by J. G. Massie
“I wish I could say I was surprised,” Emilio growled under his breath as he leaned in closer. “As a chance to redeem your original blunder, I gave you the simplest of tasks. So what did you do? Instead of eliminating the problem, you practically wrapped it up in a bow and brought it back to us. Even the lowliest of my servants can kill a human when asked to.”
Had my ears not been sharpened by my awakening powers, I never would have heard their conversation. Part of me wished I hadn’t.
“The lowliest of your servants doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground,” Marco growled back. “Don’t play stupid with me, Father. Not only do you know that she is no mere human, but you are also aware of how important she is. She alone has the ability to end the vampire tensions that have ruled our kind for centuries. If you don’t see that as a good thing, then perhaps your thinking is even more outdated than Aleister’s.”
Marco drummed his fingers across the rail. “No matter, though, I plan to change all of that very soon. The Noctem will not be held hostage by the mistakes of past generations. I owe our people that much at least.”
Emilio took a deep breath, head tilting back as his eyelids fluttered with rage. His words came out in a rush, a hissing whisper of vapory syllables. “As it stands today, the Noctem only have one ruler, and his name is not Marco. You would do well to remember that.” He spun away, hands in the air as his plastic smile reappeared. “Our prince has returned,” he shouted, prompting a round of awkward clapping. “No doubt our guests are weary from their long journey. All questions will be answered soon enough, but first they must rest.”
Marco led the way down the ramp as the scattered vampires moved out of his way. A few even bowed, mumbling things like my lord and your return is most welcome. It was a relief to see that he still had some support among the Noctem, despite the apparent pushback from his own father.
After being led to a resort-type structure, one that didn’t exactly qualify as a Holiday Inn, we were given private rooms with actual beds. Real beds! After spending last night on a pile of leaves, a mere box spring with holes in it would have been a huge upgrade.
With all of us gathered in my room for the time being, I still had a few questions. “So who was that Aleister guy, anyway?” I asked. “You two sure seem to have some sort of history.”
“An old fool, nothing more,” Marco said, trying to get off with a short answer.
“True enough,” Isaac agreed. “But there is a bit more to it than that. Aleister is an ancient vampire, an original whose real age is unknown even to him. For centuries he has served the Noctem in one way or another.”
“Has he ever led the Noctem?” I asked, wondering if that might be the source of all this tension. It must be hard to let go of all power even when your time is up.
“Nope,” Isaac said. “He has never been anything more than a glorified advisor to whoever was in charge during that particular era.”
“But it wasn’t for lack of trying,” Marco added. “But even from the beginning he knew he would never lead.”
“Wrong bloodline?” I stated, starting to get a feel for how things worked around here.
Marco nodded. “Precisely. But that wasn’t going to stop the old leech from letting his voice be heard. Convince fools that age is equal to wisdom, and one can go a long way in this world. Self-appointed, as far as anyone can remember, he has served as advisor to every ruler for generations. Silently whispering his poisonous words, letting them fester like a snake bite, he has managed to pulls strings like a puppet master for far too long.
“But it ends now!” Marco smashed a fist into his opposing hand with a heavy smack. “He knows he can’t manipulate me, so instead he chooses to try and keep me out of power altogether. Like most of the ancients, he fears change. It will be hard enough to change the Noctem’s minds even without his interference.”
“Well, there is nothing we can do about it tonight,” Lindsey said. “Best to just get some rest and try to come up with a plan tomorrow.” A round of sleepy nods was agreement enough. It wasn’t really all that late yet, but we had had a full day and had plenty to sleep on.
Once I had the room to myself, I made it a point to go ahead and check out what was under the trays sitting on the corner table. Just as I hoped, there was a decent spread of cheese and crackers with some rolled lunch meats held together with toothpicks. Not exactly a feast fit for a king, but plenty enough for a starving girl who hadn’t eaten since this morning.
