Emerald Keep

by Edmund Hughes

  “What do you have to be sorry about?” she asked, with acid in her voice. “You and Bruce fucking hated each other.”

  “Jesus, Katie,” snapped Jack. “Do you have to be like this about everything?”

  “When it comes to you, apparently,” she said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” asked Jack.

  “Because it was none of your fucking business,” said Katie.

  “Oh, and I’m the one with trust issues?” asked Jack.

  A knock came at the bathroom door. Jack and Katie flinched in unison, accidentally banging their foreheads together at a punishing angle.

  “Is everything alright in there?” called Mira, in a singsong voice.

  “We’re fine,” said Jack. “Just… enjoying each other’s company.”

  Mira laughed, and Jack waited until he heard her footsteps fade from earshot before turning his attention back to Katie.

  “Look,” he said. “Let’s save the arguing for later and get back to the practical concerns of our situation. When we get to our destination, we’re going to need to stall Mira for as long as we can to give Pierce time to catch up with us.”

  “I’ll fake like I’m tired,” said Katie. “Or sick. I can do it convincingly.”

  “Good,” said Jack. “Alright. We should probably head back now, before Mira gets too suspicious.”

  “You aren’t going to force your fangs into my neck?” asked Katie.

  “Nope,” said Jack. “You sound a little disappointed.”

  “Fuck you,” she replied.

  Jack sighed and shook his head.

  “I’m not a monster, Katie,” he said. “Or at least not as much as one as you make me out to be. I won’t bite you against your will. But I will have to feed eventually.”

  “I’m not stupid,” said Katie. “I knew that when I decided to take Ryoko’s place.”

  “Good,” said Jack.

  He hesitated, wondering if anything else needed to be said between them, and then opened the tiny bathroom’s plastic door.

  CHAPTER 9

  The plane lurched into motion as Jack and Katie found their way back into their seats. Mira was as she’d been before, with one major addition. She held a medium-sized silver revolver in one hand and was slowly sliding a cleaning rag up and down the length of the barrel, bringing a polish to the metal.

  “Do I want to imagine how you got that thing through the airport’s security?” asked Jack.

  “It wasn’t as uncomfortable as what you’re thinking.” Mira yawned and arched her back, letting her sundress tug dangerously low against the edge of her breasts. “I sneaked into the airport. Even during the day, the task poses no challenge to someone such as me.”

  “I thought most firearms were ineffective against vampires,” said Jack.

  “When wielded by normal humans, that’s true,” said Mira. “When wielded by a blood mage, capable of appearing and disappearing at will and binding opponents in place with magic, a single silver bullet can turn a fight. Alas, I must admit that the negotiation mission we’re on might prove to be more dangerous than the impression I might have given you.”

  “You don’t say,” said Katie, in a sarcastic tone. “Chatting with a vampire clan about forming an alliance on their turf is going to be dangerous? That’s news to me.”

  Mira’s gaze turned cold and deathly as she stared at Katie in the wake of the joke. She still held the gun in her hand, and it only added to the tension building in the confined cabin.

  “I’m surprised you allow your thrall to act so insolent,” Mira said, turning toward Jack.

  “That’s actually a good point,” said Jack. “Katie. From now on, don’t speak until you’re addressed directly, unless it’s just the two of us alone.”

  Katie blinked, her expression flickering from amusement, to annoyance, to seething anger in the span of a few seconds. She closed her eyes for a moment and pressed one of her fingers against the freckled bridge of her nose, as though attempting an old trick to ward off a headache.

  “Yes… master,” she said, forcing the words out.

  Jack enjoyed her reaction more than he probably should have. It was revenge, but it was also relatively harmless. Katie had put herself into the position of pretending to be his thrall. If he really wanted to get back at her, there was almost no limit to what he could force her into doing.

  He pushed a couple of particularly mean ideas out of his head and leaned back in his seat next to Mira. She’d put the pistol away, though Jack hadn’t seen where, exactly, and was now watching the clouds pass by her seat’s window.

