Claiming the Vampire

by Chloe Hart

  Before too long she was sure that there were voices ahead. There was also a faint light. As she continued on both the voices and the light grew more distinct, until finally she found herself standing in the shadows just outside the circle of illumination cast by a lamp on the wall. The corridor turned sharply just beyond the lamp, and the speakers were beyond the turn, which meant they were out of sight.

  One of the voices was loud enough to hear now, although the other was still indistinct.

  “I wish his precious highness wouldn’t come down here so often. It upsets the prisoners.”

  The other voice murmured something in response.

  “I know you’ve asked him to stay away, but that hasn’t done much good, has it? I’d suggest you speak to the warden but we both know that would be worse than useless. Well, what can’t be cured must be endured. Which reminds me—it’s time to take the new arrivals to the pit for training. No, you stay here. They don’t cause near so much trouble for me. They resent you, lass—you know they do. Stands to reason, considering you were once one of them. Until you caught the prince’s eye, eh?”

  There was a low chuckle, as if the speaker had amused herself. “Now, don’t be giving me that sour face. They like to say you’ve got the devil’s own luck, but I must say you don’t act like it. And the way you talk to Kel! Anyone would think you hated him. If he is going to come down here, the least you could do is look kindly on the lad. Who knows what else he might be able to do for you!”

  Another murmur, this one sounding agitated.

  “All right, now, calm down. I meant no offense. I know you never asked for his favor. And I know the queen has had something to say to Kel about his preference for you, and that you’re trying to stay alive as we all are. Now, after I’m done at the pit I’m through for the day, so I’ll just take myself to my quarters. Don’t forget to bring round the water pail in an hour or so. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mary.”

  Jessica froze. It was lucky for her that the first speaker didn’t come towards her, because she might not have been able to avoid being seen. But the owner of the voice went the other way down the corridor, leaving silence behind.

  And the one called Mary.

  Jessica crept forward slowly, staying in the shadows at the edges of the torchlight until she got her first glimpse around the turn in the corridor.

  More torchlight here, illuminating a long, straight passage. About halfway down, there were several doorways on either side. But what Jessica was interested was the doorway just in front of her, which opened up into what looked like a guardroom. There were keys hung on the wall, and weapons, and armor and cloaks and other implements. And at a scarred wooden table along one wall, a dark-haired woman sat with her head buried in her arms.

  She wore a gray tunic over gray trousers, and she was so still she might have been a statue.

  Jessica had to see her face. Reminding herself that the portal stone was at hand if she needed it, she stepped into the doorway of the little stone chamber and cleared her throat.

  Instantly the woman sprang to her feet, a look of guilty fear on her face. When she saw Jessica standing there, her expression became confused.

  “My lady? Are you lost? This is the palace dungeon—I’m sure you didn’t mean to come here.”

  The resemblance was unmistakable. It was there in the black eyes, and in the strong brow and wide cheekbones.

  “Mary,” she breathed.

  “How do you know my name?” Her frightened gaze swept over Jessica, noticing her clothing—jeans and a blue cotton shirt—for the first time.

  “My God,” she said, her voice trembling. “You’re…you’re from Earth.”

  Jessica nodded, stepping over the threshold. “And so are you. You’re Hawk’s sister, aren’t you?”

  Mary stared at her with huge eyes. “You knew my brother?”

  Jessica was confused by the past tense. “I know him, yes.”

  Mary took a step closer to her. Astonished hope had flickered to life in her eyes. “My brother is alive?”

  She started to reach towards Jessica and then stopped, her hand suspended in the air between them. Jessica stepped forward and took it in a firm grip.

  “Yes, he’s alive. You thought he was dead?”

  Mary nodded. “I was told he had died ten years ago.”

  “He was told the same thing. That’s the only reason he didn’t try to find you. He only found out you were alive a few weeks ago.”

  She could see Mary trying to take in the news. “And he sent you here to find me?”

  Jessica hesitated. “Not exactly. I came on my own. I—”

  “Who are you? What’s your name?”

