Shivering at the thought, Lost bends backwards and slowly flips into the ship. “I would try to carefully remove them? I don’t like that question. What if I guard the ship or only send bunny with you? It isn’t fair that I’m left behind when I can be more help here. Besides, it’s so boring at home. Mommy is always at Nytefall and Nadia doesn’t play any games. I don’t think she likes me either due to that whole your husband is my father thing. That or she didn’t appreciate me putting her on the menu to cheer her up. My point is that I have abilities that can be of better use rescuing our friends and Lord Tempest.”
“The problem is that both of you are right,” Luther interjects as a phantom slips out of his back. The ephemeral figure nods at a flurry of gestures before going out the hole in the wall and floating to the deck. “Lost’s powers will be helpful if we need information. Unlike the sleeper agents, I doubt that torture will work on those who live on Apelios. Our enemy wouldn’t have anyone so weak in her presence. Lost will be able to read their thoughts or control one from afar, which keeps her out of danger. Sorry, but Decker is right that you have a habit of getting distracted and following your impulses. Considering the Vampire Queen loves jewels, it’s safe to assume that there will be plenty of shiny objects to draw your attention.”
“I have an answer for that,” Lost declares with a gleeful bounce. Pulling a pink sleep mask out of her pocket, she puts it on her face and proudly stands with her fists on her hips. “Can’t be distracted by what I can’t see. I can take over someone else to let me see where I’m going, so the problem has been . . . Oops . . . Who did I step on? Okay, this plan isn’t working out. What if I force Archillious to carry me on his shoulders?”
Bob clears his throat and is about to point at Lost’s shadow, but he is too late to warn her about the clawed hand that has emerged. The girl yelps as Mab pulls her into the darkness and immediately tosses her through another opening. She lands on the bottom bunk of a dust-covered bed and starts to sit up when she sees the other vampire loom out of the underside of the top level. Instead of leaving the shadows completely, enough of Mab’s back remains to keep her hovering in the air. Lost can only bring herself to nervously smile at the stone-faced Dawn Fang, who still has a twitch in her eye from the death current’s spell. For the first time, the half-elven vampire notices that her friend has a bleeding hole in her torso that she is being prevented from healing. She considers asking the burglar about the injury, but a low voice warns her that she should choose her words carefully.
“Are you going to give me any trouble?” Mab calmly asks.
“I’m only here to help bring Clyde and Titus home,” Lost replies, the rest of her rambling cut off by a bite to the tongue.
“Then this is going to be your room.”
“Okay, but you don’t have to be so angry.”
“And why is that?”
“Because both of them are still alive and we’ll save them.”
“Thanks for your optimism, but we don’t-”
“But wouldn’t Clyde and Titus’s spirits come to you if they were dead?”
Jolted out of her bad mood, Mab drops to the mattress and scratches her head. “I don’t know. Maybe Jewelz would be keeping their spirits away from me. Although, she wouldn’t have a good reason for that. Letting me know they’re dead would drive me to get there even faster and with less self-control. Huh, never really thought of that fact.”
“See, I’m helping already,” Lost declares with a hug that knocks both of them to the floor.
“Open wound, kid,” Mab groans, the sensation of organs getting pushed out of her body making her feel woozy.
“Oops . . . I’ll get a mop . . . and some glue.”
9
Titus fixes his chainmail shirt, which still has a few twigs stuck between the links and a spot of rust on his right shoulder. His claymores are in better condition, but he no longer has the scabbards to hold them. In their place, the warrior has had to fashion belt loops and keep his hands on the hilts to prevent them from dragging on the ground. Standing to his right, Clyde checks his own weapon, which is a perfect replica of the one Gregorio crafted for him upon his return. The toothed blade hums in anticipation of being used, but its desire to be donned is denied by the cautious vampire. He repeatedly gazes into the gauntlet to examine the crystal needles that will pierce his flesh and absorb his blood. Reaching inside, he snaps one off and watches it grow back in the blink of an eye. The Dawn Fang considers flicking the shard at Xavier, who is leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. With his claws scraping against the stone, the nobleman focuses on the gentle sound in order to drown out the roaring crowd. A few whistles are aimed in his direction due to him being forced to fight without a shirt. In its place is a sapphire harness that prevents him from using his magic and changing shape. Left with only his physical strength and metal claws, Xavier wonders if the odd contest is designed to eliminate him.
