Dean nearly shouts and jumps away at the sight of a maid, who is struggling to carry a large pile of pillows. Her height and ears make him think she is an elf, but then he notices the hair on top of her feet. Moving to the side, he lets the young woman pass and chuckles at how her tongue sticks out of her mouth as she concentrates. Even though his laughter is barely audible, his voice gives her a start and she drops all of the pillows onto the floor. Face bright red, she scrambles to clean up the mess and avoid eye contact with the butler. She freezes when he bends down to help and swiftly moves away when he comes close to touch her arm. The defensive action makes Dean suspicious until he notices a long scar on her forearm. He scratches his head and tries to recall if it was there a moment earlier, but the way she tries to hide the old injury makes him consider that he is too distracted to notice details.
“You must be one of the girls we took from the Rodillen brothel,” the old-world vampire says while stepping away. Not remembering her specifically, he continues to carefully watch her in case she is more than she seems. “Would you do me a favor? I will take care of the pillows if you would deliver a message to the kitchen. The Vampire Queen wishes to have a midnight meal with Clyde. After you tell the chefs, I trust that you will let our distinguished and favored guest know that his presence is requested. Once finished, you can rest and then attend the event as one of the servers. I assume that is a more enjoyable task than laundry.”
“Thank you, but I don’t mind this,” the girl admits with a timid smile. Unsure of what she should do, she fiddles with the lacy edges to her elbow-length sleeves. “I can still deliver the messages, but I would prefer to not be at the dinner. Clyde scares me. His power and ferocity are like that of a demon. Many of us fear that he will get bored and begin killing everyone here. How much longer will he be on Apelios?”
“Forever if her highness manages to tame him like she hopes,” the butler states, his voice tinged with doubt. Seeing a flicker of panic in the servant’s eyes, he clears his throat and casts a spell to levitate all the pillows. “The plan is still to put Clyde under the curse, but timing is everything. For Lady Jewelz to earn her revenge on Mab, she must bind him to her in the presence of her enemy. That is proving more difficult than we thought since we are unable to predict the rescue team’s arrival.”
Shifting uncomfortably, the vampiric elving’s skin changes to mimic the color of the nearby wall. “My apologies for asking a question that I shouldn’t, but how do you know where Mab and her friends are? They would have left the mainland by now, which means they are at sea. I don’t understand how you can track them unless you have merfolk or a traitor on their ship. Again, I’m sorry if my curiosity crosses the line.”
“It does, but I won’t punish you,” Dean replies as he pats her on the head. He looks down both sides of the hallway before shrugging and leaning in to whisper. “All we know is that our enemies have escaped the death current. Beyond that, we are in the dark because we lack ocean agents. All we can do is wait for them to hit our checkpoints. Personally, I don’t think they will make it very far. After all, the teleporters have been shut down completely to prevent escape and invasion. The only way to reach Apelios is by the ancient path that the Vampire Queen created before her isolation.”
“Then, how is Mab supposed to get here?”
“The interesting thing about Ms. Winthrop is that she always finds a way.”
“She sounds very dangerous.”
Dean smirks wryly as he says, “I’ve heard Mab Winthrop described as many things, but rarely dangerous. Cunning, conniving, standoffish, and the list keeps going. You might be right and we’ve been underestimating her. After all, she has stood alongside Clyde and been known to keep him in check at times. Perhaps one could say she is even more dangerous than him since she has influence over such a monster. This is something to consider before her arrival. I thank you for the insight.”
Leaving the confused maid behind, he whistles an old tune that echoes off the walls and reminds him of his days as a noble. With a snap of his fingers, the floating pillows line up behind him and follow like a herd of obedient livestock. Dean waves over his shoulder to the young woman, who abruptly runs in the opposite direction to deliver her messages and get back to the tasks she understands.
