by James Somers
Their group passed through the portal into the foyer of the house. Even Alexander realized that most men of Brody’s power would have a way of knowing when someone entered their home. If he perceived an attack, he might counter, especially if Charlotte wasn’t the first to be noticed in their group.
“Perhaps, you should take the direct way, Charlotte, while the rest of us fan out through the house,” Alexander suggested.
“All right,” she said. “That way I can speak to him before anything else happens.”
Charlotte watched the other vampires, the thirst in their eyes, the barely veiled urge for violence waiting to be unleashed. “Remember your promise,” she reminded Alexander again.
He was already walking away from her, signaling the others to do likewise. Charlotte was left to herself as the Breed melted into the shadows of the large house. She scented the air and was unsure if Brody was even home at the moment. However, the more potent traces of his person emanated from upstairs.
Charlotte knew that Brody’s favorite room in the house was Oliver’s library. He spent hours at a time going over the histories of the Descendant races, as well as the journals that Oliver had left behind of his experiences. Any time she had visited him, Uriah always led her to the library.
She ascended the staircase dominating the center of the open space beyond the foyer. To the right was a sitting room with comfortable chairs to relax by the firelight while enjoying conversation with guests. To the left was a large dining room where a mostly unused table held room enough for forty guests at one time. Brody generally took his meals in the library, being too engrossed in his studies to tear himself away.
Brody stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for her. His body heat was apparent in her vampire’s vision, but he seemed odd to her.
“Charlotte?” he asked.
He had to be able to see her, so why would Brody ask if it was her?
She started to reply, but Alexander appeared from the shadows, darting toward him. Brody reacted by turning toward the vampire, but he didn’t attempt to defend himself. Alexander pounced. To Charlotte’s surprise, Alexander passed right through the young man. He hit the banister, shattering it, then tumbled over the side. Charlotte heard his curses rising from the foyer where he had landed.
The mirage of Brody remained, wearing a sly grin on its face. “So much like Oliver,” Charlotte whispered.
“A flaw soon to be rectified,” Alexander said, appearing on the staircase behind Charlotte.
“He’s not here,” she said.
“You’re sure?” he asked. “His scent is present in the house.”
“Probably more mirages like this one,” Charlotte said. The smiling specter began to fade, waving at her as it did so. “He was clever enough to include his scent and body heat with this one. Had me fooled until you plowed through it.”
Alexander didn’t find her humor funny. He stepped past Charlotte on his way to the library door at the top of the stair.
“Was this where you were headed?”
The other Breed warriors converged on the landing to either side of their leader. Alexander kicked his way in, tearing the panel door from its hinges. It fell heavily within, banging against the polished floorboards. The Breed followed him inside.
Charlotte came in last, shaking her head at Alexander’s excessive force. Her guilt at bringing the vampires here to invade the sanctity of Brody’s home was mounting with every move Alexander made. How could she face the young man again?
The large library was entirely empty. Charlotte had suspected as much. If Brody had been home, he would have come straight to her. At the very least, a pack of vampires invading the house would have brought down Uriah’s vicious troll wrath upon them.
“Where do we find him?” Alexander demanded.
Charlotte hesitated. She knew where he probably was, but she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to let Alexander know. After all, he was the kind that might charge into a situation fully confident of victory despite overwhelming odds. And going after Brody now would place them against desperately overwhelming odds.
Alexander’s warriors closed in. The vampire leader towered over her. “Our people are dying while we stand here, Charlotte,” he said. “Your own father is thirsting to death.”
She could not help but envision her father’s pain. There would be anguished souls writhing around their king as thirst drove them to madness. Charlotte had felt the overwhelming desire that blood forced them too.
As vampires, they had to have it on a regular basis. No wonder her father had been willing to side with Black. He had been promised human cattle bound within the realm of Greystone. They would have thirsted no more.
Tears welled in her eyes. Despite the guilt and the loss of Brody’s friendship, she had no choice. He had to be made to open a portal into Greystone.
“He’ll be in Tidus,” she said. “He confided in me that he’s been seeing Lycean’s daughter for months.”
“So, West has his weaknesses like everyone else.” Alexander’s crimson eyes gleamed with delight. “I take it there is a way to enter Tidus directly without going by the moors to Wolf’s Bane?”
Charlotte glanced toward the massive fireplace dominating the near wall. All of the vampires followed her gaze.
“Through there?” Alexander asked.
“He opens portals to all kinds of places through it,” she said.
“And you can duplicate the process?”
Charlotte nodded slowly. “Oliver passed down books containing the histories of the Descendant races along with the realms we inhabit. The mantle is charmed so that a portal is opened to those realms contained upon the open pages.”
“Show me,” Alexander said.
“You can’t seriously expect to just walk into the domain of the werewolves and take Brody from Lycean,” Charlotte said. “I know we have to get to him, but invading Tidus is pure madness.”
“I am not a coward,” Alexander asserted.
“Then don’t be a fool either,” Charlotte said.
The other vampires watched the exchange tensely. None of them looked like they relished the idea of traveling into the domain of their natural enemies. Still, they would follow Alexander to their deaths, if need be.
