The Vampire Gift 2: Kingdom of Ash (8 page)

A pang of guilt takes me. They are there because of me. Their homes were ruined… because of me.

“Raul?” I ask softly. “In the fires you set—how many humans perished?”

He looks around. He takes a long time to reply.

“Those who died in the actual fires? Maybe a dozen.”

A dozen.
My gut seizes up.

“And… those who didn’t?” I ask. A bad feeling of apprehension sweeps through me. “What happened to them?”

Raul clears his throat. “Some of the other vampires took advantage of the mayhem to feed,” he says. “I don’t know what Mother has done to them yet. I assume they’ll be persecuted for their crimes. But…”

He trails off.

“But what?” I ask. “Tell me!”

He shakes his head. “You saw how Mother is.” In a softer voice, he adds, “I’m not sure her head is where it was before.”

“So they’re just going to walk free?” I insist. “Without being punished?”

“Not all of them,” Raul says cryptically. “Some have already paid the price.”

“What do you mean?”

But Raul keeps his lips sealed the rest of the way.

We reach the castle. Just before we walk through the doors, I stop and take Raul’s arm.

“Do you think…” I begin. “Do you think your Mother will really make James one of The Convicted?”

Raul sweeps a hand through his fire-red hair. “Truly? I have no way to tell. But I’m going to do all I can to ensure that it doesn’t happen.”

I hesitate, then make up my mind, and say, “If there’s anything I can do to help, you tell me. No matter what James did—nobody deserves a fate like those forsaken creatures.” I think back on the way the mindless horde chased after us. I remember the desperate way they fought each other for the bloodied heart that was thrown into their midst.

I remember the look of utter emptiness in their eyes.

Raul nods. “Thank you. That means a lot. I know what he put you through. Despite that, he’s still my brother.”

“I understand,” I say softly. Even though it pains me to admit, James has Raul’s loyalty. I wouldn’t ever doubt that.

It just proves what type of man Raul is.

Just then a sound interrupts our conversation. One of the side walls in the entrance lobby starts to shift. A hidden door is revealed.

Raul takes a protective step in front of me. But I put a hand on his shoulder to let him know I’ll be okay.

I am a vampire, after all.

A grizzled vampire carrying a lethal-looking sword comes out first. His shoulders are wide. His cheeks are lined with salt-and-pepper scruff.

“
Smithson
,” Raul says flatly. He shifts to make sure I remain behind him.

The other vampire smiles and sheathes his sword. “Didn’t expect to run into you this soon,” he replies. “I—“

But he doesn’t get to finish the rest. At that moment, Phillip emerges from the darkness beyond him.

“Phillip!” I exclaim. I push by Raul and run to him. Smithson steps aside with a grunt.

Phillip is carrying someone in his arms. A girl. For some reason I don’t place her right away. Her face is cradled against Phillip’s chest. As I come closer, I see that it’s April.

I stop short. There are two vicious red marks on her neck. They’re crusted with blood.

Instantly, my hunger flares. I struggle to push it down. I have to; I can’t very well attack the girl who became my best friend.

But it’s insanely difficult. The beast inside me thrashes, fights to be let free. My vision wavers, flashing from normal to black and back again.

It takes all I have to push the need to feed on her down. The struggle is real, and it feels eternal. My hands ball into tight fists. I feel the gemstone on my finger and try to focus on that instead, knowing it will help me retain my humanity just as Raul promised…

“Easy. Easy now.”

I come to with a start, and realize Raul has his arms wrapped around me. We’ve moved far away from the entrance, closer to one of those horrible framed paintings. Smithson and Phillip are both staring at us with surprised expressions on their faces.

“Easy, easy. There you go.” Raul eases his grip. “You okay?”

I swallow and do a quick check of my body… and nod. “I blacked out, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but only for a moment. And—” pride fills his voice, “—you didn’t attack.”

I grumble something about that not being much of an accomplishment.

“No,” Raul shakes his head firmly. “You’re wrong. It’s a huge measure of your growing self-control.”

Despite myself, I flush a little at his praise.

