Of Light and Darkness

by Shayne Leighton

  Sasha continued to antagonize. “Age before beauty.”

  “Okay, everyone just shut up,” Sarah chimed in. She threateningly pointed her wand at Sasha. “I agree with Charlotte!”

  “Well, I ain’t about ta stay any place I’m not welcome,” Mr. Třínožka grumbled.

  “You’re very welcome here.” Sarah walked over and took one of his hands in hers. “These snobby Vampires have to learn how to get along with other Occult creatures.”

  Her voice disappeared around the corner as she led him out of the room.

  Charlotte stayed on the floor, cradling the lifeless Edwin in her arms and looked up to Valek, who was regarding everyone else still present.

  “Well, I think it is a good idea.” He shrugged.

  Francis sneered. “You’ve gotten very soft over the years, Valek, and you go and stoop to the level of a human being! ” Francis stepped closer to him. “I had very different intentions when I created you, darling.” He grabbed one of Charlotte’s wrists. “If she wasn’t keeping us fed, you both would be out on the street fighting to keep each other alive, for you are just as bad as she! ”

  He sank his teeth into Charlotte’s skin, and she cried out as she clasped his arm with her other hand. The feeling was harsh and cold, like ice picks.

  “That is a lie,” Valek said darkly. “You’re not getting rid of me for two reasons.”

  Francis dropped Charlotte’s arm and looked up at him expectantly.

  “You’d never win against the Regime without me and you know it. The second is you still want me. You always have and you always will, and I am just never going to be what you want me to be.”

  Charlotte looked at Valek, eyes wide. Did she really just hear what she thought she heard? Valek’s gaze shifted slightly toward her and back at Francis again in silence.

  “And we like Charlotte!” said Andela, rushing over to tourniquet Charlotte’s wrist.

  She hardy noticed as she continued to gape at Valek.

  “Very well. You are all just pinned against me, and that’s fine. I give you my home, and I am repaid with this.” Francis pushed his way out of the room. Sasha followed quickly after him.

  The coven looked back at Charlotte hungrily.

  She smiled nervously at them. “If you all could just give me a few minutes. I’m suddenly feeling a little light-headed.” She picked Edwin up in her arms and eyed Valek sourly as she walked out of the room.

  Chapter Twenty

  Taking Precaution

  Charlotte laid a fire in Sarah’s fireplace. Sarah was next to her on the floor picking glass out of the Shape-shifter’s appendages.

  “What happened to Edwin?” Charlotte asked as she finished and dusted off her sooty hands.

  “Dunno,” said Mr. Třínožka. “One day I was talkin’ to him in his shoppe, the next day I came back, I found him on the floor like that.”

  “It’s a good thing you left.” Sarah finished fastening the bandage together. “If they ever figured out you knew Charlotte, they would have come looking for you, too.”

  “Thank you there, missy.”

  “Aww.” Sarah grinned. “How cute are you?” She turned to Charlotte. “I love country monsters.” She skipped to the back of the room to put her first aid away.

  “Can you fix Edwin, Sarah?” Charlotte asked.

  “I’ll see what I can do. There must be some way.” She stepped back over to the fireplace, hanging a small black cauldron over the hook. “Hot cider will be ready in ten minutes. Those testy mosquito people are just going to have to wait.”

  Charlotte sat cross-legged in front of the fire. The warmth felt so good to her cheeks. She wondered when she would ever see the sun again. Mr. Třínožka sat behind her with a thump, his eight legs stretching out. Dust from the old rug flickered through the air in the flame light.

  “Feels good to be safe for now.” He pushed the bridge of his spectacles up on his nose.

  “Yes.” Charlotte sighed, not believing it would last. She wondered exactly how long it would take for one of Aiden’s men to find her. All she had to do now was play the waiting game. She peered over her shoulder. “Sarah?”

  Sarah was flipping through her prized spell book. “Yes, love?”

  “In your vision, all you saw was me walking down the aisle?”

