On both sides of the aisle there were people, seated or standing, all elegantly dressed. Michael led me through to the front. I did as he’d instructed me, inclining my head to pay the required homage to his father.
“Is this the human who is supposed to possess special magical abilities?” he demanded, his voice dictatorial.
“Yes, Mylord,” Michael replied deferentially.
“Human, what type of magic do you practice?” Martellius asked me directly, and I raised my head for the first time, meeting his incredibly beautiful eyes. They were brown and regarded me with benevolence. My nervousness evaporated and I answered truthfully. “Neither do I practice magic of any kind nor do I have any special abilities.”
He looked at me in surprise. “Is that so? Then we should not waste our time with you.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
Another voice spoke up: “Mylord, as we all know, an influential vampire showed interest in this human. He made our community a very lucrative offer. Michael declined, arguing that this human was too valuable, since she lifted the curses from two vampires. It is impossible for a human without any special magical abilities to accomplish a thing like that. Therefore I accuse Michael of misdirection of the council.” A man from the audience had taken over.
The room erupted in sounds of outrage and shock. Michael was in serious trouble, and it was my fault. He had saved me from becoming prey to and possession of a vampire. I realized that his repeated assurances that he was protecting me had not been a lie. I was surprised by the nonchalance with which Michael reacted to the stranger’s accusation. “I reported truthfully what happened in Salzburg. Since this human is mine, it was my prerogative to decline the offer.”
But the man from the audience wasn’t ready to let it go. “I demand consequences. Declining such a substantial offer for no objective reason amounts to treason.”
That was the moment I realized that I was not the reason this man took issue with Michael’s actions. It was merely the latest pretext to continue or rekindle an age-old quarrel. The man wanted to harm Michael and he would seize whatever argument was available. The smug expression told me that he believed he had found a way to hurt him. I hadn’t been raised to leave my friends in the lurch, so I spoke up. “Honorable council, I have already told you that I do not practice magic and don’t possess any knowledge of it. It is however true that I helped lift a ban that afflicted two vampires. If this man is able to use his magic to subjugate me, I will freely go to the vampire in question and thus hopefully restore peace within the council.”
Michael had tried to stop me with a squeeze of his hand, but there was no going back. The man uttered a loud, conceited laugh, before he came over and stood before me. His eyes bored into mine as he murmured something unintelligible, and then he ordered me to sit down.
“No, thank you, I prefer to stand,” I said insolently. He scowled and tried again, but in vain. He could not make me do anything I didn’t want to do.
“It seems as if this human might be worth our attention after all. If nobody raises any objections, I suggest we continue with the next point. Nikelaus, I hope all your questions have been answered to your satisfaction.” There was a reason why Martellius was the presiding head of this council. The hall was dead silent when he spoke. All I saw on the faces of those present was respect, admiration, deference. Everyone seemed satisfied, only Nikelaus was seething.
“Immunity to thought manipulation is not sufficient proof.” He turned on his heel and walked back to his seat, head held high. He showed no emotion, but I was sure he was still livid. Most of the others quickly lost interest in him, but I kept an eye on him. His lips were moving inconspicuously and then he held his hand stretched out in my direction. Instinctively, without thinking, my hand shot up in a gesture of defense. When he was hurled backwards and crashed into the wall with enormous force, his face was a mask of bewilderment. My gaze fluttered unsteadily from one astonished face to the next, and then I lost all control. I fell to my knees shaking and collapsed forward. I barely managed to buffer the impact with my arms. I twitched and sobbed. My chest constricted and I gasped for air in despair. I felt as if I had foolishly run a marathon and then proceeded to jog up a mountain.
Michael picked me up gingerly. He held me in his arms as I looked into his face. I read desperation in his eyes. He carried me into our room and sat me down on the couch. I was still in the same weakened state. He brought me a glass of Coca-Cola to drink. “Maybe the sugar will help,” he said. My body slowly began to calm down. Michael laid me down on the bed and kissed me on the cheek. “When was the last time you ate or drank?” He asked gently. “Yesterday,” I whispered, thoroughly exhausted, and before I knew it, I was asleep.
