The Bloodtruth Series (Box Set: Heiress of Lies, The Queen's Betrayal, Trials of Truth, A Heart's Deceit)

by Cege Smith

  “What are we doing out here?” Connor said with a clenched jaw. He wanted to leave the moment Elvry’s back was turned, but the more logical part of him kept his feet planted to the ground. Without knowing the full extent of the Master’s plans, he was only bringing guesses and conjecture to Angeline’s door. To give Angeline the fullest advantage, he needed to know more about what the Death Bringers were doing in Brebackerin.

  “We are just picking up a few supplies,” Elvry said, as she continued to walk. “You coming?” she shot back over her shoulder.

  Connor sighed heavily. A few long strides brought him even with her. “Monroe said something about children. What did he mean?”

  “What is with all the questions, Connor? Your sire commanded you to help me. You’re a soldier. Aren’t you supposed to obey without question or something like that?”

  “I stopped being a soldier a long time ago,” Connor said. “And you’re right. Unlike many others in the coven I have independent thoughts. I don’t take every explanation on its surface value and I have spent years cataloging and collecting information for the Master’s library. If I knew what the plan was, there is a good chance I can help make it that much better,” Connor lied smoothly.

  “Since when have you been so accommodating?” Elvry asked. She was looking into the windows of houses they passed now. She was looking for something, something very particular.

  “The moment Monroe agreed to give me the appropriate credit for my part in this plot,” Connor said. “It’s no secret that I still desire to finish the game that I started when I set out to kidnap the princess. It seems to me that the latitude of what the Master may grant for faithful service is much larger than it was before.”

  “Careful, Connor. You might actually start sounding like a vampire,” Elvry said.

  She stopped in front of one of the houses. She held up her hand and motioned for Connor to be quiet. Her eyes closed and she lifted her nose to the air and inhaled deeply. A smile crept across her face. “Oh, yes. We’re stopping here.”

  “What are we stopping for?” Connor hissed.

  Elvry just grinned and stepped closer to the door. She tried the door latch but it was locked. She looked back and forth, scanning the street. It was like everyone who had been there moments before had disappeared. The street was empty. Elvry tugged down hard on the door handle and the metal latch sprung open, broken. “They really should do something about that, don’t you think? I mean, who knows what kind of trouble could walk right in?” She was inside the house before Connor could stop her.

  Connor knew that she was up to no good, but he had no choice but to follow her. It was almost pitch-black inside, but Connor’s vampire eyesight adjusted easily to the gloom. He was standing in one large room that held the kitchen and main dining area. A few benches were set in an awkward semicircle around the fire, where the evening’s coals were slowly burning, still giving off a faint bit of heat.

  There were two doors along the back wall and then a small staircase that led up to the second floor. Connor saw that Elvry was already halfway up the stairs and cursed. By the time he reached the second floor, she was already leaning over one of the small beds that were set up next to the small window that faced the street. Elvry had a look of pure delight and longing on her face.

  Connor crept up behind her. Tucked beneath the covers was a boy of about three. Gold curls were plastered to his head from his night sweat and long eyelashes fluttered over his cheeks. Connor’s stomach clenched as he saw Elvry start to reach down and he grabbed her hands.

  “You dare?” she snarled. Her fangs gleamed in the faint light coming in through the window.

  “What are you doing?” he snarled back. He couldn’t let her harm the child. He would kill her or die trying if left with no other choice. He pinned her arms down to her sides and moved her away from the bed.

  “I am following orders, Connor. Which is exactly what you should be doing,” she said. Connor realized that she wasn’t fighting back, at least not yet. That was a bad sign. “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and trust that this behavior is driven by a need to know what’s going on and not some misplaced empathy for the cattle that feed us.”

  Connor’s blood boiled listening to her condescending tone. But at twice his age, Elvry was stronger and faster than he was and in a fight, he’d be no match for her. The fact that he still held her only meant that she was allowing him to do so.

