Amanda ran her eyes over the castle. Timmy smiled fondly. He’d used his own funds to restore the castle and bring its masonry and façade back up to standard. It had been glorious once – some of the pictures and descriptions in the old records were truly inspiring – and he wanted it to be glorious again. Sure, the bill was already astronomical, and it might have been cheaper to knock the whole thing down and start again, but this was where he’d grown up. For better or for worse, it was his home. He would find a way to get it done. It didn’t hurt that he had several lucrative investments to fall back on and his work for the Council had certainly paid off quite handsomely too. His improved relations with the Council also made it much easier for him to expand his investments into areas that would previously have been all but impossible for a wanted criminal. Whatever happened in the future, he would leave Black Tower Castle better than he’d found it. Then again, if that was the goal, he shouldn’t have let Avraniel decorate more than one courtyard. Oh well. Maybe people would appreciate carnivorous and poisonous plants more in the future.
Amanda turned to him. “It is impressive. It’s not the most elegant castle I’ve ever seen, but it is impressive.”
“It certainly is.” Timmy angled the zombie wyvern toward the main courtyard. “Time to land. We can discuss what happens next in the dining room since that’s where we always end up whenever something happens. I’ve already had Gerald contact James, so there should be a message waiting for us.”
“You have caves, but do you have any bats?” Amanda murmured.
Timmy was confused for a moment until he realised why she was asking. Vampires were famous for their ability to take on familiars – animals that heeded their commands and could serve as their eyes and ears. Although different bloodlines had affinities for different animals, the oldest of all vampire bloodlines, the one Amanda was proud to be a member of, was renowned for its bond with bats and wolves.
“We do have a few bats but not many. They can’t roost in most of the caves due to the… uh… other things down there. But I can order some in if you like, and we could clear out a couple of caves for them with Sam’s help.” Timmy pointed off to the side. “Although if you’re interested in winged rodents…” One of the rats had leapt off the zombie wyvern. It was gliding to the ground using some kind of winged contraption, and the others were not far behind. “They’ve got you covered.”
“My, my. Such ingenuity.”
“They do come in handy. Sometimes, I wonder if they’re part dwarf, their ideas are that good. It’s a pity they think Katie’s in charge. I wonder how much time I’ve got before they decide to come after me.” He reached over and nudged Gerald who was devoting all of his energy to keeping his stomach under control. “Easy there, Gerald. You only need to last a little bit longer.”
“Oh, thank the gods. I can’t wait to be on the ground again.”
They landed easily enough although Katie’s landing was less graceful. His cute and cuddly apprentice was a genius, but she couldn’t handle her zombie wyvern with the same finesse as Timmy. A smooth landing was something he prided himself on, and he wasn’t about to botch it now that he had a visitor along for the ride. No Grand Necromancer worthy of the title would muck up a landing. He helped Gerald down – more like carried him down – and called some of the castle’s zombies over to help with everything else that needed doing.
However, they hadn’t even been on the ground for more than a minute or two before one of the castle’s living servants, a stout woman who served as the head of the maids who saw to tasks that required a more human touch, bustled into the courtyard.
“My lord!” she cried. “I apologise for not informing you earlier, but we have guests! They insisted on surprising you… and… and…”
“Guests?” Timmy reached for his shovel. He didn’t often have guests, and it was even more unusual for them to come uninvited. He didn’t like the thought of being surprised either. Most of the surprises in his life had involved a reasonably high probability of ending in death. But since he’d left Sam and a few of his most trusted servants in charge of whom to allow in and out of the castle, these guests couldn’t be too bad. They wouldn’t have let in anyone who wanted to kill him. “And you let them in?”
The woman gave him a helpless look and wrung her hands. “We couldn’t refuse – not… not them!” She turned and pointed to one of the doors that led out into the courtyard. “Oh, here they are now! I’ll leave them to you, my lord.” She gave him a quick bow and scurried off. Timmy sighed. Who could have unnerved the normally stalwart maid so badly? They had to be someone important, which was another way of saying they had to be someone troublesome.
He was right.
“Hello!” Vicky waved exuberantly and skipped toward him. “You’re finally back. I was wondering what was taking you so long.”
Timmy stared. His eye twitched. He knew Vicky. She’d been his best friend during his academy days. All things considered, she was probably still his best friend. It helped a lot that she’d never tried to murder him, which was alarmingly common in the necromancer community. The constant murder attempts were also, in his humble opinion, why necromancers had never banded together to form their own country. They simply couldn’t trust each other.
Vicky was the very image of a perfect big sister: long, chestnut hair with a hint of curl in it and hazel eyes that always lit up when she smiled. She was tall for a woman and although her robes did a good job of hiding it, she wasn’t slender so much as very athletically built. She had, after all, split her time in the Order of the Blessed Dawn between evangelising and smiting evil. There was also an air of warmth and kindness about her, one that put almost everyone she met at ease within moments. But Timmy knew better. Deep down inside, she was quite possibly the most diabolical person he knew.
