by Jackson Lear
“Tell me exactly how that conversation went.”
He was tired and rolled his eyes towards a, ‘I was going to,’ then it occurred to him that I was probably being just as serious as the people who ambushed his crew and who had threatened to break his arms and legs. “He said he heard I was talking to someone in Lietsmar about Draegor. ‘My cousin,’ I said. I told him a little about M-Mikael.”
“Which was?”
“That he was – how you say – loud-mouth merchant who knows someone from everywhere. I told Agnarr Mikael had been in Anglattera and met someone from Ispar. Mikael said she was most beautiful woman he had seen. Scary, too. Kind of scary where she could drink you stupid and still show you good time.”
I pointed to Zara. “Was it her?”
Torunn’s eyes widened with embarrassment. “Maybe.”
Zara remained impassive but I swear I caught the slightest smile of pride as soon as Torunn turned away from her.
“I don’t suppose Mikael said that he’d slept with her?”
Torunn’s look of embarrassment deepened. “He is famous for bullshit. I gave Mikael’s message to Agnarr, that someone from Ispar would pay well if someone from north could break alliance between Vasslehün and vampires. Agnarr asked for more information. How much? And who was offering? I returned to Lietsmar. Mikael wasn’t there so I sent messenger. Next time I was in Lietsmar, Mikael was back. I told him alliance didn’t exist between Vasslehün and vampires, only Draegor and vampires, and I knew a noble who knew other nobles who weren’t happy about this and they were thinking of fighting Draegor to death. Mikael was very excited about this. He said he had done research and he thought he knew who from Ispar was behind this, but I should keep my … voice? Face?”
“Reaction?”
“Maybe. I should keep my reaction quiet because I probably was not going to like answer.”
“And did you?”
“I thought I did, until he said single name: Kasera. And shit, that name doesn’t stand well with Agnarr and our people.” He rolled his eyes up to his forehead. “Stand well? Sit? Sit well with Agnarr.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Kasera name makes problems for Agnarr and other nobles.”
“Why?”
“Because General Kasera killed last resistance of northerners in Galinnia! I fought against him. We all did. At first it really did sound like someone wanted to break alliance. Now it sounded like Ispar was pushing north again, trying to overthrow Draegor and put their own king in charge – or worse – put them in charge. Mikael did what he could to convince me it was real, that Ispar had no plan to cross lake, but that is only because war just ended. In five years – maybe ten – things will be different. Only thing that actually convinced me this wasn’t some great plan of Snake Emperor was when Mikael said Ispar does not actually know what is happening. This was private mission. That confused hell out of me until Mikael said this thing happens in south all time. Rich family makes some problem go away for one of two reasons: to look stronger in eyes of other families; or to end problem for good so they can turn their attention onto another problem somewhere else. Mikael told me it was second thing that Kaseras were trying to do. With Draegor and vampires gone they could shift their focus towards Ispar. He said Kasera wants to be emperor one day. This would help him and Agnarr too.”
I peered over to Zara and Loken. ‘Emperor Kasera’ seemed to be news to both of them.
“And it made sense,” said Torunn. “If Agnarr helped future emperor of Ispar then it could help him a lot. A pact of non-aggression or something that sounded like that. Maybe some land. And if Kasera ever fucked him then Agnarr could tell Ispar of Kasera’s plans and they would kill him before he became emperor.” Torunn’s eyes shifted quickly to the Kasera party behind me. “I mean, I don’t know if any of that was serious. It was talk, you know? Sometimes you talk about weird things that might never happen.”
“I understand. Either way, Mikael convinced you that trusting a Kasera might be a good thing.”
“Yes! Well, I suppose. I gave him Agnarr’s name and then next thing I know, Kasera’s daughter wants meeting with Agnarr. By now our captain was sitting in on meetings with me and Mikael to make sure everything was going well. I was just messenger. Captain is only one who can let people onboard, you know? That’s how it happened. Mikael found me, talked you up, I told Agnarr, and we had conversation over thousands of miles.”
