Rivalry (War of Nytefall Book 3)

by Charles E Yallowitz

  *****

  For the second time in one day, Xavier wakes up not knowing where he is until he spots a familiar face. He does not try to fake a smile or pretend to be happy to see Clyde, who is on the other side of the room. It takes him a moment to notice that the other vampire is standing over a cot, which is barely visible under Titus’s bandaged form. Sitting up, the nobleman learns that many of his bones are cracked from his ordeal. Faint memories of his body contorting in pain and a sea of Nadia corpses come to his mind, but he pushes them away with ease. The idea of giving anyone the pleasure of seeing him suffer creates a rage that helps him fight through the residual pain and get to his feet. Unused to enhancing his healing without feeding, Xavier struggles to pump his heart faster and send his remaining blood to the more severe wounds, which are repaired in seconds. A wave of dizziness strikes him and he grips a bedpost to avoid collapsing to the floor. Instead, he is knocked back onto the bed by a wheeled cart forcefully slamming into his side by Clyde.

  “Your bedside manner is monstrous,” Xavier mutters while he sits up. Grabbing food off the cart, he does his best to eat with decorum, but his rumbling stomach causes him to take large bites. “Was I delivered to your room or did you bring me here? I cannot understand why either would happen. Not surprising, but this place is bigger than the one I have. Better view of the island too.”

  “We’re both better off than Titus who was finally let out of the dungeon today,” Clyde replies without facing his rival. Slitting his wrist, he bleeds on the bandages to help the warrior regrow his flayed skin. “He should be fine in an hour. We were discussing a way to get him off the island when you were tossed through the door. That butler asked me to tend to your injuries, but I considered letting you die. Only reason you’re still with us is because I might need your magic to get out of here.”

  “Your brute force is why I would do the same,” the nobleman casually admits. Feeling the last of his injuries disappear, he stands and goes to check his appearance in a full-sized trifold mirror. “Jewelz attempted to break me. My assumption is that it was to make me more susceptible to her request that I battle you. Our truce has her annoyed since my only reason for being here is to push you to your limits. This is mostly about her grudge against Mab with world conquest being an afterthought. Where does Titus fit into this?”

  “She must have really scrambled your brains if you have to ask,” the tall warrior replies from beneath his bandages. Lifting an arm, he flexes his muscles and growls at the sight of blood seeping through the gauze. “Clyde might be the primary target to get at Mab, but Jewelz wouldn’t pass up the chance to go after me. She gets revenge for being tossed into a volcano and hurts my sister with the same blow. At some point, she’s going to have me killed and send an image of it to my sister. Best guess is when the inevitable rescue party reaches the island. If they can because this place is as well-hidden as Nytefall.”

  “It would have to be considering how long it has been active without our knowledge.”

  “That’s another reason I need to get out of here.”

  “My mind really is a mess because I do not understand.”

  “One of the guards kept repeating a clue to reach Apelios.”

  “Are you sure it is not a trap?”

  Clyde clears his throat and grins before creating the illusionary form of a guard around his body. “I may have gone wandering around in search of mischief. When I went to check on Titus, I noticed the woman watching him wasn’t as tan as the others. Figured it meant she was a fairly recent addition to the army, so I asked about the island. She just blurted out that one has to chase the rapid moons, which makes no sense. It’s strange that Jewelz wants revenge, but is making it very hard for Mab to get here.”

  “Because she is afraid,” Xavier nonchalantly points out. Feeling his head start to throb, the nobleman sits down and reaches out to put a hand on the nearby mirror. “You can tell that she wants the fight to be one-sided. As arrogant and confident as she is, the possibility of losing to Mab is a source of fear. She will probably open the path once she has created a scenario where she cannot lose. Somehow, it all revolves around Clyde and this fake tournament. You are the one who is supposed to win, but I do not know . . . Wait, maybe I do. Give me a moment to try a spell.”

  “Hold on a second,” Titus interrupts with a cough. He removes the bandages from his head to reveal that a quarter of his face is exposed muscle and bone. “Jewelz did this to me, but Dean said you were tortured too. I know she hates me more and I’m lucky that she hasn’t killed me yet. That doesn’t explain why your body is unscathed, especially she enjoys leaving reminders on her victims. If she did something to your mind then she might have left a trap. As much as your death would make my life easier, I’m with Clyde on needing you alive.”

