“You’re right about that.” I kept watching the sky. The clouds had blotted out the moon and it was dark, the water luminous when it hit the shore. Jeremiah was always so logical. He had easily dismissed the notion of pirate vampires. Yet I shivered, feeling eyes on us. And they weren’t friendly ones.
“If there are shifters or vampires here, perhaps they have their own plans. They might not owe allegiance to the Irish.” I frowned. “We know who else is on this island.”
“MacDonald.” Now he was taking me seriously. “A vampire clan who also employs shape-shifters.” Jeremiah paced the sand. “By God, I wouldn’t put it past the man to send some here to make mischief. Just when I am busy trying to guard the coast!”
“We don’t know that for certain. Remember, the rumors started before our arrival.” I knew how much Jeremiah hated Robert MacDonald. The enmity was so bad between the Campbell clan and the MacDonald’s that the king had ordered them to share this island as a punishment. I never should have brought this up on the eve of Jeremiah’s departure.
“King James was mad to think our clans could share this island and just decide to end our feud. As if we are children fighting over toys.” Jeremiah hit the air with his fist.
“Stop. You have no proof Robert has sent shifters to harry us” I grabbed his fist and held on. “Now listen to me. Concentrate on the coming battle, Jeremiah. Rout the Irish and then you can confront Robert. Ask him if he is up to mischief here. Then, if you must, you can report to the king about it when you go to tell him about your great victory.”
“I’ll not run to the king with any but good news. Any problem with a MacDonald I’ll settle like a man.” Jeremiah had a firm jaw and a determined look. “Never doubt that, Gloriana.” He took my hand. “You look very pretty tonight. You think I didn’t notice?” He bent to kiss me, ignoring the stares we got from the sailors nearby. “I look forward to some time with you before sunrise. A fine farewell, eh?”
I hated that word. Farewell. As I’d told Lady Anne to give her captain. How many warriors had been sent off to battle and never come back? But Jeremiah wasn’t an ordinary warrior and I couldn’t forget it. I just hoped the Irish really didn’t have any shifters or vampires on their side to make this battle worse than it already would be.
I kissed Jeremiah good-bye with a promise of a fine time together later. As soon as I started walking away, he ran to a rowboat and ordered men to take him out to the ship as fast as possible. Finally, he took an oar himself in his impatience. I was sure he’d get that new cannon loaded properly if he had to use his vampire strength to manage it.
I dragged Florence away with me. We truly were only a distraction when our men needed to prepare for battle. Valdez had stayed near us but not too near and now followed us back to the castle.
The evening meal was over by the time we returned. There was no sign of the captain and Lady Anne in the great hall. That was promising. I did find Colin and told him I wanted to look for hidden passageways under the castle. It was always possible that there were no flying creatures, just clever lads who knew this castle better than most.
We went over the walls inch by inch it seemed. No way to escape. The small hole we found that was used to empty chamber pots would be tight even for tiny Florence. She had left us to return to her room. Mercy was helping her sort through her dresses. Both women did enjoy looking through a fine wardrobe.
“I supposed someone could slide down that small tunnel but you’d land in the moat.” Colin shook his head at the spot that reeked of its purpose. “It’s a nasty job, I’ll not try it. Even with the moat much cleaner now, there’s things there I want no part of.”
I agreed. “What about under the castle? Is there a dungeon?” I didn’t like to think about it, but I was sure most castles had them. This one certainly should. The entire purpose for the Guardian of the Coast was to catch or kill those pirates. Any captured would be put behind bars until they could be transported to Edinburgh for trial. Once there, I didn’t doubt their fate.
“Aye. There is a dungeon. The local lads speak of it. Lord Ralph caught a few of the pirates during one of their raids and they were locked in cells down there with the rats and the spiders.” Colin shuddered. “It’s no place for you, Mistress Gloriana.”
