by E. M. Knight
I jerk my wrists against the bonds. There’s no give. I’m locked in tight.
“Silver.” James points a casual finger at my restraints as he rolls his head side-to-side and yawns. “In the middle of the rope, you see. I wouldn’t be so cruel as to let it touch your skin. That would prove very painful, for a half-vampire like you.”
I glare at him. Is he in league with his two brothers? He has to be.
But if they helped me get out… why am I bound tight now?
“Oh, you look mad.” He smiles. His drawl makes everything he says carry a sinister edge. “Don’t be. I am very, very pleased with you.”
He leans forward and smiles, placing both elbows on his thighs.
“You can’t imagine how much easier you made things for me, darling. I would have thought it’d take me weeks, maybe months, to smuggle you out. But then as I got close, a scent caught my attention,” he taps his nose. “And I knew you were Outside. However did you do it, I wonder? And with such fortuitous timing.”
He gives a languid stretch. I continue to glare at him. Does he really not know why I was out of The Haven? Or is he just toying with me?
All my instincts point to the latter.
“Where’s Raul?” I try to say. He betrayed me. I just know it. And to think, for a time I was starting to imagine having feelings for him.
“What’s that?” He brings a hand to his ear. “You must be clearer. I really cannot understand you.”
“Raul, Raul, Raul!” I say, the gag muffling all my words.
James spreads his hands. “I’m sorry, doll, but I just can’t understand you.” He shrugs. “Too bad.”
“RAUL!” I all but scream.
“Here’s an idea. What if I remove that horrible rag covering your mouth, and we can speak like civilized humans, hmm?” His eyes sparkle. “Or should I say, vampires?”
He reaches over and unties the rag. As soon as he does, I spit in his face.
He looks shocked. For a split-second he doesn’t react.
Then anger flashes, distorting his handsome features, and he slaps me.
My head snaps to the side. I taste blood from my cheek. Before I know it, James has my chin in a vice-like grip. He forces my face to him.
“That,” he growls dangerously, “was a very stupid move. You do something like that again,” his eyes drop to my neck, “and you risk inciting my anger. You’ve been warned.”
He lets go. His eyes continue to hone into me as he returns to his seat. He takes a white handkerchief out from one pocket and wipes the spit from his face.
“Now,” he says, putting it away. “Can I trust you to be civil? I know it’s a tall task for a teenage girl. But just… humor me and make the effort, will you?”
I keep my lips sealed and match his stare, one for one.
“Silence won’t get you very far,” he says. He gestures around the cabin. “Aren’t you curious where we are? Where we’re going?”
I say nothing.
He sighs. “I’ll tell you, then. Right now, we’re about halfway across the Pacific. We’ll be making a short stop in Eastern Russia before continuing on our way.”
“On our way where?” I ask grudgingly.
“Oh, but that’s the surprise.” He positively beams. “And you, my pure, sweet, soon-to-be-vampire, are the ultimate prize.”
Chapter Forty-Four
RAUL
As soon as Mother drags Phillip away I scale the cliff and emerge Outside.
I wish I could say I couldn’t believe she would hold her own son hostage, but I know her better than that. The six hundred years of her rule have been defined by such pockets of insanity. She’s almost cost us the entire safety of The Haven with her capricious nature multiple times, particularly in the early years. Most recently, I thought she’d settled down, but it looks like I was wrong.
I would have gone after Phillip the moment she took him away if I had even the slightest chance of succeeding. But Morgan is the strongest vampire in the coven, and her strength is magnified by the magic she wields. Couple that with her silent, icy rage for having lost Eleira, along with my own sapped strength, and I wouldn’t have stood a chance. She’d have destroyed us both, or worse, severed our souls and bound them into her perverse paintings.
So the only thing I could do was what she demanded of me. Like a coward, I had to leave my youngest brother.
“But I won’t fail you, Phillip,” I promise through gritted teeth. “Or you, Eleira.”
I reach the end of the tunnel and come out amongst the trees. There’s a breeze in the air that blows away from the secret entrance. I inhale deep, searching for Eleira’s all-consuming scent.
And feel nothing.
I grunt in frustration. After all I’ve gone through, my body does not feel like my own. The fire, the fight with the guards, feeding the human woman my own blood then racing away at one fraction of my strength and taking on The Convicted, and then feeding on their horrible blood.
The only reason I’m standing is because of Phillip’s infusion of his own blood. Even so, my system hasn’t had time to clear the tainted blood. So everything I do now, everything I can do, is at one-tenth of my usual capacities, one-tenth, or worse.
I don’t have time to rest, however. The land around The Haven is teeming with carnivorous creatures. Wild cougars and wolves and black bears stalk the woods.
That was one of my Mother’s very first spells, cast at the foundation of The Haven. It lured all animal predators to us. Before she learned the secrets of the wards, our humans were penned inside by the knowledge that should they try to escape, they’d find merciless, hungry, rogue predators on the other side. Animals who would tear them limb from limb without a second’s pause.
Over the centuries, the pull this land has on those types of creatures has only increased. So the forest is more dangerous than ever before.