Raul lets me go. But before I can take a step forward, he takes hold of my hand. His fingers intertwine with mine.

“We’ll approach them together,” he tells me.

“Okay.”

Smithson watches us come closer with a wary look in his eye. Raul tenses when we get close. The two have some sort of unspoken history, that much is obvious.

“I don’t need to be here for this reunion,” the older vampire says. He doesn’t acknowledge my presence in any way. For some reason, that makes me feel like I’ve become even more of a target.

He gives a curt bow to Raul, and strides out of the castle.

Everyone waits until he’s gone. Once the doors close, it’s like a plug has been pulled to release the tension.

“You’ve returned!” Phillip says. “You brought Eleira! How is she, she’s—” He stops short. He takes a sharp intake of breath.

“She’s so strong,” he says as he meets my eyes.

“She hasn’t yet fed,” Raul explains. “We’ve come here to get her blood.”

“Mother has plenty in the upper rooms,” Phillip replies. “There’s something about him that’s different from before. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but he seems to be more sure of himself. More in his own element, more confident.

It’s April I’m most worried about.

“What happened to her?” I ask. I see how weakly her chest rises and falls with each breath. “Is she—”

“Just a bit of blood loss,” Phillip says defensively. He cradles her in his arms. “I’m taking her to the infirmary. She can recover there.”

“She was bitten?” Raul asks. “By whom? Not—” He gasps. “No!”

Phillip nods. “Mother gave me no choice.”

“But you—you haven’t tasted blood for centuries!”

A bit of sadness creeps into Phillip’s eyes. Yet it’s almost immediately replaced by determination. “I did it to save Patricia. Mother accused her and Jacob of the murder of her guards.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Raul exclaims. “They don’t have the strength—”

“I know,” Phillip responds. “But she hasn’t been rational. Her grip on the throne is crumbling. She’s scared.”

“I suspected as much,” Raul murmurs.

“Wait a minute,” I say. “You said you saved Patricia. What about Jacob?”

Phillip looks at me and shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Eleira. There was nothing I could do. Morgan held me prisoner.”

“She killed him?” I ask. “No. No, she wouldn’t do that. She made him a Convicted, didn’t she?”

Raul and Phillip share a look. “You don’t yet know our Mother,” Phillip says.

“Then what?”

“She severed his soul and bound it in a painting,” Phillip says. “She did it right before my eyes.”

A sick feeling washes over me. “No.”

Phillip nods. “April was so brave. Mother gave me a choice. Feed, and spare Patricia from the same fate. Or resist, and…” he trails off. “You know what the alternative would have been.”

“That’s horrible.” I breathe.

Raul, meanwhile, seems to have withdrawn into himself. “This is my fault,” he whispers softly. “All of this falls on me.”

Suddenly, April stirs in Phillip’s arms. Her eyelids flutter open. Her head falls to one side, and she looks at me.

There’s only a second of recognition in her eyes. “Eleira,” she says. “You came back.”

And then she drifts back into delirium once more.

“I need to get her somewhere she can heal,” Phillip says. “I’ll find you two later. You’ll need to tell me everything that happened.” He looks at me. “Especially how Eleira became so strong.”

“We’ll do that, brother,” Raul promises.

“Then by your leave,” Phillip says, and rushes past us out into the ever-present night.

After he’s gone, I look at Raul. “What did you mean that this was your fault?” I ask him.

His eyes darken and he shakes his head. “I wish I could tell you. But some burdens are mine to bear alone.”

I wish I could disagree, but I’ve had that exact same feeling for the longest time.

“Come on,” Raul calls, taking my hand again. “I’ll show you to the blood banks. Once you’ve had your fill… then we can discuss what happens next.”

PHILLIP

As soon as April is secure in the infirmary, and being taken care of by our resident vampire doctor, I set about looking for Mother.

I have a bone to pick with her. The old Phillip, the one who was meek and passive, the one who never stood up for himself, is long gone. With April’s blood flowing through my veins, I feel like a new man. One who won’t take things as they are handed to him lying down. One who will stand up for what he believes in and let all those around him know.

The first step is to find Patricia and make sure Mother held up her part of the bargain.

