Of Gods and Goddesses: Book 3 (Lords and Commoners Series)

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  Val had always abhorred the idea of humans owning humans but Elijah was adamant that the Court should not intervene in human affairs. So they did not interfere unless they happened upon someone they could help without revealing their vampire nature.

  Val was reminded of one such occasion. While enjoying a walk through the now-bustling city of New York, she and Elijah had come upon a woman being harassed by two men. Elijah took it easy on the attackers as he fought them off and Val helped the woman to safety. They had tried to appear as human as possible while saving the young woman. This sort of intervention was accepted by the Court’s ancient laws. However, a larger confrontation or an outright war with humans was forbidden, as it could not be accomplished without unveiling the existence of vampires.

  On a mission to visit a small coven in Georgia, Vallachia saw for herself how badly slaves were treated. When they arrived in Georgia, Elijah and Val were greeted with Southern hospitality. Servants entered with a tray of steaming hot tea. Val was surprised to smell that they were human.

  As a man placed a cup in front of Val, his hands trembled. She noticed that he had two raw puncture wounds on his wrist. She looked to his neck to find the same marks. His lips were ashen, which was an odd contrast to his dark skin. Large dark circles could be seen under his eyes. These vampires are slowly draining him of life. She quickly stood and took his wrist, trying to remember to be gentle. He shrank away from her.

  “I won’t hurt you.” Her words were as gentle as a mouse’s footsteps.

  The servant struggled to release his wrist from her steel grip. He did not succeed.

  “What is this?” Val demanded as she held up the man’s wrist to the leader of the coven.

  “He is my slave. We do what we wish with our property,” he replied.

  Val let go of the human. He stumbled away.

  “This is disgusting. That poor man is living in terror. One person cannot own another. They are people, not property to possess.”

  “I have papers that say otherwise, My Lady.” The leader smiled with confidence.

  “I’m sure you do.” Elijah gave Val a pointed glare that told her to back down.

  Val could not. “You’re revealing who we are to humans. That is against our laws.” She reached for the ever-present dirk at her side.

  Elijah swiftly moved to stand between his wife and the leader of the Georgian coven.

  “I assure you, my slaves will not tell anyone about us. They know that that would result in certain death.” The man spoke only to Elijah.

  “He looks as if he is not far from death as it is,” Val said.

  “That is true. Our slaves do not live to old age. Soon he will die and he will take our secret to his grave. No one will find out about us. You have my word.”

  This satisfied Elijah.

  Upon their return to New York, Val paced in the Great Hall. Her bright blue eyes danced with an angry flame. “How could you defend that … that man? Though I hate to insult men by calling him one.”

  Elijah was amused by Val’s anger; it was in contrast to her usual calm, rational self. She was like the keel on a sailboat, the one who kept their kingdom upright at all times. He thought it was about time that she allowed the ship to heel. “That coven has always remained discreet. They are not breaking our laws. If they do, we will intervene, as always.”

  “Meanwhile their slaves are forced to live a nightmare,” Val said.

  “It is the way things are in the South. Slavery is as old as time. There is nothing you can do about that. You know why we cannot intrude upon human affairs.”

  “Because it is difficult not to reveal who we are,” Val chanted Elijah’s mantra — one she had heard a thousand times.

  “Yes. Remember Joan of Arc. She should not have been fighting with humans. It got her killed. Not to mention, she risked revealing the existence of vampires.”

  “Maybe we were given this power for a reason. It is our duty to help.” Val was not going to give up this time.

  “We do help humans by keeping our kind out of sight. That is enough and it should be enough for you as well.” The light blue in Elijah’s eyes was replaced by stormy grey clouds.

  “How can you turn your back on human suffering? It is not simply this coven but all of the South. Slaves are treated horribly. Their living conditions are miserable and they are beaten in order to keep them from rising up against the plantation owners.”

  “Wonderful!” Elijah rolled his eyes. “Now you are going to take on all of the South? That will surely end in your death. As soon as they discover you are a vampire, they would burn you alive.”

  “Well I had hoped I wouldn’t be alone.”

  “We have had this conversation before. We must leave humans to their own affairs. We have our hands full keeping our kind from revealing who we truly are. We can’t fight human wars as well. We also can’t restrict our kind any more than we already do.”

  “Why not? We could create a law prohibiting vampires from killing humans. All of our kind can learn to feed as we do.”

  “It is a vampire’s nature to kill; such a law restricting them would turn too many of our allies against us. That is precisely what our enemies would want.”

  “Very well, Elijah. I will go south alone.”

  “You are so … stubborn, Val! It is not our job to play God. Will you not listen to reason?”

  Val returned Elijah’s glare.

  It is time for her to lower the keel and steady the ship. Elijah was no longer amused. She is taking this too far. What has gotten into her? Surely she is not insane enough to head south alone ... is she?

  Their raised voices attracted the attention of John and Riddick.

  John studied the King and Queen. “In all the years I have known you, which is quite a few, I have never heard you two fight — not like this. What is this about?”

  “She is so … Maybe you can talk some sense into her.” Elijah stormed off.