  “This will be dangerous,” Mira said, continuing her previous thought. “The town the Jade Circle is based out of is poor, lacking any real governmental authority or law enforcement. The Jade Circle is the most powerful organization for miles around.”

  “Has it been that way for long?” asked Jack. “You said the Jade Circle was an old vampire clan, right?”

  “I did,” said Mira. “Though, their leader is young. Older than me, but still young. Volandar is both the reason why the Jade Circle is willing to speak with us in the first place and the reason why they might be a little… unpredictable.”

  “What do you know about him?” asked Jack.

  “A fair bit,” said Mira. “He’s a Valerian vampire, as are most of those that he brought into the Jade Circle with him when he seized power. He is, or was, an American. Most importantly, he is an Orphan.”

  “An Orphan?” asked Jack. “Why does that matter?”

  “You may have perceived this already, but vampires tend to be an ambitious lot,” said Mira. “Most vampires die at the hands of another vampire. There is an extreme selection pressure on young vampires born directly into clans that keeps them docile, or gets them killed if they attempt to challenge for dominance.”

  “But Volandar was an Orphan?” asked Jack.

  “Exactly,” said Mira. “The term in this context merely means a vampire who was given the Embrace but never brought under the wing of their broodsire or adopted into a clan. It may sound detrimental, but being an Orphan can be an advantage, for some.”

  “How so?”

  “Volandar was able to continue living a fairly normal life as a human,” said Mira. “He was a military man and managed to secure jobs out of the sunlight, night security and underground duties. Valerian vampires are less tolerant of the sun than we are, I should point out. Volandar had ample opportunity to feed and grow in strength, with the bulk of the United States Army in between him and any vampires who might see him as a resource.”

  “How did he end up with the Jade Circle?” asked Jack.

  “Eventually, he grew curious of the vampire world and traveled to The Origin to seize power, as many vampires do,” said Mira. “And he was successful at it. The Jade Circle, at the time, had grown stagnant and docile. He killed all those who wouldn’t bend to his will and replaced them with loyal vampires of his own creation.”

  Jack nodded, frowning as he considered the implications of Mira’s story.

  “How do you know all of this?” he asked.

  Mira flashed a wicked smile and flicked a few strands of blonde hair back behind one ear.

  “It’s not the first time he’s tried to recruit me,” she said.

  “Were the two of you… friendly?” asked Jack.

  “Not in any sense of the word,” said Mira. “But he did attempt to take a special interest in me. For my power as a blood mage, and also because I’m like him.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I’m an Orphan, myself,” said Mira.

  Jack had never stopped to consider why it was that Mira hadn’t been allied with other vampires before. She’d mentioned, in passing, that she didn’t get along with most of her own kind, and that had always seemed like enough of an explanation for him.

  “Why didn’t you let yourself be recruited?” asked Jack. “I mean, if you’re an Orphan, too, it kind of makes sen
se.”

  “Because of your grandfather,” said Mira. “I was worried about what he might think.”

  Katie made a scoffing noise in her seat across the aisle. Jack glared at her, hoping she would pick up on the silent warning.

  The flight went on, and time began to trickle by. Mira picked out a few movies for them to watch on the pulldown screen, and Jack was surprised by how much of a shared sense of humor she and Katie seemed to have. At some point, Mira sent Aiden to fetch a blanket out of the overhead compartment, which she then stretched out over herself and Jack.

  “It will make it easier for us to get a little more… comfortable,” Mira whispered.

  Jack felt her hand sliding across his leg, her fingers exploring as she searched for something interesting. She leaned her face in close to his, and Jack let himself kiss her. For a couple of minutes, they acted like horny teenagers, making out and molesting each other under the blanket. Jack only pulled back from where things were headed when Mira’s hand slid down his pants, and he noticed the haughty look Katie was shooting in their direction.

  “What’s wrong?” whispered Mira. “Are you feeling shy again? You could escort me to the bathroom, if you prefer.”

  “Just tired,” said Jack.

