The Key to Erebus (The French Vampire Legend. Book 1)

by Emma V. Leech

Chapter 14

  I awoke the next afternoon and struggled to open my eyes. The moment I did, I regretted having bothered. Everything hurt, even my hair hurt. I lay for a moment, wondering if I’d been involved in some kind of accident. Then I remembered the events of last night, in particular the last part, with a flush that heated me all over. I moaned and buried my face in the pillow, hoping I could go back to sleep and forget it for a while but the pounding in my head was making that impossible. There was a gentle knock at the bedroom door.

  “Go away, I’m dying.”

  I clutched my head as the noise reverberated around my skull.The door opened a crack and Rodney stuck his head round. “Hair of the dog that bit yer luv. Make you feel better.”

  I groaned. “Not possible.”

  “Can I come in then?” he said, holding up a glass of something.

  “Only if you are very quiet.”

  He tiptoed into the room and sat gently down on the end of the bed.

  “Here you are then.” He offered, passing me the glass of thick red liquid.

  I took it, sniffed it suspiciously, and then tried not to throw up.

  “Oh God, it smells disgusting. What’s in it?”

  “Won’t do you any good to know, just swallow it down and be done with it.”

  I took a cautious sip and screwed my face up.”Ugh!” I tried to hand him back the glass.

  He scowled and pushed it back towards me. “Don’t be such a baby! Anyone would think you’ve never had a hangover before.”

  “Nobody’s ever had a hangover like this before,” I grumbled. “Not and survived anyway.”

  Rodney snorted.”Don’t talk daft. I thought someone had split my head in two this morning, but a dose of that took the sting out.”

  “Honest?” I gave him a doubtful look.

  “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

  I looked at the glass in distaste and then held my nose and swallowed the lot down. As soon as I’d finished, my stomach started making alarming noises in protest, but at least it stayed put.

  “That’s my girl. Give it 'alf hour or so and you’ll be right as ninepence.”

  I sat up, waited for the room to stop spinning and peered at him blearily.

  “So how did it go with Amelia then, did you get to dance with her?”

  “Yeah.” He looked adorably smug.

  I shook my head, laughing and then wincing at the pain in my head. “No way! Tell me everything.”

  “Well, she’d been makin’ a show of herself like, flirting wiv some of the oldest vampires and Corvus gave her a right telling off, so she was feelin’ sorry for herself …”

  “Oh I see.” I chuckled. “So you were able to comfort her?”

  “Something like that,” he agreed, grinning broadly.

  “And?”

  “Oh, a gentleman never talks about his conquests, luv.”

  I snorted in amusement and then wished I hadn’t, as my head pounded fiercely.

  “So, erm… what about you an’ Corvus then?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

  I suddenly felt anxious. “What about him?”

  He nudged me with his elbow and winked. “Oh, come on, did you have a nice evening?”

  For a moment I wished fervently that I could talk to Claudette, I was desperately in need of some advice and a female perspective but that was never going to be possible. In her absence I figured Rodney would have to do. There was no point in talking to Cyd, I already knew she thought I was a fool for not seducing him when I'd had the chance. Though to be fair I had tried.

  “Well…” I hesitated. “Oh God, Rodney, I made such an idiot of myself.”

  He frowned at me, his eyes full of concern. “Don’t be daft, it can’t be that bad.”

  “I had too much to drink,” I admitted.

  Rodney shrugged. “Well, that don’t seem too terrible to me.”

  “That’s not the worst bit.” I bit my lip.” Rodney, I completely threw myself at him!” Not for the first time, I added bitterly to myself. “And he was such a bloody gentleman. I feel so humiliated,” I moaned, and pulled the pillow back over my head.

  He gave my arm a reassuring pat as I hid from view. “Jéhenne, I’m absolutely sure that Corvus weren't the least bit put out at having such a beautiful girl throw 'erself at him.”

  “S’notjustthat,” I mumbled into the pillow.

  Rodney sighed and pulled the pillow away.

  “Come on, girl, spit it out.”

  I fiddled nervously with the bed covers. I couldn’t believe I was about to have this conversation with Rodney, but there was no one else I could talk to.

  He sighed. “Tell your Uncle Rodney all about it then.”

  “Well, it’s just that, now he’ll think I want to … well, you know …” I felt the blush spreading up my neck. “And I mean I do but ... not just yet. I mean, I don’t really know him all that well and I don’t want him to think I was just … you know … winding him up,” I finished, utterly mortified.

  “Ah,” said Rodney, obviously equally uncomfortable with this topic of conversation.

