by J. D. Brown
“Oh, okay,” I snapped. “So I’m just a human-eating monster incapable of any microscopic form of control, is that it? What is this hotel with no windows, a cage? Let me give you a tip for next time, don’t give the monster a key to its own prison!” I flicked the plastic card at his face and then wrenched the flimsy sliding panel open. I stepped behind the threshold and then slammed the panel shut. After that, I marched into the bathroom and slammed that door too. It made a much more satisfying noise and I locked it.
My fists clenched, which reminded me that I was missing a finger, and all my anger turned into hysteria. I swept both arms across the counter, flinging all the hotel toiletries across the room. They crashed against the marble walls and clattered to the floor.
Jesu’s essence rushed forth at the sound, but then stopped on the other side of the door. I could hear his pulse pounding though the wood and my gaze lowered to the sliver of space between the door and the molding. His shadow stood there, hesitant. I held my breath, my heart hammering against my chest, as I waited for him to ask if I was all right.
He didn’t make a sound. I watched his silhouette shadow the tiled floor, a ghost image of the man my heart longed for, yet couldn’t touch. The shadow turned away and then left, as unattainable as its owner.
Chapter 9
Eventually, I calmed enough to take a shower. After a few minutes soaking under the stream, I grabbed the shampoo bottle and then hesitated. The slight weight pressed against my maimed knuckle and suddenly felt ten pounds heavier. I worried I’d drop it, so I switched hands. Washing my hair and body took twice as long with one hand. Brushing my teeth afterwards was just as awful.
I wrapped a towel around my torso then faced the bathroom door. I’d been in here for over an hour feeling bad for myself before I finally bathed. I sucked in a deep breath then exhaled and opened the door. The Oriental panel separating my bedroom from the rest of the suite was left open. The quiet calm of the space assured me that I was alone though Jesu’s scent lingered near the kitchen.
I pushed his image out of my thoughts and focused on dressing. It was difficult not to think about the snake man. Every bump against the space between my thumb and middle finger as I opened the wardrobe, every glide of fabric rubbing the skin as I awkwardly tugged on jeans and a T-shirt, brought the image of the acidic venom burning through my flesh and bone back to the forefront of my mind.
I’ve seen Jesu transform into a house cat, and I could transform myself into a wolf or a bat, but we were always the realistic size. I’ve never seen a vampyre transform into a giant animal. That guy… that thing… was enormous, and he wasn’t any prettier when he took his vampyre form. Entire sections of his body were rotted through like bad meat.
I couldn’t stop thinking about his tattoos, particularly the two snakes entwined in a double helix around a stick on his shoulder. My historian brain itched at the symbolism. The caduceus was a common symbol that popped up in almost every culture. Most people thought the caduceus was the logo for Western medicine, but I had a strong feeling this guy wasn’t a doctor or a prescription drug pusher.
I needed a computer. There must have been one in this suite. The staff had equipped it with everything else imaginable, a laptop had to be stashed somewhere. I searched through my nightstand and wardrobe, then the living room, and finally the kitchen drawers. When nothing turned up, I took a gander in Jesu’s old bedroom—ignoring how empty it seemed despite the fact neither of us really owned anything here—and found a laptop on the nightstand.
I brought it to the living room and set it on the coffee table then turned it on and waited for it to start up. Once the Internet connected, I searched “caduceus.” The search engine turned up the usual information about medicine and DNA. I typed in “caduceus + ancient history” and tried again. This time I was given information about the Greek god Hermes and his staff. I knew all about Hermes from mythology 101, but my gut told me I was still off the mark. Hermes’ caduceus looked almost identical to the modern-day model. The tattoo on the snake man’s arm was much more simplistic by design, which meant it was older than classical Greece.
I thought about his other tattoos, laced around his arms and chest, running between his disgusting rotted flesh. A shiver ran down my spine, but I forced myself to try to remember what they looked like.
