Of Lords and Commoners: Book 1 (Lords and Commoners Series)

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  “Over a month.”

  “Why would you starve yourself like that?”

  Perhaps it is because I hate killing people? I wanted to yell at him but managed to refrain. Instead I said, “You’ll have to excuse me, I must go.”

  “I will go with you.”

  “No!” I softened my voice. “I will find you later.”

  He looked reluctant, so I added, “I promise.” Then I was gone.

  Chapter 32 Constantinople 1260 A.D

  Out into the fresh night air in hunting mode, I was relieved to learn that no one had followed me. Vampires did seem to prefer to feed alone. I had not witnessed any feedings this past month.

  It was not long before I spotted my prey. A lone man was walking through an alleyway. My mouth watered and my jaw ached when I caught his scent — I felt myself slip away and lose control completely. It was not until the pain in my throat subsided that I was able to think for myself again.

  I could feel a part of me die with every kill. Would I eventually become as cruel and heartless as those monsters in that hidden underground cavern, celebrating and plotting to become even more powerful? I could not let my humanity gradually disappear. I had to find a way to keep hold of it. Though I supposed life would be easier without a conscience, I could not let that happen. Somehow, I had to fight the monster inside! But how? It seemed hopeless, utterly impossible. Tears fell onto my gown.

  I caught a glimpse of a figure standing at the end of the alley. I narrowed my eyes to see better. I recognized the handsome face at once.

  “Elijah!”

  I ran to him, throwing my arms around him. He was familiar, someone from home. I had not felt this happy since Teller and I had planned our future together. He seemed surprised at first, then he put his arms around me in return.

  “I was beginning to think I would never be able to find you,” he whispered.

  I pulled away. “How did you find me?”

  “I followed the smell of blood.”

  I glared at him and pushed him away. His eyes were a troubled cloud of gray, filled with worry and the usual sadness. I stepped closer. “What is wrong?”

  “We must talk but not here.” He clasped my hand and we took flight.

  We landed in the woods, safely out of the city.

  “I can’t believe you are here. You came looking for me?” I asked.

  “Of course,” he said as if it was somehow obvious that he would come into enemy territory in search of me.

  “How did you know I was in Constantinople?”

  “The world of vampires is much smaller than the world of humans. We travel quickly and so does news. A beautiful new vampire wandering into Constantinople and calling herself Val is indeed news. I knew it was you and came at once. I worried you would be in trouble here. I had to come and warn you. Of all the places, how on earth did you find your way into Ramdasha’s coven.” He shook his head in disbelief. He ran a piece of my silk brocade between his fingers. “You appear to be doing well for yourself.”

  “You should not have come. You are in danger here.” If Ramdasha captured Elijah, that would be the perfect leverage over Lord Chastellain.

  “Yes and you will be in trouble as well if you are seen with me. Come to Denmark with me now,” he pled.

  “I was planning to leave for Denmark soon but I must go back for my friends first.”

  “There is no time. Leave with me. Your friends will follow if they can.”

  “No, I can’t leave them. I need to go back to find out if they will come. They will not leave their city without me. They do not know you.”

  “I don’t like the idea of you going back.” Elijah’s voice was stern.

  “If I can get even a few to join you in the North, that will be two fewer vampires on Ramdasha’s side. I need a couple of days.”

  Elijah looked displeased. “Two days, that is it,” he said with finality. “I will wait for you in Adrianople, the largest city northwest of here. Go to the first inn you find. That is where I will be.”

  I nodded in agreement. It was hard to leave him but I made myself pull away.

  “Vallachia.” He stopped me from leaving by grabbing my arm. “Two days, or I will be back with an army.”

  “You had better not start a war and destroy this city for one person.” I stared at him in disbelief. “Tell me you would not do that!”

  “I would indeed. War is coming. It is inevitable.”

  We stared at each other for a moment. He was serious. There was no use in arguing and no time.

  “Two days,” I agreed and took flight for the city … alone.

