Lilah (38 page)

We were interrupted by a sharp knocking and though
I called angrily that we were not to be disturbed, Arianne entered. I was
curious at my inability to sense her. She was crafty and I scolded myself for
allowing my skills to become so dormant that I could not read her at all.

She sauntered around the table, her long hair
curling around her shoulders like a common peasant. I was ready to kill her if
necessary.

‘Get out.’ With my forces I threw her against the
door and she stood up holding her shoulder.

‘You’re obviously not pleased to see me,’ she said
with a sneer. I was about to do it again but several strigoi stood in front of
her including, to my surprise, Giorgio.

‘What are you doing?’ I demanded.

‘We have assumed control of the castle. Those who
are loyal to you have been tricked into going to the town where they will find
no Brodnici, while the strigoi in this room have opted to join together for a
new life.’

‘This is a grave error of judgement. How dare
you!’

‘You are weakening as a ruler and you have been
listening to the foolish counsel of a witch who has had no experience of the
strigoi struggle. And now you say she will rule over the coven in the years
before your daughter. You no longer create strigoi. Humans grow in number and
we must also. The coven will weaken to become easy prey by other covens who
seek more control, or the Brodnici who have grown more cunning.’

‘Giorgio, I have always looked after you. What you
talk about is something I am always considering. We are strong enough for now.
If there are too many of us we could affect the balance of the species and we
can rebuild that at any time. Yes, I admit that perhaps I have changed much
here but I would not have agreed to include my wife to the detriment of our
coven…’

‘You have allowed the witches to make their
choices…to not convert to strigoi. That is considered detrimental by many of
us. Did you not say many years ago that there are still insufficient numbers to
allow us to rest longer, because of so few to watch over us while we sleep. And
now most of the witches are choosing to live as they are. It will be harder to
reduce the age of our material bodies without significant rest. I am tired of
returning to middle age. We need more strigoi and there was no issue with you
until Lilah came…’

‘Do not say her name again!’ he commanded. ‘What
is it that you want? I am prepared to listen.’

‘And listen is all you do. Laszlo offered us
positions as royal counsellors in court in exchange for his immortality. He
will allow us to govern ourselves and form our own coven in his castle under
his protection. From there, we will find and round up witches and convert them
ourselves.’

‘Then you are a fool to believe it. Do you think
with that sort of power he will want to share anything? He has been begging me
for years to give that to him. I will not allow it. It must never happen.’

‘It is too late.’

‘What! How is that? Without me it was not
possible.’

‘Arianne is now well informed. She will help us.’

I looked to Arianne who stood with head back
proudly, a small smile of satisfaction on her lips and I knew what she had
done.

‘Stolen information, no doubt!’ I thundered. ‘Do
you not see her? I thought you were more intelligent than that. Look at her!
She is out of control. And Laszlo has a temper! He will kill you all in a
heartbeat.’

Papers on my desk began to swirl pushing everyone
back against the wall. I could not contain my rage any longer. ‘You will pay!’
One of the strigoi burst into flames. Several strigoi shrieked, backing away
from the fiery body.

‘No!’ shouted Giorgio. ‘Stop! Your daughter will
be killed if you do any more harm; if we do not return to claim her.’

I stood rooted to the ground at the mention of
Oleander. I could feel myself turn the colour of burning embers, and the rage
within me threatened to burst through the shell. If I wanted I could burn them
all before they knew what had happened.

‘Where is she?’

It was Arianne who stepped forward to throw a
glass of liquid in my face. She pushed against me but it was no stronger than a
fly upon my shoulder. I was about to send her through the glass window.

‘I am sending messages to my helpers and the
moment they cease to hear anything she will die.’ Her eyes were narrowed, and I
saw nothing but hate. I wiped the wine from my face and the sickly smell of
her.

The rage was building again and Georgio stepped
forward this time.

‘Nothing will happen to her if you give us what we
want.’

‘And what is that?’

‘As much gold from the vault as we can carry, and your
agreement inked in your blood that we have gained our freedom.’

‘And who will rule this new coven?’

‘I will.’

The idea was preposterous. Giorgio was not a
leader. He had friends but not the strength of skill and character that could
keep a large group under control. He would buckle the moment he had to decide
the fate of another.

‘And what of it when Laszlo turns his back on you?
You will have no coven to protect you.’

‘He has promised.’

I fiendishly laughed so loud it hurt their ears.
Arianne cupped her ears with her hands and as much as I wanted to fight them
all I was cornered.

‘Very well, I will give you the gold, and your
freedom, but it is with a heavy heart and if you come within range of me you
will feel every fibre of my force. And, if there is but one mark on Oleander,
one dirty fingerprint, I will follow you to the end of the Earth to see that I
finish you all.’

Giorgio closed his eyes for a moment, perhaps
relieved. He would not know that once this rebellion was over I would find him
and he would be accountable. Some of the others, however, showed less humility,
throwing back their heads triumphantly and looking to their fellow traitors for
glory.

‘Lilah will be disappointed, Georgio. She trusted
you.’ The slightest of frowns crossed Gieorgio’s face then. I walked from the
room and they parted the way.

My heartbeat seemed to slow and my legs grew heavy
as I headed towards the dungeon.

Claude

Lewis’s step grew slower and at one
point he stopped to take a breath. By the time he reached the dungeon where the
vaults were kept, he clutched his stomach and fell sideways onto the floor. I
rushed to help him but he lay fixed, his eyes open as if he was frozen in ice.