Come on, Ema. You can see every detail with vampyre vision. It’s there… focus. The image came back fuzzy at first, the scene dominated by his blood-red eyes and sulfuric stench, the scales that grew from his flesh as his body shifted. Focus on the tattoo, what were the symbols around it?
The image sharpened in my mind and the details became clear. The shapes were mostly lines and triangles organized in a pattern like an ancient alphabet, but they were far too simple to be hieroglyphics. I shook my head. I could only think of one civilization older than Egypt, and that was Sumeria. Déjà vu rang like an alarm in my mind. Cuneiform tablets have mentions of vampyres.
I typed “cuneiform” into the search engine and got several pictures of ancient script that looked just like the symbols tattooed on the man’s body. My breath hitched in realization. Someone had written something all over the snake man’s skin and made it permanent. Was it a spell? Was that how he was able to turn into a giant snake?
I plugged “caduceus + Sumerian” into the search engine. This time I was given a name I didn’t recognize; Enki. Further reading revealed that Enki was the Sumerian god of water and mischief. His symbol was a simple stick-like staff with two snakes entwined in a double-helix. Not only was the symbol an exact replica of the man’s tattoo, but the statues and sketches of the god shown on the computer screen looked precisely like the man who attacked me.
I remembered what Leena had told me while we were looking for Apollyon in the underworld; vampyres used to pose as gods of darkness, destruction, and death. They’d sit in temples and demand their human sacrifices. Obviously, the R.E.D. wouldn’t allow that information on the Internet. They preferred their half-baked myths.
But why would Enki appear in an alley in downtown Berlin and attack me? My brow drew together in thought. There was one sure link between Enki and Apollyon; they were both from Sumeria, and they’d both lived there around the same time. It was possible they knew each other. It was possible they were neighbors, even buddies. If that was true, then this was beyond bad. I had to tell Jesu.
At that moment, the suite door flew open. I jumped as a squeak punched from my throat. Jesu stood in the doorway, pocketing the spare key. I mentally chastised myself for not thinking to ask for the extra key after he’d gotten his own suite. Bridget’s scent mingled with his, darkening my thoughts and sending a stab of heat through my blood. I slid my right hand under my bottom. While watching Jesu from the periphery of my vision, I carefully angled the laptop screen to face the far wall. Then my left hand joined the right in hiding.
Jesu clenched his fists and marched into the living room. His brow furrowed, but his eyes were wide, showing more of the whites than the irises. I bit my lip, not knowing why he was upset. What did he have to be mad about? No Sumerian snake gods were cutting off his appendages.
He opened his mouth wide, as if to yell, and I winced in anticipation of whatever he was going to say. Instead, his lips closed and he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in a haggard sigh. Worry lines creased his forehead as his gaze searched my face. For what, I didn’t know. The gap between us wasn’t more than a foot wide, but it felt like Jesu and I could have been standing in opposite corners of the world. My lips parted to speak, but then I noticed a movement near the opened suite door. I glanced to the side to get a better look. Bridget stood in the hallway, her arms crossed. She narrowed her gaze in my direction. My lips pressed into a thin line and I glowered at her, almost missing Jesu’s words.
“Ema… you have been summoned by the Alpan king.”
My attention snapped back to him. “I’ve been… what?”
He sucked in a deep breath, not bot
hering to hide the shiver that rolled through him as he quickly exhaled. “We are to meet with him tomorrow morning.”
I shook my head. “But… why?”
Bridget spoke before Jesu could, plain indifference icing her accent. “Someone saw you phase outside and reported it to zee R.E.D. Zee summoning is merely for you to collect your sentence. If you refuse to make an appearance—”
“Bridget,” Jesu growled over his shoulder. “Can we have some privacy?”
Her jaw clenched and she spoke through her teeth. “If she runs...”
“Bridget.” His tone lowered. “Please leave.”
“Fine,” she said, but she didn’t leave. She stood in the hall, her bowtie lips pressed in a tight pout. Jesu narrowed his gaze and stood his ground until she finally huffed and then marched out of my line of sight. He went to the door and gently closed it.
