Deadwire

by A K Blake

  Yet all such musings were wiped from her mind seconds later when the Queen collapsed. It happened in an instant, so quickly Lux didn’t understand at first what had happened. The Queen had that big blanket like a cowl around her shoulders, a cowl that suddenly seemed to deflate inward like a pierced crust. Then all at once the blanket spilled free, unrolling across the floor, the Queen’s frail body revealed within, like the lifeless bones of golden bird. There was an audible gasp from the crowd, and someone near the dias screamed. Basilla was visible for only a moment, a half of a second perhaps, before she was descended upon by her guards. They flicked to her all at once in their crisp, black suits like a swarm of bats.

  The Duke was standing, the Prince and his father rushing up to the dais, the crowd milling chaotically. There was an overpowering wall of noise, the sounds of everyone talking at top volume mingling with the screeches of chair legs and bags being moved as guests fled for their rooms. It was like a barrier pressing against Lux’s eardrums. Without thinking, she moved her hands to cover her ears, then aborted the movement halfway. It wouldn’t do to look like some kind of frightened refugee. It wasn’t as if anyone had been shot (surely there would have been a noise?). Instead she focused on standing, the hall spinning a bit as she regained her feet. She clutched at the Duke’s arm, as much for actual support as for show.

  “It’s going to be alright!” He was shouting to be heard over the din, holding her by both arms and looking earnestly into her face. Lux nodded.

  “Do you think there’s anything we can do?”

  He looked around desperately, as if for inspiration. “Basilla and I are third cousins on my mother’s side. I think I’d better head to the dias and see what they need.”

  She doubted very much that what the royal family needed right now was the aid of a distant relative, but she nodded with feeling anyway. Swelling with importance, the Duke stroked her arm and kissed her, pulling her to him hard before releasing her again.

  “Go back to your room. I’ll call for you when I can.”

  With that he disappeared, flickering into the riotous crowd. Lux sagged, dropping any pretense of concern. The pills and drinks were really going to her head. She could use a few hours to come down before she saw him again. Yet, despite this immediate relief, she couldn’t shake a climbing feeling of anxiety, one that had started when she’d seen the Queen fall.

  ***

  Iona was pushed into the corridor by the flood of people, borne along by the exodus that had happened when Her Majesty collapsed. Trying to make her way through the halls was like navigating a stampede, everyone rushing in different directions, some making the mistake of trying to stand still and getting half-trampled, calling out for companions they’d lost in the confusion. No one seemed to know what had happened, but clearly something was not right. She heard snippets of conversations as humans and vampires flowed around her.

  ...Ithscan plot, I’m sure of it...probably just overworked, for Dieda’s sake… poisonous dart, maybe. Wouldn’t make any noise…could be that disease that wiped out the Yegians…

  Still clutching her injured arm, Iona tried to stay against the wall, keeping her hurt leg to the inside, though she was banged against the rock painfully several times by particularly violent people passing by. Looking up, she realized she was less than halfway back to the giver quarters. Her heart sank. Surely the crowd would be exhausted soon…

  As she stood, trying to ignore the throbbing down her right side, she wondered, could it really have just been illness? A week ago she would not have thought it possible. The Queen had seemed so strong, steady and immutable as a force of nature, their own titan, with skin of marble and the eyes of a falcon. Lately, though, she had seemed lesser, diminished somehow. Iona remembered how she had looked on the dias before the fall, her skin bleached white by the spotlight, no longer radiant but bloodless. The goddess was gone, a sickly, frail old vampire in her place.

  “Iona?”

  Kaius broke through her reverie, half turning back toward her, having passed her before he realized she was there. His eyes flickered over her, taking in her injured stance and the swelling indent of handprints on her upper arms, curved around them like maroon cuffs.

  “What happened? You weren’t near the dias, were you?”

  “I...no, not really. This was from before.”

  “Before? What do you mean?”

  Just then a blond vampire fell into them and Kaius shoved him back toward the middle of the hall with more force than was really necessary. The vampire muttered something but kept moving.

  “Here, we’ve got to get you out of here. My rooms are over in the Southeast wing.”

  Iona shook her head. Though she hadn’t been there, she knew the area he was describing, and it was much further than the giver quarters. There were also likely to be other visiting dignitaries housed there for the jubilee whom they might run into, dignitaries like Sylton.

  “No, it’s fine. I can make it to my room, it’s only a bit further.”

  He looked in the direction she was pointing, a frown on his face. His expression deepened when she tried to take a step and nearly fell. It appeared that her ankle had stiffened while she was motionless. “Look, you’re not going to get anywhere like that. Let me help you.”

  Without waiting for confirmation, he swept her up, so that one of his arms was around her shoulders and the other was under her knees, carrying her body in a cradle position. Iona felt ridiculous, like an overgrown child, with her feet sticking out into the corridor, just waiting to impale someone.

  “No, stop, put me down!”

  But he ignored her, flickering down the hallway as if she weighed nothing at all, turning a corner sharply, so that the flow of people suddenly disappeared.

