BloodPledge

by Tima Maria Lacoba

  They were ignored, and the murmurs turned to vocalised questions.

  ‘Is it true, lady, that your blood is poisonous?’ someone said when Alec and I reached the dais.

  My hand flew to my chest in an effort to stop the thunderous beating of my heart. They know; they know.

  Be calm, darling. Alec’s voice whispered in my mind. He squeezed my fingers when we turned to face them. ‘You’re out of order, Prefect O’Toole.’ Prefect from Hibernia – Ireland, he said in my mind.

  ‘It’s an honest question, my lord princeps. One which Lord Lucien refuses to answer,’ he replied in a soft Irish accent.

  This was greeted with nods and vocal assents. I gripped Alec’s arm, unsure whether to answer. Luc spoke. ‘All questions will be answered in due time.’ His voice had a sharp edge, which silenced some who were about to speak. Their open mouths instantly shut.

  Not Prefect O’Toole. ‘You’re not denying it then?’

  Luc growled.

  Timur’s moustached upper lip curled into a smug smile as he stared at me from the front row. Alec must have noticed, for the arm I clutched tensed, and his fingers formed into a fist.

  Oh, this is not starting well.

  ‘Is it true, Lord Princeps?’ someone else asked.

  ‘We have a right to know,’ yet another stated. ‘Since none of the previous Ingenii suffered such an affliction.’

  Affliction? Not as far as I was concerned. It saved my life. I was about to say so when a gentle squeeze on my arm stopped me. I glanced up to see Alec give me a barely perceptible shake of his head.

  I bit my tongue, took a deep breath and scanned the pale faces before me, especially Timur’s. His smile had increased. Why? Did he know who I was? How could he? It had been such a tightly guarded secret. Perhaps he didn’t know. Perhaps he was stabbing in the dark, as they say, hoping to stumble on the truth and turn it against Luc and the Principate. The more I mulled it over, the more I sensed the situation would worsen if we continued to hide the fact that I was the prophesised Child of Light and Darkness. But it was not my decision to make.

  ‘You forget yourselves,’ Alec said. ‘You’ve all been summoned here to take The Pledge.’ The power in his voice quelled any further discussion. Even Timur’s smug look faded, yet the malevolence in his eyes remained.

  I looked around. Jake and Terens were positioned on either side of the room; Sam was near the door and Cal stood directly behind the last row of seats. All four cast uneasy glances at each other.

  ‘With respect, my lord,’ a lone, brave voice began, ‘you ask a commitment from us, yet you’re unwilling to give a reason for it. Personally, I find it an insult. My loyalty has never been in question.’

  Several “Aye’s” echoed around the room.

  Alec, Marcus and Luc glanced at each other, and as if coming to some silent agreement, nodded. As Marcus took the other two Elders aside, Alec again addressed the crowd. ‘Brethren, please be seated,’ he said. ‘All will be answered.’

  As he and I sat down, Alec leaned over and whispered, ‘Unless Luc reveals who you are, there will be no Pledge.’

  The pulse in my throat hammered and I stared at him.

  Alec’s voice whispered in my mind again, Breathe darling, calm.

  I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply three times, pictured my heartbeat slowing, my pulse returning to normal. A room full of vampires was not the place to show fear – it would only excite them. When I opened my eyes, many lavender gazes were still trained on my neck, but fewer then before.

  Good girl.

  I turned my head and smiled. ‘Thanks.’

  He interlaced our fingers and kissed my fingertips.

  ‘Won’t it make things worse if we tell them?’

  ’We have no choice. You can see their mood. Got to risk it.’

  Luc crouched in front of me. ‘Ma petite, it appears I can’t hide you any more. There’s no longer any point.’ He looked at me as if waiting for my affirmation. If I didn’t give it, Luc would have to create a pretty convincing lie for the unusual quality of my blood, and I had a feeling if vampires could smell emotions, they could probably sniff out a lie – and that could make matters even worse. Whatever loyalty Luc commanded could be lost. It hinged on my decision.

  ‘If it means The Pledge can proceed, then go ahead, tell them,’ I said.

  He nodded, rose and stood next to my chair. From the corner of my eye I saw the other two Elders return to their seats – I would have loved to have seen their reactions when Marcus told them about me. He stood next to Luc, beckoned to our men and whispered to them in a closed huddle. They went back to their posts.