  Sarah stopped and looked at her. “The fates are very tricky, Charlotte. You never want to question them or second-guess what they are trying to tell you. The vision I saw is etched in stone and sure to happen. They only show you a small piece of what is to come, but it’s up to you to handle the rest.”

  “But what exactly was the bit you saw again?”

  “Enough, Charlotte. The more I talk about it, the more upset you’re going to get.” The Witch dug her pointy, little nose deeper into the book.

  Charlotte sighed and, resting her chin on her knees, watched the fire again. Mr. Třínožka placed a hand on her shoulder, which made her feel even warmer. He smelled to Charlotte like one of those butterscotch candies you forgot about in your pocket for a year. The older, the sweeter.

  “No matter what, we’re gonna stick together.” His mustache ruffled.

  Charlotte smiled so big her eyes crinkled. “Thank you.”

  He grumbled something incoherent behind her.

  “Okay. I think I found a spell for Edwin, but it’s going to take me a few days to produce. It requires a lot of things that are going to be slightly difficult to find in the city.” Sarah paced, still squinting at the pages.

  “Who’s left in the Occult, Mr. Třínožka?” Charlotte asked.

  “Not many. The Elves are still sittin’ pretty like always, but a lot of the Fairies left town. And with lunch gone, most of the Shape-shifters go.” He bristled. “That one Witchy friend a yers. She’s gone.”

  “Evangeline?” Charlotte spun to face him. She hadn’t thought about her in days. She remembered the promise Evangeline made the morning they were caught.

  “Yessum. That’d be the one,” he muttered. “They arrested her. Took her away in shackles through the town square.”

  A lump started to form in Charlotte’s throat. They had to have killed her, she thought. She silently turned back around to the fire, sorry for all the bad things she ever said to her. The contents in the pot started to bubble in front of her.

  “Whoops! Cider’s ready!” Sarah sprung for the cauldron, taking it off the hook with the hem of her skirt. “Excuse me.” She placed the pot on the crooked gnome coffee table, then pulled a small ceramic mug from her apron pocket and filled it with the hot, russet liquid. She handed it to Charlotte. “There you go! Drink it up. If you keep them waiting any longer I’m afraid they might go fishing for rats.” She absentmindedly flipped her spell book open to the page she had left off.

  “You’re not one of those…one of those….” Mr. Třínožka searched for the word.

  “A blood doll?” Charlotte downed the cup in one gulp and closed her eyes, waiting for the dizziness to go away. “Yes. I am.” She gritted her teeth like it had been a shot of whisky and walked out of the room.

  Valek was waiting in the hallway leaning against the wall.

  Charlotte stopped. “Hi.”

  “Hello.” He dropped his gaze.

  “Well, I finally understand why Francis hates me.” She bit her lower lip.

  “Hate is the wrong word.”

  “Envies me,” she amended.

  “He does, but I know for a fact he doesn’t dislike you as much as he is letting on—because you are making me happy.”

  Charlotte recalled the night they first got to Francis’ house, when he covered the coffin lid for her. She remembered how kind his face looked.

  Valek changed the subject. “Are you returning to your room?”

  “I figure I’d better, before someone kills me.”

  She meant it as a joke but Valek didn’t crack a smile. He pressed both his hands to the wall behind her, entrapping her there. He leaned in close. “I love you
, Lottie.”

  I love you so much, Valek.

  “I want to come with you,” he said.

  “You can’t handle it.” She ducked out from between his arms and started up the stairs.

  “No. I can’t.” He turned to follow her. “But if I sit there and watch, I expect they would be less inclined to take advantage of the situation.” He smiled. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine, now. But I think it’s better if I just handle this alone.” She stopped on the second to final step and looked at him, her hand on the banister. “You keep a lot of secrets from me, Valek.”

  His face fell. “I’m going to make all of this up to you.”

  Charlotte pressed her forehead to his, shaking her head left to right in a sort of nuzzle. She pulled away, leaving him smiling.

  “What was that?” he asked.

