“It could be the work of a mage.” Vlad rubbed at his chin. “I have heard rumours that some may have survived the wars. Gone into hiding.”
“No self respecting mage would help a vampire. Would they? Gods. It has never happened before.”
“It has,” Vlad said. “They declared for Vilhelm’s father in the Wars.”
The King sounded so positive, Anton knew he must be right.
“As I understand it, and I do not know a great deal, but to make magic cloaks for large numbers of men would take a great deal of power. If they only had a few, it would make sense as to why they do not attack us in force.” The King looked at Sybil. “You can see these robes they wear, when we cannot?”
“I can. I—”
“It is a human thing,” Anton said. “But, Sire, we have no idea how many men we are dealing with. Is it possible Sergai is behind this? Not just doing his wrongheaded duty by the Kingdom, but actively working against you.”
Vlad sank into a chair and rubbed his hand over his face. “If he is, we are done.”
“No.” Anton and Micael spoke together. “We will fight.”
“I won’t have my people killed in another civil war.”
“If we defeat the Vilhelm’s men, Sergai will be forced to back down. Traitor or not he’ll have nothing to back up his assertions of your failure.”
“We have no way to get to the Shadow Guard. Without them, we would be annihilated.”
Micael cleared his throat. “Majesty, if you please, I know a back way to the dungeons.”
Vlad started to chuckle, it was a little desperate sounding, but Anton’s shoulders eased. “I see I have been talking to the wrong people all these years,” Vlad said. “You can lead us?”
“I only ever went there once. It wasn’t very nice.”
Beside him. Sybil shuddered. He gave her a hug and clapped the boy on the shoulder. “Let’s be at it then, lad. The longer we delay, the less likely we are to be successful.”
The King looked doubtful. “I am to put my life into the hands of a person who is little more than a boy.”
Micael drew himself up straight. “It is my country too.”
“We need him, Vlad,” Anton said gently.
Vlad looked at the boy. “Kneel.”
Micael frowned, but did as he was bid.
Vlad pulled the boy’s sword from its scabbard. “I dub thee, Sir Micael, defender of the King’s person. He touched him on the shoulder with the sword. “Arise, Sir Micael.”
The boy swallowed but not before Anton saw the tears swimming in his eyes. “Follow me, your Majesty.”
CHAPTER TEN
COLD SEEPED INTO Sybil’s bones. The tunnel to the dungeons was horrid. The stone walls glistened with trickles moisture. The air smelled musty and damp. The lantern carried by Micael for her sake did not help one little bit to dispel the dark.
Anton held her back a moment. “Sybil, no matter what happens, do not mention that you can see through vampire shadows. I cannot vouch for how the King will react.”
“I won’t, I promise.”
He didn’t look any less worried. She quelled a shiver as she dove into the oppressive darkness.
It didn’t take long for them to reach an iron grating fixed into the stone wall.
“Well, Sir Micael, you said naught of this,” the King said.
Micael looked as if his knees might be shaking. “No, your Majesty, for it is new.”
The King cursed softly under his breath. “What metal is it.”
Anton inspected the uprights cautiously. “It could be iron.” He sounded more hopeful than sure.
“Why use a metal any vampire can bend,” The King said. “It is far more likely to be ledstone.”
“What is ledstone?” Sybil asked.
“It is a mixture of lead and silver used to contain dangerous vampire criminals. Vampires are too strong for iron or steel.”
Sybil stared at the bars. “How can that be? Lead and silver are soft.”
“The silver is poison to us and can be absorbed through the skin.”
“Will it react the same way with a... human?” Or whatever she was.
“I don’t know,” Anton said slowly. “We can’t take the risk.”
Vlad stared at him. “Of course it doesn’t affect humans. What are you thinking?” He frowned at Sybil. “Do you think you are strong enough to bend it?”
She wasn’t very strong at all. And nor was she sure what kind of effect lead and silver would have on her, though she’d worn silver before.
“Let us see, shall we?” she said.
She reached out and brushed the upright post with a fingertip. Nothing. She grasped it firmly. Nothing visible, though she did feel an odd tingle in her palms. She yanked on the bar. It shifted a fraction.
“You will have to do better than that,” Micael said sniffily.
Sybil braced her feet and pulled harder, much harder. The metal bowed but not nearly enough. “I am not nearly strong enough.”
“Perhaps if we help her, hold her not the bars...” The King suggested. “It is worth a try. And if the poison travels through her into us, I won’t have a moment of regret. At least I would have made an effort. Instead of sitting twiddling my thumbs.”
“You surrendered to Sergai to prevent the bloodshed of your people,” Anton said. “It was the act of a courageous man. And we cannot afford to lose you, so stand back.” He took hold of her arms. “Use both hands on one bar. It will give you more strength and purchase.”
She gripped one post in both hands. Anton touched her arm, briefly. “I feel nothing.” He gripped her arms firmly. “Ready?”
She licked her lips. “Ready.”
“On three,” Anton said. “One, two, three.” He pulled on her, and she clung to the bar.
It bent as easily, as if it was made of butter.
“Satan’s claws,” Vlad said. “This is one strong human.” He kissed her cheek.
