“You’re all right?” Knot asked Cinzia.
“Yes,” she said. “I will tell you more, I can tell you everything, when we have Astrid back.”
Knot shrugged, and began walking up the tunnel. Cinzia followed.
“Wait a second, mate,” Code said, walking quickly after them.
He opened his mouth, but then closed it almost immediately.
Now was not the time. If Cinzia was the avatar of a Daemon, the deed was already done. There was nothing they could do about it. And, truth was, they could use someone with her strength. Code had thought Cinzia a liability until now.
They reached the third vampire; his head had been severed messily from his body. Trave was already walking ahead of them, wiping off his greatsword. He beckoned for them to follow.
“I trust Cinzia,” Knot told Code, kicking the vampire’s head down the tunnel, toward the other two bodies. Dark blood spattered as the head rolled away in the dark. “You will, too, if you want anything to do with me.”
* * *
They continued walking for the better part of an hour, Trave keeping just ahead of the rest of them. Knot hated the formation—it put them completely at Trave’s mercy—but if Astrid had trusted the man… well, Knot sure as Oblivion wouldn’t trust Trave under normal circumstances, but when Astrid’s life was at stake—when they had no other options, he certainly would.
They had not encountered anyone else since they’d killed the three vampires. Knot glanced over at Cinzia. She’d been silent since their encounter with the three vampires, and Knot worried about her. He knew she’d become the avatar of a Daemon to help him. He wanted to help her, but he was at a complete loss.
Finally, Trave stopped ahead of them. A door, large and banded with metal, stood tall to one side. Knot culled the sprout of hope blooming in his chest. Didn’t want to get his hopes up. Not yet.
“About bloody time,” Code said. “We’re burning valuable daylight.”
That was true, but they still had a good six hours of daylight left at least. Unless they ran into real trouble, they should be able to make it out before sunset.
“I’ve seen dozens of doors that look like they might hold prisoners,” Knot said as they approached Trave and the door. “What makes you think she wasn’t in one of those?”
“They’d be— Keep your distance, for Canta’s sake.”
Knot, Code, and Cinzia stopped. They each still carried nightsbane on them.
“They’d be keeping her in the Deep Cells,” Trave said. “And this is the deepest of them. That’s why it took so long to get here.”
Knot glanced around. No other vampires in sight; Trave had said the cells were typically not guarded. Vampires knew exactly what would imprison one of their own kind and what would not.
Trave moved in a wide circle around the others, with an eye out for anyone that might intrude on their little prison break, while they approached the door. Knot and Code squatted to lift the huge wooden plank, held in place by two iron arms bolted into the rock on either side of the door. Knot wanted Astrid to be here. He didn’t know what he would do if she wasn’t. So he focused on the task at hand, his muscles straining, but he and Code barely lifted the plank.
“Bloody bones,” Code grunted beside him when they’d finally lifted the beam free of the metal catches. They set the beam on the rock floor with a loud thump. “Did not expect the thing to be that heavy.”
“For Canta’s sake,” Cinzia said, stepping forward.
“Should’ve anticipated this,” Knot said. “A vampire at full strength could probably lift it…”
Cinzia lifted the middle beam free of its catches and leaned it up against the tunnel wall next to the door, then did the same thing with the lower beam.
“…alone,” Knot finished, unable to take his eyes off Cinzia.
Cinzia had told him what had happened, but Knot had no idea it meant she would become like this. Goddess, if he didn’t know she was imbued with a Daemon’s power, if he didn’t know she hated every moment of it, it’d be hard to find the negative aspects of such power.
Code said nothing, his eyes slightly narrowed as he stared at Cinzia. Trave remained where he was, keeping watch.
“You two were taking too long,” Cinzia said, wiping her hands on her dress. She nodded at the door, now unobstructed. “Shall we see if she is really inside?”
Code hefted his crossbow while Knot approached the door, unlocking the simple bolt mechanisms that still held it in place, praying to whoever was listening that Astrid would be inside.