  “I was attaching my brain to yours. I know it already is, but maybe if I keep doing that, I’ll be able to read your mind, and then you won’t be able to keep anything else from me.” Charlotte smiled and continued walking.

  “Lottie?”

  Charlotte stopped and looked at him again.

  “No more secrets.” He smiled.

  She smiled back before disappearing down the dark hallway into her room.

  Dusana was already sitting on the bed, waiting. Broken glass still shimmered on the floor like the fangs in her mouth.

  “Where did we leave off?”

  “Where’s Lusian?”

  “You seemed a little apprehensive before so we thought it would be better for you if we did this separately.” She opened her arms wide, beckoning Charlotte to her side.

  Charlotte glanced behind her to see Valek had defiantly slipped in after her. He stood with his arms crossed, staring at Dusana.

  “How the guardian protects his virgin ever so fervently,” the dark Vampire said musically.

  Charlotte could have sworn something red swelled under the moonstone surface of Valek’s face, but that was indeed impossible.

  ***

  Dusana was beginning to finish up. Valek sent a wave of anger smashing into her consciousness from his side of the room. She opened her eyes, glaring up at him, as she pulled away and licked the wound on Charlotte’s wrist clean.

  “Done.” She smiled and got up from the bedside. She walked out of the room with a stained grin toward Valek.

  Once she was gone, he hurried over to his Lottie, taking her small hand in his. She was too weak to get up, or to even lift her head to look at him. He scooped her up in his arms.

  “You were right. I cannot handle this,” he murmured as he dashed out of the room.

  “Where are you taking me?” Her head rolled back onto his shoulder.

  “To finish my conversation with Francis.” Valek flew down the lavender hallways and staircases to the hallway with the basement trap door.

  “I need Sarah first.” Her eyelids slit open as she appraised where they were going.

  “No, my love. You’ll be okay. He must see you like this to understand.” Valek kicked open the wooden door and plummeted into the darkness.

  He landed easily, interrupting Lusian mid-thought. The coven turned to look at him.

  “Ah, Valek you’re just in time, my friend.” Francis dramatically extended his arms as he stood. “And you have made a delivery.” He licked his chops at the sight of the girl.

  Charlotte grimaced and rolled her head toward Valek’s shoulder in an effort to hide.

  “Francis, I’m sorry, but this is going to end now. Not even Sarah’s potions can keep her healthy anymore. Perhaps if there were less of us. But for her sake, I am taking both of us away from here. Thank you for your hospitality.” Valek turned to ascend up to the house, but he was instantly met with Francis blocking the way.

  “I’m afraid we had an agreement, Valek.” Francis’ jet eyes shifted once toward Lusian and back.

  “Well, I’m revoking it. If you could kindly step aside,” Valek ordered.

  “I will kill her.”

  “I am stronger than you.”

  There was silence for a moment. Francis kept his thoughts guarded.

  “I know you won’t hurt her,” Valek finally spoke. “Look at her. She cannot live another night like this. We must find another way.”

  Francis frowned and looked at Lusian again. “You…cannot leave us. We won’t survive.”

  Valek smirked. “Do you think because I survived the Regime once, I can overthrow the entire court?”

  “You survived the Regime twice,” Andela murmered from her seat near the fireplace. “You are the only Vampire to have ever done that.”

  Valek lowered his eyes. He thought for a moment. “Fine. We stay. But there must be a new agreement. I insist it. Charlotte is not to be confined, or fed upon like a caged rat.”

  “Then you cannot feed on her either,” Francis proclaimed quickly, the bottom of his cane striking the dirt floor.

  Valek’s nostrils flared. “I agree.”

  “Good. Also, I own you again. I will be your master, as when I first created you.” Francis raised his eyebrows.

  Valek’s face quivered at this.

  “I was once your liege. I made you. I shall be again. If you do not agree, then you are free to go, but I cannot promise your safety once you cross the threshold of this house.”

  “Fine,” Valek concluded finally.

  “That means you will follow my orders as I give them.”

  “Fine,” Valek said again. “But Charlotte will sleep down here with me. If…she wishes.” His voice broke on the last part.