  ‘Brethren,’ Alec began, and a hush descended – out of respect, I assumed – but it may have been from a sense that something of great importance would be announced. Then again, it could have been simply out of self-preservation. Who’d want to be singled out to face the princep’s wrath? Even Timur sat quietly, his gaze fixed on us. ‘A few days ago, an attempt was made on the life of Lady Laura, led by one of our Elders, Lady Maris Quesnell, who is now deceased.’

  This announcement was met with a general murmur. Once again, the memory of Maris’s screams filled my ears as her body burnt to ash after consuming my blood.

  ‘Was it the Ingenii’s blood?’ someone asked.

  My hands gripped the arms of the chair. Calm, Laura.

  I looked up to see Luc glaring at the man who spoke, but it was Alec who confronted him. ‘It was and Maris paid the price for her rebellion.’ His voice was dangerous.

  ‘Ah, so there we have it,’ Timur’s oily voice drawled. ‘But why is her blood so toxic?’

  ‘The Lady Laura is part-vampire and part-Ingenii. My daughter,’ Luc suddenly announced. ‘And her mother is my wife – the Lady Judith.’

  A second of silence greeted this pronouncement before the room erupted. I sat further back in my seat as some prefects rose and strode to the front, hurling questions at Luc and Marcus, and even Alec. Did he know about this and for how long? Why the secret? Others remained seated and spoke quietly among themselves. Jake, Cal, Sam and Terens had unsheathed their swords and blocked the exits, their gazes darting from the prefects to our besieged dais where Marcus, Luc and Alec were trying to calm the agitated crowd.

  Marcus’s voice boomed, ‘Be seated Brethren, and all will be explained.’

  ‘What explanation is needed for Lord Lucien fucking the Ingenii!’ someone called out.

  ‘Nothing in our laws say I can’t,’ Luc retorted.

  ‘It’s never been done and sets a precedent,’ another added.

  ‘For the simple reason that all the previous Ingeniis were men, and I’m not inclined that way,’ Luc said.

  Laughter from some of the prefects slightly defused the tense situation, and many looked at me with renewed interest. Marcus laid a hand on Luc’s shoulder, but my father’s fists were tightly clenched. A few of the women prefects eyed me and Alec. Were they trying to see whether he and I had a similar relationship? That wouldn’t have been difficult. They could probably smell Alec’s scent all over me. Besides that, the serpent rings glowed whenever our hands touched, and when we made love, the room in which we lay became bathed in a ruby aura. I glanced down at my hand. The serpent’s eyes shone.

  ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, Lord Marcus,’ Prefect ‘O’Toole spoke up again, ‘but doesn’t that mean we’re in the presence of the prophesised Child of Light and Darkness? Her being the offspring of a vampire and an Ingenii? Unless, of course, my interpretation of the prophesy is wrong?’ He looked from Marcus to me, and so did everyone else.

  A heavy silence settled over the room.

  As a teacher, I was used to being the focus of attention – by little eyes that regarded me with respect, and some awe – and I wasn’t daunted by it. But what faced me now would have caused the heart of the most hardened teacher to quail, as the penetrating gaze of several hundred otherworldly eyes pinned me to my seat.

  Breathe, Laura. Ca
lm. I repeated it as a mantra, determined not to appear weak or afraid; determined to stand up for myself, especially as I had enough knowledge of the curse to answer for myself. It was time I did so.

  I took a deep breath, clenched my fist, and touched Marcus’s arm. ‘Let me answer.’ He raised an eyebrow, and a faint smile appeared. I took that for a yes and turned to Prefect O’Toole. ‘Your interpretation is not wrong, and it’s also the reason why my blood is lethal.’ I disliked the word “poisonous”.

  ‘How long have you known, lady?’ O’Toole’s bright lavender eyes burned into mine. I guessed they might have been grey before his transformation, judging by his straight, ebony hair.

  ‘Since Maris’s death. Before that, I had no idea.’

  ‘And yet the Lord princeps drank from you at the Ritual,’ he said slowly, his eyes narrowed. ‘How is that possible?’