  “Jessica. Jessica Greenwood.”

  All the hope died from Mary’s expression. Horror took its place.

  She dropped Jessica’s hand like it was a live snake and retreated as far away as the small room would allow. “You lied to me. You don’t know my brother. You’re trying to trap me.” She took a quick, terrified breath. “I’ve never been disloyal to the queen. I’ve never—I’ve never—”

  What the hell had happened? “I’m not your enemy, Mary. I swear it.”

  “Don’t lie to me!” Mary’s voice had risen, and her hand clutched at the back of a chair. “You’re in league with them—with Talia and Navril. They sent you here.”

  Jessica held out both her hands in a gesture of peace. She spoke in a calm, gentle voice. “I came here on my own. No one sent me. And I do know your brother. He told me about your tuberculosis, how he turned you to save your life. He told me about Hector. He told me about the mansion in Wales, where you lived for so many years.”

  She paused, waiting. For a long minute Mary just stared at her, her gaze bewildered.

  “I don’t understand,” she said finally. “Aren’t you Talia’s daughter?”

  Jessica nodded cautiously. Was her relationship to Talia the source of Mary’s fear? “I am. But I’m not acting for her. She doesn’t know I’m here. She doesn’t know I—that I’ve spoken with Hawk. I came here on my own, like I said.”

  “But you’re…” she paused, and a spasm of pain twisted her face. “You’re engaged to Prince Kel. Aren’t you?”

  She remembered the conversation she’d overheard a few minutes ago. The other guard had indicated that Mary had once been a prisoner here. It was clear from her bearing that even though she was no longer a captive, she was not in a position of power. She might be a prison guard now instead of a prisoner, but she was still a slave.

  What was it Kel’s brother had said? Something about dallying with a servant? And the conversation between Mary and the other guard…

  I wish his precious highness didn’t come down here so often.

  I know the queen’s had something to say about Kel’s preference for you.

  Her stomach twisted. “I’m engaged to him, but I don’t know him. That’s another reason I came to this world. I wanted to find out for myself what he’s really like. Has he…” she swallowed. “Has he ever forced his attentions on you?”

  “No! Kel…” Mary’s face and body crumpled, and she leaned against the table. “Kel has always been kind to me,” she said, her voice sounding broken. “He saved my life. Without him, I would have died in the pits years ago.” Her face twisted. “Now I send others to their deaths, instead. And I’ve learned that there are worse things than facing your own destruction. But when I told Kel I wished to return to the pits, he would not allow it. I know he still means to be kind, but…”

  Her agonized eyes lifted to Jessica’s. “Why am I telling you all this?” She whispered. “It doesn’t matter. You will marry Kel, and he will be happy. And once he has forgotten me, perhaps I will be able to return to the pits, and cast my lot in with the other prisoners again, and die the death I was meant to.”

  Jessica tried to sort through everything she was saying. “What are the pits? And who are the prisoners here? Are they all from Earth?”

  Mary’s gaze se
arched hers. “Do you truly not know what this world is like? I thought all the Fae knew. Talia knows,” she added, her voice challenging.

  Jessica’s jaw tightened. “If my mother knows anything about this world, she’s kept that knowledge to herself. Please tell me, Mary.”

  For a long moment Mary just looked at her. Then she straightened up, as though she’d made a decision. “Earth prisoners are rare, but any vampires or shifters who come here are put into the dungeons.”

  “What about humans?”

  “Humans hardly ever survive the journey between dimensions. If a human stumbles upon a portal on Earth and travels here, they usually arrive dead.” She smiled humorlessly. “That’s the reason Navril was plotting an attack on Earth. She wanted Earth humans for breeding. Fewer and fewer Dark Fae women are able to conceive, and Navril believes that interbreeding with humans will strengthen the line. It worked on Earth, you see. The Earth Fae have multiplied with the Dark Fae have declined.”

