The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1) by Clay & Susan Griffith;Clay Griffith;Susan Griffith

by Clay; Susan Griffith;Clay Griffith;Susan Griffith

"This is a lot of food."

  "Eat what you like. I'll have the remainder sent to the people in town. They prepared it. I wasn't quite sure what you liked."

  "You arranged all this?" The myriad of meat and vegetables must have taken days to collect and prepare. "It must've been a great deal of work for everyone."

  "It was a challenge. We actually enjoyed it."

  "Thank you." It seemed strange to say, but Gareth's efforts warranted it. In a way she was honored that she was worth the endeavor. Reaching for venison that was nearest her, she piled food on her plate. Food always seemed to be a primary need. It was Greyfriar who had drummed that into her. Eat and drink when you can, as much as you can.

  Glancing at Gareth, she noticed he wasn't eating. With a sigh she sat back. "I don't particularly like eating alone."

  The vampire prince turned his gaze to the food on platters in front of him. "But I don't eat.... I mean to say ... I don't. .." Words failed him.

  Adele understood all too well. In an instant he became a vampire yet again. It was still disconcerting.

  Gareth realized he was losing her. He reached for a tray and served himself a piece of steak. "But if it means something to you, I'll be happy to join you."

  "Can you actually eat?"

  "It doesn't provide any nourishment, but I can go through the motions."

  "It's all right. It doesn't matter."

  "It does matter. To me. I want you to feel at ease." He studied the hunk of meat on his plate. He had chosen a rare piece of flesh so that at least he could taste some blood. But the blood was dead. The meat itself held little taste, like eating wood pulp. "It has been several weeks since you came here. I've seen no sign of Flay or hunters. I want you to know, you are getting closer to returning home."

  "How close?" Adele asked quickly.

  Gareth held up his hand. "I don't know. I just wanted you to know it is going to happen. As I ... as Greyfriar promised."

  "Why don't you contact my father? He will send ships for me."

  "I tried that in France. But here in Edinburgh, there is no one to send with the message. Baudoin would be killed instantly if he went, and I cannot go without leaving you unprotected."

  "My father would not kill Baudoin."

  Gareth's eyes rose to meet hers, cold as steel. "I am not prepared to risk it."

  His natural distrust stilled Adele into silence. Her appetite waned, but she forced herself to eat a bit of everything. So many people had labored to cook this meal that she refused to let their efforts be wasted.

  "Is this food considered good quality?" Gareth asked, chewing methodically and ignoring the bland texture in his mouth.

  Adele nodded. "It is very good. You did well."

  "I had nothing to do with it. Everyone was excited to cook once I told them it was for you. They did it of their own volition."

  "They are wonderful people here." Adele felt a warmth course through her. She brought her gaze up to study him. "And they seem to care for you very much as a sovereign."

  "Humans deserve to be treated well. They have the power to give us life."

  "Could it ever be possible that your humans leave here and come with me to Equatoria?" It was a foolish question. Adele knew it immediately and regretted putting Gareth on the spot. It looked as if she was spoiling for an argument, which she wasn't. She waved her hand, dismissing the question before he had a chance to answer it. "Ignore me. I've become fanciful thanks to a blazing fire and a full stomach. I know what I ask is impossible."

  Gareth nodded. "Not impossible. Maybe someday."

  Adele resumed her meal with more interest. She reached for the wine, but Gareth lifted a decanter. He filled her glass and then his. It was dark ruby port, and she tried not to imagine what it resembled in the firelight. She sipped it generously and held back a cough as the peppery taste hit the back of her throat. It warmed her inside as much as the roaring fire warmed her skin. In truth, she hadn't felt so content in a very long time. Reclining in the high-back chair with her wineglass, she sighed with satisfaction, which brought a small chuckle from Gareth.

  She arched an eyebrow at him. "I enjoy good port."

  "I'm glad. This was a gift to Greyfriar from the free people of Lisbon. I've been saving it for a special occasion."

  Adele allowed a gentle smile. He was trying so hard. "Thank you for sharing it with me."

