by Emma Glass
“Nonsense!” He grinned, stomping the butt of his cane against the ground. “You are overlooking a great many traditions to spare my life. When I go to my grave, I’ll sing your praises to the stars.”
Gerry didn’t seem to share that high opinion. The tailor’s large, gruff son was failing at hiding his contempt for me, but he kept a stoic face.
“Here.” I reached my hand behind myself. A nearby guard placed a small sack in my hands, and I pushed it into Gerry’s arms.
“Master Craven, that’s far too much!” Jerald told me with a firm look. Clearly, he’d heard the weight of the jangling gold coins in the sack. “That has to be possibly double your promise…”
“You’ve proven your loyalty and expertise over many years in the castle,” I reminded him. “Your sentence is to forge a life elsewhere, not to do so in poverty. There should be enough in there for you to buy a reasonable dwelling and, with a little luck, start a profitable business.”
Jerald looked at me with pursed eyebrows. “My Lord, this isn’t necessary. I’ve already sent word ahead to the mainland banks; in a few days, we plan to take most of our savings. We already have enough for a comfortable enough life.”
“Services rendered, then.” I guiltily refused to back down. “I only wish that what happened could have been avoided, but… perhaps this will make up for the injustice in a small way.”
Jerald frowned, but he didn’t fight my show of generosity. “I hope that I don’t offend, my Lord. Your pity knows no bounds. We are grateful for this unexpected gift, and I will tell all who listen of your kindness.”
I clasped a hand on his shoulder. “Goodbye, Jerald and Gerry Puckett. I wish you both the best of luck on your travels.”
Lorelei stepped forward to say her farewells, and I turned away to offer them some privacy. My eyes fell upon the servants, who were all trying to keep their eyes elsewhere. My gesture was not for them, but I was curious how they’d interpret such generous – or perhaps irresponsible my mother noted quietly.rald,"orelei and I the circumstances. Meanwhile, ants, who were all trying to keep their eyes elsewhere– behavior.
When I turned back, Lorelei was pulling out from a hug. She swiftly planted a peck on Jerald’s forehead and shook Gerry’s hand, then drew back to my side.
The servants took several minutes to wish their own lingering, sullen goodbyes. Jerald kept their spirits easy, in light of the circumstances. Meanwhile, Lorelei and I quietly stood to the side and watched this all unfold.
“You have done right by Jerald today,” my mother calmly observed. Her expressionless face lacked any hint of a smile, but I could almost hear it in her words. “For that, my son, I am grateful. I expect that the others will all come to feel the same way in time.”
“You thought perhaps that I would have him slain?” I scoffed at the notion. Still, I was aware of how close I’d been to doing just that. “He deserves a greater justice than that.”
“Of course I did,” she replied. “It is hard to be disappointed when you expect the worst. That’s an important lesson I’ve had to learn the hard way, again and again…”
“It is not his fault. Circumstances happen.”
Her expression finally changed, and I didn’t care for her darkened gaze. “The girl will remain in danger so long as she is here, Elliott. You must find a solution for her.”
“This isn’t her fault,” I reminded. “She didn’t come here of her own volition.”
“So she says.”
We went quiet for a moment as Jerald and Gerry waved their final goodbyes. The tailor’s son helped him up onto his horse before mounting the other, and they checked the reins.
“I trust her so far,” I continued. “Don’t you?”
With an air of distrust, Lorelei turned away.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “I fail to understand. How can you possibly be the same woman who looks so dotingly upon her?” Pushed deeper into a corner, my patience with her was running thinner by the day. “For months, you’ve been acting even stranger than usual. Sometimes it seems that the more I pay attention to you, the less consistent you become…”
She glared. “Do not lecture me, Elliott.”
“I need you,” I told her point-blank. “And I need to know that you’re still reliable. We’ve seen what happened before. If you try to tell me now that madness runs in the family…”
Lorelei’s eyes flashed wide with anger. “Drop it,” she replied in a low growl. She narrowed her eyes with a fury that I’d only rarely seen. It was clear that I needed to back off, so I did. Mostly.
“Fine. But know this, Mother: had I not been there in time, he would have bled Clara bone-dry, and we both know it.”
After she refused to respond, we watched the exiled pair tug their steeds to attention. It was a bittersweet mercy to see them leave; silently, I wondered how many times I would have to make these difficult choices during my reign.
As they passed the portcullis and left us for distant lands, Lorelei turned in the direction of her precious gardens.
I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Clara is as much a victim as Jerald, Mother.”
Lorelei pulled free and smiling scathingly. “Fine. Answer me this then, my son…” She glared into my eyes. “Who’s the one still in the castle?”
Upon returning inside, I made my way towards the nearest teleportation node.
Standing upon the glowing ring of light, I waited as the sensor detected my specific essence. That was the true beauty of the teleportation node system – they only worked when used by the royal family, so that even foreign vampire lords in our castle were kept from moving quickly around the stronghold.