*****
“Clyde is having dinner with Jewelz at midnight,” the maid declares as she walks into the room. Taking a seat on the bed, she stretches her arms and arches her back until all of the stiff joints pop. “Best not to be late and you might want to wear something other than black. She’s in a bad mood because of Mab. I tried to eavesdrop as best I could, but her wards are better than I expected. What I could understand is that she wants Clyde to be consumed by the obedience curse in front of Mab. So, she needs the rescue team to-”
The young woman erects a magical shield before Titus’s claymores can come down on her head. She sends the warrior flying onto the balcony with a blast of wind, which becomes a wall to prevent him from going over the edge. Glancing at Clyde, the maid can see that he is ready to fight as well, but is cautiously hanging back. With a sigh, she flexes her entire body as if she is trying to jump and stay on the ground at the same time. She grows a foot in height and sprouts silver hair while the furry curls on her feet become polished boots. Tearing off her dress, the Dawn Fang’s torso shifts until it is that of a toned man instead of a slender woman. The points of the vampire’s ears shrink and the short-sleeved shirt billows out to become a tunic that remains open down the front. A loud snap fills the air as Xavier finishes returning his bones to their natural size and shape. The experience leaves him hungry and tired, so he takes a seat at a table that has a bowl of fruit, which he delicately moves to his lap.
“Who else would come in here talking about Mab and a rescue team?” the Lord of Nyte asks his companions. He holds up a hand before plunging his fangs into an orange and draining it completely by turning his teeth into straws. “As I was about to explain, the rescue team needs to show up at a certain time. Jewelz might be able to bring them to Apelios whenever she wants, but I think she wants to whittle down their numbers. The good news here is that our people are on the way and seem to be working together. Our enemies are not able to track them on the ocean too.”
“That means we only have to hold out until they arrive,” Titus says, his eyes never straying from the nobleman. With a question on the tip of his tongue, the warrior repeatedly opens and closes his mouth until he thinks of a better subject. “Clyde and I were talking about finding a way to get the others here as soon as possible. It’s risky, but I might be able to get off the island in two days. We overheard some of the locals talk about a hidden dock and a supply ship that heads out once a week. All I have to do is get on that and take it over once we’re far enough away from Apelios. Then I can find the others. Are you naked, but transformed to look like you have clothes?”
Xavier scowls at the question before replying, “My power allows me to transform whatever nonliving objects I have on me as well as my body. Do you two fools realize how vast the ocean is?”
“At least he didn’t call us abominations,” Clyde states as he flips a gold coin to Titus. With a wide grin, the thief slips his hand into his pocket and slips the real money back into a hidden sleeve. “You’re right that finding our friends is nearly impossible. The most likely result of this is Titus bobbing around the ocean while they arrive and then we have to find him. Our only hope is that Lost is part of the rescue team. If she is then him thinking her name as loud as possible could draw her attention. To be honest, we don’t even know if he’d be able to lead them here with that moon and rapid riddle, but it’s the best chance we have.”
Finishing the last of the fruit, the Lord of Nyte tosses the bowl onto the table and covers a small yawn. He meets Clyde’s gaze and refuses to look away, the two vampires searching each other for signs of betrayal. Neither man reacts to Titus coughing, their minds running with anger and paranoia fueled scenarios. Xavier is th
e first to smirk when he picks up a stray thought from his old enemy, which involves using him as a macabre raft. The biggest question in the graphic dream is if the noble should be left with his face aimed at the sky or the water. Amused by their similar mindset, the nobleman stands on legs that click for a few steps before his ankles and knees reset themselves. Instead of approaching Clyde, he walks by the man and claims a copper goblet of blood that is mixed with brandy. He scowls at the sweet taste and slight coagulation, but knows he requires a boost of energy or he will collapse.
“It appears our plans are falling apart as quickly as we make them,” Xavier admits with a half-hearted toast. Throwing the other goblets to his companions, he reclaims his seat and tries to relax. “I was only able to confirm that our friends are coming, which is not much considering we always assumed that. You two are more interested in planning an escape, but that gets more impossible by the day. Our enemy has been watching us for centuries. I doubt she is going to be caught off-guard by any of our actions. It would not surprise me if she is confused as to why Mr. Winthrop has not tried to get off the island already. Do you really think you have a chance of getting on that ship and taking it over by yourself?”