  Gareth smiled at that, his sharp teeth showing ever so slightly before he clamped his lips tight once again, lest the sight disturb her. His frost-rimmed eyes glinted, the pallor of them both haunting and mesmerizing. Despite the fact that his entire race possessed them, his alone shone with something akin to warmth and life.

  He stood and offered her his hand. "I would like to show you something, if you please. It would mean a great deal to me."

  Adele's hand lifted to his, and he pulled her to her feet and led her to the eastern door. The princess wondered what was so important for her to see. Her curiosity grew deeper as he led her through the castle like a man with a secret. Her excitement grew with his. Finally they came to a room she hadn't seen yet.

  "My library," Gareth whispered respectfully with his hand on the half-open door. "I have long wanted you to see it."

  "A library!" Her delight was physical. She knew such a castle as Edinburgh must have a vast library, and what better way to pass her time here than by reading mysterious books long thought lost.

  "It isn't much, but the collection is my most prized possession. In this room I feel most human."

  The door swung open to reveal broken and empty walls. There were no towering bookshelves and endless rows of books inside. The crackling fire in the hearth cast light on a room that was vacant save for a lone leather chair and an ancient trunk.

  Gareth, still excited, showed her to the chair. She slumped into it while he opened the trunk with care. The lid lifted to reveal a stack of about fifteen books. His library. Adele could not find the words to respond to his exhilaration. She only stared at the musty books, packed with great care inside the trunk.

  Gareth realized something was wrong by the expression on her face. Confused and embarrassed, he slammed the trunk shut. He stood and backed away.

  Adele stopped him with a touch of her hand and, without speaking, gently reopened the trunk. She saw the volumes on top, the most well read, were an elementary grammar text, a book of French poetry, an etiquette pamphlet, two adventure novels for young readers, and the anatomy text she had seen in Europe. So of all the books in the world, these were books he treasured. Suddenly she understood so much more about him.

  "How long did it take you to collect all these books?"

  "Since my first excursion to the mainland as Greyfriar. Some thirty years ago."

  All that time and he had gathered only these few? It was a sad statement of how rare books had become in the north.

  She told him softly, "There was a time when I would have never believed this. A vampire with a library. Yet here you are."

  "Perhaps the world isn't what we think it must be. Perhaps someday our species do not have to be at war."

  Adele told him dubiously, "Nice thought, but your brother will never change."

  Gareth shook his head. "No, he will not. He will have to die instead."

  Adele was taken aback by his frankness. "That's quite cold."

  Gareth shrugged.

  Her hand reached for one of the books. It was a boy's illustrated adventure novel. Apparently it told the story of a young man who fought injustice by stealing through the night, rescuing damsels, and foiling villains with swords and pistols. Her eyes widened as she saw the melodramatic watercolor of the dashing young hero in a cape and mask.

  Adele slowly regarded the tall vampire standing beside her. His head was cocked as he watched her curiously. There was a trace of anticipation in him as she held a book he obviously prized.

  Gareth realized something was amiss by her expression as she stared silently at him. "Are the books not to your liking? A
re they offensive to you? I can only guess at-"

  "Are you so desperate to be human?" Adele's finger traced the heroic figure on the cover.

  "That can never be. But there is still so much about you that I want to know."

  "Like what?"

  Gareth grinned, his eyes gleaming at the prospect of answers. "Like why do humans nurture their children for so long? Why do you create music? Why are your bodies so heavy?"

  The questions kept coming until Adele stayed him with a gentle hand on his. "So many," she noted. "And so few I can answer since I have never thought of the answers myself."

  "So you can't answer them?" Gareth appeared crestfallen.

  "Some I suppose I can." Adele pondered for a few moments. "I guess we nurture our children for so long because we love them. We want to see them grow up strong and proper." She paused and regarded him quizzically. "Do vampires ... have children?"

  "Yes, of course."

  Adele sat back. "Really? You see, we always believed vampires created more of their kind by infecting humans with your bite. Or at least we used to. Now, we just don't know."

