by E. M. Knight
“Good,” she says. She pushes herself up in bed. I can see the effort it takes her. With my new vampire senses, I can tell how truly weakened she is. Her heart is barely beating beneath her ribs.
Suddenly her head twists to one side. “Did you hear that?”
Phillip and I look at each other. We shake our heads. “There was nothing.”
“I swear, I thought somebody spoke…”
“It wasn’t either of us,” I tell her.
She shivers. “Weird.”
The connection flares in my mind. April’s still human. Morgan confirmed the voice the humans heard was real.
Before I can speak my mind April turns to me. “You came back.” She sounds almost angry. “After all we did to help you escape.”
“It’s not like I had a choice coming back!” I protest. I hate the judgement in her eyes.
“You were set free, and you returned to become a vampire,” she accuses. The resentment is clear in her voice. “Well done.”
I exchange a look with Phillip.
“Maybe we should come back later,” I suggest.
“No, I’m sorry. I’m… testy. I’ve been having nightmares.”
Phillip instantly takes a step toward her. “What sort of nightmares?”
A look of shame takes her. She draws in on herself. “They’re nothing. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“April, if it has to do with what I did to you—”
“No!” she snaps, going all on the offensive. “It’s nothing you or your kind could ever understand.”
She shoots both me and Phillip a scathing, hateful look.
“April, we’re your friends,” I begin. “I know you’ve been through a lot, but we’re here for you now—”
“You know? You? You, the vampire heiress? You, the girl brought into The Haven and instantly elevated above everybody? You, who’s been given such great power and done nothing to deserve it?”
“April—” Phillip tries.
“Don’t!” she snarls. “Don’t defend her, Phillip. You’re just as guilty of bringing her here as anybody else. You think I’d still be your friend, Eleira, after all that they put me through? After all I suffered for you, only to have you spit in my face by returning as you are now?” April’s voice takes on a maniacal inflection. Her words get louder and louder, until she’s almost screaming at us.
“But the time of Soren rule in The Haven is nearly over. You think your peace will last? You think your false equilibrium will be maintained? Oh, no. No, no. Soon, the humans will rise up. The humans will rise up and band together and they will take what is theirs. With The Convicted on our side and the rightful leader in His place—”
Suddenly she starts to cough. My eyes go wide when she coughs up blood.
Phillip is at her side in a flash, holding her while the fit passes. When it’s done, April looks at us with stunned, dazed eyes.
“I—I’m sorry,” she says in a small voice. “That… that wasn’t me speaking. I don’t know what took hold of me. I would never…”
She breaks off with a shudder.
I share a look with Phillip. He gives an almost-imperceptible nod. There’s enough understanding in his eyes to let me know what he suspects.
The Voice is responsible for April’s behavior.
“Phillip?” April sounds scared. “What’s happening to me?”
“You’ll be all right,” he assures her. “You’re still in recovery. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” He smiles and brings a hand up to brush a thin strand of hair out of her eyes. “You were very brave when you offered yourself to me.” His hand shifts, and he touches the underside of her jaw. “You’ve been through a lot.” One of his fingers applies subtle pressure to a specific spot on her neck. “You should sleep.”
April yawns.
“Sleep,” Phillip continues, applying that little bit of pressure. I don’t think I would have picked up on what he’s doing were it not for my enhanced senses. “Rest. A good sleep, without nightmares, will help you recover.”
April’s eyes drift closed. A few moments later, she’s sound asleep.
Phillip quickly ushers me out of the room.
“You did something to make her sleep!” I accuse. “With your fingers. I saw!”
“Keep your voice down,” he hisses. He looks around to make sure we’re alone. “Yes, I did, but it was for her own good. Did you hear what she was saying? About rising up?” He becomes deadly serious. “If any of the other vampires heard and told Mother, she would sentence April to death in a heartbeat. But that wasn’t her speaking. Somebody—something—took control of her mind.”
I think of the link Victoria shares with me.
“What happened here with April, and what we saw with the other humans, it’s no coincidence. When Mother sent James to challenge our Father, she drew attention to The Haven. For centuries we’ve remained hidden. But now there are forces on the Outside focused on us. I’m sure of it.”
He starts to pace the small space between us. “If the humans could be rallied against us, The Haven would crumble from within. They outnumber vampires ten-to-one. If a real uprising were to begin… it would be mayhem.”
“What about The Convicted?” I ask. “What did April mean by that?”
“I don’t know,” Phillip admits. “But have no doubt: all of this is connected.”
I nod.
“Mother knows this too, I’m sure of it.” He taps his lips in thought. “She’s unpredictable, but not stupid. James’s escape will only fuel her anger. She’ll be more likely to lash out.”
He takes hold of my shoulders and looks me in the eyes. “There’s nobody in The Haven as powerful as you, Eleira. That puts you at great risk of becoming a target.”
“If I’m not one already,” I mutter.
He nods. “Dark times are coming. “Keep your eyes open and your senses alert. There is a lot more to The Haven than you would believe. There’s a reason Mother’s been able to maintain the wards around this place for six centuries. I only have the most cursory understanding of magic. But I know that a single witch, no matter how strong, would not be able to keep up the wards by herself for this long.”
