“Master Bebbenel, we are in a war with the remains of Savion’s army, and the madness of Queen Niniane, not Lord Aiko, not General Odom, and certainly not Mistress Kimber.” Staviz folded his arms, the disgust rolling off him.
Bebbenel sneered. “I want the three of them in the cage until we can verify that they are really on our side.” He wrapped his hand around my upper arm.
That was a mistake.
Roran stepped forward and growled at him. “Get your filthy meat hook off our woman.”
“Do you need to go in there as well?” Bebbenel asked, unfazed.
“Let go of her, Bebbenel,” Rilen said, not moving.
“I don’t think so.”
They both looked ready to kill.
I held up my hand to stop them. “My dears, I have this. Don’t worry.” I stared at Bebbenel. “Let go of me, Master Bebbenel. Release my arm.”
“Or what, vampire?”
I hooked my foot behind his knee, and pulled it forward, pushing back with my upper body, and slamming him to the ground as I yanked the sword out from its scabbard at my waist and slapped his ear with the flat of the blade. I spun it once and made sure the tip of the blade pressed against his throat.
“Or that, asshole.”
He stared at the sword, trembling. “You are a vampire.”
“I am Mistress of the Temple of the Lost God Bright Sword, Healer of S’Kir. That I am half vampire does not influence my loyalty, you rotting coward. Get off the floor, get your useless ass out of this building, and go speak to Master Dorian.”
“Dorian has no special place in this!”
“Dorian is my mate,” I hissed. “He’ll choose if you go unpunished for laying a hand on me.” I swung the sword back and slipped it into the scabbard. “And don’t be surprised if he tells Masters Rilen and Roran to deal with you as they will.”
“You’re a vampire,” he growled, sitting up.
“And what of it?” Aiko asked. “What if she is half vampire? Does that change the fact that she was brought up here? As a druid?”
“We all agreed to raise her to the dais,” Roran stated. “She is the daughter of the Keepers of the Rest. She was an acolyte to our temple.”
“She broke the Spine,” Rilen stated, “and beheaded Savion.”
“She shares your bed,” he bit out, hauling himself to his feet. “You are not objective!”
“Mistress Kimber brought weapons and knowledge back from East S’Kir,” Staviz said. “Go ahead and accuse me of sharing her bed.” He wrapped his hand around Bebbenel’s upper arm and hauled him toward the door. “Go. Find Master Dorian. Tell him what you’ve said here. Or don’t. But know that we all heard what you’ve said. And know how close you walk toward speaking treason against the very temple you’re bound to serve.”
Staviz tossed him toward the now open door, and Bebbenel was barely able to catch his feet under him. He stumbled to a stop, straightened his robe, and walked out without even looking back.
We waited for the slam of the other door before finally relaxing a bit.
“He’s trouble,” Odom said from his spot on the bench.
I put a hand to my head. “He is trouble. Why is he doing this now? He doesn’t like me, but I don’t know why he would do this.”
“Captain Drez?” Staviz addressed him without actually turning to him.
“Yes, sir. I’ll have an eye on Bebbenel. What is my laterality on his antics?”
“Oh, full, son. Full.” Staviz did toss him a look this time.
Drez gave a brief nod and motioned Jallina to follow him. She smiled at me and brushed her fingers over my hand. “We must have tea soon, mistress.”
I smiled back, and a moment later, the two of them were out the door. Jallina’s touch and words were code. We need to have more than tea. She had things to tell me that she didn’t want to share with Staviz yet.
Meanwhile, Staviz unlocked the door, and Odom walked out of the galena-lined cage. He and Aiko shared an embrace. I wondered if they’d ever been able to do that before. Then Odom walked over to me and pulled me in for a hug as well.
“Kimber. I am so glad you’re all right.”
“General Kane? Is he safe?”
Odom took a deep breath. “He’s still at the Stronghold. He and several of the lord knights are doing what they can to hold the place together.”
