by E. M. Knight
“How did you find one like this, Paolo?” Smithson asks.
“I searched for the most fitting human of April’s description,” he replies. “She was it.”
I’m starting to feel like I’m the third wheel in this whole interaction.
“You hear that, my precious?” Smithson asks. “You were brought here for her.” He nods at me.
The woman does not even grace me with a glance. “What interest could I possibly be to some little girl?”
Smithson smiles and steps closer. “That little girl,” he says, cupping his hand behind her head and bringing her ear close to him, “is the one who grants you life or death.”
In an abrupt move, he snatches off both her earrings. She gasps, but by then he is a good twenty feet away.
“Ingenious,” he mutters, looking at them in his hand. “Embedding a tracker in your jewelry. Who would ever think that diamonds this small—” he holds one of them up to his eye, “—could possibly transmit your location?” He smiles at her again. “The wonders of nano-technology, hmm?”
He slings his hand back and throws them as far as he can over the side of the building. I lose sight of them while they’re still in the upward arc through the air.
Now the woman is starting to look afraid. She backs up a few steps before catching herself.
“Who are you?” the woman asks, this time in a hoarse whisper.
“Wrong question,” Smithson says. “The right one is, what?” He looks over at Paolo. “Drop back down, collect the bodies. Bring them to the incinerator room. It’s one floor below my office. You’ll have no problems finding it.”
He glares at Smithson in defiance. “I’m not leaving April alone again.”
“She’ll be fine,” Smithson says. He looks at me. “Won’t you, child?”
I bristle at being called that, but I do not want to make a scene, not before the human.
Besides, the hierarchy reminds me of my place.
“I’ll be okay, Paolo,” I say. “Go and do as he says.”
The pack vampire looks skeptical, but, after a few moments, he hops over the edge of the building to begin his task.
“Now,” Smithson says. “We mustn’t linger. This is your last known location, Miss. We wouldn’t want to be caught in a storm out here.”
He’s at her side in an instant, his arm wrapped around her waist again. He speaks to me. “I know a safe place for us to go, April, while you decide whether to feed on her or not. Frankly, her attitude is astounding, and I think it would be a shame to waste a human of her potential… but, it is your call.”
And then he races off over the rooftop, running in the opposite direction of his office building.
I jump to follow.
Chapter Two
James
In The Crusaders’ facility.
I look on at the vampire lying on the same bed where I first met Paul.
He’s been bathed and clothed. The blood I made Paul give him has begun the slow process of recovery he will have to go through before waking and becoming lucid.
I check the bounds around his wrists and ankles. They are tight and have been reinforced with a silver binding no vampire can break through.
That peculiarity about our kind always puzzled me. Silver is such a soft metal. Yet vampires cannot use their strength to break it. Physically it makes no sense. Nor does it mechanically.
I shrug, thinking no more of it. As long as the vampire essence gives us life, we are bound by different rules of reality. I’ve seen enough in my many years in the blood to understand that there are forces more powerful than the four known by physicists at work with our existence.
Take my newfound affinity for magic, for example. The battle that let me tame the chasm inside me was a raging fight. And yet, the essence, which I have embraced for so long, helped me win.
Now, my magic is contained in a tight little ball in the back of my mind, no bigger than my fist. But from it comes so much power… so much new ability to shape the world…
“James,” Victoria barks. “You can’t rush the healing process. And don’t you dare think of giving that vampire your own blood.”
I sigh and turn to face her. She has taken guardianship of this vampire as her pet. It was her idea to bring him out of the dungeon, to clean him up, and to place him on the bed, secured, until he wakes.
We got help from some of the fledglings. Paul had skulked off, swearing at me and making all sorts of vile threats, after the fate of his daughter was sealed.
I did not reprimand him for it. He held out hope for so long for her survival, and I snatched it all away with magic. It did not matter to him that the Elemental Forces were out of my control, nor that his daughter would have likely faced the same end even if I hadn’t destroyed her.
“Why, Victoria, I wouldn’t dream of it,” I say, and swagger over to her to grab her by the waist, pull her in, and kiss her hard.
She gives token resistance for a few moments, but then fully melts into me. My hands start moving over her body. One creeps down and squeezes her ass.
She breaks off and swats my hand away. “That’s enough,” she says, trying to be stern.
I can see the flush in her cheeks that I have caused, however.
The two officers with us give absolutely no response. Good. I like their discipline.
“So,” I say, catching her hand between mine and running a thumb over her fingers. “How long do you think it’ll take for him to wake?”
She shakes her head. “That’s impossible to know. But you can see the changes taking hold. The blood he got needs time to work. Still, his skin is no longer so translucent, and his whole body appears firm. Give it a few days more, then we can judge where we are—and decide whether to give him more blood.”
“So, you still think he might be stronger than me,” I murmur. That single unknown is the only reason for us not to feed him all the blood he needs to recover right away. Until we have a full sense of his abilities, we cannot risk me—or Victoria, or Smithson, or even Paolo, for that matter, whenever he returns with the others—ending up lower on the hierarchy than him. “You think him special, don’t you?”