  “This doesn’t feel tired.” Mira let her hand cup the bulge that had been forming in his pants. Jack let out a cough and pulled his side of the blanket further over him, feeling an unexpected flush of embarrassment over what she was doing.

  She unzipped his jeans to make it easier for herself. Excitement and nervousness flooded through Jack in equal parts as he tried to play it cool. Mira fished his hardening shaft out from his boxers and gave him a smile that was evil and seductive.

  “It’s such a long flight,” said Mira, running a finger along his length. “We’ll have to pace ourselves.”

  She started stroking with slow, subtle movements that were made all the more pleasurable by how small and hidden they were. Jack focused on his breathing, trying to keep his face from giving them away. He heard Katie clear her throat loudly from where she sat across the aisle, and he made the mistake of glancing in her direction.

  For a second, Jack made eye contact with Katie while Mira’s hand continued its soft, intimate caressing. Katie had her brow furrowed, and her lips were turned down into a slightly confused frown. Jack felt Mira’s hand spiral upward, and he had to do his best to hide an involuntary shiver of pleasure.

  “I’ve missed you, dearest Jack,” whispered Mira. “This is just the first touch of things to come.”

  She said the last word with such illicit emphasis that Jack almost did, right there and then. She started pumping her hand up and down faster, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, and then his neck. She made it obvious, and Jack heard Katie clear her throat a second time, even more deliberately.

  “Mira…” he said, a little urgently. “Maybe you should… slow down a little.”

  She didn’t. Jack shifted to the side slightly, but she kept her grip. Jack rested his hand on her knee and gave it a warning squeeze. The last thing he wanted to do on a long plane flight was, well, exactly what he was about to do.

  Right as he approached the cusp of losing his cool, Mira made a show of accidentally knocking one of the magazines in the seat in front of them to the floor. She bent forward to pick it up, sliding her head under the blanket. Jack realized what she was about to do an instant before it happened.

  Bliss. Perfection. Mira’s lips formed a perfect seal, hot and wet, with a tongue that knew how to move in incredible ways. It took no more than five seconds, but the sensation hit Jack with such intensity that it seemed to stretch out into an eternal, heavenly moment.

  He shuddered, gripping the seat in front of him as he passed beyond his threshold for pleasure. Mira made sure that there was no mess left over for him to worry about. And Katie glared at him with folded arms while it happened, clearly aware of what was going on.

  The flight continued with less fanfare once all was said and done, and the hours passed at an even rate. Eventually, the sun set over the horizon, and the flight attendant dimmed the overhead lights, giving them the opportunity to sleep if they wanted. Jack was too preoccupied with considerations about what the next few days would hold to get any real rest.

  Or so he thought. He must have fallen asleep, because Mira was gently shaking him awake. It was still dark outside his window, and it took him an embarrassingly long time to notice that the plane was no longer in flight.

  “We’re here,” whispered Mira. “I hate to wake you, but I doubt that Aiden will be up for the task of carrying you.”

  Jack forced himself to think through the remnants of sleep fog.

  “Where is here, exactly?” he asked.

  “Preluca, Romania,” said Mira. “It’s a small village. You’ll see it for yourself when we set out in the morning. Come, now.”

  She was already heading down the aisle, gesturing for Aiden to follow her. Jack glanced over at Katie, and she gave an almost imperceptible nod. As discreetly as he could, Jack pulled his phone out of his pocket and began forming a text to send Pierce.

  JACK: We’re in Preluca, Romania. Not sure how long we can stall for. At least until morning.

  The reply was almost instantaneous.

  PIERCE: No need. Snuck into the cargo bay of your jet. Distract the slutty vampire so I can slip out.

  Jack frowned, unsure of how he felt about Mira being characterized as a “slutty vampire.” He tilted the screen of his phone into Katie’s face as he stood up in the aisle, letting her read the exchange before deleting it. She nodded again and followed behind him as he hurried to catch up with Mira.