“I want to see it. It seems the perfect place for a hidden passageway. It might go under the moat.” I was excited. I liked to solve puzzles and this certainly was one. I couldn’t imagine being content to hide in a castle with the drawbridge up. What if we were surrounded? If the mortals ran out of food and water? The people who had built this place, who’d lived here before, had to have prepared for that possibility. The castle was hundreds of years old and had endured enough battles that I was sure someone had planned for escape when under siege.
“You want the key to the dungeon?” Holly was up to her elbows in flour, working bread dough when we arrived in the kitchen. “It’s a nasty place, mistress.”
“We are making sure no one can invade us that way. Do you know of secret passages into the castle?” I couldn’t believe my stomach could still rumble at the smell of lemon tarts, cooling on the table. How long would I have to live before I stopped craving my favorite foods? I smiled and shook my head when Holly offered me some with a cup of tea.
“No passages that I know of. The key is on a hook nigh the door there. Down the stairs past the larder. Anyone trying to sneak in would have to have a key of their own, now wouldn’t they?” Holly kept kneading her dough and frowned, obviously thinking. “Guess it’s possible. Things go missing here from time to time. No one admits to taking the odd bit and I figure its pack rats or someone truly in need.” She sighed. “Happens there was an extra set of keys once.”
“Well, we are on a mission to find out what’s down there. Wish us luck.”
“You’ll need it.” She slapped her dough. “Pirates. We’re praying for Lord Campbell to rout them once and for all.”
I followed Colin, who held a torch, down steep steps carved into stone. The further down we went, the colder and damper it got. I’d certainly never come down here before. He stopped at a door and unlocked it with a sturdy iron key.
“I heard Holly was the one who took food to the guards and to the prisoners in the cells.” Colin handed me the torch when the door stuck. The door was heavy and banded with iron. “She said Lord Ralph would order her to give the prisoners only a thin gruel. Nasty stuff.” Colin grunted as the door finally opened with a loud squeal of rusty hinges. “He wanted them to suffer while they were here. They didn’t stay long before they were taken on to Edinburgh and the prison there.”
Colin glanced back at me. “Some say the Guardian before Lord Ralph liked to torture any he caught. Just to hear them scream.” He shuddered. “My da says there are men like that. I hope we don’t see a room with the instruments they used on the poor sods.”
I rested a hand on his arm. He was a decent lad, growing into manhood. I’d picked well for a guide. “I’ve known such men. Thank the gods Lord Ralph only half-starved them.”
“I guess it was only right that they be treated poorly. They had made the people here in the castle and villages suffer for years.” Colin nodded.
I just handed him the torch again and followed him down more steps. We were far under the castle now and it was so damp that water ran in rivulets down the walls. I had picked up a shawl from Maggie before I started this search and was glad of it.
“Once the pirates got to Edinburgh, there was a quick trial then they was hung. No one spared a bit of pity for them. Bastards.” Colin stopped in front of a row of empty cells. A rat ran out of one of them right in front of him. Colin swiped at it with the torch. “Here we are. What now, mistress?”
“We look for some way to leave, a doorway or hidden passage. It could be loose stones or rotted wood hiding the way out.” I tried to ignore the squeals of more rats and the scritch scratch of their claws on the stones. Pushing past my fears, I walked down the passageway, trailing
my hand along the uneven wall. When my nails caught on one stone, I stopped.
“Bring the torch, Colin, I think I found something.”
I dug at the stone, pushing then pulling to see if there was a way to move it and make an opening. A bird flew out of the darkness, startling me. There was a turning in the path and I took it. Oh, no! Spiderwebs caught in my hair and I flailed my arms. I hate spiders and shrieked before I could stop myself, stumbling and falling against the slimy wall.
“Mistress! Are you all right?” Colin brought the torch closer. “Look! The wall moved. You found it!” He handed me the torch and pushed the stone with both hands.
To my amazement it slid inward, showing us a narrow passage. I tried to calm my stuttering heart. Dragging bits of spiderweb from my hair and eyes, I focused on the opening in front of us. It was low and would be tight, especially for a man like Colin, who I swear had grown a foot since we’d arrived here.