  “Then tell me what’s going on,” he growled.

  “We each are to go out and bring back one child. Just one, Connor. Let’s just say that Monroe wants to have a back-up plan if things with the spoiled brat queen don’t go according to plan.”

  “Is the plan to...feed on them?” Connor asked. He was trying to keep his voice even, as if he didn’t care. But he did. Desperately. His mind raced. If each member of the Death Bringers had gone out to collect a child, that meant that even if he stopped Elvry from retrieving hers, he would still have to deal with the three remaining members. And even if he could somehow kill her, Elvry’s sudden disappearance was going to lead them straight back to him. Monroe would be able to track him right to the palace if he fled to Angeline’s side, which would put her in even more danger.

  “Of course not,” Elvry said. “At least, not yet.” A sly smile slid across her face.

  Connor was disgusted, but his options were currently bad or worse. He released her arms. Elvry rubbed her wrists with a wince that still managed to pass for half pleasure. Connor strode to the bed and looked down at the child. He was going to go to hell; he knew it. He scooped up the boy, who drew a shuddering breath and then curled into the crook of Connor’s neck. The smooth, soft skin of the boy’s neck was inches away from his mouth, and Connor felt his fangs extend. He whipped his head away and started out of the room.

  “Hey, where are you going with my kid?” Elvry said. She grabbed at his arm but he shook it off.

  “If we are using these children as assurance or bait, it doesn’t matter, but I know that Monroe would have been explicit in either instance that the children not be harmed in any way. I have a hard time trusting your intentions, Elvry,” Connor said. His feet barely touched the ground as he left the house, although he made note of its location. He hoped to be returning the young boy to it very soon.

  Elvry caught up to him easily. “Get your own,” she said, hitting him in the arm. The blow was enough to make him stumble, and the boy in his arms opened his eyes with a start.

  Connor saw the boy’s eyes widen as he realized that he was in the arms of a stranger. The boy opened his mouth to cry. Connor looked him deeply in his eyes. “Hush now, little one. Go back to sleep.”

  Immediately the boy closed his eyes and his body went limp.

  “You can go find another one later if Monroe really thinks it necessary,” Connor said. “Four human children or five doesn’t matter. Given the queen’s love for her people, even one would do.”

  “What do you know of the queen?” Elvry said suspiciously.

  Connor realized that he had said too much. As far as Monroe and the others knew, he had never met Angeline. “I know what I’ve heard the people in the city saying about her,” Connor said. “I also have listened to the court gossip around the palace.”

  Elvry tossed her hair over her shoulder. “If Monroe says we need one more, that one is mine.”

  “Fine,” Connor said.

  Then two drunkards stumbling toward them caught Elvry’s attention. Both men seemed to be trying to hold the other up, but in the end they both appeared to be falling over. A grin flashed across her face. “You go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”

  As the screams rose and then were cut off behind him, Connor tightened his grip around the child in his arms and hurried on.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  She couldn’t help it. She knew that she should try to rest. But Angeline’s nerves were jangling and there were warning signals bouncing around in her head. One enemy was too near
the surface of her consciousness, and other enemies seemed to be circling her doorstep. There was no way that she was going to sleep.

  Her mind made up, she rose to her feet and hurried to the door that Malin had just exited. She opened it carefully and peeked out. She just saw the last few inches of Malin’s leg as he strode around the corner down the hallway from her rooms. She crept out the door and in that instant decided to follow him.

  Angeline had made the whole palace her playground when she was little. She was certain that she knew every nook and cranny. While avoiding her tutors and maids, she got to know the routine of the palace staff better than they probably knew it themselves. She spent many hours roaming the various parts of the palace undetected, happy as a lark.