“I want that boy,” Alexander hissed.
“There must be some other way,” Charlotte said.
“Perhaps, there is,” he mused.
“How?”
Alexander smiled darkly at her. “Someone who has been allowed there before will go and retrieve something precious to the boy. Her scent won’t alert the werewolves to any danger, since she has been there before.”
“Meaning me, I suppose?”
“It’s either that way, or I lead an open assault into Tidus and take the boy my way.”
Charlotte knew the chances of that plan being successful were not good. They would all die at the hands of the Lycans, and her father and her people would suffer even more, until they also perished.
She looked up at Alexander with hard eyes for the vampire general. Gritting her teeth, she said, “I’ll go.”
Revelations
Night had fallen in the mortal world, as well as in the grand city of Tidus where Lycean ruled over the Lycans. Uriah stood upon one of the royal palace’s wide stone verandas overlooking fountains of waters that danced with moonlight among the decorative gardens spread out below. Redclaw paced behind him. Among the five brothers in their family, he had always been the one wound as tightly as a spring.
“Where have the others gotten to?” Uriah asked. “Someone has to tell Brogan’s sister of his passing.”
“You didn’t think the others would stay here did you?” Redclaw asked sarcastically. “With this many werewolves running around? No. I’m the only one crazy enough to stay mixed up in this business.”
It was true, of course. Trolls tended to be solitary people. At least that much of the myths were accurate. Trolls could be social, but usually that was only w
ith other trolls. They barely associated with the other Descendant clans, and mortals were never to be trusted under any circumstances.
“I knew this would happen,” Redclaw continued. “I just had to say yes to you. We’re brothers, I told myself. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Calm down, Redclaw,” Uriah said, trying to keep his own composure. It wasn’t an easy thing for trolls to do. Certainly, Uriah’s demeanor wasn’t typical of their people.
Redclaw stopped in his tracks. “Calm down? Are you kidding? Brogan is dead, and we’re caught up in something that will probably get very ugly, very soon!”
Redclaw began to pace again.
“All because of some whelp who orders my brother around like a dog,” Redclaw mumbled.
“That’s enough!” Uriah said. He turned on his brother, coming face to face with the troll. “I’ll not have you disrespecting him. I serve because it pleases me to do so and for no other reason. That young man will some day come to greatness. Everyone sees it in him.”
“Greatness?” Redclaw scoffed.
“We are in a war for our very lives, Redclaw,” Uriah said. “It’s foolish to pretend otherwise. That young man you call a whelp may very well decide the fate of not only our people but all of the Descendant clans.”
Redclaw stood his ground but said nothing more.
Uriah calmed down after a moment, looking at his brother’s stubborn expression. He looked so much like he had as a child when his favorite toy was taken from him. He knew his brother well enough to understand that he simply wanted reassurances. Redclaw was no coward, but he didn’t like the odds stacked so much against success.
“I need your help,” Uriah said. “I cannot promise that everything will come out well, but we must all be willing to sacrifice what is necessary in order to fight what’s coming. Otherwise, we will surely be destroyed. It’s only a matter of time.”
Uriah held out his hand to his brother. Redclaw sighed heavily, then took his hand. “Why do I listen to you?”
Uriah smiled. “Because you know I’m right.”
I sat upon an ornately carved chair in one of Lycean’s sitting rooms. The king was presently consulting with his personal physician, Gerard, about the body of the troll named Brogan who had been killed by Grayson Stone. We had hoped the doctor would be able to enlighten us to the method used to kill the warrior with only his touch.
Sophia sat beside me with her hand in mine, as I pondered our situation. After almost a year, since Oliver had been lost to us, matters were quickly escalating again in the war between the mortals and Descendants—a war mankind did not even realizing was being organized against them. And Lord Grayson Stone was firmly situated to take control of the clans who were willing to invade humanity and take over the world.
“Don’t worry,” Sophia said.
Drawn from my daydreaming, I smiled at her. She was beautiful to look upon. I admit to being thoroughly smitten with the werewolf princess. Even during treacherous times like these, she had remained vigilant and hopeful.
“It’s difficult not to worry,” I replied.
“You’re simply feeling the weight of your responsibilities,” she said. “I’ve seen the same thing in my father many times.”
“I suppose these matters must have weighed heavily upon Oliver,” I said. “Still, he remained in good spirits about it.”
“And now you’ve taken up his work, trying to avert a terrible war that others seem bent upon,” Sophia added. “It’s discouraging, yes, but you’ve been through worse already.”
She was right, of course. I was learning that about her, day by day. The king’s daughter was well versed in the kind of political machinations going on around us. And she possessed an innate wisdom about dealing with these kinds of situations. All in all, she carried herself with poise and grace through every circumstance she was faced with. After months of seeing her, I had not yet told Sophia that I loved her, but I was already feeling that she might be the woman for me.
I patted her hand in mine. “As long as you remain safe,” I said. “That’s all that matters.”
She smiled. Perhaps, she thought I was just being mischievous with comments like that. Perhaps, she already knew my underlying feelings. Either way, she never pushed me toward advancing our relationship. But when she smiled like that at me, it made my heart ache to say more.
