Harsh Light of Day

by Jaye A. Jones

CHAPTER 16

  “I want you to speak freely now,” Charles motioned for me to sit at his feet.

  I declined with a deliberately repulsed look.

  Will still hung in chains on the wall. Though his heart beat and his blood pumped, he hardly seemed alive with his head hanging to one side and his eyes shut. He must have been under a great deal of stress, I knew. This was a lot to experience. Maybe he had fainted again.

  Really, he’s doing pretty well, I thought. He hadn’t tried to fight or run screaming for the exits. Not that it would have done him any good.

  All Charles did was stare at me with a sly grin. It didn’t seem like he had anything to say, and I wasn’t going to let the time tick by, especially since I had no clue how long the King’s interest would last. So I went for it.

  “Will you let my friend go?” I asked. Hey, it couldn’t hurt.

  “Your friend,” Charles chuckled like gravel. “That is too odd to hear. Humans and vampires as friends. Could you imagine?”

  I was doing just fine with it, I thought, but knew better than to say it out loud. Speak freely my ass.

  It was clear Charles had no intention of continuing with that line of conversation, so I figured I may as well take the opportunity to get some more questions answered. I suddenly had so many. I’d always been curious, but never had I deluded myself into thinking I might someday get my questions answered.

  “Was Patraicc related to you?”

  He seemed astonished at the question. Maybe he didn’t expect me to remember the name he had said, or didn’t expect me to be so interested. Or maybe he didn’t realize why I was this curious to know the explanation. But now I knew Colin wasn’t Declan’s sire, wasn’t my grandsire, I was eager to find out about my true family.

  “Yes. If that’s the term you wish to use.”

  “In what way?”

  Charles’s reluctance to answer was strange to me. Had no one ever asked him about these things? I would think everyone would want to know where they came from.

  “We had the same sire. Named Kenrick,” Charles paused, “My sire was killed so long ago, I’m shocked I even remember the name.”

  “Did Patraicc have a partner…I mean a consort? Did Kenrick? What were they like? What did they all look like?”

  Charles blinked a few times and stared into my eyes. It may have been designed to make me feel uneasy, but it didn’t. I was intrigued, and Charles knew it. He even seemed to appreciate it.

  “Someday there will be time for such talk. For now, there are matters at hand to consider.”

  Dang. Part of me felt like if I didn’t find these things out now, I’d never have another opportunity. But when Charles changed the subject, end of conversation.

  He smiled and his extended fangs flashed in the flickering torch light. “You are a muse, little one. Do you realize this?”

  “I don’t…don’t think I understand,” I said, focusing on Charles’s animated gestures, not wanting to screw this up. Whatever reason he wanted to talk privately with me, I knew this was my only chance to make an impression. To maybe save Will’s life. Though I couldn’t see how to do it.

  But I would be exactly who I was. Charles knew the nature inside me. He obviously saw something interesting there, and he must have known I knew that. The only thing I could do was appease him and see where this was going.

  “You inspire great things in those around you,” he rose, and glided past me.

  I could feel his power as he came closer, but didn’t back away. “You’re wrong. No one around me does anything great.”

  “No, you are wrong,” Charles whispered, standing behind me. His presence tickled my right side. “Look at your human over there. He’s fainted from fear, yet he came here with you. Half of your family defied hundreds of years of custom by following you. I suspect your consort’s affection for you may be the catalyst for telling you more about your human life than you should know.”

  Declan’s affection for me? Ha. I considered telling the King my partner couldn’t hardly stand the sight of me, but it didn’t seem relevant.

  I said instead, “None of that has anything to do with me.”

  “Are you so naïve, little one?” Charles’s cold breath tickled my ear.

  “I’d prefer if you didn’t call me that,” I said sharply, testing his boundaries. “I’m Lena.”

  “Little Lena,” he cooed.

  “No,” I snapped, and he grabbed my arm. My tone did not waver, my body did not flinch away from him. “Just Lena.”

  The strength within him was breathtaking. Not his physical strength, which was of course formidable since he was so very old, but his strength of mind.

  Charles understood so many things and had so much knowledge in him. I imagined he loved everything that gave his extremely impressive mind something extraordinary to ponder.

  Without seeking anomalies in the world, Charles would be bored silly. And unhappy beyond belief.

  I could have liked him really, if I weren’t one false move away from being decapitated by him.

  “All right, Lena,” he said in a strange tone and grinned oddly, releasing my arm.

  “You seem so pleased,” I said. Inquisitiveness was part of my nature. I couldn’t help wanting to know what was making him, the King of the Vampires—on this continent anyway—so happy.

  “I feel pleased. Isn’t that peculiar? And I don’t believe it’s coming from me.”

  His grin grew wider, and I didn’t know what he meant. This was such a strange interaction.

  “Would you mind telling me—” he drew a breath in thought, then took a seat on the step he had asked me to sit on a few minutes ago. At my feet. It felt so wrong. “—what you think of me?”