  ‘We have the same blood,’ Alec answered. ‘Lord Lucien is both Laura’s father and my sire, and then of course, the serpent rings chose me. You were there. You saw it.’

  Prefect O’Toole inclined his head and sat down.

  Alec gave a brief report of Maris’s attempt to usurp the Principate and how she had been planning to use me. I shuddered at the memory. There were several gasps among the prefects. ‘Earlier this evening, I was attacked in the car park of my apartment building,’ he said. ‘Now you know why Lady Laura was hidden in infancy until she came-of-age, and why we insist on the Pledge. Many of you are loyal and support the Principate, but unfortunately, not all are.’

  Timur kept his head down, so I couldn’t see his face. Some prefects stared straight ahead, their expressions blank, while others shifted in their seats and looked at those around them. None said a word, until a tall, dark-haired woman stood and spoke.

  ‘And what if the Principate ends, my lord? We all know the words of the prophecy: if the Destined One bears the child of one descended from the witch, that child’s blood will be human – the Gift of the Ingenii will be gone. How will the Principate be sustained?’ Her tightly curled ringlets danced around her waist as she spoke.

  I stopped my hand from sliding onto my belly, an almost automatic response whenever anyone mentioned the words “baby”, “child” or “pregnancy”.

  ‘Baroness Milena, the Principate will not end,’ Alec said emphatically. ‘It’s the only thing which stands between us and barbarity. As long as the Elders are united in this purpose, nothing will change. We do not need to daywalk to maintain order, and as for the choice we will face on that day – if it comes—we’ve already made our decision. We live.’

  The woman’s head swivelled toward Jake. He gave her a brief nod.

  ‘Your lands are safe, Baroness,’ Alec assured her. She glanced at Jake again before resuming her seat.

  Well, that’s interesting, I thought and wondered if there was something between them. I made another mental note, this time to ask Alec.

  ‘Your strength will not be as great, my lord,’ Timur said. It was the first time he’d spoken since being brought here.

  ‘Perhaps not as much, Count, but I doubt there are enough rebels to beat me and my men,’ Alec replied.

  ‘Yet two of your men were taken prisoner,’ Timur retorted, his eyes narrowed, sneer in place.

  I didn’t need to imagine his enjoyment knowing Maris’s henchmen had captured Terens and Sam and held them in cages, after she’d exposed them to the sun for several seconds.

  ‘How would you know that?’ Alec asked. ‘As far as we are aware a tweet was sent, but it didn’t contain that information.’

  The room went quiet as everyone followed the interchange between Alec and the Hungarian prefect. Although the prefects may not have heard all the particulars of what had happened, I was sure they were putting the pieces together.

  ‘It’s common knowledge,’ he asserted.

  ‘If that’s so, why did I see so many surprised faces among your fellow prefects when I mentioned it?’ Alec said, almost as if he were baiting Timur or attempting to extract information, or... I finally tweaked to what was happening, and the reason why he and Rasputin were brought here under armed escort – Alec must suspect him of treachery. And, if that was true....

  ‘That’s not my problem. Only repeating what I heard,’ Timur said. If he was guilty, then the confidence in his tone and demeanour were frightening. For the length of a vampire heartbeat, he faced Alec, and his eyes darted to the other Elders. Slowly his sneer faded. He rose from his seat, took a step forward and said, ‘Are you accusing me of being in league with the Rebels?’ After a moment of silence, he said, ‘Where’s your proof?’

  ‘Right here.’ Alec said, and with a nod to Sam, the entrance doors slid open.

  Karl stood there, hands deep in the pocket of his trousers, a grin on his face. ‘Now, who said, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”?’

  Gasps and murmurs came from the crowd. Timur spun around and swore loudly. Those who had been seated on either side of him, and even behind, rose and moved away until he was isolated in the front row.

  Karl strode toward the dais, his gaze fixed on Timur. ‘Surprised?’ He pulled from his pocket a mobile phone and held it aloft for all to see. ‘It’s all here – the texts you sent instructing your underlings to capture the Ingenii and overthrow the Principate. Every word condemns you.’

  Timur growled and surged toward Karl, but Terens was on him in an instant, forcing him to his knees, the tip of his sword pressed to his neck. He may have been subdued, yet Timur’s expression was anything but compliant. His eyes flashed defiance. Snarling, saliva dripped from his exposed fangs.

