The Vampire Gift 2: Kingdom of Ash (25 page)

Father sees my surprise and chuckles. “We
know
more than you think, son.”

Something grates at me that I just wasted so much time talking about things they already know.

Dagan stabs a finger at the map. “These entrances. They are here, here, and here. Yes?”

“… Yes,” I grudgingly answer.

Dagan peels the top layer off the map and reveals an intricate blueprint of the underground caverns. I marvel at the detail. There are passages showing that I didn’t even know exist!

“If you have all this,” I say, sensing a looming trap. “What need have you of me?”

“Patience, son.” Father grips my shoulder in a vice-like grip. “That will be revealed in time.”

Dagan traces a finger in a swooning line. “This is the outline of the river that brought you to us,” he says. “It was so deep beneath the earth that the wards did not extend that far. But we cannot return that way. That entrance has been compromised because of our rescue of you.”

“Yes, yes, that all makes sense,” I say, growing impatient. “What of it?”

“It’s not
structural
knowledge we seek,” Logan says. “But knowledge of your Mother. Riyu—” he gestures toward the vampire, lost somewhere in the line of others, “—just got back from a solo expedition to The Haven. He says the wards have been fortified. He says that it is now impossible for anyone to penetrate them. The entrances are sealed.”

“Sealed how?” I ask.

“Sealed as to be impregnable. But while the Queen is strong, she does not have the power to maintain the reinforced wards by herself. Someone is aiding her.”

“You think it’s Eleira?” I ask.

“No.” Father walks across the table and pours himself a goblet of blood. My mouth salivates. I’ve been promised more, but haven’t been given any since my initial feeding. “The girl is strong, but she does not have control of her powers. She would not be able to assist in this.”

“Then what?” I ask.

“We believe,” a melodic female says, “that Morgan is drawing upon an external fount of strength.”

I spin around. Beatrice has just entered the room.

She continues.

“A torrial of some sort, I suspect. It gives her the ability to do what would otherwise require an entire coterie of witches.”

“A coterie?” I ask, not following along.

“A group of seven, linked together in a circle to join their powers. Witches are selfish creatures, you see. It is not often that a coterie is formed. Only in times of great need…”

She trails off as she reaches the table. She runs a hand over my Father’s arm.

He pulls her in for a deep and hungry kiss.

Who is this woman?
I wonder.
And how does she know so much of witches?

She looks at me after Logan lets her go. “Your Mother does not have six other witches in The Haven, does she?”

I snort. “Of course not.”

Beatrice shrugs. “Then it’s a torrial.”

The King turns to me. “This is what we need you for. You’ve been there. You’ve served there. You
must
know the object that gives her such strength!”

I balk. “I’m no sorcerer,” I fire back. “How on earth would I know?”

The Ancient moves from the wall. He crosses the space so fast it’s like he didn’t even bother with the distance in between.

He grips my neck, then shoves me into the table.
“YOU KNOW,”
he booms in my mind.
“BUT YOU RESIST.”

“No, no,” I growl, anger seizing me again at being manhandled in front of Father and his most trusted vampires.

“Permit me to search his mind,” The Ancient rasps, out loud, for all to hear. “I can find the answers you seek, my King.”

Father considers. He looks at Beatrice.

She shakes her head.

“What he is proposing is a type of rape.” Beatrice speaks softly, but her voice draws everyone’s attention. “We will not resort to such tactics. Not yet.”

Reluctantly, The Ancient lets me go. Father stares impassively at me.

How much influence does this woman have?

“Tell me, James,” Beatrice flows toward me. “Last time you saw the Queen. Did anything in particular… stand out? Did she seem different or maybe changed, somehow?”

I remember the way Mother refused to look at me until passing her sentence.
The same she’s been for hundreds of years.

“No,” I say stiffly.

“Are you sure?” Beatrice’s voice is sweet as honey and clear as running water. She tangles a hand in my hair, places her lips to my ear, and purrs, “Anything? Anything at all?”

My body reacts to her sensual proximity. I do my best to hide it. “No,” I say.

