by E. M. Knight
Ah, well, I think. No great loss if they do. There are other ways of achieving my goals. And it’s not like there are only fifteen humans out there who want to be made vampires. I can find others. I can make more. I can still be the ruler of my own coven, and I can still make certain that it will rise and dominate above the rest.
Of that I’m certain.
But damn, how I hate being left out of the conversation. I glare at Eleira’s back. Of course, I can’t help but appreciate her well-shaped legs, hips, and body. She does have a spectacular ass…
A new, somewhat sinister thought occurs to me.
Wouldn’t I be the absolute devil if I got her to cheat on Raul?
A smile forms on my lips. I think of the way she’s looked at me.
She wants me, I know.
There isn’t a woman alive who doesn’t.
I entertain the notion for a bit. It makes for a nice fantasy. I can just imagine how pissed Raul will get when he finds out. Of course, first I’d have to amp up the charm for Eleira. But that had never been a problem for me. In fact, I think I’d enjoy the challenge.
And I’d certainly enjoy the riches of the spoils…
“James! James, get over here!”
I’m roused from my daydream with a start. The three of them are staring at me. Eleira especially.
I give her my most winning smile. “I’m sorry,” I say. “You’ve ignored me so long I thought you’d forgotten I exist.”
“Fifteen minutes is not long,” Phillip says.
“Has it really been fifteen minutes? Seemed more like five hours.”
I stand and offer them all another wry grin. “Then again, you know how impatient I can get.”
“That is one of your most redeeming qualities,” Eleira deadpans.
I make my way over to the table, being very careful to take my time. I am a spectacle to be witnessed, and I would spit in the face of anyone who thinks otherwise.
“So?” I ask, when I finally reach it. “What are we looking at?”
The map, I note, has been rolled up.
“For a way out of this mess,” Raul grunts. “You’ve been to The Crypts, we know you have. Tell us what you’ve seen.”
“Didn’t you two just return from there?” I ask, looking at Raul and Eleira.
“It’s not like we were given unfettered access!” she explodes. My, but she’s really on edge.
Must be fighting her attraction for me already.
“We were there as representatives of The Haven,” Raul says thinly. “You were there as one of them.”
Without warning, my mind flashes back to the torture cell. “If you knew what I went through,” I reply darkly, “you would not claim that.” My anger, which I’ve done such a fine job of keeping in check, suddenly rises like a surging tide. “Where’s Smithson?” I demand loudly. “He and I have some unfinished business.”
Without willing it, my claws come out.
“Easy there, big fellow,” Phillip says. I can’t tell if he’s mocking me or not. “Smithson was outed as a traitor. He abandoned and disappeared. That—” he gestures at the map, “–is what we were discussing.”
I look from one face to the next. “Seriously?” I ask.
Phillip, Raul, and Eleira all nod.
I bark a laugh. “Hah! No wonder the bastard tried to kill me.”
The proclamation is met with a series of disbelieving stares. “What?” they all say.
“After the battle,” I quickly fill them in. “Smithson found me and led me away. He ambushed me. We fought. He thought he’d left me for dead, but...” I flex and unflex my fist. “Turns out James Soren is not so easy to kill.”
“And you have proof?” Phillip asks. “That is a grave accusation, if unverified.”
“He’s not here, is he? I’m not accusing him. I’m condemning him. As I live and breathe, Smithson will pay for what he did. I’m going to rip the bastard’s heart out with my own hands as payback for what he attempted to do to me.”
Eleira’s eyes narrow in thought. “Smithson… doesn’t know you’re alive, does he?”
“He left me to bleed to death, so no, I’d say he does not.”
“And none of us can sense you,” she says, mostly to herself. “That story you told about the herb was a joke, by the way. I wasn’t sure at first, but as I’ve spent more time near you, I’ve become more certain.”
I eye her with suspicion. “Certain of what?”
“That it’s a spell hiding your abilities,” she says. She nods. “Morgan would know. We’ll ask when she gets up.”
I laugh in her face. “If you think I’m waiting around for Mother to awaken, after what she did to me...”
“Oh no,” Eleira says. “By that point, you will be long gone.”
Raul and Phillip both look at her. “What are you talking about?” Raul asks.
“If nobody can sense him, and if Smithson thinks him dead, what better vampire to send to find the traitor?” Eleira asks. “James has a personal grudge. He—”
“Whoa, whoa, hold on,” I say. “Last time I was sent on somebody else’s errand, things ended very… badly… for me.”
“This is different,” Eleira says. “You have a reason to want to find him. You want vengeance. You want revenge.”
“It’s true, I do want those things,” I mutter. “So you’re proposing… what? If Smithson abandoned, he could be anywhere by now. How do you expect me to find him?”
“With this,” Phillip says, as he unrolls the map.
It shows a drawing of the whole world. There is a peculiar ink blot in the midst of The Rockies.
“And that is—?” I ask, slightly impatient.
“A gift I received from Carter,” Phillip says. “Smithson’s sword was ruined when he fought the demon. Carter salvaged it, repaired it… and inlaid it with a special tracking stone.”