  As I flew my mind was racing. I would spend one day getting a sense of some of the other vampires. I would see if I could convince any of them to leave with me. At dusk on the following night, we would set out for Denmark.

  As soon as I set foot in the long corridor, four large figures surrounded me and grabbed me. I knew straightaway my careful planning was all for naught. They swiftly placed thick metal shackles around my wrists, chaining my arms behind my back. I fought the restraints but they did not yield. One of the four men was Riddick.

  “Let go of me!” I said. “Riddick, what is the meaning of this?”

  With a firm grip on my right arm, he glanced briefly at me. Anger flashed through his eyes. He turned away; staring forward. “It was very foolish of you to come back here.”

  They marched me down the hall, taking me to Ramdasha, no doubt. Surprisingly, they turned me toward one of the doors I had never ventured beyond. It led to more stairs, twisting and leading even farther down into the earth than we already were. I began to think the stairs might never end. A relatively small room appeared in front of us, with a number of small barred cells branching off from the center room. This was what I was afraid of: a dungeon prison. In the center of the room stood Ramdasha.

  “A little birdy tells me that you had a clandestine meeting with your lover tonight. And no, I don’t mean Riddick.” Ramdasha’s voice was deep with malice.

  Riddick’s already stern grip on my arm grew even tighter.

  I simply stared at Ramdasha. I doubted that there was a way to talk myself out of this one, so silence was best.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t know what you two lovebirds discussed. Someone” — Ramdasha indicated the man holding my left arm — “thought it would be best to come tell me what he saw in the alleyway, instead of following the spy and our enemy to see what they had to say.”

  The man on my left put his head down, fully abashed.

  I was relieved at this news. Elijah got away! He is safe and they don’t know what we’d discussed. I tried to think of a lie that would help but nothing came to mind. So I continued to stare at Ramdasha in silence.

  “It does not matter if she speaks, as I would not believe anything that came out of her mouth. Throw her in a cell and chain her up. Her execution is set for tomorrow night.” He came within an inch of my face. “You will excuse me; I must be getting back to my guests.” Then he was gone.

  Chapter 33 Constantinople 1260 A.D

  In no time, I was sitting on the cold stone floor. My wrists and ankles chained to a cell wall. I fought the restraints but they were too thick even for a vampire. The barred door in front of me was slammed shut and locked.

  Riddick paused outside the cell. “I can’t believe I fell under your spell. I should have known you were not a commoner. You lied to me. You said you lost your fiancé. I never would have guessed that you were betrothed to Prince Chastellain. It was all simply a show.” Judging by his anger, he was honestly hurt.

  “I’m not betrothed to anyone,” I whispered. This statement made me sad as I was reminded of Teller.

  “I see, then you are the prince’s whore?”

  I gritted my teeth to hold back what I wanted to say — it would be better to be Elijah’s whore than yours. It was not wise to antagonize one’s jailer. If I made him angrier — if that were possible — there was no telling what he might do. I
was in no position to defend myself.

  Quiet, Vallachia, I told myself. I needed to think. I slammed my head against the stone wall behind me and closed my eyes. I heard Riddick storm out of the dungeon. I was alone.

  Part of me felt relieved. Soon this miserable life would be over. I will never be able to hurt anyone again. I hope they kill me quickly. I don’t fancy pain but then again, who does? The problem is that Elijah will start a war if I do not return to him.

  I have to get out of here — somehow. How did I get myself into this situation? I’m the daughter of a peaceful deacon. I never wanted to hurt anyone, let alone start a war. It is not for myself but for peace that I have to get out of here. But how? The only two who I could possibly count on are Aaron and Sonia. They do not know I’m here. By the time they discover I’m missing, it will be too late.

  I banged my head on the stone wall again, this time in frustration. “Ouch,” I said out loud.