  “Aye. She is obstinate but you were well aware of that long before you married her,” John called after Elijah.

  With narrowed eyes, Val watched Elijah leave. She turned her furious glare to John and Riddick.

  Chapter 6 New York 1860 A.D

  “We can’t have the two of you fighting. You are our leaders. We need unity and stability from you at all times.” John spoke to Val with the tone of a concerned father.

  John often reminded Val of the late Lord Chastellain, which unnerved her. Forever the Chastellain’s minion. She clenched her teeth. “I want to help. We have the power to do so, which makes it our obligation.”

  “That is admirable, My Lady.” John said, “but you know why we cannot. Imagine what it would be like if humans found out about us. This is what our enemies would want. This is the only thing that keeps vampires from taking over the world. The Court and its just laws are what maintain the balance. Yet, you already know this, my dear.”

  Val issued a frustrated moan. “You always take Elijah’s side; yet that is your job, is it not?” She turned to leave. There was no point in wasting time on John. He would never go against the king.

  Riddick placed his hand on John’s shoulder to keep him from following after Val. “Let me talk to her.”

  “Be my guest.” John swept his arm outward as if clearing a path for Riddick.

  “My Lady.” Riddick caught up with Val. He grasped her arm to stay her.

  The concern in his dark eye’s lowered Val’s defenses.

  “There are other ways to help — less dangerous ways. Find some other means, one where you don’t risk exposing us,” Riddick said.

  This was a good point, which aggravated Val all the more.

  “I know what it is like. We are warriors living in a time of peace. It is nice at first but then —

  “What are you saying?” Val snapped.

  “There is no reason to go looking for a fight.”

  “I’m not looking for a fight, Riddick. I expected John to agree with Elijah, but not you.
” Val yanked herself free of his grip and strode away. She needed a woman’s perspective on this matter, so she went to find Mari. Surely she will understand.

  Mari was reading a newspaper in her chambers. “What is the matter?” she asked when she saw the look on Val’s face.

  “Elijah and I … had a fight.”

  “That must be a first?” Mari smiled with amusement.

  “I suppose so. We tend to agree on many things or we are willing to compromise but not this time. You should have seen what that Southern coven is doing to their slaves. It is atrocious. They feed from them until they become too weak and then they kill them.”

  “Those poor dears! They must live in absolute fear.” Mari lifted her chin high. “Slavery is so primitive. At least we have always been civilized enough to pay our servants.”

  Val sighed with relief. I have found an ally.

  “Perhaps this is the problem with living for an eternity; we tend to grow restless.”

  Val narrowed her eyes. “I am not restless. Slavery is immoral. We must do something!”

  “Yet, there has always been human suffering. Why are you concerned with this issue at this particular time, if it is not that you are bored? You must find something to occupy your time.”

  “You may not care enough to help but I do,” Val scoffed.

  “Very well. What … exactly do you propose we do — go to war with the South?” Mari said.

  “Perhaps.”

  “You know that we could not accomplish that without making it obvious that we are not human. That would require breaking our principal law. There are other ways —

  “Now you sound like Riddick.” Val crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the floor. “What ‘other ways’ do you propose?”

  “Perhaps lobby the government or send money to organizations that are fighting slavery. Now is a good time. This country is on the brink of tearing itself apart over the issue of slavery.”

  “We have always donated to worthy causes but I want to do more than simply throw money at this problem.”

  “Here, take a look at this.” Mari held up the newspaper and read the headline, “Volunteers and Donations Needed.” She went on to explain, “This article is about an orphanage in downtown New York. They need money and volunteers in order to be able to keep the place open. This article is about how colored children are frequently kidnapped from their beds at night. It is suspected that slave-traders smuggle them to the South to sell them. Orphaned children are particularly easy targets for slave traders.”

  Val snatched the paper and skimmed it. “This is awful.” Of course! I am needed right here — in my own city. Without another word, Val left to dress.

  Modern-day dresses were even more uncomfortable than the large silk brocades of medieval Eastern Europe. In fact, corsets may be the worst invention in the world. Val dreaded giving up her comfy breeches for a dress that was puffy everywhere but the waist, which was suffocating. But she had to blend in — appear as if she were a normal woman, though be it a wealthy one.

  Vallachia knocked on the door to the orphanage but there was no answer. She let herself in. It had most likely been a warehouse, which was now used to house children. Small beds lined one wall. Tables and a play area filled other side of the room. The play area consisted of a frayed rug and a handful of well-used wooden toys.

  Val could hear children playing outside. At the far end of the large room sat a simple desk where a woman rummaged through a stack of papers. She wore the long black and white robes of a nun. With her mouth downturned and three vertical creases visible on her forehead, the woman focused on her work. She did not notice Vallachia as she approached and Val deliberately walked loudly, as humans did.

  “Excuse me,” Val interrupted.

  The woman started.

  “My name is Vallachia and I would like to help.” Val set a leather satchel on the desk.

  The woman picked it up slowly, as if there might be a snake inside.

  “I was also hoping to volunteer here,” Val continued.