Anton glared at him.
Sybil bit back the urge to giggle.
“Come on,” Anton said in a grumpy voice. Carefully he slipped through the gap. “Do not let it touch you, Majesty. Or you Micael.” Soon the vampires were on the other side of the bars.
Vlad grinned and winked at Sybil as he once more passed her and led the way until they emerged into what was clearly a main corridor.
“The holding cells are that way,” Anton whispered pointing left. “The guardroom is down that corridor. Convicted criminals are kept one floor below in the pit.”
“We should try up here first,” Vlad murmured. “I can’t imagine Sergai would put my loyal guards in the pit.”
Sybil didn’t want to know what he meant, his tone was filled with such loathing.
The first cell they came to was small and empty. The second a little larger, the third was full to bursting with huge men jammed in like sardines and being very careful to keep clear of the bars that held them captive.
All of the men were tense and looking ready for murder.
“My King!” one of them said and dropped to one knee.
The others did the same in unison. Their knees hitting the flagstones with an echoing crack each with a hand over his heart.
All of them were dressed in nothing breechclouts and elaborate tattoos. Sybil could not stop herself from gazing at them in awe. They were far more beautiful than any statues of the ancients, she had ever seen. And far more dangerous.
“My liege,” the first one who had seen the King said. “We feared for your life. Forgive us. We failed you.”
“Enough, Zavier,” Vlad said. “We have come to get you out.”
“Ledstone,” the man said, pointing at the bars.
“And the guard keeps the key on his person.”
“His very large person,” one of the others said.
The dim light of the lantern outside the cell showed a badly bruised face.
“Ah,” Anton said. “But we brought our own ledstone key,”
&nbs
p; They must not have noticed Anton before, because the man Sybil took as their leader, narrowed his eyes. “Anton? We heard you had betrayed us.”
“A lie,” Anton said. He looked at Sybil. “This metal is the same as before. Are you ready.”
She reached out a hand to grasp one of the uprights.
“No!” the leader shouted stepping forward as if to touch her.
Anton growled.
The man halted seconds before his hand touched Sybil’s.
“Don’t worry,” the King said. “She is a human.”
She clasped the bar and in a moment the bars were forced apart.
The men filed out of their cage and filled the corridor. Sybil pressed back against the wall. They were just so large and overwhelming.
“Weapons?” their leader said.
“One small sword,” Anton said. “But we are not going to fight. Not now. We are going to seek safety, then find a way out of the mess Sergai has tossed us into.”
“Majesty?” the leader said.
“Follow Anton’s lead,” The King said. “Apparently he has some new information.”
Soon they were jogging back the way they had come, Anton had put Sybil with Micael, behind the King who now had two shadows in front of him and one behind. Their leader, whose name she understood to be Zavier, ran beside Anton.
“A human?” Zavier said in a low voice, likely thinking she couldn’t hear. “What the hell made you bring a human into the Citadel?”
“If I hadn’t brought her, you would still be in that cell. Or are you sorry you can no longer cuddle up to your brothers in arms.”
The man beside him radiated anger. Sybil felt it like a wall of heat at her back. “I thought you never lowered yourself to taste human blood.”
Sybil couldn’t stop herself. She glared back at him over her shoulder. “Stop talking about me as if I am not here. I am a who not a what.”
Zavier inhaled a deep breath. “Oh gods. Anton. You can’t—”
“Mind your own business. The King is fine with her presence. She is a brave and courageous woman who helped set him free.”
Sybil felt such a glow of pride at Anton’s defending words that she sent him a smile. His slow smile in return cracked something in her heart. If they weren’t running for their lives she would have kissed him.
They stopped at the grating.
“More ledstone,” Anton said. “Go through very carefully. Particularly you, Godron,”
The man behind the King grinned. Anton was right, Godron was enormous, all muscle and sinew, but with none of the lumbering awkwardness one usually expects with big men.
“Perhaps we should make the gap bigger,” she offered.
“No need, lady,” Godron said. He slipped through as sinuously as a cat. The others followed, leaving her to go before Anton, who came last.
“Now where?” Zavier asked.
“Follow me,” Anton said and went ahead and guided them into the tunnel to the King’s bed chamber. “From here we enter one of the public corridors.” He pressed his ear to the gap in the rock. “I’m not hearing anyone.”
“Let Micael lead the way,” the King said softly. “He is the only one of us Sergai doesn’t know about.”
When they were satisfied there was no sound on the other side, Micael opened the panel and slipped outside.
Anton kept the opening a fraction ajar, waiting for word.
Micael’s face reappeared. “All clear.”
“Where now?” Zavier said. “Give me a sword and I’ll run the general through.”
“No,” Vlad said. “He has a great many men at his command. And besides as far as we know he is only trying to save the kingdom. We have another more important enemy.”
“St Paul’s crypt is where we are headed,” Anton said.
Vlad’s eyes widen. “Damn me, Anton, how do you know about that?”
“Long story.”
“Which you will be telling me. Do you have a key?”
“I know where to find one.”
The King made an impatient sound and strode after Micael.
