by Erin Johnson
I sighed and nodded my acceptance. "Mob time, it is."
"I have an idea," Francis said. "There are a few abilities that she should possess, whether she is a made or a born vampire."
17
The Mob
We all entered the town square, linked arm in arm. I had Hank on my left and Maple on my right, with Iggy dangling in my right hand. My knees trembled at the loud shouts and roars coming from the crowd filling the square—there had to be hundreds of people.
"Oh my sea goddess. They actually have torches and pitchforks." This time Iggy didn't cackle.
My knees quivered and I was glad to have my friends for support. I spotted Lady Cordelia and the governor standing beside Pandora on the stage set up beside the big tree for the tree lighting in a few hours. The governor raised his arms, but if he spoke it was lost in the raucous noise of the villagers. A few people noticed the line of us, pointed and shouted, and soon the entire crowd rounded on us, shaking their fire and weapons. The roar grew deafening. I gulped, the noise ringing in my ears.
Hank squeezed my arm under his and I gave him a little smile. If I had to die, at least it'd be with him and my best friends.
"I think I might pee myself," Maple squeaked as the villagers charged.
"Well—at least you'd be warmer right?" I trembled and my teeth chattered, both from nerves and the cold.
"Only for a second though."
"You've thought this through."
Her laugh came out as a half sob.
Francis broke from the chain and stepped forward, with Rhonda right beside him. He lifted his one pale hand and hovered higher above the ground. "Halt."
The closest villagers slowed, jostled by those behind. They looked up at him, faces pale and wide-eyed, jaws slack.
"I am not the vampire you seek. Your own Lady Cordelia has bitten and likely killed those men."
The crowd erupted into shouts again, though with less certainty than before. "Likely story."
"Why would we believe you?"
"You lie!"
I glanced toward the stage. The woman in question stood stock-still, her eyes obviously blazing even from this distance, her hands clenched in fists by her side. The villagers advanced again, but in a flash, Francis disappeared.
"Where'd he go?" The villagers devolved into chaos, looking this way and that.
"There he is!"
All eyes turned to the stage, where Francis stood beside the gubernatorial family. In a flash, he took hold of Lady Cordelia's left arm with his one remaining hand, and with a sickening crunch, pulled it clean off. I gagged.
She stomped her foot, bared her teeth and growled, "You dirty, fungus-filled, root of a—" She stopped, her eyes sliding toward the now silent mob. She looked from her arm, dangling in Francis's, back to the mob of gaping villagers and snapped her mouth shut. Then she clutched at the injured shoulder, threw her fiery red head back, and wailed. "Ow! Oh, earth take me, it hurts! Oh, the pain!"
A man with missing teeth pointed and gawked. "Why! She ain't even bleeding!"
A hushed murmur rippled through the crowd and Lady Cordelia, realizing she'd lost her audience, dropped the act and stood tall. She shot Francis a murderous glare. Then she turned to her family.
"Mother?" Pandora's blue eyes showed the whites all around. The governor slumped into a chair and swooned.
Lady Cordelia rounded on the mob in front of her. She held her one arm aloft. "Silence! Listen up, you ingrates, and I'll explain everything."
18
A Confession
Cordelia held her palm up and glared at the crowd. "Yes. I'm a vampire. Get over it." Apparently the gracious governor's wife act was gone.
Jaws dropped.
"I was born, extremely poor, in a village about fifty kilometers from here. It doesn't exist anymore, because before the treaty, my entire village was massacred by vampires. They swept in in the night, bit me, and left me for dead." She sneered. "Though clearly, I am not dead. I survived, but their venom turned me. As they moved through the town, I roused myself, still bleeding and weak, found my baby sister, and ran." She turned to Pandora. "I raised you as my daughter to make it easier to pass as human. As female vampires cannot procreate, it made a good cover for us both."
Pandora's mouth opened in a wide O, then snapped shut. "So… you're really my sister?"