  The woman opened the bag and her mouth fell open. It was full of gold. She simply blinked at the shiny coins until she decided that they were not an illusion. After a long moment she shook her head, closed her gaping mouth and stood. “Pardon me, where are my manners? I am Sister Gwendolyn Godfree but please call me Gwen.” She held her hand out to Val.

  Val gently shook her hand being extra careful not to hurt Gwen.

  “Bless you, my dear and praise the Good Lord above. Now we can pay our bills.” Gwen gestured to the papers on the desk. Her brown eyes had a light in them that had not been there moments ago. “We will be able to stay open and make some much needed repairs. I did not know how we would buy food next week, let alone pay the rent. Come, let me show you around.”

  The restrooms and kitchen were small and inadequate for all the people they served. The grounds were also insufficient, as they were overgrown and had nothing for the children to play on or with. Despite this, the children romped merrily. It pleased Val to hear their innocent laughter.

  “We have seen the number of orphans increase many fold over the years. It is very difficult for us to keep up. So many need our help and we have so little.”

  Val felt a heavy stone form in her chest at the thought of so many children without parents. Where would I have been without my father? Her heart ached for these children. They needed her — or did she need them?

  Val spent the rest of the day with the children. She read to them and tried to help some of the older ones with their reading and writing.

  A small colored boy tugged lightly at Val’s dress. “You are funny looking,” he kept his head down.

  Val laughed and put her finger gently to his nose. “Not funny — simply different.”

  “Papa used to tell me stories about you.”

  Val shook her head. “Surely you are thinking of someone else. What is your name?”

  “Kitch.”

  “It is a pleasure to meet you Kitch. My name is —

  “I know who you are.” The boy put his tiny hand in Val’s. “I will show you.” Kitch led her across the room to the beds. From under his pillow he pulled out a book. He flipped through the pages. “Papa used to read this to me.” He stopped at a picture of a woman in a long flowing white gown. She had large white bird-like wings and a golden-jeweled crown on her head. The crown resembled Val’s — one that had not come out of the vault in their dungeon for many years. The angel in the book was surrounded by a flurry of snow. It appeared she was standing on top of a mountain but what was most shocking was that the woman in the picture had a clear likeness to Vallachia.

  Chapter 7 New York 1860 A.D

  “She’s the Great Snow Queen of the North,” Kitch explained. “I used to stare at this funny looking lady a lot. I thought she was sick with her pale skin and yellow hair but Papa used to say that she was an angel and that she would save us.”

  “Save you, how?” Vallachia asked.

  The small boy shrugged. “By ending slavery, I guess.”

  Val had no idea where this book had come from. It most likely had roots in the old European tales about the snow queen who ruled with love and compassion — the ageless Queen of the North. It appeared that these old stories about her had continued to morph and spread over the years. The boy’s story made her heart even heavier. She sat down on the bed. “Please listen to me. You should not believe such fairy stories. It will be a long and difficult fight against slavery and one person alone will not be able to stop it.”

  Kitch lowered his head in disappointment.

  Val was not sure what had changed her mind but she knew that what she said was true. People of color will have to fight for their freedom. I will help all I can. However, I will not be able to save them on my own, Val thought.

  “But this is you in the picture. I always knew I would find you someday. Surely you have come to save us,” Kitch said.

  “I wish that were true. But no one per
son can do that. People must stand together — if they do they will be strong enough to end slavery.”

  There was pain in the boy’s eyes. Val had crushed his dreams.

  “Let’s get you ready for bed, Kitch.” Val smiled in hopes of reassuring the boy that things would be fine.

  Val helped to get the children to sleep and finally headed home. I was terrible to Elijah earlier. He is right — as always. I will help but in a different and safer way. She could not stand it that he was upset with her.

  Elijah did not look up from his book when Val landed in front of him. “I was afraid you headed south,” he said. “I was debating as to whether or not I should gather Riddick and the others and head out as well.”

  “Elijah, I’m truly sorry. You are right, we can’t restrict our kind anymore and we can’t go to war with humans. So … I have found another way to help.”

  Elijah turned his gaze to Val. His expression softened. “And what might that be?”

  Val smiled with relief. She took the book from his hand and curled up on his lap. She needed to feel that he was no longer upset with her. He put his arms around her and she told him about the orphanage and little Kitch.

  “My Snow Queen,” Elijah whispered in her ear after hearing the boy’s story.

  Thankfully the storm was gone from Elijah’s eyes; they held love and longing. Val pressed her lips to his.

  “We are deprived of the entire human experience,” Val said. “This endless life without children is … lonely at times. I think that’s what was truly upsetting me. Humans have always treated one another poorly and of course, vampires are known to be cruel. Yet as long as I’m helping I will be content. I have found children who need me.”

  “The entire human experience is not all you make it out to be. We get to experience the best parts; eternal youth, health, strength and speed, not to mention we can fly. And don’t forget about being able to breathe under water. We get to experience the best parts of being a human and much more and we get all this forever. We don’t grow old or sick. It doesn’t get any better than this.”