* * *
The moment Astrid’s door opened, she bolted into it, knocking it wide open and barreling through the figures beyond until a burst of pain racked through her entire body, and a sick feeling overcame her. She stumbled to the ground, confused.
She was close to nightsbane.
Astrid raised her head to see dim shapes standing above her. As her eyes focused, she recognized Knot.
Leaping to her feet with a growl, Astrid dashed at the figure. But the moment she got close, nightsbane took effect as pain cracked through her body. She wanted to vomit, but she persisted, pressing forward.
This was an illusion. One of Elegance’s tricks.
“Astrid, it’s me,” the illusion said, throwing the nightsbane that had been pinned to its clothing away.
“You’re not real,” Astrid growled, pouncing as the figure moved away from where it had thrown the nightsbane.
The illusion grunted as Astrid collided with it. “I’m real, Astrid.”
Astrid fought, despite her weakness from the nightsbane still in relatively close proximity to her, despite having gone so long without blood and trapped in that wretched cell, despite the horrible feeling she could not quell inside of her that told her that Knot was not here, that he couldn’t be, that she was alone and always would be, and her loneliness would never end.
She fought, kicking and clawing and biting, but the illusion kept with her, move for move, never attacking, always defending.
That is just what Knot would do if he were here. Of course, Elegance would make the illusion as real as possible.
Astrid disengaged from the illusion only to fall to the ground. She lifted herself up to a seated position and shouted into the dim corridor, “Where are you, Elegance?”
She looked around, vision blurry. An illusion of Cinzia stood back from Knot, a few paces to his left. Of course Elegance would make one of Cinzia. But, as Astrid looked at the other two figures, the light brightened again.
One was Trave. There was a chance that they would send an illusion of him to toy with her—Cabral had told the Coven of Trave’s betrayal—but why? And this one was not threatening her. Why send her an illusion of Trave if not to torture her?
The fourth figure perplexed Astrid even more than Trave. It was a man she had never seen before; handsome, with a strong jaw and long blonde hair tied in a bun atop his head.
“You’re not real,” Astrid whispered, but allowing herself the tiniest sliver of doubt as she said it.
Why would Elegance form an illusion of someone Astrid did not even know? To play an even deeper game with her? Astrid could see Cabral doing such a thing, but the Coven had not seemed so petty.
The figure that looked like Knot approached her again, slowly.
“Astrid, it’s me. We’re going to get you out of here.”
The illusion’s hands reached for her, and Astrid backed away, but then stopped herself.
Chances were, this was an illusion. But Astrid had a choice. She could choose to believe, or choose to not.
If she chose not to believe, she could run, or hide, only to be inevitably taken and thrown back into her cell. If she chose to believe, she would likely end up the same way.
But at least in that case, she might have a moment of happiness.
“You’re an idiot,” Astrid said.
A slow smile spread across Knot’s face. “Aye,” he said, “so you’ve told me, many times.�
�
“You could’ve at least brought something that would make me certain it was you,” she said. “This could all be an illusion. I could live a lifetime of this, only to wake up back in that cell, only a few hours having passed.”
Knot knelt down. “That doesn’t sound pleasant.”
Astrid looked up at him, really looked at him. Before she knew what she was doing, she touched the scruffy stubble that he hadn’t shaved in at least a week.
“I’d say don’t worry about being an idiot because you have your looks, but, well… your face isn’t much to write home about either, nomad.”
The feel of his face as the laugh escaped his lips seemed to crackle down her arm and into her body.
She knew this face.
Then Knot was hugging her, and Astrid was letting herself be hugged, and apparently Cinzia couldn’t help herself either because suddenly there she was, too—squeezing far harder than she had any right—and Astrid found herself in the middle of the two of them.
The stranger cleared his throat. “Hate to interrupt the reunion,” he said, “and I hate to point out the obvious even more, but when it clearly isn’t obvious to you, I can’t help myself…”
Knot let go, smiling down at Astrid. “I know, Code. Let’s get moving.”
