by Gayla Twist
“That’s right,” Vagnar said, helping himself to two goblets from the tray and then handing me one of them. “My friend here is simply working off a debt. He doesn’t care what anyone says about him as long as his bill is paid.”
“But you still shouldn’t…” I began.
“Don’t be such a prig and try the wine,” Lord Vagnar told me.
“Wine?” I did a double take, but it looked like there was blood in my glass.
“Yes, I’m sick of all this talk of blood all the time. Calling it wine is much more civilized, don’t you think? I’ve decided to set a trend. Soon everyone will refer to it that way.”
There was one thing you could say about Lord Vagnar, he definitely didn’t suffer from a lack of confidence.
“So go ahead and try the wine,” he urged. “The mortals who provided it have been eating nothing but traditional goulash for weeks.” He took a moment to close his eyes and sniff the contents of his glass. “I swear I can almost smell the paprika.”
I took a tentative sip from my glass. Being a mortal was still too fresh in my memory for me to enjoy thinking about where my food came from. Still, I had to admit that the “wine” was quite flavorful; unlike anything I’d previously tasted.
“Are you enjoying it?” Vagnar asked as I took a larger sip.
“Yes,” I had to admit. “It’s delicious.”
He gave me an incredibly engaging smile. “I’m so glad to hear it.”
I felt a bit giddy for a moment and I had to wonder if it was possible for a powerful vampire to have influence over a weaker vampire; influence over a fledgling like me.
Lord Vagnar made eye contact with Yvette from across the room. “Excuse me for a moment, won’t you, my dear?” he said, executing a small bow. “The dancing is about to begin.”
“Dancing?” I gulped, already beginning to feel embarrassed as I anticipated looking like a bull in a china shop while elegant dancer swirled all around me.
But Vagnar was already striding across the room, oblivious to any discomfort I might be feeling. I scanned the room for Jessie, but he was nowhere to be found. Neither was the woman who had flung the drink in his face. I tried not to let that coincidence bother me. I noticed that Karl was watching me from across the room and suddenly, I was miserable. I just wanted to go home to Tiburon and sleep in my room. I just wanted to make popcorn and sit on the couch watching movies with my mom. I just wanted to cry.
But I wouldn’t cry. Not in Lord Vagnar’s creepy pseudo-castle, not in a room of vampires who didn’t care if I lived for eternity or died at the stake. I was going to be brave and I was going to be strong. Jessie and I would settle things with the Bishops and then we would make a home together; a new home where I could feel cozy and safe.
The crowd started moving toward the ballroom and I moved with them. Another unattractive waiter drew near and I exchanged my empty glass for a full one. At least there was plenty for me to drink. That made it much easier for me to control my emotions.
I was surprised to find Vagnar’s ballroom was completely charming. I had expected crystal chandeliers and ornate wood floors, but also cheap imitations of craftsmanship. I hadn’t anticipated the beautiful, scrolling wood paneling that lined the room, accented here and there with touches of gold leaf; enough to make it appealing without being ostentatious.
“Yes, William Morris,” I heard one of the guests say to a friend. “He did the whole room. Lord Vagnar had him especially flown in.”
“Well, that explains it,” his companion said in response. “So tastefully understated, but stunning.”
William Morris sounded familiar to me. Something to do with interior decorating, I assumed. Whoever designed the room had impeccable taste, which was something I didn’t feel overwhelmed by in the rest of the castle. All the other rooms I’d seen so far had a sense of artifice; they were trying too hard to imitate an authentic castle. But the ballroom had a style all its own and it lifted my spirits just standing in the middle of a room that was so pretty. There was even a full orchestra at the far end of the room, warming up their instruments.
“There you are,” I heard a warm voice say and I turned around to find Jessie. He was in a different tuxedo with a fresh shirt. “Sorry to have temporarily abandoned you,” he said, reaching for my hand. “But I needed a change of clothes.”