  For a moment, it appears as if Xavier is going to listen, but he abruptly turns the fingers of his left hand into tiny limbs. The small arms wave through the air to cast the complicated spell within seconds instead of minutes. Rising to grasp both sides of the standing mirror, he opens his mouth to release a silver smoke that seeps into the glass. There is a small tug on his throat, which is on the verge of closing before a hole in his neck opens to expel a crystalline clamp that had been around his throat. Sensing other tiny traps in his body, Xavier steadily ejects them while struggling to hold onto the faltering spell. Exposed to the air, the pieces shatter against the floor and the sparkling shards try to return their host, but they are struck by tiny lightning bolts bursting from the ceiling. The precise attacks vaporize the gemstones and create a circle of burn marks around the shivering nobleman.

  Once the final invasive jewel falls to the ground, Xavier feels a renewed strength and presses his face against the mirror. He pushes his head into the swirling cloud and opens his eyes to breath in a heady vapor. Running backwards through his memories, he ignores the meeting with Jewelz and stops at the moment he tried to read Dean’s thoughts. The barrage of images returns, but he is now able to control the flow and see some of the pieces with a surprising amount of clarity. Stunned by his own success, Xavier nearly loses the spell, but a pain around his neck warns him that he is at risk of getting beheaded by the mirror. One scrap of stolen information gets his attention above the others, so he sucks it into his mouth and feels it lock into his mind. The remaining images fade back into his subconscious while he pushes himself free of the glass, which dissolves into a pile of sand once the spell is done.

  “You were right, Mr. Winthrop, but your maker needs to try harder if she wishes to eliminate me,” Xavier says in a hoarse voice. Feeling blood on his face, he pulls out a handkerchief and wipes the bitter ichor away. “Before I was brought to meet with our host, I tried to read Lord Pendrac’s mind. You two never met him, but he was a councilmember long ago who was slated to be executed for various social crimes. I helped him escape and he stumbled upon Apelios. Jewelz has defensive gems on his skull, which kill most psychics if they try to enter his mind. I am too powerful for her tricks, but I was only able to get a few hazy images before I collapsed. Most of them were useless, but-”

  “Get to the point, Tempest,” Clyde growls, his attention more on the broken mirror. He grabs the empty frame and tosses it out the open window, the jewel-encrusted piece disappearing into the distance. “We don’t have time for gloating or hearing about her top lackey’s history. If he gets in my way then he’s dead, but I’ll leave him alone if he stands aside. That’s all that matters to me when it comes to this Lord Pendrac. Now, blurt out the crumb that you managed to suck up.”

  The Lord of Nyte sighs at the outburst and takes his time cleaning his face, the bleeding finally stopping after a few minutes. “The Vampire Queen has put a spell on you. I do not know the details, but it is designed to get stronger with every battle. All of the fighters are pawns brought here to tighten the noose around your neck. If I had to guess, I would say it is an enchantment designed to turn you against Mab. This is not much, but it should be a reason fo
r you to be cautious. Magical and psychic threats are not ones you can overpower with your usual savagery and this spell falls into both categories. I trust that you will tell us if you begin to feel strange.”

  “You mean like a rash?”

  “This is serious, abomination.”

  “I am being serious, troll spit.”

  “A rash cannot possibly be a part of this.”

  “Well, it’s on the inside.”

  Titus and Xavier share the same confused expression, which turns into worry when Clyde opens his own chest. His ribs are covered in a thin layer of crimson crystals and they can see that one of his lungs is partially entombed. Cracking his knuckles, the Dawn Fang punches the strange infection with all of his might. The blow sends a shockwave through the tower and shatters all of the windows, but the rough jewels remain intact. His companions watch as the curse feeds off the physical exertion and grows half an inch in every direction. Another patch blossoms on the top of his stomach, which gurgles in protest until the crystals become smoother than those on his bones. With a shrug, Clyde pushes his flesh back together and rapidly heals enough to prevent the wound from opening under his new shirt.