This was not going to Giorgio’s plan. It took me a
few moments to realise that I had been an accessory to something far more
dangerous than I thought. I felt uneasy and wondered whether I was right to
trust Arianne. Georgio followed my gaze and rushed to help Lewis, laying him
carefully on the floor.

‘What is wrong with him?’ he addressed Arianne
accusingly. ‘What have you done?’

‘I could not trust him.’

‘He was willing. You should not have done this.’

‘It is too late. My young friend Claude found me a
very interesting book. It had much useful information on plants and drugs, and
other extreme recipes to cause havoc to a strigoi. Now of course in the wrong
hands.’ She seemed pleased with this reference to herself.

‘Well you may have cost your young friend his life
if not all of us.’

‘We will just make sure we are gone and that
perhaps he never wakes up.’

Georgio bit his lip wondering what to do. He was
agitated and it was the first time that I realised he did not have the strength
for any of this. That perhaps he was better suited to reading and poetry. Many
times he had read to me, funny stories written by his own hand.

‘Make no mistake, Arianne,’ he said. ‘You have
gone too far.’

‘
You
went too far when you approached
Laszlo,’ she spat. ‘Lewis will come for you before he comes for me.’

Giorgio looked frightened and I began to tremble, both
from the thought of Lewis’s wrath and my own empty stomach. It had been several
days since I had killed. The last time was a sheep. I was told that if I didn’t
take more human blood soon I would start to wither. Animal blood was not enough
sustenance for the strigoi.

Several strigoi pulled open the cage doors where
wooden casks and trunks spilled over with loot taken from the wealthy over
centuries. There were vases engraved in gold and silver, jewellery with
priceless gems and open pots full of coins, which Georgio and others poured
into sacks.

‘You had better make sure it is enough for
Laszlo,’ she said sarcastically. ‘He will be counting every ounce.’

Georgio leant down to Lewis on the floor and gently
touched his temple. It was clear he had some misgivings about the events that
had played out, as did I. ‘How long?’

‘Several hours perhaps, but he will feel the
effects for weeks.’

‘You cannot stay,’ Georgio said to me and I
nodded; though looking at Lewis, I wondered if there was something else I could
do for him. ‘He will not forgive you.’

‘And you? What will you do?’ he asked Arianne but
it was said without care, more like contempt.

‘I have some unfinished business of my own.’

‘You must honour the promise and bring his
daughter back,’ said Georgio. ‘You should allow him that.’

‘
I
made no promise to him,’ she said.

‘I could kill you if you don’t.’

‘And what do you think Laszlo would say if I
didn’t return?’

A shadow passed over Georgio’s face. He had felt
the menace. I did not know what Arianne’s plans were from here but knew that
she had more to do with King Laszlo than any of us knew about.

I stepped forward then. ‘Please do not let
anything happen to Oleander. You must return his daughter for your sake if for
none other.’

She looked at me for the first time pensively. ‘So
young and clever. You should come with me. I can take better care of you than
anyone.’

‘No,’ said Georgio. ‘He comes with us.’

Arianne looked at Georgio and back at me. She
shrugged. ‘Just go from my sight, all of you,’ she said dismissively. ‘I care
not what happens to any of you.’

I looked at Lewis who had not moved but somehow
knew he was listening to every word. Giorgio pressed my shoulder to urge me on
and we ran from the room.

Lewis

I listened to the conversations in
the room as if I was eavesdropping behind a
stone wall
,
so great was the weight around me. And slowly I woke to a fog made of colours
and shapes, and then to feel a kick in the stomach. I tried groggily to focus
but this simple effort was difficult. I heard the sounds of a female voice
calling my name musically as if it was all a game but the tone beneath was
filled with malice. I could not feel my body, arms and legs. That hideous
creature, that mockery of a strigoi had fooled everybody.
She
was controlled by the demon blood she brought back with her the day of her
conversion; twisting her mind, and filling it with hideous sound
. With
every passing day the noises in her head would be getting stronger. I knew this.
I had seen it before on others who had not recovered from the rebirthing.
Sometimes it happened immediately, and at other times it took several years,
slowly building.

I tried to sit but the act resulted in a spasm of
pain: my joints were locked and should I stretch them they would surely snap.
She had perhaps stolen my spell books; a private collection I had for
centuries, which could assist our enemies. Information like that in the hands
of Arianne was most unwise. I remembered the wine in my face and the odd smell
it left on my skin. Such poison had frozen my power, trapped it within my soul.
I had become so obsessed by my wife that I failed to recognise the strength of
my enemies. Perhaps there was some truth to what Giorgio had said. Lilah had
changed me and not for the better.

I used the only spirit magic that was left to me,
wishing to examine the extent of my condition to see if I was still whole.
Floating above myself I could see that my body, arms and legs lay twisted and
limp. I did not venture too far from my physical form in case I was unable to
return.

Arianne suddenly looked above her sensing me
hovering there. ‘What trick is this?’

I quickly returned to the pain once more.

‘What did you think? That you could escape me in
spirit?’

Arianne was clearer now. She stood before me
dressed deceptively angelic in a flowing gown of white and a halo of silver
beads around her head.

‘How does it feel to know that many of your
strigoi have deserted you when you needed them most?’

 ‘Oleander.’ I uttered, barely, but enough
for her to understand. The muscles in my face were softening. ‘Get my
daughter.’

Arianne turned her back on me. ‘I know what you
tried to do and it did not work. You sent someone to kill me. As you can see
you failed. That strigoi I tore to shreds and buried parts of him across the
land.’