“When did you settle upon the pick-up point?”
Torunn squinted at me, lost for a moment.
“Why Orkust?”
“Oh. You choose it.”
“We did?”
“Yes. We gave you three potential places a month ago. We suggested Lietsmar, but that’s not in imperial lands and we did not realize you were bringing so many people with you. Last I heard was you would leave message in Lietsmar giving your actual location when you were ready. We knew it would be just after harvest time and we got it four days ago, so we sailed to get you.”
“Did someone from Draegor’s side get to Lietsmar first?”
“I don’t know how. Mikael and me never spoke of this in public. We never spoke in same place twice. We didn’t have a pattern. Mikael and I visited Lietsmar often over the years so I don’t think anything seemed unusual.”
“But he left a message with someone,” I said.
“Well, yeah, that is how these things go. I did not see what was written. Captain picked it up.”
I looked back to Zara. “Was it encoded?”
“The letters were scrambled.”
“And you followed Mikael and Torunn around?”
“Yeah. I didn’t see them do anything sneaky.”
Torunn peered back at Zara. “You were there?”
“I was close enough to listen in. You have a type. Tall men. No beard. Muscular.”
Torunn’s eyes widened considerably. “I ...”
“Yeah. I was nearby for longer than you might realize.” She looked back to me. “I didn’t see him pass on any message – written or spoken – to anyone. Nor the captain. Nor Mikael. I sent people over to drop a few names to the locals and to the crew to see how they reacted. No one liked Kasera but no one seemed to froth at the mouth at the chance of getting their revenge sooner rather than later. No one liked Draegor either, though some respected him at least for being a strong leader and someone you don’t fuck around with. They all liked Agnarr, even if some admitted that he was too much of a thinker and not much of a doer. All in all, it didn’t seem like there was a leak from that side.”
I returned to Torunn. “What do you know about Desdola?”
He recoiled inwards. “A witch. Talks to ghosts. Ghosts talk to her. Everyone afraid of her.”
“Why?”
“Years ago we hunt vampires. Take their blood. Sell it. Drink it. Never problem with selling it or drinking it until Desdola. After that, if you kill vampire you are cursed. Ghost haunts you. Knows more about you than you know. She is walking curse.”
“Does Draegor help her or does she help him?”
“Both. King with witch is powerful. Witch with king is powerful. Rumor is she cursed vampires into serving Draegor.”
“Then the alliance exists with her?”
“I don’t know. Desdola will never be as strong as Draegor but she will be different.”
I just had to ask: “If Draegor dies, would she become the queen?”
“No. Only noble becomes king or queen.”
“Even if she curses people?”
Torunn shook his head again. “Only noble becomes king or queen.”
“So who is next in line?”
“Everyone.”
I stood, giving Loken a chance to question Torunn while I pulled Zara aside. “Who chose the timing for this meeting? Us or Agnarr?”
“Agnarr. He said Draegor and the nobles would be busy.”
“Even though it exposes him for not being here.”
“He knows the people better than we do. Do you actually th
ink the guy we came to meet betrayed us?”
“No, but I am keeping an open mind about it. Between you and me, were we ready to have this meeting earlier?”
“Not by much. I was still busy vetting Mikael, Agnarr, and Draegor.”
“I don’t suppose you found out anything surprising about them?”
“Not really. The nobles love Draegor because he terrifies his enemies.”
“That alone isn’t reason enough to overthrow him.”
“No. But we’re among his enemies, so that’s reason enough.”
“Does he have any redeeming qualities?”
“As a warlord he’s great at his job. He keeps petty squabbles at bay between the nobles.”
“Would Agnarr be a better king?”
“He’d be different but I wouldn’t get your hopes up at that happening anymore.”
I sighed, thinking it over.
“Still thinking about dying on the blackened shore?” asked Zara.
“No, but I’m thinking about Desdola. What do you know about her?”
“I heard Draegor had a witch. I assumed it was more exaggeration than reality.”
