FAUSTINE (Bonfire Chronicles)

by Imogen Rose

  “So, did you have a good time at the party last night? I gathered from Neave–and your other friends who came by last night–that there was some drama. There’s a story in this morning’s newspaper about a murder at a club in the village. Was that the same club you were at last night? Do you know anything about it?” she asked, looking at me intently.

  “Yes, we were there at the time of the murder,” I admitted.

  “Thank goodness you weren’t harmed! Why didn’t you tell me? Were you there, Ryker?”

  “Yes.” He proceeded to bring her up to date, describing the scream and the ensuing scramble for the exit, but omitting the part about the vision Audrey had described to us. “So, I brought her home,” he finished.

  “Thank you, Ryker. I appreciate that. The article doesn’t go into any details. While it mentions that the body was found in the men’s room, it doesn’t say anything more. I’m just relieved that you–all of you–are okay,” she said, looking from me to Ryker. “Do you have any plans today, Faustine? You can hang out with me, if you want. I’m going to Marylin’s this afternoon for tea. She would be delighted to see you.”

  Did I ever have plans! “Mom, thanks, but I’m going to hang with Ryker and Neave today, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Of course it is. But remember that you have school tomorrow; you’ll need to get organized for that.”

  “Which reminds me, Mom. I invited some girls from school to come over for breakfast tomorrow. That’s okay, right?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  It would’ve been nice to have had the day just to hang with Ryker. No such luck. After breakfast, I went down to the basement for a debriefing. Alone, because that’s what Luke had instructed.

  When I arrived, I was surprised to see that Luke had company. Dorian was sitting on the couch looking grim. Awesome–not.

  They both stood up when I entered. “Princess, let’s go to the conference room,” Dorian said, as he led the way. Once we were seated, he glared at me. “Princess, I can’t begin to tell you how unhappy I am with your decision not to go back to London, especially after last night’s events.”

  “What do you think is going on?” I asked. “Who wrote the note on the wall and why?”

  “We can hypothesize, but we have no real information.”

  “Hypothesize away,” I encouraged.

  “It could be whoever has your dad, if he has indeed been captured or killed. The potential candidates for that are too numerous to mention. Another possibility is that it’s one of your half siblings, annoyed that you are the chosen heir.”

  “Just perfect. So now what? Do we know who the victim was?”

  “Yes, sort of, but no name. The police report indicates that it was a male student from Columbia University. I’m guessing he was an innocent bystander who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Can you tell from Audrey’s description of the victim’s body what kind of being may have been involved?”

  “No. Audrey’s description of mangled is too vague. It could be anyone–vampire, shifter, demon, even another human. However, we are pretty certain it wasn’t another human based on the note.”

  “So, what now?” I asked, looking at them both.

  “Are you still refusing to travel to London, or even move in here, until we figure out what’s going on?”

  “Yes. I’m going to school tomorrow.”

  “We’ll do our best to keep you safe. We’ve asked Ryker to keep an eye on you as well, since you seem to have become attached to him.”

  “About that... um, how do I, um, control bouts of, you know, burning...?” O-M-G, that was so embarrassing to ask!

  Luke collapsed into a heap of chuckles while his dad raised his brows in confusion.

  “Luke?” his father queried.

  “Never mind, Dad. I’ll help the Princess with that later,” he said, winking at me. Sigh.

  “Okay. Let’s talk about this afternoon’s meeting.” Dorian continued. He proceeded to give me a breakdown of the various leaders who would be attending.

  “What do you think they’ll want from me?” I asked once he was done.

  “They’ll expect you to fulfill the obligations of the demon sovereign,” he said.

  “Which are?”

  He pushed a heavy, leather-bound book toward me. “This is it. It’s all in there.”

  “Give me the short version. I really don’t have time to go through that before this afternoon,” I sighed, running my hand over the rough leather of the book.

  Dorian nodded. “Faustine, they are coming to look you over, to evaluate whether you can perform your duties, which I can assure you that you can’t.”

  “Nice! Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “You are a young girl! A half demon. There’s no way you could be expected to jump in and take over right away. Keeping track of and controlling the demon population of London is an enormous task. Even your father struggles with it at times.”

  “So what am I supposed to do?”

  “You will need to reassure them that you are aware of the enormity of the task and have taken appropriate measures to manage the situation. I will be at your side, as I was at your father’s, throughout. They know and respect me and will be reassured by my support of you.”

  “Just out of curiosity, what would happen if I decide to blow it off?”

  “Blow it off? I don’t understand,” Dorian asked.

  “As in, what if I don’t go to the meeting? What if I choose to forget all about demons and other paranormals and just go to school tomorrow like a regular teenager?”

  “Mayhem would erupt in London. The demons would be out of control. London–the world–could be destroyed,” he said, exasperated. “Surely you understand the gravity of this situation?”

  I did now. I spent some time with the book while I waited for the afternoon to come around. I sat in Dorian’s study by myself. It was hard to concentrate on the old fashioned wording on the hand-written pages. The stilted English was tedious to read and hard to comprehend at times, and there was a lot of legal jargon. I found myself nodding off. As I began to drift, I imagined the feel of Ryker’s lips against mine and felt myself getting warm again.

