by Sarra Cannon
“Lord Darius believes they would. Whether that is true or not, I cannot say.” Sienna pushed open a door and Abby followed her down another hallway.
“Why is it that you are given so much freedom to move about the castle while the vampires sleep?” Abby asked.
Sienna shrugged. “Perhaps because I am weak. They know I will not leave. I wouldn’t survive a day in the forest. I have no skills with weapons and there are many creatures that lurk in the trees. Besides, the only way out is guarded by shifters.”
She paused in the hallway and gave Abby a nervous look. “Shifters guard the slave quarters as well. These ones are not as easy-going as the shifters who guard the fighting slaves. Let me do the talking, alright?”
“Alright.”
Abigail followed Sienna around a corner. At the end of a hallway was another wooden door and two large men, both their faces heavily scarred, were staring silently at them. The women approached them and Sienna gave them a tentative smile.
“I am done with my chores for the day.”
“Who is this one?” One of the men said gruffly.
“The Lord Joven’s personal slave. He has two other slaves and he wishes for her to check on them.”
“Does he now? Does that idiot Darius know?”
“I – I am not sure.” Sienna stuttered.
“We are on strict orders not to let anyone pass who does not belong.” The second man leaned forward and gave Abigail a long sniff, his nose twitching as he looked her up and down.
“My master is a special guest of the Lord Darius.” She said quietly. “I would hate to see how he would react if Lord Joven is denied what he wants.”
“Are you threatening me?” The shifter asked quickly.
“Of course not, my lord.” Abby stared down at the floor. “I simply wish to spare you any unpleasant repercussions you may encounter if you deny me access.”
He regarded her for a long silent moment as Abby kept her eyes on the floor between her feet. Finally, with a harsh grunt, he opened the door. Nodding at him, Abby followed Sienna down the hallway. The corridor was lined with doors, most of them shut and Sienna showed her to the final door on the right.
“The slaves will be in here.” She smiled wearily at Abby and trudged back to her own room. Abigail watched until she had disappeared into the room before knocking lightly on the door in front of her.
“Wesley? Evan?” She hissed lightly. “Open the door.”
The door swung open almost immediately and Wesley stared with relief at her. “Abigail!”
She stepped into the room and Wesley shut the door firmly before folding her into his embrace. He hugged her tightly for a few moments before kissing her cheek. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Are you?” She asked as she hugged Evan.
“Fine. Starving, but fine.” Evan grumbled. “They’re not particularly fond of feeding the humans here.”
Abigail squeezed his shoulder as Wesley led her to the fireplace. She sat down in one of the chairs and looked around the room. It was very bare, with only one bed and a couple of chairs, and she gave the two men a look of dismay. “This is awful.”
Wesley laughed as he sat down. “Believe me, I’ve slept in worse places.”
He glanced at the door. “How did you get past the shifters? We have not been able to leave this room since the moment we arrived.”
“I’ve made friends with one of the other slaves. She helped me get into the slave quarters.”
“Are you – are you doing okay? Has the leech been behaving himself?” Wesley’s gaze dropped to her neck and she nodded quickly.
“I’m just fine, Wesley. I told you – Val will not hurt me.”
“So this Darius believes he is Joven?” Evan asked in a low voice.
“I am not sure that he is entirely convinced. Jaxen’s assurance that he is Joven helped a little but I believe that Darius is still suspicious. Although, that may just be his nature in general.”
Wesley sighed angrily. “The leech needs to do a better job of convincing him.”
“He is doing the best he can.” Abigail frowned at him.
“Your continual defending of the leech is really starting to get on my nerves, Abby.” Wesley snapped. “He’s a monster and you would be wise to remember that.”
“Enough, Wesley.” Abigail replied sharply. “Now is not the time to discuss this.”
“I just think—”
“She’s right, Wesley.” Evan interrupted as he raked his hand through his red hair. “Have you seen Michael? Does he live?”