I awoke dressed in green silk pajamas. Next to the bed, someone had left a tray filled with delicacies, and a note. It said:
Please don’t forget to eat, we’ll talk later.
I didn’t need to be told twice and dug in. When I was full, I plopped down on the couch and watched some TV. I quickly got bored though, so I put on a pair of blue jeans, a white blouse, and the warm coat. I left the house and headed for the stables. They consisted of buildings set like the letter T. There were stalls for the horses, and an open-plan barn where they could mingle. In front of the dark orange buildings, there was a pasture and a sprawling paddock with various jumps. A young woman greeted me by the paddock. “You’re Michael’s human, Melanie, right?”
“I’m nobody’s possession!”
“A human with a spine, how nice. I’m Iveria, Michael’s sister. Did you really throw Uncle Nikelaus across the room and turn him into stone?”
“It was more that his own spell got to him, after it had ricocheted off me. I think. He’s brought this on himself.”
“It was high time that someone gave him a thrashing.”
I could not yet ponder and analyze the events of the night before, let alone discuss them with anyone else, so I fidgeted awkwardly and said goodbye. My wandering gaze found a forest, beginning behind the stables and pasture. Some fresh air and quiet would help me settle my thoughts. I started walking. I breathed in the scent of wet moss and began pondering what had happened. What worried me most was that if the person responsible for the enchanted vampire attack on Michael was a member of the council, they knew who I was now.
When I returned to the suite after my stroll, Michael was already waiting for me. He greeted me with a kiss in the open doorway, but then closed the door behind us and launched into a tirade: “Have you lost your mind completely? What was the purpose of your little stunt yesterday? What part of ‘just answer his questions and keep your mouth shut otherwise’ didn’t you understand?”
My emotional world was thrown into chaos. I was pissed, for I had tried to save his ass and now I was being yelled at. I was aggrieved, since all this hugging and kissing was merely a screen, only for show, and I felt guilty, because apparently I had screwed up. My logical reaction was to start crying. “I just wanted to help. That Nikelaus guy spoke of consequences. I was raised to stand by my friends,” I sobbed.
He was a little thrown by my tears, but still irked. “I’ve been a member of this council for eight hundred years, and I’ve been in politics even longer than that. Do you really believe that I wasn’t prepared for Nikelaus to cast his aspersion? You are my human. Nobody can punish me for refusing to give you up. They would have put me down as a lovesick fool and been done with it. Humans don’t punish other humans if they treat their dogs like children, do they? I expected you to do everything you could to deny that you’re special. I had actually banked on that.”
I was tormented by guilt and still sobbing a little when I looked him straight in the eye. “What worried me most today was that now everyone knows who I am, what I did, and what I look like. That was precisely what you wanted to prevent, am I right?”
“Yes,” he confirmed with a reproachful look that couldn’t fully hide his concern either.
My g
uilt was increasingly replaced by anger. “Michael, if you talked to me once in a while, stuff like that wouldn’t happen! So I confirmed what everyone was suspecting, but didn’t know for sure?”
He sighed. “No, it’s far worse. They thought you were sort of immune to magic and that you simply got lucky and lifted the ban from the two vampires. They didn’t expect you to actually be able to block a magical attack and send it right back to the attacker. Unprepared for it, to boot. If you go on like this, they will end up seeing you as a threat,” he warned, sounding less irate now. I felt the color drain from my face and apologized sheepishly. He thought for a long while before speaking again. “Contrary to the others, I believe you. You have no idea what it is you’re doing or why you have those abilities.”
I hadn’t taken into account that they might also doubt my credibility.
He studied me. “You were right, by the way. Parents love you. My father wanted you for himself straightaway. He asked me whether I’d relinquish you,” he told me with a smile that was probably supposed to reassure me. Then he gave me a wink. “Naturally I refused.”