“Probably not, but I figure Jewelz is only a few eye twitches away from murdering me without warning,” Titus interjects from the balcony. He tosses the illusionary coin as far as he can, the glinting metal momentarily blocked by a shadowy figure. “Looks like we had another guest and he’s bolting. Guessing he got startled by me throwing your fake. So, who’s going after him?”
“I have dinner to prepare for,” Clyde casually mentions while sprawling on the bed.
“I do not do rooftop chases,” Xavier declares with a dismissing gesture.
“Have the big guy go jumping around in the dark. Sure, makes perfect sense.”
Barely able to make out the shadowy figure in the distance, Titus moves across the room and draws his swords. He pumps more blood into his legs to increase their strength, which makes them swell and threaten to tear his pants at the seams. With his companions making no move to stop him or join in the hunt, the warrior charges at the balcony and leaps in the direction of the fleetfooted spy. As he hurtles over the courtyards and servant houses, Titus cuts his sides to turn his blades into Chaoswinds. He listens for the guards that patrol the streets, but there is nothing more than the roaring of wind in his ears. Knowing that he has already gone too far to turn back, the warrior skids to a stop on a rooftop and launches himself again at where he last saw a flicker of suspicious movement. His attempt to land without a sound fails when he uses part of the wall turret to break his momentum, the stone cracking and tumbling to ground. A series of shouts erupt from below with half of the voices ending in drunken mumbling. Fearing that he is about to be discovered, the warrior drops to his stomach in the hopes of being overlooked by any curious locals.
Instead of footsteps, Titus hears a strange whoosh of wind followed by the rustle of leaves from the direction of the jungle. Fearing that he has already lost his prey, the swordsman scrambles to his feet and prepares to jump. He barely notices a glint of metal in the emerging moonlight and blocks the dagger with his blades. The impact sends a quiver up his arms that grows stronger by the second until he drops his weapons. Watching them continue their shuddering on the ground, Titus curses under his breath and ducks the next projectile. Stripped of his blades, the Dawn Fang tears off part of the wall and hurls it into the jungle. A tree is snapped in half, which draws the attention of a group of celebrating vampires. Before he can warn them, a flurry of daggers hits the locals and they vibrate until their bodies explode. Seeing the gruesome fate that he narrowly avoided, Titus kneels to grab his still blades and wonders if he can make it to the trees without getting hit. Knowing his size makes him too big a target, he doubts that he would survive the attempt and goes about sidestepping the continuing assault.
Sensing that there will be no end to the flying blades, Titus turns his back to the jungle and summons his flanking double. He braces himself for the phantom to block the next dagger, which creates a dull ringing in his ears. To his relief, the vibrations do not affect the copy and it stands ready to defend against another barrage. Realizing that he only has seconds, the warrior launches himself backwards and clears the open space between the wall and the trees. He focuses more on the way his double is deflecting the daggers than his landing, so he crashes into a palm and rips up his back sliding down to the ground. The instant he feels the phantom lift its sword to block, he figures out the angle of attack and whirls around. Titus hurls one his claymores at a clump of branches while using the other to protect himself. He drops the trembling blade while its flipping twin sticks into the shadows, which spurt blood into the air. Seeing the weapon fall towards the ground, he rushes forward to catch it by the hilt and drives it further into the vampire who is nothing more than a thin silhouette. Lacking his second claymore, the warrior settles for punching his enemy in the head with enough force to knock the man’s two-dimensional head bouncing into the jungle. With a smile, he tosses the corpse away and reaches back to shake the hand of his phantom, who he feels is the only one that appreciates all of his hard work.