King Lycean walked into the room with Gerard. Uriah and Redclaw followed after. They were talking as they entered. I noticed Lycean’s eyes dart toward us and our intertwined hands. I let go instinctively. However, Sophia did not. Lycean’s eyes met mine and then his daughters, but he did not say anything about it.
I hoped to redirect the conversation quickly. “Do you know what happened to Brogan?” I asked.
Lycean deferred to Gerard.
“The troll’s organs had hemorrhaged badly,” Gerard said. “More than that, it appears his major vessels were eviscerated.”
“All that with a touch?”
“Apparently so,” Gerard confirmed.
“Do any of the known Descendants possess that kind of power?” I asked.
“Even the library here in Tidus has no record that I’m aware of…but we also have no record of any Descendants produced directly by Lucifer.”
“The Bible talks about that,” I offered.
“Grayson is mentioned?” Lycean asked.
“Not exactly,” I said. “There is the Son of Perdition talked about in the last days before Christ returns. Perhaps Stone is that Man of Sin. The scriptures do mention the mystery of iniquity already at work. Honestly, I don’t understand the prophecies enough to say.”
“We do know he cannot be trusted by the Descendants,” Uriah said.
“And we can safely assume that anything he’s doing has Lucifer behind it,” I added. “Lucifer even saw to Black’s demise in favor of his own machinations. If his fellow Fallen are inconsequential, the Descendants certainly have no business trusting such a deceiver.”
“Still, we must proceed cautiously,” Lycean said. “You don’t trifle with the Prince of Darkness and his plans without consequences.”
“What about the meeting scheduled to take place here in a few days?” I asked. “Giving Grayson a platform by which to address the Descendant clans at once might be just what he wants. The power of his voice over minds was almost too much for me to handle, and I knew to watch for his lies. There’s no telling the kind of havoc he might unleash in Tidus with so many coming to hear him.”
Lycean nodded. “You’re right. I should cancel this conference at once.”
“Without a good excuse, that might cause further trouble with those Descendant clans who want to hear what Stone has to say,” Uriah said. “Please forgive my saying so, Your Majesty, but it might be unwise to outwardly oppose Lord Stone when we have so little evidence against him.”
“But he had those men attack me,” I said.
“Ah, but we cannot prove that Lord Stone made those men do anything,” Uriah explained. “He could easily claim his own innocence in the matter, and we have no way to deny it.”
“I could, however, use the disturbing report of the attack on Brody’s life as a reason to postpone the meeting,” Lycean said.
“Until you can guarantee everyone’s safety,” Sophia added. “Brilliant, Father. Even Lord Stone couldn’t deny the need for caution on our part when a powerful Descendant has been targeted by the very mortals he insists are a threat to us.”
I noticed that Sophia was squeezing my arm. As I glanced at her father, his gaze rose from my arm to meet my eyes. Surprisingly, he only grinned at me. I suppose he was feeling more comfortable with the idea that we were becoming closer. Still, I felt uncomfortable with her displays of affection in front of him. After all, he was a king and a powerful werewolf. Who wouldn’t be nervous about courting his daughter?
Thus, our next move was planned. Lycean would contact the other Descendant clans and their delegates by way of his emissaries.
The ruse would, at the very least, buy us some time to decide how to proceed against Grayson Stone.
We finished our conversation, while Gerard went back to his infirmary with Uriah and Redclaw in order to release Brogan’s body to them. They and their fellow trolls would see to his burial in their ancestral home within the Forest of Tanglewood. Uriah seemed reluctant to leave me so soon after my life had been threatened, but I assured him that I was in the best of care in the company of Sophia and her father.
For her part, Sophia promised that she would see to my care personally. This drew smiles from all of us, except Lycean, who simply sighed in his fatherly manner as he wandered out ahead of the others. I remained in the sitting room with Sophia eager to know exactly how she might protect me if the situation arose.
“First, I will see to your dinner,” she said. “When I heard that you had arrived this evening with Uriah, I called upon the cooks to prepare something wonderful for you. You might have been killed. The least I can do is see that you have a decent meal.”
She was teasing me, but I didn’t mind. Over the past few months, as matters developed between us, I had noticed a more playful side to Sophia coming out of the shy façade she normally wore. She was far more easy going out of the spotlight, especially on the occasions we had ventured out together in the mortal world. There alone, she could shed her royal persona.
“Why not allow me to prepare something for you?” I asked. With a wave of my hand, a table for two materialized, bearing an off-white linen table cloth, sterling silverware, porcelain plates and food fit for kings. Two candles fixed within a centerpiece of crimson colored roses added a necessary dash of color.
Sophia smiled, but shook her head. “My way tonight,” she said.
I waved the table and food away and it disappeared like vapor on the wind. “If you insist,” I said. “I’m all yours.”
Covert
Charlotte had expected that, despite the late hour, there would be guards on patrol throughout Lycean’s Royal Palace. That included the throne room where Brody’s portal opened within the Lycan city. She had prepared for a covert mission, hoping that she could get in quickly and out the same way.