At least they knew I needed to eat actual food. After eating my fill, then washing it down with half a pitcher of red punch—at least, I hoped it was punch—my eyes closed before my head hit the pillow.
Chapter 3
I woke with a jolt, my chest heaving and my hair damp with sweat. Although I couldn’t remember the specifics of my latest nightmare, I knew I was being chased by something and woke up just before it got me. You would think I might be used to this by now, but I wasn’t.
It took me a few seconds before getting my bearings straight. At first, I couldn’t remember where I was or why I was sleeping in this strange bed. But as my clouded memory began filling in the gaps, I managed to relax a little, and sank back down into the mattress. Although the room was still dark, I wasn’t likely to go back to sleep any time soon. I was already pretty shaken up from the nightmare. And as if that wasn’t enough, the idea of being one of only two humans on an island full of blood suckers was not exactly going to rock me back to sleep.
I bolted upright at the sound of a light knock at the door. Who could that be in the middle of the night? Snatching a robe off the bathroom hook, I slung it around me and scurried to the door. But when I started to turn the handle, I hesitated. The knock was so light, it had me wondering, so I rose up on my tiptoes and peeked through the peephole.
As I suspected, the knock had not come from my door. There was a man and a woman standing at Marco’s door just across the hall. I knew they were human, which made it even more strange. Although it was none of my business, I stood by quietly and kept watching anyway.
Each wearing white robes and gold headbands pulling back their hair, they waited quietly until his door creaked opened. Marco peeked out, just enough that I could see half his face from the shadow of his room. His eyes shifted back and forth between them before he stepped back, then disappeared into the darkness. With the door left slightly ajar, the two humans took it as an invitation and followed him in.
I kept watching long after the door closed. Weird... What the heck was that all about? But rather than try to piece it all together at three in the morning, I figured that trying to get a few more winks was a more constructive use of my time.
I had just started to drift off again when my eyelids snapped open to the sound of another knock. Damn, was Marco having a party or something? Curiosity getting the best of me, I sprang from the bed and tiptoed back to the peephole. Hey, if they were going to keep waking me up, the least they could do was entertain me.
I saw a flash of black and red pass in front of my door. I only caught a glimpse, but it was enough to tell that it was one of the Noctem. Considering how quickly he knocked and left, I couldn’t help but wonder if he had just ding-dong ditched Marco.
Now that was a funny thought. Sheesh, and here I thought these guys didn’t have a sense of humor.
But it wasn’t Marco’s door that opened this time, it was Turner’s. I watched him peek out cautiously, glancing left and right before spotting something, or someone, down the hall. He held up one finger, then mouthed something inaudible before slipping into the hall and silently closing the door behind him.
Face practically mashed into the peephole, I rose up on my toes and cranked my head while trying to spot what he was looking. But it was no use, Turner had stalked down the hall and was quickly gone from sight. What the heck was this guy up to now? I knew I should just let it go. And what’s more, I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know what kind of trouble he was getting into anyway.
> Yeah, best to just forget it and go back to bed. It was none of my business, and—
Sure, that thought lasted about three seconds.
Mimicking his stealthy movements, I crept past my door and quietly closed it behind me. Back hugging the wall, I inched my way down the hall. When I got to the crossway, I dropped to my hands and knees and risked a peek around the corner.
There was Turner, speaking with who I could only assume was the same vampire I had seen a moment ago. They both looked equally nervous, which did nothing to ease my suspicions that this was certain to end badly. I couldn’t hear their hushed whispers, but sure did notice when Turner slipped a squishy bag of red liquid into the vampire’s front pocket. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess what that was.
A blood bribe? What the hell are you up to, Turner?
“Very well,” the vampire said, still glancing around nervously. It was clear he wasn’t exactly confident with his decision, but I guess a nice fat bag of blood was the miracle cure for common sense. “You’ve got three minutes to make your case. Follow me.”