“Where do you think it goes?” I hated to say it, but I really wanted Colin to go in first. This had been my idea. I should lead the way, especially after I’d bragged that I was a strong woman. Hah! Spiders and rats and slime? I was happy to make him my protector.
“Glory, do you mind if I take the lead?” Valdez spoke from the gloom behind me.
“Where did you come from?” I thought I had gotten away from my bodyguard for a change. After all, I had Colin with me and was safely inside the castle walls.
“I’ve been with you every moment. Like I’m supposed to be.” He smiled as he gently grabbed my shoulders and moved me out of the way. “Colin, hold the torch so I can see. You know I’m a shifter, don’t you, muchacho ?”
“Aye. Are you going to change right here, right now?” Colin was clearly excited. “Valdez, what will you be? A hound could go on down the way ahead and see what’s there right handily, don’t you think?”
I knew Colin was fond of his hounds. What did Valdez think of the idea? Before I could ask him, a handsome black retriever sat at Colin’s feet, its tail thumping the stones.
“Well, if that don’t show me something!” Colin tentatively reached out, as if to pet the dog and got a growl and a show of sharp teeth. “Oh, very well. I won’t treat you like one of my hounds, now will I?” He glanced back at me. “Can you believe it, mistress? Valdez is going down the passageway for us, as a dog!”
“I believe it.” I smiled at him then down at my bodyguard. “Thank you, Valdez. I want to know if this is a way for other people to get into the castle. For them to come in and get out. Where does this lead? And if I could fit through to the end.” I ran my hand down my hips. “Does it get any narrower than this part? It is already a tight squeeze for a man Colin’s size and for me.”
Valdez raised his head as if acknowledging my queries then took off down the opening. We could hear the tapping of his claws on stone as he left. Colin held up the torch, but Valdez soon disappeared into the gloom, the sounds becoming fainter.
“You know I grew up around shifters. They are usually careful to keep themselves to themselves. Never saw one shift so fast. That Valdez is a sharp one.” Colin kept staring down the passage. “I wish I could do such a trick but they told me you have to be born to it.” He glanced at me. “Or made vampire.”
We heard a bark that sounded far away. It echoed but did not sound distressed. It was almost like a signal. Another short bark.
“I think he means it’s safe to come on. Let’s go.” I pushed Colin forward. He had to bend his head to fit in the tunnel.
“Can you shift, mistress? It would be easier for you to follow me if you could.” Colin held the torch in front of him. His foot slid on the slick stones and he almost fell. I grabbed his coat and held on to keep myself from falling.
“I don’t want to shift. Just lead on and watch your step.” I was sick of everyone trying to make me shape-shift. Yes, I was a vampire, but I wanted to feel human. What was wrong with that? Valdez might be perfectly fine in a dog body, but I thought it was, well, demeaning. Oops. I had better not let him see that thought or I’d never hear the end of it. He’d only done it to be helpful after all.
We were making slow progress, slipping and sliding our way down the cold and moldy passage, almost bent double with our heads lowered to avoid hitting rough rock as we walked. It was a rough uphill stumbling pace. Valdez barked again, showing us the way. He sounded louder now so we must be getting close. Then we saw Valdez standing, looking like himself again, in a room carved out of stone. He’d found a torch and a way to light it.
I was happy when I could finally stand up straight and move around. Colin gawked at what he saw.
“What is this place?” He staggered over to a trunk and sat on it.
I had the same question. It was a large room, a cave really, that held several trunks, a rug on the floor and places for torches on the walls. One could call it cozy except it was very cold. Why? I could see there was another tunnel leading away from where we’d come in. A cool wind blew, making the torches flutter. Wind that smelled of fresh air. Surely it led outside.
“Someone did fashion a place to escape to if the castle was attacked and surrounded.” Valdez shook himself, almost as if he were a dog, and brushed off his shoulders. His black jacket was damp and showed signs of having been in the muck of the passageway.