  “You can’t be serious,” I blurted, then froze. I really needed to learn to hold my tongue.

  Instead of taking offense, Charles put his chin on his hand and elbow on his knee. It was such a human thing to do. I wondered if he knew it was and meant to appeal to my appreciation for the humans.

  “Okay,” I began. Honesty was the way to go. “There’s a quality that comes off you like warmth. Maybe it’s the force of your mind, I can’t say for sure. I could feel it when you moved around the room just now. I think we all can, all the time in your presence though. It makes you…captivating. Your ability to absorb knowledge and know yourself and those around you. Your expressiveness. It makes you…irresistible.”

  “This is not flattery,” Charles stated, and I may have shrugged. I wasn’t sure. “And I believe what you say, and feel…improved, somehow. What does pride feel like?”

  Looking into his suddenly vulnerable eyes, I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. It didn’t make sense, and probably wasn’t going to last much longer.

  “It’s a human emotion,” I said, channeling Annabelle. She must have said that to me a hundred times. “I’m not sure.”

  He hummed and let his eyes drift to where Will was. I didn’t want Charles paying him any notice. It was too dangerous.

  Demanding Charles’s attention, I offered, “I wonder if this is why you have such a big, loyal family and no one has ever tried to overthrow you.”

  Looking back at me, Charles grinned as if he suspected my motive but decided to indulge it anyway.

  “You’re not the first to wonder. The coven in Asia has had three coup d'états in the past century alone.”

  He said it nonchalantly, almost as if it were amusing to him. It probably was, since as far as I knew, vampire families were supposed to be loyal to each other. A coup meant someone in the family had to go against their King. And the rest of the family had to eventually follow the new King.

  “What is the word for this quality you believe I possess? The human word?”

  I was surprised when the small smile crossed my lips as I said, “Charisma.”

  He made a low, thoughtful sound deep in his throat and
folded his hands in his lap. I wasn’t positive I should break the silence first, but I couldn’t stand the uncertainty of what was happening. I didn’t think Charles wanted me dead. He wouldn’t be wasting his time talking to me if he did. But I couldn’t be sure. I had to keep him talking, keep him interested. And interested in me, not in Will.

  “Do you remember being human at all?”

  “No lit…Lena,” Charles corrected, and I wanted to smile again, but don’t think I did. “I’m far too old, and we forget life as we grow accustomed to death. I wonder if we do ourselves an injustice, though, staying secluded from the humans. They are an interesting species, and we are descended from them. But of course that is foolish. They fear us,” he squinted at me, then at Will, and smiled.

  “Why can I be around them, and no other vampire can?” insisting upon his attention again.

  “It was in no way difficult for you? Truly?”

  Complete honesty was not the way to go now. Charles may forgive some offenses, but I didn’t think telling him about the annoying boy who bore my teeth marks was a smart idea.

  “The first moments I was around a lot of them, it was pretty overwhelming. But it didn’t last long. I soon felt as comfortable with them as I do with any one of us. And they were never scared of me.”

  “You should not have been seen by any humans.”

  I should have been more careful with what I said. Now he knew Will wasn’t the only human who saw me. Any wrong word, any slip, and Charles’s warmth, so to speak, would disappear.

  “I know.”

  “But I do know why you did it. Your curiosity and thirst for knowledge is a dominant trait.”

  “As is yours.”

  He chucked his gravelly chuckle. “Yes, I have these traits as well. Curiosity, and an interest in…in how things work,” he blinked, then met my eyes. “You cannot be explained, Lena. This intrigues me. Think of the things you could do…”

  Charles was somewhere else for a few moments, and I waited patiently, taking a moment to steal a glance at Will that I hoped would go unnoticed. I suspected he was awake now, but his head was still bowed towards the floor. I hoped he wasn’t hurt. If he was, being chained up like he was to the wall couldn’t be helping.

  “I’m going to let you live,” Charles said suddenly, and my head snapped back to look at the old vampire again.

  His expression was stern at first, but then melted into a soft look of wonder. “And I’m unsure why. I’ve killed our kind for far less than what you’ve done today.”

  “Thank you—” I began, but he raised his hand and I accidently bit my tongue.

  “Your human cannot leave here alive. He knows too much and you belong to your sire. Your affection for this human cannot be encouraged.”

  Crap. There really was no budging.

  “The human must die.”

  “No,” I said louder than I meant to, and my voice ricocheted off the stone walls.

  Charles glared at me with his expressive eyes and waited for what I had to say. He seemed to be fighting with his fascination of me and his certainty that Will had to be disposed of.

  I took a few moments to select my words carefully. I didn’t want my meaning misunderstood. I didn’t want Charles reading more into what I felt for Will than he had to. It seemed he already thought there was something romantic going on. In less than twenty-four hours? Seriously?

  “He doesn’t deserve to die because of my mistakes.”

  Considering my words before he spoke again, Charles seemed to value the truth in what I’d said. Did he agree on some level? That it wasn’t Will’s fault I brought him into all of this?

  “Your human will not leave here alive.”