I was reassured just feeling the pressure of his palm pressing against mine. “What was that dramatic scene all about?” I asked, trying not to sound jealous or accusatory.
He leaned in slightly and said in a low voice, “I’ll explain when we’re out on the floor.”
“The floor?” I gulped.
My reaction made Jessie laugh. He knew I had a fear of making a public fool out of myself, especially when dancing was involved. “Don’t worry,” he said, leaning forward and pressing his forehead against mine. “It'll be a waltz. All you’ll have to do is levitate a little and I’ll handle the rest.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. “And that is one of the many reasons why I love you,” I told him.
“My prowess on the dance floor?” he asked, feigning surprise. “I did, after all, live through the age of disco.”
“I have no response,” I told him, shaking my head. “Just please don’t let me fall on my butt.” That would have been a very un-vampirely thing to do.
“I promise,” Jessie said. The room grew quiet as the music was about to start.
“May I have first dance,” Lord Vagnar said, appearing out of nowhere.
“Sorry,” Jessie said, leading me out onto the floor. “I fully intend to monopolize my fiancée this evening.”
Chapter 16
Waltzing with Jessie was incredibly fun. I don’t know if I was exactly levitating or not; I was at least trying to float. Jessie had me firmly in his arms and was swirling me around the dance floor. I was having so much fun that I almost forgot about the vampiress and her drink tossing.
“What did Lord Braxton have to say to you?” Jessie asked, once the room had filled with dancer and the music made it difficult to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations.
“Lord Braxton?” I asked.
“Yes.” Jessie swung me around again. “Karl Braxton.”
“Oh.” I guess he did tell me that he had a royal title. It was just so surprising that he didn’t prefer to use it.
“How do you know him?” I asked. I hadn’t seen them greeting each other like old friends or anything. In fact, I would have been surprised if they’d exchanged a single word.
“My mother and Karl are very close. Or, at least, they were at one time. But they kept their fondness for each other quite discrete.”
“Why?” I asked. Alice was so beautiful, I would think most guys would want to shout it from the rooftops.
“I’m willing to guess that Karl’s wife didn’t approve,” Jessie said, briefly rounding his eyes at me.
“Oh.” I thought over this new piece of information. I was having difficulty believing that Alice had been in love with a married man. I guess living for eternity could put a strain on any marital vows.
“So what did he say?” Jessie spun me around the room again.
“He said we should get out of here as fast as possible,” I said in a voice that was nothing more than a whisper. “And he said that Lord Vagnar had something planned for us that he doubted we would find enjoyable.”
Jessie frowned, his eyebrows forming a dark V. “Like what?”
“I don’t know,” I told him. “Vagnar came back before he could tell me anything else.”
“I guess my diversion wasn’t long enough,” he said, thoughtfully. “I should have known that Karl would waste time on pleasantries.”
“What do you mean?” I wasn’t following him.
“The wine in my face,” he explained. “I knew that would draw Vagnar away from you. He has a reputation for loving a good spat. Especially if there’s some over-the-top drama.”
He’d lost me. “Why did
that vampiress drench you?” I asked, point blank.
He gave a slight shrug. “Because I asked her to.”
“What?” I was officially confused. “Lord Vagnar said she was upset because she and Daniel were in love and…” I left off the part about Jessie staking his brother.
Jessie pursed his lips together so tightly that they appeared like a straight line, dividing his handsome face. “They were together,” he told me. “For quite some time. And I think at one point Rebecca actually wanted to marry him. But my brother had been married once already and that was enough for him.” After a moment’s thought, he added, “I’m not even sure he had the capacity for love.”
“So now this Rebecca is interested in helping us?” It sounded a little farfetched. “Why?”
Jessie swung me away from a group of people who were watching us a little too keenly. “I have to assume that at a certain point Rebecca met the monster behind the mask.”
“How?” I asked. Jessie and his mother had been in denial about Daniel for decades. How could this woman have seen through him so clearly?