  As time wore on, my thoughts wandered. What did Elijah mean by, “War is inevitable”? Is there no hope of reconciling with Ramdasha? I had a bad feeling Elijah was right. It might be better if the Court of the Elders attacked now, before Ramdasha’s army has time to grow in strength and numbers. This may have been a justification to make me feel better, that I would not truly be the sole cause of a war.

  Father taught me that there is always an alternative to war and violence and that we must try the alternatives first. Does this apply to the world of vampires? I was not sure. Father was always able to keep the peace in our village. He never resorted to fighting. Yet I cannot imagine trying to reason with Ramdasha. He seems to want war. Thinking about Father made me miss him and our home all the more. I wished he were here. He would know how to comfort me. A tear rolled down my cheek.

  I shook my head. Think of something else so you don’t go mad. Surprisingly, Riddick came to mind. It is interesting that he is concerned only because I rushed into the arms of another man. He is not interested, as Ramdasha is, in the fact that the man was Elijah, the son of their enemy. Riddick is simply jealous, and not angry that I am a turncoat.

  Riddick is selfish. He is in this for his own status and power. He most likely does not care which side he is on as long as he is promised power and wealth. He is a henchman — Ramdasha’s muscle. It is unfortunate that the Elders do not know this. If they were to promise Riddick more power than Ramdasha offered, they could most likely buy him. If war is indeed inevitable, then he would be an asset to whichever side he is on. Listen to me — plotting political maneuvers.

  Surely it was daylight by now and time was moving too slowly. I wished it would hurry up and end. The torturous waiting was the worst part, which was most likely why Ramdasha did not kill me straight away. There was nothing to do and nothing I could do to get out of this predicament. Once again, Elijah had been right. I should not have come back. I will not even live long enough to get it through my thick head that I should listen to him. He is old and wise … and kind. This train of thought was disheartening as well, so I tried to think of nothing. I focused only on my breath. In, out, in. … Soon I drifted off, more to escape this prison than because of a need to sleep.

  A noise woke me. Through the darkness I could make out a large figure opening the barred door to my cell. Judging by the size, it had to be Riddick. Panic rose in my throat. Either it was execution time, or he had other plans for me first.

  “What are you doing?” My voice was higher than normal.

  “Shhh,” was all he said. Riddick looked over his shoulder. He approached and I fought the restraints to no avail. He raised his hand toward me and I flinched away — sure that he was going to strike me. I heard keys jingle in his hands. He quickly removed the manacles from my wrists and my arms fell to the ground. He released my legs as well. I stared at him with wide eyes.

  “Go!” he whispered. “They will be coming for you soon.”

  I could not believe it. I gave him a quick hug. “Why?” I had to ask.

  “I needed some time for my anger to subside.”

  “What about you? Won’t they know you let me go?”

  “I have an alibi. Now go before I change my mind.”

  I nodded and in a flash I was headed out of the dungeon at full speed. Once in the long hallway, I heard voices up ahead. I hid behind a column, trying to hold my breath. My heart was pounding. As soon as it was clear, I headed for Sonia’s room. I did not slow until I was in her room with the door shut behind me.

  She had been sleeping. Startled, she sat upright in bed.

  “I am out of time. I must leave. Will you come with me to Denmark?”

  It took her an instant to register what I was saying. She nodded and quickly moved around the room, gathering some keepsakes in a small bag and soon we were headed to Aaron’s room.

  “We are leaving for the North — now!” I spoke quickly to Aaron. “Are you with us?”

  Aaron was sitting at his desk. He had been writing in a large book. “Now? But I’m not ready. I would need to pack and —

  “There is no time! Grab important items that are not replaceable, such as family heirlooms, if you have any.”

  Aaron must have sensed the urgency in my voice because he moved quickly around his room. He began to pack some clothes.

  “No, you can get more clothes in Copenhagen.” I grabbed Sonia’s hand and then Aaron’s and pulled them with me. We were able to leave the cave without being seen. We had to hide from vampires in the abandoned manor above the cavern. It was dusk and they were headed out on patrol. This also meant that Ramdasha would be on his way to the dungeon to kill me. In fact, he might already know that I was no longer there.