  “Right.” He took a moment more to compose himself before saying.” Well, Jéhenne, I reckon it’s clear as day to Corvus that you ain't no trollop, so all you 'ave to do is tell him how you feel like. He’ll understand.”

  I looked at him in horror.

  “You mean I have to say that again… to Corvus?”

  I disappeared back under the pillow so that I could die quietly of embarrassment.

  “Come on, luv, buck up. You go get yourself in the shower and meet me downstairs. I got a little surprise for you. Cheer you up like.”

  Rodney got up and walked to the door.

  “Come on, chop, chop. You’ve got twenty minutes,” he said as he closed the door behind him.

  I heaved myself out of the bed, grumbling all the way about the deficiencies of men in general, and then headed for the shower.

  By the time I’d got myself downstairs, the pounding in my head had receded to a dull thud. I’d thrown on some shorts and a top with thin straps as it was a blisteringly hot afternoon, and finally a pair of dark glasses to hide my bloodshot eyes.

  Rodney was waiting for me outside.

  “Come on then,” he said, and strode off down the side of the Château towards the meadows. It was about eighty degrees by now and I walked sluggishly in the heat. Though even feeling as rough as I did, it was impossible not to be cheered by the countryside. The meadow seemed to be on fire, blazing brightly with wild flowers. Butterflies flitted from one flower to the next and cicadas chirruped among the ox eye daisies and buttercups. We arrived at a large lake that was sparkling prettily in the sunshine at the end of the meadow. There was a row of elegant Italian poplars along one side and the borders of the water were thick with yellow irises.

  “It’s perfect, Rodney,” I said, and he grinned back at me.

  “Knew you’d like it, come on, this way.”

  He led us along a pathway that skirted the edge of the lake to a small jetty that had a boat tied up beside it. Set back from the water’s edge was a pretty little summer house. Rodney walked inside, out of the blazing sun, and I followed him into the cool shade to find a table and chairs set up for breakfast.

  “Oh wow!”

  The table, covered with a blue checked table cloth, was laden with croissants, fresh bread and jam, a pot of tea, another of coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and a big bowl of fruit. There was even a minuscule blue vase filled with daisies in the middle. My stomach gave a growl as I stared at all the food. I was surprised to discover that I was starving, despite the nausea that I’d felt earlier in the afternoon.

  “What was in that drink you gave me? I didn’t think I’d ever want to eat again when I woke up.”

  Rodney tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially.

  “Ah ha! Took me bloody years to get that recipe off your Gran, it did. The favours I had to do to get hold of it! I’m not giving it away t
hat easy, am I? Did a good job though, didn’t it?”

  I was just stunned that it worked at all. I felt fine, good in fact. Really hungry, but then I was awake, so that was a given.

  “It’s a bit late for breakfast really.” I said with a rueful smile. It was actually almost two o clock.

  He shrugged. “Well, that’s hangin' out wiv bleedin' vampires for you.”

  I sat down at the table and started to pull a croissant into bite sized pieces.

  “Rodney, have you heard from Gran?” I asked. “It’s just she hasn’t contacted me. I mean, not at all. I know she thinks I’m with Remé but he’d pass any messages on, wouldn’t he? What’s keeping her away?”

  Rodney looked a bit uncomfortable.

  “Well, she’s trackin' down that knife. You know it’s important that it’s found quick and apparently it’s proving difficult.” He hesitated. “I guess you haven’t been around your Gran all that long but when she gets into somethin', well, she gets a bit obsessive, like.”

  I realised that Rodney had pretty much echoed what Corvus had said in the car the other night. I chewed on my croissant thoughtfully.

  “So, you think she’s forgotten about me then?” I asked, feeling disappointed. I'd hoped I'd finally found a member of my family I could trust. Had I been wrong?

  He shook his head, frowning into his mug of tea.”No, oh no, not forgotten exactly, it’s not that she don’t care, she just gets, caught up, like. You know how she is about phones and computers, I mean she’s never gonna send you a text, is she luv?”

  “No, I guess not.” I knew that Rodney was just being kind. Gran was obviously just too busy to worry about me or she’d know exactly where I was and who with. I decided to change the subject. “So, how did it go last night? Was Corvus pleased?”

  Rodney rolled his eyes.

  “Bleedin' vamp politics, went on for bloody hours it did. Then it’s ‘Rodney fetch so and so’, and ‘tell him this’ and ‘tell her I’m too busy’. I was up and down like a whore’s drawers!”

  I sniggered at his description and he grinned apologetically.

  “Yeah well, I guess it went well enough as far as the family was concerned. Corvus was mighty uptight about somethin’ though.”

  “Oh, why?” I asked, pouring myself a cup of tea.