“To survive as long as he has, in those conditions? He has to be.”
“Paul said he’s been like that for six or seven generations,” I say absently.
“I know. A weak vampire would have perished long ago. And we both want to find out exactly what made him trust The Crusaders in the first place.”
“A trust that was quickly betrayed,” I say, looking back at the bed.
The same sorts of machines that were hooked up to Paul when we first found him are connected to this vampire. I don’t know what difference they make. Yes, they can track his vitals, but for a vampire, it’s pretty binary:
You are either dead or you are alive.
And since he’s alive, he will return to full strength sooner or later.
My hope is that, upon finding that the organization has now become a vampire coven, he will be grateful to us.
But you never know.
“James…” Victoria begins. I look back at her. She’s chewing her lip.
“What is it?” I ask.
“We need to plan for Cierra’s arrival.” She looks around. “She’ll seek you out, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to find you here.”
“Why?” I ask her. “This is the single most secure military facility in the world. What better place could there be?”
“If she comes here, she can do great damage to all that’s valuable.” Victoria swallows. “Why take the risk? Better to meet her on more suitable grounds, where we have the advantage.”
“My dear Victoria,” I drawl. “You’re not starting to have doubts about my abilities, are you?”
To demonstrate, I turn my eyes toward a still-standing machine and shoot a torrent of flame at it. The fire burns so hot that it’s destroyed in seconds.
I smile, pleased, and cut off the source of magic inside me.
/> “That’s all well and good,” she says, sounding unimpressed, “but all you have is raw strength. There’s no skill or subtlety. The way you describe it, you don’t even make weaves. The magic just sort of shoots out of you, lacking all finesse.”
“I don’t need finesse,” I say. “I have instinct.”
She draws her lips into a thin line.
“You’re drunk on power,” she tells me. “You’ve met Cierra before. Even if you can use a greater volume of the Elemental Forces at one time than she can, she’ll still win. She knows all the tricks. She’s been doing this for decades. As a human, she’s survived so many years. You should not underestimate her.”
A spark of irritation lights in me. “Who says I’m underestimating her?” I growl.
“No one has to say it. I see it. You think you’re indestructible now that you can do magic. But it’s not so simple.” She touches my arm, smiling sweetly.
A warm feeling comes to life inside me upon seeing that look.
But in that instant, I disarm myself, a blue glow bursts to life around Victoria, and her touch on my skin becomes unbearably cold.
I try to jerk back, but she does not let go. Her smile becomes devilish. “Try using your magic now,” she coos.
Anger at being coaxed into this situation flares. I reach for that tight black ball…
And find it entirely missing.
Upon seeing the look of confusion on my face, Victoria lets go of my arm. The light around her dies.
And the ball giving me access to the source caroms into being once more.
“What did you do?” I demand. “You took my magic away. How? I didn’t know that was possible!”
“I didn’t either,” she admits. “But I played a hunch. You never lost your magic, James. I just hid it from you. It’s a simple trick, to be honest, but requires physical touch.” She flourishes her hand. “But if a witch as weak as me could do that, think of what Cierra might be capable of.”
“So, I don’t let her touch me,” I say stiffly, feeling very much off-guard. “That shouldn’t prove difficult. I am a vampire. She is still human. I am faster than she is.”
Victoria tsks. “How can you be so stubborn?”
“Well, what do you want me to say?” I demand, voice rising. “We came to The Crusaders first searching for the key to male magic. Now we found it. We didn’t even know about the damn obsidian back then!”
“The obsidian is the safer bet. We must plan accordingly.”
I spin away and stalk off, frustration growing.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” I force out, “if we knew what in the hell was taking Smithson so long!”
Victoria comes up to me and places her hands on my chest. She looks up into my eyes.
I see that hers are full of genuine worry.
“Smithson will come,” she promises. “He will bring the obsidian. We still have time to set up the trap, but we need to start thinking about it now.”
“Fine,” I reply. “Fine, let’s do it.”
“We’ll need Paul for this,” she says.
“We’ll go get him,” I respond. “But if you don’t want to meet Cierra here, where do you want to meet her?”
“In the cavern of the pack,” she says. “Near the lair that she made.”
“That’s in the middle of nowhere,” I say slowly.
“Exactly. What better place to remain undetected? Besides, with you being able to do magic…” she reaches up and brushes a strand of hair from my forehead, “…we might finally find out what lies beyond that secret door.”
Chapter Three
Phillip
The Stronghold
“Mother’s awakened,” I gasp.
Raul’s eyes shoot to me. “What?”
“Mother is awake,” I repeat, not quite believing the words. “I can feel her.”
“How?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” I say. I quickly look over at The Haven vampires working for us at removing the blockage in the stronghold. “The torrial only maintains her life force. It is not supposed to heal her. At least—not so soon!”
“Not that,” Raul says, stepping up to me and staring into my eyes. His are dark and angry. “I meant, how can you feel her?”