  “So, it seems things might be worse than we realized. Anybody want to get something to eat in town?” the Dawn Fang asks with a friendly chuckle.

  8

  Sitting on one of the yardarms, Mab watches the halfling crew work hard to counter the choppy waters. Having had little experience with ships, the burglar has done her best to stay out of the way and be alone with her thoughts. After half a day of thinking, she is no closer to figuring out what her enemy is planning. With her temper roiling beneath her calm surface, she is repeatedly pushed to the edge of her patience every time she spots one of her companions enjoying the journey. She growls at the sight of Bob annoying the one-legged captain about seahorses, which is his newest mount obsession. Refusing to believe that there are no species big enough to ride, the lanky elf has driven the sailor to the point of drinking. Mab is about to drop down and drag her friend below decks when Luther intervenes to become Bob’s newest target for irritation. When she notices Archillious looming over a female halfling and Stephanie starts yelling at him for going too far with his words, the burglar decides the sky deserves more of her attention. She is barely aware of the assassin getting tossed high into the air, his body a hazy form at the edge of her vision. She considers climbing down to figure out what is going on, but decides Nyte’s side of the rescue party are none of her concern.

  “I want to be alone,” Mab says when she feels someone step onto the yardarm. Letting her head dangle over the edge, she scowls at Decker, who is leaning against the crow’s nest. “Get your idiots in line before I have the crew toss them overboard. Our temporary alliance doesn’t mean I can’t throw out anyone who becomes a problem. If you have to break Archillious’s limbs then I saw a sledge in the storage room.”

  “I already considered that, but I prefer to use my bare hands,” the dwarf replies while he pulls his night cloak tighter around his body. Being the only old-world vampire on the ship, he has spent most of his time napping below decks, which has left him looking bedraggled. “I know we aren’t friends anymore, but I still need to ask you a personal question. My hope was that Bob or Luther would broach this topic, so don’t think this is a sudden curiosity. I want to know what we’re sailing into. The only people who have any experience with Jewelz are you and Titus. He’s gone and you aren’t telling us why this is happening. What is your past with her?”

  “You can ask her when we get there,” the burglar stubbornly replies. A splash below causes her to sit up out of fear of someone going overboard, but all she sees is a whale breaching near the ship. “None of it matters because it’s the past. All you need to know is that she wants revenge against me. Taking my brother and partner is only the beginning. I’m sure she’ll either kill them or use some enchantment to turn them against me. Those are my best guesses and they aren’t much. Last time I saw her was long before Clyde and I teamed up too. So, it isn’t like ancient history will help us now.”

  Decker adjusts the coil of rope on his arm before taking a few cautious steps further along the narrow beam. “Let me attempt another tactic. It is obvious that you are angry about this and I worry that you’re going to put everyone in danger. We may be on opposite sides of this war, but I hold no malice towards you or Clyde. If you need someone to speak to then I’m willing to listen and keep your secrets. My loyalty to my maker doesn’t force me to break a promise of confidentiality made to another. This may sound ridiculously formal, but I can see that you’re on the verge of snapping. Talk to either me or one of the others before you make a mistake that will get someone killed.”

  “You mean somebody on your side, right?”

  “I mean anyone, Mab.”

  “They knew what they were-”

  “And what if Clyde gets killed because of your actions?”

  “He can’t die.”

  “It only has to happen to him once for you to proven wrong.”

  With a graceful flip, Mab gets over Decker and lands on the crow’s nest’s railing without making a noise. The halfling inside jumps at the unexpected company and is about to protest when he is waved away. Plucking his eyes out of his head, the vampiric sailor throws the orbs into the air where they hover and continue watching the horizon. Distracted by the odd ability, the burglar jumps back when she turns to find her former friend taking a seat next to her. The jittery response causes her to curse and grow her claws, which she uses to angrily slice a few narrow grooves into the railing. The possibility of her going berserk and costing Clyde his life lingers in her mind even when she tries to concentrate on what she will do to Jewelz. A sudden pang in her chest causes Mab to snarl and bare her fangs enough that Decker’s hand slides towards his axe. For an instant, she considers pouncing on the dwarf to force a small sparring session that could take the edge off her temper. One look at his face tells her that he would hold back only enough to avoid killing her, which could result in her having to sit out of the real battle.