Jessie looked into my eyes for a moment and then shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But Daniel has proven himself as enough of a monster for all of us to realize that he was capable of many horrible things. I’m sure he probably did something very awful, although I don’t know what.” He turned his gaze away from me. “But I can ask her, if you really want to know.”
“That’s okay,” I told him. “I don’t have to know.” The terror that Daniel had inspired in me was still too fresh for me to be curious about his other misdeeds. “Just as long as you think you can trust her.”
Jessie took a moment before answering. “I am confident,” he said. “That’s why I asked her to draw Vagnar’s attention. I just wish I knew what he was up to.” He swung me around the floor again. “I need to find a way to speak with Braxton.”
“But shouldn’t we just get out of here?” I asked. “I mean, right now, while everyone is dancing.”
“You’re right,” Jessie said, with a sudden change of heart. He immediately began steering me toward the door. “I don’t know what I was thinking. If Karl says we should leave, then there is no point in delaying, just because we’re not clear on the details.”
“And it’s not like we can sneak out in the middle of the day while everyone else is sleeping,” I observed.
“Not easily,” Jessie said, giving me a grim smile. “Something like that takes a lot of preparation and numerous mortals that you know you can trust.”
Besides Jessie, there wasn’t a single soul I trusted in the faux-castle. Maybe Yvette, but that was more with fashion choices; not with my life.
The song came to an end just as Jessie had swirled me as close as he could to the door without being obvious. “Are you feeling peckish?” he asked, tucking my arm under his in preparation of leading me out of the room.
“Starving,” I told him. And the truth of the matter was, I needed something to eat. I was pretty much hungry all of the time. I still couldn’t figure out how I’d survived the flight without any food in the coffin with us. It had to have been my close proximity to Jessie. He could distract me from an erupting volcano.
“We’ll fill our bellies and then stroll outside,” Jessie said. And then, barely moving his mouth, he added, “I think we can take off from there. Is there anything in your luggage that you can’t leave behind?”
“No,” I assured him. My engagement ring was around my finger and my Pools of Light pendant hung from my neck; nothing else mattered to me, as far as personal possessions.
“Okay, good.” Jessie smile and gave my arm a squeeze. “Then let’s go.”
“I hope you’re not planning to retire for the day,” Lord Vagnar said, appearing at my elbow. “I was just about to ask for the next dance.”
“Oh,” I exclaimed. It was as if he’d materialized out of nowhere. “We were just going to…” I stammered; Lord Vagnar was so disarming.
“I was just getting my fiancée something more to eat,” Jessie said, smoothly. “She’s still a fledgling, so she has the hunger,” he told Vagnar in a confiding voice.
“Surely she can wait for just one more dance,” the lord insisted, blocking my progress with his muscular physique. His suit was tailored to the point of being on the verge of too snug.
“I’m afraid I need to eat right away,” I told him. “Jessie caught me eyeing one of the waiters, and you know how unappealing they are,” I said with a small laugh.
“I insist,” Vagnar said, moving as if he meant to disengage my hand from Jessie’s by force.
I wanted to resist, but Jessie looked me in the eye and said, “You should dance with Lord Vagnar, sweetheart. He has a reputation for being very light on his feet.” Then he added, “But then hurry back to me. I don’t want you getting too hungry and it’s getting close to sunrise.”
Picking up on Jessie’s cue, I turned to Vagnar and said, “I would love to dance with you.”
Another waltz had just started, so he quickly led me out on to the floor. “I find your fiancé a little too territorial,” Vagnar said, sweeping me into his arms. “Does that bother you?”
“Not really,” I said, surprised at how firmly he had his hand pressed in the small of my back. “He’s just taking extra care because I’m a fledgling.”
“Swooping in to pluck you before word gets out, I should think,” he murmured, half to himself.
