Almost Everything (21 page)

Elias paused, posture alert.

“Vampires approach,” he said quietly.

A faint rustling, no louder than wind through the leaves, sent shivers down my spine. Nik’s magical blade hummed to life as we scanned the branches and the bushes. Nik edged closer to me, until our shoulders touched. Elias did the same on the other side.

A voice echoed from above, bouncing strangely off the water. “My, my, not at all who we expected.”

When a naked figure dropped gracefully from the branches, I would have to say I agreed.

I
’m not sure I could’ve imagined a more awkward moment. Prince Luis stood in front of me, completely naked. I tried not to stare anywhere in particular, but everything hung out bare and in the open.

The edges
of his light brown skin glowed silver white in the moonlight. His confident, unashamed poise made him appear alien, vampiric, but the slightly doughy thickness at his waist reminded me of his humanity. He was also hairier than most vampires, and a light dusting of black curls covered his arms, chest, and legs.

“Where’s Bea’s mom?” I asked.

At the same moment, Luis demanded, “Where’s Prince Ramses?”

Of course, his question baffled me, but I was slightly comforted by the thought that Dad was supposed to be here. Perhaps we’d come to the right place, after all.

“Here.”

The voice
behind me made me jump. I spun around in time to see my dad step out from the thick tangle of buckthorn to balance on the edge of the retaining wall. He’d also left his clothes at home, which, frankly, made my brain spasm.

“You trespass on kingdom business,” Dad said. “This is no place for exiles, and definitely not for a hunter.”

A couple more vampires appeared beside Dad, as if to let us know that we were completely outnumbered. Beside me, Nikolai straightened and took in a steadying breath. I felt his power spike in readiness for a fight.

I opened my mouth to ask about Bea’s mom again, but Elias spoke up first. “What business would you have with the Southern prince, my liege?”

My dad flinched. His mouth collapsed into thin irritation.

“You intrude on an abdication ceremony,” Luis informed us.

Elias took in a sharp hiss of breath. “No!”

What the hell did that mean? I looked to my dad, whose expression was tight. “What would you have me do, Elias?” His tone was soft, wounded. He had not spoken to either of us in such a kind manner since the exile. “My kingdom is shattering under the weight of starvation. The Southern witches still respect the old way.”

It took me a second to parse what he meant, but then I remembered what Luis had told me when I asked about the hunt. The queen sacrificed herself, the way it was done before the secret war.

“No, my prince, I beg you,” Elias said, his voice hoarse with desperation. “Don’t do this! There’s another way, I’m sure of it. Ana has plans.”

I
did? Elias must be really upset to consider my wild theories “plans.” But did all this mean that Dad was also trying to avoid the hunt? He was willing to give up his title to save his people? What caused such a radical change? This was a completely different man from the raving lunatic who had made some bad pun before throwing me to the wolves yesterday.

And what about Bea’s mom?

Nik and I came to the same conclusion, and our eyes met. I could almost read what he was thinking. They didn’t know. The vampires didn’t know that the coven was ready to sacrifice one of its own. If we could keep Dad from finding out, we could save her life.

Honestly, it seemed like a pretty neat solution. I couldn’t see Elias’s problem. No one—not already expecting to, anyway—would have to die, and …

“Please, my king,” Elias begged. He jabbed a finger at Luis. “This is a mere boy. What would he do with an animus of your stature? He’s not even entirely vampire.”

Luis batted Elias’s hand away with a growl. “Captain! Teach Constantine how we respect the crown in the South.”

Captain Creepy leaped down, but before his feet even touched the ground, Elias landed an open-palm punch in the center of his chest. My eyes could barely track the move, but the next thing I knew, the captain flew into the bushes with a crash.

“I am no one’s to instruct,” Elias said.

Captain Creepy shook himself off and bounded to his feet with a strangled cry. In a blur, he launched himself at Elias. Elias was ready for him. A strong undercut to the jaw knocked the captain’s head back. He stumbled and collapsed with a groan.

Luis’s
fists clenched. “You dare?”

Vampires dropped out of the trees like pale missiles. Elias crouched slightly, as if prepared to take on Luis’s army single-handedly.