Anton looked at Sybil and made a wry face. “I hope you will stick up for me. There is no way I am going to mention how we know.”
“Why not? All you did was look in that old book you found in the library.”
He chucked her under the chin. It was nearly as good as a kiss, but not quite.
By the time they had a couple of lanterns lit in the crypt, the Shadow Guards had been brought up-to-date and had told the King their side of the story.
Zavier had gone very quiet at the news of the death of two of his comrades in arms. Deadly quiet.
“So now we are fighting on two fronts,” he finally said. “The Pretender’s men and Sergai.”
“If I may make a suggestion?” Sybil said.
All eyes turned on her.
The attention of so many large nearly-naked men at one time made her want to shrink into the shadows. Instead she kept her gaze firmly fixed on Anton’s face. “You gentlemen need clothes. You too, your Majesty. Otherwise, when we go outside, we are going to draw a great deal of unwanted attention.”
“It is the middle of sunup,” Zavier said.
She quelled the urge to smirk too much. “Well, that might be a problem for big bold vampires, but it is nothing to me.” She ran a gaze over all of them. “I will need money.”
Anton gave her what he had in his pocket.
“I’ll have to buy from a pawnshop.” she warned them, “but you won’t look worse than anyone else on the streets in this part of the City.”
“A good thing, I think,” the King said.
Anton went with her as far as the steps up to the nave. “Be very careful, heart of my heart,” he said close to her ear, clearly not wanting the others to hear him.
“And you,” she whispered back. She rose on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “More later.”
She hurried out into the day before she was tempted to kiss him more intimately.
Worry clawed at his vitals. He forced himself to re-join the men around the King. Vlad gave him a hard look. “Anton. A word if you please.”
Anton knew by the tone of voice his King was disturbed. His gut tightened because he also knew why.
“You place a great deal of trust in this human female,” Vlad said when they had moved out of hearing of the others.
He certainly wasn’t about to tell the King she was worse than a human. “She has proved herself a friend.” The words came out stiff and awkward as he fought the urge to flash his fangs in a feral display of possession.
“Whatever happens, she cannot walk away knowing our secrets.”
His fists clenched. Vlad did not miss the involuntary movement. “Damnation, Anton. You know the rules. She either has to have her memories eliminated...” he winced, “and it is far too late for that. Death would be inevitable. Or she must be turned.”
Hope filled Anton’s breast. But was it possible? Could a Fae be changed? “She has risked her life to help us.”
“Anton, remember the terms of your sentence,” the King said coldly.
A life to be empty of everything but his duty to the King. “Do you think I have forgotten for one moment.”
The King inhaled. “Are you sure? I scent her on you. Lightly, it is true, but it is there.”
He wasn’t going to lie. Not to Vlad. “I am hers unto death.”
“Then you have broken your parole. I cannot save you. The gods will have their justice.”
“I know.” He’d always known. “If I claim her, I die.”
“Yours is not a quick death.”
“Are you saying a quick death for her would be preferable?”
The King’s face hardened. “I am saying I need you. I went out on a limb for you at your trial.”
Anton dropped to one knee, head bowed, hand to heart. “Forgive me, Majesty. I would do anything to obey you, but I cannot abandon this woman.”
“Let someone else t
urn her.”
A growl of rage rumbled up from his throat. His animal was confused. Hurt by the suggestion.
The quiet talking in the distance ceased. The Shadow Guard assessing the threat.
Damn it all, the mating bond was growing stronger and making him unstable. Feral. His animal nature was dangerously near the surface. He took several deep breaths. “You pardon, Majesty. But as you see I am not rational when it comes to this female. I am unable to let another male touch her and let that male live.”
“And so you will throw your life away for a human.” The disgust in his voice was a lash to Anton’s soul.
“Right now she is risking her life for ours,” he bit out. “How many loyal subjects do you have here doing so?”
Vlad’s expression became even more bleak. “It seems, for the nonce, we must rely on your human. We will discuss what is to be done later.” The King strode back to the group around the map he had brought with him.
His gut twisted. Vlad was a determined man. Anton wouldn’t put it past the King to turn Sybil himself, in order to save Anton. It wouldn’t work. If Vlad turned her, seeing her blood dependent on another male would drive him over the edge. So be it, but if he was going to die, he was going to know the mating joy, even if for only a brief moment of time and even if the bond was never fully complete.
Death seemed preferable to the life he’d been living these past many centuries.
On her return, Sybil found Anton waiting at the top of the crypt steps. He took her bundle. “What took so long?”
It was strange, but all the time she had been gone, she had sensed his anxiety. Now she sensed only relief. “Is it possible to light a candle?” she asked. “I realize you have no difficulty seeing in the dark, but I feel very much at a disadvantage.”
“Wait here.” He flashed away and was back in no more than five beats of her heart. The glow of a candle lit his beautiful face, its expression grim. He clearly wanted an answer to his question.
She took the candle and went ahead down the stairs. “Well?” he said at the bottom.
“It took time to negotiate a fair price.”
He said nothing.
He knew there was more. No one understood her as he did. She resisted the urge to hug him. “I went to look at the house again.”
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