Facing me, he whispered, “Ema, I cannot help you if you are not honest with me. You said you only phased a little bit of yourself.”
I grimaced, ashamed at the mess I’d made. “I might have phased more than a bit.”
He whimpered as he neared the living room. “What did you do, Ema?”
“Does it matter? Would they even give me a trial?”
“Yes, Nikolas will hear your side of the story and consider it, but Ema… if your account doesn’t match up with what was reported…” He shook his head. “I need to know the level of damage you are facing.”
I inhaled deeply and then released the truth. “I jumped over a busy street and phased my entire body in mid-leap over traffic.”
He rolled his head back and groaned.
“I was going to kill a pedestrian, but I didn’t.” My voice rose, needing him to believe me. “I didn’t, Jesu. I was telling the truth about being able to absorb human energy. As soon as I realized it, I took cover in an alley and turned back into myself.”
Jesu scrubbed his face with both hands. “Oh, Ema.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it. I tried really hard to not react, but there were just so many humans and I couldn’t help it. But I didn’t hurt anyone, Jesu, and never have to. I know that now.”
“Why were you even outside?”
My gaze fell to my lap and my fingers tingled beneath me, going numb from my own weight. “That was an accident.”
Jesu crumpled onto the couch cushion next to me, his torso deflating in an exasperated sigh.
“The worst the Alpan king will do is banish me from his territory, right? That’s what the R.E.D. requires. That’s not so bad.”
“Ema, that is practically all of Western Europe. Besides, you are safest here in Germany.”
My gaze flickered to the laptop. I didn’t think Jesu was correct about my safety. A change in location might be just what the doctor ordered, but I remembered what Jesu had told me. He was positive that Naamah picked this location for us because King Nikolas had a bad history with Apollyon. I wondered, if we were anywhere else, would Apollyon have come for me himself instead of sending his buddy?
Yet, if an all-powerful, first-generation vampyre like Apollyon thought twice about crossing paths with Nikolas, then what chance did I have with the Alpan king? I had openly broken the rules and put the Alpan clan at risk. King Nikolas was probably already pissed at me. I was dead meat.
“What do I do?”
Jesu answered slowly, considering each word. “When we meet with him, let me do all the talking. You are a very young vampyre. I might be able to convince Nikolas to let you go with a warning.”
I nodded in agreement, but my thoughts raced. I decided not to tell Jesu about Enki—at least not yet. Jesu’s plan to beg forgiveness would be Plan A. If that didn’t work, telling Nikolas about Enki and Apollyon would be Plan B. Worst-case scenario, if both plans failed, I would have to leave Western Europe, which would clear me from Apollyon’s radar for a while. What did I have to lose?
Maria
My fingers rested over the keyboard of Naamah’s laptop as I stared at the screen. Part of me wished Jesu would write back so I could have a peace of mind, but he was smarter than that and I took pride in his resistance.
“You should stop emailing them.” My husband kept his voice soft as he fumbled with his tie in front of the full-length mirror in our bedchamber. “Lie low for a while.”
I stood and straightened the neck piece for him. “Tell me true, my love, is there no way the Council can stop him?”
Resentment and sadness shone in his black eyes. “There is nothing we can legally do.”
“Then hang the laws, we are vampyres. We can handle this the old fashioned way.”
“Shh.” He cupped my hands and brought them to his lips. “Have patience, Maria.”
I swallowed my frustrations and nodded. “Are you ready for this?”
“We have no choice.” He smiled weakly. Still holding each other, we phased and flew to the foyer where we solidified. Victor already waited by the door, his expression tight. He eyed me and I smiled wide, showing fang. Naamah cleared his throat; his way of warning me to be civil.
Nitrogen leaked into the air from the hall. My senses prickled as a wave of motion shifted the atmosphere. Apollyon’s invisible presence raced toward us. My instincts traced the movement of his molecules and my gaze followed them as he flew overhead. He paused near the center of the vaulted ceiling and thickened into a black, billowy silhouette of himself, his abominable pets flanking his sides. He jerked his blackened head in the direction of the castle door, signaling for us to follow, and then melted back into an invisible mist. His essence disappeared past the thick wood barrier of the castle entrance.
