by Sela Croft
A couple of city guards walked beside me for protection, and I turned to the closest one. “How many men do we have available?”
I’d been so lost in thought that I’d almost forgotten the guards were there. They’d walked in silence, giving me to my thoughts. But the sound of their feet scraping against the stone pathway had pulled my mind back to the present.
The guards there for more than my protection. They were awaiting orders.
Even if I was still unsure of what to do, I had to do something. Merely sitting back and letting the enemy throw my city into turmoil was not the answer.
“A handful of fleets,” one of them replied.
“How many is a handful?”
“Three.”
“That’s not very many men,” I said. “Are there no others we can call to duty?”
“They have already been called, your grace,” the guard said.
“Of course, and I assume the reserves have been brought in?”
“A few days ago.”
A few days ago. So much had happened in a few days. It was hard to remember when one day ended and the next began. Time for a vampire was always a superfluous concept. We only kept time because of the humans who lived among us. They required schedules and shifts, and the crops needed tending based on season.
Although, it wasn’t in my nature to pay much attention to the flow of days, I prided myself on being able to identify the passage of time. It was part of being a ruler to all who inhabited my realm, humans and vampires alike.
It was ironic, then, that the arrival of a human would cause me to lose that ability. Since Callie had come into my life, things seemed to both speed up and slow down. Time spent away from her, dragged by. Time spent at her side went by, all too quickly.
“Would you like us to direct the available troops to a specified outpost?” one of the guards said.
“Maybe.”
“Sir, we need your orders.”
I knew they did. But to give them I needed guidance. And my sister had refused to provide any. It wasn’t clear what had upset her so much, and move her to act that way.
We’d entered the city, and I noticed the change in the air. The path leading to my sister’s home was isolated—cut off from the discord that had become commonplace among the citizens. The closer we got to the epicenter of our kingdom, the louder the roar of confusion became. By the time we reached the central hub—the governing building from which all official decrees were made—the sounds were deafening.
The guards followed me into the large, imposing building. Then the doors disappeared into the ceiling, distracting me. That was where I’d first seen Callie. It had been when my world had changed.
The memory was fresh in my mind. Even from across the room, her presence had beckoned to me. Her scent had drawn me to her, and her eyes—her fierce, violet eyes—compelled me to stay. From that day forward, her spirit had begun to captivate me, the pureness of her heart bewitched me.
“Perhaps we should order an attack.”
The voice of the guard ripped me back to the matter at hand. Each time my consciousness drifted from my tasks, it was increasingly difficult to focus.
“Perhaps,” I said.
I led the men through the bustling space, then up to my private office. To my surprise, a group of high-ranking warriors were waiting for me.
“What is it?” I said, then ushered them into the room.
It had been a while since I’d been to my office. Since Callie had appeared, I’d run my kingdom from my home. The space felt different than I remembered it. The blank, white walls were cold and lifeless. I stepped behind the desk, but didn’t sit down.
“We have reports regarding your sister’s kidnapping.”
“Finally,” I said. “Tell me what you’ve learned.”
“The only logical explanation for why the attack occurred at Natasha’s home, is that the perpetrator was aware she wasn’t as well defended there,” the largest of the men said.
“That was obvious,” I said. “Why would they risk attacking her in the city, where they would be seen? Everyone knows my sister’s home is secluded.”
“It’s not just that, your grace,” the man said. “On a related note, it’s come to our attention that the tower that was attacked wasn’t properly defended when the enemy attempted to kidnap the human girl.”
“That is interesting,” I said and sat down. “Why wasn’t the tower defended, as it should have been?”
“The rotation,” the man said. “It seems the raid happened during a shift change. Most of the guards were in the main tower, waiting for their replacements to arrive.”
“Do you know what that means?” one of the guards said.
“It means that the Fae are able to track our movements. They know where our defenders are…”
My voice drifted off as a realization struck me. That was it—that was exactly it. Our enemies knew where our defenders were, at any given moment. There was only one person in the realm with that ability. There was only one individual, who could locate any vampire at will.
Yet, I hesitated to believe it. Dequan was my cousin, and I didn’t want to envision my own blood turning against me. I couldn’t understand why he would have done that.
But the reason didn’t matter, so I swept aside any doubt. There could be no question that he was working with the Fae—telling them when to attack and where.
A shiver ran up my spine, as the implications became clear.
Of all the vampires who could turn against me, I feared Dequan the most. His powers were often underestimated. He wasn’t as quick as Florian, as strong as Valter, or as skilled in battle as myself. But his ability to find our weak points, pinpoint our vulnerabilities, gave anyone he chose to side with a clear advantage.
And made it seem nearly impossible for us to come out of this war victorious.
Chapter 34
Logan
I held back from fully committing to that theory. There was still a chance that Dequan wasn’t the traitor. Things looked bad—very bad. But I couldn’t bring myself to accept that a member of my own family would turn against me.