  “Need some help with that?” Luke laughed, coming into the study and plunking himself into an overstuffed chair.

  I wanted to kill him, but I needed the help. So, I just scowled at him, instead. “Yeah. Duh!”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make fun of you. It is kind of funny, though. Is this the first time you’ve experienced this?”

  “Yeah. And how come they didn’t mention this at the Academy?”

  He shrugged. “I guess they assumed that you’d been through this stage already.”

  “Well, with Ryker... it was my first kiss, and it was embarrassing!”

  “I can imagine,” he agreed.

  “So, what am I supposed to do? Never kiss?”

  “No, that would be a bit extreme. You have to learn to control it.”

  “How?”

  “Rule Three of the Academy usually helps a lot.”

  “I should feed before I kiss? That’s not always going to be possible. Hold on, Ryker, while I down a steak. Moment killer!”

  Luke guffawed. “Yeah, you can’t very well carry a spare piece of steak around, just in case. I just said that it helps, that’s all. The more hungry you are, the less effective other forms of control become.”

  “What other forms of control?”

  “The most effective one is what you were doing when I came in. Visualization. Visualize the situation, then visualize controlling it. This technique takes time to master but it’s totally achievable. I can do it, no problem. But then, I’ve had years of practice.”

  “You’re the same age as me, so you couldn’t possibly have years of practice!” I said, irritated.

  He just raised his eyebrows at me.

  “Oh.”

  “Indeed. Now, we must go to
the conference room. The dignitaries are all here. Are you ready?”

  “I guess.”

  The previously spacious-looking conference room looked much smaller filled with our guests. Thankfully, everyone had arrived in their human forms. They all stood and bowed as I entered with Luke. Dorian had already taken his seat at the other end of the table. Luke walked me to my seat and sat down next to me. I grabbed his hand under the table. I could feel the plethora of different energies in the room fighting for space. It sent a chill through my body.

  Dorian stood up. “Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, Sebastian has not been seen since Friday; thus his daughter, Faustine, will be governing in his absence. We hope that he returns soon, but in the meantime, we have arranged a coronation for Faustine next weekend in London.”

  Thanks for telling me, Dorian.

  He continued. “I know you have a lot of questions and concerns, but before we address them, allow me to introduce you to our distinguished guests, Princess Faustine.”

  They all looked in my direction and nodded. I smiled back at them.

  “Princess, next to Luke is Cassandra, the governing witch of London.”

  “Pleased to make your acquaintance,” I said, getting up to shake her hand. I would never have guessed that she was a witch. Not that I had a preconceived notion of what a witch should look like. Neither Tessa nor Neave looked like any of those fairytale witches from Disney movies. Cassandra looked like a harassed Italian-American, New Jersey housewife. Her big, dark do was actually tied back with a scrunchie. When she opened her mouth, she totally confirmed her Jersey roots. I wondered how she had ended up in London.

  “Nice to meet you. I understand you know Tessa and Neave?” she queried.

  “I do! How do you know them?”

  “I don’t. Not really. It’s just interesting that you are close to two witches. How did that come about?”

  I gave her a brief explanation, which seemed to satisfy her.

  “Moving on,” Dorian continued. “Next to Cassandra is Alfred.”

  “Let me guess,” I said. “The Vampire King of London?” His pallor was hard to ignore. Alfred was even paler than Audrey or Viola, if that was possible. Or maybe it was the sharp contrast of his skin against his jet-black hair that made him appear more so. The telltale red sheen of his eyes indicated that he hadn’t fed for a while.

  “That would be correct,” Alfred smiled, taking my hand and planting a kiss on it. “Charmed.”

  “May I offer you a drink?” I asked, hoping he’d say yes. A hungry vampire king couldn’t be good. “In fact, Luke, would you mind getting everyone some refreshments? Please?”

  Luke stood up quietly and nodded before he left. I wondered if I had been out of place asking him to deal with it; he looked a bit put out.

  “That would be lovely,” Alfred responded appreciatively.

  “Next to Alfred is Spencer, the global sovereign of the Sigma-Wanderers. The Sigma-Wanderers do not have regional leaders,” Dorian explained.

  I shook his hand as he came around to greet me. “I’ve only met one Sigma-W before,” I offered out of politeness. “At my school in Switzerland.”

  “Ah, very few of the Sigma-W recruits need a stint at the prep. Only two in the last five years. Which one are you referring to?” he smiled.

  “Ryker... I don’t know his last name,” I said, suddenly realizing how little I knew about him.

  “Ryker Darley. He’s my nephew–a very nice boy. He’s based here in New York now,” he added.

  “Yeah, we’ve hung out a bit since I got back to New York,” I confirmed.

  Dorian’s sudden cough interrupted us. I really wanted to talk to Spencer some more, to find out what Ryker had done to warrant sending him to the Academy since Sigma-Ws normally didn’t go. I guessed my questions would have to wait. It was probably best to have that talk in private, anyway.

  “Next to Spencer, we have Princess Nora, the Troll Leader of London,” Dorian introduced.

