Anhalt gave a quick half bow. "Yes, Your Highness."
"Excellent. Come to me tomorrow and we will begin to plan the new White Guard. Yes?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Adele breathed heavily through her nose, trying to will the anger out. Her motionless body quivered with energy. Clearing her throat, she managed a smile. "Good. Would you care for something to eat? I believe I have another half of a pomegranate."
"I thank you." Anhalt's voice was thick with emotion. His eyes blazed as he inclined his head. "But I must crave your indulgence to withdraw now, Your Highness."
Adele clasped her hands together behind her with another breath of relief. "Very well. But I expect you tomorrow."
The soldier dropped to one knee before her and leaned forward. With a gloved hand, he reached out and took the hem of her gown and brought it to his lips. "I will serve you until my death."
She touched his shoulder and brought him to his feet, warmth filling her heart. He said nothing more, but they both turned sharply at a commotion in the hall. Alarmed, they prepared to rush to the door, but Simon burst in. Adele laughed; the boy's vitality brought a smile to her face every time she saw him.
"Adele!" Simon shoved past her attempted embrace, but she didn't have the heart to reprimand his boisterous actions.
Simon leapt onto the large cushioned sofa in the center of the room. In his arms he carried a strange box.
"What is it you have there?" she asked as she settled next to him.
"A present! For you!"
Simon's joy was the same as if the present had been for him. He had such generosity in his heart, which would've been a worthy quality for a future emperor. If only he was the heir.
"From whom?"
"The Greyfriar!" His voice was dramatic and mysterious, a product of reading too many fanciful stories.
"What?" Adele's heart jolted. She stared at the strange box. It was worn and dirty, as if it had traveled a great distance through many hands. But it was obvious that those who had carried it had taken great care with their cargo. The box was made of wood and copper plate that was segmented as if there were slots, and she heard something shift softly inside.
"How did this get here?" Adele asked frantically. "Who brought it? Where is he? It couldn't have been Greyfriar! Is he here?" The thought that Gareth had come to retrieve her mushroomed in Adele's mind. She tightened her grip with both hands on a cushion, gazing at her brother in supplication.
Simon replied loudly, "No! It wasn't him! That would've been amazing! It was just a courier. I think Mamoru said he was from the Greyfriar's secret army in the north. But he left."
Adele sank back into the pillow in defeat. Since she had returned to Alexandria, gifts had poured in nonstop from every lord, lady, business interest, minor dignitary, and potential grandee throughout the Empire and across the periphery states. But she had had no great excitement in opening these gifts. After all, they were only reminders of her dismal future.
This time she ran her fingers over the carton with delicate, painful relish. As she lifted the lid, both she and Simon jumped as up popped the grey cat from Edinburgh, its paws clinging to the edge of the box. Her brother let out a squeal of delight.
"A cat!"
It couldn't be the same cat, Adele thought. She lifted the animal tenderly from the box. It was, though. Adele felt the familiar fur with a bittersweet shock. Edinburgh. The castle. That first horrible lonely night with only this warm animal for companionship.
And now, here he was. In Alexandria. Gareth had seen to it. For her.
Pet purred and rubbed against her. Memories flooded back to her as if they had happened yesterday, filling her with warmth and joy she hadn't felt since the day she left Gareth's castle.
"Now that's a wedding present!" exclaimed Simon, reaching for the cat. "This cat is from the Greyfriar?"
"Amazing." Colonel Anhalt shook his head. "I don't think even the Empire could find the resources to move a single creature across occupied Europe. The Greyfriar has an extraordinary reach, it seems. This poor animal has seen more of vampire territory than any Equatorian." He smiled at Adele. "With the exception of you, of course, Highness. Was this cat some part of your adventures together?"
Adele couldn't answer. Instead, she anxiously inspected the cat for injuries, but he seemed right enough. In fact, he was quite robust for an animal who had been halfway across the Earth. She placed her face against the cat's vibrating side and closed her eyes.
Anhalt murmured, "Prince Simon, come. Leave your sister alone for now."
The boy huffed, gave the cat one last stroke, and crawled off the sofa. Anhalt and Simon slipped from the room, and their whispered voices echoed away down the corridor.
The cat shifted with curiosity, but then quietly laid his paw over Adele's forearm and settled down for a nap. She went to scratch Pet's chin, his favorite itchy spot, and felt something hard.
A collar.
That was new. Adele opened her eyes. There was a thin leather collar around the cat's neck. She ran a finger inside it to make sure it wasn't too tight. She felt something sharp inside the collar, so she fumbled with the small buckle to remove it in case it might be worrying the cat.
As the animal fell asleep on her knee, Adele studied the collar. It was old and worn. Nothing special. But she noticed a slit in the leather on the inside. That's what had caught her finger. She picked at it with her fingernail. The slit widened. She continued to pull at it until the leather seams parted and something fell onto her lap.
Paper. A tightly folded sliver of paper.
Adele gasped and stopped breathing. She picked up the paper and began to unravel its intricate folds until it opened into a thin sheet of worn, frayed stationery. It was covered with an elegant script. With a shaking hand, she lifted it up to read:
Adayla,
This is the first letter I have ever written. That a few marks on this piece of paper can bring you my heart in my absence is a great magic. Life is now a constant source of wonder.
G
Adele scooped Pet up in her arms, squeezing him tight. He trilled with curiosity and slit open his eyes. She crossed to the window with him still purring softly in her embrace. Stepping into a shaft of budding sunlight, Adele leaned against the pillar, watching the sunrise. Her eyes strayed to a distant spot on the northern horizon.
Gareth stood on the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle watching his own sunrise. Cradled in his hands was the book he had acquired in Marseilles. He was struggling with the Latin language, but he wasn't going to give up. Currently, though, his mind was on something else.
Cats swirled at his ankles and sprawled languidly nearby. One picked that moment to jump onto the battlement, purring loudly, bumping his head into Gareth's chest. He smiled, wondering if his gift had arrived. The day Adele left, he had put the plan into action.
For days after, Gareth had wandered the castle. He couldn't think of anything but her. He had sensed his own death in her, the death of all his kind, but all he wished was for her to live. And perhaps one day to see her again.
His hand dropped and he stroked the cat. He was not a man of extremes. He was a creature of mission and duty. He had never loved nor hated, been passionate or jaded. But ever since Adele had come into his life, he had learned the joy of extremes.
And the despair of them too.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
LAY AND SUSAN GRIFFITH are a husband and wife writing team who have published fiction ranging from the dark fantasy novel Banshee Screams to the satirical comic book The Tick. They were married in Scotland, the country that provides much of the setting of Vampire Empire, and currently live with a cat in North Carolina.
Visit them online at http://clayandsusangriffith.blogspot.com/.
Table of Contents
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The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1) by Clay & Susan Griffith;Clay Griffith;Susan Griffith Page 31