“When she gave me magic, it opened a sort of link between us. I channeled through her before I could channel on my own. And now, that link is back.”
Raul grunts. “So, you can use the Elemental Forces again.”
A crooked smile creeps over my lips. “Yes,” I confirm. “I think so.”
“You better not get any ideas,” he warns.
“Mother will be extremely weak. If I channel this way, I would likely kill her.” I start for the exit.
Raul grabs my shoulder and yanks me back. “Where do you think you’re going?” he growls.
I pull out of his grip. “To see the former Queen.”
“No, you’re not,” he says. “We have a task to do here, and we’re finishing it.”
“Raul,” I say simply. “I think you have a perfect hold on the situation.”
“I’m not letting you go to her alone,” he tells me. “If you go, I go. I am not about to let you slip out of my watch.”
“I’m hurt.” He places a hand over his heart. “I thought we’d just made a peace pact.”
“I know full well the value of your word,” he grumbles. He looks back and calls one of the guards over.
“Make sure the work gets done,” he says. “Phillip and I have to leave. You’re now in charge. If anything goes wrong, or if this job isn’t finished fast enough, I will hold you responsible.”
“Yes, my Prince,” the guard says, giving a formal salute.
Raul looks to me after the guard leaves, shaking his head. “He is the strongest vampire here,” he says. “I have no idea why he chose to serve in the Royal Guard rather than join the Elite.”
“Some aren’t meant for a pampered existence,” I say. “It makes them soft.”
I give Raul a pointed look.
“Don’t even start,” he warns, and then turns around to leave. I let him walk a few steps alone before catching up.
I can sense the tension in him.
“You’re scared,” I say, stating the obvious.
He glares at me. “It’s your fault we’re in this mess. If you hadn’t betrayed The Haven’s trust, we would have only one Queen, and Eleira would not be faced with this disaster.”
I look at him quizzically. “Raul, there is only one Queen. The wards protecting us are proof of that. They are hers and hers alone.”
“You know Mother better than any of us,” he replies stiffly. “Do you think she will simply let Eleira sit on the throne?”
“Prophecy demands it.”
“The hell it does.” Raul stops and turns on me.
When I see the rage and conflict in his eyes, I know I have to tread carefully or risk setting him off.
This is a touchier subject than Liana.
“How many times have you read the prophecy, Phillip? Really read it, not just given it a cursory skim?”
“Enough to know what’s in it.”
“Maybe for you,” he says. “But I’ve spent years studying what it says, studying the constellations, comparing one against the other. Nothing in the prophecy says anything about a Queen.”
“It’s implied.”
“It is not. The words are, “She comes, she comes! Child of the Stars born of the sun, she’s the breaker of bonds, shall extinguish darkness that rules her kind and unite them all, casting them into a new world ruled by night eternal.” That is the most important part, the most vital element. Where, in those words, does it say anything about a monarch?”
I have no answer, so I just wait.
“Nowhere!” Raul explodes. “And that’s what was bugging me about this whole succession thing the entire time. We knew Eleira would be powerful. She is. We knew she would be afforded unimaginable gifts. She has those. But nowhere does it say
she’s meant to rule! Do you know what that means?”
“What?” I ask, allowing him his moment.
“It means that the entire succession, the whole Royal Plan, the marriage, all of it, could be just a lie made up by Mother to bind Eleira to us!”
I give him a flat look. “You don’t say.”
“I know you’re cynical,” he growls. “But listen. Mother knew about the prophecy, and she hammered it into us. Yet everything we know about it came from her.”
“So?”
“So? Are you kidding me? That is the most important revelation there is! What if there are parts she didn’t want us to know—parts she kept hidden, parts she kept secret, things like that. All I’ve ever looked at are copies. Only Mother has the original text. Have you ever known her to work for anything other than her own benefit? I sure as hell haven’t.”
“So, you think Mother censored what we know?”
“Yes. She could have. The only way to be sure is to get the original copy. I need to read that document.”
“Well, good luck finding it,” I say breezily. “It doesn’t exist anymore.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t exist? Mother’s kept the original sealed away safely for ages. It is The Haven’s heirloom!”
“Not anymore,” I smile. “Just before she and I cornered you and Eleira, and I made my… mistake? She burned it. We went to the vault and I watched as she set it on fire.”
“She did what?” His eyes darken quickly. “And you let her?”
I shrug. “My attention was elsewhere. What did I care? She was fully within her rights.”
He glowers at me, scarcely able to contain his rage.
I continue. “Apparently, she knew the risk she was taking and did not want anybody else to get access to the full prophecy.” I lower my voice. “Your suspicions about the conspiracy, it seems, are right.”
“Enough of this,” he snarls, turning away. “I cannot believe Mother would be so reckless.”
“Oh. I wouldn’t be so quick to assume,” I say. “It wasn’t recklessness, Raul. It was stark calculation. She knew exactly what she was doing—exactly what she was destroying.”
“Bah!” he exclaims. He stops, looks back at me, snarls, then continues his prowl onward. He stops again, juts a hand out against a wall.