  “Dunno exactly. I’m not privy to that sorta info, but I think it’s to do with the illegal vamp that was made.” he sipped his tea, frowning with concern.

  “What, the one Corvus said about at the council meeting?”

  I remembered back to when I’d met him for the first time - and how terrified I’d been. So much had changed since then, it seemed so long ago. I was so easy to believe that I knew Corvus well despite the short time I'd known him, and yet I didn't know him at all.

  “That’s right.”Rodney said, pulling me back to the conversation. “Well it seems that he’s gone on somethin’ of a spree. There’s bodies turnin’ up all over Europe. It’s hit the papers now. Thankfully, because of the distances and the times involved, it hasn’t occurred to them it’s the same person, but if it keeps on …”

  I stared at him in horror. “But that’s terrible! What’s being done about it?” The idea of a psychotic vampire on the loose was terrifying.

  “Corvus has got family on alert all over France, trying to track him down, but he keeps crossing borders. vampires can’t cross into each other’s territory without permission and the Italian vampires are a suspicious lot. They nearly had him a few days ago, but he crossed the border and by the time they’d negotiated a pass, he had long gone.”

  “Wait a minute.” I frowned, “Are you saying the territory that Corvus controls is the whole of France?”

  Rodney nodded, “I thought you knew that.”

  “No,” I said, feeling a bit faint. “No, I didn’t. Does that mean all the vampires in France are his family?”

  “Most of them are,” he said. “But not all, and if you live in or need to travel through another family’s territory, you have to get permission and pay for their protection, instead of it being given freely.”

  “Isn’t that a bit like extortion?”

  Rodney frowned and shook his head. “It’s vamp law, it’s how their world works. You shouldn’t judge until you understand the system.” His voice was sharp and I fell quiet. I brushed croissant crumbs from my fingers and poured a glass of juice. I felt rather like I’d been told off and didn’t know what to say for a while. I got up in the end and wandered out onto the little wooden jetty and sat with my feet dangling in the water. Leaning my head back and enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face, I could hear the drone of a tractor somewhere off in the distance and the scent of fresh mown hay drifted on the breeze. I watched idly as little fish darted around my toes and dozens of dragonflies of all sizes and colours flew around me, their wings clicking and whirring like miniature wind-up toys. A tiny iridescent blue one that looked like a flying matchstick settled briefly on my knee before realising its mistake and whizzing off again.

  “Mind the pike don’t come and bite your toes, luv.” chuckled Rodney.

  “Pike?” I drew my feet quickly back onto the jetty.

  “Yeah, there’s some wicked big ones in the lake, mouths full of nasty sharp teeth.”

  I watched the water suspiciously for a bit, but could still only see the pretty little fish that had been swimming around my feet.

  “Perfect though, ain't it?” Rodney came over and sat beside me.

  I smiled but shrugged. “Almost.”

  He raised his eyebrows at me.

  “I wish Corvus could see it,” I said simply. “Oh, and Amelia of course,” I added, not wanting to be unfair.

  “Yeah, that would be pretty cool.”

  He sounded wistful.

  “Do you think they miss it?” I asked, looking over at him as he nodded.

  “Oh yeah, much more than they’ll ever let on an' all.”

  I thought for a moment. “Rodney do you know where I could get hold of some candles?”

  “Sure,” he said. “There’s loads in the Château.”

  “Would it be alright if I took some later?”

  He looked at me, curiosity in his eyes. “Yeah sure, if you want.”

  We sat quite happily for a while in silence, just enjoying the sunshine, until I got up the nerve to return to our previous conversation.

  “Who do you think made that vampire, and why would they do it?”

  Rodney looked around him nervously, like he thought someone might be listening into the conversation.

  “Well, as it happens, I overheard somethin’ last night, gave me the willies an’ all, it did.” He folded his arms, looking down into the dark water with his brow furrowed.

  I sat up straight and looked at him in alarm.

  “What?”

  Rodney leaned his head towards mine and lowered his voice. “Corvus reckons that it’s Tacitus and he’s doin’ it to try to start a war.”

  “What!” I asked in alarm. “How? And who with?”

  “Well, the thing is this,” he said. “If the normal world were to find out about the existence of vampires, governments and scientists all around the world would go crazy. They’d want to experiment on them and find a way to either use them or destroy them. Can you imagine how most people would react if they knew someone like Corvus existed and exactly what he was capable of? How long do you reckon it would be before they sent the bloody army after him? And what’s more, you’d get all the greedy bastards in the world wanting to find out the secret to immortality. It’s not like they ain't been trying already.”

  I felt a shudder go down my spine as the truth of what he was saying sank in.

  “But they’d never be able to catch him,” I said, thinking about what I knew about him.