Within moments, a widening beam of red chrysm light began to overwhelm me, bathing me in a bright column. I heard the telltale whine of the node, whirring quickly to life under my boots. One second passed, and my surroundings were instantly swapped for the familiar chambers of the Stonehold transport hub.
Lost in thought, I quietly stepped down from the round node platform. The true location of the teleportation hub was a mystery to virtually all else, including all of the guards. Only the vampire lords of the Eight Holds, their loved ones, and the relevant workers knew where their own hubs were built.
Alone, I strolled down the short walkway and into the main atrium. Here, a pair of attendants carefully monitored all of the various chrysm levels within the castle – everything from the lighting to the teleporters was controlled here.
I could never help but marvel at this feat of technological engineering. Darkness coated the walls as various cables hung in low loops above, many as wide as my broad chest. They fed powerful surges of energy into the appropriately named “heart” of the atrium – itself a silent, gigantic engine that sent diluted chrysm through valves and arteries to all the nodes and back out into the castle.
But even that engine, powering the entire castle, was not the most awe-inspiring part of the room. In a vertical column stretching up to the atrium’s chrysm heart, a disorganized collage of massive screens near-constantly updated and rotated out numbers and visualization charts – all of which was far too complicated for my mind. To the uninitiated, the entire display was controlled digital chaos, operating on pure insanity.
I never pretended to understand any of it. That’s why, just like my mother before me, I kept a pair of highly specialized female attendants in the room at all times to monitor, control and, if need be, repair the machines.
After all, the research had been indisputable for centuries – at rare exception, only our female scientists could multi-task effectively enough to properly maintain the madness.
There were eight such atrium keepers within the castle. Despite their incredible gifts, the work was so mentally taxing that they could only safely operate in six-hour shifts. I didn’t envy them, but I ensured that they were all paid handsomely for their work.
The delicate instruments required minimal light at all times, so the only visibility in
the entire atrium came from the lit edges along the very bottom edges of the hallways.
Chillingly, it gave the effect of each separate circle of teleporter nodes existing in its own dark abyss, connected only by vaguely lit paths in the intruding darkness.
Neither of the attendants acknowledged me as I walked past and moved into the path towards the library. In the case of this intensely sensitive work, no news was always good news.
My admiration for the machines only built as I moved towards one of the major nodes. As the portal thrummed to life under my feet, I crossed my arms and waited to be surrounded by dusty bookshelves and ancient tomes…
I found Sebastian tending quietly to some books on the third level. The kind, elderly sage smiled at me as I slowed myself down to a respectful stroll.
“Greetings, my Lord. How may I serve?”
“You were right about the human,” I told him. “There is a girl in the castle. She has already been attacked, and I’ve had to sentence the royal tailor to a life of exile.”
Sebastian looked stunned. “Jerald is gone?”
“I’m afraid so,” I responded brusquely. “It’s not his fault, so I was lenient. But had I not been there, he would have drunk that poor girl dry.”
“My,” the sage noted. “That is troubling.”
“I agree. That’s why I’ve come. I believe that you are the only who I can turn to.”
“Anything you need, my Lord.”
“Good. Because I need your help concerning our guest,” I crossed my arms in contemplation. “Of course, I don’t believe that the human means to be a menace, but I cannot ignore the strange effect she has on everyone here.”
“Tell me more,” he replied calmly.
“As it turns out, everything we’ve ever heard in the legends about the human bloodlust is true. Vampires are compelled to feed on humans nearly upon sight. Although, it’s true that she survived being trapped somewhere with roaming servants when first appearing in the castle…
“Interestingly, the royal guards are immune to the allure. The suppression treatments halt the effect. My personal guards are the only ones in the castle who do not feel the urge to feed on her.”
“Interestingly indeed,” Sebastian noted.
“But there is something else curious about the girl,” I replied hesitantly. “I first noticed it around the time that she appeared in the castle. The effect has lessened since then, and now she has to be rather close to me… but when she is, I feel something strange and utterly incredible. I can only really call it a special awareness.”
The sage watched me carefully. “This is that indescribable sensation you brought to my attention before, isn’t it?”
“I can feel everyone nearby – their emotions and what they’re doing, even down to the finest details. It doesn’t let me read minds, but it feels as if I can read hearts… if she were with me now, I could describe everything from your posture to your emotions without even looking at you. I can sometimes tell when, say, another vampire is lying to me.”
Sebastian nodded. “Ever curious…”
“I can’t ignore the tactical advantage. Being able to silently read every vampire in a room has its obvious benefits. It’s the kind of edge I need to sway my people, but I might also need it against the other vampire lords – especially when they find out that there is a human in Stonehold… the girl is not safe in the castle, let alone outside these walls. For now, she is the only human that is here on Earth…”
“That you’re aware of,” he reminded me.
“Good point,” I quickly noted.
“Permission to speak freely?”
I was briefly taken aback. “You know that you can say anything you want to me, and that I value your input…” His expression didn’t change, and I felt a looming pit in my stomach. “But, if you need to hear the words, then yes. Speak your mind.”
“All who have sat on the throne before you – and those who sit on all the others – did not need a ‘special awareness’ to win their people’s support,” the sage shook his head. “Neither do you.”