“The allied knights?”
“All of them. Allied and Savion’s. The generals the same. Niniane is a power to be reckoned with. They will prevail, and they do plan to… uh, remove her, but not right now. She’s elusive, according to the last message. Moving through the walls and frightening everyone when she can.”
“We have to stop her,” I whispered.
“We will. Soon enough. Soon as we can pin her down to take care of it, get her guards away from her.” He let out a sigh. “I might not be your father, but I feel a certain… responsibility for you.”
I grinned. “You know, I’ve never had a kindly uncle.”
“Then, I shall be that for you.” He smiled.
We stepped apart, and I motioned to the twins. “These are the masters Roran and Rilen Wolf, from the North Temple.”
Odom gave a stiff bow from the waist. “Masters Wolf, it is an honor to meet you. Kimber spoke of you often and highly.”
They nodded and backed up a bit.
“So, General Odom is who he says he is,” Staviz said.
“Good. I’ve spent many hours speaking with him about the Stronghold and East S’Kir and how we can save the vampires who do not wish to be part of Niniane’s madness, nor wish to continue the reign of Savion.” He let out a breath. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
The dining tent was magnificent. The night was slightly cool, and the fancy new electricity-powered, twinkling little lights at the top of the fabric. Below those were strung larger bulbs that gave us enough light to see with.
The part of the tent we had been seated in was for the officials and guests. The other part was for the soldiers and their families—as always, the temple took care of the people of S’Kir. Our fare was no better or worse than those in the soldier’s area. We just had a permanent table and seating available.
“So this is what’s become of the druids,” Belshazzar said, picking up a roll and pulling it apart with his fingers.
“Yes,” I said, feeling defensive. “We rather like it. It’s not a utopia, but it’s a pleasant way to live.”
Dorian put his hand on mine. “It’s all right, ilati. Bel means no insult. And if he does, I’ll kick his ass.”
The queen’s fingers twitched, and I could tell that she wanted to pull her gun out. Bel shook his head. “You need to get used to how brothers act, Gwen. We were always assholes to each other.”
“I can’t believe you have a damn twin brother.”
The king chuckled. “We don’t much look like twins, do we?”
“No, you don’t,” I answered. “But I see the resemblance in your personalities. You’re both assholes.”
Belshazzar tipped his head back and laughed. “You’re starting to grow on me. No one would call you meek.”
“Kimber is anything but meek, Bel.” Dorian lifted an eyebrow and chose to spread some butter on his roll. “Your woman is not meek, either. She’s quite the handful.”
“You think Gwynnore would have become queen without being a bitch?” King Belshazzar smiled.
Gwen grinned, flashing a fang—proud.
I shook my head. They suited each other.
“So, how do you handle three guys?” Gwen asked quietly.
I nodded. “It really wasn’t my intention, but they kind of lured me into their bed.”
Gwen laughed. “I get the feeling that it didn’t take much to convince you.”
I tried not to laugh, but it didn’t work.
“That’s what I thought. And what about the tall, dark Asian over there?”
“Asian? Is that a different word for a vampire?”
Pursing my lips, I pushed the carrots around on the plate. “It’s complicated.”
“Oh, honey, I understand that.”
Considering the person she was with, I was sure she understood complicated. Biting off a bit of the carrot, I chewed thoughtfully on it. I didn’t know if I liked this queen yet, but she certainly wasn’t a terrible person. Just very different from other people I knew
She was a vampire, too, and the chance to talk to another female vampire who wasn’t insane or under thrall would be welcome.
“So, how do you handle the blood thing?”
“Hmm?”
“The blood thing. Do you share with the king?”
“That’s a terribly personal question,” she answered, picking at her salad.
“I’m sorry. I’m not a very good vampire yet.”
She turned her head slowly toward me. “Yet?”
