“Devlin, we must run some kind of business, so you can set your own hours,” Ann said firmly. “There is too much risk of discovery, otherwise. There is no point planning all of this and leaving everything I’ve ever known if you get turned into powder.”
I gave her an odd look. “Powder?”
“I got one of my father’s books on ghosts today,” she said, handing me a slim tome. “It mentions vampires, specifically how to recognize and kill one.”
I took the book from her, reading the marked passage. In it were the legends I’d thought about today, plus a few new ones. A vampire passed on his curse of bloodlust with his bite, vampires could not cross running water, cast no shadow, had no reflection, and needed to be burned, or have their head severed to be killed, though a stake through the heart could do the job. Once a vampire was killed, it would wither into powdered ashes from great age, as it was undead, not alive.
“This is offal,” I said, tossing the book aside. “I am not undead. My heart still beats. The rest is bollocks too, though that bit about fire might be true.”
“A stake or decapitation wouldn’t kill you?”
“It shouldn’t,” I said arrogantly, hoping hard I’d never be in the position to find out. “I had broken bones last night, and I’m fine now. So why wouldn’t I heal those wounds, too?”
Anna shrugged. “Makes sense.” She took my hand. “I just don’t want you to die.”
“I’m not going to die.” I held her close, kissing her throat. “I have you to live for.”
* * * *
I left Anna shortly after, sneaking out in her cloak, and stealing out to the stables. Anna had gotten me simple clothes of a mud brown color, and I tied my hair back in a bobtail, thanking my luck that I hadn’t chopped it shorter with my knife, as I preferred it. I couldn’t disguise its light color, or my eyes, but my almost-beard was still present and ragged looking, so that helped. I carried with me two sets of saddlebags, one empty, the other full of Anna’s wedding dress and cherished possessions.
My plan went sour almost at once. Two guards now watched the small door, with two more posted above them. I would never be able to sneak outside now to steal or buy horses, much less back inside after. If I fought my way out now, I would never be able to get back inside to get Anna before she was married. More and more guests for the wedding had arrived and there were many people about. I had to act swiftly.
I went to the stable, and purchased two mediocre but sound horses with what was left of the money I’d earned. I also used some of Anna’s money to buy supplies, stocking the saddlebags with dried meat and hard bread, as well as a little cheese. Anna would need to eat, even if I did not.
I brought the horses to the gate and asked to be let outside, spinning a tale of an errand for one of the young men who was planning a nighttime tryst. The guards recognized me, and told me to see the Lord Marshal, that he was looking for me.
Shit. I bribed them with the last of Anna’s money, and they reluctantly let me through. I rode to the stream where I’d first loved her, and ground tied them there. The bear’s corpse was still there, and I took a moment to skin it. The meat was no good by now, but the fur might be useful. Anna would get cold, after all, and I knew from experience that bear’s fur was the warmest. The hardest thing would be preparing the skin to be worn.
I scraped it as best I could, and tied it out for stretching. It would have to do for a start. The food I hung in a tree, in case there were other bears about, though the scent of the dead one should keep them away.
I caught a deer, and killed it, drinking my fill. Quickly, I brought it back to where the horses were and began to dismember it. I would not get a chance to feed tomorrow, or hunt, we’d need to be away. There was a little blood left in the muscles—
This is where things utterly crashed and burned.
“Devlin?” a joyous voice said.
I looked up to see Maris. Shit.
“Why have you not come?” she wheedled. “I missed you. Father said the caravan is coming today. We’ll intercept it at dawn and grab the purse of jewels—”
Shit! We needed the purse to get to the castle, so they could steal it...wait. Maybe it was better to let the gypsies get it. Taking into account my newfound invulnerability, I reckoned I could kill them and take the caravan and the purse both. Then we’d have the gypsies’ supplies to use or steal...
“Devlin?”
“I’ve been watched,” I said as tenderly as I could fake. “As it was I had to use my earnings to get out of the castle. The guards are nervous, because of the coming treasure.”