“Me too.”
“But …?”
“Have you ever had vampire blood before?”
“A drop. That was about it.”
“They have one foot in the grave, so to speak.”
“Yeah.”
“And they seemed to be linked to a seer.”
Zara strained a look. “Is there a link?”
“According to Torunn there is.”
“Could be a coincidence.”
“Maybe.”
Zara read into my silence. “I’ve seen this look on you before.”
“Really? What was I doing then?”
“Timing something while I was resolutely pissed off at you. So what is it now?”
“I think I know how to get us out of here.”
“Get back!” hissed Saskia, pulling everyone away from the door.
The lock snapped open. The door peeled back. The Lord of Fellgarden stepped inside, surveyed everyone within like he was counting us. He backtracked until his eyes landed upon me. “It’s time.”
I stared back at the vampire, giving him as little of a response as possible.
“You are to come with me.”
“For what purpose?”
He gestured to the top of the castle. “We’re going to see if you can fly.”
Chapter Eight
Not to say that I went willingly with the vampire but there was little I could do against the odds: Thirty four of us – all unarmed, with thirty two of whom were unproven in close-quarters combat – against one of him with a sword. It would be nothing short of a blood bath.
I received an interesting array of reactions on my way out. Zara’s eyes crinkled, presumably her way of wishing me well. Loken hesitated, praying to every god he knew that I wasn’t about to start a war. The cavalry followed suit behind Loken. The mages were resigned to hearing me splat to my death. The archers started to calculate their chances of thirty two against one instead of thirty three. The infantry, though. They actually looked as though I might be able to fight my way out of this.
Our dungeon door creaked to a pathetic close behind me. The wooden beam fell back into place. Three of the bear’s cubs were there to escort me through the castle while the vampire prodded me in the back. I was led through the great hall. A quarter of the faces from our meeting with Draegor remained. I did my best to lock in on Mikael’s descriptions of who was who while trying to remember if any of them would prefer to have a new king and an alliance with the Kaseras instead of the vampires, but Mikael’s information wasn’t exactly current or extensive. He had a wealth of gossip on hand but little in the way of treasonous confessions from the nobles, no doubt because the bulk of the people he actually knew were merchants and travelers.
I was pushed through a door, down a dark passageway with no source of light, up an unending helix staircase with aged steps which sloped at uneven angles until my heart burst with the climb. At long last we reached the top floor. A long, narrow corridor ran the full length of the castle. A short staircase stood nearby, leading up to a wonderfully thick and reinforced door.
The vampire held a wine skin close to my face. “Open.”
“Not thirsty.”
Needless to say I was soon thrown to the ground, held down, coughing and spluttering, and trying not to gag on the awful northern delicacy that seemed to be more blood and less wine. There was a distinct taste of copper and burnt paper across my tongue. Vampire blood, unless I was very much mistaken. Somehow I got the impression that they weren’t using it to treat a few of my aches and pains.
A jangle of keys rose through the helix staircase. The bear appeared, all six and a half feet of him, still wearing his mountain of furs. His shoulder pads bristled with mounds of tan-hide with a full compliment of brown hair shaking back and forth. From the rear he could’ve been mistaken for a three-headed giant. He lumbered up the stairs, one hand on the wall since there was no railing to heave himself up. I had fought a thumping pulse after the climb but this guy could barely handle it. Strange, then, if most of his life was spent going up and down the stupidly-long staircases. I hoped his knees would blow out from under him.
The vampire hissed in my ear.
“Keep it in your pants, ass-face,” I said.
He prodded me in the back, a gentle enough tap from him which almost sent me crashing into the wall ahead. The bear reached the top-most step. Sucked in a dragon’s worth of air. Looked me up and down.
“I’d like to speak to someone else,” I said. “Miss Kasera first, Desdola second, and Draegor third.”
The bear socked me in the gut, winding me with a fist that was more stone than flesh. He muttered something I didn’t understand.
“King Draegor,” translated the vampire.
