sure where Julio and I should go from here. I could take him to his home? What do you think, Julio? You could point out a location on a map for me…”
She regretted her words at once, because Julio’s expression became sad. He shook his head, pointing at his mouth.
“Right, of course. That would be hard to explain to people back home. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to speak again just as soon as Lisette works out a counter curse.”
Ariana wondered if Julio had anyone waiting for him at home. She’d be lying if she said the thought of kissing him hadn’t occurred to her multiple times already. Obviously, it wouldn’t be an option if he was married or something. That thought just made her sad, so she turned her mind to other matters.
“I’m staying at Rashid’s chateau, which isn’t far from the palace. I’m sure he’d let you accompany me as a guest, if you’d like.”
Julio nodded hesitantly.
“No one will feed on you,’ Ariana promised. “Apart from the fact that we operate at night, a vampire household is much like a human one. We even eat human food, though we also need blood to sustain us.”
This time, Julio’s nod seemed more certain.
“Good, then it’s settled.”
Ariana hung around for a bit more, listening to Lisette’s conversations with the other vampires. Unlike her hushed conversation with her mate, Lisette made no effort to hide what she was saying now. Ariana may not agree with her plan, but she could tell that Lisette was sincere about wanting to work with the other vampires rather than simply rule them.
The one thing that still left her unsettled was the way Lisette looked at her. Every now and then, between conversations, the queen would peer intently at Ariana. Ariana was generally very good at reading people, but she couldn’t figure out what Lisette was thinking.
It was as though Lisette knew something about her that Ariana herself didn’t know – but that was impossible. They’d only just met.
“Come on, let’s find Rashid.” Ariana kept her voice low, remembering that Rashid didn’t want Lisette to know he was here. It didn’t take long to find him. He was staying back, listening to the conversations, probably planning how best to cause trouble.
“Rashid, I spoke to Lisette and she said it may take some time to research the cure for Julio. Would it be okay if he stays with you while we wait?”
“As long as you take him out to meet Lisette. Queen or not, I don’t want to invite her into my home, not yet.”
“What did you do to her? Surely, it can’t be that bad?”
Rashid grimaced. “Yeah, it can. I killed and turned her mate, which started the chain of events that led to her being turned. Trust me, she’s as likely to rip my head off as greet me when she next sees me.”
Julio let off a few butterflies in surprise. For her part, Ariana moved a little to the side, shielding Rashid from Lisette’s view. He was right, that was really bad. “Maybe you should get going now, then. You’ve heard everything Lisette has to say.”
“You and Julio go ahead. I want to listen in on some of the questions.”
Ariana was sure Rashid would update her on everything when he got back, and she was eager to spend some time alone with Julio. She took his hand again, smiling at him. “Come on, Rashid’s place isn’t far from here.”
4
When he’d woken up this morning, Julio had had no idea what was in store for him. First, he stumbled on a meeting he never should have seen or heard. Then, he was cursed by witches. Shortly after that, he’d been rescued by a vampire, of all things.
Yesterday, he’d been an ordinary accountant who liked to go on hikes. Today… he didn’t know. Ariana still led him by the hand, and he found he liked it. He certainly had no idea what to do in this whole mess, and it was comforting that she was taking the lead.
He was just wondering if she was going to ask him to ride on her back again when she came to a halt. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. You want something to eat?”
Julio nodded, but he didn’t see how they were going to get food out here. They were on what looked like a deserted beach, except for the fact that it was currently filled with vampires. Ariana didn’t ask any of the other vampires for food, though. She walked to the ocean, stripping as she went.
Julio’s mouth went dry. If he’d thought she was beautiful with her clothes on, that was nothing compared to what she looked like without them. He resisted the urge to shout out to get her to turn around. Maybe it was for the best. Just the sight of her naked from behind was enough to make him flustered and breathless. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of her.
“I’ll get us some fish. I’ll be back soon.”
It was only when she disappeared under the waves that Julio thought to wonder how she was going to catch fish like that. She didn’t have any equipment with her. Were vampires fast enough swimmers to catch fish with their bare hands? He supposed it was possible.
Julio watched the water, waiting for Ariana to come up.
A minute passed and she didn’t surface. Wow, she could sure hold her breath for a long time, Julio thought, impressed.
Two minutes. Now, Julio was starting to get worried.
Two and a half minutes. He was freaking out. Had she drowned? Maybe there was an unseen current that had pulled her out to sea?
He glanced back at the other vampires half-way up the beach, but if Ariana was indeed in trouble, there wouldn’t be time to run to get help. She could be dead by then. As he stood there panicking, a dozen colorful, jittery butterflies burst from his mouth. For once, he didn’t care. It had to have been at least three minutes.
Julio started stripping off his clothes, praying he would be in time. He knew basic first aid. If Ariana was unconscious, he could breathe for her until she woke up. If she woke up.
He was just splashing into the shallows when Ariana popped up a few feet away, her arms full of fish. Julio nearly collapsed in relief. He swayed slightly, struggling to get his footing. Ariana quickly came over to him, putting a steadying hand under his elbow.
“What’s wrong?”
Julio tried to speak, forgetting about the butterflies. He wanted to scream in frustration, except that would only make more of them. He used to like butterflies, but he was quickly growing to hate them. He gestured helplessly at Ariana. She tilted her head, frowning, trying to understand.
“Come on, let’s get out of the water.”
The two of them sat down on the beach. Ariana put the fish aside for now and
focused on Julio. “You look like you’re about to pass out. What happened?”
Through a variety of signs and quite a lot of guesswork, Julio was able to communicate his fears to her. He saw at once when he succeeded. Ariana had a very expressive face, and the comprehension that dawned in her eyes was unmistakable.
“Oh Julio, I’m sorry, I should have warned you. Vampires can turn into manta rays. I turned as soon as I was a couple of feet underwater and caught the fish that way. I can see why you were upset.”
He had been upset, but now, Julio was mostly relieved. Ariana was okay, and that was all that really mattered. The manta ray thing would take some time to wrap his head around, but nothing was new there. His head was still spinning from everything he’d learned in the past twenty-four hours.
“I assume you’d like your fish cooked?”
What a strange question. Julio nodded, feeling that his neck would soon start to develop problems, since nodding and shaking his head were his primary methods of communication at the moment.
Ariana flitted away so quickly that Julio had barely started to look around for her when she returned, her arms full of wood. He started rummaging in his pockets for a lighter, but Ariana beat him to it. She twirled a stick in her hands so fast it blurred, and within moments, sparks flew. She soon had a small fire going.
Fascinated, Julio gestured to the fire and shrugged. She seemed to understand his question and explained. “I was brought up by a number of different vampires all over the world. A lot of them aren’t huge fans of human technology, so I learned to do things the old fashioned way.”
Julio watched as she spitted a few of the fish on sticks over the fire. The remaining ones, Ariana picked up one by one and started draining their blood. He winced; it wasn’t an attractive sight, but he supposed it was better than feeding on humans.
Ariana seemed to know when the fish was done, because when she took it out, Julio found it cooked through, and perfect to eat, albeit still scorching hot. A few butterflies escaped between bites. After draining about five fish, Ariana ate two off the fire. Julio remembered her telling him she needed human food as well as blood.