“Stand down, South,” my dad said. Splashes sounded behind as Dad’s people dropped into the water in a line behind us. “We came to you in peace, but no one abuses our captain of the guard without a fight.”

Luis laughed.

I cringed, wishing I weren’t huddled next to Nikolai smack in between these two phalanxes of pissed-off vampires.

“You have no chance against us, Ramses. You—”

I had no idea what he was going to say next, because Elias took one swift step forward and coldcocked him on the chin.

Pandemonium broke loose.

A band of Luis’s vampires launched themselves at Elias, only to be met by flying kicks and punches from a pack of Ramses’. There were howls and snarls reverberating through the woods.

I screamed when I felt a hand clasp around my neck. Ramses had a fistful of my tank in one hand, and Nikolai in the other. He managed to drag us back from the center of the fighting into the shallow pool. Cold wetness filled my Converses, and I slipped and slid through the pool. Dad swung his grip around and pressed us gently against the wall. He gestured with his chin to the pale hands that reached for us. “Climb the wall. Run for safety.”

“But—Elias—!”

My
dad’s lip lifted in a wry smile. “Elias has very cleverly put an end to this abdication ceremony. I suspect he’s foxy enough to evade serious injury as well.”

“But why?” I asked, pushing at the attempts to lift me. “Why would you do it?”

“Because,” he said, reaching out to almost touch my cheek but withdrawing his hand awkwardly, “I nearly allowed you to be killed, my child. The emotional shock of that action has temporarily cleared my head. I don’t know how long it will last; that’s why I came here to offer the kingdom to Luis. I—” He turned at the sound of something in the fight. “I have to go. Run!”

As I allowed myself to be pulled over the wall, I wondered what my dad was going to say. He’d never, ever expressed even the tiniest shred of affection for me before, but here he was saving not only me, but Nikolai too.

Not that Nikolai appreciated the gesture. He struck out at the nearest vampire. She sprang out of the way of the slice of his magical blade past her waist. She hissed angrily, and I had to grab his arm before he lunged at her again.

He swung at me but stopped the moment he saw my face.

“This isn’t our fight,” I said. Then I whispered, “We should go. Bea’s mom is still out there.”

With effort, he sheathed his magical blade. Vampires moved out of his way, though the female he’d tried to slash gestured to me. “Princess, let me lead you out,” she said, though she kept a watch on Nikolai.

I shook
my head. “Thank you, but we have to find our friends.” I was thinking of Bea and her dad somewhere out in the park. I didn’t want them stumbling into this chaos. The vampire watched me with a wistful expression that made plain what she needed. “I order you to rejoin the fight.”

With relief plain on her face, she gave a half salute and dashed away. I twisted around to watch her go, and I caught sight of Elias. He and my dad were back to back like kung-fu street fighters, throwing off any attacks that came their way. My dad’s face was paler than usual, and it seemed his punches moved slower than Elias’s. I must have taken a step toward them, because Nikolai pulled me back.

“If you want to return, we can,” he said firmly, “but you’ll need a weapon.”

I shook my head. Elias was strong and smart. He’d get them out of there if it looked as though they weren’t going to win. “We’ve got to keep looking for Bea’s mom.”

“They don’t know. You heard Ramses, right? They were planning on joining the Southern clan. They wouldn’t do something that drastic if they were expecting a sacrifice, right?”

“Yeah,” I agreed. We jogged through the woods in the general direction of the parking lot. There was no path on this side, and my feet kept catching on rotten logs and sticky burrs. I remembered Elias’s shock at the suggestion that Dad would take part in the ceremony. “What’s the big deal, anyway? What’s involved in an abdication?”

Nikolai
stopped to help me push aside a cluster of willow branches that was blocking our progress. At least this deep in the woods, we seemed to have left behind all the mosquitoes. Nik watched my face carefully as I walked under his arm. “I’ve only read about this, of course, but I think the sole way your dad can stop being prince is by death.”

Death? “My dad was going to commit suicide?”

Nik shook his head but said, “Kind of. I think the other prince was going to kill him.”

“What?” I had a hard time imagining Luis doing something like that.