Abigail smiled at him. “Yes, he does.”
“Thank God.” Wesley breathed.
“I have seen him and talked to him. He is doing well, all things considered.” Abigail stared into the flames. “But we need to get him out of here. Darius uses him often during the games and although Michael is skilled, sooner or later the lack of food and his weariness will cost him his life.”
“Alright. So let’s make a plan.” Evan said eagerly. “How heavily are the grounds guarded during the day?”
“Not very.” Abigail replied. “Darius has remarkably few vampires on the property. Although Sienna says that the ones he does have are very old and very powerful. However, during the day, the security is quite lax. They have a shifter that guards the prison house, two shifters here in the slave quarters and maybe two or three at the front gates. It was difficult to tell.”
“Good. So we’ll simply wait until the leeches are in their daysleep, take out the shifters, and leave.” Evan answered.
Wesley frowned at him. “We have no weapons, Evan. How do we take out the shifters?”
“Abby can do it.”
“She has no weapons either.”
“Val has his sword.” Abby said. “I can use it.”
“Abby can kill the shifters that guard us and then the three of us will rescue Michael and make our escape.” Evan replied.
“And what of Val and Jaxen?” Abby asked. “They cannot leave during the daylight hours.”
Wesley sighed harshly. “Jaxen will be fine. He has been living with Darius for the last three months. He can simply slip away later that night.”
“And Val? It will not take Darius long to realize that it was the three of us who released Michael and the other prisoners and—”
“The other prisoners?” Wesley interrupted. “We cannot take the others with us. It’s too dangerous, Abby.”
“We are not leaving them behind!” Abby snapped. “Not Neil or Maria and not the others. Once we are free of the estate, they can go their own way but I will not leave any of them in those cells. And that includes the house slaves, as well. We give them the chance to leave with us.”
“Abby—”
“No!” She stood and paced back and forth in the small room. “We are not leaving them, Wesley. I won’t discuss it further.”
He slumped back in the chair and stared moodily into the flames. “Of course. You’re right, Abby. We can’t leave them.”
“I won’t leave without Val either.” Abby said firmly.
Wesley’s eyes widened and he nearly jumped out of his chair. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly. “Now you’re being completely ridiculous.”
“I am not.” She pulled herself free and stared calmly at him. “If it weren’t for Val, we wouldn’t have even been able to get into Darius’ estate.”
Wesley snorted dismissively. “The only reason he’s here is because he killed Joven. If he hadn’t—”
“If he hadn’t, I would most likely be firmly under Joven’s spell.” Abigail said softly. “I can deny it all I want but I would not have been able to stop Joven from biting me. Nor would I have been able to resist him once he had. Our plan was a desperate and foolish one born of our need to rescue Michael no matter what the cost. Val intercepting us and killing Joven was the best thing that could have happened. You know it, Wesley.”
“Is it? You say he isn’t biting you but you won’t leave the leech behind. That does
not speak of someone who isn’t being controlled by the leech’s bite.”
She scowled at him. “I have told you repeatedly that Val isn’t biting me. I’m not going to have this argument with you again, Wesley. Either you believe me or you don’t. But for the record – I’m not leaving without Val because he’s saved my life numerous times, and because he’s one of the reasons we even have a chance at rescuing Michael and perhaps making it out alive.”
“Abby—”
“No.” She shook her head. “There will be no discussion on this, Wesley. I will not leave without Val. Nor do I think we should just leave.”
“What are you talking about?” Wesley gave her a startled look.
“Once we’ve killed the shifters and released the prisoners, we’ll kill Darius and the other leeches. If we don’t, even if we manage to escape their clutches, Darius will simply start again with new humans. It’ll be dangerous. The vampires sleep in rooms blocked from the sun. If they wake from their daysleep while we are in the room, we’ll be in trouble.”
“It takes a lot to wake them,” Evan pointed out, “and we’ll simply be very quiet.” He grinned at her.