Cordelia nodded and turned back to the crowd gathered before her. "I snuck into Wee Ferngroveshire during the resettlement, and charmed our dear governor into marrying me and raising Pandora."
The governor's head lolled as he slumped in the chair.
"Clearly he has no head for danger. And as our town was in need of resettlement because of its propensity for monster attacks and pillaging from raiders, I'm surprised none of you has considered before why we have prospered and flourished in such peace? Anyone?"
Heads turned as the villagers looked at each other for answers.
Lady Cordelia bent forward and bellowed, "It was me, you fools! As a vampire I had the strength and speed to fight them all off. I kept our town safe, I kept you alive. Tell me you weren't all escaping hardships when you came here? Huh? We lived in the middle of a dangerous forest and only the desperate were foolish enough to volunteer to come here. You all would have died, but for me!"
"Very well." Francis nodded. "But you also bit those men. Eddy and Bridger, I believe were their names."
She sneered. "Anyone could have framed me with a couple of puncture wounds made to look like a bite." Her nostrils flared as she dared anyone to contradict her. The crowd cringed back.
Francis lifted a long finger. "Why would anyone try to frame you, if they didn't know you were a vampire?"
She pointed a trembling arm at him. "Maybe they tried to frame you? You're so openly a vampire and this only happened once you came to town. How do we know it wasn't you, anyway?" She glared back at the crowd and Francis narrowed his eyes.
"Besides, I couldn't have killed Eddy or set the fire, because I was in the dress shop at the time, in the changing room."
Pandora stepped forward, her long skirt swaying. "That's true. I stood outside the whole time."
I gulped. I'd forgotten about that. She and Pandora had run out of the shop about the same time that Maple and I ran out of the Heart Witch.
Lady Cordelia's eyes blazed. "And I know another young man that I'm confident will corroborate my story. Dylan Hodder?"
A small space cleared as people moved away from the boy. His chest heaved, and his voice cracked. "Yes, mum. I was peeking in the window at you in the dressing room."
Cordelia cocked a brow as a murmur rippled through the crowd.
"Well, Francis was with me the whole time." Rhonda stepped forward, hands on hips.
"You would say that to protect him though, wouldn't you?"
Rhonda lifted a dark brow. "I could say the same of your witnesses."
A tense silence followed. And then a low murmur covered the crowd.
"She couldn't have done it."
"Maybe it was just an accident."
"Best to let sleeping dogs lie."
I frowned. What had happened to the angry crowd? No one seemed too keen to pry into the details and suss out the truth anymore. People on the edges moved down the cobblestone streets and the crowd began to disperse.
"It's a terrible thing, but what can we do now?" An older couple shrugged it off as they passed our line of friends. "We should be grateful we have a vampire to protect our village."
"Mm. A mark of distinction," another responded. "Not every town has its own vampire."
My lip curled. What was happening? "Is everyone buying this?"
Iggy flared up, my leg tingling with the heat. "I know I'm not."
Beau's parents passed by, arm in arm. Their eyes were bright and they had a spring in their step. "How fascinating."
His mother nodded. "Just think. If Beau and Pandora wed, we'd have a vampire in the family. So exotic."
His father chuckled.
"I wonder if she'd be up for helping me get that tee time at the club I'm always fighting Bill Langdon for. No one would dare cross a vampire."
Had the world lost its mind? Not that I was opposed to people accepting vampires—I was all for it. But something shady was going on with this particular one. We pushed forward toward the stage with the glowing ice rink behind, dodging the exiting townspeople. As we neared, Lady Cordelia glared at Francis.
"Seems I owe you a thank-you."
He lifted a brow.
"I was worried my identity would ruin my daughter's chances of happiness with Beau that his parents would never consent to their son marrying the daughter of a vampire."
"You mean, the sister," Francis replied coolly.
She shrugged it off. "But it seems to have raised her in their eyes. Who could have guessed?" Lady Cordelia's gaze swung out into the crowd and landed on Ria. The young woman startled, dropped her gaze, and took off in the opposite direction.