“Shall we see where the other passage goes?” I didn’t wait for anyone to answer. This one looked bigger and I could actually hurry down it without bending my head. It was a fairly short walk, though again sending us up. The cool fresh air convinced me that I’d come out somewhere outside the castle walls.
I did indeed. We were on top of the hill behind the castle. I walked out and in a few long strides stood where I had a good view of the entire castle and the area around it. Yes, the drawbridge was still up, the men were inside the courtyard with guards at their places on the battlements. I couldn’t believe no one had any idea that we’d just escaped the walls.
“Look at this!” I spread my arms out to take in the view. “Anyone who knows about the passage could be stealing from the castle and we wouldn’t have any idea. Those flying night creatures you heard about, Colin, could be using the passage to take things from us.”
“Nothing big, I’d say.” Valdez stood beside me. “But jewels, a loaf of bread, all sorts of small items would go out through there easily enough.” He turned to Colin. “Do you know if the people here thought the pirates had such creatures among them?”
“It’s hard to keep your kind a secret, Valdez. I’ve grown up with it. There are some shifters here from Castle Campbell but anyone from there, even mortals like me, have been trained to keep our mouths shut. I’d know if anyone from the villages around here knew about shifters.” Colin glanced at me. “Or vampires. So far the local people seem completely unknowing.”
“Then they won’t be much help.” Valdez frowned.
“Jeremiah and I think they could be sent by Robert MacDonald, bound to make trouble. The clans have feuded for centuries.” I hated that it was true. I liked Robert and his new bride, Fiona. He’d talked of turning her vampire. That would have created a new problem. She was close to King James. How do you hide something like that from the king? It had been difficult enough for Jeremiah to keep his clan’s secret.
It was good that we were no longer in Edinburgh and obligated to attend court each night. But away from there, Robert would be hard to control. Just because the king demanded he make peace with the Campbells, didn’t mean he would. He’d been manipulated into his marriage with Fiona and might be in the mood to cause trouble. Now he lived in a castle just a few hours away and had little to do. A restless Robert was a dangerous Robert. I could well imagine him sending shifters to spy on us or even coming himself to have a look at what his enemy, Jeremiah Campbell, was doing.
“You really think MacDonald would risk the king’s displeasure by stirring up trouble here?” Valdez took my elbow. “That would be foolish.” He led me to a path that would take us down the h
ill and to the castle gate. It was not well-worn so that told me it was not well-known.
“Of course, it would be foolish, but Robert and Jeremiah think they have a score to settle. I have no idea what it is, but just because they have been ordered to forget it, doesn’t mean they will do so. Robert has married a woman the king loves like a sister. He may hope that will buy him forgiveness if he continues to pursue this feud.” I knew he might be right, unfortunately.
Once inside, I asked around and discovered that the captain had still not returned from a visit with Lady Anne after the evening meal. That was good news. I hoped that meant he was in her bed, making them both happy. With only a few hours until dawn, I arranged a bath and got ready for Jeremiah’s return. I was sure he would be late, getting everything ready for the battle to come, so I just ordered the small copper tub in our room to be filled.
When he finally arrived, he was wet and sandy. Clearly, he’d taken more than one trip out to the ships to see things done to his satisfaction.
“You’ve read my mind again.” He sighed as he settled into the warm bath water. “I wish I had time for a soak. That blasted cannon. We almost lost it into the sea. It is unwieldy and so damned heavy. But it is safely on board now. I will be on that ship myself. Da and I both will be and see to its proper use.” He ran a rag over his chest. “I have sand where no man should have it. Will you wash my hair, Gloriana?”
“Of course.” I poured a pitcher of water over his head before rubbing in soap. He sat there with his eyes closed as I massaged it into his scalp. He even had sand in his ears. Finally, I pushed him forward to dump more water over him until it ran clear.
“There, you are clean. Dry off and come to bed. I am eager to give you the fine farewell that you deserve, my warrior.” I stepped back out of the way and drew off my shift. “I’ll wait for you under the covers.”
Real Vampires: Glory and the Pirates Page 11