by E. M. Knight
“My coven will not attack yours. Not yet. Your mother must be given enough time to recover. When she awakens, I will come to her.” He looks at me in full seriousness. “Such a concession would have been unimaginable even five minutes ago.”
I say nothing.
“Is she being protected?” he asks. “There are those, even right around her, who would do her great harm.”
“And you profess to care?” I almost laugh. “The most casualties The Haven has ever suffered were done at your command. Now, you want me to think you care about the Queen’s well-being?”
“You are too harsh a judge,” he says. “Yes, son, I do care. In the attack, specific orders were given to ensure that no harm befall the Queen or any of my sons.”
I gesture at my leg while keeping my expression blank. “Small good that did.”
“You are healed now, are you not? You are better? I take care of my family, Raul. Even the members reluctant to be anointed as such.”
I keep my mouth shut.
A silence grows between us.
“The way forward is to forsake the past,” he tells me. “Our differences are not so great as you might think. We want similar things.”
“We do not,” I tell him. “I don’t have any clue of what you want, but I know that our interests do not align.”
“We both need the girl.”
“You won’t have her.”
“It is not in your hands to choose. She is the one spoken of in the prophecy. She will fulfill her role.”
“You think the prophecy touches all vampires, don’t you? And you’ll take it upon yourself to exploit that. You want to take advantage of the discord you sow in order to advance your own position.”
“There is no higher calling.”
Logan turns and faces me. “Listen, Raul. Our covens should be united. Let us look to the future. Infighting such as has been the norm for centuries needs to be abolished. We need to look above—” he points at the ceiling, “—and take the world back from them.”
“You make the mistake of assuming all vampires share your greed,” I say. “Most are happy, content, with what they have. With what they’ve been given.” I think of Phillip, of the relative prosperity The Haven vampires have enjoyed under our Mother’s rule. “They do not want to be exposed to the world in the way you propose.”
“No,” Logan says. “In that, you are right. But the fatal flaw in your thinking is that the world above will remain static. It will not. When I lead our kind forward, everything above ground will change. Vampires who fear the sun will never have to worry again.”
My eyes narrow. A dark suspicion forms in the back of my mind. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, son, that with Eleira on our side, we will coat the earth in eternal night!” His eyes blaze as he grips me by the shoulders. “Do you understand what that means? Can you even grasp the significance of such a thing? I will remake this planet to be our rightful home.
“I will tell you a secret now, one I think you should know. It has to do with your mother and me.
“The Haven is bathed in night, is it not? I wanted to extend that darkness to envelop the entire world.
“She refused. She was frightened. Of course, in hindsight, it is obvious she was not the witch to do it. Eleira is. And now that the stars have aligned and Eleira has come, she has a chance to fulfill that ancient prophecy that has been my guiding light for all these years.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. All this time, I had this impression of my Father as a crude, harsh, uncompromising ruler. I thought he maintained his rule through intimidation and sheer strength.
But now, I’m starting to understand that it was his intellect that let him prosper.
That makes him more fearsome an opponent than I’d ever given him credit for.
“It will happen. Whether you will it or not. You can choose to stand in my way, or you can submit and join us. All the covens will be given that choice. Those who resist will be crushed. But all vampires must stand united, must be led by a single ruler before we can inherit the earth.”
“And you think Eleira will just go along with it?” I ask softly. “You don’t know her. She has had every chance to succumb to darkness. No vampire alive has been given more opportunity. And yet, she has resisted the call every single time.”
“She is but a fledgling,” Logan says dismissively. “The darkness will make her cave. Give it time, and it will happen.”
“And if not? Her humanity is a more vital part of her than your greed for power is of you.”
He scoffs. “Again you speak as if you understand who I am. You know little about me, son. But I will still take you under my wing. Let me show you what it means to truly rule. Let me give you a glimpse into my life. Let me teach you to see through the eyes of a King—not through the eyes of a boy following his Mother.”
“A tempting offer,” I say dryly, “but still I refuse.”
“You will think on it,” Father promises. “Once you do, you will see that this is the only way.”
“Eleira will not be used. I won’t allow her to.”
He laughs. “You still think you have a say? Every freedom I’ve granted you here as my guest can be taken away with a snap of the fingers. You feel the power of my vampires flowing around you. There are thousands of them, thousands, loyal only to me. Thousands, all of whom are many times stronger than any in The Haven.
“How many do you have in your force? Two hundred? Three? Four? Even if The Haven hosts one thousand vampires—it would be swept away by the power of The Crypts. And yours is the second largest coven in existence?” Again he laughs. “Face it, son. Submission is the only prospect you have of survival.”
He turns and walks to the door. “I’ve given you enough of my time. You know what I propose. I do not seek the destruction of The Haven in any way. But if you decide to oppose me…” his hand closes into a fist and he squeezes hard, “…your coven must be crushed.”
He’s bluffing, I think, to myself. If it were truly so easy, he would have done it before.
“Riyu and Dagan will escort you to your home. When your Mother awakens, you can tell her all I’ve said. You will not be under threat from us until then.”