“I’ve only just been awakened as a vampire. As far as I know, I’m the only half druid, half vampire ever born.” I stabbed a piece of potato and twirled it on my fork. “I probably could have spent my whole life as just half a druid.”
“What have you been doing for blood?”
I flicked my eyes over to Aiko.
“Ohhh.” She tapped the goblet in front of her. “It seems that General Odom brought some refrigeration equipment, so we were offered cold. It’s not as good as fresh, but we don’t take without permission.” She glanced around. “And it seems you don’t have many who are willing to give permission.”
“Yes, both Aiko and I have realized that.”
Her eyes were drawn across the table to where the twins sat. “You have two perfectly good men right there, though.”
“I don’t know if I can use druid blood.”
“Of course you can. Any human is the zenith of vampire health. It descends from there, to large mammals, small rodents. Worst of all is reptile. Jesus, I had to survive on iguanas once, and that was just awful. They don’t have the kind of blood that would keep anything but an iguana healthy.” She reached for her goblet and took a drink as if she were washing her mouth out. I wasn’t sure what an iguana was, but it didn’t sound like something I wanted to taste—either their blood or their meat.
“So, any druid would do?” I asked.
“Any willing druid, yes.” She paused. “No, scratch that. Let your inner beast come out. Take what you want. Willing or not.”
Rilen was staring at me from his place at the table. His chocolate and ice eyes were fixed on me, and I had the feeling that if I were closer, I could reach out and grab the erection he was currently sporting.
Before I could say anything else, something soft, hot, and formless hit the side of my head. With a gasp, I lifted my hand and smeared off whatever it was.
It was a piece of squash, complete with salt, pepper, oil, and grill marks and was currently sitting on my plate. I stared at it.
“Go back to Savion!”
I whipped my head around and found two soldiers standing there. One was holding another squash, and while I watched, he launched it at me.
It stopped in midair, just about halfway to me. Roran walked forward and plucked it out of the air. He moved slowly forward, considering the squash, and as he did, the soldiers lifted off the ground, squirming desperately.
“Why would you say that?” Roran asked, pulling a few seeds out of the grilled gourd.
The one who had tossed the first volley stared at Roran. “She’s one of his.”
“One of his what?” His voice was casual yet dangerous.
“One of his vampires.”
“Mmm. She’s a Mistress of the Temple of the Lost God,” he said, looking up.
Rilen was suddenly directly behind them. “Would you like me to demonstrate how that works?” His hand snapped to the back of his neck and took hold. “I might not be the Breaker, but I’m pretty sure that I can do a pretty good demonstration.”
Holding the squash out, I moved forward. “Don’t hurt him, Rilen. He’s unaware that the vampires are our allies. That Savion was a maniac.”
“They’re all useless!” he yelled. “She’s useless.”
“She,” Dorian said, peeling an orange in his seat at the table, “beheaded Savion and saved my ass. Saved all of your asses.”
“Vampires should be exterminated.”
“Master Rilen,” Staviz said, walking up, “please put the soldier down.”
Rilen dropped him to his feet, and the man managed to catch himself. The other one still hovered off the ground, and Staviz threw a look over his shoulder. “Master Roran, please.”
The second fell to the ground, losing his footing.
Staviz motioned me over.
“Soldiers. Who has planted the idea in your heads that the Lady Stormbreaker is a cruel, useless vampire?”
“It’s been in the barracks for a week, sir,” the first said. “Stories about how evil they are, draining whomever they please of their blood.”
The queen snorted and sipped from her goblet.
“What’s so funny, vampire.”
“Child, if she wanted your blood, she’d take it before you knew what was going on,” the king answered. “And you would spend your last seconds in this life in pure, sexual bliss. You’d never complain.”
“Is that a threat?”
The king moved and was suddenly mere inches from the man’s nose, his eyes flashing red and his fangs on dangerous display. “No. This is.”
“Your Majesty,” Staviz said. “If I may?”