“Who is he, anyway?” Astrid asked, nodding at the blonde man.
“I’m the help.”
Astrid raised an eyebrow. “The help? Have you done much helping, then?”
Code laughed. “Hey, I’m doing this job for free, little girl. My motivation isn’t particularly high at the moment.”
“You are getting paid for this gig,” Knot told him.
“Oh I am? In what currency, exactly?”
“My friendship.”
“Fine, mate. Your friendship is a fine treasure, indeed, but as I was saying earlier, about the escaping…”
It took a moment for them to find the best arrangement for them to walk, considering the three humans still carried nightsbane and the two vampires couldn’t abide it. They settled on the vampires taking the lead, since Trave knew the layout of the place fairly well, while the humans followed a healthy distance behind.
Astrid was about to say something to Trave about how she appreciated his help—she couldn’t imagine Knot and Cinzia finding their way down here on their own, so Trave’s part in this must’ve been healthy, indeed—when Trave stopped, hand up.
Voices ahead of them.
“Let us take the lead,” Knot said from behind them. In the event that they ran into other vampires, having the humans with nightsbane as the first line of defense would be the advantageous position, to be sure.
“Shit.” Astrid moved against the tunnel wall, the effect of the herb making her queasy as the humans passed her.
“Be careful,” she told them. “Mainly Knot and Cinzia. Code, I don’t much care about you.”
Code looked back at her and winked. “You sound like my mother.” She also noticed Code slip something from the pouch at his belt into his mouth. She’d seen Winter use a similar pouch. Code was a psimancer.
Astrid rolled her eyes at his comment, but her gut was doing twists and his light-heartedness helped.
Knot stopped, indicating they all do the same, but it was too late. Around the corner of the tunnel walked a dozen vampires, Cabral leading them, a sneer on his face.
But, worse than that, Elegance, Equity, and Eldritch stood— or, in Eldritch’s case, levitated—at the back of the cadre.
Against Cabral and his Fangs, they might stand a chance. But even with nightsbane, she knew the Coven outmatched them.
“Well, well, I thought I’d have to isolate you and make you outlive all of your friends, but here they are. Lambs to the slaughter, isn’t that what they say?” As he spoke, Cabral stepped forward, then stopped, frowning.
Astrid sneered at him. “Yes, they’ve got nightsbane, you bastard. Go ahead and come closer, if you dare.”
Cabral glared at her, then looked over his shoulder.
“A little help?” he said.
“We are not your parents, Cabral,” Equity said.
Cabral’s eyes still smoldered on Astrid. “I’ll kill your friends while you watch, girl.”
Knot lunged, and there was a scuffle. Astrid’s heart contracted.
“What are you doing, nomad?” she whispered. She did not know how she’d be able to join the fight when nightsbane was in play.
Knot had impaled Cabral with two wooden stakes, both in the chest. He gripped Cabral by the collar of his shirt, his sword raised high. Cabral struggled weakly; the stakes must not have actually pierced his heart, otherwise he’d be completely immobile.
A ray of hope sliced through the oppressing fear that weighed down on Astrid’s chest.
“Back off,” Knot said, glaring at the other vampires, “or I’m taking his head.”
Cabral’s struggling intensified. Even pierced by two stakes, his will to live empowered him.
The Coven remained where they were, observing silently. A few of Cabral’s Fangs looked at one another.
Several things happened at once in a flurry of movement. Two of the Fangs charged Knot. Trave threw himself at Cabral, but was intercepted by more Fangs. Code tossed three wooden stakes into the air in front of him, and all three of them immediately shot forward.
The Coven hung back, watching dispassionately as Cabral coughed up blood on the ground, his face contorted in rage.
The nightsbane hindered the attacking Fangs long enough for Knot, Code, and—Goddess, Cinzia?—to make quick work of them. Knot and Code both staked the vampires, wielding swords that Astrid realized were nearly identical.
Cinzia, however, was a different force entirely.
