The Veiled Monarch

by Shae Bryant

  "Oh God!" I was suddenly wide awake. I shook the lump under the sheets next to me, yelling at him, "Vince! Get up!"

  He responded to me by peering out of one eye and turning away from me with a tired groan. It was no good getting him up; he was fast asleep until sunset. Even if I left right now, he'd find out and be in Orlando way before I got there.

  Brutus followed me out of the room while I called Erin. They were on their way to Orlando. A member of the Werewolf community in Central Florida had gone to see Leo and Chloe. They'd stay with them until Erin and Brian arrived. At least I knew they would be safe.

  For the next three hours, I paced the house wringing my hands. There was little news from anyone in Orlando. Brian and Erin hadn't arrived yet. My larger concern was how Jacob Stuart got to them and why. The Iron Oath had been exposed. Police are actively looking for him. Why would he risk being seen or arrested?

  These were the same questions Catherine, Louis and I continued to ask each other while at work. A number of well-known Iron Oath investigators had disappeared, yet they continued to show up around the Non Human communities. Their tone was very different from what we were used to. All of them asked for help or pleaded for us to listen to them. Many of them were returning to victims they had kidnapped in the past.

  Which means Chloe and Leo were not the only ones to face their previous captors. They likely wouldn't be the last either. My mind was swimming with hundreds of questions that went unanswered. I walked from the front door into the backyard while I mumbled all of this to myself. Brutus quietly followed me, watching my expression change over time.

  "There's that scratching again." Brutus said, sniffing by the dining room.

  "Scratching?" I reached down to scratch his ears, following his gaze, "Where?"

  "Here. By the walls." Brutus pawed at the dining room wall.

  I looked at the wall by the china cabinet, tilting my head towards it, "I can't hear anything. Do you think Vince has mice?"

  "I don't know. I don't smell mice." Brutus sat on his haunches with a huff.

  I raised my eyebrows, "I'll tell him when he wakes up, OK?"

  Brutus bobbed his head, "OK!"

  "I'm going to work. Why don't you come? You're allowed to go with me now."

  Brutus jumped with excitement, "I can go? Sure!"

  I sent Vince a text explaining that I had received word from Chloe, but I knew he'd be there before me regardless. I was going to work. He would call a donor the moment he woke, and I didn't need or want to know who they were. My one and only experience as a donor was very unpleasant. Some things between him and I would remain in the dark.

  In Orlando, Erin banged on the door of Chloe and Leo's room. She shifted from one foot to the other, impatiently waiting for someone to answer. When the door was opened, she made a run for Chloe, grabbing her into a tight embrace.

  "I'm fine, Mom!" Chloe stammered.

  Another couple waited in the room with Leo and Chloe. They both fit the stereotype of a 'biker couple', wearing clothes much more suited for a motorcycle than what was fashionable. Both of them exchanged nods with Brian and Erin.

  "Thanks for keeping an eye on them." Brian unclenched his fists to shake their hands.

  "Anything for the pack." One of them smiled, "We'll head out now. Call if you need anything."

  As the couple walked out, Brian grabbed Leo's hands, examining his knuckles. They were red and slightly bruised. One of them had a small scrape on it from connecting with Jacob's face.

  "You really hit him?" Brian couldn't help but laugh when Leo nodded an affirmation. He slapped Leo on the back with a guffaw, "Good man!"

  Erin cupped Chloe's face in her hands, inspecting her daughter for any bruises or scrapes. Chloe scoffed, pushing her Mom's hands away with an embarrassed laugh. Parents would always be parents, I guess. At least, good ones would be.

  They sat in silence with the young couple, staring out the window at the palm trees. The only noise in the room was the distant laughter and splashing from the pool combined with the soft hum of a hotel air conditioner. A few palm leaves that flapped against the glass and footsteps going past them in the hall broke the monotony.

  No one knew quite what to say. There were so many questions left in their head. The most important one was what we were all asking ourselves. Why? Why does Jacob Stuart keep terrorizing us? What is he looking for? What does he have to gain from it?

  The quiet was interrupted by footsteps barreling down the hallway. The door to the room slammed opened and Vince yelled, "Leonardo!?"