  “You wouldn’t get very far anyway,” Decker mentions as if reading her mind. A quick gesture with his hand causes the Dawn Fang to tense under a paralysis spell, which he breaks immediately. “I’ve perfected that because I prefer to take your people alive. It doesn’t usually work out though, but we’re not here to talk about me. You don’t have to share the details. All I need to know is why this is happening.”

  “Because Jewelz is a vindictive, obsessive maniac,” Mab bluntly answers with a half-hearted smirk. Sensing that her answer is not enough to end the conversation, she sits in the crow’s nest and pulls out a lockpick to juggle along her knuckles. “I really don’t know what’s happening, so maybe you can figure things out from my story. Can’t believe I’m going to tell you of all people, but here we go. My dad was killed in a war, which left my family struggling to survive. I became a thief to bring in some money and I got really good at it. One day, my mom and Titus disappeared while I was out. It wasn’t until he and I reunited that he explained we had more debts than I realized, which resulted in them being forced into slavery. Anyway, I lived on the street by stealing and got turned by Rellan Everald after I impressed him. He brought me to Apelios for training alongside his other apprentice, Jewelz. We were friendly rivals at first with her having more experience and me being a natural. We always forced each other to get better since we’d target the same heist for our lessons. Back then, she was still fairly vengeful if you crossed her, but I thought I was immune to that side of her personality. I’d go so far as to say I considered her an older sister.”

  “How did things get so bad?” the solider interrupts, the violent swaying of the ship nearly knocking him to the deck.

  Making a bored sputtering noise, the burglar lies down and watches the clouds to keep her rage in check. “Rellan gave us a final test and the winner would get Apelios. It was his retirement plan since he was bored with steali
ng. He wasn’t leaving the island, but either Jewelz or myself would be in charge. To be honest, I didn’t care about running his island, but I was too afraid of being exiled that I agreed to the challenge. I let her choose the heist, which was a diamond stash in the middle of a dwarven mine. We went in using different paths and she made a mistake, which I took advantage of to finish the job and sneak away. I waited a few days for her to get out, but she didn’t show up to the rendezvous point. So, I went back to Apelios to find Rellan beheaded in his favorite chair. I ran away and it took me a month to learn that Jewelz was the one who killed him. After that, we had about twenty more encounters, including one where I saved her from a bunch of Duragians. She promised me answers to why she did it, but I never got those. Last time I saw her was a week before I met Clyde. We were casing the same treasury and had a scuffle that attracted the guards, which ruined both of our chances. That’s really all I have to say about the whole thing.”

  “I’m not sure what to say,” Decker admits while he climbs over the railing. Without a word, he takes his rope and makes a snare at one end. “All I can come up with are assumptions, which I doubt will be much help. Being the older apprentice, she must have felt that she was entitled to what you won. Maybe she thought it best to destroy . . . Yet, she killed your maker and didn’t do anything to the island. Perhaps she blamed him for everything?”

  “Jewelz wouldn’t blame Rellan for anything.”

  “Why is that?”

  “She was in love with him.”

  “And you won the contest that meant you would be with him forever.”

  “Yeah, but I wouldn’t have stopped her from being with him.”

  “Did you tell her that?”

  “I told her that I didn’t care that way about him.”

  Stunned by the possibility that Mab does not see the best explanation for why Jewelz has taken Clyde, the dwarf can only shake his head in disbelief. He snaps out of his trance when he hears a strange scraping noise coming at him from below. Decker holds up a single finger under his night cloak before he lazily swings his snare. With a yawn, he turns around in time to face Archillious, who has climbed up the mast to deliver a sneak attack. The long rope catches the assassin by the wrist and he is flung towards the back of the ship before he can fire his small crossbow. Watching the Dawn Fang bounce headfirst off the railing, the stone-faced soldier goes about securing the rough tether to the crow’s nest. Fairly certain that Archillious is not entirely submerged or at risk of being eaten by sharks, Decker wipes his hands on his pants and turns his attention back to the confused burglar.