“Did you miss me?”
Like a hole in the head. “Of course, dearest. But I have much to do. Please, if you could, finish with this deer for me?”
Maris took the knife. “Of course. But why do we need this meat?”
“We” didn’t, but Anna might. And here was opportunity, also. “We’ll need to move out of this area as fast as we can. We’ll most likely be pursued. Therefore, we can’t stop to hunt. So if this was cooked and packed in one of your wagons, we could use it without stopping.” I took her hand. “I do not want to marry on the run, Maris. I think we should wait to marry until we are safely away.”
“My father is unlikely to agree,” she replied flatly. “As am I. Come back with me to our camp. We can be married quickly.”
There was enough to do without any more plots I had to remember. Time to be harsh. “No, Maris. If you want to come with me, you’ll not only handle this deer, you’ll forget this idea of marriage.”
She glared back at me defiantly. “If you’ll give me your word to take me with you.”
I stared back at her levelly, relieved. “I give you my word to take you with me. But you must steal a horse, and be waiting here for me at dusk tomorrow.”
Maris nodded. “I’ll do it. I’ll need to put the meat in the saddlebags after it’s cut up and cooked. Is there room in the ones you brought?”
Double shit. “No. Put them on your own horse.”
“What is in your saddlebags?” she asked pointedly.
“Provisions for our future,” I lied dashingly. “Do not open them without me present, understand?”
Maris nodded. “Yes. I’ll hang the deer flesh in the tree, as you did the other food you brought. But why must you go back at all?” she said, kissing me gently. “We can spend the next hours together as we wait for the deer to be done—”
I resisted the urge to recoil. “I must, I had to leave my guitar behind as proof to the guards I was coming back. I’ll need it, to keep plying my trade.”
“You’ll make a wonderful partner,” she said emotionally. “You are always thinking so practically.”
You have no idea. “Farewell, my dear.”
I kissed her reluctantly, and walked quickly away. Before long, I’d stolen back to the castle. However, the old problem was there: how to get inside?
The back door was locked. I couldn’t fly. The Lord Marshall was looking for me, no doubt wondering why I’d not shown up to work this evening. Everything seemed lost. Then I noticed a rope hanging from the top of the wall.
God, I loved that woman.
I grabbed it and climbed up. I untied the rope, and managed to get to Anna’s room without being seen, though there were several close calls.
She was waiting for me when I got there. “How did it go? Did you find the rope?”
“I did, Love,” I said, kissing her ardently. “Thank you. The horses are near the stream. I have a deer there, along with other food for you. So we can get water there, and begin our journey as soon as darkness falls.”
“Good,” she said in relief. “I was worried.”
“Don’t be,” I said, moving close to her to hold her. “I’m here, and tomorrow night, we’ll be on our way.”
Chapter Four
I lay with Anna that night, so happy and content that we fell asleep together. Early the next morning, her pious sister discovered us as we lay sleeping i
n each other’s arms.
Her scream deafened me, and made Anna scream herself. A half minute later, we were surrounded. Ten minutes later, I was before her father in manacles.
You might be wondering why I didn’t fight. The truth is I wanted to, and if it had been dusk instead of dawn, I would have. But there was nowhere I could go if I fought my way out of the room. The hallway had an open window, and it was only with luck the sun was not high enough to shine in so I wasn’t burned when I passed it. Besides, Anna was mortal, and I had to take her with me. An arrow or sword thrust meant for me might have struck her, and I couldn’t risk that.
He father didn’t strike me, as I expected him to. He just said, “Were you with her?”
“Yes,” I said, trying to sound as regal as possible. “I love her. I will pay a dowry for her, if you’ll give me her hand.”
“Absurd,” he said casually. “You clearly have no money. But you have something else I want more than money, something only you possess.”
“What?” Jesus, was this man a homosexual?
