The wind came in her direction, and she narrowed her eyes. Just as Garhan had picked up her scent earlier, now she picked up his. Perhaps this mission was going to prove a bit more interesting than she’d originally anticipated. With her brother the only other vampire she’d ever come in contact with, fighting another of her kind intrigued her.
Saleet smiled and retreated back into the shadows. She would give them plenty of time to move away from Edinau before she made her move. It had been a long time since she’d faced any type of serious challenge, and she welcomed it.
* * *
Athan slowly knelt down on the leaf-littered ground. There were tears in his eyes as he reached out and scooped up the dead raven, an arrow driven through the bird’s body.
“Eldeen…” He shook his head before clutching the bird closer. Athan’s sadness quickly gave way to rage. Whoever had done this would pay with their life, but there was something he had to try first.
His body broke up into a flurry of feathers and black mist, and both vampire and bird were gone.
It wasn’t much later when he appeared at his fortress, storming up the stairs and through the doors. Athan made his way to his throne room, the fire pit within immediately erupting into a blindingly bright neon-green flame.
He carefully set the raven down on a side table. After snapping off the head from the arrow, he pulled the shaft of it from the raven’s body and pitched it off into the fire. The bird had been dead for much longer than he usually bothered to try and reverse, and any attempt would tax his abilities.
One of his advisors entered the room behind him, stopping in the doorway when he saw the color of the flame within.
Athan smiled to himself before turning around to face the man. “Yes?”
The man hesitated back near the doorway. “We…we received a message while you were away. It seemed like something you would want to know immediately upon your arrival.”
A reptilian smile crossed Athan’s lips, and he kept himself planted in front of the table, blocking the man’s view of the dead raven. “Well, do come in and tell me. Don’t act so afraid.”
The man gave another look at the color of the flames before slowly entering the room and moving closer to his master. “The way to the construction site you’ve appointed for the ice ship has been cleared. Though travel is still difficult in places, materials have begun moving to the site.”
Athan drew in a long breath, honestly pleased with the news. “It’s a relief to finally have some good news come in for once, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Lord Vercilla.” He leaned to the side slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was Athan had been fussing over.
The vampire’s smile didn’t falter and he moved just enough to obstruct the man’s view. “Was that all?”
“Y…yes, My Lord,” he replied, uneasy with the vampire’s lingering smile.
“Good, turn around and leave then. Thank you for your service.” Athan lifted his left hand toward the door, his right disappearing behind his back.
He offered a small bow, deciding not to linger any further under the uncomfortable circumstances.
Athan withdrew one of his small daggers from the sheath on the back of his belt, striking the moment the man turned. He plunged the blade between the advisor’s shoulders, hard enough to drive his unfortunate victim to his knees.
Athan’s head lulled toward the bird, his left hand extending to gently rest against the raven’s breast.
The advisor tried to cry out, but his lungs refused to draw air, his body paralyzed exactly where Athan wanted him to remain.
“Let’s see what I can do, old friend,” Athan whispered, his eyes fluttering shut as he began to draw his victim’s energy into himself.
The advisor felt the knife’s blade grow increasingly hot in his back, dizziness setting in. His body began to involuntarily shake, his heart rate growing erratic.
Athan sank into his magic, desperately trying to find any threads left between the raven’s body and spirit. Moments lapsed as he traced out multiple dead ends.
“There you are!” he chirped out, his eyes opening and staring up blindly at the ceiling. The massive shock of all of his advisor’s energy running through him and into the bird locked up Athan’s body, and he grit his teeth against the pain of it.
The advisor was released from Athan’s paralytic hold, collapsing into a flaccid heap on the floor. Athan’s hand still held the dagger in midair, after the corpse slid free of the blade.
The man’s energy alone wasn’t enough, but Athan refused to relent, pouring his own into the mix.
One of the raven’s clenched feet twitched before it reached out and grasped Athan’s wrist.
Athan dropped the dagger from his right hand and gripped the edge of the table to keep from collapsing. “Eldeen?”
The bird’s chest began to rise and fall with its rapid breaths. It gave a weak flutter of its wings, and Athan gently moved to pick her body up from the table, cradling it to his chest as he dropped down to his knees.
He kissed the top of the raven’s head before scooting to sit back against the wall, both vampire and raven in dire need of rest.
“Do you think you can identify the poacher?” he asked, eyes closing again.
The raven gave a quiet grunt, fluffing its feathers, completely at ease in Athan’s embrace.
He looked into her simple mind to see the poacher’s face, and he found it without issue. However, he saw someone else, too.
“Baden has been here while I was away?” His smile returned. “How very interesting…”
* * *
Keiran stood before his throne and lifted his hand before him, the rock in his palm again. He’d spent most of the morning repeatedly dropping it, finally starting to understand what he was feeling when he did so. There was a thrill in being able to do it at will, and it was the only solid distraction he had from his woes as it required every bit of his concentration.
As the rock fell again, he heard a gasp. Keiran pulled himself back to the present and lifted his gaze, spotting Mother Thinliss standing about halfway into the throne room, her hands clutched to her chest. The rock bounced away from him, coming to rest at her feet.