Vicky was an expert in political warfare and an absolute master of charming people and getting her way without people even realising that they’d agreed to all of her demands. Although she didn’t resort to skulduggery and treachery very often, she was frighteningly good at it when she bothered. The last person to mess with her politically had ended up counting tuna off the coast of a remote island at the very edge of Everton’s territory – an island that was also frequented by sharks of the large and hungry variety and giant squids of the larger and hungrier variety. Vicky had most likely used her authority to get into the castle before promptly taking over the place after charming everyone inside. Knowing her, she’d probably even brought cake to win Sam over.
And that wasn’t even mentioning what Vicky could do in a fight. The woman had once confessed to him that as a child, she’d idolised the legendary heroes from the past, the ones who could take on entire armies alone. Vicky had become the same sort of terrifyingly powerful individual. In the entire world, there were likely less than a dozen people who could engage her in anything even remotely resembling a fair fight and not end up in a box – that was to say, a coffin – in less than a minute. It was widely believe that in terms of pure combat power, she was the strongest member of the Council. Timmy agreed. In terms of power, the Council was full of monsters, but Vicky was the monster all of the other monsters were afraid of.
“Hi.” Timmy pointed his shovel at Vicky. “What are you doing here?”
“Master!” Katie hissed in outrage. “Don’t be rude to the councillor.” Katie couldn’t help but smile as Vicky skipped over to them radiating warmth and affection before bestowing her most big sisterly smile on the girl. “She’s only trying to be nice.”
Timmy had often wondered if Vicky had magic that allowed her to charm people. She didn’t. He’d tested it several times over the years, and she was actually just that charming. She’d managed to turn Katie against him, and it hadn’t even been two minutes, which had to be some kind of record. “If only you knew, Katie.” He lowered his shovel and rubbed his temple. He could already feel the headache coming on. “Vicky, not that I mind you visiting, but I’m pretty sure that you’r
e not here for coffee and cake.”
Vicky’s smile was so bright that Timmy could have sworn she was using her magic to add a sparkle or two, but that only worried him more. She was usually quite affable, but when she went out of her way to be inhumanly cheerful like this, it meant trouble. “I happened to hear a few things about how a certain person organised an extremely dangerous mission into hostile territory using Council funds to pay a certain group of people to retrieve another certain person. It’s funny. Nobody said a word to me. It’s almost like a certain somebody didn’t want me to know they were deploying a certain group that I’m supposed to be in charge of without telling me.” Vicky’s smile went from sparkly to toothy. “So I just had to come here and see how everything went.”
“You charmed someone on James’s staff into telling you about our mission, didn’t you? Since I’m betting none of his staff could tell you much, you probably broke into his office later and swiped the mission file, right?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny anything, and there is certainly no evidence that can implicate me,” Vicky replied airily. Yes, Timmy thought. That was exactly what she’d done. If Vicky could use her magic to waltz through the castle’s magical defences, there was zero chance of James keeping her out of his office. “But I am here to learn more about the mission.” Her expression sobered, and she took a deep breath before yanking Timmy into a rough hug and patting him down for injuries. He had a feeling she would have turned him upside down and shaken him, but she was kind enough to spare him that extra bit of humiliation. “You’re really okay? The Nameless Citadel is no normal prison, Timmy. You’ve told me a bit about what happened when they captured you and your master. I… I would be very unhappy if something like that happened to you again.” She tightened her hug and pressed her face into his shoulder. “You’re not invincible, Timmy. I could definitely pummel you in a fight.”
“I’m fine.” Timmy hugged her back for what he felt was an appropriate amount of time before trying to pull away. Chuckling softly, Vicky tightened her hold until he was forced to pry her off. “And you can pummel almost anyone in a fight.”
Vicky gave him an impish smile. “You’d better not forget that the next time you decide to take such a dangerous mission without telling me.”
“Yeah, yeah. But I’m fine. We’re all fine.” He glanced back at Amanda. “Especially her.”
“So that’s her then.” Vicky peered at Amana, her hazel eyes inscrutable. “I’ll speak to her later. But first…” She raised her voice. “James!”
James bustled over from the other side of the courtyard, and Timmy covered his face with his hands. What was going on? Was his castle turning into an inn? Obviously, he couldn’t blame his servants. They could hardly refuse admittance to two councillors, and Sam knew Vicky. Plus, trying to keep Vicky and James out without Timmy around to mastermind the castle’s defences would have been an expensive exercise in complete futility. But did they have to let James hang around? They should’ve sent him to stay at one of the villages or possibly in the lake – while wearing shoes made of stone. Oh well. If Vicky’s behaviour was anything to go by, she had not been pleased with James sending them off without her approval. And she would have made her displeasure known to James in very, very blunt fashion.
James pointedly ignored Vicky – yep, she had definitely done something to him – and turned all of his attention to first Amanda and then Timmy. “Thank you. You did well even if your methods were… extreme.”
“You’re welcome.” Timmy smirked. “Although I’m sure it must hurt terribly to say something nice to me.”
“It’s excruciating,” James muttered. “But there’s no getting around it this time. You did good work. Even if they manage to trace you back to Everton, there is no way that they can link your actions directly to the Council. For all they know, you were after Amanda for your own nefarious purposes. You are, after all, a Grand Necromancer.”