  Jack stepped off the retractable staircase onto a runway that felt more like packed dirt than a proper tarmac. He couldn’t see much other than a few lights illuminating a tiny, ramshackle building that didn’t bear the slightest resemblance to any airport he’d ever seen.

  “This is where we landed?” he asked.

  “I told you,” she said. “It’s a very small and very poor town. Like your island, in some ways. Except it never had the resources or the tourist appeal to modernize itself. Most of the people here are farmers or sheepherders.”

  She turned to head in the direction of the cargo bay. Jack grabbed her hand before she could.

  “Hey,” he said. “I wanted to thank you.”

  “Thank me?” Mira’s mouth formed a surprised circle, and she furrowed her brow. “Oh, you need not thank me, though I do appreciate the thought.”

  “I think I do need to.” Jack pulled her in a little closer, letting his body come into contact with hers. “And I think I need to show my full appreciation.”

  Mira licked her lips and hummed with pleasure.

  “Your full appreciation,” she whispered. “I’m interested in seeing that. We’ll have plenty of time before setting out. The few hours left of night, and most of the morning and afternoon.”

  “Good.” Jack tried not to glance away from her face as he saw a figure stealthily roll out of the cargo hold and sneak off into the night. “Maybe I’ll show you my appreciation more than once.”

  Katie let out a disgusted groan from behind them, and Mira laughed.

  “We’ll have to involve her, somehow,” said Mira. “Jealousy is not a good look, especially for a thrall.”

  “Uh, yeah,” said Jack. “We’ll see about that.”

  CHAPTER 10

  The airport, as Jack quickly figured out, was more of a private runway than a proper facility. There’d been no taxis or means of transport waiting for them outside, but it hadn’t proved to be much of an issue, given how localized the area was. They walked alongside the road for a quarter of a mile before reaching Preluca itself.

  At Mira’s suggestion, she and Jack had given their luggage over to their thralls so they could walk unhindered. He could only take so much pleasure in watching Katie suffer, given the venomous looks she shot at him.

  Preluca was, as Mira ha
d explained, a village stuck outside of time. There were only a few street lamps running along the main road, and every other light was either flickering or burned out. Most of the buildings Jack could see were ancient and made of paint-chipped wood or weather-worn brick. The sidewalk was heavily cracked, with plants and grass growing through wherever they could.

  Mira led them to a small motel, which appeared to be one of the most modern buildings around but still looked half a century out of date. The clerk was an elderly woman asleep at the check-in desk, and she squinted at them through thick glasses as she stirred awake.

  Mira exchanged a few words in Romanian with the woman before paying her in cash and accepting two motel room keys. She nodded to Jack and handed him one of the keys.

  “Can you manage on your own for a time?” she asked. “This town is too small to have a car rental facility, so I had to rent one ahead of time from a private citizen. It’s waiting for me to pick it up, but it’s a bit of a walk.”

  Jack resisted the urge to glance over at Katie.

  “Yeah, that’s fine,” he said. “I’ll probably just get some more rest.”

  He hadn’t seen Pierce during their walk into town, but that wasn’t surprising. Jack suspected that Pierce was watching them from somewhere nearby, likely waiting for an opportunity to meet with them while Mira and Aiden were occupied.

  “It shouldn’t take long,” said Mira. “Then we can rest until the afternoon.”

  “Why not head out to meet with the Jade Circle in the morning?” asked Jack. “Did you not get any sleep on the plane?”

  “They would not have us,” said Mira. “Valerian vampires are allergic to sunlight in a way that makes us Aquinian vampires seem positively suited for it. The doors to the Emerald Keep will only open for us during the evening.”

  “The Emerald Keep?” asked Jack.

  “The primary base of the Jade Circle,” said Mira. “Fitting, isn’t it?”

  “It certainly paints a mental image,” said Jack. “Alright. Well, I’ll be here when you get back.”

  Mira nodded to him. She gestured for Aiden to walk to her room so they could drop off their luggage before heading out. Jack and Katie’s room was the one directly next to it. He unlocked the door, frowning as he surveyed their accommodations.