  ‘And I quote,’ Karl read the text aloud when he reached the dais, ‘“We kill the princeps first” —I gasped— “then the other Elders and everyone who won’t join us.”’

  Timur struggled beneath Terens’s grip on his shoulder, growling and uttering what I assumed were curses, in Hungarian.

  ‘Interesting reading. Shall I go on?’

  ‘Let’s give the Count the benefit of the doubt,’ Alec suggested. ‘Perhaps his phone was stolen and someone else sent those incriminating messages.’

  Karl punched numbers into the mobile. Within seconds, a ring tone came from somewhere on Timur’s body. Terens leaned down, retrieved the phone and threw it to Alec, while keeping the sharp point of his sword at the kneeling prefect’s neck.

  ‘You deserve–’ Alec stopped abruptly, sniffed the air and turned to Luc. ‘Smoke!’

  That word made my stomach drop.’ Where?’

  ‘Cellar,’ Luc said. ‘Sam raced down there when his security alarm went off.’

  I hadn’t seen him leave. It wasn’t just wine stored in the cellar, but the blood-vault, and they were holding Rasputin and the two rebels there. If there was a fire... .

  The prefects began to murmur among themselves, perhaps sensing something was wrong. Marcus leaned over to Alec, who whispered something back. That’s when I heard the ear-piercing trill of a fire alarm coming from somewhere in the house.

  ‘Brethren,’ Marcus cried. ‘We apologise for the interruption in proceedings, but we’ve just learnt there is a small fire in the basement. Please leave The Residence at once.’

  Panic filled the room. Prefects fled in all directions – some down the staircase, others out the windows.

  ‘My God!’ Alec exclaimed, and an expression of horror crossed his face – something I’d never seen before. That alone sent a wave of dread through me.

  ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘I need to get you out!’

  The blood left my cheeks, and in spite of the warmth of the night, a sick coldness settled over me. A fire! How?

  Alec grabbed my hand, and we ran toward the panelled wall. He flattened his palm against one side and the panel swung open to reveal a hidden passageway – presumably the same one he’d come through only days earlier. He scooped me up and ran along the dimly lit corridor and down a flight of narrow stairs. I glanced over his shoulde
r and Luc was running behind, followed by Jake and Cal. Directly behind them, Karl was leading the Baroness Milena by the hand.

  Where was Terens? The last I saw, he was dragging a reluctant Count Timur after us.

  ‘Alec,’ Luc cried out. ‘Take Laura to the jetty. Judy and Kari are already there. Get them onto my yacht.’

  ‘What about you?’ Alec said.

  ‘Meet you there. Terens is injured.’ He didn’t wait for Alec’s response, but turned and disappeared back up the stairs with Jake, their speed a blur to my human eyes. ‘Stay with them,’ I heard him say to Karl as he dashed past.

  I gasped at his words. Terens!

  Milena turned her head and gazed at Jake’s retreating back.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Alec said. I lowered my head onto his shoulder and closed my eyes as the walls and light fixtures sped by at dizzying pace. My body registered the twists and turns he took, and just as I felt we’d reached the bottom, there was a loud boom and the ground seemed to rock. Alec’s step never faltered.

  ‘Shit! There goes my Armagnac,’ Cal muttered.

  ‘How much further?’ Karl asked.

  ‘Nearly there,’ Alec said. ‘The side entrance.’

  ‘Yeah, kitchen’s probably gone, and Luc’s best Bordeaux with it,’ Cal lamented.

  Seconds later, Alec stopped. I opened my eyes as he kicked open a door and stepped through it. The cool night air embraced my cheeks as we exited somewhere near the rear of the house, from a side passage lined with garbage and recycle bins, their dark contours illuminated in the glow of the inferno. A window above us exploded. Alec put on a burst of speed before sparks and glass fragments rained on us.

  The entire ground floor was ablaze, and the bedroom wing on the floor above bled smoke, obscuring the stars and creating an eerie orange haze in the night sky. The wail of sirens came from the street, and the flashing red and blue lights from fire engines vied with the flames in brightness.

  ‘This really pisses me off!’ Cal exclaimed.