We connected to a deer trail and were able to walk more quickly single file. Nikolai went first. He turned his head to the side as he talked. “I don’t know for sure, but Elias used the words ‘animus’ and ‘transfer.’ There’s a legend among the hunters that, under certain circumstances, vampires can absorb the demonic soul, the animus, of another of their kind. This supposedly gives the vampire superpowers. Think Dracula level. This is a bigger problem in the Old Country, where so many nosfaratu run wild in the hills. Nosfaratu will steal one another’s souls and can become insanely powerful. So, I’m guessing they were going to do a civilized version of that. A transfer of power—literally.”

We broke out into the open of the park proper. Bea and her dad stood next to the park building, holding hands. Their heads were bent together, as though they were praying or talking about something intently. As we approached, I caught a strong smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I felt a heat, as strong as an open oven, radiating out in a circle around them.

“Magic,” I said to Nikolai. I had to stop when the heat grew too strong. I didn’t need to be a fully functioning witch to guess at what they were doing. “They’re trying to contact Bea’s mom. I can’t help, but maybe you can.”

He acknowledged
my observation with a short nod. He didn’t try to break into their circle, however. He just moved a short distance to sit on a park bench. He clasped his hands lightly between his knees and ducked his head. I felt his support immediately. It brushed past me like a gust of warm, wet wind off the ocean. I could almost taste the sea salt.

I waited, wishing I could help. The park was eerily quiet. The tree frogs and crickets seemed to be holding their breath. I wondered if it was in deference to the magic being performed or out of fear of the predatory vampires nearby. I glanced over my shoulder at the path to the falls. You’d never know a battle raged just beyond the trees. No one cried out. Everything was as silent as the grave.

I hoped Elias was okay—Dad too.

That last thought surprised me. I hated him most days, and the rest of the time the strongest emotion I could work up was indifference. But … maybe the hunger had been eating away at him the longest. When he’d first showed up at my door, he’d seemed as rational as someone claiming to be a vampire prince could be. I’d thought my mom was the villain in those early days, until he showed a darker side of himself in the business over the talisman.

Perhaps, as prince, he’d shouldered the emotional toll of the hunger the most. Could it be all this crazy wasn’t entirely his fault? I could see it was possible. …

Though maybe
I was just rationalizing because he’d been nice briefly. He had called Elias “captain of the guard” again, hadn’t he? Was he saying he regretted our exile? And he’d saved not just me, but Nikolai too. I really wanted to believe that he’d had some kind of literal wake-up call when he realized he’d nearly had me killed.

Still, I should be smart about this. It was very possible that Dad was still the jerk he’d always been.

He clearly had, at some point between predawn this morning and sunset tonight, decided it was better to sacrifice himself than commit infanticide. Considering he slept all day, he’d moved fast. Did he dream? Had he tossed and turned all day, plagued by the idea of what he’d nearly done?

If it were true, that would make him almost … decent and caring, as a real father was supposed to be.

Huh. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that concept. So I returned my attention to the magic my friends worked. Bea and her dad had begun a slow circling motion. Every so often they’d stop and go the other way. The movement reminded me of the way Mom’s dashboard compass spun and reoriented at every turn.

Finally, Bea opened her eyes. I felt something release, like the tension in the string of a bow. Mr. Braithwaite smiled, and Nikolai whooped. It was obvious before Bea spoke what she was going to say, but she told me anyway. “We found her!”

W
ithout further discussion, Bea and her dad were in their car and off. The Buick’s engine rattled as they sped up the ramp leading out of the park. Nikolai too had buckled in behind the wheel of his car. I hadn’t moved. I kept glancing over my shoulder, staring into the blackness and hoping for a sign that Elias and Dad had won the fight.

Nikolai
cranked down the window. “Come on!”

It was why we’d come to this park in the first place, but I wasn’t sure I could leave without Elias.

“He’s more than capable. Both of them,” Nikolai said, astutely guessing at my hesitation. “Bea’s mom is still being held captive.”

Reluctantly, with one last hopeful look, I started to the car. My legs moved slowly, painfully. Every step was agonizing. My body felt like one big bruise. At first, I thought maybe I’d sprained something in our dash through the woods, but then I remembered the bond.