  "No. We ..." Gareth fell silent. "I understood it was improper for a male to discuss such personal topics with a female in your culture."

  "Such personal topics?" The princess sat forward. "Do you mean sex? Vampires have sex?" She felt her face flush with excitement, and tried to cover it by glancing at the books again. She was discussing a forbidden topic with a forbidden man.

  He remained quiet.

  Still, the young woman continued, "So female vampires get pregnant?"

  "Yes." He knelt on one knee and took the book of French poetry. "I had a question about a particular phrase that-"

  "Don't change the subject," she scolded. "Does it happen the same way as humans? Pregnancy, I mean?"

  "I assume so."

  "Have you ... fathered a child?" There was no way to be coy about a question like that, but she was curious.

  "Princess, please!"

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Adele felt a wonderful sense of satisfaction that she hadn't felt in a long time. He was very uncomfortable, and she took a peculiar delight in tightening the screws a bit in a teasing way. His appalled expression at her boldness was endearing.

  Gareth heard the rush of her heartbeat, and the sharp tang of her scent shifting again from soft toward something very pleasing with a sharp bite. How could he not give her the answers she wanted? He touched his chest. "I have not. I mean, not yet."

  Adele wasn't sure if she was relieved or not. "So how do vampires care for their young?"

  "After birth, we feed off our mothers for a few months until we can hunt."

  "Feed? Do you mean blood?"

  "Of course. Like any infant."

  Adele cringed and tried not to picture Gareth as a feeding baby. But she was unsuccessful. "Not quite like any infant."

  "Of course, these days our child rearing has changed like everything. Many newborns feed off bloodnurses, humans who provide food. Since the Conquest, our females have lost the taste for the danger of motherhood."

  "Danger?"

  "Well, newborns could well nurse their mothers to death." Gareth waved a dismissive hand. "Things happen. When we are strong enough to hunt, we are placed in packs with others our age."

  "Is that how you grew up? In a pack?" It sounded so savage.

  "Within the royal family it is somewhat different. We were not placed with common children. I grew up in a pack of clan leaders."

  "And you think that's a good way to do it?"

  "My duties as a prince could best be explained by royal tutors." Gareth made himself more comfortable. He closed the lid of the trunk and used it to sit closer to her. "And you, as a princess, who taught you?"

  Adele leaned back in the chair with the books cradled in her lap. "Most of my studies were with a tutor too." Then she smiled at a distant memory. "But some things were taught to me by my mother. I can remember being in her arms while she read to me. And dancing lessons! I used to twirl about the room while she played the ney."

  Gareth interrupted her reminiscences. "You knew your mother?"

  "Yes. Only for a while. She died when I was young. But I remember everything about her." Adele touched the hilt of the khukri still secure in her belt. "This was hers." She regarded Gareth. "You didn't know your mother?"

  "No."

  "Did she die?" Adele was afraid to ask directly if Gareth killed her as a newborn. She prayed it wasn't that.

  "No. She deemed not to take the risk. Cesare's mother, on the other hand, elected to let him feed."

  "And?"

  "And he killed her."

  Gareth seemed about to stand, drifting into his own darkening thoughts, so Adele quickly asked, "Were you and your brother ever close?"

  "No. Never."

  "Do you regret it?"

  "My only regret is that I didn't destroy him when he was a baby."

  The room had become shadowy and frightening. Gareth was cloaked in morbidity now, and Adele wanted desperately to lift the pall. She struggled for something to say. "Tell me about your father, the king."

  Gareth smiled and straightened. "Ah. He was everything to me. He taught me how to hunt and fight."

  "Is he a great fighter too?"

  "He was indeed. The finest I ever saw." The prince pursed his lips. "He is nothing now. He lost his senses during the Great Killing. Or that was the end of him, anyway; his mind had been in decline for some time. He is well over eight hundred years old."

  "Is that old? For a vampire?"

  "Yes. Quite. And he didn't father children until late in life. Only managed Cesare and me. Not exactly the legacy he deserved. One son a monster. And the other a traitor."