Victor phased and joined them. Naamah squeezed my hand. The pressure of his masculine grip faded into a warm, vibrant energy that mingled with my own essence as we dispersed and flew past the castle doors.
We easily caught up to the others, their energy a wave of heat in an otherwise crisp early summer night. Our travel was quick, a dead shot straight south to Brahelinna Castle. The construction of the castle was never finished and its materials were stripped away by the 1800s. All that remained of Brahelinna were a few fragmented lengths of stone wall hidden by veils of ivy, and an abandoned cellar that was only accessible by those whose elements could pass through solid objects. Despite the vacancy, Brahelinna had become a tourist site that sat uncomfortably close to the main road near the coast of Lake Yävasi and the Ristiina municipal. For that reason, we dared not solidify until we were underground, past the cellar ruins, inside a vast secret chamber.
Pitch black swallowed us as we unphased. My husband struck a match and lit a torch mounted on the wall opposite the one we’d flown through. This room was not an original part of the castle. It had been hollowed out and finished with brick walls by the Neo-Draugrian Council; a hidden sanctuary reserved for affairs of grave importance, matters of emergency.
Apollyon strode to the center, slowly glancing around the room, taking in every minuscule detail of his surroundings. He stopped and lifted his fist in the direction of his undead entourage. His fingers spread wide and flitted about as he swept his arm through the air, gesturing to the walls. The crew spread out to encompasses the perimeter of the room. They turned their backs to the walls and faced their master. Then their bodies shimmered and began to vibrate. Their flesh turned into sand and one-by-one they sank into the ground. I grimaced as I watched them disappear. This would not be a fair fight.
The Master gestured to Victor, Naamah, and me. “You will carry on as planned.”
He vanished into the shadows, leaving only the three of us in the room. I glanced at my husband, who glanced at Victor, who sneered at us. I wished I could slap his vindictive head off his neck. With nothing to do but wait until the Council arrived, I took in the construction of the area. I knew the place well, having overseen its creation. The chamber was a perfect square design, simple, yet dungeon-like. A low platform made of bricks rose from the ground along the eastern wall. The only form of decoration was a
plain arch in the southwest corner which marked the location of castle’s original cellar.
The atmosphere near the arch crackled, raising the fine hairs on my arms as the first Council member arrived. My back stiffened as the vampyre’s essence solidified. Stefán blinked a few times to dispel the harsh torchlight before setting his sights on us. His piercing gaze narrowed in on Victor and his voice bellowed.
“What is that traitor doing here? This ground belongs to the Council!”
Naamah held up a hand, palm forward. “All will be revealed tonight, my friend, but it would do no good to repeat myself. Let us wait for the others before—”
“I demand an answer!” Stefán marched swiftly toward us. The ground trembled with each stomp. Stefán was a lot of vampyre; a steel tank of a man with a volatile temper to match. I wondered if the abominable things in the ground shook too.
“Under what circumstances could he possibly be allowed to stand among us?”
“Calm yourself, Stefán,” I warned. Quit allowing yourself to be fooled, idiot.
“I am an Arm. I am within my right to tear his knees out so he will bow to us for the rest of his life.”
Victor’s lips curled back in a snarl. My fists clenched. As much as I’d love to see Victor try to take on Stefán and fail, I was prepared to stand between them and see that nothing interfered with the Master’s plan. Thankfully, my husband stepped in first.
“You might be an Arm, Stefán, but I am a Hand and Second-in-Command. I stand as a representative of the Head in his absence. To act against my command is to act against the command of His Majesty the Prince.” Naamah squared his shoulders and leveled his gaze. “Do you wish to continue your quarrel, Stefán á Drekann?”
Stefán growled in Victor’s direction, but he stepped back and lowered his head. “No, sir. My life is to serve you as I serve the Prince. I mean no disrespect.”