  "Vince!" Leo groaned,"Can you knock? What if we were busy?"

  Vince gave Leo an incredulous look, "At a time like this? I wouldn't care."

  "I would!"

  "Nonsense. I changed your diapers. I've already seen everything." Vince waved a hand at Leo, then he looked around at three very confused faces. He broke into a sheepish smile, "Ahh. Hello Erin. Brian. Chloe."

  Brian chuckled, "We really need to work on your entrances, Vince."

  Vince ignored Brian, inspecting both Leo and Chloe while fussing over them, "Are you both alright? He didn't harm you? What is that smell...?"

  "Werewolves?" Chloe looked between herself and her parents with a shrug.

  "No. I'm used to that by now. It's..." Vince sniffed again, "Blood! Leo. It's your hand. Did you hit someone?"

  "He wouldn't leave. I had to do something." Leo rubbed his hand a little. He had washed his hands over and over again, but his Dad could still smell it.

  "You are aware I don't condone violence." Vince shook his head, "Regardless, I'm glad you did something to defend yourself and Chloe."

  Vince joined the others in the room, discussing with Leo and Chloe the events from earlier in the day. They made the unfortunate decision to bring Leo and Chloe home to South Florida, promising them a vacation sometime soon. For now, it was best everyone stayed together. If Jacob Stuart knew where they were, he would come after them again and again.

  The Iron Oath never stopped at just one person. When they went after a community, they went after anyone in the community. Vince, Erin and Brian knew this. It was time to go home and keep their own safe. Meetings would be called, warnings would go out and no one would move alone for the time being.

  I had to call my own meeting with my community. It was a task I did not want to carry out. Ronan and Kevin did such a good job at this. I was terrible at it. There were countless questions to answer, plans to make and schedules to work around. Those two always managed to do all of it without an issue. I stumbled over things and tried to make it all work.

  Fortunately, another Druid was able to step in and help. India Larsen, one of our rarer Druids who had an affinity for Water. She was a lovely woman from Norway who had lived in South Florida for twenty years now. India always had a way with people. She was able to use her natural charisma to keep things calm and answer questions with ease. When I faltered during the meeting, India stepped up to take charge. The only reason things ended so well was because of her.

  In the end, all the Non Human groups in South Florida decided to be as cautious as possible. If the Iron Oath showed up near us, we would fight them. They had no more public support left. It was time that we took matters into our own hands. We were still afraid, but we had ammunition against them now. No one would fault us for defending ourselves.

  As I was on my way to Vince's home after the meeting, Leo was there alone. He sat in the kitchen eating cereal while watching something mindless on the TV. He blinked when he heard something coming from the dining room. At first, he looked around for Brutus, but he couldn't find him anywhere. The noise grew louder, grinding across the wall until it reached an area near the china cabinet.

  Leo stood up and went over to investigate. He put his ear against the wall, listening to the odd scratching noise from inside. It sounded like some sort of animal. Leo stopped when he reached the china cabinet, noticing a crack in the wall that went from ceiling to floor. He pushed on it and t
he wall opened up to reveal a hallway.

  "Oh God." Leo said to himself, "The wall just opened."

  The noise grew louder once the door opened to the hidden hallway. Curiosity got the best of him, and Leo stepped inside. He walked through the well lit area, looking around to try to find the source.

  "There is a hidden hallway in my house and I never knew about it. And I'm walking through it. Because I am not smart." Leo ran his hand along the wall, trying to figure out what this was.

  He stopped in front of a doorway that was partially opened. With some trepidation, he pushed on the door with his hand. Standing in front of him was a man who looked almost like a skeleton. Skin hung off of his broad frame, his cheeks and eyes were sunken in and his hair had fallen out in patches.

  The man stretched a bony finger towards Leo, rasping out a name, "Vincenzo?"

  "Holy shit!" Leo slammed the door shut and ran out of the hallway, sitting back in the kitchen bar with his hands folded on the counter.

  I walked in the house to find Leo in that exact position. I frowned at him, sitting my purse on the table, "Leo? Are you OK?"

  "Nope." he shook his head slowly.

  "What happened?"