“What is this?” she whispered, eyes wide.
The fact he’d been so absorbed as to not notice her approach instantly upset him. “Is there something you need?”
“I would like to say that my age has my eyes failing me, but I know what I just saw,” she replied, arms falling to her sides, hands balling up into fists.
Irritated at her since their previous meeting, and only made worse by his discussion with Sygian, Keiran made no effort to be hospitable. “What, exactly, is it you think you saw?”
His tone caught her notice, and she arched a brow while forcing up an insincere smile. “Perhaps nothing, perhaps magic juxtaposed to our laws.”
“Which would certainly delight you, as it would give you some justification for sending the Church Knights after me?” he asked back, expression deadpan.
Adreth canted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes. “It is a violation for them to discuss their affairs with you.”
“So I’ve heard.” Keiran moved to his throne and landed heavily into it, not hiding his displeasure. “Now, why are you here?”
“To ask you to vacate the throne,” she replied.
Keiran raised his brows and leveled his gaze at her, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a lopsided grin. “Are you serious?”
“Quite.”
He looked to the side and rolled his eyes. “You have nerve, I’ll give you that.”
“I’m giving you the option to do the honorable thing and leave this country without anymore evil in this castle.” Adreth let her hands relax, seemingly unafraid.
“Knights wouldn’t do your dirty work, eh?” Keiran shook his head and looked at her again. “Look around this castle at those here. Do any of them harbor ill-will toward me? None are kept here by force as I�
�ve granted everyone their freedom. Don’t you think that if I was even a fraction as monstrous as you’ve made me out to be, that I’d be hard pressed to keep staff around?”
She tersed her lips together, slowly shrugging. “A spell upon them, perhaps, or you may simply be that skilled at hiding what you really are. Regardless, your rule is not what this country needs.”
“Mother Thinliss, you’ve hardly been here for any time at all, and you have the nerve to demand I resign?” Keiran sighed, not sure if he should simply laugh her out of the room or not. “If you weren’t able to run my father out of this castle, and I will readily agree that he and Peirte should have been, then, what makes you think you can oust me?”
“I’m asking you to do it voluntarily, as I said.” Adreth didn’t shy from his stare. “Otherwise, we are under your rule for how long? Centuries? One man is not meant to be king forever. I suppose you could pass this nation onto your son at some point, but will that be any better? Will he not turn out to be like you?”
Keiran reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. “I don’t have the patience for this, Adreth. I really don’t. You are overstepping your bounds.”
“I didn’t push those bounds as much as I should have with your father,” she replied. “Though, with Peirte at his side and also having Athan’s protection, I was limited, admittedly.”
“You are reminding me of someone, someone I don’t much care for,” Keiran said, dropping his hand back to his lap. “She also went around making claims about the terrible things I could do. She absolutely refused to believe I wasn’t the monster she made me out to be. She pushed me to the point where I would have been justified to do the things she’d been accusing me of.”
“What became of her?” Mother Thinliss asked.
Keiran shrugged. “I told her to go on living her life and to leave me alone. I didn’t touch her. I did no harm to her whatsoever. I would have been in my right to have had her executed after the things she did, though.”
“How very noble of you.”
“That woman is the reason Father Beezle is dead, you know,” he said.
“I doubt it’s that simple, but his writings from his time on his deathbed are rather hard to decipher,” she replied.
The vampire felt the beginning pangs of a headache setting in. “I can’t change what I am. I can’t change how you feel about me. I know, however, that you have no means of doing anything about it. The Church Knights will not bend to your will. I’m sorry, Adreth, but you came into power far too many years too late. They got to know me before you managed to get your claws into them. I want to hear nothing more of it. Run the church as you see fit, but leave me alone.”
Though she hadn’t expected him to agree, it was still a blow to her ego. She felt her back against the proverbial wall like it had been during Turis Lee’s rule, and it wasn’t something she’d ever wanted to experience again. She would need to resort to different measures to get rid of him. Unlike Turis Lee, however, Keiran wasn’t surrounded by powerful magic users to give him their protection.
There was something coming off of her that Keiran’s dulled senses were barely picking up on, but he knew he didn’t like it. He stood up and hopped down the three stairs of the dais, getting closer to her.
She watched his approach, unflinching. Adreth relaxed her hands at her sides and stood her ground.
“Adreth, I need to ask you something that I’ve been thinking about since we first met after your arrival,” he said, stopping directly before her.
“And that is?” she asked.
Keiran switched his gaze from one of her eyes to the other. “You cleaned up Peirte’s mess in Stanth after he was brought to Tordan Lea, correct?”
“You already know it is,” she replied.
“How?” Keiran tipped his head forward. “How did you manage to root out the demons he left in his wake?”
She lifted her chin, still not breaking eye contact. “What are you implying?”
“Well, I mean no offense by this, but I highly doubt you killed them all in any sort of battle.” Keiran turned around and paced a step away before facing her again. “Pardon my saying so, but you hardly seem the warrior type, and I know they can be terribly hard to do away with.”
