by Cege Smith
“Twenty men went out to patrol outside walls tonight, but only ten came back. I am going to have to order an evacuation of the city by the end of the week unless we can find a way to turn the tide of this horror. I have gathered every man, woman, and child that can carry a sword and knife, and we will wait at the gates at dawn for the ten lost souls to return. They cannot be allowed to get into the city.”
Angeline forgot about Theodora and Malin. She even forgot about Connor. Once again, she found herself transported back in time through the eyes of Alair Robart.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Theodora Baford was the only person in the world who could make Malin feel as if he were a child again. Having the First Seat of the Clan as his mother ensured that Malin had far from any semblance of a normal childhood. One didn’t grow up in the Clan and become ‘normal’.
“I’m going to chose to overlook the fact that you apparently were willing to turn your own blood into a plaything for a vampire and a twit who is barely out of diapers but calls herself a queen,” Theodora started as soon as the wall of soundproofing was intact.
“Would that be the same blood that you murdered because you were afraid that she would be more powerful than you soon?” Malin shot back. He had noted the curling black tendrils that marked his mother’s lower arms, and he knew what it meant. His mother had gone rogue and swallowed the power of the Clan whole making herself the Supreme Seat. She was practically invincible in that form, and he had a feeling that it would take a minor miracle to convince her to release the magic now that she had it. Somehow, Angeline’s visit to the Clan had given her the reason to do something that had never been done before, at least, not since the days of Mamette and Arturo.
“I find it amusing that you come to the defense of the girl that you so utterly detested during your formidable years,” Theodora said, sidestepping the question. “You father mentioned it often in his letters to me.”
“So you are surprised that I would give Corrinda to the vampire, yet you know as well as I do that there was no love lost between us. She would have sold my soul as surely as you would if it served her purposes. You two were so much alike it’s frightening,” Malin said. “Despite your accusation, no harm would have come to her. She was a means to an end given her abilities, which yes, I was shamelessly using. At least, I thought I was. Turns out that I was the one being used.”
“So this girl, Sophia Robart, has been appearing to you as Corrinda?” Theodora asked.
“Yes,” Malin replied. “How was I supposed to know that Corrinda was gone? I have no other contact with the Clan.”
Theodora lowered her voice and glanced at Angeline, who appeared to be studying the room around her. “I have a very important question for you, Malin. What were you told of Eric Robart’s fate?”
A horrifying realization crossed Malin’s mind. “Nothing, other than his refusal to produce a male heir was no longer going to be tolerated. I provided the King’s schedules, meetings, and common habits for the two-week period before he fell ill. Of course, you know that he never recovered.”
“That would have been during the last month then,” Theodora said. Her eyes were dark.
“Yes,” Malin replied. “I was actually surprised because I usually only receive missives from the Clan once a month. This time, Corrinda, who I now know is Sophia, was appearing every few days. That was strange.”
“And you never thought to contact me? Not once?”
“Question the great and powerful First Seat?” Malin’s short laugh held no humor. “It was made abundantly clear to me when you snuffed out Father’s life after he refused your wishes when it came to Eric Robart that I was to follow your orders to the letter. No questioning your orders. Ever.”
“Then you bear the responsibility of that folly. The Clan has not sent you a missive in over a month.”
Malin wanted to reach out and strike his mother at her smugly delivered words. He felt sick. Eric Robart had been like a father figure to him, and opened his home and life to Malin when he came to court after Theodora pronounced him unfit for Clan membership. Eric was his mentor during his first years at court. Malin worked tirelessly to learn everything he could so that the King never had to question the wisdom of his advice and guidance when he took the role of Chief Advisor.
He couldn’t look at Angeline. If he had pressed further or questioned even once what he had been told to do, Eric Robart might be alive. Angeline most certainly wouldn’t be a wraith, and Connor Radwin would never have entered their lives. It was a crushing blow.
He felt the wave of panic coming over him. The last time he felt that way, he had also been standing in front of the formidable woman who birthed him, but had never shown one speck of maternal interest in him. Theodora’s children were supposedly born to carry on her legacy. Corrinda grew up to become a threat, and Malin never had the chance to show his true potential. He knew that was an embarrassing disappointment to his mother.
Children were a rarity in Tanagor because few of the Clan members were willing to put their children on the line in the way that the council required. The fact that Theodora had two so close together spoke to his mother’s overconfidence in her own lineage. Theodora was a Tremon before marrying into the Baford branch of the Clan. The Tremon line was as old as the Robart and Baford branches but had dwindled down to almost nothing, not unlike many of the other branches. Still, she was certain that the Baford/Tremon match would guarantee her strong heirs inside the Clan.
The first test of a child’s magical skill happened at fifteen. It was a relatively simple test, but one with dire consequences. As long as a child passed the first test, they would have a place in the Clan even if they failed at the higher levels. But one who did not even pass that first test was damned.
Corrinda passed her first test with flying colors. Malin remembered the absurdity of the celebration that Theodora gave in Corrinda’s honor. All of the council members were in attendance, and Theodora had even invited her estranged husband to attend. Malin didn’t care about the reason. He had been pleased to see his father after several years of being apart. Corrinda wore her finest dress, and even showed off her magical threshold by doing a small twirl and turning the dress into another color.