  “This way?” he asked.

  Despite her injuries, Iona filled with a sudden rage. There had been enough vampires ignoring her that night, enough of them threatening and cajoling her and treating her like an object.

  “I said, put me down! Or that too much for you to swallow, that it might make sense to listen to something a lowly human wants for a change? I realize that you’re not in the habit of caring about what a bloodbag has to say, but I thought you at least thought of me as a person!”

  “What? Where is this coming from? Dieda take it, this has nothing to do with you being human! You think if a vampire I knew was hopping around on one leg with a bruise the size of Laemia I would listen to their idiotic arguments any better?”

  “So you’re saying if I were just some random vamp you would have to step in, because you’re so selfless and respectful of—"

  “No, I’m saying that if you were a vampire, I would still not listen.”

  “Oh, so there it is, it’s just me who you don’t respect! Thank, that makes it so much—"

  “I’m saying that I’m ignoring you, because I care about you! Beneficent Dieda, do you really not see that? I know you’re thick when it comes to people, but I would’ve thought even you could work that out by now!”

  This led to a pause, in which they glared at each other, breathing heavily. They were uncomfortably close, as he still held her in his arms.

  “Well, you could have explained that earlier. And more...civilized.”

  “Oh? Before you were crushed to death by a stampede of people or after?”

  “Well you could have been less of a prick about it!”

  “I may have been told that sort of thing before.” He pursed his lips. “Once or...ten thousand times.”

  She rolled her eyes. There was another pause, this time where they avoided eye contact. Finally Iona sighed.

  “Not that I...condone the presentation of your request, but I suppose it’s true that I could use a little assistance.”

  Surprising her, he deposited her on her feet, swift but gentle. Bracing her with one hand, with the other he swept into a deep bow.

  “Milady, I am at your service. May I?”

  She nodded stiffly, and he picked
her up again, cradling her to his chest. Then they were off, only talking briefly to communicate directions.

  When they reached her door, Kaius placed her down, and she drew herself up with as much dignity as she could muster.

  “I suppose I should say thank you, so...thanks.”

  Flashing her hand across the digipad, she made as if to walk inside.

  “Seriously? I thought we were past this. You know you’re not getting off that easy. I doubt we’ll be able to find a doctor in all this mess, but you’ve probably got some kind of medical supplies around here, right? Lucky for you, I have two nights of training in combat medical treatment.”

  He seemed to be trying for his usual levity to diffuse the situation, but there was a strain in his voice, a crinkling of his brow that belied a real concern. Rolling her eyes again, she sighed.

  “I think there might be some in the common room, down that way.”

  “I’m on it.”

  By the time she had made her way, limping, to the edge of the bed, he had already returned with what looked like the entire first aid kit. She was quite sure the box itself wasn’t meant to be removed, considering the back of it was still covered in plaster. She lowered herself into a sitting position, feeling all of the energy that had sustained her up until now evaporate. Iona was suddenly exhausted, bruised and tired to the bone.

  Kaius set the kit down on her table, white powder going everywhere, and began rummaging through it, holding some things up to see if she would need them and then throwing most of them out haphazardly. Clearly, here was a vampire unaccustomed to having to pick up after himself. Most of it was too serious for her injuries: renYOU Skin, QuickBlood transfusions, ClotAway, antiseptic, rubber gloves.

  “Ah, here’s what you need! Maybe.”

  He emerged holding a roll of bandages and some kind of ointment. The packaging said “OpiOasis: Topical Medication for the Reduction and Management of Pain.”

  She pressed her lips together as she felt another twinge from her hip.

  “I think I probably just need ice.”

  His face fell a bit.

  “But some of whatever is in that tube probably wouldn’t hurt.”

  He seemed to brighten at this.

  “So I’ll just help you put it on then, I guess?”

  She gave a sort of half nod, half shrug, and he unscrewed the lid. Dabbing a generous amount onto one finger, he reached out and began to smear it across the bruises on one arm. She felt a familiar tingling sensation that reminded her of the numbing feeling produced by the veinguard. She closed her eyes as Kaius began applying the salve to her other arm. The dull aching receded a bit, though it still lurked under the surface, suppressed by the fiery icy feeling of the medication.

  “Is that better? Now can you tell me what happened?”

  She opened her eyes to see him looking concerned, his dark eyes bright with consternation. He had a wrinkle in his brow that reminded her suddenly of Jedrick. She tried to answer, meaning to tell him it was fine. Yet, just then, all of the emotions and tensions of the night seemed to bubble up at once, blocking her throat. She tried to swallow, but this only made it worse. Then to her immense embarrassment, she felt her face crumple and heat rose in a wave over her eyes. The harder she attempted to postpone it, the stronger it became. She began to cry.