“Of the sort Mother gave me once to help find you,” Raul says.
“A torrial,” Eleira adds.
“And the stone does what? I don’t exactly have the greatest first-hand experiences with objects of magic.”
“It tracks Smithson’s—or rather, the sword’s—location anywhere in the world. It shows it on this map.”
“And we all know how important that weapon is to Smithson. He’d never let it leave his side,” Raul says.
“With all due respect,” I say slowly, “and of course, who am I to question your great and infinite wisdom—” I look at my youngest brother, “–but Carter never struck me as the most trustworthy type.”
I raise my hands in defense as I anticipate their response. “I know, I know. Ironic, coming from me. But still.”
“It’s a valid concern,” Phillip admits. “But it’s what we’re working with. The map can lead you straight to Smithson. If you’ll take us up on it.”
I consider the proposition for another minute.
“So let me get this straight,” I say. “You wish me to take up the colors of The Haven. You want me to go after Smithson. And then what?”
“Return him to us,” Phillip says. “Where he can stand trial for treason.”
“You do realize that if I find him, I’ll have absolutely no inclination to keep him alive?”
Phillip actually smiles. “Of course, I do. And whatever happens beyond The Haven’s lands...” he spreads his hands. “Well, that’s out of my jurisdiction.”
A light bulb turns on in my head. I smile with sudden greed.
“You’re asking me to be your personal bounty hunter?”
A silence fills the room. Phillip gives a slight nod.
I look at them all. I lick my lips. I look at the map.
“I think,” I say, “I can live with that.”
Chapter Eleven
RAUL
THE STRONGHOLD – PHILLIP’S ROOMS
“Are you sure it’s smart to send James after him?” I question Phillip, once he and I are alone in the room.
“It was Eleira’s idea. And it
is brilliant,” he says. “She’s right. Who knows how Mother will react to finding James here after she’s up? Best not take our chances. He is better off long gone.”
Then his expression shifts to one of great worry. “Are you certain that feeding her Eleira’s blood will work?”
I grunt. “It’s the only chance we have. I told you all that’s happened.”
He nods. “We do it after James leaves.”
“Certainly. Do we give him one of the planes, or…?”
Phillip looks at me. “Or what?”
“Or do we ask Eleira to bring him there through the Paths?”
Phillip’s eyebrows go up. “Can she do that?”
“She’s growing more and more sure of herself each day,” I say. “And she’s beyond capable. She’d need an escort, of course.”
“Of course,” Phillip murmurs.
“...which I would lead.”
“What?” Phillip’s eyes flash to mine. “No. Absolutely not.”
“You think I’d let her go on her own?”
“I can provide the guards. She’s stronger than any of them but they’ll be there for numbers. However, bringing you along? It’s out of the question.”
“You’re so adamant,” I note.
“Do you think the Royal Court will ever let me hear the end of it if I allowed you, Eleira, and James to disappear again? You only just got back! What will it say to the other vampires, to the Incolam?”
“That their Prince is doing his duty,” I inform him.
“James doesn’t need an escort. We give him a plane.”
“Planes can be tracked, brother,” I remind him. “James also needs to disappear.” I lower my voice. “That’s the real reason we’re doing this, isn’t it? To give him a chance to get away?”
Phillip meets my eyes… and nods. “It’s the perfect scenario and an unbreakable alibi. James… causes trouble, wherever he is. Best to have him far away from The Haven while we deal with—” he gestures around us, “–all this.”
“So you’re protecting him,” I say. “While at the same time protecting us.”
“I’m just trying to instill a bit of stability,” Phillip replies. “And also…” his voice darkens, “...to get him away from them.”
“Them? Who’s them?”
“The fifteen vampires he created. What were you thinking, bringing them here? What if the disease that’s taken them is contagious? You, of all vampires, should know!”
“Mother,” I say. “Is she… like them?”
“No, thank heavens. There’s no trace of corruption on her. She is, for all intents and purposes, wrapped in a deep, deep sleep.” He grunts. “At least that’s what it appears like from the outside. Who knows what her mind is going through in the realm of dreams?”
The way his inflection changes when he says that catches my attention. “Do you suspect something is going on in her dreams?”
Phillip walks over to a bookshelf and puts his hand over the spines. “It’s the only thing I really fear, right now,” he says. “The demon wouldn’t have stabbed her for no reason. If she’s not showing any physical ailments, aside from the obvious, what else would it be? It’s the biggest unknown at the moment. We just need to pray that when she wakes, her mind will be whole.”
He picks a book out and flips it open. He goes through the pages before settling on one. “Come here. I want you to read this.”
I walk over, curious. I look down at the open page.
“Here,” Phillip taps his finger on a select passage. “Read these lines.”
“…She comes, she comes! Child of the stars, born of the sun, she, the breaker of bonds, shall extinguish the darkness that rules her kind and unite them all, casting them into a new world ruled by night eternal...”
I trail off. I look at Phillip. “What of it?”