Malin wasn’t given any instruction prior to the day of his first test, and he understood now that it was because the first test was merely a test of blood. The magic was either in one’s blood, or it wasn’t. If a child had no magical leaning, then they were essentially worthless. His blood proved weak. He remembered vividly the slice of the knife as it bit into the meaty pad on the palm of his hand. It went so deep that he still bore the scar.
The rest of the chamber was silent as he squeezed his fist above a small cauldron that bubbled with some elixir that he couldn’t identify. His mother stood before him murmuring the words of magic that would decide his fate. He had no idea what to expect, but he innately sensed that the fact that nothing happening at all was a bad sign.
The voices began with the council members who sat behind him out of sight.
“Fail.”
“Fail.”
“Fail.”
With each pronouncement, Theodora’s face grew darker. He heard the word nine more times, and then it was Theodora’s turn.
“FAIL.”
It was the thunderbolt of his doom. The knife reappeared in Theodora’s hand. “The first test is done. Malin Baford, of the Baford branch of the Clan, you are hereby stripped of Clan membership for now and all time.”
At fifteen years old, Malin knew that meant his life was over. He was useful to Theodora to the point where he added value to her position in the Clan. As a non-magical child, he was now dead weight, and Theodora was not the kind to have any negative presence around her that could influence anyone’s opinion of her.
He wiped his bloody hand across the front of his shirt and waited for the inevitable sentence. Corrinda had teased him about it often enough that he knew what was going to happen next. He
would be cast out of his home to fend for himself in the high mountain passes that surrounded Tanagor. He might survive the elements and make it to a town on the plains of Altera proper, but likely he would not. He had no practical skills to fall back on. Although Theodora wouldn’t be killing him by her own hand, it was close enough to the same thing.
Malin remembered staring into his mother’s eyes and seeing no emotion there indicating that she would miss him or even care if he were gone. She had never shown an iota of interest in him or his interests or hobbies. It was as if he was a stranger to her, and he wondered what he could have done that was so terrible that she did not love him.
It was only because his father also was allowed back in Tanagor for Malin’s first test that he avoided that fate. Instead, his father suggested that Malin accompany him back to Brebackerin to learn the world of the Robart court. It also ensured that Theodora was not forced to send one of the magical Baford Clan members to replace him someday. Fully initiated Clan members were few and far between.
The scar on his palm burned as Malin processed the horrible truth of Theodora’s words about his part in Eric’s death. He had been wholly deceived, and a man that he cared about had died because of it. He needed to change the topic of conversation back to the critical task at hand. Later, alone, he would drink himself stupid over the truth of what he had done.
“How does one with no magical talents suddenly become magical?” he asked. The question was so obvious that he had overlooked it. “Sophia Robart was of the human Robart bloodline. Alair Robart gave up all rights to the Clan magic when he assumed the throne. The vampires, while I know they have attempted minor spells, would not have the power to be able to weld the strength of magic that Sophia does. She created an illusion within an illusion. She is able to hold that illusion effortlessly and even under duress. She was able to create a magical object that allowed the vampire Elvry to mask her true appearance as well. These are not trivial spells.”
“Only Clan can access magic,” Theodora said in a tone that said she felt as if she was schooling a child. “All magic in Altera flows from the Immortal Ones, and only those of truly pure spirit and will can hope to wield it successfully.”
Malin felt the unspoken slam in her words. It angered him that even after all the years of living in Brebackerin, her words still stung.
“Then what is your explanation for Sophia Robart’s miraculous turn as a spellcaster?”
“You are sure it is her? There is no one else who would be feeding it to her?”
Malin had no idea what she was talking about. “What do you mean feeding it to her? Is that even possible?”
“Are you sure you are my son?” Theodora sighed. “This is all fundamental knowledge in the Clan.”
Malin couldn’t keep the anger out of his voice. “The same Clan that was ready to turn me out and left me to die when I was fifteen years old? The same Clan that disowned me as if I were nothing more than a piece of garbage? I’m sorry if I haven’t kept up with my studies since the day I left Tanagor. I thought it was wholly unnecessary.”
Theodora’s blink was the only sign he had that she heard him at all. “Blood, Malin. It always comes back to blood. You said this girl became a vampire, yes?”
“Yes,” Malin replied. He had never felt so tired, but he listened to Theodora closely.
“If she fed on Clan, she would be able to access Clan magic if she knew how, at least temporarily.”
Malin was shocked. “What?”
“There’s a reason we take great caution when visiting Alron, and this was also the reason that Treven Robart was as eager as his brother to broker a peace agreement. Could you imagine if the vampires captured any Clan members and decided to try a spell that would break that which binds them to the darkness? It would be anarchy and chaos everywhere, and no one, human or Clan, would be safe.”
“There’s no one that she could have been feeding off of here,” Malin said. “The only Clan member who set foot in Brebackerin on a regular basis was Corrinda, and as you’ve pointed out yourself, she’s been dead for months.”
