Certainly he shouldn’t be at the beck and call of the vampiress who was waiting for him, even if she was his superior in the Society.
Lady Emerald Downey, who had been a duchess in life and distant member of the royal family, stood in the grand entry of the shadow castle, dressed impeccably as always in her trademark green. Today she wore a suit, up-to-date and fashionable, sure to be the envy of any woman who glanced at her. She was the very model of a major modern matron, bringing to mind an opera he had seen some time ago. She too had information about vegetable, animal, and mineral, but no one could know the extent of her actions.
In fact, Lucas would never have known she had orchestrated his murder if not for a series of events that led him to discovering who had stolen the crown. And yet, though his murderer, she was also his ally.
Today.
“Ready, Lucas? The German ambassador awaits,” she said cheerily, donning the special spectacles that hid the oddly shaped and colored eyes that marked many Society vampires, Lucas included. “Once the crown is back in his hands, we can wash our hands of him and return to other, more pressing matters.”
Two oversized creatura were with her, between them hefting a crate that held the Hohenzollern crown. Society scientists had gone over the crown in detail, making sure there was nothing on it that even hinted of the mesmerism device that Fotheringay had been working on for so long. Lucas had watched it being loaded into the crate after the minute and intense examination, making sure the top was fitted on and hammered shut. It was a symbol of his friend’s treachery and he wanted it out of the shadow castle as soon as possible, back into the hands of its owners.
“Has it been out of your sight since the lid was closed?” he asked the bigger creatura, a man who had to stand well over six and a half feet and was almost as broad. Creatura were humans who swore fealty to the Society, to protect the empire and the Queen alongside the vampires who made up the core of the membership.
The creatura shook his head. “We watched the lid get nailed closed, and we brought it up here,” he said, his baritone echoing in the vast marble entryway. “We swear the crown is in the crate.”
“Good. The quicker we hand it over, the better off we’ll all be.”
“One hour to go,” Emerald said. “Lucas, you and I will travel in my carriage.”
He shook his head. “I travel with the crate and the creatura. I want to make sure the handover goes without incident.”
She pouted. “I suppose that makes sense. Perhaps we could dine later on.”
“I have to return to my original assignment of searching for the Whitechapel fiend,” he reminded her.
“We’ve kept you busy, haven’t we? But you’re so efficient. You’ll find him.”
…And there’s more to come!
Dancing in Red (a Wear Black novella) Page 6