  That saddened Adele. Her eyes fell back to the adventure book. Gareth had never heard any stories from his mother. Yet he had such devotion to his father, who was a great hunter and warrior. Was it no wonder that he had become obsessed with stories of adventure from human books?

  She mused, "My mother used to read me these sorts of stories often."

  His hand lightly touched the books in her lap. "Are the stories true? Were there such people?"

  Adele smiled once more. "Some are based in truth. Others are fairy tales. They're all meant to teach a lesson of sorts."

  "Then I think I have learned the lessons well." Gareth turned to a page with an illustration of a man in a flowing robe who held twin pistols and protected a young woman from fierce pirates.

  "That's true enough." Adele noticed that the young woman in the picture had beautiful flowing hair. She reached up self-consciously to touch her own hair, which was still a tangled horror despite her best efforts. She sighed, wishing for one day with her maids to correct the matted mistake that was her hair.

  "What's wrong?" Gareth asked.

  Adele gave him a wan look. "Nothing important. Just my hair."

  He stared at it without comprehending.

  She continued, "It's a mess. It used to be so ... pretty. Now ..." Her voice trailed off.

  "Now what? What's wrong with it?"

  "You wouldn't understand. You're a man." Adele looked around the room. "Don't you have mirrors?" She glanced back at him, a bit embarrassed. "Oh sorry. Vampires don't like mirrors, do you? You don't cast a reflection."

  Gareth raised a surprised eyebrow. "What? I have nothing against mirrors. There just aren't any here because they've been broken over the decades." He laughed. "We cast perfectly fine reflections."

  Adele laughed too. "Oh. Another beloved myth destroyed. Anyway, my hair was like my mother's, thick and curly. But now it's just a tangle of knots back there. It's a mess. A hive. I'll never get it under control again."

  "Then cut it off," Gareth suggested.

  Adele started to roll her eyes in dismay, but stopped. It was an idea. And the more she thought about it, the more she liked it. Why not have new hair for her new life? She closed the book and hummed in thought. Her fingers drummed on the leather cover.


  Gareth interrupted her musing. "You mentioned once that you have a library in Alexandria. Is it a magnificent thing?"

  "Oh yes. I spend days in there often. It's my place of solace. Of course, I never know what book to choose first, so I spend hours just browsing."

  "Hours?"

  "Alexandria's library has thousands of books," she explained.

  Gareth was stunned. "Thousands?"

  "Alexandria is one of the oldest cities in the world. Its library is one of the most complete."

  "I can't imagine it."

  Adele took his hand in hers, an impulsive gesture that surprised even her. It was cool and gentle. But it felt right. She hadn't forgotten his species this time, nor confused her hero with her supposed captor. His long fingers curled around hers, and her heartbeat raced as he softly squeezed. Her breath caught at the force of his gaze now upon her. It was no longer icy and cold, but warm and inviting as the blue of her Mediterranean Sea.

  "I'd like to show it to you someday." Her quiet words were sincere. There was more of a kindred spirit in Gareth than she would have ever imagined.

  His eyes shone with gratitude. "I would like that."

  CHAPTER

  IRSHIP, SIR."

  "Where away?" Senator Clark shouted.

  The bosun's mate pointed over the rail and downward. "Four points starboard, sir. Running deep three fathoms."

  Clark muscled his way through his officers on the quarterdeck and waded amidships, then grabbed a spyglass from the bosun's mate and leaned over the rail. He jammed the glass against his eye, swaying dangerously with each unpredictable burst of wind.

  Clark spoke to Major Stoddard, whom he correctly assumed would be at his side. "It's a derelict. Dammit! I can't see clear."

  Before the trusty Stoddard could reply, the senator threw a leg over the rail and clambered onto the network of trailing lines and slid down a heavy cable to the keel. The wind pounded him as he twisted an arm and leg around the line and pressed the spyglass back to his eye, staring intently at the wretched airship below wallowing at barely treetop level. The crew of Ranger would have stared at him in amazement, normally, at such a feat. But this was Senator Clark.