“I know what you are,” he said, throwing Anna’s book on ghosts at my feet. “I want you to make me as you are. You do this, and she is yours.”
My mouth fell open. “How did you know?”
“I noticed the blood garnish was missing from my pork dinner. The next night, eating venison, I tasted that my meat was dry. None of my men admitted to slaying the deer, so I asked the cook where the meat had come from. She said you’d brought it to her. She added wine to it the other nights, as I asked her to. But I knew that the blood was missing to a point it should not be, I who have always desired my meat rare to the point of bloody.”
Well, I knew where Anna had gotten her sharp mind. “So?”
“So, you’re a vampire. I wish to be one.”
“The longevity I enjoy comes with many drawbacks—”
“That doesn’t matter. I’m dying,” he said, uncovering a sore oozing pus. “Leprosy.”
I was sickened, but did not shrink back. “If I say no?”
“I’ll have my men burn you at the stake as a sorcerer, before the sun is at its zenith. And you will burn, Bard, either from flames, or from the rays of the sun.”
Triple shit! I had no idea what to do to turn him into what I was. Yet I’d die for certain unless I tried. I attempted to access my memories of becoming vampire. What had happened that day with the vampire who’d attacked and turned Danial and me? The memory was blurry, as so many of my memories were. I thought I remembered enough to know I needed to drink some of his blood, and give him some of mine. But how much?
“Your answer, Bard. Now.”
“Untie me.”
“Your word as a gentleman?”
“You have it.”
He unlocked my cuffs, and removed them.
“Sit down,” I said. He did, looking at me without fear.
“I must take your blood.” He leaned his head back, and bared his throat to me. I drank from his neck vein, but took very little, as his blood tasted of his disease and it sickened me. Then I cut my wrist deeply, letting my blood flow into a goblet. When the wound closed, the goblet was close to full.
This would either cure him or kill him, more likely the latter. Either way, I had no choice. “Drink it all,” I ordered.
He did, draining the cup. Like magic, it worked. Anna’s father got paler, his canine teeth grew, and his eyes brightened. When he got to his feet, it was with the swiftness of a man twenty years younger. “I am saved!” he shouted. Then he realized what that meant and quieted, shooting me a quick grateful look.
“You’ll need to beware the sun, and also fire,” I said hurriedly. “But other than that, you should be immortal.” Sounded good, even if I wasn’t sure it was really true. “Now for your part of the bargain.”
“You’ll need to stay here,” he said. “Give me your wrists.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but did as he asked. He clamped the manacles back on me, after hanging the key around my neck.
“I will say that you are to be hanged tonight, after full dark,” he said. “Arrange an escape of your own design right after sunset. I will make sure only a single guard is posted.”
“And Anna?”
“She will leave in late afternoon to go riding for some fresh hawthorn, for her bridal wreath, and forget to ask a maid to accompany her. No one will miss her until dinner tonight, at which time I will let her betrothed know she is having pre-wedding jitters, and has taken to her bed, asking not to be disturbed until tomorrow. I assume she had a spot to meet you?”
“Yes.”
“Then meet her there.”
“And her dowry money? We will need it, until I can get a more profitable job.”
“You speak like a nobleman, even if you are not one,” her father said, with his first nod to me of real appreciation. “You could not take it all, not without a wagon. I’ll arrange to have the richest gems and a measure of gold in put in saddlebags, then left where Anna can lay her hands on it before she leaves. As she’s said you wish to marry, it is her right.”
“You must be a nobleman, to have kept to your side of the bargain.” More likely, Marcus had refused to marry her after hearing of her being found with me, and her father thought she was already pregnant.
Her father gave me a real smile. “What am I out? I’ve sons and grandsons aplenty. My daughter is taken care of, I’m saved from death, and I’ll still have more money left over after than I would have had if she’d married Marcus. Besides, as much as he’s rich, he does not have the daring you do, to have done what you have. Anna came to me, pleading for your life, and told me how you’d killed the bear that attacked her with nothing but a knife.” He paused, and gave me a nod of respect. “These are difficult times we live in, Bard. The best men are those that do whatever is necessary for the sake of their loved ones, be they of noble blood or not.”