  “Fine,” Francis faltered.

  “Good.”

  “Good,” said Lusian. “Valek, there are plans we have been discussing that we wish to share with you, if you lovers are done quarreling.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Et Tu, Brute?

  A shrouded figure made her way through Old Town. In the dankness of the late autumn evening, no one noticed her. Beggers on the street didn’t ask her for petty change as she walked past. Her shoes seemed to make no sound on the wet cobblestone. The astronomical clock pointed its long, antique-gold arm at Aquarius.

  The cloaked woman, who had many a satchel slung at her side, slid around corners of the large buildings to the dark alleys. The face of the moon illuminated her fresh, pearl skin when she gazed up at it. It would be full at the beginning of next month. A harvest moon. She smiled and let her hood hide her face again.

  She slipped back out onto a main street. Now in Wenceslas Square, she effortlessly dodged mortals passing around her. Like a cat, she kept to the shadows and avoided the bustling streets and the golden illumination of the streetlamps. She was a master at keeping herself completely concealed. Sounds of mortal automobiles whizzed past her, but she ignored them as the city ignored her.

  Once again, finding that she was in the bowels of another alley, she was met by the only human who did pay her any mind. The drunken, burly man grabbed her delicate shoulder and spun her around to face him. If she were human, it would have been violent enough to snap her arm out of its socket.

  “Where do you think you’re going, woman?” He had a nearly empty flask in his hand, and she saw most of his teeth were gone, too. When he looked into her flawless face, he instantly fell to hypnosis.

  “Pardon?” Her voice was delicate and musical, like a single lilac in the harsh night air.

  The man remained silent, continuing to stare into her cat-like green gaze.

  “That is what I thought you said.” Her hand plunged into one of the sacks at her hip, and she quickly pulled out a silvery, crystal dagger. She plunged it into the heart of the man.

  He cried out, his massive head rolling back as he fell to his knees before her. There was no incantation to enchant the man. This effort was meant to kill him. The woman took something else out of her bag—an empty glass bottle—and held it below the hemorrhaging wound, collecting as much as she could before stowing it away again and continuing h
er journey.

  She finally made her dissention to Josefov, Prague’s previous Jewish ghetto when the Nazi occupation still held the city tight in its fists. The small area of the capital had not since improved much, and the woman decided if there were something that had the intention of hiding, it would be in this part of the city.

  A smart notion, she thought, when she closed her eyes and the familiar scent of lavender and death filled her nose quickly. The undead were in the immediate area.

  Before taking another step, she ran her pointed nails across her chest, finding the small amethyst amulet strung there by pure silver. She smiled and continued walking.

  ***

  Charlotte found herself back in the lowest, dankest part of the house once again. This time though, she wasn’t being studied fervently like the outsider she was. The feeling this time was much more inclusive, though the hungry stares did still exist. She tried her best to ignore them.

  Sarah sat next to her, under Valek’s orders, to ensure whatever spells she had to perform to bring Charlotte back to full health would be done. Mr. Třínožka sat on the other side of her. Valek, however, was bound by their verbal contract to stay beside Francis.

  Charlotte did not understand the Vampiric code being conducted before her. Her entire life was spent with Valek, but she was coming to find she truly knew nothing at all about his culture. She watched him carefully behind her frown. Why did he not meet her gaze? He was avoiding her eyes, she could tell.

  Valek’s eyes quivered once. If Charlotte had blinked, she wouldn’t have noticed this all too slight reaction to her thoughts. She knew he was listening intently to her. Francis, however, was smirking. He must be loving the silent exchange between she and Valek—how she was trying to get his attention from across the circle. Charlotte’s stomach flipped as it did when she used to think of Evangeline, when Francis ran his claws once through the back of Valek’s hair. He smiled when Charlotte’s gaze burned into his.

  “We had an idea, Valek,” Lusian began. “Overthrowing the Regime with just the members of this coven wouldn’t be impossible. We just need to clear the path to Vladislov without getting killed by Aiden first.”