  When she reached the corner she moved her head out just far enough so that she could see around it. Malin had arrived at the end of the long hallway. Large windows looked out over the center of Brebackerin. During the day the vast mountains of Gilnor rose up in the background. They made for a breathtaking sight. But tonight the only thing that could be seen was the bright full moon that seemed to swallow up the whole sky. Malin stood there for several moments staring out the window at the moon. Just as Angeline was starting to feel foolish for following him, he turned left and disappeared.

  That hallway led into the outer corridors of the palace. Had he turned right, he would have been heading toward the men’s living quarters. Angeline knew that tonight all of the rooms were full, occupied by the highest ranking, single male nobles who had been invited to stay at the palace during the Ascension festivities. She wondered where Malin was going.

  As she stayed close to the wall, she realized how foolish she would look if someone happened to turn into the hallway. Queens did not creep, and they did not sneak. That made what she was doing inconvenient, and even though she moved as quickly as she dared to the end of the hall her mind raced for an excuse that would make sense if someone questioned her being out so late. In the end, she decided that she owed no one any explanation. What was the advantage of being queen if she had to explain herself?

  As she drew closer to the window, she could understand why Malin had paused. The sky itself was pitch-black, and with the silent, dark city beneath it, it was like everything else in the world was gone except for the huge round moon. The only thing that marred the image was a wispy piece of cloud that was slowly drifting over it. Angeline frowned. She was sure it was a reflection of the light in some way, but the cloud gave the moon a slightly tinged red appearance. It made her shiver.

  She looked off to the left. There was a stairwell twenty feet away and it went down to the lower levels. She hurried to the stone wall and looked down. Two floors below her she saw movement and a flash of black velvet. The coat that Malin was wearing that evening was made from crushed black velvet material. She was certain that was him. Being careful to not make any noise, she started to make her way down the staircase. At each landing she stopped to check further below, and each time she caught a glimpse of Malin below her. He seemed to be traveling down into the bowels of the palace.

  Two flights from the bottom she paused. She wondered again exactly what she was doing. She wouldn’t know how to begin to explain her presence in the stairwell at that time of night, but her curiosity had been piqued. But then again, Malin shouldn’t be down there either.

  As she approached the last flight of stairs cautiously, she heard voices wafting up to her. She stopped and moved toward the back of the landing to ensure she was out of sight. Even so she could still hear the exchange below.

  “You’re late.” The voice was young, impatient, and obviously female.

  “And the information you’ve been feeding me is out of date.” Malin’s voice was snappish. “If the Clan brokered a new agreement with the vampires, I should have been informed as soon as it happened.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the self-destructive messenger who showed up in the war room less than an hour ago delivering a message to the queen from the Master,” Malin said. “Right before he killed himself in front of her.”

  “Well, that sounds like a rather unfortunate occurrence. But the Clan has no new agreement with the vampires, at least, none that concern your business here.”

  “The Master made a threat against the queen.”

  “The Master is acting under his own accordance then.” The woman’s voice was grim.

  “He needs to be reined in. And to add further complications, the queen’s wraith problem does not appear to be as under control as you would have led me to believe.”

  “You know as well as I do, Malin, that what was done was unprecedented. I am not surprised that the magic is not holding.”

  Angeline forced herself to creep closer to the stone railing. She had to see who Malin was talking to. The woman sounded like she knew much more than Malin did. Malin was supposed to be Angeline’s link to the Clan. She had never considered that Malin might have an intermediary as well. The layers of complexity were growing and in Angeline’s mind that made things even more risky.

  “You didn’t tell me there was a chance that it wouldn’t hold,” Malin said.

  “Whether the wraith is controlled or not will be irrelevant soon. As long as the Clan maintains control of the Alteran throne, than it is no matter.”

  “The legend says that a Robart must remain on the throne for there to be peace in Altera. So it does matter to me and that should matter to the Clan.” Malin was angry. “How can you expect me to fulfill my duties if you don’t tell me what’s going on?”

  Angeline was angry as well. Malin spoke so confidently about the Clan’s desire for peace. What if that wasn’t true? And who was this person who spoke so callously about Angeline’s kingdom?