I agreed with that. “Yes.”
“I ask you to take good care of her,” her father said seriously. “I know of you, and your many lovers. Do not disgrace her, Bard.”
“I will not,” I said seriously. “I give you my word.”
“Very well,” he said. “Fare you both well. I will not see you again, as I’ll need to pretend that I had no knowledge of this, lest I incur the wrath of Marcus’s father.”
“Understood.”
He left me there, and I sat for a while, thinking more on what I was. You might wonder I wasn’t planning my escape, but I didn’t see the point. A lot could happen between now and dusk. It would be wiser to wait for a chance to act than to try to make a plan. I’d always been lucky when it came to recognizing the best moment to act.
Besides, I was in shock to have discovered that I could make more of my kind by giving them a large infusion of my blood. That part of the legends was true. But I didn’t understand why, if that was true, there seemed to be so few vampires in the world. Where were they all? Why had I never met any? I had traveled all over the countryside, and seen not one. Were they avoiding me?
Of course, the obvious conclusion was next. Would taking blood from Anna over and over make her a vampire? The legends said so, that this is what made a vampire. But was it that, or the healing I usually did with a little kissing after feeding from a human? Sometime in the distant past, I’d made too deep a wound on a drunken man’s wrist, and had discovered a little of my blood would heal human flesh. But I had never bitten a human more than once, and even that I had done only rarely, so as not to arouse suspicion.
Dare I risk Anna’s life? Would she love me, if I turned her by accident? Would she believe that it had been an accident?
I pondered this. I admit I also spent a lot of time thinking back to making love with her, and how good her blood had tasted. I needed to calm myself, after all, and that was an easy way to put myself in a good mood.
But my trials were not over.
An hour before sunset, Marcus entered, his guards at his sides. “You are to b
e hanged, and then burned until you are dead,” he intoned, shooting me a look that said he’d clearly heard all about how Anna and I had been found. “Do you have any last requests?”
To kill you. “To speak to a priest.”
“Denied,” he said flatly. “You can speak to the priest as you are being fitted for the noose, and he is praying for you.”
If he was going to be a prick, why bother asking me? “To speak to Anna.”
“You will never see her again,” Marcus spat at me. “Anything else?”
Bastard. Think! I needed to buy time!
“A last meal,” I said quickly. “I would like some meat, rare, and wine, red.”
“That is acceptable,” he said gruffly. He turned and left, leaving a guard beside me, and another at the door.
I waited until he had gone, and then tossed the guard inside my last coin from my pocket. “What has happened? I thought my burning was to wait until this evening.”
The guard pocketed the coin immediately. “Anna’s father is dead from disease, a terrible disease which destroyed his flesh. He looked well this afternoon, abnormally well, but he collapsed on his way to his rooms with his mistress not an hour ago. His horrible appearance was not to be believed, except I was there to witness it. His leprosy had spread to his face and hands almost as if he had been cursed by God—”
I felt sick. What I’d done hadn’t cured him, or made him vampire. It had somehow made the disease stronger.
“—plus the caravan was intercepted, and the purse and the rest are stolen. Without that money, it is likely the Lord Marcus’s father will refuse to let Marcus marry Lady Anna. But Marcus is also known for his fairness, and so there is gossip about what will happen—”
Well, at least one thing was going right. I had only to get Anna, and get out of here. The problem was I had no idea where she was, and it was a reasonable guess with her father meeting such a gruesome fate that she would not be out riding. Moreover, I was due to hang, though I guessed the sun would kill me before I ever got to the hangman’s noose.
To my surprise, I was saved by my love. A knock sounded at the door, and when the guard answered it, Anna stood there, her fine dress gone, dressed in patched peasant clothes and a long drab cloak.
Immortal Confessions Page 5