*****
Sitting on the highest balcony of Apelios, Clyde does his best to eat with some level of decorum. Having listened to Xavier rant about manners for an hour, the Dawn Fang is determined to prove that he can act refined. He sips at his drink instead of chugging it and fights the urge to use his sleeve in place of the ivory napkin on his lap. The smell of the blood-drenched steak pokes at his predatory instincts, but he restrains himself and calmly cuts tiny pieces that he chews at an agonizingly slow rate. The result is a constant tapping of his foot, which has left tiny cracks in the stone and eventually knocks over a nearby vase. When the Vampire Queen abruptly turns to see what has fallen, Clyde swiftly slices off a third of his meal and stuffs it into his mouth. Rapidly moving his jaws, he pulverizes the meat and swallows it before his host finishes ordering a servant to clean the mess. Seeing her eyebrow arch at the sight of him having significantly less food, he shrugs and goes back to eating tiny bites.
“You do realize that nobody will know if you ate like a pig,” Jewelz casually states with a smirk.
“Never know who’s watching these days,” Clyde replies, his eyes darting to the line of servants. Grabbing a roll, he rubs it on the stick of butter instead of using a knife, which gets some giggles from the youngest of the maids. “So, what is this dinner about? Since Mab is the real target, I don’t see any reason for you to spend time with me. After all, the curse means I’ll be your slave once it’s complete. Getting to know each other feels like a waste of energy. By the way, these crystals on my bones are pretty itchy. Think you can alter the spell and make them a bit smoother?”
“No, I prefer that you never forget your plight,” the Vampire Queen says, her mouth full of salad. Dabbing at her mouth with a crystalline napkin, she leans back and conjures an amethyst mirror from one of the drifting clouds of gem dust. “Although, I am amazed by how defenseless you are here. You can destroy armies and cities, but are going to fall to a curse. That’s a shame because your reputation is that of a man who cannot be beaten. Unlike me, your legend is not living up to the reality, which I say out of honesty and not disrespect.”
The thief meets her piercing gaze and creates an illusion that causes his eye color to match her crimson pupils. “Guess you have me figured out. People forget that I was a thief, so my true strength is in cunning and trickery. Who is going to bother messing with me if they think I’m an undefeatable monster? Only the most foolhardy and arrogant of our kind, which I say out of honest observation. It isn’t like I easily defeated all who have faced me, including that water creature.”
“Are you saying that you have been holding back?”
“Haven’t you been doing the same?”
“But I have yet to fight.”
“That implies you can.”
“A woman such
as myself has others commit violence on her behalf.”
“Is that what you want to ask of me tonight?”
Jewelz pushes her plate away and waves for the servants to clear the table, which prompts Clyde to wolf down the rest of his meal. He is in the middle of swallowing when he notices his host’s eyes dart to her right. Grabbing the last of the rolls, he throws it to his left and watches the food punch through the chest of an invisible assassin. More of the killers appear, which causes the servants to scatter and dive for cover. The Vampire Queen fakes a yawn and holds out her goblet for it to be filled by whoever is brave enough to get within reach of the looming fight. The shivering maid has barely begun pouring when she is hit in the face by a spurt of blood and eight corpses crash to the floor. Clyde is still in his seat where he is juggling the heads and hearts of his enemies. One by one, he flings the pieces into the open ocean, except for the last skull, which he hurls through the wall of a nearby tower. He waves to the distant figure standing in the broken opening with his pants only partially pulled up.
“Damn, I thought it was Xavier’s room, but I was off by one floor,” Clyde mutters as dessert is put on the table. No longer caring about manners, he picks up a piece of cake with his blood-caked hand and takes as big a bite as possible. “I really hope this wasn’t supposed to be a last meal type of event. If so then I can wait for you to gather some assassins with talent. There sure are a lot of locals with invisibility powers. That your doing?”
“An unseen army has the element of surprise,” Jewelz answers, her lips reddened by her drink. Walking around the table, she takes a seat on the railing near her guest and flares out the skirt of her gemstone dress. “You said during our first meeting that you wanted a challenge. It appears I can’t provide you with that. Lord Tempest might be the best chance you have at getting your great battle, but the two of you are currently allies. I’m sure neither of you would have your hearts in such a match. That means my tournament is going to waste after so many years of making it perfect for you.”
Rivalry (War of Nytefall Book 3) Page 17