Cordelia sneered.
"Let's just hope we find the true killer." Francis cocked his head.
"Yes. The one who framed one of us." Cordelia grabbed her large, half-conked husband by the collar and effortlessly pulled him to his feet. "Come, Pandora. Let's rest before the tree lighting." Cordelia snatched her arm back from Francis, and I recoiled. Disturbing.
"Yes, Mother. Or should I say sister? How fun! Now I have a mother and a sister." Pandora giggled and clapped.
They climbed the stairs down off the stage and headed toward the mansion. So, even Pandora was unfazed by finding out her mother was actually her vampire sister.
Francis floated down off the stage to join on us the snow-covered lawn. Rhonda threw her arms around him and gave him a hug. Hank stalked a short distance away and paced, digging a track through the snow. What was he thinking of, I wondered? Something from before drifted into my mind.
"Francis?"
"Hm?"
"Earlier, you said Hank's great-great-grandpa saved you from a mob like this one."
"Well, not quite." He lifted his aquiline nose in the air. "My mob certainly wouldn't have been appeased by Lady Cordelia's explanation. But those were different times, too. Many more monsters about."
I narrowed my eyes. "How did he save you? I just mean—you're so powerful, what did he do that you couldn't?"
Francis grinned, revealing his fangs. "There were enough of them, casting enough spells, to trap me. They ambushed and overwhelmed me with their sheer numbers. And Hank's great-great-grandpa led them all, right at the front of the line." Francis's eyes grew distant. "Just as he was to deal the death blow, a change came over his eyes. Not leniency, or mercy, but cunning. He told the villagers that he wanted to take me to his castle—torture me, as I deserved. I believed he would, too."
My stomach tightened in revulsion. "But… he didn't?" My voice sounded small.
"No. Well, not as you'd imagine. He conscripted me into the service of his family. I am blood bound to the king's line, just as Hank and all his brothers and all their children will be. He used the same spell, and now I act as their bodyguard, or do whatever odd jobs the king decrees." He shrugged. "But in truth, I'd be glad to keep an eye on Hank, bound or not. He is a good wizard. Not all are."
I grew still. "What?"
Rhonda frowned, as did Maple, the only two in hearing distance.
The vampire cocked his head. "Hank is bound by the same spell to his father's line as I am. If the leader of the line commands us to do something, we shall obey. Because if we do not, a break with the line is a break from magic."
"What are you saying?"
"Hank cannot disobey his father because if the king chose to banish, dethrone, or disinherit him, Hank would lose his magic. His powers are tied to his line, which are tied to his kingdom."
My chest grew tight. "And you?"
"I'd lose many of my powers, I imagine—eternal life, regeneration, who knows." Francis smiled, wryly. "It was very clever of Hank's ancestor, this spell. It kept his children in line and consolidated his power. And for me, I think he saw the opportunity to have a monster on his side."
"You're not a monster," Maple whispered.
"Thank you, Maple. But many would disagree. I think that people like the idea of a useful monster—that's why I'm still here. But why do you think people hate shifters?"
My eyes slid to Sam, meek and downcast beside Amelia. I had no idea.
"Many see them as monsters too, or at least, half monster. Before the treaty, monster attacks ravaged the countryside, or at least that's how magic folk remember it. They forget that as human civilization grew and they hunted the magical, the migration to the wilds put magic folk in monster territory. It's not as if the creatures sought them out." Francis shook his head. "And now maybe enough time has passed that I seem exotic, a curiosity."
"You seem pretty erotic to me." Rhonda winked.
And then we lost them as the googly eyes started, and Maple and I turned away from all the kissing.
"Why didn't Hank tell me?" I took a shaky breath as I watched him pace.
Maple squeezed my shoulder. "Maybe he didn't want to burden you."
I pressed my lips tight together. "I have… I have wondered before why he doesn't just blow his dad off and cancel this wedding to Shaday. This explains it, I guess—Hank would lose his powers completely." My brows drew together. And magic was a part of him, of his culture—it'd be like losing his identity. How horrible, to do that to your child. My anger flared at the king.