I didn’t know what to do. I suppose I could have stopped them and began demanding answers, but I didn’t for some reason. Maybe I was just curious to see how it would play out? Or perhaps a deep-seated part of me wanted to actually trust Turner’s judgment for once. Maybe I wanted to believe that whatever he was up to this time, he was doing it with all our best interests at heart.
Hiding from a vampire and a highly sensitive human is not as easy as it sounds. Well, okay, it was exactly how it sounds. My steps had to be silent, and I always had to make sure there was a hall or doorway nearby to duck into as needed. All that while trying not to lose sight of them as I crept along like a shadow took a tremendous amount of effort.
“You better be right about this or it will be both our heads,” the vampire whispered, now looking even more nervous than before.
“Oh, trust me,” Turner replied. I nearly laughed out loud and gave away my position. Part of me was tempted to warn the vampire about what happens to anyone who trusts this guy. “I can be very convincing when need be.”
When they rounded the next corner, I rushed up to keep pace, but I overstepped and had to jump back at the last second. Phew, that was close. It was careless of me, but they seemed too distracted to notice that I nearly bumped right into them from behind. A second peek assured me I could probably start a fire in the hall and still not get their attention.
As they stood before a modest-sized chamber, I could see Emilio waiting with three other vampires. Given their formal attire and hardened expressions, I could only assume they were some kind of high-ranking Noctem, possibly even generals of some sort. Aside from Emilio, whose expression was always stony and bland, the surprised looks on the others spoke volumes to me. It was pretty clear that they hadn’t been expecting company in the middle of the night.
“What is the meaning of this?” Emilio asked. There was an air about him, a calm sense of command that was really apparent to me. He was pissed for sure, but that didn’t mean he had to wear his emotions on his sleeve. I could see that he was a man used to getting his way, and this odd intrusion wasn’t about to change that. Someone would either have to offer a satisfactory excuse, or possibly pay with their life. Emilio would get the desired result either way, just as he always had.
“F-Forgive me, sir,” the vampire stuttered, stepping forward while wringing his hands. If he had been nervous before, he was an absolute train wreck this time around. “The human asked for nothing more than a minute of your precious time. I saw no harm in—”
“My time is not yours to give!” Okay, so much for Emilio’s poker face. That time he actually looked pretty pissed. I couldn’t tell if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but he actually seemed to grow in stature right before our eyes. The shadow cast at his back began to swell, appearing to grow thorns like some sort of demonic porcupine. “Be gone from my sight and I just might forgive your baffling lapse in judgment.”
“But...but,” the vampire dared to push. “The human swears he can provide evidence as to why we should join forces with them. He says that—”
“But who cares what the human has to say?” Turner interrupted, stepping around and in front of the babbling vampire. A different approach was clearly in order. “That’s what you are all thinking, correct?” If Turner was trying to get the powerful vampire’s full attention, he definitely had. I just couldn’t see how that was a good thing. “Words mean nothing, a waste of time to a busy man such as yourself. And I do not blame you in the least.”
Emilio and his officials looked on. Despite the oddity of this strange interaction, they seemed more than a little curious. What in the world was this human going on about? Intrigue had replaced outrage, at least for now, and they appeared willing to ride it out.
Turner dropped to one knee, head bent low in a show of humility. “You don’t want words, you want action. You want to see with your own eyes what this feeble human claims to be capable of.” I watched Turner’s hands behind his back as he lightly clicked his rings together, forming that small but deadly strand of silver wire. His eyes flashed up, teeth bared in a wicked grin. “Then so be it, proof you shall have.”
No! You idiot! I should have guessed. So this was why he was trying to get close to Emilio. How could I be so blind? Without any semblance of a plan, I burst from my hiding spot and went charging toward him at full speed.