“Such a shame,” she whispers. “We were all hoping you’d be more use.”

Suddenly she places a silver needle beneath my ear.

I go absolutely still.

“There is more than one way to kill a vampire,” she tells me. “And more than one way to
torture
one.”

All my attention is drawn to the needle. The rest of the assembly has gone absolutely silent.

“I’ve been experimenting lately. A stake through the heart, exposure to fire, all of those are known to kill, yes, but such methods are not very… exciting.”

Beatrice presses her breasts into me, flaunting her femininity while toying with my life. “Yet this needle, stuck in the right spot on your neck… it would lead to a slow and agonizing death. A death which is drawn out for weeks. A death where hallucinations take you. A death that exposes you to the most heinous parts of your mind.”

“You lie,” I growl. Still, I do not move.

“Oh? Do you wish to test me?” She applies the tiniest bit more pressure. I go on my toes so she doesn’t break skin.

“Thought not,” she murmurs. “Now, tell us what you know—or risk igniting my displeasure.”

“I told you everything,” I grunt. “Why would I hold anything back?”

“So be it.” Beatrice shrugs. “I guess you’re not as much use to us as we first thought.”

She looks at my Father for permission. He nods.

“Wait, wait, wait,” I hiss. My mind grapples for something to tell them. “There was a—a staff! When Mother greeted me, she was using a walking staff. She’s never had it before.”

It’s the most desperate attempt at giving useful information I know. But, to my surprise, Beatrice eases the needle’s pressure.

“A staff?” she asks. “Interesting. Very interesting. What did it look like?”

“Waist high, made of some dark metal, don’t know… I didn’t pay attention to such things when
my life was on the line.
”

“As it is now,” Beatrice reminds me. “Again.”

Riyu, to my surprise, retrieves a book from the side and lays it flat on the table. Without speaking, he opens it to a particular page, and points.

My eyes go wide. “That’s it!” I say. “That’s the Queen’s staff!”

Beatrice nods. She shares a look with Riyu. “We hoped it would be.” She turns to my Father. “James is now ready to prove his loyalty to you.”

A dangerous grin crosses the King’s face.

“If you want to live,” he tells me, “you will return to The Haven—and you will bring the staff back to us.” His eyes shine with greed. “With a torrial of such strength in my command…”

“…You will rule the world,” Beatrice finishes, breathless.

The vampires around me start to laugh.

SMITHSON

“The guards have been told to keep a keen eye for unusual activity,” I report. “So far, they’ve witnessed none. News of the Narwhark has been contained.”

I’m alone with the Queen in the room. Her massive crystal throne looms high above us both.

I’m at the bottom of the stairs leading to the gaudy thing. She’s perched on its edge.

She peers at her nails and affects a disinterested expression. “No less than I expected from you.”

“The village is starting to take shape. The humans are working fast. Since your display in the caves, there have been no dissenters.” I allow myself a smug grin. “Of course, my guards keep watch to help ensure things stay that way.”

“Of course,” the Queen echoes, sounding almost bored.

It rubs me the wrong way.

“Is there something wrong, my Queen? You asked for a status report. Things are going according to plan, ahead of schedule. The humans haven’t even considered rebelling. The disquietude amongst your vampire population has simmered down. And—”

“Can I trust you, Smithson?” she interrupts. “Can I
really
trust you?”

I drop to one knee. “With your life,” I swear. “I am forever your loyal subject.”

“As you so often say,” she murmurs.

She glides down the steps and stops right beside me. “Stand,” she commands.

I do. Even though I’m taller than she is, she cuts an imposing figure.

“You know…” she traces a hand along my jaw. “I always thought you were exceedingly handsome.”

I clear my throat and look around. “Is this appropriate?”

“There’s no one here.” She runs that hand down over my chest, over my torso. “This is
my
castle. Here as in all The Haven, my word is law.”

“I do not doubt that,” I say. Her wandering hand reaches my waist. She tugs me to her.