  “Not at night, no,” Rodney agreed. “But durin’ the day, he’s pretty defenceless. He has to sleep. Younger vampires simply can’t wake at all during the day, it’s impossible. An old on
e like Corvus, well, he could, but not all day and not every day.”

  “So, if they found him…” I couldn’t finish the sentence, the thought of Corvus imprisoned like some kind of lab rat made me feel sick. “But why would Tacitus do such a thing? I mean he’s a vampire too, what’s he got to gain?”

  “Because Tacitus is a friggin’ nutcase for starters,” he said with heat. He stabbed his finger in the air as he spoke. “He thinks vampires are a superior race and that any other supernaturals should be allowed to live only if they serve them! As for the human race, he looks on them more like a herd of bleedin’ cows. They’re food and sport, nothing more.” Rodney took a breath to calm himself before he carried on. “If the vampires were exposed and they became hunted, the senate would have to retract the law forbidding vampires to kill humans. They’d have to let them protect themselves, and once that happened, Tacitus and his followers will have what they wanted.”

  “They’ll start a war,” I whispered, horrified by the possibility.

  He nodded grimly. “When that law was introduced, there were a lot of vampires that weren’t happy about it, but they abide by it, because it is the law. Tacitus has been gaining support to have the law overturned for years. It’s rumoured that even some of the senate agree with him because it wasn’t a unanimous decision. Then Tacitus will make war on the world and if his sort of vampires win, that’s gonna be seriously bad news for the rest of us and if he doesn’t, then the vampires will be destroyed. Either way, it’s pretty sodding bleak.”

  I looked at him and saw the worry etched on his face. He was deadly serious.

  “Why go to the bother of creating a rogue vamp though? Tacitus could easily show himself to the world, or any of his followers.”

  He rolled his eyes at me. “Because he don’t want the senate to know who’s behind it of course. Plus the fact he’d never risk his own skin. This creation of his is expendable and if it exposes their existence, Tacitus and the others will have the perfect opportunity.”

  “So Corvus has to stop him.”

  “Oh yes, luv, he has to stop him.”

  We both sat quietly for a while, lost in our own thoughts. The idea of a war between humans and vampires was horrifying. In the end, Rodney got to his feet and offered me his hand to pull me up.

  “Come on, this won’t do, sitting around feelin’ gloomy. The family will deal with the problem, so don’t you fret.”

  I let him pull me to my feet, and we started to walk back to the Château.

  “Hey, there’s an antiques fair down at the village today. Shall we walk down and take a look?” Rodney asked once we’d got back.

  “That sounds great. I’ll run and get my purse.”

  I’d been thinking that I’d like to buy Corvus a present, as a thank you for the dress and all the other stuff he’d bought me. I could never actually repay him and I knew Cyd had said he wouldn’t want me to, but I just didn’t feel happy about accepting all that stuff for nothing. The least I could do was say thank you, and apart from anything else, I just wanted to give him something back after everything he’d done for me. So I dashed up to my room, grabbed what was left of my money, and Rodney and I walked down to the village.

  When we got to the big, open square in front of the Mairie we found it crowded with little stalls of all shapes and sizes. There was some interesting stuff but a lot of junk too. We had a great time rummaging around but I couldn’t find anything I wanted to buy for Corvus. Rodney went off to buy himself a beer and a can of coke for me, while I carried on mooching about.

  I walked a little further down into the village as far as the salle des fêtes, and was looking at a stall set up mostly with ornaments and china when something caught my eye. It was a tiny crow carved in a material that looked like ivory. A white crow! I picked it up and turned it around in my hand. The carving was beautiful, and so intricate in its design that you could see every single feather. The only problem was going to be the price. I had a hundred and twenty two euros in my purse, which was all the money I had with me. I asked the man behind the stall how much it was and my heart sank when he said it was a hundred and forty euros. My disappointment must have been clear as the man frowned and looked at me.

  “Désolée Mademoiselle, it’s a netsuke, not the real thing of course, they are worth thousands, but still, it’s nicely done.” He held out his hands and shrugged in apology.

  “Oui c’est parfait.” I put it back on the table with regret.

  The man sighed heavily and looked at me. “How much have you got?”

  “A hundred and twenty two euros,” I said, smiling at him with a hopeful expression.

  He shook his head and laughed. “God curse me for a fool, but I never could say no to a pretty face!”

  “Oh, thank you!” I handed over the contents of my purse.

  “Well, in all honesty, it’s bone not ivory - but it’s a very good reproduction,” he added, in case I changed my mind.

  “It doesn’t matter, it’s just perfect.”

  I couldn’t wait to give it to Corvus.