Lilah (16 page)

Small pastries filled with herbs and meat,
cabbage and garlic were served on trays. Gabriel and Lewis made a special show
to eat the food so I presumed that other witches were there that evening.

The Baron and Baroness did not eat the food
placed in front of them indicating that they could be strigoi. I was confused
when Gabriel whispered that they made considerable donations to houses of
worship. I wondered what Sister Gertrude would think of such benefactors to her
Christian order and if the church was truly oblivious of our kind or whether
they discriminated between rich and poor. If the Papacy discovered that their
wealthy benefactor had links to witchcraft, would they be so quick to put them
to death or would they turn a blind eye with both hands open.

‘Do you visit the monastery in Güs?’ I ventured
to ask.

Everyone laughed at that and I did not see the
jest. ‘The church is a nice place to invest but it is hardly the place for us.
If they knew what we were we would be hunted like dogs.’ At least my question
was answered.

The feast continued but much of the
conversation I could only listen to while they talked of unfamiliar people and
places. Large stews of meat, potato and onions, spiced with green pepper sat in
decorative fine clay dishes while servants ladled large portions onto their
plates. Steam from the hot plates made the room stifling.

Gabriel eventually revealed to me that the
Baron and Baroness were strigoi who lived on a large estate in Germany with
their own coven, that they were our blood relatives. But unlike Lewis’s safe
house, they lived among society pretending to be merchants. They believed that
parading themselves as human drew less suspicion than keeping hidden. I could
detect from Gabriel’s enthusiasm on the subject that he agreed with this
practice.

‘Why all this food for the strigoi?’

‘Some here
are
human.’

There were other people at the end of the table
who had been conversing with Lewis quietly. I wondered about them. Their
costumes were very elaborate with
gem encrusted
clasps
on the fur cloak around the man, and the woman had slits in thick velvet
sleeves revealing matching red silk, and layers of jewels at her throat. They
had several males in their entourage who viewed everyone at the table
suspiciously, and I suspected they were guardians of the seemingly important
couple. Lewis saw my curiosity and summoned me to their end of the table to
introduce me.

‘King
Laszlo
and the
charming mistress Edua…this is Lilah.’

I was momentarily caught off guard. I did not
believe it at first that I was meeting our king.

‘Pleased to meet you,’ I bowed on unsteady
legs.

‘So this is the girl who stood up to Istavan.’

The sound of the name sent chills down my
spine,
besides the smugly satisfied tone suggesting what I
did was irregular.

‘She had a little help, didn’t you my dear?’

I nodded.

‘It is actually Gabriel you should thank who
toppled the benefactor supporting another’s quest to be king,’ said Lewis
steering away from the conversation.

‘You look surprised, my dear’, said the king.
‘It is not the first time that a man such as myself has such acquaintances
whose bodies disguise their true spirit.’ He laughed at this; though I noted
that there was no humour in Lewis’s face. ‘It actually helps to have the
security of friendship with royalty where we can share in such gifts. In fact
some such as your great Aunt Elizabeth performed miracles. Being a princess
meant that instead of being persecuted she was considered a miracle worker
under the instruction from God.’

I was speechless with the suggestion, not just
with knowledge of a relative but that I was in some way linked to royal lines.

‘I think she is just star struck my king, that
she is in the shadow of such greatness,’ gushed Edua.

‘Perhaps he should lose a few pounds then, to
reduce the greatness,’ joked Lewis dryly to Edua.

Edua let forth a high pitched laugh and I
wondered then if she was just a little intoxicated from the wine or whether she
was just frivolous.

The king considered these comments and did not
smile at first then forced a grin that held no degree of warmth.

‘I disagree, my dear,’ said the king to Edua a
little more formally. ‘Alas, it is not greatness that defines me yet. Such
title is yet to come.’ It was clear that this comment was not directed to his
female companion, but rather his host.

‘Such matters are best discussed in private,’
said Lewis.

Gabriel’s good humour seemed to have lessened
and conversation around the table ceased. Everyone’s attention focused on the
king.

‘I can see a resemblance?’ said Edua still
fixed on me and unaware of the tension in the room.

‘What do you mean resemblance?’ I asked.

The king intervened: ‘
You
have to excuse the vacuous words of my Edua. She looks beautiful but that is
all she is.’ These words were punishment for her previous mirth at his expense.

Edua looked sharply at her consort and pursed
her lips. She was bruised and sat sullenly.

‘But I feel she did not say those words idly,’
I dared to comment.

The king reminded me of a slug. ‘So poised and
yet so brazen.’

I felt Gabriel’s hand on my elbow.

‘Child,’ said Lewis. ‘You must go now and leave
us. We have private discussions.’

Gabriel escorted me from the dining hall to
just outside the door.

‘How do they know about me? And who is this
Elizabeth?’

‘Elizabeth was a witch from whom all witches
have a connection. The comment is of no significance to you, just foolish talk
by a feeble-minded concubine.’

‘Don’t you think I should have been told that
my family stretched to those with royal blood?’

‘This is not something we should be discussing
right now. You are not ready for the truth…’

‘What is the truth?’ I asked again, though this
time louder. He pulled me further from the doorway so that others would not
hear my raised voice.

‘The truth is that King Laszlo is human and
wishes he wasn’t. He has kept a close connection with this castle for many
years due to our history and ancestry. There have been strigoi in the royal
courts for generations; though, in the last hundred years Lewis and others like
the Baron decided that it would not do well to have a strigoi as king. There is
potential to abuse such power.’

