by Brandon Witt
With his queen by his side, Gwala returned his attention to us, specifically to me. “We have a celebration this evening. Charity, my boatwoman, has proven her value after centuries of service. It is time for her to join the ranks of the Royals.”
He paused, and his expression seemed to hint that he expected some sort of reaction from me.
I faltered momentarily. “Oh, good. What did she do?”
He stiffened.
Wrong thing to say, obviously. I probably shouldn’t have asked questions.
Gwala spoke slowly, maybe wondering why he was taking the time to explain. “She managed to trap three mers in a bay off the tip of South Africa. They are being transported into the pool as we speak.”
My heart missed a beat as I thought of Brett in the underwater cave. Surely, as long as he stayed away from the main pool he’d be fine. I couldn’t think of a reason the vampires would get in the water. “Do you need me to be there to help oversee their relocation?”
The king shook his head. “No, nothing as mundane as that. However, I will need you to help with a different transportation, a job that Omar always fulfilled previously.”
Transportation? At least that didn’t require me to force them to mate. As far as I could imagine. “Okay. What will I need to do?”
A look of irritation flashed across his face, but when he spoke, Gwala’s tone was smooth and measured. “I keep forgetting that Omar didn’t teach you all of my expectations. You will need to call one of the mers to you, then bring it to this room. The old warlock would float them a foot or so above the ground. I can’t remember what he called it.” His dark eyes narrowed, inspecting me. “You will then secure it on the middle spike, or more than one, depending on the size of the one you bring. I care not the age of the mer you choose.” He made a dismissive motion.
I had an out-of-body experience for a heartbeat of time. Which was worse, forcing the mers to mate against their consent or plunging one of them onto the table’s spikes?
“I assume that is in your current level of power.” The king’s tone left no question about the expectation that it had better not be out of my ability. Sadly, it wasn’t.
I started to speak but had to clear my throat to get the words out. “Yes. There is very little skill required to float a body over the ground.”
He kept his eyes trained on me, as if expecting me to crack. When I didn’t, he finally continued with his instructions. “Make sure you do not get one of the mers Charity was able to capture. Use one of the ones bred here. We need the new captures for fresh blood in the gene pool. I know the ones she was able to capture were young, but when the females are of age, they will pair well with my bull. If one of them is male, perhaps I will have another prize specimen to rejuvenate my collection.”
Gwala looked over at Sonia, who kept her eyes trained straight ahead. He ran his fingers over her ear, as if tucking a stray hair back into place. “While what Charity has done is important, she is not of the caliber deserving the indulgence of a wild mer.” His gaze returned to me. “In fact, if you can bring a sick one, all the better.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Evening meal. So, it would be soon. Only a few short hours away.
If I hadn’t already been glad the end was near, I was now. No way was Brett going to stand by while a mer got sacrificed simply to acquire more time to prepare. I wasn’t certain what I would have chosen to do if he hadn’t arrived. Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to find out.
“Very well. You are dismissed.” Gwala motioned toward the door. “If you need anything, please discuss it with Veronica. I will be busy with Charity’s preparation. There is much to do before she has fully proven herself trustworthy of such an induction.”
We turned toward the door, following his dismissal.
“Oh, wait.” Gwala laughed. “What was I thinking? Veronica will not be in attendance this day. No vampire that isn’t a Royal will be within the Cathedral during the ceremony. If you need anything, come to me or to my queen.”
Schwint spoke when I once again hesitated too long. “I am certain that between Finn’s power and my own, we can compensate for any lack of training.”
With another of Gwala’s dismissive nods, we headed toward the exit once more.
“This will be my first transition ceremony as well, my king. How many Royals will be in attendance at such an event?” Sonia’s voice was quiet but loud enough that her words carried to us before we’d fully left the room.
Gwala sounded almost bored as he answered her. “I did not call in Royals that are out of the country, as I would if the vampire were more important. While Charity is deserving of this reward, she is hardly worthy of a full procession. There will only be a few with us this evening. Less than twenty, I would imagine. Regan and his fellows are supposed to leave to oversee some drama in one of the European Squares today. I do not think I will ask them to stay. They are needed too much there to bring things back under control.”
Sonia and Gwala continued to speak as we walked away, but their voices faded past understanding.
Less than twenty. A lot, to be sure, but much less than I’d feared, with all the non-Royals being sent away. As soon as we were back in our room, I contacted Caitlin and let her know that it was about showtime.
Less than twenty. Sonia had to have asked that for our benefit. Smart. So she really was on our side. I’d been having a hard time believing it.
Less than twenty. Twenty nearly all-powerful vampires. Here went nothing.
Forty-Three
BRETT WRIGHT
It took all of my restraint to keep from rushing up the stairs and confronting the vampires that dumped the young mers into the pool. Not that it would have done any good. Probably would have ruined everything. Thankfully, by the time I realized what had happened, the vampires had gone.
Ventait noticed the three mers’ arrival instantly. Something about a change in the water. I felt nothing.
Upon seeing them, I couldn’t contain my anger. The broiling water around me scared them even more than they already had been. That and my lack of a tail.