“Mab must be getting close,” Clyde whispers to his friends. Waving to Jewelz, who is on the balcony, he shrugs when she refuses to respond. “Something definitely has her upset. That’s the only reason we have a three-on-three fight in what I think is only the second round. She wants me under her thumb as soon as possible.”
“Couldn’t you create an illusion of the curse completing itself?” Titus asks before drawing his swords. Pretending to be examining the pristine blades, he keeps an eye on the door that their opponents are supposed to enter through. “That way, the fights stop and you can get close enough to take her out. You could even fake being obedient until Mab gets here. She’s got to be coming with Bob, Luther, and Decker at least. That’s enough power to easily break us out of here and escape to one of the teleporters.”
“I heard she made those entrance only yesterday,” the other Dawn Fang replies. A roar from the crowd stops the conversation, but nothing happens after the noise dies down. “I don’t think the illusion idea would work. She has to expect me to try and trick her, which means she has something in place to stop me. Could be that she sees through the illusion immediately or there’s a specific final shape for the crystals that I wouldn’t know. Besides, what do you think will happen to everyone else once I’m under her control? You two aren’t going to be released or given a room to wait for a rescue. As long as I need competitors to push the curse, everyone is being kept alive.”
“Until one of us kills them,” Xavier casually adds, his eyes still closed.
“Figured that went without saying.”
The screech of metal moving against stone causes the audience to become silent and watch the entrance. Those seated on the same side as the door try to crowd around the front few rows until they are forced back by jewel-covered guards. As the seconds transform into minutes, the excited onlookers settle down and worry that something has gone wrong. Whispers run through the stands when the door closes without anyone entering the arena, but the vampires do not dare leave and miss what is about to happen. Seeing that their beloved ruler is leaning over the viewing box’s railing and the other team has not left, the crowd stops talking and waits in eerie silence. Anyone who tries to speak is muted by a predatory glare or a forceful hand around their mouth. Even the children are quiet, their excited questions remaining on their tongues instead of shattering the blossoming tension.
The battle starts when a whirlwind appears in the middle of the arena and charges at the three Dawn Fangs. Titus and Xavier jump away, but Clyde calmly grips his weapon by the rim of the gauntlet and swings it like an ungainly club. The half-hearted blow dispels the compact storm, which billows across entire island. Enough dust is kicked up to reveal three invisible opponents standing where the twister first appeared. All of them drop their spells in different ways with one materializing, another tearing off his top layer of skin, and the third unfurling a pair of hazy wings that were folded around his body. None of the men have weapons like Clyde’s team, but each one conjures an orb of elemental magic in their hands. Blasts of fire, water, and
metal are launched at the armed fighters, who continue to dodge in the hopes of figuring out the extent of the masked trio’s abilities. With a click of their tongues, the three abruptly spin fast enough to create tiny whirlwinds that combine with the magical projectiles and careen across the arena.
“I believe these are my nobles,” Xavier says as him and Clyde cross paths. The twisters that are following them collide and explode to send a rain of shrapnel into the stands. “Judging by them having similar powers, I assume Jewelz is able to control her children’s transformations down to their aura. This means they are nothing more than enslaved husks of the individuals they once were. Do you think we should try to save them?”
“Pretty sure being nice will get us killed,” Titus quickly interjects while he charges by his allies. Turning around, he cuts the pursing whirlwind and braces himself against the blast of water that knocks him into the wall. “These guys are out for our blood, which is how it should be. Maybe the gods don’t think you deserve any more friends, Tempest.”