“That’s the prophecy that heralds her coming,” he says. “This book is full of them, some more cryptic than others, but none as clear as that. And the alignment of stars…”
He flips another few pages to an elaborate drawing of the night sky. “Here. This is the one that corroborates it.”
“I know those constellations,” I say. “They’re the ones Mother told us to watch for. They are how we found Eleira.”
“And in here,” Phillip taps the book, “is the prophecy that announced her coming.”
“Mother never shared that.”
“No. She did not. I found it while you were gone.”
I take the book from his hands. “What else does it say?”
“Nothing as important as that. You’re free to take a look,” he adds, with a hint of smile.
I realize that I’d rudely taken it from him. “Oh. Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
I tuck the book under my arm. “I don’t like the sound of that, though,” I say. “A new world ruled by night eternal? That is dangerously close to what Father proposed.”
“He knows the prophecy, too. It’s obvious. And he wants to use Eleira for his own gain.”
“It seems there isn’t a vampire alive who doesn’t want to use Eleira,” I grumble.
Phillip places a hand on my shoulder. “If it’s any consolation,” he says, “I know she’s more than capable.”
“Yes,” I say. “And that’s why I’m frightened for her.”
Chapter Twelve
ELEIRA
THE TUNNELS OF THE STRONGHOLD
I lead James down the hall toward the distant exit, where the would-be vampires of his ”coven” yet lie.
It feels strange—but also good—to be taking the lead away from a Soren brother. Moreover, it feels right.
I guess I’m finally coming into my own.
I walk past the guards posted at the threshold. They give me a quick nod of acknowledgment.
But when James tries to pass, they stand in his way.
He looks at them, vaguely amused. “What do you fools think you’re doing?” he asks.
“Orders,” one of them grunts. “You’re not to be let out of the stronghold.”
“Well, moron, lucky for you I have no intention of leaving.” He gestures past them. “I’m going to check on some of my own.”
“I’m sorry, James,” the guard says. He does not sound sorry at all. In fact, he seems to be enjoying the little power trip. “We can’t let you through.”
I start getting annoyed at that point. I ease my way back between the guards. “We just left your Captain Commander’s office,” I inform him. “He did not give any orders about James.”
“The Captain Commander? No, no. This order came from the Royal Court. Delivered just minutes ago, imagine your luck, by none other than Carter himself.”
I nearly roll my eyes. Is there no end to the trouble that vampire will cause?
“Look,” I say. “You know who I am. I am your next Queen. So when I say you let James through, you better make it happen!”
Just for good measure, I direct no small amount of my vampiric influence at him.
The guard grunts under the strain, obviously struggling. “The… law...” he says.
“Screw the law.” James steps up to him. “Since when have vampires become so cowed as to obey the law? We are creatures of our own will. We follow our desires, we feed on others. Now. I’m warning you. If you don’t let me pass...”
Just then, Carter and Deanna emerge from the small room housing the diseased vampires.
“You,” James snarls.
“Ah. James. Eleira. How nice to see you.” He spreads his hands in a welcoming way. “Deanna and I were just examining your latest… creation. Won’t you join us?”
A look passes between Carter and the guards, both of whom immediately step aside.
James dusts off his shoulders. “Much better,” he says.
I eye Carter warily as we approach. Here is a vampire of true secrets. How is it that he is always in the spot where the action is the thickest?
I can tell one thing. He is up to someth
ing. Whatever he professes about wanting to uphold the rule of the Royal Court, he is driven by other motives.
What those motives are, I have no idea. But he has his fingers on everything, from my mother’s letter, to the map he gave Phillip, to political control of the Royal Court.
I need to be very, very cautious around him.
As soon as we join the pair, Deanna excuses herself. “I’m sorry, but I have no desire to go back in there,” she says. “Once is enough.”
And with that, she strolls back down into the stronghold.
“So it’s just the three of us now,” Carter says. “How nice.” He gestures toward the door. “Shall we?”
We step inside. The moment we do, an awful stench reaches my nostrils. It clings to my skin and permeates my clothes, and it’s so thick, it almost feels like humidity coming over me.
I blanch. Carter notices and smiles.
“The odor too much for you, Princess?” he asks. There’s not a trace of mocking in his voice, which makes the insult all the more obvious.
“I’m fine,” I say, gritting my teeth to avoid showing any discomfort.
I look at James. He seems to be extra stiff. It’s almost like he wants to do something, but cannot for the fact that he has an audience.
And, looking at him—though this is just conjecture—I think he actually feels something for these poor souls. Like he actually cares about them, on a level I did not know James Soren to be capable of.
“They’ve gotten worse,” he whispers.
“Have they?” Carter asks, full of complete apathy. “I hadn’t noticed.”
I take a closer look at the bodies. They look the same to me as when we dragged them here. Certainly the smell might be worse—but that’s only because it’s been allowed to concentrate within this enclosed space.
“Leave,” James says. He seems to have gone into a trance. His eyes are only for the bodies on the floor. “Leave me with them.”
“If that is your wish,” Carter begins obsequiously.
“I SAID NOW!” James roars.
Carter and I both jump. The outburst is not just unexpected in its intensity. The passion hidden behind it…