“I’ve been so lonely, Smithson,” she says. “It’s a hard life at the top. Your subjects are either scared or intimidated. That’s the way it was to be. But now, even my own sons have abandoned me. James is gone. Raul and Phillip are both plotting against me. Andrey is dead. There are few left for me to rely on… few left for me to expose myself to.

“And besides,” she brings her lips to my ear and finishes in a whisper, “I’ve seen the way you leer at me when you think my attention is turned. You want me, Smithson. Coincidentally…” her sharp teeth come out, and she nips my ear. “I want you, too.”

Heat rises to my chest and my breathing becomes heavy. “You are a beautiful woman,” I tell her.

She throws her head back and laughs. “The most glorious woman to live for centuries, I would think.”

She grabs my hand and leads me to her private rooms. As she takes me to bed, the whole time, my prevailing thought is:

You are no match for the wife I lost because of you.

***

For hours after our tumble we just lie together, unspeaking. She is curled up on my chest, content as a happy cat.

My thoughts, on the other hand, are stormy.

I gave in to my desire without thought to the consequences. If word escapes of this affair, I’ll have to deal with endless problems from the guards stationed under me. Not to mention even more friction between her sons and me.

“Be a dear and raise the blinds, would you?” she asks. “I wish to look into the night.”

I get out of bed, wrapping the sheet around my body, and go to the window to pull the drapes open.

A gust of cold air sweeps into the room. I take a deep, invigorating breath.

“What do you see?” the Queen asks.

I look past the window frame. The stars are shining down over The Haven. From this high up, I see the lights from the village bleeding into the night. Beyond that, the vampire treetop quarters are also visible, peeking through the dense redwoods.

“It’s quiet,” I tell her. “All is still.”

“How I wish it were more than an illusion.” The Queen rises. She does not bother to cover herself as she walks across the room to the fireplace, where her staff is secure on a spectacular mantle.

She takes hold of it and comes to me. “It’s beautiful outside, isn’t it?”

“Not as beautiful as you, in the glow of the moon.”

“Oh, you
charmer
.” She laughs. “You’ve already had me in bed. I don’t need to be showered by your compliments.”

“They are true,” I tell her, “coming without subterfuge or deception.”

“How refreshing.” She sighs. “If only I could believe you.”

I turn back to the window.

“This won’t last, you know,” she says after a moment.

I look at her. “What won’t? Us?”

She gives a small laugh and shakes her head. “You are welcome in my bed so long as you don’t bore me. No, not us, Smithson.
This.”
She sweeps a hand out to take in the tranquil landscape. “After the attack that freed James, I thought more would come. That hasn’t happened, yet… but it will.”

“We’ll be ready,” I promise her. “The guard—“

“Is no use against a full-blown army,” she cuts in harshly. “The only thing keeping us safe is the new wards I put up. But they will not stand forever. And I cannot remain cut off from the outside world. I’ve spent over six hundred years in this place. I yearn to be free.”

“I… don’t know what to tell you, my Queen.” I am reluctant to step over any boundaries with her. One wrong move, one wrong word, and my entire position here could be compromised.

“Then listen,” she says. “You know the covens in North America. You’ve been inside them. You have relations with their rulers.”

“I—“

“Don’t deny it. You were a wanderer for too long not to have developed friendships, and not to have been privy to information. Besides, before, you were part of that terrible order. What was the name again? It started with a ‘V’.”

“The Vorcellian Order,” I say stiffly. “And I vow, I’ve had no relations with them since being turned.”

“Such a pity,” she muses. “Some of the information they must have archived would be of great help to us. Whatever became of them, do you know?”

“The Order’s powers dwindled until they became a fringe organization,” I lie. “I stopped keeping tabs when it became obvious they lost their influence upon the world.”

“Careful, Smithson,” The Queen purrs. “You wouldn’t want me to catch you trying to deceive me.”

I turn to face her and stare deep into her eyes. “That is the absolute truth.”

“Hmm.” She looks away. “I have a task for you. I want you to leave The Haven and approach the five covens closest to us. Let them know of the attack mounted against us. Warn that the same can happen to them. Remind them how they do not possess even a tenth of the defenses that I maintain. And then… offer them sanctuary.”