The door of his chamber opened, and Malin looked over to see Connor Radwin standing inside the doorway. He couldn’t mistake the look of joy on Angeline’s face when she saw him.
“I don’t have much time, but I think I know the answer to your dilemma,” Connor replied. “My sire, Monroe is alive and well and inside the palace walls. And I tracked him back to the Queen’s chambers.”
“I don’t understand,” Malin replied.
Theodora looked as if she were about to spit nails. “Impossible. We neutered him three hundred years ago.”
Connor shrugged. “Well, then he found a way to fix it. He can find me if I stay in one place too long. I have to go, but I will be in touch.”
He was gone before any of them could say anything else.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Just before Connor’s abrupt appearance, Angeline realized that she could hear Theodora and Malin’s conversation. She didn’t look up to give any indication of it, but she had a feeling it had to do with the effect of the Immortal Blood. First it revealed Alair’s words, which were obscured by a spell and then Theodora’s soundproofing spell fell before her as well.
She listened intently to Theodora’s explanation of the source of Sophia’s power, and it made perfect sense. She had reached the same conclusion as Connor just as he entered the room, and they had confirmation of their original suspicion. Monroe was Clan.
Sophia and Monroe. The pair had been forced into servitude to Alron simply because of his wish to be seen as a legitimate player in the power structure of Altera. It gave them something to bond over.
Angeline thought of her own experience turning into a wraith. She had to die and come back to life, and naturally she hadn’t come back the same. And in that simple thought came a moment of brilliance. The answer was deceptively simple.
“He died,” she said softly.
“Your Majesty?” Malin moved closer to her. “What did you say?”
Angeline didn’t care now if they figured out that Theodora’s spell failed or not. “Monroe died when Alron turned him into a vampire. When he came back to life, he was no longer bound by the Clan’s spell.”
Theodora’s face turned white. “Impossible. And even if that were the case, why would he have stayed with the coven? Why wouldn’t he have returned to the Clan?”
“You turned him out and gave him over to your enemy. He had no home anymore, just like Sophia Robart. If he had come back to the Clan as a vampire, Treven would have killed him because he was a wildling. He had no choice,” Malin replied. “It is a feeling that some of us understand better than others.”
Angeline caught Malin’s sarcasm. It was obvious to her that something serious had happened between Malin and his mother, and it revolved around his arrival in Brebackerin. But even as her curiosity was piqued, her thoughts returned to Connor. If his sire were inside the palace, she knew that it was simply a matter of time before he caught up with Connor. Monroe would track the blood bond right to him. Connor was in grave danger.
“It is possible that Sophia has been ingesting Clan blood for hundreds of years. She would have used that to fake her death,” Angeline said. “How strong does that make her?”
Malin looked at his mother with a frown. “Although my recall of Clan histories might be ‘rudimentary’, I do know that magic that comes from within is much stronger than that which is drawn from external resources.”
Angeline stepped toward Theodora. “But surely after having touched Clan magic for as long as you have, you would be a match for her?”
For the first time ever, Theodora looked uncertain. “My son is correct. I don’t access the magic constantly, but only when I need it. If you ingest magical blood, it stays with you for a period of time.”
Angeline understood now why the Immortal One’s blood affected her the way that it had. Within the last day, she had also ingested three drops of it
, which she’d guess was well outside what would be considered normal.
“So she is insane and powerful. That puts us in an even less than desirable position,” Malin replied. “Now that she’s had a taste of being the Queen, I have a feeling it will be even more difficult to persuade her to leave.”
“I still don’t understand what she wants, or what her motivation is,” Angeline replied. “She’s been skulking around for a hundred years. If she’s so powerful, why hasn’t she exacted her revenge by now? Surely she realizes that she could decimate the coven and everyone in it, including Alron.”
“This is where having access to your vampire’s knowledge would prove useful,” Theodora replied. “He’s Monroe’s childe.”
Angeline straightened her spine. “He’s bound to the Clan through a blood bond.”
“Which has passed down to you,” Malin finished. “An unheard of bonding of the blood of all the species, Human, Vampire, and Clan, inside a wraith.”
The words spoken out loud left everyone in the room silent. Angeline felt exposed and vulnerable. She felt her arms trembling, and it felt as if the walls of the room pressed in on her. “I need some air,” she said. “I need to think.”
“You can’t,” Malin started, but Angeline brushed it off.
“With the announcement of the cancellation of the tourney, everyone will be staying in their rooms out of respect for Lord Redley. I won’t go near any of the common areas. I just need to clear my head.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea at all,” Malin replied. “If anyone sees you, or by some act of an unkind fate, you encounter Sophia, that would cause other problems that we don’t need right now.”
“Try and stop me,” Angeline said. She stared at Theodora. “Either of you. Otherwise, I will be back in an hour or so. We still have a negotiation to plan as soon as the wedding is over.”
Then she swept out of the room, although Malin’s warnings still rang in her ears. She knew it was dangerous to be seen about the palace, but there were so many dangerous things surrounding her that it was hard to know which one was the worst. She just knew that it felt as if her entire world shifted with every step she took, and she didn’t know if there would be anything left of herself to save soon.