What the hell? He was once again giving me the feeling that I had no say whatsoever in these matters. He ignored my accusatory glare. “Do you have an idea why you collapsed after the incident?” he asked.
“I felt as if I had hopelessly overstrained myself. Plus I hadn’t eaten anything in more than a day.”
He gave me a disapproving look. “You need to take better care of yourself from now on. It seems that your powers might be too strong for your human frame. When you had broken the spell in Salzburg, you fainted. We should try to find out how to bolster your strength. Regular meals are bound to be a good starting point.” Then he caressed my cheek with great tenderness, which was unexpected. “Don’t take any more walks on your own. There are currently some council members here who are ill-disposed towards me. Killing you would be an obvious way to try and hurt me.”
I took a step backwards. “It’s just you and me, no need to pretend that you care,” I remarked reproachfully.
“You’re unbelievable,” he stated with a shake of his head, before turning to the fridge to hand me something to eat. “Nikelaus is our most powerful magus. His spell was no trifle. It took the savants almost the entire night to break it. Today’s celebration starts at five. You should be ready by four,” he instructed me while I was eating.
“Can you explain something to me? The vampires that attacked us in Salzburg were under a spell. But you mentioned that it was virtually impossible to control them. So who would be able to do so anyway, and what would it take?”
“You’ll eat, I’ll talk!” I nodded enthusiastically and continued chewing.
“If you wanted to control a powerful vampire such as Daniel’s brother Jeremeia, you’d need to obtain some personal item that belongs to him, and it would take at least three skilled magi. You’d have to get him to drink a specific concoction. That is the hardest part, for vampires have an excellent sense of smell.”
I had to take advantage of his rare talkative mood: “Can you and your kind, whatever you are, conceal your conversations from other beings, or just from humans?” I asked.
“No, we can. It’s a little more complicated, but no problem at all. This suite for example is sealed off from the rest of the building, because our hearing is exceptionally good.” He merely confirmed what I’d already guessed. “When we were attacked in the alley and you wanted to take away my memory afterwards, how long did it take you to realize that it wouldn’t work?” I’d been pondering that question for a while now.
He laughed out loud, kissed me on the forehead, and disappeared with a curt, “I have to go now.”
I would miss all my lectures and seminars this week, so I picked up my phone to do some damage control. First I dialed Astrid’s number. We attended two seminars together. I asked her to let the professors know I couldn’t make it this week, and to copy her notes for me. I would come pick them up on the weekend. Then I called Alexandra. We had three seminars together and ate in the cafeteria with Astrid every Tuesday. She would also make sure to take notes and keep a copy for me. Andreas was the last one on my list. I knew I wouldn’t have the time to do my homework for Monday morning, so I hoped he would help me out this time. Unfortunately he had a larger problem at work and thought that he wasn’t going to get his homework done either. We agreed to meet as usual anyway. He wrapped up the call by attempting to flirt with me again. Would he ever go back to talking to me as he had before the damned campus party? Next I tried to reach Sarah, but again with no success. I sat in the bedroom and stared at the pattern of the comforter. Despite Michael’s plea that I not leave the suite, boredom drove me from the room around two in the afternoon. I took the elevator down to the first floor and started exploring. I peeked into the lounge and registered with curiosity that there was no soul to be seen. The day before there had been at least sixty people in the conference room. I supposed they were currently all in meetings of some sort.