“It was no easy feat. He had many people possessed, and it took years upon years to find everyone who’d been afflicted and to rid our parish of those traces of evil,” she replied. “They weren’t physical beings, however, just malevolent energies.”
Keiran raised his hands at his sides. “All right, even if that is true, Peirte had to use magic to summon them. So, how did you get rid of them? Did you have the people possessed killed?”
“Absolutely not!” she shot back, frowning. “I rid them of those demons!”
“How?” he asked again. “Where did they go?”
“What are you implying, King Keiran?” Adreth’s eyes were slits, the tendons visible in her neck.
“Magic, Adreth.” He took a step toward her again. “You had to have used magic. Prayer and hope that God will intervene on your behalf is all right and fine, but I’ve seen demons, and I’ve seen what they can do. I know what it takes to get rid of them. You absolutely must have employed magic to have done it, and for someone that comes here claiming to only play by the church’s rules, well…”
A faint bemused smile came to her lips. “Are you trying to turn this back around on me by questioning my methods? Making accusations?”
“I just want honesty. I want to know what you really are.”
“What I really am is the one who will have you removed from power,” she said. “I am not the one whose methods and intentions are being questioned.”
“I think I just did.” His fangs slid down, and he did nothing to stop them. “Do your damnedest, Adreth. Go right on ahead. I already took down one summoner. Another should be no issue.”
“I moved well beyond simple summoning a long time ago, child.” She bent down in a fluid motion, plucking the rock he’d dropped previously up from the floor. She held it out before her in her right hand and gave a wicked grin. The rock fell through her palm and hit the floor. “You have made a grievous miscalculation, and no one will ever believe you.”
Keiran blinked, his jaw going slack. “Witch…”
“Those around you will begin to see you as I do, King Keiran. You have been warned.” Adreth gave one sharp nod before she turned and swept out of the room.
* * *
Jerris brought the Sadori horse he’d taken as his own to a halt. The track of devastation from the landslide he’d survived lay before them. The real scope of it had been beyond his notice during his shock in the aftermath. Now, seeing how much of the mountain had actually given way left him speechless. How he’d survived at all was beyond his grasp.
Down below, the small creek running through the narrow valley was slowly growing into a lake, the geography of the area forever changed in a few short minutes during the slide.
“My God, half the mountain is gone!” Mari reined her mount to a stop beside him, following his gaze down the ravine. She knew he was looking for any sign of Patrice, his need for closure tangible. “Jerris?”
He shook his head before turning to look at her, forcing up an empty smile.
She could see the tears threatening in his eyes. Mari reached out and patted his shoulder, knowing he didn’t really want any show of emotion in front of the Sadori men.
Jerris knew she was much more of an expert on horses than he was. He whispered low enough the others couldn’t hear. “Tell me it would have at least gone fast for her.”
Knowing how old the mare had been and seeing the size of the slide, Mari gave a small nod. “It would have been over in moments.”
Jerris cleared his throat and reached up to drag his right hand down his face. “We can’t get across this. We’ll have to backtrack and go around somehow. I didn’t realize how bad it was. The road is simply gone. I saw a few other slides on my
way here, but nothing on this scale.”
They turned back toward the others, retracing their steps until they found a side road traveling in the direction they wanted. Eventually, they would have to take their chances and leave the road, hoping to rejoin the main route on the other side of the landslide.
The increased roughness of the ride as they moved along the smaller and poorly maintained side road made Jerris’ arm ache. He did his best to hide it, but Etras noticed the sweat rolling down the redhead’s face despite the mild weather of the day.
“You need to rest?” Etras asked, riding alongside the guard.
Jerris hated to stop, fearing the vampire Garhan had sensed earlier was somewhere in the forest around them. Still, the pain was getting worse. “I need something to dull the pain.”
It hadn’t taken Etras long to understand that Jerris tended to rely on alcohol a little too much. “Being drunk will do you no favors under these circumstances. We have nothing else to give you. If we were back with my wife, something could be done, but here?”
He frowned, knowing he’d stashed a bottle or two of something a little more potent than ale in his saddlebags when they’d fled Edinau. However, keeping aware and clear of mind was paramount given what they faced. “I know, I know.”
“Then, we need to stop. We’ve been traveling all day, yes?” Etras shook his head, looking up through the trees. “Night before too long. It would be easier to set up camp while we still had some light to work with.”
Jerris looked back at the others. Betram, Mari, and Garhan had fallen a little behind, deep in conversation. The old man was leaning forward in the saddle, exhausted. Knowing how old Betram was, Jerris thought the emperor needed a break as much as he did. “Aye, we can stop. Looks like Betram is worn out, too.”
Etras gave a nod, knowing the old man’s pride would never let him be the first to ask to stop. “Agreed. We are off the road. Hopefully, whoever your friend felt earlier isn’t out here with us, yes?”
“Hopefully.” Jerris gave brief thought to how quickly Keiran had defeated him in all their few sparring rounds since he’d been transformed.
The King's Knight (Royal Blood Book 5) Page 21