They were of a tribe I’d not seen. There were two males and a female. Guessing from human years, I took them to be between five and thirteen years old, the girl being the eldest. She took a protective stance in front of the smaller males, despite the fear in her expression as she looked at me. Their skin was dark, with almost a greenish hue. Their moss-colored tails had long barbs running down the front.
Seeing Ventait swimming about freely caused a change in many of the mers. Sadly, not as many as I would have expected. I feared what would become of them in the ocean—there seemed no will of life left. I’d not been able to get the bands off Ventait’s wrists, waist, or tail. They were too tight against him to fit my fingers between, and I feared what fire would do to him. Still, he was free. If anything, the bindings caused him to look even fiercer, when combined with his seemingly permanent expression of hate.
Even as he explained to the other captives that we had a plan, leaving out the details Finn had managed to communicate to me, there seemed little hope in his tone. Not that I could blame him. Even to me, the task seemed nearly impossible. A battle with close to twenty vampires? Not a likely success. How much more farfetched it must seem to a male who’d been chained up for nearly fifteen years.
Ventait had remained silent when I’d relayed Finn’s plan, until he discovered he was not a part of it. Again, I couldn’t blame him. If someone had told me I wouldn’t be allowed to take vengeance on my captors, no way I’d listen. Once again, Syleen’s words came back to me. That I’d been born with legs for a reason. Even though I was more mer than anything else, if I’d had the tail I longed for, I wouldn’t be able to help my family. Ventait would be helpless out of the water, regardless of how many or how few vampires there were. Neither did I press the point that he wouldn’t be much better if the battle was to take place inside the enclosure.
I looked at him, his vitality,
his beauty—seeing all of them. The new children. The ones who’d lost hope. The ones who’d never seen any part of life except existence under the Cathedral. We couldn’t fail. It wasn’t an option. Twenty vampires or hundreds, the mers would be free. They had to be.
Finn hesitated as he stepped through after rolling the stone away, his eyes wide as he saw Ventait in the water beside me. Even after all the time that had passed and all the changes between us, I was able to read his thoughts nearly as easily as my own.
His face reddened, looking both guilty and embarrassed.
Maybe my understanding of him wasn’t as special as I’d thought, as Ventait seemed as aware of him. “There is nothing to feel guilt over. You are a captive just as I, and you have never harmed my people.”
Finn met Ventait’s gaze before looking away, speaking aloud, his voice breaking the silence of the small room. “I’m glad that will remain true.”
The absence of warmth in the merman’s words gave his statement greater validity. “Do not anguish over things not done. In truth you are doing more for the mers than I. There is no shame upon you.” The bitterness that crept in left no doubt of his belief that he was the one who was shamed.
I started to argue, to try to convince him he could do nothing, but then realized that would only make it worse. I let him be.
Finn stepped fully into the room, not bothering to slide the stone closed behind him. “The Royals have entered the dining chamber. All the others left the fortress over an hour ago, and Gwala sent Schwint and I to get a mer.”
“So it’s time.”
His eyes met mine, and he smiled. “Yeah. It’s time.”
Before I could respond, whether because he sensed the two of us needed a moment or because of his own frustration that he couldn’t help, Ventait sank below the surface and headed back to join the others. If he’d been Therin or Syleen, maybe even Lelas, he would have given some blessing from Moheetla. He didn’t, only swam back to his kin. Maybe he didn’t remember the religion of his people. More than likely, his chains had driven the deity from his heart.
Finn watched him exit the space, his eyes traveling over Ventait’s disappearing green tail before turning back to me. “It makes sense that you’re part mer, looking back at all the clues, but I still can’t believe they’re actually real. After all this time. And not only real, but the reason for all this.”
For a second, a rush of indignation welled up in me, but I pushed it away. Finn’s family had suffered greatly because of the Royals’ need for mer blood. They had no ties to them as I did.
“You don’t have to do this, Finn. We can go get Cynthia free, and you run. By the time they find out, you might have a chance to make it out of the jungle, especially if you and your sisters can use magic somehow. Then you can try to—”
“I’m not leaving you here.”
The revulsion at the thought was evident in his voice, and my heart warmed at his reaction. “You’ve been through enough because of me.”
He didn’t respond for several seconds, a cascade of emotions flickering over his face.
“I can’t say I understand it all, and I definitely can’t claim that I’d take the high road and do it all again. If we could go back to that night in the alley and change it—make it where you were safe or the vampire dead, and we’d gone our separate ways… If that were an option, I’d probably choose it. However, there’s a reason behind all of this. There has to be. Too many impossible things have lined up. And even if there isn’t, even if there is no guarantee that we will free the mers or any of us make it out if here, it is what it is. The paths we chose brought both of us here, and I’m not walking away.”
His fierce expression was so unlike the Finn I remembered, but the passion behind his statement was nothing less than what I knew him to be. Pushing off the edge of the curved marble, I lifted myself out of the water and rose to a standing position. I started to take a step toward him but paused at his expression.
Finn managed to close his gaping jaw, then motioned behind me.