  Jessica nodded. “I know that much. That’s why Kel and I are engaged. I’m supposed to help with the breeding problem,” she said drily. “But what about Earth Fae? Don’t they ever come through the portals accidentally, like vampires or shifters?”

  Mary shook her head. “I don’t know what your own legends tell you, but the Dark Fae believe that thousands of years ago, when a group of Fae rebels found their way to Earth, the first thing they did was to create magical protections to ensure that they couldn’t be pulled back here. Those magics still hold, still protect the Earth Fae from crossing through against their will, or by accident.”

  “I never heard that,” Jessica said slowly. “But our legends agree that we came to Earth from this realm, and that we brought absinthe with us as our only link to the place of our origin. Only a few weeks ago, one of our spell casters found out something else about absinthe. That drinking it weakens the veil between our dimensions. And she learned that the Dark Fae were going to use that to their advantage, during this coming winter solstice when Fae around the world will be drinking absinthe. That’s when the invasion was to take place.”

  “Yes. Navril was going to pen the humans like cattle—those she didn’t slaughter. Because they can’t survive the journey here, she was going to send Fae there, to conceive. To rape,” she clarified deliberately. “Then they would come back here to bear their children.”

  Jessica breathed in sharply. If Mary thought she didn’t know how violent and ruthless Navril’s plan had been, she was right.

  “Why did you do it?” Mary asked softly. “Why did you make a truce with these people? Why didn’t you fight them, instead?” Her hands were clenched into fists, as if she were ready to go to battle herself.

  “Why didn’t you fight them?” Jessica countered.

  “Because I’m only one against many. You don’t have that problem.”

  “But we do. Or at least, that’s what my mother and the other council leaders decided. If we went to war with the Dark Fae, we would lose. They control the portals, which means they can invade our world, but we can’t invade theirs. And they can send an army of demons against us—and against the humans we’re sworn to protect. Going to war would mean not only countless Fae deaths, but countless human deaths, too.” She took a breath. “And my mother didn’t believe the Dark Fae are irredeemable. She thought they could be reasoned with. And what about Kel? You said he was kind to you. That he saved your life. Doesn’t that prove that the Dark Fae aren’t simply evil?”

  Mary’s hands were still clenched. “You don’t know anything about them. Kel is…” she swallowed. “Kel is different. Maybe he’s a throwback to those Fae who found their way to Earth so long ago. He tells me there are others like him, others who want a different way of life, and maybe there are. But most of them—the queen, and Kel’s brother, and all the Fae here in the fortress—they’re more cruel than you can imagine. If you saw the fighting in the pits…” Her lower lip trembled, and she pressed her mouth into a thin line to stop it.

  “Tell me about it,” Jessica said after a moment.

  “The Dark Fae enjoy blood sports of all kinds. And the pit games have always been a favorite entertainment. The fighters are the vampires and shifters from earth, and the prisoners from this realm, too. Fae criminals or traitors or rebels, and members of the demon races who live here. They fight each other to the death for a crowd of spectators.”

  Jessica drew in a sharp breath. “And if they refuse?”

  Mary looked at her. “They may be thrown to the more feral of the demon races, as food. Or they may be tortured more…creatively. All in front of the crowds, of course. Not that that happens often. Usually, they choose to fight.”

  Jessica felt sick. She remembered what Hawk had told her about Hector, and what Mary had endured at his hands. “And you—you were part of that?”

  “The Fae enjoy watching vampires fight in the pit. They’ll pay a high price in gemstones to anyone from Earth who will deliver a vampire to them. That’s what happened to me.”

  “The blood trafficker who captured you.”

  Mary nodded. “A month after I came here, the fighting master decided I’d had enough training, and I was assigned my first fight. It was against a Fae demon, and I won by sheer luck. He stumbled, and impaled himself on the axe I’d been given as a weapon.”