Belshazzar dropped back, his fangs gone, but none of the menace was receding.
“You are both relieved of duty,” Staviz said. “Turn in your weapons and your uniforms.”
“Sir!”
“You heard me. You threw food at a member of the temple. You’ve insulted our guests. You’re spreading gossip. You will turn in your weapons and gear, and you will be dismissed from this post and this army. If you’re smart, you’ll be on the next train to the Western Sea to see if you can find honest work as a fisherman.”
“You can’t dismiss us!” the second called as Staviz walked away.
He stopped, but didn’t turn around. “I just did.”
With a flick of his wrist, two other soldiers came out of the shadows and took the first set by their arms to lead them away. And with that same flick, he ripped off the epaulets that they had been wearing.
“You disgrace us all,” Staviz called to the crowd now watching, “when you act on gossip and prejudice. Mistress Kimber, the Lady Stormbreaker, is of our temple. She has always fought for the people of S’Kir. If there is anyone else who thinks that any part of her heritage is a detriment to the good of the druids, you may speak to me in the morning, and I will dismiss you from service.”
Aiko stood next to him. “Our goal is not to raise a new Spine but to unify our world. We suffered under Savion. We suffer still under Niniane. We do not seek to conquer but to co-exist.”
The now-former soldiers were dragged from the tent, putting up a bit of a fight as they went, as several pieces of squash were launched in the air at them. I held up my hand and stopped them where they flew through the air at the men. “No!” I called. “No more. They’ve made their point, we’ve made ours. It’s over, and there’s no harm done that a nice bath won’t cure. Don’t waste our resources.”
I slid the flying gourds to the nearest table on to a plate there. I had no idea if they were half eaten or not, but they wouldn’t go to waste. Someone would take them to the stables later and give them to horses and cattle.
The queen was suddenly next to me. “Nicely done,” she said with a nod.
“I need to wash my face,” I said.
Aiko was there with a wet cloth and a dry one. I took them gratefully and wiped off what remained of the squash.
“So…” Gwen stared. “Are they
all hostile like that?”
“No,” Roran said, walking up.
“Some are,” Aiko corrected.
“They don’t know what to do with the vampires,” I explained. “It’s been three thousand years.”
Gwen turned and looked at us. “Excuse me. How long?”
I cocked my head at her. “Three thousand years. The Spine rose as the gate closed. It cut us off from the vampires, and I’m sure that there are some people who don’t want to try to unify S’Kir… Are you all right, Your Highness?”
She looked more than a little surprised and disoriented, still out of her element in this realm. “Uh. Could you point me in the direction of the bathroom—loo? I really need to pee.”
Her eyes caught the king’s, and she stared at him—almost cautioning for a moment.
“Of course,” I said, pointing to the back of the tent. “Take a lantern. It’s just beyond the bushes at the last hut.”
She nodded and walked away without another word. Roran and Aiko watched with me as she marched out.
I shook my head.
I needed to sleep. Soon. Today had been too much.
7
GWYNNORE
I grabbed a lantern from a wooden table and waited patiently for a harried servant to light it. S’Kir was a fucking mess right now, but I couldn’t hold it against them. Earth would be the same way soon if we couldn’t find the Breaker. Speaking of that, perhaps others may know where the Breaker was…
I stopped the servant before she could leave with a gentle hand on her arm—she was a druid and appeared dreadfully frightened of me. I asked quietly, “Excuse me, do you, by chance, know where I can find the Breaker?”
Her blue eyes widened in alarm. “Uh…”
Then she turned on her heel and ran away.
I furrowed my dark eyebrows. All right. The people here are frightened of the Breaker. Good to know. I would need to ask more delicately next time.
I traipsed past huts, keeping my head down. Eyes followed me anyway, as I was a new vampire here, but I tried to look as unassuming as possible. They had enough turmoil in this city. I didn’t need to become part of the chaos.
Blood of Gods Page 5