I followed his gesture, expecting to find the vampire king had somehow emerged from the wall itself. Instead, my gaze fell on the stolen cargo shorts, crumpled in a heap where I’d tossed them when Ventait and I had reached the surface. I’d completely forgotten.
I stepped over and slipped into them. Somehow, I felt more exposed with them on than I had before.
“Sorry. I’ve gotten used to being without clothes.”
Finn’s face was still flushed, but he forced himself to meet my gaze, a sardonic smile on his lips. “No wonder you were so hard to get over.”
Ashamed, I pushed down my twinge of jealousy at his words. I had no right to resent that he’d moved on. It had been my idea.
Maybe it had been my nudity, the recollection of our relationship, or, more probably, the fact that we were facing a battle, but Finn closed the distance between us and put his arms around me.
I stood stiffly, surprised at the gesture, and then wrapped my arms around him. A deep sigh escaped me before I could censor myself.
We remained in our embrace longer than we should have, considering a score of vampires were expecting our arrival. Finally, Finn pulled away, leaning back to meet my eyes once more. “I don’t know what the next hour holds, and to be honest, I don’t think I’m going to survive it.”
“Finn, don’t—”
He cut me off. “You’re the only one I’ve said that to, and I’m not trying to be dramatic. I’ve said my good-byes to Schwint, though he didn’t know that’s what I was trying to do. So I’m going to say them to you as well.”
I attempted to speak once more, but he didn’t give me the chance.
“I want you to know that I love you. I’ve never had any greater pain than after you left, and for a while, my love turned to hate. On the other side of that, the fact remains that I love you and you’ve changed my life. And in some strange way, you made it possible for me to truly fall in love with Schwint and to begin to build a life with him. Somehow, it makes sense that you’d be by my side as this plays out.”
The emotions that filled me at his words were too many to begin to identify. My throat was tight, making it hard to respond. “Finn, I love you too. That was never the issue.”
He cut me off one final time, his smile sad but firm. “I don’t need an explanation. I think I actually understand, but even if I don’t, things worked out as they should.” He paused, looking over his shoulder. “We’ve used too much time. We need to go.”
At the fork in the stairs, the others stood waiting. After the moment with Finn a few seconds before, I felt strangely exposed as I looked on their faces, especially Schwint’s. To my surprise, he gave me a friendly smile and nod. I doubted I would be so accepting if my boyfriend had spent time alone with his ex. Though it was hard to picture Finn with anyone else, an innate sense of kindness surrounded the fairy that made me like him, despite myself.
No words were exchanged between Newton and Caitlin and I, but we shared a unifying feeling, something I’d never dreamed possible with Finn’s sister. I guess facing a bunch of vampires together transcended any differences in personality.
When I saw Shane on the steps below the rest, my surprise told me that I’d not really expected him to stay around. “You sure you wanna do this?”
His rugged face broke into a wide smile. “Told you I wanted adventure. Don’t try to cut me out now.”
Forty-Four
FINN DE MORISCO
Schwint kissed me good-bye at the top of the stairs as we entered the main floor of the Cathedral. Following the plan, he walked away.
“Wait.” I cringed when my voice was louder than I’d intended. I rushed toward him as he turned back to me.
“Change of plan? Do you think I should come with you to get Cynthia?”
I shook my head and grabbed him by the upper arms as I reached him. “No. I still think it’s best if you’re close to the dining chamber so you can stall if Gwala gets impat
ient. I just need to tell you…” My words were strangled by the tears that threatened.
Schwint smiled and pulled me into his arms. Within seconds, he moved away once more and paused to kiss my lips briefly. “I know. I love you too, my little warlock. Now go. We’ve taken too long as it is, and who knows how much time it will take Brett to get Cynthia free, if it’s even possible.”
I couldn’t respond, so I tried to nod.
With another smile, Schwint turned, rising off the ground, and flew toward where the vampires were in the midst of Charity’s ceremony.
“Come on, Finn. We gotta go.” Caitlin pulled at my arm, and I turned back toward the group.
The journey to where Cynthia was imprisoned felt strange. Though only a few brief minutes away, the Cathedral was eerily silent. There was never a time that vampires weren’t roaming throughout the fortress. Even with the late afternoon sunlight pouring through the openings in the ceiling, the stillness made the beautiful place feel like a tomb.
Caitlin gaped as she stared at our sister through the window. “This is where she’s been? She looks like a fucking princess in there. You flashed that damn picture on the table so fast, I didn’t really get a chance to take it all in. Wish they’d taken me instead. Better than sharing that damned cave with Pewlet for all that time.”
The fairy didn’t even take issue with the use of his given name. “A prison is a prison.”
Ignoring him, Caitlin turned to Brett. “You really think you can get her out? Finn’s already tried every spell he can think of, and I guarantee Cynthia has as well.”
In response, Brett stepped forward, put one hand on the glass, and the other flat against the smooth pink marble of the wall. “Yeah. I’m sure. I couldn’t place it when I first saw it, but after being in the mers’ enclosure, I’m certain. This place is demon-made. It has to be. It’s all too perfect. I’ve only seen that once before.”