The bear handed his set of keys to one of the cubs. He climbed the short flight of stairs to the roof. Unlocked the door. An icy breeze barreled towards me. The two remaining cubs yanked my cloak and jacket free, then pried off my three lengths of sapphire-poisoned bits of cloth. The vampire hissed, turned his nose away like the smell might make him throw up and, while fighting off a shiver, I was pushed up onto the rooftop of Castle Brilskeep.
The mist-covered lake lay ahead of me. A cloud-covered mountain range lay behind. Beside us stood the squat seaweed buildings of the city, though it was a city by northern standards and a glorified town by mine. Rowboats clanged against each other along the piers and moorings. Smoke rose from most of the homes – all a putrid smell of peat. I guessed that half of the people here would’ve spent their whole lives seeing nothing but dull grays and soiled greens.
My senses started to betray me, the blood wine slowly taking effect and making me feel a little woozy and giddy all rolled into one.
The bear prodded my hide armor. Chuckled. Said something disparaging which encouraged the cubs to chuckle as well. I had one cub on each side of me, holding my arms in place. The bear started to turn away from me, winding himself up for another gut-punch.
I snapped my knee up, arcing sideways and connecting with his wrist, driving his strength into the cub to my left.
Direct hit. Even though they both realized the shitty situation that was upon them at the same time, momentum was a bitch of a mistress. The cub scattered backward and dropped to his knees, spluttering. I swung my left fist up, clocking the guy holding my other arm right on the side of his jaw. Lights out.
I ran. No hope in fighting the vampire so I gunned it for the edge of the castle. Three hundred feet straight down and hoping like hell that the vampire wasn’t going to chase after me if I somehow survived the landing.
Didn’t make it. Not even close. The vampire wrenched me off my feet before I could make the leap and threw me onto my back, slamming me down with impressive speed. His jaws peeled back, his teeth a sickening yellow-orange, his eyes flaring with blood-lust. I threw
both fists up to his jaw. Connected. Didn’t break his hold. Pivoted my hips to roll free. Couldn’t. Snapped my knees up to throw him over my head. He moved about an inch.
He grabbed onto my armor and hurled me across the rooftop, me skidding to a stop and finding a kick coming straight towards my face. I reached up. Grabbed onto the cub’s foot just as his boot landed. Yanked him off balance, punched him in the balls, pulled him down.
The bear and remaining cubs charged me. I sprung to my feet, dodged out of the way of the cubs and wanted the bear all to myself. He was in a full charge too, a haphazard tackle coming my way. He spread his arms out like a vulture’s wings, ready to ensnare me. I dropped low – keeping my neck braced – pivoted, caught his shoulder with mine as I tried to spring him into a head-over-heels flip but he was heavier than I could handle and his momentum overwhelmed me. We crashed, the landing more painful than I expected, but I was ready again. I grabbed the bear’s beard and made a move towards the edge of the castle.
The vampire tackled me. The bear howled as I ripped a fistful of bristles from his face. I tried to throw the vampire off the ledge. He shoved me – three feet from falling to my death with a six foot push.
You know how you’re prepared for a certain painful event and you’re okay with it because it was your idea, but then someone fucks with your game plan? Even though they might deliver the same result everything seems so much more terrifying because it’s no longer in your control. Yeah. I was fine with leaping off the edge of the castle. I was not fine with being pushed off it. But there I was, one haphazard misstep towards a one hundred yard drop, my arms flailing, my chest pushed out with my center of gravity now completely over the edge, and my tiptoes the only thing that connected me to something stable.
The vampire latched onto my wrist. Yanked me back onto the roof, released, kicked me in the chest, and over the other edge I went. He caught me again, grabbing onto my ankle and throwing me back onto the rooftop.
I was no longer shivering from the cold.
The cubs hurried over. Picked me up. The bear stomped towards me with flecks of blood across his naked lips and cheeks. He had an ax raised in his hands and about to cleave me in two. I opened my mouth, ready to blast this fucker off the side of the castle.