  “I told you, there’s nothing going on that is your concern right now. We have other matters to discuss,” the woman said.

  “No,” Malin interrupted. “The binding spell must be done again.”

  “You know the amount of energy that was expended the first time. I think the only reason the elders did it at all was to satisfy a curiosity if they could.”

  “It held for three weeks. What if it wasn’t done properly? It could be fixed by trying again.”

  “You dare to question the skill of the elders? Apparently being so close to marrying the Queen is making you bold, Malin. No. I told you already that soon all of this angst about the queen and her wraith will be irrelevant.”

  “What aren’t you telling me? And what if she doesn’t even make it to the wedding because the wraith takes over?”

  There was a pause. Angeline tried to move her eyes over the top of the wall without causing her full head to be in view. She could only see Malin’s shoulder and the back of the woman’s head. A waterfall of perfectly golden hair fell over her shoulders, obscuring everything else from view.

  “I will speak to the elders.” The woman’s voice was sullen.

  “Good.” Malin sounded victorious. “Now what else was it that you required that you forced me to meet in such an open forum? It is dangerous to meet here as you well know.”

  “I have other interests in the palace tonight. The elders are concerned about this vampire, Connor. He seems to be persistent in his efforts to reach the queen.”

  Angeline’s heart sped up as she realized that the Clan’s eyes and ears were far-reaching. She wondered if they already knew about her rendezvous with Connor in the rose garden, and if she was about to be ratted out to Malin.

  “I’ve already taken care of him,” Malin said confidently. “Why does the matter of one vampire concern the elders?”

  It was the right question, and one that had already crossed Angeline’s mind. She wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that Connor had spent the last hundred years digging into everything he could find on vampire lore searching for a cure.

  “He must not be allowed to interact with the queen.” The woman sidestepped Malin’s question. “See
to it that you keep a closer eye on your intended, Malin, or the elders will not be pleased.”

  “That one is not the one I’m worried about,” Malin scoffed. “It sounds like Alron has gone rogue on you. Again.”

  Angeline’s ears perked up because the word again implied that there had been other times. Angeline refused to believe that with such careful documentation over the years, there wasn’t some account of the vampires that she had missed. She had to keep looking.

  “Are you sure you aren’t jumping to conclusions?”

  “I know what I saw tonight and it was a damn mess. I need to find out what the elders know before the Master decides to do something unwise.”

  “Alron will be dealt with if he was ever so foolish.”

  Angeline wanted to listen more, but she heard movement above her. She saw a flash of white on one of the upper levels.

  Angeline was not the only one who heard the noise. “You will meet me at the south stairway at mid-afternoon tomorrow, and I will tell you what the elders said.”

  The audience was drawing to a close, and Angeline realized that she needed to move before Malin decided to climb the stairs. She was grateful for the slippers on her feet that she changed into before leaving her room. She hiked up the hem of her dress and rapidly made her way up the stairs. Just as she was getting ready to turn up the next set of steps, she heard giggling voices enter the floor above her. She didn’t have any time to think about where she was; she simply turned and dashed out of the stairwell and down the long hall.

  She just got around the corner when she heard Malin’s voice greet someone back in the stairwell. She could only assume the voices she heard belonged to some of the palace servants. She couldn’t go back the way she had come just yet. As she paused to catch her breath, Angeline surveyed her surroundings. She was in one of the storage wings of the palace. Judging by the dust on the doorknobs, no one had gone into any of the rooms in quite some time.

  Everything that Angeline needed to know seemed to reside in the past. She wondered if there was anything in any of the rooms that could help her. She took a torch off the wall and then moved deeper into the corridor. She didn’t want anyone in the stairwell to hear her. Near the end of the long narrow hall, she came upon a narrow door that was smaller than the rest. A thick layer of dust clung to the wooden surface of the door.