That means Eleira has half an hour or less before she is scented as prey and attacked by one of the wild beasts.
I run forward, urging my body to heal faster. I need all the abilities I possess. But I feel blind as a bat in daylight. My senses are nowhere near as sharp as they should be. I cannot smell Eleira. I cannot hear her. I cannot feel her presence.
Then realization hits. I’ve been a vampire so long that I forgot — I have a voice.
So I cup my hands around my mouth and scream her name. “Eleira! Eleira! Eleira, where are you?”
I dash through the trees like a madman. My lurching movements are no better than a drunk’s. The sky is starting to lighten overhead. Soon it’ll be day, and I’ll have to go underground to hide from the sun.
“Eleira!”
And then, the winds shift, and I catch the smell of blood. Hot blood, viscous blood, blood from something that was recently alive. Not Eleira’s, but…
I run that way, breaking through overgrown branches, and stumble into a small, rocky clearing.
I go still.
The ruined body of a monstrous wolf lies among the rocks. Its silver fur is matted with red. There are slash marks on its back and neck and underbelly. Its front legs have been horribly broken.
But it’s still breathing. It’s alive.
“What is this?” I breathe.
I rush to it. The animal’s pulse is weak. My brow creases with disquietude.
“Who would do this to you?” I say.
Then I catch the faintest whiff of somebody else’s blood.
I recognize it immediately. It’s my brother’s.
James was here.
I give a savage roar. Only James would delight in torture like this. I hate that the animal has suffered for so long. Quickly, I grip the wolf’s head and give one final, sharp twist to put it out of its misery.
But why was James here? Why was he back? Why and how? His diplomatic mission should have taken weeks —
An awful understanding washes over me. If James was here, and Eleira was Outside, alone and unprotected…
He would have got
ten to her.
The weight of my failure crashes into me. Of course, I can’t sense Eleira. She’s no longer here.
Rage boils up inside. James can’t have taken her to The Haven, or I would have run into them. Then where?
I don’t know. But as I rise, a new determination grips me. One that washes away the anguish and the fear.
I vow, then and there, that I will find Eleira. I will go to the ends of the world to get her back. Because my brother has taken something from me that isn’t his. Because no matter who bit her first, the girl is mine.
I feel the possessiveness in the deepest part of my soul. I haven’t felt it since Liana, never thought I would feel it again. But with Eleira gone, and worse, with Eleira threatened…
Well, that part of me has awakened again.
Chapter Forty-Five
JAMES
I don’t know what stroke of luck brought Eleira to me. But when the gods grant a boon, you do not snuff your nose at it.
I snort a laugh. Gods. There are no gods, only children of the night, only creatures of pure blackness, only…
Us.
I walk into the cockpit and take control of the plane. There’s a special UV filter on the glass that protects me from the worst of the sun. It’s nowhere near one-hundred percent — nothing can fully protect us from those painful rays except a complete barrier — but it’s the only thing that makes flying like this bearable.
Of course, I could simply hire a pilot, but I always like doing things myself.
When Mother sent me away to negotiate with Father’s coven — and to kill him — I thought her insane.
But I also saw it as an opportunity for me. Peace between the covens might be impossible — but peace was never what I had in mind.
Power was.
I walk for miles past the outskirts of the abandoned city, not once daring to use my speed.
I know I’m being watched. I feel it in my bones. My father’s coven is ruled strictly and governed with military zest. Precision and security is of the utmost importance to him. Nothing happens within a hundred leagues of his home without his knowing.
I force my gait to be casual. I want to appear at ease.
Even if I’m going into the one place in the world no vampire has ever emerged from after entering.
In the distance, across the sands, I spot two lone figures. They stand and watch me.
Sentries. Sent out as my welcome.
One is a vampire almost as old as I am. The other…
A wave of shock washes through me when I feel the other’s power. He’s more than just old. He is ancient. Older than any vampire I have ever come across, or known could exist. Even from this far I can feel his strength, radiating out toward me like a warning beacon, telling me not to approach.
I force a crooked smile and pick my pace up just a little. One vampire who is my match, another who is many times stronger. Back in The Haven, all others of our coven would tremble in fear before such a foe.
And these are just the two spared to greet me.
I keep walking until I’m within arm’s reach of them. The ancient one nods. I grin at him.
Suddenly, an invisible force strikes me in the chest. I’m sent sprawling. I come to a stop in the sand and look up.
The ancient one mimics my grin.
He used the Mind Gift against me! I marvel. It’s a telekinetic force that only develops in the strongest of our kind. All I can do with it is roll a marble around on a table, or flip the page of a book, or maybe make a paperclip levitate for the briefest moment.
And he used it to knock me down.
I’ve never been one to bend the knee. But for this vampire, I have no choice. I bow my head in the ageless symbol of respect.
Before I know what’s happening, the two vampires grab my arms and cuff me. I don’t fight. For one, because I wouldn’t stand a chance. Two, because I’m not here as a threat.
The silver bracelets burn into my wrists. I grit my teeth and ignore the sensation. It’s ridiculous how something so brittle can restrain creatures as powerful as we are.