Lunging at the winged Dawn Fang, Clyde curses when the enemy rises into the air and hits him in the face with a metallic orb. “Kind of pathetic that you deemed these irritations the best of Nyte. Guess you have to lower your standards when the most powerful of our kind have turned against you. Eliminating them will be doing you a favor. Not like they would have lasted long with me around anyway. Seriously, what was the point of a new council when you hated that our society had one in the old days?”
“It is difficult to rule across the globe when you lack loyal bureaucrats,” Xavier answers with a growl. Seeing a tiny funnel begin to grow, he jumps and stomps it before it can become a threat. “Unlike you, my power is not based in one location. I require those who know how to rule instead of fight. I learned from the fools who angered you the last time too. No gatherings after the first meeting even in an emergency. That way, you will not be able to eliminate my council in one attack.”
“Your paranoia is showing.”
“And is that a bad thing when it comes to you?”
“True. I wouldn’t bother them anyway.”
“Why is that?”
“They’re obviously very weak.”
“If that is the case then why is the fight still going on?”
“Just putting on a show for our hostess.”
Before Xavier and Clyde can choose who to attack, Titus barrels into their tightly packed opponents. Two of the Dawn Fangs are knocked to the side while the third struggles to keep the warrior’s swords away from his neck. Fire orbs pelt the towering vampire in the chest, but his armor absorbs most of the force. Titus ignores the burning of his own flesh as he drives his enemy into the wall and drops his claymores. He reaches up to grab the large brick at the top of the hole and slams it down to pin the former nobleman, who catches it and desperately tries to push it away. The crowd cheers at the sight of the struggling combatant, the man’s legs erupting into flames and wrapping around the swordsman’s knees. Not wanting to be left with too many injuries, Titus shifts his foot to stomp on one of his swords and flips in a way that the long blade cuts across the other vampire’s waist. Catching his weapon by the hilt, the powerful warrior swings to smash through the brick and split his enemy entirely down the middle. He yanks the remains out of the rubble and grinds the two halves of the groaning noble’s skull into the dirt to make sure he is dead.
Turning back to his friends, the leader of the Vengeance Hounds holds out his arms and gestures at the untouched opponents. Clyde shrugs and flips a coin to decide who he is going to destroy, but is immediately hit in the groin by a metal orb. Xavier is about to laugh when a globe of water gets him in the barely open mouth. Both Dawn Fangs are annoyed by the surprise attacks and the cheering crowd, so they crack their knuckles and charge. Not trusting his weapon, Clyde holds the long gauntlet sword by its toothy blade and bats the incoming attacks out of the way. His wide swings force Xavier to move away from his target, but the nobleman stays low and runs with sudden bursts of speed to make himself a harder target. Finding an opening, the Lord of Nyte leaps over a growing whirlwind and kicks the head of Clyde’s target with enough force to snap the man’s neck. Diving from only a few feet away, he moves too quickly for their final opponent to respond. In the blink of an eye, Xavier has the former nobleman’s head in one hand and his heart and lungs in the other. Tossing the offal away, he is about to mock his rival for being too slow, but stops at the sight of the Dawn Fang progenitor beating their final enemy with the gauntlet side of his weapon. Every blow sends flesh and blood flying across the arena while the occasional metal orb is angrily kicked into the walls.
“I think he’s angry,” Titus says as he approaches Xavier. They watch as Clyde continues pulverizing the twitching Dawn Fang, half of which has been turned into pulp. “This can’t be good for the curse, but at least he’s having fun. I mean, that is the smile of someone enjoying himself, right?”
“You realize that would mean he is loving the act of brutally murdering another living being,” Xavier replies, the feeling of disgust making him slightly uncomfortable. No longer interested in the carnage, he waves to the crowd and removes his anti-magic harness. “I will meet with the two of you for dinner. The Vampire Queen’s changes to the teleportation devices have me curious. Given all of our abilities, I am the best suited for this type of mission. Hopefully I have learned enough from Mr. Stavros to be a decent spy when it counts. Please have Clyde clean himself off before I see him again.”