“My purposes are not nefarious, jerk.
“They are to most people, idiot.”
“So… you’re my descendant.” Amanda glided forward before their bickering could descend into further childishness. It was absolutely eerie how graceful the vampire was. She seemed to float more than walk as she crossed the distance between them. It had to be an ancient vampire thing. The other ancient vampires he’d met had all moved in a similar way. “Let me have a look at you. Yes, you remind me very much of my son although you are taller than he was if not quite as broad in the shoulders. You certainly have my eyes, and your hair colour has been in the family for centuries.”
Timmy snickered as Amanda walked around James in a slow circle, studying him from different angles and taking careful note of his posture and his attire, which consisted of a less cumbersome version of the Council’s usually ornate robes, along with a tunic and trousers. Did James truly resemble her son so much? It was possible. The Arthurs bloodline tended to hold very true, and its members all shared a certain look.
“Yes, you could very easily pass for my son’s brother. It is… amusing to see how truly our blood still runs despite how many years have passed.” Amanda straightened and a wistful smile crossed her lips as her voice turned teasing. “I understand that you are a councillor, quite an accomplished one, I hear.”
“Ah… yes… my… lady.” James winced. Timmy almost laughed. The poor man didn’t know what form of address to use. Neither did Timmy, for that matter, but he’d never stood on ceremony as much as James had, and it wasn’t like Amanda was Timmy’s legendary ancestor.
Amanda smiled again. For once, there was no hint of artifice in her expression. “It has been too long since I have been with family in lands that I can call my own. Call me Amanda, James. We shall speak more later – I presume that there is a great deal for me to catch up on. Right now, I believe the other councillor has words for me.” She stepped past James and stood in front of Vicky. “Timmy has told me a bit about you. He says that you are a member of the House of Winters, a member of the Council, and the Supreme Cleric of the Order of the Blessed Dawn. He also mentioned that you have a slew of other titles, but he neglected to tell me what those were.” She paused. “When last I left, your order was arguing over certain matters of doctrine involving necromancers, vampires, and werewolves.”
Vicky wore the robes of her office, a flowing robe of white, silver, and gold. It would have been completely impractical to fight in, but Timmy had a strong suspicion that she was wearing something more practical underneath. The robe gave her an air of stately majesty to balance out the warm and fuzzy feelings that she normally inspired when she wasn’t carving a path of absolute destruction across the battlefield. “You are correct, but I am more than a member of the House of Winters. I am currently its head.”
“Oh?” Amanda’s smile cracked. “Then I imagine that we have words to discuss and blows, perhaps, to exchange.”
“Indeed.” Vicky stepped forward, and Timmy hurried to take a big step to the side. The others, except for Avraniel, did the same. Vicky wasn’t the sort of person to start a fight over a grudge that went back centuries, but there were certain matters of family honour that could not be ignored. And if she decided to fight, then he did not want to be in the way when she started throwing punches.
“In the interests of saving time,” Amanda drawled. “Would it satisfy your House’s honour if you were allowed to strike me once? Perhaps then we could move on to more pressing matters. I understand that you need my assistance regarding Everton’s magical defences, so you can hardly kill me. However –”
“I accept your offer!”
Vicky struck so quickly that Timmy never even saw her move. What he did see, however, was her standing with her right arm extended in a perfect punch to where Amanda’s chest had been. Had been. The vampire herself was nowhere to be seen. A split-second later, there was a huge crunch as something tore a deep furrow in the cobblestones well behind Timmy before crashing into the far wall with enough force to crack the magicall
y reinforced stone and send up a plume of dust. That something had been Amanda.
Vicky straightened and lowered her fist. Small wisps of white light swirled around her arm for a moment before vanishing. “Hmm… she’s pretty tough. My punch would have pulped most ancient vampires, not that it would have mattered. Ancient vampires are notoriously hard to kill. You can crush them into pulp, and they’ll be up in a matter of minutes if they’re well fed.”
Timmy ignored the way the others were gaping at Vicky. Clearly, they’d never seen what she could do when she really wanted to hurt someone. “What about my courtyard, Vicky? I just fixed it.”
“Ah!” Vicky made a face. “Sorry about your courtyard. Don’t worry. I’ll pay to have it fixed even better than it was before. Those weren’t original cobblestones, were they?”
“You’d better.” Timmy coughed. “And, no, those weren’t original cobblestones. I had the originals replaced because of how much blood had soaked into them over the years. It was horrible. They looked hideous, and you couldn’t walk three steps without slipping over. Anyway, are you going to hit Amanda again? If you are, could you please hit her somewhere else.”
“No, I’m done.”
“Thank goodness for that.” Amanda pulled herself out of the crater in the wall and dusted herself off. Although there were rips and tears in her clothing, Timmy could see that her flesh was already healing. Ancient vampires were incredibly difficult to injure, and they healed frighteningly quickly. “Gerald, could I trouble you for more clothes? These appear to have been damaged.”
“Oh,” Vicky said. “You also owe my family a prize-winning goat.”
Two Necromancers, a Dragon, and a Vampire (The Unconventional Heroes Series Book 3) Page 26