  She looked like a troll, or what one would imagine a human version of a troll would look like. It was my first time encountering a real one. I had no idea what they were all about. Princess Nora didn’t come around to shake my hand, but merely nodded at me from her seat. Next on the list of introductions were Shaefer and Hickman, the joint leaders of the shifters, and then finally Suman, the angel. I liked Suman immediately. She reminded me of Neave; she had the same curly blonde hair and engaging smile. I knew immediately that we would be friends. That was, if angels and demons were allowed to fraternize. I’d have to check on that.

  “A few of the leaders couldn’t make it,” Dorian continued, “but you’ll meet them at the coronation. Now that I’m done with the basic introductions, I’m going to hand this meeting over to Alfred. He mentioned that he has news that pertains to the Princess when he came in, but has not shared exactly what with me, yet. Alfred?”

  Luke had brought Alfred a glass of blood, which he was slurping through a straw, as if it was a strawberry daiquiri. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and looked at me intently. “It’s about the incident at the club last night.”

  “Yes?” I asked, half afraid of what he was going to say.

  “I’ve got word of the victim.”

  “How? Who is it?”

  Alfred smacked his lips together, making an annoying slurping sound. “Your brother. Half brother, I guess.”

  “What? Dorian, what’s going on?”

  “Princess, let’s just listen to what Alfred has to say.”

  “It was your half brother, Peter, a senior at Columbia,” Alfred said, looking down.

  “Peter?” Dorian whispered, burying his face in his palms.

  “Dad, we need to talk. Excuse us,” Luke mumbled, and pulled his father from his chair, walking him out.

  Dorian was clearly distressed. I wasn’t sure if I should join them or let them have a moment, so I looked at the others in the room to gauge the situation. I had no knee-jerk emotional reaction to the news. I hadn’t known Peter or even heard of him before now. Maybe I should have felt an innate bond breaking, but I didn’t. It was sad, sure. Dad would be devastated, and I was sad for him. It was tragic that anyone should meet with such a violent end. And to have it end at such a young age was especially unfortunate.

  Now that the victim had been identified as my half brother, and not an uninvolved bystander, everything changed.

  “Faustine, are you all right?” Suman asked, taking my hand. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  There was a murmur around the table as each one echoed her sentiments. I was at a loss for words. I had never had to deal with anything like this before. How was I supposed to act? What was I supposed to say? Had it been someone I had known, I’m sure my emotions would have taken over, and I would have reacted naturally. But here I was, the reining demon who had just been notified of her half brother’s demise. I closed my eyes.

  “Maybe we should go and come back later?” I heard Suman suggest to the others.

  I heard the shuffling noises from their seats as they tried to figure out what to do.

  “We can’t,” I heard Cassandra finally say. “We came here for a reason. And I, for one, have to be back in London as soon as possible or mayhem will break loose.”

  “I agree,” Alfred said. “I have to go back, as well.”

  I opened my eyes and surveyed the room again, hoping that Dorian and Luke would return. They would know what to say.

  “It’s okay, Faustine,” Spencer said from his chair. “This can’t be easy for you. I presume you didn’t know about Peter’s existence before now?”

  I nodded.

  He continued. “This is, of course, very serious, but separate from why we are here. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the fact that Sebastian is missing. Peter’s murder most probably is linked to that in some way. We, however, came to reassure ourselves that you are going to be capable of stepping into your father’s role in his absence. How do you feel a
bout that, under the circumstances?”

  How did I feel? Oh, like I wanted to run down to Starbucks for a large caramel Frappucino, hook up with Ryker for a long snog–U.K. English for a smushy kissing session. I had learned that word at the Academy and just didn’t think American English had any good equivalent. I wanted to forget that these weirdoes ever existed! All right, I shouldn’t call them weirdoes; I was half weirdo myself. I fought my Starbucks urge and stood up instead, everyone’s eyes on me.

  “I’m fine, Spencer. Thanks for asking. I have a crisis to deal with. I appreciate all of you taking time out of your busy schedules to come here. I’m glad you did. It’s been nice to meet you all. I’m going to send Dorian to London in my place to deal with the day-to-day administration. But, if you need me, you can always contact me–day or night. Do you have any questions for me right now? If not, I hope you don’t mind, but I have to go deal with my brother’s death.” I paused, looking around to judge the reaction to my little speech. I hoped that it was good enough that all of these beings would just go back to their regular routines. Cassandra looked like she had more to say, but I saw Albert place a hand on her arm to silence her. They all stood and bowed. I bowed back. “Thank you for coming,” I said, hoping that these would be my last official words for the day.

  I waited until they left, then slumped back in my seat. I suddenly felt gentle hands on both my shoulders, and knew, without turning around, that it was Ryker. How did he know that I needed him? I leaned back against him and enjoyed the shoulder massage. The calm felt great. For the first time all day, I tried to escape my thoughts and just relax.

  “Faustine?” Luke said, as he walked back into the room. I opened my eyes again, jolted back to reality.

  “Is your dad okay?” I asked Luke, as he sat down beside me. Ryker sat down as well, but kept one hand on my shoulder.