I didn’t know what he meant by “word gets out” and I really didn’t care. I just needed to make pleasant conversation for the length of one dance and then we would flee into the night. I wondered where we would go. It was getting close to dawn, I knew that much. Even if we flew someplace specific, it would have to be awfully close to the castle. I didn’t even know how far we were from Budapest and I doubted that Jessie did either.
The song was Waltz of the Flowers by Johann Strauss, aka The Waltz King. Strauss was an undead favorite and I was beginning to recognize his more popular compositions. And I had to admit, there was something romantic about the waltz, even if I was dancing with the wrong man.
Lord Vagnar was an excellent lead and that made it much easier for me to follow, but I still wasn’t that strong on the dance floor. After the third time that I trod on his foot, I felt I’d better explain. “I’m sorry I keep doing that,” I told him. “I’m getting better at waltzing, but I still have a long way to go until I’m as good as… well…” I gestured toward the crowd, “anyone else in the room.”
Lord Vagnar smiled, gazing deep into my eyes, and I couldn’t help but stare for a moment at his ruggedly handsome face. “Well, then let’s save my toes and elevate this party to a new level.” With that he rose into the air, taking me along with him.
I had a moment of embarrassment, thinking all of the people on the floor could see up my dress, but then everyone rose with us, all the couples swirling through the air. It was so fun, it made me giddy. I couldn’t help but throw my head back and laugh.
Lord Vagnar laughed, too, and soon everyone was laughing as we waltzed through space. I felt wonderful. I didn’t care about the Bishops and their silly inquisition. I didn’t care about having to leave the mortal world behind. All I cared about was enjoying myself and being in the arms of the man that I...
“Jessie Vanderlind is a very lucky man,” Lord Vagnar said, interrupting my reverie.
Hearing my fiancé’s name snapped me back into sobriety. For a few moments I’d actually almost forgotten about him and I felt the shame of it. I loved Jessie with all of my heart. But somehow, after looking into Lord Vagnar’s eyes, I’d almost lost my connection to him. That didn’t make sense. I felt almost like I’d been drugged or drunk too much champagne.
“Is something wrong, my dear?” Lord Vagnar asked. “You look a bit distracted.”
“Oh, no… It’s nothing,” I stammered. “It’s just…” I made a concerted effort not to gaze into my dance partner’s eyes. “It’s just I�
��m very hungry and it’s hard not to think about my next meal.”
“I understand,” Vagnar said very slowly, as if he was thinking my words over for their true meaning. “Luckily for you, the song is drawing to a close.”
I felt a wave of relief when my feet were back on the ground and Jessie was at my side. “Did you enjoy the dance?” he asked, taking my hand.
“Oh, yes. Very much,” I told him. “Lord Vagnar is a wonderful partner.” I turned my head in our host’s direction, but did not look into his eyes. “Thank you for the dance, Lord Vagnar.”
“It was my pleasure,” he assured me. “A pleasure that I hope to have repeated many times in the future.”
“Of course,” I said with an awkward laugh. “I’d like that.”
Jessie led me from the ballroom, directing our steps toward the dining hall. “Can one vampire have influence over another?” I asked.
After giving it some thought, Jessie answered, “Not that I know of. Why?”
I pressed my hand to my cheek, almost embarrassed to admit what I’d felt. “Because there were a few moments while I was dancing with Lord Vagnar that I swear I felt all woozy and lightheaded. And it was right after he was staring at me.”
“Hmm,” Jessie said. “That’s very interesting. But there’s no time to figure it out now. If we are going to get out of here then we have to go immediately because it’s almost down.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I don’t really even know where we are. We’ll just have to find a place to conceal ourselves and then maybe contact the Csorbos tomorrow night.” He turned to look at me. “Do you think you can go without eating? I hate to ask, but we haven’t got a minute to spare.”
I nodded. “I can if I’m with you,” I said. It was the truth. When I was with Jessie, I felt like the world had no limits.
“Good,” he said, purposely leading me away from the room filled with marvelous goblets full of food.