I’m pulled to my feet roughly. I have half a mind to tell them who I am, but I’m sure they already know. Announcing my lineage will only make me seem weak.
“This way,” the younger of the two says. “Your father is waiting.”
Just as I thought.
We walk a distance into seemingly vacant sands. But at a certain point, we cross a threshold. The air shimmers, and the ancient ruins of a forgotten city are revealed.
The architecture is a strange mix of Roman and Arabic styles. There are half-collapsed columns next to beautiful monasteries and temples. Everything is made of a material the color of sand—I don’t know what it’s called, I’ve never been one to study such things.
I’m led down a twisting path through the city. There’s not a single soul around us. Some of the structures have been completely restored, while others lie in crumbled ruins. There’s no sense of guidance to it that I can decipher.
We reach a temple entrance. Wide stairs lead into the earth. I take one look up at the night sky and mutter a prayer hoping I’ll see it again.
“Here.” The younger vampire shoves something at me. I look.
It’s a sack. The outside is inlaid with fine threads of silver, while the inside is covered in soft velvet.
The elder takes it by the silver side. It doesn’t appear to inflict him any pain. “For your eyes and ears,” he says, and slips it over my head.
Immediately, I’m cut off from all perception. The silver blocks my hearing, my vision, even my sense of direction. Strong arms take me from behind and guide me down the steps.
I cannot tell how long we journey for. The velvet layer on the inside saves me from the pain, but the silver on the outside inflicts a sensation like the most terrible headache. My thoughts become slow and sluggish. I can hardly distinguish who I am.
An indeterminable amount of time later, my blindfold is cast off.
I gape. I’m in the middle of an enormous circle of snarling, hissing, malevolent vampires.
My mind grapples with how many there are. Thousands. Two thousand, three thousand — maybe more.
And their strength. It’s astounding! It pulses into me from all sides like with the irrepressible force of an ocean tide. I don’t sense a single vampire in their midst weaker than I am.
For the first time in centuries, I feel a very real frisson of fear.
A door opens and slams shut. At the sound, all the vampires fall silent.
Heavy, plodding footsteps come from the distance. The King approaches.
Moments later, a passage opens in the bodies. Through the gap I see my father.
Instantly, I drop to both knees and kiss the ground.
It’s a supplicating gesture, but I have no choice. My father’s strength is two times that of the ancient one I’d met outside.
How? I wonder. My mind works furiously to come up with an answer. How could they all be so strong?
I wait there, trembling, for him to come. I hold literally no power here. I have absolutely no sway. Blood ties will only bring me so far, as they fade to insignificance in the face of raw strength.
I feel two heavy hands grasp me by the shoulder. “Rise, son,” my father says. “Rise, and witness the beauty of my rule!”
I look up and catch his eyes. Then I gasp and avert my gaze. He has more than the telltale vampire ring of black around his irises. He has these black, floating specks that swim across the whites of his eyes. They look like signs of corruption—of him giving completely into the darkness.
But I don’t know. I don’t know, and it throws me off and ruins my confidence. I thrive on power, on the knowledge that I am the best. Here, I am nothing.
I have not felt like nothing since before my transformation began.
He pulls me to him and embraces me. A low, monosyllabic chanting starts around us.
Father lets me go. “It is good to see you after
all these years.”
“Likewise, Father.” I muster. The chanting grows louder. It unnerves me.
“Are you impressed?” he asks. He gestures around him. The old chains and rings and bracelets that cover his hands and forearms and wrists clink together as he does. “These vampires are all loyal to me. All but one is younger than you.”
I only just manage to stop my jaw from dropping.
“You have met that one already,” Logan says. “It is his knowledge, coupled with my strength, that gives The Crypts its power.”
“It is… wondrous,” I say.
My father stands a fraction of an inch taller. He’s just as vain as I am. “Yes,” he agrees. “It is.”
He cuts a hand sharply through the air. The chanting stops. Silence fills the room, but it’s not a silence of the regular sort. Past it, in the background, is a reverberating hum that seems to come from the walls themselves.
“Witness my son’s entry into The Crypts!” my father exclaims. “Am I not merciful to grant him passage? Am I not just to give him the fairness of a trial?”
A cheer erupts from the vampires surrounding us.
My father holds his arms up and does a slow turn to take the applause in. Then he sweeps them down, and another hush falls.
“I have made my decision,” he says. He takes me by the shoulder. His grip holds me firmly in place. Even if I wanted to, I could never escape. “It is by your leave that I have made it. James will live. No vampire blood shall be spilled today. I offer him full guest rights in our home.”
Another cheer erupts. Gooseflesh prickles my skin.
“He will be treated with all the courtesy extended to any of you. What’s more —what’s more! I hereby grant him leave to freely enter and exit The Crypts. No vampire has been given that in two hundred years! It is a gift worth the entire world!”
One more raucous cheer swells up. It’s all I can do to take it in.
“Yes, yes,” my father says, satiating in the adoration. “You are all my children, but he is my son!” He grasps my hand and thrusts it up. “He could be your Prince, if only…” my father’s grip tightens on my palm. I suck in a pained breath. Any more pressure and he’d break all the small bones of my hand.