I thought back on recent interactions with my cousin. There had been nothing in his behavior that had seemed out of the ordinary. He had taken an interest in Callie. At the time, I had appreciated that fact, interpreted it as my life-long friend and beloved family member understanding the urgency I felt about our human visitor.
I was forced to reconsider.
It might have been foolish to allow Callie into our discussions. I might have put her in danger by doing so, even with those I trusted.
Callie was at my home, safe. She’d sworn that she’d stay there, had promised to wait for my return. And she was expecting me to arrive with news of her sister.
With all that had been happening, the search for Rosamon had drifted to the back of my mind. Guilt took hold. I had no idea what to tell Callie when I went home, since I had no new information to offer.
My discoveries had been concerning my family, not hers. I could only hope that she’d understand, and realize that I didn’t choose my current predicament. If I could, I’d be with her, instead of fighting enemies on every side.
I had to go to Callie, and dedicate my energy to help her find Rosamon.
I straightened up in my chair. The men around me stood at attention, as if expecting me to give them instructions. But I had nothing to say.
I had to focus on the matter at hand. I had to figure out who was behind the well-planned attacks on my city. It might be Dequan.
I had to entertain that possibility. No matter how painful the thought was. I had to explore what it could mean for the direction of the war. The eyes of the warriors and guards fixed on me.
They were waiting for me to give an order. Before I could, I had to prepare for the worst-case scenario. I would be the one leading, and deciding what these men would do, where they would go. Their lives were in my hands.
If Dequan
was the traitor, if the war had come to that, then our enemy would have advance information to use in planning an attack. And my weaknesses would be evident.
“Your grace, we’re wait—”
“You don’t think I know that?” I’d snapped, but my sharp retort had quieted the guard.
The most pressing question was why Dequan would have embarked on such treason.
We had grown up together. Our fathers and brothers had been very close. My father had entrusted my uncle with confidences; he’d been his right-hand man. I had hoped to mimic their relationship in the one I shared with my cousin.
Possibly, my cousin harbored resentment, because my brothers held status above him. And I shared secrets with Valter and Florian that I shared with no other. Brothers had a special relationship.
Dequan might have felt slighted. He was a bit arrogant, and his ego was an issue I hadn’t paid enough heed to.
“You believe that the Fae have had information in advance, correct?” I said, then looked up at the group around me.
“Yes, sir,” one said.
“Then why haven’t they attacked before? Why haven’t their attacks been more daring?”
They didn’t have an answer. Neither did I. It didn’t make sense. If my fears proved to be well-founded, then Dequan would be able to direct the enemy troops in assault after assault that would surely lead to my destruction.
Why would they wait, and risk being found out?
“We need to act fast,” I said and stood up. “If they know where our men are now, that doesn’t guarantee that they will know where they are in five minutes. We need to change our stations, change our routine. That has to be it; they know our routine.”
I barked out a series of orders, sending troops from one end of the city to the other, calling men back from the borderlands and placing them closer to sensitive locations deep within the city walls. I moved groups from one outpost to another, focusing our energy on the points that had previously been the most vulnerable.
“And be sure that my brothers are informed of the changes,” I said between commands. “Ensure that they learn of the new intelligence we’ve gained. Tell them that one of our own—someone we trust—may be working with the Fae. Warn them to be suspicious.”
My men jumped into action. When the last rushed out of the room, I settled back into my chair and focused on the worrisome task of confirming or refuting my cousin’s betrayal.
Part of me wanted to deny the obvious, but that wasn’t possible. There had to be something Dequan was relying on, a good reason why he’d waited to for the final blow.
He assumed he was safe in my inner circle, and had no reason to suspect that I’d figured out the truth. My family was most important to me, and I trusted each member. That might prove to be fatal. My blind trust of the family could turn out to be my greatest vulnerability.
I couldn’t sit around and ponder the question any longer. I needed to find Dequan and confront him. Between Raulia’s revelation that a vampire had been working with the group that had kidnapped my sister, and the disturbing fact that our enemies’ attacks had been so timely, I had valid reasons to question my cousin’s loyalty.
Determined as I was, I hesitated to walk out the door of my office. Confronting Dequan would mean potentially having to accept what I had long since feared the most. But there was no way to avoid it. I paced, letting the various scenarios play out in my head. I lost track of time; hours flew by.
My warriors were in action, executing my orders. That should improve the situation and buy us some time. I’d find Dequan and do what I had to, like it or not.
The second I crossed the threshold, my brother Florian appeared behind me. “I hoped I’d find you here,” he said, then guided me back to the office.
When I turned to face him, I knew that he didn’t bring good news. Aside from the soot covering his face, and the rips in his clothes, his expression was the clearest giveaway.
“What’s happened?”