  “Why are we hiding?” Aaron whispered.

  “If Ramdasha finds me, I’m dead. And you will be too, if you are found with me.”

  “Follow me. I know another way.” Sonia led us up some stairs and eventually into an old bedroom. She stopped in front of a dusty fireplace covered in cobwebs.

  “What now?” Aaron asked.

  Sonia removed a brick from the fireplace, revealing a small lever. She pulled the lever and the fireplace moved aside, unveiling a staircase leading upward. We disappeared into the fireplace, which closed behind us. This led us to the rooftop.

  “We should be able to take flight from here without being seen,” Sonia said.

  I hoped so. Ramdasha’s patrols would be heading out all over the city. After being captured once, I did not want to be caught again. We ran at full speed, taking flight off the roof.

  I did not even begin to let my guard down until the city was safely behind us.

  Well outside the outer city wall Sonia paused to give her city one last glance. In that short time I had grown fond of the city. It was difficult to leave. Aaron took Sonia’s hand and turned her toward the west. If leaving this magnificent city was difficult for me, I could only imagine how my companions were feeling.

  I searched the horizon for a large city to the northwest. We flew over small villages and a large monastery isolated high on a hill. Finally, sprawling buildings came into view. That must be Adrianople.

  “There.” I pointed to the city. “We have to meet someone.”

  “Who?” Aaron sounded concerned.

  “Elijah.”

  “Who is Elijah?”

  “You may know of him as the son of Lord Chastellain,” I said.

  “Wait! You mean to tell me you know Lord Chastellain?” Sonia said.

  “You have been spying for the Court the entire time you lived in our coven?” Aaron asked.

  “Not exactly and it is not your coven anymore,” I said.

  We landed outside of town. I gave Sonia a hug. It was clear that leaving the Queen of Cities and her remaining family behind was difficult. We proceeded to walk down the main street as humanly as possible — meaning that we walked frustratingly slow. It did not take long to find a local inn. I spotted Elijah immediately. He was sitting in the far corner keeping a watchful eye over the place. Relief fl
ooded through me. I’d thought I would never see him again. I lost my composure once again and threw my arms around him.

  “What is the matter?” Elijah asked. “You are trembling.”

  “I’m better now. It was a long day though.”

  I turned to find Sonia staring at us with her mouth open and Aaron was wide eyed.

  “Let me introduce you,” I said. “This is Prince Chastellain.” To Elijah, I added, “This is Sonia and Aaron of Constantinople.”

  Sonia gathered her composure and bowed. “My Lord.”

  Elijah critically studied them. “Are you sure we can trust them?”

  “Yes, I trust them. They do not agree with Ramdasha’s plans for vampire domination.”

  Elijah surveyed them for a moment longer. “Let’s get as many miles between us and Constantinople as we can.”

  We quickly left the inn and were soon flying northwest.

  The night was perfect, nothing but clear skies and the stars shone bright. There were rolling green forests and occasionally glistening lakes and rivers. Autumn had fully set in as we moved north. My vampire eyes allowed me to see the shades of red and gold leaves. Being able to fly was the best part of this new life. It was the only thing that brought any enjoyment. Flying made me feel alive. While imprisoned, I had been sure I would never fly again. Could it be that I am grateful to be alive?

  Chapter 34 Copenhagen 1260 A.D

  It was well into the night, yet well before dawn, when I saw a city ahead. It was much smaller than Constantinople. I could see a large castle outside of town.

  “Almost there.” Elijah smiled.

  He must be relieved to be home, I thought.

  I could not believe we were already here. Flying is much faster than running. We flew high over the city and headed for the castle. Elijah landed on a massive terrace on an upper level. This palace was at least five times bigger than their home outside of Ludus.

  “This place is … wonderful!” Sonia said.

  Elijah took my hand and looked to the others. “Let me show you to your new rooms.”