He shifts his gaze. “I’m not sure quite how it works. Magic is not an infinite resource. It drains the user. But The Haven is special. Maybe it’s the land, maybe it’s something else. Make no mistake about it: whatever Mother’s secret is, it is valued. And the more beings on the outside are alerted to it, the greater their desire to break through the wards will become. Maybe—just maybe—if you can figure it out, if you can gain Mother’s trust and understand how she does it. It’ll give us a chance to survive. Because right now?” He blinks. “It feels like we are on the verge of the first coven war in hundreds of years.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
JAMES
I break through the surface of the water, coughing and sputtering.
Before I know it, two strong hands grip my shoulders and haul me out. I’m thrown on the ground a dozen paces away.
I roll over, and see a dozen pairs of hostile, red-rimmed eyes staring down at me. Heavy cloud cover blocks the night sky above.
Somebody kicks my side. I grunt, and, in my blasted weakened state, curl into myself like a small child.
Laughter comes from the circle.
The collar is still tight around my neck. The silver, combined with the enormous impact from the dive, have me in a daze.
More kicks rain down on my body. I try to shield myself.
“Enough!” a stern voice rings out.
The kicking stops. A massive vampire strolls into their midst.
I gape up at him. He must be seven foot three, seven foot four. It’s not just his height that’s impressive. His entire body is knotted with thick, tight muscle, the sort I’ve only seen on a bull.
He speaks. “You are the one known as James?”
It takes a few moments for me to regain my breath. I push myself up to my hands and knees.
<
br /> “Yes,” I finally say. “I am.”
“James Soren?”
“The one and only.” I spread my arms and give him a deep, mocking bow from my knees. “At your service.”
The strike of his club blindsides me. I go back down, sputtering.
“You will show proper respect, worm,” he warns. He plants a foot between my shoulder blades and pushes me to the dirt. “Or I will make your life a living misery. Understood?”
I mumble something I hope he takes for agreement. It’s hard to form words with all the raw earth between my teeth.
The giant bends down. He grabs my hair and jerks my head up. “We may have been sent to retrieve you,” he says. “But we weren’t once asked to ensure you were in top condition!”
He spits in my face. A surge of anger rushes through me but I push it down.
I can be deferential when I suspect it’ll save my life.
He stands, and pulls me up with him. “My name is Dagan,” he tells me. “You would be smart to remember.”
In the back of my mind, I add “Dagan” to the list of vampires I intend to kill.
“Where is The Ancient?” I ask when I’m upright. “He is the one who spoke to me. I need to confer with him.”
Laughter, bounds of jeering laughter, meets my proclamation.
“The Ancient is safe in The Crypts,” Dagan sneers. “What makes you think he would risk himself coming for you?”
“He can’t be,” I say. “I heard him in my mind. He could not have communicated with me through such a distance. He is the one who made the earth break. Isn’t he?”
“My, my, but you have a lot to learn,” Dagan grunts. He shoves a pendant from around his neck into my face. “You see this? This is called a torrial. It is a special type of object that can temporarily hold magic. It can also enhance a magical spell. The Ancient’s power flows through it.”
Is that what the chalice Victoria told me about is? A torrial?
My mind wanders at all the possibilities. The potential strength that something like that can give its owner…
Without conscious thought my hand moves to touch the pendant. But Dagan sweeps my feet out from under me before I can make contact. I fall on my back again.
“Never,” he growls, looming high above me, “try to touch the torrial again. I am the one it’s entrusted to. I am the only who will hold it. Any who defy me face death.”
A harsh silence falls from the surrounding vampires.
Struggling to keep my anger in check, I push myself up. I shoot a grudging look around the group, then say, “I respect a leader who can keep his soldiery in line.”
Dagan snorts a laugh. “Your respect won’t net you anything. Being quiet will. We came to retrieve you. Our mission is done. You are with us.”
He looks back and whistles. On his cue, another dozen vampires appear from the trees. I didn’t even sense them!
It’s the damned silver collar.
“If I might beg a single indulgence…” I begin. I hate grovelling, but I’ve known vampires like Dagan before. It’s the only way to get in their good graces.
Dagan looks at me. “Go on.”
“This collar,” I gesture at my neck, and roll my head side to side. “It’s not the most comfortable of adornments. A gift from my Queen Mother, but one I’d rather do without.”
Dagan grunts and nods at one of the other vampires. “See if you can get it off.”
A slender male who looks like he was barely a teenager when he was made separates himself from the group and comes up to me. He has dark, hooded eyes.
“I thank you, friend,” I say.
He doesn’t answer. He spins his finger for me to turn around.
I do. Once my back is to him, he mutters something in a strange tongue. The words are foreign, but the cadence unmistakable.
It’s the same language Mother uses when casting her spells.
The collar drops. Relief washes through me. I rub my neck and take my first full breath in ages.
I turn to face the vampire who freed me. With the collar off, I can take measure of his strength.