With a war cry that sounded a lot like a cat getting its tail stepped on, I launched myself through the air and delivered a pretty decent flying kick to the side of Turner’s shoulder. Ten out of ten times I flub that Hollywood maneuver and fall right on my ass. But Turner, as well as the others, was so completely caught off guard by my wild charge that no one was prepared for it.
Not even me... He didn’t fall down, but he stumbled back a fair way.
I was fully committed now. There was no turning back. Not knowing what else to do, I followed up that high flying attack with a series of kicks and punches. Dumfounded, Turner dodged and weaved, blocking my wild strikes as necessary while backing away. “What the hell are you—” he began, just before my right cross caught him in the jaw.
Up until now he had only been defending, all the while trying to make heads or tails of what was happening. Nothing like a solid punch in the mouth to get someone’s attention.
“Shut up and fight!” I shouted, throwing myself into a second barrage of wild attacks. Turner was good, a formidable warrior who was more than a match for any vampire. But he was a weapons master at heart, and he wasn’t about to strangle me with a silver wire or shove a dagger in my gut. His hand-to-hand was above average at best, and I had already put in countless hours with Margie and Lindsey. This made the fight a lot more even than it should have been.
Besides, I wasn’t trying to hurt him. I was trying to stop him from making a fatal mistake. And with only seconds to think, this ridiculous plan was all I could come up with.
Fed up with my interference, Turner delivered a hard kick to my side. When I bent over with a wheeze, he followed it up by hooking my arm and spinning me around. Thrusting his hip into mine as he thrust his shoulders, I went up and over the top before I knew what hit me. Between my flying kick and his perfectly executed judo throw, we were all but ready to start new careers as Hollywood stunt doubles.
As my back smacked the floor like a ripe watermelon, my vision flashed white for a second or two. “What do you think you’re doing?” he growled in my face, hands pinning me down by my throat. He was so close, I thought he might bite my nose off. “You’ve ruined everything.”
“Ruined? I saved you, you dumb ox,” I gurgled while fighting for air. Rocking back, I thrust my knee into the side of his head. He never saw it coming, and those are the ones that do the most damage. His grip released as he soared right over the top of me. The jarring blow only put him out for a few seconds, but by the time he opened his eyes I was already right on top of him. Hand cupped as
I held an imaginary blade to his throat, I fluttered my eyebrows in victory.
“You’re insane,” he whispered.
“Damn straight.” I leapt up and turned to face the watching vampires. Man, if they could see the looks on their faces... “Ta da... And there you have it,” I said, hands spread wide as I took a little bow.
There was a long, awkward silence before Emilio finally spoke. “What, the hell, was that?” He raised one bushy white eyebrow in anticipation.
“A little taste of our formidable skill set,” I said, hoping all that cringe twisting my insides in knots wasn’t displayed on my face. “As you can plainly see, it would be in your best interest to join forces with us so that we might—”
“Get out of my sight.”
“You bet.” Before I knew it, I had Turner by the hand and we were heading back with our tails between our legs.
Man, that was humiliating, but at least our heads were still attached to our bodies. And as far as I could tell, other than the realization that humans are stupid on a whole other level, Emilio didn’t really suspect much else.
Honestly, I’ll take that.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Turner grunted when we turned the next corner, ripping his wrist free from my grasp. I flinched when he turned on me, wondering if he was going to attack me right on the spot.
“What was I thinking? What were you thinking is more like it.” I jabbed my finger into his chest with each word, mostly just trying to create some space between us. “Did I really just see that? Did you really think you were just going to waltz up there and kill Emilio?”
“Yes,” he answered plainly while eyeing one of his rings. Boy, he must have really been itching to use them. “And I would have pulled it off if you hadn’t interfered...again.”
“You really are insane, aren’t you?” I jabbed my finger into his chest once more for good measure. “Even if you had pulled it off, what the hell would that have accomplished?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” He leaned against the side of the hall, eyes closed as he threw a palm against his forehead. “I take out the Noctem ruler, and Marco takes his place unchallenged. Simple.”