  Leo pointed to the opened wall, "Why is there someone in the wall?"

  "What!?" I ran to the open door, looking down the hallway, "What the hell?"

  "That's what I said."

  Leo was standing behind me when Faulkner stumbled into view. I was just as shocked as Leo when he stretched his parched hands towards us. "Help me."

  I slammed the door shut and stood with my back against it. My head leaned back against the wall...err door, and I gulped. "Oh God. He didn't lie."

  "What?" Leo stared at me.

  "Never mind." I shook my head, "We are going to walk out of here and pretend this didn't happen. At least, until Vince gets home."

  "We're leaving that guy in there?" Leo waved his hands towards the wall, "Are you nuts?!"

  I looked right at Leo, "That's Faulkner."

  Leo stepped back a few inches. He didn't say another word. He plodded up to his room and shut the door. I sat down on the couch to wait for Brutus to wake up and Vince to come home.

  Vince smiled at me when he walked in, quite happy to see someone he cared for waiting for him at home. The meeting with his community must have gone well, because he wrapped me in his arms and placed a kiss on my forehead.

  "I do hope your night has gone as well as mine." He smiled, "Come. Let's eat something and you can tell me all about the meeting. It went well, I hope."

  "Vince." I pushed his arms down at his side, "I need to talk to you."

  "You look serious."

  "I am. Because your son just found a half starved Irish Vampire inside the wall."

  Vince flew towards the wall in a panic, throwing the sliding door open to reveal Faulkner still waiting inside. Both of them stared at each other for a moment. Faulkner looked tired and helpless, but Vince was a different story. The whites of his eyes turned red around the edges, and he reached out to wrap his fingers around Faulkner's neck.

  Before Vince could squeeze and shatter the brittle bones, Leo ran down the stairs ,"I can't stay upstairs for this!"

  "I didn't want you to see this!" Vince's hand tore away from Faulkner. He tried to step in front of him to block Leo's vision.

  "I wasn't meant to see that!?" Leo waved frantically at the sliding door, "A dying Vampire stuck in the wall? Is that what you don't want me to see? Because I can see him! What are you doing, Vince!?"

  "What I should have done Centuries ago." Vince's face darkened, "What he deserves. This isn't your concern, Leo."

  Leo narrowed his eyes and stepped towards his Dad, making a stabbing motion with his finger. I stepped away the moment I saw him do that. If an angry Vampire was scary, an angered teenager might be even worse.

  "Vince! I have been kidnapped. I watched people do weird things to you while they drew my blood. Chloe and I just threw an Iron Oath officer out of my room in Orlando. There is no separating me from this any longer! Now I'm watching my Dad torture someone in our house?!" Leo closed his eyes, "This isn't right, Vince. Just because they do it doesn't mean we should."

  Vince let his arms hang. He looked to me for help, but I had nothing for him. This had to be his discussion with Leo. He shuffled to the side, thinking of a way to admonish Leo for yelling at him. But, his resolve was fading fast.

  Vince sighed heavily, "I promised him one day I'd have my revenge, Leo."

  "This can't be it, Vince." Leo tugged on his Dad's hand, "This isn't you."

  After a long pause, Vince nodded, "You are right. This is not how I get my revenge."

  "Wait! What are you doing!?" I grabbed Vince's shoulder when he walked towards the door.

  Faulkner raised his eyes to both of us, holding himself up on the door frame. Vince had a perfect opportunity to kill the most hated Vampire in the world. Yet, he was offering a helping hand to him.

  "I'm letting him out, Raina."

  I tried to jerk him back, "The hell you are!"

  He did it. He actually did it. Vince pulled away from me and wrapped Faulkner's arm around his shoulder, walking him to a chair. After sitting the starving Vampire down, Vince thumbed through his phone.

  "I need to get a donor for him." Vince stated, "Watch him, Raina. Do not let him move."

  Vince departed, leaving me and Leo to stare at the skeleton of Faulkner. I could have staked him then and there. No one would have blamed me for it, either. To be fair, I was tempted. Faulkner could not fight me. Vince had stakes all over the house. But, this wasn't my fight. It was Vince's. If anyone deserved to kill Faulkner, it was him.