“This was thrust upon me at the wrong time.”
Sebastian scoffed. “We can never choose the times when we are called upon, Lord Elliott. You are no different.”
“I wasn’t called upon,” I insisted darkly. “I was made to accept this responsibility…”
It was the sage’s turn to hesitate. “Perhaps, my Lord, there is more that you simply fail to understand.” He seemed to weigh his words a little too long to be talking hypothetically.
“Of course I fail to understand!” I slammed my fist against a bookcase at my side, rattling a few shelves’ worth of books. Were I not so angry, I might have felt ridiculous for losing my temper. “I’ve been left in the dark from the beginning! Lorelei tells me nothing, teaches me nothing, and leaves me to figure everything out on my own!”
“My Lord…” His expression was one of pity as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “If there is anything at all that I can do for you, speak the words. I understand the burden you carry.”
“No, you don’t.” I shrugged my shoulder free. “You don’t understand what it feels like. I am responsible for thousands of vampire lives, and no matter how safely I play it, the other holds will make their anger known as soon as they know the fugitive we have in these walls…"
He remained silent.
“I ask little of you, Sage Sebastian, but now I give you your first order as your sworn liege…” Closing the distance between us, I let him look in my eyes to personally weigh my sincerity.
“Danger surrounds her. There must be a way for Clara to move around the castle without her life being in constant jeopardy. I can feel it in my bones… the answer is here, somewhere in here…”
I narrowed my eyes sternly, glancing around the bookcases surrounding us. “Scour the legends. Study the texts. Whatever must be done… find it. Find a way to keep the human safe here, before she is attacked again… without me there to save her life this time.”
Sebastian averted his gaze. “Everything that’s within my power to protect the girl, I will do.”
“Every moment you delay gives her killers another opportunity,” I made my intentions clear. “She is the most valuable life on the entire planet, and I will not see her destroyed under my care.”
Satisfied, I turned to leave.
“I have one question, my Lord.”
My footsteps paused before I could rush away back to the teleportation nodes. “Yes, Sebastian?”
The great sage stared at me directly. “I ask you to humor a curious old man, Lord Elliott: do you want her safe because she is sacred to you, or because she is strategically useful?”
I did not bother giving a response to that.
Mostly because I did not have one.
18
Clara
Lost in thought, the vampire lord angrily stalked back into the room so quickly that he didn’t even notice Wilhelm and Viktor at first.
“Clara, I want you to know that–”
“Wait, Elliott–”
“One moment, this is important–”
“So is – Elliott, if you could–”
“If you’d just let me speak–”
“Elliott! Look at the room!”
Furiously, he whirled around and took in the sight of the two royal guards, politely waving from nearby. It seemed to take him a moment to register what he was seeing, until he boomed: “What the devil are you two doing in here?”
“Clara wanted food,” Wilhelm noted calmly.
Elliott’s defiant gaze swept over to me at the small table. As he opened his mouth to retort, he took in my half-empty dinner plate. That seemed to take all the steam out of him.
“Forgive me. I did not realize.”
“Oh, it’s perfectly fine,” I grinned. “They were gracious enough to keep me company.”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand… they put you in danger! Danger that I am trying so hard t
o protect you from… how could you possibly want them around you, especially so quickly?”
“It was an honest mistake,” I noted.
“They put a common vampire in a room with you, Clara!” Elliott growled, glaring over at them. “A respectable, long-serving vampire who I just had to sentence in front of my entire court. This is unacceptable. I must find a fitting way to punish them for their foolishness…”
Even Wilhelm was silenced in fear.
“Did you kill him?” Viktor asked quietly.
Elliott glowered. “Had either of you actually been present for Jerald’s trial, you would not be asking such a stupid question, correct?” He took a few menacing steps towards them. “No. I had him banished into exile. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if I should consider the same fate for the two of you…”
“Actually.” An idea popped into my head. It sounded just crazy enough to work. “Elliott, if you really want to punish these two, I think I’ve got an interesting idea.”
“Oh?” He spun around, his face gleaming with curiosity. Behind him, the guards froze in alarm. “Do tell…”
“Sure thing,” I nodded thoughtfully. “But I have to warn you, it’s a little bit… unorthodox. Actually, that might be right up your alley.”
“Tell me more,” he grunted impatiently.
My eyes trailed over to Wilhelm and Viktor. They both appeared to be silently mouthing what were either expressions of concern or accusatory curses. It was probably both.
“If you really want to punish them, then you should just make them my personal guards.”
Elliott’s eyebrow lifted. “I don’t follow.”
“Think about it,” I told him as casually as I could believably get away with. “Wilhelm and Viktor both put my life in danger, right? So, why not just make them both directly responsible for my safety? If they grow fond of me, they’ll never let any harm come my way… and that’ll free you up to focus on running things around here, right? It’s win-win for everyone.” As the cogs visibly spun in his head, I grinned evilly over at the two royal guards. “Well, except for them. They’ll have to do my bidding.”