I walk stiffly to the doorway. I feel almost like a leaf caught in an enormous current—incapable of affecting where it takes me or how fast it goes.
And I am entirely unused to feeling that way.
As I pass my Father, he reaches into his pocket and hands me a small vial of blood.
There is less than two drops inside.
“Give this to her,” he tells me softly, but with grave seriousness. His eyes search mine. I see something new and different in his. Concern? Worry? Actual caring, perhaps?
“It is the only chance she has to live,” he finishes.
And then he turns away and walks to the midpoint of the room, where he resumes his study of that erected pillar.
I slip the vial up my sleeve and leave the chamber.
Chapter Fifty
JAMES
THE WOODS OUTSIDE THE HAVEN
The final flames of the great fire flicker and die, and I stand before it, reveling in my creation.
I am at the heart of a perfect circle of sixteen bodies. Each one of the Fang Chasers now has my blood.
None are conscious. Of course not. I held back not in the slightest when infusing them with the serum. Each was given the maximum amount.
Will all of them survive the transformation, when it comes next nightfall? No. Some might even be harmed as they lie under the rays of the sun, as their cells begin the series of mutations, the hardening of the ectoplasm and cell walls that convert ordinary flesh into immortal marble.
But that is something I cannot prevent. All of my offspring have been touched by fire. The greatest fear of the vampire had been confronted by each of them on their creation.
That is how I know they will be strong. When they rise, they will be unlike any v
ampires who came before. Their loyalty shall be mine, and mine alone.
I will be their god.
The first rays of the sun show over the horizon. I shield my eyes as I look up. Almost time for me to go beneath ground, and back into hiding.
But there is something about the tranquility of this scene that speaks to my heart. Here is a site of great violence. All of these former humans were burned, each of them willingly stepped into the fire to follow me. And then they were given my blood, given the gift they had spent their entire lives searching for.
And now look at them. Each one lies still as an angel. The perfect beauty of their faces strikes me. They have been made in my image.
One thing rankles me, however, that makes it impossible to turn away.
The bonfire was not only meant as a rite of passage. It was also meant to herald my new coven’s coming, to be a shout of announcement of their creation to the world.
None witnessed it.
I had been certain the fire would have drawn attention of The Haven’s vampires. In fact, that was the whole point. I had almost wanted them to interfere, to come after me either as enemy or friend.
I wanted to see what they would do, what they would think, how they would react.
I wanted to see whom Mother would send.
In truth? I had wanted it to be Smithson. The Captain Commander of her guard caught me unaware last time. I wanted to be the one to return the favor today. I could have taken him by surprise, as he had me, only this time, with the blood of my followers flowing through my veins, I would have been victorious. I would have destroyed him.
The satisfaction gained from that would have been the culmination of everything I was after.
But Smithson didn’t come. Nobody did. The fire was large enough to be seen from miles away.
Why had none cared to investigate?
The rays of the sun start to get a little stronger. Time is running out for me to find a suitable burrow.
But did I even want to hide, on this of all days? I survived Father’s torture cell. I survived the desert sun at its very peak.
And I am stronger now than I was then.
If one of the newly made Nocturna Animalia were to wake and see me… I would become an even greater legend.
Of course, staying in the sun it is going to be painful. But sometimes, even in the most hedonistic pursuits, sacrifices must be made.
A flash of a shadow darts through the undergrowth, catching my eye.
I spin on my heels.
The shadow moves again. It’s too fast to make out.
Then it comes to a sudden stop. And there, standing across from me, outside the ring of bodies… is the Narwhark.
My muscles tense. The hairs on the back of my neck go up. I’ve seen what this creature is capable of. It is not the one I wanted to attract.
Time slows to a standstill as the Narwhark and I regard each other. I see a certain intelligence reflected in its eyes that had never been there before. Its grotesquely shaped head is black as night, but those eyes… they’re even darker. But now it’s not mere instinctual force guiding it forward.
There is something more.
The Narwhark’s tail swishes behind it. Left, right, left, right, like the ticking pendulum of a clock.
It knows that I cannot stay out here in the sun.
“What do you want, you goddamned bastard?” I growl. If it attacks… well, I’ve seen what it can do.
But it has never faced me at full strength before.
The Narwhark’s lips curl back. Two double rows of tiny, pointed teeth show on either of its jaws. It snaps at me and digs at the ground, but it does not move.
My claws come out. I feel the adrenaline coming over my body. It’s been too long since I’ve had a decent fight. And with all the new blood coursing through me, the vampire inside me craves an outlet.
Suddenly, and without warning, it leaps forward. I brace myself for impact.
But the demon lands beside the closest human to it. In a quick jab it sinks its pointed tail into the man’s shoulder.
He convulses as soon as the point pierces his skin, then goes still. By then the Narwhark’s already moved off, running at astonishing speed. It goes around to every single body laying on the ground and pierces its tail into their flesh.
It completes the circle before I can react. The speed it is blessed with is astonishing. The convulsions take my humans in a dynamo effect.