“If we miss even one,” Wesley said tightly, “it could kill all of us.”
“We have Jaxen and we have Val.” Abigail pointed out. “Besides, all of us have killed vampires when they were not in their daysleep.”
“I do not like this.” Wesley sighed. “It was never part of the plan to kill them all.”
“I don’t like it either but we don’t have a choice.” Abby replied. “The odds that they would catch up to us in the forest when they woke and discovered their slaves missing is very high anyway. Besides, I didn’t count on so few leeches living on Darius’ estate. Now is our chance to end the games once and for all. We must kill them.”
Wesley sighed. “When are we doing this?”
“In the next few days. The sooner we do this the better.” Abby said grimly. She leaned forward and pecked Wesley on the cheek before hugging Evan. “I need to go before the shifters become suspicious.”
Chapter 12
Val sat by the fireplace and stared at the flickering flames. Abigail was sleeping in his bed and he sighed heavily before adding another log to the fire. After tasting Abby’s sweet cream last night, after seeing her lips wrapped around his cock, he was nearly desperate to take her. He clenched his fists and controlled both his desire and his blood lust with an almost painful ferocity. Every day he grew weaker, at this point he wasn’t entirely sure he could even use the sword he wore around his waist, and if he didn’t feed soon he would be completely useless to Abby if there was trouble.
Violet crawled out from her bed on the windowsill and, after stretching delicately, flew to him. She sat on his shoulder and kissed his cheek before resting her head against his neck.
“I have no dried meat left for you, bug.” He said softly. “I will have Abigail bring some food to you tonight, alright?”
She nodded and kissed him again as he returned to staring into the fire.
It would be nearly impossible to escape the grounds and feed on the forest animals without Darius discovering him. He licked his lips and sighed again. Perhaps he could sneak to the barn and feed off one of the few horses Darius kept.
He snorted to himself and felt a thread of dismay at how far he had fallen. He had once drank from any human that caught his eye, and now he couldn’t stomach the thought of feeding from anyone but Abigail. He was acting ridiculous, considering drinking from a horse rather than –
There was a soft knock on the door and Jaxen stepped into the room. He glanced at the sleeping Abigail before joining Val in front of the fireplace. He dropped into the chair across from him and studied Val closely.
“I know who you really are.” He said abruptly.
Val stiffened. “I am no one.”
“That isn’t entirely true, is it, Valkyn?”
Val shot across the short distance, Violet tumbling from his shoulder, and grabbed the old vampire around the throat. He squeezed mercilessly as he glared at Jaxen. “How do you know that name, old man?”
Jaxen made a gurgling noise, his hands pulling at Val’s, and Val released him with an angry shake before returning to his seat. He smoothed his hair back as Jaxen coughed quietly.
“Many years ago, I spent nearly a century in the north. It was my father’s birthplace and I wanted to experience it for myself.” Jaxen cleared his throat hoarsely. “At that time, your father was still a powerful and formidable King. There were many who shuddered at his name.”
“With good reason. He was a cruel and unforgiving tyrant who ruled his people with bloodshed and without mercy.” Val said quietly. “And lower your voice. If she wakes and hears you speaking of this, I will kill you. Make no doubt about it. I am, after all, my father’s son.”
Jaxen gave him a nervous look before glancing over his shoulder at Abby. “So she does not know that you are royalty and that you are the next in line for the throne? That your father, King Maridus, was responsible for saving our kind during the sickness?”
“No, she does not. And if you wish to keep your head firmly on your shoulders, it will remain that way.”
“Before I joined Darius’ estate, I kept up-to-date on news from the north. Do you know that even now, so many centuries later, your father still searches for you?”
“I’m aware.” Val said shortly. Violet had returned to his shoulder and she stroked his long hair soothingly.
“Did you know that he is ready to step down from the throne?”
Val laughed bitterly. “My father will never relinquish the throne while he still lives.”
“That’s not the rumour I’ve heard.”