For a second, confusion mounts. This vampire… he’s barely stronger than a human! He’s weaker than even the weakest I’ve ever encountered—weaker than Phillip, weaker than any fledgling newly made. He’s so weak, in fact, that I doubt I could sense him were he more than a foot away.
But he can do magic.
I hold out my hand to show my gratitude. The natural hierarchy between us should make him jump to take my grip.
He only turns away and rejoins the ranks.
“Satisfied?” Dagan asks from behind me.
I turn up to the monster. He’s not as strong as I thought he would be, either. His strength is only a few small segments above mine. If a season passed in which I fed and he didn’t, I’d match his strength.
“Yes,” I say. “My thanks.”
He grunts and nods. “Now we go. I’ll let you roam free for now. But if you try anything…“
He draws his thumb along his throat in a slicing gesture.
I hold both hands up. “Say no more.”
The surrounding vampires chuckle. A chill runs down my spine.
“I owe my life to you all,” I say. “I will not do anything that shows ingratitude.”
Dagan looks me over. “We’ll see about that. Scouts!” he calls. “Ahead! The Crypts await!”
We all take off at a dead run into the woods.
Chapter Twenty-Six
JAMES
The sun starts to rise hours later. When the first tendrils of light creep into the sky, Dagan veers off and leads us into a series of underground caves.
He knows this land better than I do. I’ve never had much of an interest in exploring the area past The Haven’s boundaries.
Now, I wish I’d taken more initiative in the past.
A hundred questions buzz through my mind. Why are we traveling on foot? What is our destination?
Logic tells me there must be a plane, or maybe a set of vehicles, waiting for us in a secret clearing ahead. How else would we return to The Crypts?
The other curiosity is the strength—or lack thereof—of these vampires. None, save for Dagan, are more powerful than I. Yet if they came on Father’s orders, shouldn’t they all be as strong, at least, as the vampires I’d encountered in The Crypts?
Something about this rescue rubs me the wrong way. I feel more vulnerable in this company than I did in my cell waiting to become one of The Convicted.
Though maybe that’s because I understood the motivations behind Mother’s decision. Right now, I have no true idea if I’m being led to safety or slaughter.
“We rest here,” Dagan announces suddenly, gesturing to a small piece of flat rock. “We wait for the sun to set before moving on. That means ten hours of each other’s miserable company. I expect order—” he looks at me in a meaningful way, “—and silence. Riyu, seal us in.”
The vampire who’d freed me from the collar breaks off from the group and walks back to the exit. He mutters more words of that language I do not know. A flash of blue bursts from him. For a split second I see a phantom seal wrap across the gaping entrance to the cave.
“None will see us now.”
He turns around and quietly joins the others.
They all sit, start to unpack and stretch out. Dagan takes his spot on the largest rock. Then he starts to file his nails.
I look around. Nobody makes eye contact. I might as well be invisible for all the attention I get.
After an hour, I approach Dagan. He’s lying back with his eyes closed. I stand by him for a few moments, waiting for him to acknowledge me.
When he doesn’t, I resort to clearing my throat.
He cracks an eye open. “What do you want?” he growls. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“About quiet?” I ask. “Yes. But now that we’ve stopped, there are things I have to know—”
“The only thing you have to
know, Prince,” Dagan sneers, “is that we are your rescue party. We’ve come to bring you back. Past that?” His eyes take on a dark gleam. “You’ll find that out after we reach The Crypts.”
“Except we’re going over land,” I say. I cast a glance the way we came. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but my Mother values me highly. If you think we can afford to stay still—”
“Look, little Prince.” Dagan stabs me in the chest. I grunt and narrow my eyes. “I don’t appreciate being told how to do my job. The way I see it, you got yourself caught. We got you out. If you cannot even take care of your own safety, why would I take your advice on this matter, or any other?”
Pompous ass, I think. I put on my most endearing smile. “I’m not doubting your abilities. I’m simply offering a perspective you might find valuable—”
He cuts me off with a stern look. “I asked for silence. Do you see any of the other vampires testing me on that? No? Do you know why?” He brings his face close to mine. “Because they all know what happens to dissenters in my company. So don’t test me.”
That effectively ends the conversation with him.
I wander back to my spot on the ground. I cross my legs and try to think. Am I a fool for falling in blindly with this group of vampires? Then again, what choice did I have? It was either this, or remain in the cell until Mother’s sentence was executed…
I look around me once more. The niggling feeling that we’re doing something wrong won’t go away.
But until I’m in a position to do something about it… all I can do is endure.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
ELEIRA
All the things Phillip warned me about roil through my mind as I walk alone over the hanging bridges connecting the vampire residences on top of The Haven.
The humans are hard at work beneath me. Their grim determination to rebuild their residence is both distressing and inspiring. I hate the inequality of this place. It’s unfair that vampires would live in such luxury while the humans toil away in a lifestyle that ceased to exist in the 1500s.
But such is Morgan’s rule. I cannot go against her now. I hardly know a tenth of what there is to know about this place. Hardly a hundredth! It’ll take time for me to find my footing, discover my strengths, understand the ebb and flow of power amongst the vampires in The Haven…