*****
Dean is surprised to find Jewelz wearing the clothes of a common thief instead of one of her dresses. Her hair is tied back to prevent it from getting in her face, the ebony tresses shimmering in the dwindling daylight. He takes a seat in the corner of the courtyard and watches as his master continues releasing her anger on a collection of Mab statues. All of them are made to look as close to the real thing as possible, but they still possess a monstrous visage that one can see from the right angle. The Vampire Queen puts her hands behind her back as she delivers powerful kicks that shatter her targets. She frowns whenever her echoing blows leave fist-sized chunks, which she stomps into dust. It takes Dean a few minutes to realize that the object of this exercise is precision instead of power and he begins to worry that Jewelz is about to do something rash. Watching her leap into the air, the old-world vampire rises and makes his way to the last of the statues. He is only a few feet away when she lands feet first and powderizes the sneering figure, the ruby dust mixing with the other colors that sparkle in the air.
“I can’t remember the last time I saw you being so physical and unkempt,” Dean admits as he picks up a towel. Unsure if his master is listening to him, he tosses the soft cloth onto her shoulder and conjures a soothing breeze. “If you wish, I can divide the specks and reconstruct the jewels. It would be a shame for all of these to go to waste. Do you wish to talk about the sudden interest in exercise?”
“Mab and the others have made it past the death current,” the Vampire Queen says, her fangs sticking out of her mouth. With a slow breath, she calms down enough to retract the sharp teeth and licks her bleeding lips. “Creating that monstrosity took a lot of work and it failed to eliminate a single enemy. Send someone to retrieve the core stone and disperse the corpses. I have no use for a creature that can’t do its job. If they move quick enough then I can have a new monster here to keep the others busy while I handle Mab.”
“I’m sorry, but I will have to refuse that order,” the butler politely states with a bow of his head. The globes of gathered dust explode when his master grabs him by the throat and lifts him above her head. “Killing me will not help. The death current keeps ships away from Apelios, so getting rid of it puts us at risk. I know you want your true enemy to arrive quickly, but you still need time for Clyde to be consumed by the curse. From what I can sense, he is only halfway there due to his battles being too easy. Nobody has the power to truly challenge him with the exception of Xavier.”
One
by one, Jewelz uncurls her fingers until her servant falls to his feet. “That is another reason I’m frustrated. If Mab is moving too slowly then she will miss Clyde falling completely under my spell. She needs be here when he becomes mine. Yet, her showing up early means she can save him. I had everything perfectly planned, but now my schedule feels uncertain. It is possible that she will have trouble with our maker or finding Apelios. Both require more brains than brawn and cunning, so I could be worrying for nothing.”
“That is good to hear,” Dean claims as he fixes his collar. A flourishing wave of his hand gathers the gem dust and he condenses it into a rainbow-colored block. “It may help to create instead of destroy. You are under a lot of stress these days, which is not showing on your physical form. One can only tell by seeing how you are acting. Please heed my advice, your highness, and relax. Trust my information and your cunning. If anything goes wrong then we will be able to adjust.”
“You always know the right things to say.”
“That is why you keep me around.”
“Among other reasons, which I am greatly appreciative of.”
“Will there be anything else?”
“A midnight dinner for myself and Clyde would be nice.”
“I will make the arrangements.”
Gracefully turning on his heels, Dean lets his smile falter as soon as his back is to the Vampire Queen. He makes sure to walk quickly without being obvious, his desire to escape his master’s presence tempered by his manners. Over the centuries, he has seen many of her trusted followers get killed by being nearby when her boredom or anger have grown too much for her to handle. While her self-control has improved since becoming a Dawn Fang, Dean is still nervous about being on the wrong end of an outburst. As he opens the courtyard door, the butler hears the crinkling of breaking crystal and looks over his shoulder. For a moment, he is confused at Jewelz’s absence, but catches sight of her in a crumbling mirror that she has used as a gateway to her bedroom. Waiting for the image to vanish, the butler relaxes and enjoys a few seconds of peace before entering the hallway.
Rivalry (War of Nytefall Book 3) Page 16