  ***

  Kaius didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t as if he’d never seen a girl cry before, but it was always a rather unpleasant shock. Reaching to put his arm around her, he realized he had opiate goo all over his hands. He flickered to the sink and back to wash his hands, then returned and sank down onto the bed beside her, circling her shoulders with one arm. He felt her head come to rest on his collar bone, felt the cool breeze of her uneven breathing against his skin. White hot fury engulfed him. Though he hadn’t gotten much of a story out of her, he could imagine the general gist. It was common enough: drunk, arrogant vampires who liked to treat the human servants a little rough. It made them feel powerful, lording over those who couldn’t fight back.

  Iona continued to breath heavily, in an uneven, gasping sort of way. She tried to say something once but gave up, instead burrowing closer to him, as if to leech away some of his warmth. Her skin, exposed at the shoulders and clavicle by her shimmering dress, felt cool against his. She shifted, moving her head back so that she could face him, looking up at him through dark, wet eyelashes. Kaius found he didn’t even mind much all the glitter she was rubbing off on his clothes.

  Somehow they had gotten closer, though he couldn’t remember moving, so that he had only to make the gentlest of motions, and her lips were pressed against his.

  ***

  Iona felt Kaius’ lips brush against hers, his kiss soft and pulsing with heat. Somewhere in the back of her mind she noted that the throbbing in her side had subsided, or rather that instead certain other parts of her throbbed, but it had nothing to do with pain. She kissed him again, needy this time, cradling his face and pulling him into her. Kaius shifted, and she leaned back, half reclining against her headboard. She hissed at a sudden burst of pain. Instantly, he adjusted, so quick he was almost a blur. It made her pause for a moment. But then he was beneath her, his warm, lean body laid out against her stomach and her thighs. Then his arms were around her, encircling her hard and hot like an oven. She reached again for his lips, and there they were, soft and hard all at once. Soon she reached for the clasps at the back of her dress, only to realize her movement was limited.

  “Here, let me.”

  His hands were warm against her bare skin, and she felt a breeze as her dress slipped from her shoulders that clashed deliciously with the heat of him. He sat up, his lips on her neck. He lingered at her jawline and then moved his way down, unhurried and tender in the hollow above her collarbone. She gasped once, an instinctive fear as she thought she felt the knick of his teeth. But the fear was quickly gone, subsumed by other, equally strong emotions as his lips continued their downward trailing.

  He was slow, taking his time, kissing and caressing each spot on her body until she thought she would burst, and then moving on to another. Her first time with Jedrick had been on the ground just outside the reflexor field, his inexpert hands fumbling about, with little preamble to the brief main event. Instantly she felt a twinge of guilt: Kaius had many centuries more experience than her first love. But then his fingers traveled lower, and all thoughts of Jedrick were wiped from her mind.

  Chapter 17

  Iona awoke far too early, sweating like crazy as if her room were a sauna. She could feel Kaius still wrapped around her, the source of the heat. It was incredible how much he emitted. Humidity gathered over her in a misty cloud, sweat pooling in every crevice of her body.

  He was curled around her from behind, his breath tickling her ear with every exhalation like an icy blast. Beginning to feel claustrophobic, she moved to get up, only to be stopped by the hard rock of his arms. He mumbled into her neck.

  “Don’t go. Stay and sleep.”

  “I can’t, I’m burning up.”

  “Turn the cooler up.”

  “Then I’ll be burned and frozen.”

  “C’mon, stay with me.”

  Panic beginning to set in, she beat futilely against his arms.

  “Kaius, let me out!”

  He released her abruptly, hands retracting so suddenly she nearly tumbled from the bed. Grabbing onto the railing of the bedframe, she managed to right herself, standing with one foot on the floor and the other kneeling on the mattress. Her bed was covered in glitter.

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “Sweet Dieda, that looks bad. Are you ok?”

  Taking stock of her bruises, she noted two dark purple hand marks around her arms and a mottled pattern of yellow and purple that spread like fungi down her side. She grimaced as the throbbing set in.

  “I'll live.”

  He was fully awake now, blinking the sleep from his crinkly black eyes. The flat planes of his
naked chest above the sheet glimmered with faint gold traces in a way that made her almost regret leaving.

  “Did I do something wrong? I thought we had a good time.”

  “No, it’s not-you were suffocating me! We did. Stop worrying.”

  “Alright, well...good. What time is it? Deida it’s early. Did you want to get breakfast or something?”

  “I don’t really eat breakfast.”

  He rolled his eyes, some of the usual sarcastic Kaius returning to his face.

  “Nobody eats breakfast. That’s just what you say after you sleep with someone. I’m trying to be a damned gentleman over here!”

  She suppressed a smile.

  “Ah. Well in that case, consider your noble duty fulfilled. I still don’t want breakfast, though.”

  He sat up, pulling her to him in one fluid motion, grabbing her with an exaggerated gentleness about the waist and rising up onto his knees where she stood until they were pressed together. The heat was there again, but different this time, not humid but charged. She was acutely aware that there was nothing but a thin sheet of cloth between them.

  “Well what do you want to do then?”

  She could feel his outline through the fabric, feel his muscles shift as one hand left the small of her back and wound into her hair. Being a vampire, he grasped a bit too hard, making each strand strain at the root. A small gasp escaped her, her chest rising and pressing against him.