The walls were painted a pastel peach color. The furniture consisted of several light brown wooden tables, surrounded by brown sofas of various sizes. The wooden floor was the same hue as the tables. In the back of the room, a tall marble statue of a male figure playing the flute by a fountain beckoned. I felt a sudden urge to touch the statue, and since I was alone in the large room, I went over and did so. That turned out to be a lucky move, because from the far end of the room I happened to spy two people who came hurrying from the stables towards the house. They moved with preternatural speed, and from their stealth it was obvious that they didn’t want to be seen. No reason to point out that I had indeed seen them. I could hardly make it back to my room in time, so I hid behind the marble flutist. As soon as I’d slipped behind the statue, they entered the lounge. I was thus forced to overhear them. They were a man and a woman. I breathed as softly as I could and tried not to move a finger. From what I knew they would pick up even the slightest sound. I hoped that they weren’t alert enough to notice my breathing. The nervousness made me hear my own heartbeat. Even if these two didn’t mean any harm, I would have been hard pressed to explain why I was hiding behind a statue. I imagined Michael’s reaction should he find out that I had eavesdropped on his kin in the lounge.
“Martellius’ son should no longer pose a problem. The chains are magically reinforced and on top of that he’s weakened by the Pericon. He’s strong, but he couldn’t even break these chains if he wasn’t handicapped. The van won’t draw any attention, since it’s always parked somewhere near the stables,” the woman recapped, before falling silent and turning in my direction. I held my breath until she spoke again. “Tell the mercenaries they have four hours to take the human girl to the appointed place.”
“Forgive me if I ask, but will regular humans be able to restrain her?” the man wanted to know.
“She may be immune to magic, but she still has a vulnerable human body. As far as we know she can manipulate existing magic, but not produce any of her own.”
“Good. We’re expected in the conference room. Our absence has to remain unnoticed. The men will be here in half an hour. They have a photograph of the girl and a blueprint of the building. I told them we need her alive, but a little pain would be no problem,” the man reported. The woman replied with a spiteful “Well done,” and then they left the room.
I stayed in my hiding place for a few more minutes before I dared take a peek. I was alone. When I crept out and ran down the cobblestone path, I registered with surprise that I remained relatively calm, considering what I’d just heard. I looked for the van they had mentioned, and spied it behind the paddock. I kept an eye on my surroundings as I ran, for I didn’t want to be observed or caught by surprise. Luckily for me, they hadn’t deemed it necessary to lock the vehicle. I found Michael in the back. He was lying on the bed of the truck, unconscious and injured. His body was covered in cuts, and there were two deep stabbing wounds in his shoulder and belly. He was gagged and
chained, the chain wrapped around him like a spiraling snake. I wasn’t strong enough to carry him, but where there’s horses and manure, there’s bound to be a wheelbarrow. I found it close by, leaning against the barn wall. I had lost track of time, but it felt as if an eternity had passed since I’d overheard the two conspirators. I placed the wheelbarrow at the back of the van. Its upper rim was almost level with the truck bed. I struggled and huffed, but I managed to roll Michael’s blood-stained body into the barrow. I hastily wheeled him into the barn and hid in the hay loft, which was a partitioned shed in the back of the building. He came to once I took out the gag, swallowing hard and groaning in pain. His eyes frantically scanned our surroundings.
“Who can I trust?” I asked him as soon as he looked into my eyes and I could tell that he recognized me.
“Iveria, Martellius, Daniel, and Phillipe. You don’t know the others.” His voice betrayed the pain he was in, though he tried not to let it show. I nodded, leaned over him, and whispered into his ear: “Stay quiet, I’m going to find something to break these chains, just hang in there.”
I roamed the barn looking for a tool shed. I’d often gone riding as a kid, so I had an idea of the basic layout of a barn, a fact that helped me find the tack room quickly. It was more problematic to decide on the right tool. I frantically scoured the drawers and shelves, trying not to make any noise. When I found a bolt cutter, someone grabbed me by the shoulder.
“What are you doing here?” a familiar voice asked, and I jerked around in fright. Iveria studied me, suspicion in her narrowed eyes. I quickly filled her in on the latest events. She was convinced that we would only be in the way if it came to a confrontation with other Peris. Therefore she handed me the bolt cutter and ordered me to hide with Michael, and take care of him as best I could. She had gone before I could say anything, so I left the tack room.
Peris Night: Terakon (Secret Language) Page 7