“It is nothing but rumour. Trust me, Jaxen. I know my father better than anyone.”
Jaxen gave him a curious look. “I do not understand why you would not accept this gift. Your father is one of the most powerful vampires in the land. He has turned thousands of humans to vampires and yet, out of all of those he turned, he chose you as his son. He chose you to be the one to rule his people. Why would you walk away from that? You do not strike me as a coward.”
“Watch your tongue, Jaxen.” Val said sharply. “Especially when you speak on matters you know nothing about.”
“Then tell me.” Jaxen replied quietly. “Tell me why the vampire chosen to be the king’s son would disappear instead of claiming what is rightfully his.”
“It is no more my right, then yours.” Val answered. “This so-called line of royalty is a complete farce. My real father was nothing more than a baker. I grew up working in his shop, smelling of bread and yeast and always covered in flour. My father was a good man, a kind man who wished that I would take over his business, but I longed for more. I wasn’t satisfied being just a shop owner and when the war broke out between the humans, I immediately joined the battle. When King Maridus grew tired of the human’s petty fighting and brought his army of vampires to wipe us out, I don’t know why he spared my life. I was already dying when the vampires attacked. A sword had pierced my chest, and I was moments from death when the King turned me. He kept me by his side for over a century before declaring me his son. I – the son of a baker – was now the son of a king. It could have easily been any other man on that battlefield.”
“He must have chosen you for a reason.” Jaxen replied. “Even now, after two hundred years, he still searches for you.”
Val snorted. “He does not search for me out of any type of fondness. He simply wishes to find me so that he can remove me of my head.”
“Why?” Jaxen prompted before taking another quick look at Abigail. “And why do you have such hatred for the vampire who gave you life?”
Val sighed. “You spoke of the sickness that the king saved his people from.”
“Yes. He discovered a cure just as we were on the verge of being wiped out.” Jaxen replied.
“Yes, I am well aware of that.” Val said bitterly. “The king was nea
rly frantic to find a cure and you can imagine his surprise that the key to our survival was living in his very home.”
“You?” Jaxen gave him a surprised look.
Val shook his head. “No. I was dying from the sickness myself. It was one of the reasons the king was so anxious to find a cure. He had appointed me as the next ruler and, for whatever reason, was unwilling to accept that I would die and he would be forced to choose another.”
“Then who?”
“There was a young woman who lived in the palace. A vampire, not particularly pretty or special, and she spent her days cleaning the castle. At that point, there were so few left of us that we could no longer keep humans as slaves. There were not enough of us to keep them under control.”
“I remember.” Jaxen replied. “Do you remember the vampire in the south? Leanus was his name.”
“I remember him well. He sought out every remaining healthy vampire in his city and urged them to band together. They went through the south, turning nearly every human they could find in an attempt to continue the vampire line.”
“Fools.” Jaxen snorted. “The humans they turned fell prey to the sickness more easily than those of us who had been vampires for centuries. He accomplished nothing but angering the humans and leaving a trail of dead or dying vampires in his wake.”
“My father had him killed.” Val said suddenly.
Jaxen stared at him in surprise. “I had not heard that.”
“It was kept quiet. Despite his obvious failure, there were many desperate vampires who believed it might work so the king kept his assassination a well-kept secret.”
“Fascinating.” Jaxen stared into the fire before turning back to Val. “Go on. You were saying about the girl.”
“Her name was Karena.” Val, the glow of the flames highlighting the paleness of his face, said softly. “And I loved her.”
When Jaxen didn’t reply, Val stared briefly at him before continuing. “We kept our love hidden, obviously. The son of the king in love with a chambermaid was not something my father would have tolerated.”
He ignored Violet’s soft petting. “When the sickness finally descended upon the palace, I was one of the first to fall ill. The king grew frantic to save me but I was dying, just like the rest of them. The sores had covered my body and the blood I drank did not sustain me, no matter how healthy or well-fed the human was.”