  Evidently not.

  I changed my tone and my tactics immediately.

  “What are my options?”

  Charles was a reasonable creature. I learned this about him in the short time I’ve been in his presence. He wanted to stay on my good graces, but this didn’t mean he would give me anything I wanted. Without a price.

  “If you denounce your sire, and agree to become a part of my family instead, I’ll grant you the honor of making your human one of us. To make him your mate instead and begin a family of your own.”

  “I didn’t know females could have families.”

  “A product of being raised by Colin, I imagine. He would have no doubt kept you in the dark on these matters. But females head families equally in the world, though it is more prevalent on other continents. Petra, the only surviving member of The Four other than myself, is the Vampire King of her region.”

  “King?”

  Charles blinked once before understanding crossed his face. “We don’t define by gender, but by age. By power. All of the region leaders, whether male or female, are the Vampire Kings of their region.”

  Well, that was nice and misleading. I wondered if vampires like Colin used that to their advantage, making it seem like females weren’t as important as males, when clearly they weren’t treated any differently.

  Charles was watching me, looking me over and making me uncomfortable, so I asked, “Where is Petra’s region?”

  “I believe they call it Europe now,” he said as if he was getting bored, but his eyes stopped scanning my body. That’s all I needed. “She likes to stay in the colder countries.”

  “Who are the other Vampire Kings, if the original members of The Four are gone?”

  “You’re getting me off topic again, Lena. We have more important matters to discuss.”

  I hadn’t changed the subject on purpose really, but Charles was too wise to let even my subconscious go off track.

  “If I refuse to change Will?” I didn’t mean to say his name, and Charles didn’t ignore it. He flashed his fangs at me with a snarl, and I instinctively dipped my head.

  “The human cannot leave here alive.”

  “There is no scenario where he can be unharmed,” I said, not looking up from the floor, and not bothering to form it as a question.

  “If you try to rescue him, if you attempt to escape, all of your family, you, and your human will be destroyed.”

  “That seems a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

  He didn’t. Charles’s patience with me was wearing thin, and fast. He wanted this situation resolved.

  His tone changed, and he said, “if you can think of a condition that suits you which also suits me, I will consider extending you a favor.”

  I couldn’t think of anything.

  I suspected he wasn’t only insisting on Will being made a vampire because he was a human who knew we existed. He was curious. Charles wanted to know if a person sired by me would have my abilities.

  “Unchain and revive your human. Bring him before me. I shall summon our families.”

  Charles didn’t wait for me to say anything more, so I didn’t hesitate any longer. I sprinted at Will and unchained his wrists and ankles a quickly as I could.

  “Will, you have to get up. I’m so sorry. There was nothing I could do. Come on, you have to wake up.”

  “You’re alive?” he whispered in a raspy voice, wincing in pain as I moved him.

  “Well, not technically.”

  And he coughed as he laughed. It was a good thing to hear. I hadn’t been certain until now what damage Henry and Mary may have caused him, but he was able to move and breathe sort of normally. Coughing didn’t appear to hurt him too much, and it certainly would if something inside were broken beyond repair. It was a relief.

  “What’d I miss?” he looked at me. His watery eyes were bright red and his mouth was set in a permanent state of panic, but besides thicker stubble than I’d seen on him until now, and even deeper circles under his eyes than the first time I met him, he looked like himself.

  “I’m so sorry. Something’s happened.”

  “They’re going to kill me?” Will asked, and he blinked liquid from his eyes
that moistened his cheeks.

  Before I explained, I put his arm around my neck and lifted him, careful not to jostle him too much, and carried him to the center of the room. Now it looked like he was in pain. He flinched as I moved his arm and his other hand went automatically to his torso.

  His ribs were damaged. I could tell as he gingerly felt along his side and cringed. I could see he was badly bruised through the rips in his now dirty t-shirt. The shock of what he’d experienced was wearing off maybe. I wondered how much pain he would be in once he was totally aware of how he felt again.

  The rest of the vampires were filing in, but I wanted to ignore them until it was no longer an option.

  “Our Vampire King has decided I’m to make you one of us. There was no changing his mind. He would have all of us killed if I refused. Do you understand?”

  “Lesser of two evils,” he muttered, and I knew what he meant. Taking one life, or being the cause of my entire family being murdered? Yes, he understood.

  As the room filled, I tried to think of anything I could do to help Will through the next few minutes. It was obviously terrifying for him to be in a room with so many of my kind. Remembering the way he reacted to Annabelle, I assumed it must be so much worse now.

  “Don’t look at any of them. Try to keep your head down. Focus on something that will keep your mind occupied. Charles is going to make his announcement, and then we’ll be moved. We’ll be out of this room soon, I promise.”

  Will shifted against the side of my body, then recoiled from the pain, but was able to utter, “I feel better now.”

  “Really?”

  I think he tried to nod, but his neck didn’t seem to want to support his head any longer and it bowed toward the floor as it had been when he was chained up.

  But he managed to whisper, “I’m glad you’re here.”