The worst kind of anger settles on me. “What have you done?” I mutter.
Without thinking, I launch myself at the Narwhark.
It simply skips away.
It lands between two trees. I’m in that spot in an instant, but the demon is too fast; it’s another hundred yards away before I get there.
It looks at me from a distance. Once more I get that unnerving perception of its intellect—and of its unabashed evil.
By then the sun’s rays have started to pierce the canopy. The Narwhark blinks and tilts its head, almost as if mocking me… and runs off.
I dash forward in the same direction as fast as I can. But by the time I arrive, the demon is long gone. I cannot track it even with my preternatural senses at their full capacity.
A moan comes from behind me. I spin back. Norman, the first man I converted, is up. He’s awake, and he’s clutching the spot on his shoulder where the Narwhark struck.
I stagger toward him through the increasing sunlight. I drop to my knee at his side. I cup his head in my hands and peel away the burnt remains of his clothes that are covering the new wound.
There is only the tiniest mark there. “It hurts,” he groans. “The pain… the sun… it burns…”
Quickly I check his pulse. His heart is beating twice as fast as it should, many times faster than a vampire’s does. That means he is still in the midst of the conversion.
I glance up at the sky. There are only seconds remaining, now. I lie him back down.
“It’ll pass,” I promise. “I cannot help you yet. You must endure until night.”
He clutches at his arm. “That thing,” he says. “What was that? It—argh!”
He screams and grabs at the wound again.
“Rest,” I say, laying him down. “Close your eyes. Sleep, heal. Your body must recover.”
I stand. The sun’s rays beat against my exposed skin. They are still weak, only the thinnest tendrils of the morning, but they will grow stronger soon.
And if the Narwhark is around, I cannot risk being weakened by the rays.
I race over to the spot I’d designated for myself and quickly dig into the ground. As the fresh soil covers my skin and eases my discomfort, I only hope the cloaking spell makes me invisible to the demon as well.
Chapter Fifty-One
ELEIRA
SOMEWHERE IN THE CRYPTS
I’m reunited with Raul in the same room where I was left the first time.
He’s already there when I arrive, pacing the empty floor. His face is a mask of consternation.
I wonder what happened to him while I was away.
As soon as he sees me, he stops and runs over. He takes me by the shoulders and rubs his thumbs over my bare skin. He says nothing; he doesn’t need to. His eyes betray the truth of every emotion running through his head.
Suddenly, he clasps me to him. I give a little squeak—maybe of surprise, maybe of astonishment—as I’m pressed tight against his body.
After a moment he lets go and touches his forehead to mine. “You’re safe,” he says, finally. “You’re safe, you’re here. That’s all that matters.”
What happened while I was gone? I wonder.
He sweeps my hand up in his. “We’re going back,” he says.
“Already?” I ask. “Have we accomplished anything here?”
“I spoke to Father. He made a proposition…” Raul shakes his head. “I refused.”
My breath catches. “What does that mean for us? For the coven?”
“The ceasefire st
ill exists,” Raul growls. He looks troubled for a second. “I may have revealed more than I intended to.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him about Morgan,” he says. “How she was stabbed by the demon.”
“No!” I gasp. “That means they know we are vulnerable! They can strike The Haven at any time.”
“They won’t,” Raul says. “Father gave his word. Not until the Queen awakes. He… Eleira, I think he still cares for her.”
“After all these years?” I wonder. It’s astounding that love can carry through the centuries like that.
“I don’t think my Father is the callous man we all assumed him to be,” Raul continues. “He couldn’t have extended so much influence if he didn’t have any brains. No. He’s ruthless, but he’s also highly intelligent.” He looks down at me. “What about you? What happened on the other side of the veil?”
I shudder just thinking about it. “The woman—Beatrice—made me an offer as well. She wants me on her side. But the things she was talking about, Raul, they’re just dreadful! World domination, a culling of all humans, covering the globe with eternal night…”
“She said those things to you?” Raul considers. “That’s exactly what Father proposed to me.”
“But you refused.” It’s not a question.
“Of course.”
“Are they really going to allow us to return?” I ask. “Just like that? After all they went through to get us here?”
Raul reaches into a pocket and takes out a small vial of blood. “Logan gave this to me to administer to Mother.” He pops the top and lets the scent drift out. “It’s blood of The Ancient, isn’t it?”
I recognize the smell as soon as it hits. My body thrums in resonance with the blood. “Yes,” I tell him. “Yes, it is.”
Raul closes the top. “Father says we’ll be let back. He told me to use this to save the Queen. But I wonder…” He trails off.
“What?” I take his hand. “What is it? What do you wonder?”
“I wonder if it’s a trap,” he says softly. “A Trojan horse. When he spoke to me, he implied some sort of link exists between him and her. I’ve never heard of its kind. But what if this blood is infused with, I don’t know, some sort of magic? What if it strengthens the link between them, and puts her under his influence? Or, even worse—” he swallows, “—what if it kills her?”