“Another attack…many attacks, really.”
“Multiple attacks?”
Florian nodded solemnly. Following him deeper into the room and letting the door slide shut behind me, I felt suffocated. The attacks were coming closer together, and from the looks in my brother’s eyes, they were getting worse. More suffering, more pain, more uncertainty.
“Tell me the details,” I said and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Four stations, last I heard,” Florian said. “Our least well-defended stations were attacked, all at once, by the Fae monsters and their human vampire hunter companions.”
“How can that be? I just changed the…”
“They must have known. I received word that you believe someone we trust is the source of our enemy’s intel?”
I took a deep breath and nodded. Florian waited for me to say the words. But the second I did, they would become truth. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t any longer. I had to say it. More than that, I had to accept it.
“Dequan is helping the Fae.”
“It can’t be…”
“I thought the same thing. But denying it won’t make it any less true, brother. I’m afraid that we have to move past the shock, and focus on the best course of action.”
I swore that one day I’d figure out why Dequan had turned against us. But that day would have to wait. Accepting the truth meant that I had to act on it. And that’s exactly what I intended to do.
Chapter 35
Logan
The first order of business was to determine how bad the damage was. It was vital to know the status, so I could properly lead. “Florian,” I said, with my mind racing, “go to the attack sites, survey the damage and report back.”
“You’re not coming?”
“I have to check on Callie,” I replied. “She’s alone.”
“She’s at your home, so she’s safe.”
“That hasn’t ensured her safety before.”
“She put herself in danger, but you certainly don’t think she’d do that again?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “She promised to wait for me to return.”
“Then she will have to wait a little longer. You’re needed here now.”
My brother was right. No matter how much I worried about Callie, or how badly I wanted to return to her side, my place was with my people. They were suffering, while I had every reason to be assured that Callie was safe.
“And Natasha?” I said. “Perhaps we should check on her.”
“When you moved the guards, did you remove them from her home?”
“Of course not.”
“Then she is as safe as she can be. Callie and your sister are in the safest locations in the city, right now. The enemy is only striking where defenses are low.”
Although I was upset with my sister's refusal to be forthcoming, I wished only for her safety. Although, if she’d provided more information regarding the attacks, perhaps my troops wouldn’t be in such a dire situation.
The city was in danger; my people were suffering. I had to act, and vowed to be correct in my decisions.
“Curse Dequan,” I said, and led Florian out of the office. “And Natasha’s fickleness, for that matter. It seems that if we’re going to figure out what’s going on here, we’ll need to do it for ourselves, so take me to the battle location.”
My brother nodded, and we continued our slow march down the hallway. He reached out and rested his hand on my shoulder. In a flash, the ground beneath my feet changed from sleek tile to rough earth. The air became filled with smoke, and screams pierced through the sounds of cannon fire.
“Where are we?” I asked, then stopped to survey my surroundings.
“The hills just outside the city,” Florian said.
“Are we still inside the line?”
My brother nodded.
The line dividing the realm of light from the realm of darkness was meant to be unpassable by the Fae and their creatures of the dark.
One step across would suck the life-force from them.
The beasts darting about didn’t seem to be lacking any sort of life-force. The Fae were large, standing at least six inches taller than the tallest of our vampire army. Their skin was pale, almost translucent, and their eyes were sunken deep into their heads. Wings spouted from their backs—thin, paper-like wings that fluttered so rapidly, they were nearly invisible.
The Fae were once thought to be a beautiful race. Their fair skin and colorful garb, coupled with their grace and child-like appearance had given them an air of innocence. That was a thing of the past, though. The creatures I saw weren’t beautiful or innocent. They had fallen prey to the temptations of magic.
Although, the Fae were magical creatures, they had turned to the darkness in hopes of gaining more power. That power had come with a price, much like the bargain the vampires had made centuries before.
We had given up our humanity for abilities and immortality. They had given up their virtue. Their greed drove them away from the light and into the clutches of evil. The change was never more evident than in their appearance.
“This is only the start,” my brother said. “It gets worse.”
“How can it possibly get worse?”
All around us, explosions rang out. Humans scurried for cover, while vampires waged war against the Fae. Blurs of movement swooped past—vampires moving in for a strike. Before they could land their blows, they were thrown back by a force powerful enough to sever limbs and break bones.
The Fae were not alone in their conquest. Humans were helping them. It appeared that the vampire hunters did more than provide the physical vessel for the creatures to pass into our lands. They were joining in the fight, terrorizing those who remained faithful to the ruling vampires.
“We should go,” Florian said and placed his hand on my shoulder.
The next station he transported us to, was an outpost located on the border between the Fae world and our own. A large stone tower had once stood in that place. But it was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Out here, our numbers were low. The humans still faithful to us were holding off the Fae, to the best of their abilities. But they were rapidly losing ground.