She overpowered each vampire she encountered with brute force, punching stakes into their bodies, only to decapitate them with the axe she carried—as if it didn’t weigh anything at all. While Knot and Code dodged and parried vampire attacks, Cinzia simply blocked each vampire’s strike with an upheld arm.
“Let us go,” Astrid called to the Coven. They stood back a little, observing the fight, along with three other vampires who seemed to be part of their personal entourage rather than Cabral’s Fangs.
“Astrid…”
The voice was Cinzia’s, but there was an underlying, wavering current of horror that compelled Astrid to turn. She followed Cinzia’s gaze to see Cabral had somehow removed the stakes from his torso, and now stood behind Knot, holding a dagger to his throat.
Cabral’s remaining Fangs moved quickly to his side, swords held ready.
“Cabral,” Astrid said slowly, “This is over. Let him go. He isn’t the one you want, anyway.”
Cabral laughed, the sound of it wet and hacking. “On the contrary, my dear. I think he is exactly who I want. If I want to hurt you the most, I—”
“That’s enough, Cabral.”
A low growl issued forth from Cabral’s throat as he stared at Equity. “I’ll have my revenge. I’ll—”
“We have come to a new decision. Let the human go, Cabral. We will take this back to our audience chambers for a trial by combat.”
“I’ll be damned if I—” Cabral stumbled back as if he’d been struck, though no one but Knot stood within a rod of him.
Knot turned to face the Coven. “We’re leaving, like the girl said.”
No, you are not.
Astrid recognized Eldritch’s voice. The others seemed to have heard it, too, as Knot, Cinzia, and Code all looked around for the source.
Knot leapt toward Cabral, but stopped in midair, as if held by an invisible hand. Code tossed another three stakes in front of him, but they, too, stopped in place. Cinzia thundered forward, axe held high, but the axe disintegrated in her hands.
You have invaded our home. You will abide by our rules. We will not harm you—yet— but you must accompany us to the trial, and stand as witnesses.
Astrid opened her mouth to speak, but found she could not.
; They all had no choice but to follow the Coven, and do as they suggested.
21
ASTRID ONCE AGAIN FOUND herself in the Coven’s strange hall in the vampire tunnels, tapestries and statues and suits of armor all looking down at her. The Coven sat in their thrones, Eldritch cross-legged among her sapphires between the other two, waiting patiently. Cabral’s three remaining Fangs stood with him at one end of the hall, to the Coven’s right. Astrid and her rescuers stood to the Coven’s left. Knot, Cinzia, and Code had been stripped of their nightsbane—apparently it had no effect on the Coven, anyway—and their wooden stakes, though they had been allowed to keep their other weapons. Opposite the Coven stood Igar, towering over everyone else in the room, and a half-dozen other vampires that Astrid assumed were part of the Coven’s inner circle.
“This is bullshit,” Knot muttered. He could not tear his eyes away from Cabral; every few moments Cabral noticed, and would send a smirk Knot’s way, which only seemed to make him more angry. “They can’t make you do this.”
“They can, and they are,” Astrid said. She had resigned herself to the fight that awaited her. Goddess, the Coven almost looked bored. “Cabral and the rest of them be damned. You don’t understand how powerful those three are.” I don’t even understand how powerful they are.
“I’m more worried about that bloke,” Code said, nodding at Igar. The beast of a vampire stood expressionless with his arms folded across his massive chest. The vampires around him barely rose to his hips, and he had to be at least three times their girth, thick with muscle.
“I don’t think he’s the worst of them,” Astrid muttered, her eyes locked on Eldritch.
The mood in the room shifted, and Astrid realized it was because the sun had set. Eyes began glowing around the room, mostly red, but Astrid noticed the yellow, blue, and violet of the Coven, as well as Igar’s orange, and a few more colors near him.
“And here I was thinking all vampires had red eyes,” Code said quietly. “How closed-minded of me.”
Before anyone else could say anything, Equity stood from his amethyst throne.
Chaos Queen--Fear the Stars (Chaos Queen 4) Page 17