  The clock on the wall ticked away the seconds. Brutus scuffled around upstairs. Leo and I shifted uncomfortably in our chairs, not taking our eyes away from Faulkner. He sat there staring into space, looking like he was about to crumble to ash at any moment.

  "He uh..." Leo rubbed his neck, "He doesn't look too good."

  "He's starving and getting sun sickness." I answered.

  Leo crept towards the stairs, "You know. I think I'll go back to my room."

  "Oh no. No." I grabbed Leo's shirt and sat him firmly on the chair, "You want to be part of things? Fine. You start now. If I have to babysit elder dick bag, then so do you."

  Leo sat back down and the quiet watch continued. Brutus made his way down the stairs, sniffing at the new person in the living room. He snorted, turning to me with a lot of questions in his eyes. I'd answer them later. For now, he could curl up next to Leo and I, making sure Faulkner couldn't get within arm's reach of us.

  A starving Vampire was a dangerous thing to be close to. They needed to feed, and their mind could think of nothing else. Having Leo and I within a few feet of him must have been torture. Our hearts were beating so loud, but he was too weak to reach out and touch either of us. However, if we got within an inch of his reach, we would likely be dinner.

  Vince returned with a young woman who looked all too happy to be helping. She took Faulkner's hand as if he were an old friend and helped him into another room. She must have been a thrall. Otherwise, she would have lost her lid when she saw someone in Faulkner's state. From what I knew, Vince had no thralls, but I couldn't be sure.

  Almost every Vampire has at least one thrall. It's a Human who ties themselves with the Vampire. Once that happens, they are very open to suggestions. In the past, Vampires kept multiple thralls. Most of them were not willing to be in that position. An unwilling thrall was easy enough to keep as long as they had a weaker mind. Strong willed thralls could never stay under the Vampire's control for long.

  There were a number of stories about thralls pulling the wool over the eyes of their Vampire. In fact, Vince had one himself. In Arizona, he enthralled a gunfighter turned lawman by the name of Levi Dunlap. But, Levi had far too strong of a mind to allow it. He spent months making Vince think he had him under his thumb.

  Willing thralls are much easier to
keep in modern day. Most of the time, they do errands for the Vampire during the day, or they are made available as a quick donor. Someone told this woman Faulkner looked normal. In her eyes, he did.

  Leo and I stayed in our chairs, watching Vince pace across the living room floor. He would pause and rest his arm on the mantle, watching the door for any sign of movement. When nothing happened, he would resume his pacing.

  "The moment he comes out, I want both of you to leave." Vince said.

  Before Leo could ask him why, the door swished in a small gust of wind. A very healthy looking Faulkner appeared right behind me, gripping either side of the chair. His fangs were still out and I could smell the fresh blood on them. He must have only just finished getting himself back to normal.

  "Elder dick bag? What sort of name is that? It doesn't sound nice at all."

  "Get. Away. From. Me." I demanded.

  Vince raced to the chair, grabbing Faulkner's hand, "Do not touch her!"

  "What? I wouldn't dream of it. I'm full." Faulkner licked his fangs, walking over to Leo and taking his hand, "Ah. Leonardo, is it? Theodric Faulkner. A pleasure to finally meet you."

  "Uhm...hi?" Leo cautiously shook Faulkner's hand.

  "And stay away from my son!" Vince barked.

  Faulkner laughed, "Vincenzo. I'm surprised at you. I'm only being polite. Fine, we'll have things your way. Let's discuss our little problem."

  "I've asked them both to leave." Vince clenched his jaw, motioning Leo and I to the door.

  "Leave?" Faulkner waved his hand, "No. They should stay. It involves them."

  Vince's clothes became a blur. Glass shattered by the window. Faulkner was being held against the wall, his legs dangling a few inches above the floor. The vases on the mantle had fallen to the ground, scattering broken glass around the two of them.

  "You are not strong enough to fight me yet! I would not say such things!"

  The whites of Vince's eyes started to rapidly turn red. His cheeks burned with anger and his knuckles began to turn white. This centuries old feud between him and Faulkner may come to a head before Leo and I had a chance to run.