  Her eyes grew far away. “That night, Kel visited me in my cell. He told me who he was. He said that when he became king, he would put an end to the pit fighting and the taking of Earth prisoners. He also said that might not happen for a hundred years, as his mother could easily live that much longer. He said he was working to persuade her and all the Fae to his way of thinking, but that very few were willing to listen to him. And he—he said that he had spoken with the fighting master, and that I was no longer a prisoner. I was to work under the warden as a guard. He said it was the best he could do for me, or risk Navril’s wrath and the end of all his efforts.”

  She stopped, and something in her expression told Jessica that if she had had a beating heart, a blush would be staining her cheeks right now.

  “What else did he say?” she asked gently.

  Mary shook her head. “Nothing of importance. Over the years, Kel has tried to be a friend to me. I must admit I have often repaid his kindness with bitterness, but he—he never turned on me. A few years ago he came to me in the middle of the night, to say that he had finally found one of his mother’s portals to Earth, and that he wanted to try to get me out. To get me back home.”

  “But the attempt failed?”

  Mary shook her head again. “I refused to go with him. With Hawk dead—as I thought—I had no one to return to. And as much as the prisoners here resent me, their lives would be worse if I wasn’t here. And at Kel’s direction, the warden has given me the power to save some of them, as I have been saved. Every year I can choose a few Earth prisoners to be made into servants, or guards, as I have been. And I can persuade the warden to free a few of the Fae prisoners to return to their homes—not those who are believed to be traitors to the queen, but those who were taken in minor crimes. So I told Kel I was staying.”

  Again a pause, and that look in Mary’s eyes. And Jessica knew in a burst of insight that there was another reason Mary had chosen to stay here, even though her existence here was so bitter.

  She was in love with Kel. She might never acknowledge it to herself or to him, but she was.

  Jessica took a deep breath. “Now that you know Hawk is alive, what will you do? Will you stay, or come back to Earth with me?”

  She saw the sudden uncertainty in Mary’s eyes. Between her love for her brother, her love for Kel, and her duty to the prisoners, how was she to choose a course of action?

  But there was no chance for Mary to decide. Jessica heard nothing, but Mary’s head lifted suddenly, like a wolf scenting the wind.

  “Someone’s coming.” Her eyes flashed to Jessica. “Does anyone but Kel know you’re in this world?”

  Jessica shook
her head.

  “Then you have to go now. There’s nowhere to hide in here.” She seized Jessica’s arm and swept her to the doorway. “You must have come from Kel’s chamber. You’ve got to back that way.”

  “But how will you—”

  “Now!” Mary snapped, practically shoving her from the room. And now Jessica could hear the sound of footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor, where the doors to the prisoners’ cells were.

  She turned back once to give Mary’s shoulder a squeeze, and then she slipped back along the passage, around the corner to the place she had hidden before. She meant only to pause there a second, to make sure there was no threat to Mary from whomever was coming, but the first word out of the visitor’s mouth made her stay.

  “Mary!”

  It was Kel, his voice sharp with relief.

  “Kel! Why did you come that way? Why not from your own chamber?”

  “The door had been locked from the inside. I panicked, and came down through the ordinary entrance.” There was a pause. “I didn’t know who had done it, but I was afraid it might be Edrik. Has he—or anyone—been down here?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes,” Mary’s voice was cool. “I just had the pleasure of meeting your fiancé. She’s probably back in your chamber by now. You should go after her.”

  “Jessica was here?” He sounded stunned. “I thought she’d gone back to her own world.”

  “No.”

  “What was she doing here?”

  “Looking for me,” she said, her voice sounding defiant. “My brother is still alive, and she knows him. She offered to take me back to Earth with her.” There was a short silence, and then, as though the words were forced from her, she went on. “She’s lovely, Kel. Lovely through and through. I hope you’ll be very happy together.”

  Another silence. When Kel spoke again, his voice was tortured.

  “You know I’ll never feel for her the way I feel for you.”

  “Don’t touch me!”

  A note of pain deepened his voice. “You won’t let me touch you. You won’t let me tell you how I feel. Sometimes I believe you really do hate me—and yet I can’t stop loving you. I’ll never stop. No matter what you say to me, I’ll never—”