 ‘Then why is that horrible man here? Why
do you all pretend to like him?’

‘Laszlo is in trouble and he has come to ask
for help. He should be staying with the Christian faith for the sake of peace
in the land but he flits around dangling other faiths in the face of the
Papacy. He will pay for such acts one day. It is such outspokenness on the
subject that has made for enemies and usurpers; others who wish to take over
the throne. He wants assurances that we will watch his back should there be an
attempt on his life, and he has offered his own assurances that he will offer
safe houses and burial grounds for all strigoi should our castle ever be
exposed.’

‘And Lewis does not agree?’

‘Oh yes, he agrees to that but Laszlo is
greedy. He wants even more from Lewis.’

‘What is that?’

‘He came to request the gifts of the strigoi.’

‘Are you talking about the gift of immortality?’
I did not consider this or any other skills a gift, rather an affliction as a
result of their blood taking.

‘Unfortunately, that is exactly what he wants.
As he told you himself, Laszlo comes from a line of witches – aunts and
distant cousins – which is how he knows of our kind, although he was not
one of those born with the gift. Laszlo used the guise of ancestral bond to
seek help from Lewis to kill those who oppose his position as king.

‘But that’s as far as Lewis wishes to stretch the
friendship. He is not so interested in politics and royal favours. He humours
Laszlo and agreed to kill Istavan and other parties who opposed his ruling, for
the sake of peace between them, and to honour the royal lines we once swore to
protect. But with our own kind on a royal throne Lewis does not believe we are
any more protected. And I agree that it makes no difference. It would not be a
good thing if Laszlo as a strigoi walked freely among people pretending that he
was human. A weak-minded man always makes a weak strigoi.’

‘So you did not kill Istavan just for my sake.’

Gabriel thought carefully before he responded.

‘It just so happened that I was doing Lewis a
service as well.’

‘Was it coincidence that you saved me also?’

‘I had seen you at the monastery and recognised
you as one of us. Once I learnt of your destination when I met you in the
forest, I knew I had to keep an eye on you. I never abandon our own.’

‘I see. So the truth remains that it was
coincidence we met, nothing more.’

Gabriel

The statement was goading me into a
confession, a position I rarely found myself in. I could see that she was still
struggling with how I came to find her and suspicious that perhaps her arrival
was more contrived. She was undoubtedly clever and I found myself moved by her
quest to understand. I leant forward and kissed her gently on the lips to
silence any further interrogation, but mostly to explore the warmness of her.

The door to the dining hall suddenly opened and
Laszlo stormed out. He ignored the servants’ help with his coat, brushing them
aside. His group of hangers-on were in tow rushing about him, calling for his
carriage, and placing down mats across the mushy ground at the base of the
stairs.

Lewis emerged also to see his guest gone.
Fortunately he did not see Lilah’s flushed cheeks and neck, so busy was he in
seeing his guest out the door.

The front door slammed stopping the cold air
gushing in and silencing the jingle of jewels that left with the king. The
whirlwind of people brushing past had forced us apart, for which I was
grateful. This kiss should not have happened. We stood a moment waiting for
Lewis’ return.

‘It did not go well?’ I enquired.

‘It went exactly as I planned. He is a pathetic
excuse for a king. What he would do with such power would go against us.’

‘He is clever at masking his thoughts and true
intentions. He could be a problem soon.’

‘Yes, but I doubt he has the nerve. He will get
over it. I will kill a few of his enemies to appease him for a while.’

‘You could just
kill
him
.’

‘If that were a better option,
perhaps, but until that time I will keep him alive.
It is us who hold the better cards,
Gabriel. If Laszlo betrayed us now, he would be a fool.

‘Based on the mood he left in, such an action
would not surprise me. That is precisely why it is a bad decision to have those
in authority knowing of our whereabouts.’

‘It is code to honour those royal lines of our
ancestors.’

‘He is a human. Surely it should not apply.’

‘Lilah,’ Lewis said. ‘You should go to bed
now.’

She hastened up the stairs obediently, partly
to hide her scarlet cheeks. She turned before disappearing into the hallway. It
was a look I had seen on many a woman’s face and I could not help but feel
guilty. She confused me for I was not usually attracted to someone so young and
devout.
Unlike another who was present in my thoughts, and
whose devoutness had merely been a disguise.

Lewis said: ‘I would take Laszlo myself if I
had half the chance. He is a forest rodent, of which there is no doubt, but we
must have order and we can control him to a certain degree.’

I did not say it but I wondered whether Lewis
was becoming more careless now that he was close to his rest period
underground.

‘Why was she at dinner?’ I asked, suddenly annoyed
that Lilah was paraded in such a way, and exposed.

‘It is time for her coming out. She should not
hide away in her rooms. She must participate in strigoi diplomacy.’

‘But she is not one of us. She is just a girl.’

‘She is quickly becoming a woman. Something you
have noticed also.’

We locked eyes and for a moment I thought that
perhaps he was aware of the kiss. I must never forget that he sees more than
most of us. I fled then pleased to be free of his scrutiny and confines of the
castle. It was time to hunt. The smell of blood was in the air.

I hid at the edge of town awaiting my mark, and
the chance to purge this town of its waste. Other strigoi appeared by my side.
As much as I liked to hunt alone I did not mind the company this time. 
Short and muscular, Pietro was an elder, a good friend of mine, and a favourite
of Lewis.

A drunkard exited the tavern. He was kicked out
for smashing some flasks. I read his mind filled with perversions and knew that
those homeless youngsters he thought about would now be safe. Pietro’s face lit
up beside me.