"Who cares why he doesn't call it off—it's happening." Iggy's voice rose higher. "He's marrying someone else, case closed. The sooner you let that sink in, the better."
Really not what I wanted to hear, just then. Maple gave my shoulder a sympathetic squeeze, just as Hank stopped his stalking and turned to our little group.
"We need to get back into the records building."
19
Mirror Mirror
Click! The brass handle turned and the rounded wooden door opened. Francis ducked his head and stepped through.
"How did you do it?" Hank turned the knob incredulously.
Amelia folded her arms, her face framed in the fur of her white coat. "I tried every spell I know."
Francis jerked his head to the steep, narrow stone staircase behind him. "It was spelled to only open from the outside."
"From the outside?" Wiley frowned in disbelief. "But how would anyone but you get up there?"
Francis had initially transformed into a bat, but with his single wing, he'd only been able to fly erratically, at best. In a whirl of smoke, he'd transformed back to himself, shrugged, and teleported to the top, instead.
"I have a theory. If you'll care to join me." Francis turned and swept up the steps, his feet dangling above them, while we lined up to follow.
I let out a low groan. Not more stairs. I'd had to climb the spiraling tower flight again. Maybe he'd discovered a slide down or something that would save me the downhill trek. A girl could dream.
As I hiked up the ladder-like stairs, I passed another door with smoke streaks staining the edges at a landing, then crept higher up. Soon my head soon popped out into a room similar to the belfry in the church. It had open, arched windows ringing the circular room and a small dome on top crisscrossed by wooden beams. No bell, though.
"I hope he didn't just want to show us the view," Iggy grumbled. He burned in the lantern that swung from my left hand.
I clicked my tongue. "What are you complaining about? Your legs aren't the ones burning."
Iggy dropped his jaw and gasped. "Yeah. Because I don't have legs, Im-o-gen." He made an exaggerated noise of disgust. "Thanks for reminding me. Real sensitive of you."
I chuckled in spite of myself.
"But seriously," he whispered. "What was the point, there's nothing up here but a bunch of trash."
The top room of the tower had seen better days. It stunk of pigeon droppings and smoke.
"Dees ees making my stooomach wavy." Yann gr
imaced and pressed his mittens to his belly.
I nodded and coughed into the crook of my arm as my eyes watered.
"This is what I'd like to show you." Francis stood behind a charred wooden pillar. We shuffled through debris to crowd in a loose circle around him. He swept his long, pale hand at a huge pile of broken glass. A few jagged shards still clung to a golden frame.
"A mirror." Hank rubbed his wrist, his brows drawn together in deep thought.
Francis nodded. "There's no way to tell without tests, but I believe it might be a magic mirror—"
I lifted a finger. "It's definitely a magic mirror."
All of my friends' faces swung towards me, brows raised.
"How do you know, Imogen?" Maple blinked at me.
I shrugged. "Well—" I gestured toward the glowing green shards. "I mean—it's all glowing green, and I'm no expert, but the one Horace used to escape in the caravan this summer looked just like it."
Francis and Hank exchanged significant looks.
I planted my hand on my hip. "What? You guys see it too, right?"
Maple's brows drew together and the others slowly shook their heads.
"Seriously?" My eyes darted left and right as I tried to make sense of this. Why would I be the only one who could see it?
Francis spoke. "Portal mirrors, like the one Horace used, were banned in the treaty. It's a serious offense to possess one, much less to use it. They come in pairs, to allow one to travel back and forth between them instantaneously."
"Why did the treaty ban them?" This seemed odd to me.
"About twenty-seven years ago, the kingdoms were quite independent and often warred with one another." Hank tilted his head to the side. "Monsters ravaged the kingdom, and little towns like this one were dangerous ones to be in. When the monsters began to threaten even the capitols, the kingdoms set aside their differences and banded together with the treaty."