I’ve managed to tame my thirst for now. I thought that tasting April’s blood would open up the floodgates and turn me into a veritable monster, no better than one of The Convicted in my lust for blood.

But something about the
connection
I felt with April—imagined or not—tempers that hunger. My body feels invigorated, and strong. Most of all, however, it still feels like my own.

I’m still in control.

Did Mother know this would happen? If so, she deserves more credit than I’ve given her.

I run through the forested paths of The Haven. On a whim I decide to take the route through the village. I want to see what progress has been made—if any—in repairing it while I was locked away.

When I arrive, I’m left bitterly disappointed. It is in exactly the same state it would have been after the fires died down. No repairs have been made. Nothing’s been fixed or salvaged. It just looks like a charred mess.

Where are all the humans?

I run through it quickly, hating the vile smell of ash still lingering in the air. All of this for Eleira… only to have her boomerang right back into our midst.

Well, now that she’s transformed, I won’t have to worry about the antidote Raul had me searching for.

I come to the vampire compounds high up on the trees. There’s movement up there—I feel the presence of others like me mingling about.

I take a deep breath and start to climb. I’ve never been close to many of the other residents—but even so, they’ll all notice a difference when they see me. They’ll know immediately that I’ve fed.

I can’t imagine the sort of scandal it will start. Phillip Soren, who has held out fueling his vampiric side ever since his creation, is now a
true
vampire?

Some of the Royal Court will even see it as a threat, I imagine. Well. Time enough to deal with that later.

But when I make my entrance into the common room or the compound, it’s not my name that’s on everyone’s lips.

It’s my brother, James’s.

“Have you heard what the Queen has done?”

“His sentence is horrible!”

“She’s banished her own son!”

“If he’s not safe, what does that say for the rest of us?”

“James was a fool.” I stop short when I hear a gruff voice make that proclamation. “He went against the Queen, and now he has to pay the price. It’s justice.”

I look at the vampire who said that. He’s an old-timer, one of those who has been in The Haven almost as long as I. He doesn’t rank very highly in power—none of them here do—and usually it would be blasphemy to speak against a member of the royal family like that.

It seems things have drastically changed while I was locked away.

I approach him. He notices me and stands taller.

“Well, well, well,” he says, puffing out his chest. “If it isn’t Phillip Soren. What brings you to spend time with the peasantry around these parts?” The vampires around him chuckle. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d ever demean yourself by being seen with us.”

There’s pure venom in his voice, in his stance, in the way he regards me. He’s still stronger than I am—April’s blood hasn’t given me an immediate boost in hierarchical strength—but I
feel
stronger than any of the vampires here.

I don’t answer until we stand nose-to-nose. “I heard what you said about my brother.”

“Oh? Good thing, that. I meant every word.”

“It’s dangerous,” I warn, not backing away. “To make proclamations like that where others can hear.”

He laughs. Right in my face, he laughs. “Is that so? Well then next time, maybe I’ll speak a little louder, so there’s no confusion. I
want
everybody to hear. I am my Queen’s man through and through. My loyalty is to her. Not to James. And certainly not to you,
weakest
.

He stabs a finger in my chest on the last word.

I just lose it. Before I can consciously reconcile what’s happening, I have his palm pinned behind him in an arm lock. I press down and apply pressure. He cries out in pain.

“Don’t,” I warn him softly, bringing my lips right to his ear, “
ever
make the mistake of calling me that—” I press down. He squirms against the table, “—again.”

Then I let him go. A space has cleared around us after the brief scuffle.

The other vampire picks himself up. He looks at me, then spits to the side.

“That’s what I think of you,” he says. “Don’t assume mommy will keep you safe forever. One of these days, you’ll get what’s coming. Just like your eldest brother did.”

With that, he storms out the room, cutting a sharp path through the crowd.

I straighten and pull my sleeves up as I watch him go. I make a slow survey of the room.

“Does anybody else here have a problem with me?” I ask. I scarcely recognize the voice coming from my throat. I
definitely
don’t recognize the aggression pulsing through me. ”Anybody? Anybody at all?”