by Kailin Gow
Chapter 10
Briony took a longer look at the girl. She looked healthy, even beautiful, and was dressed after the fashion of the rest of the court. She had to be some Hugtandalfer aristocrat’s daughter, so what was she doing here?
There wasn’t any time to ask. “You shouldn’t be here,” Briony said instead. “It’s not safe. Hurry and go before they attack again.”
Yet even as she said it, a new vampire stepped forward. Even by the standards of vampires generally, he was good-looking, appearing to be in his early twenties, with sandy hair and eyes of a deep hazel. He was dressed in black, from the fingers of his gloved hands down to the tips of his highly-polished boots. And he was heading for the girl in front of Briony.
“Get behind me!” Briony ordered. She ran in front of the girl, placing herself between her and the new threat. Even unarmed as she was, Briony was determined not to let the vampires get to the young girl.
The approaching man stopped just in front of her, as casually as if Vigor and Aunt Sophie weren’t still fighting his fellow vampires just a little ways away.
“Princess Briony, I presume,” he said, giving her a courtly bow that had to be designed to mock her. “We have been awaiting your arrival for a very long time.” He smiled, and just for a second, Briony was reminded of Fallon. The same near beauty in his face. The same delicacy to his features. Then the new vampire’s fangs appeared, and he snarled.
“Where is the scepter?”
“Scepter?” Briony asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The newcomer shook his head and stepped still closer. “There’s no point in trying to deceive me. You’re Waltham’s heir. Of course you would know about the scepter.”
“Believe me, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Briony looked around, trying to locate a weapon. Aunt Sophie was on the other side of the room, fighting off two vampires with desperate speed, while Vigor on the other side, still trading sword moves with the dark haired vampire who had been the first to attack them. Neither was near enough to throw over a weapon, and in any case, both looked as though distracting them might prove fatal. It seemed Briony was on her own.
The vampire in front of Briony grinned, looking almost frighteningly friendly despite his fangs.
“You know, I think I actually believe you. Still, you may not know what the scepter is, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help us get it.”
“I’ll never help you,” Briony said.
“Oh, I think you will.”
Briony tensed, expecting the vampire to rush her, but he just stood there grinning, crossing his arms casually. Why wasn’t he attacking? Something was wrong. As Briony began to think that thought, she felt strong hands grabbing her from behind, a feminine laugh sounding in her ear. The girl?
It was indeed her. She laughed again. “You really are that naïve. You couldn’t even tell …” Briony turned her head and saw the girl’s fangs exposed as she stared longingly at Briony’s neck. “I haven’t had human blood in so long. She smells so good. Can I just have a taste, Barron?”
Thankfully, the vampire in front of Briony shook his head. “No, Elise, we must keep her alive. Bring her.”
The girl, Elise, improved her grip on Briony, holding her around the waist and lifting her with one arm. Briony tried to twist out of the hold, but found the vampire had as much strength as anyone she had ever met. She was fast too. Before Briony could call out to Aunt Sophie or even Vigor for help, she was being borne away through the castle with blurring speed. And when they reached a window, the girl leapt.
It was so different to the time Fallon carried her through the air. It was smoother, far more controlled, and somehow Briony knew that Elise had done this thousands of times. She barely skimmed the ground with each leap before taking to the air again, while a black blur soon joined them as they passed through the nearby forest and into the hills.
Eventually, they came to a stop. The land around was different than the rest of Palisor, and it took Briony a moment to realize why. It was dead. The sky was a dull, cloudy grey. The rocks around were jagged, with no signs of vegetation. And at the top…
It was the kind of castle Briony had always imagined vampires having; a thing of pointed towers and dark banners, set with spikes on the outer surfaces and imposing its might on the world around. It could almost have been stolen wholesale from Transylvania.
Elise set down Briony, letting her scramble to find her footing on the rocks. Meanwhile, the black blur that had accompanied them resolved itself into the too handsome form of Barron, who took Briony’s hand, touching his lips to it in a parody of a courtier.
“Princess,” he said, mockingly. “Welcome to the Kingdom of Darkness, our home.”
“By our, you mean…”
“Vampires,” Elise put in. “What else?”
Briony shuddered. The castle reminded her of something from the days of black and white horror films. She did not want to go inside. Not that she would get a choice, probably.
Next to her, Elise laughed. “I had forgotten how a human would see this castle, Barron. Just look at the Princess’ face. Such dread. Quite lovely, really.”
“Come,” Barron said, taking hold of Briony by the waist and lifting her. Couldn’t someone just let her walk for once? “It is much cozier inside.”
He sped to the top of the hill through the main gate and into the castle, not stopping until he had reached a suite of rooms, where he set down Briony on a chaise lounge covered in deep red velvet.
It went with the rest of the room. Everything there was red, or black, or silver, and it seemed no expense had been spared. The reds came in velvet, silk and rubies, the blacks in ebony, onyx and jet, while all the silvers had to be platinum, given the way vampires reacted to the real thing. Put together, it looked either like the most expensively furnished place Briony had ever been in, or like further proof that vampires liked to take decorating tips from old movies.
“Don’t make yourself too comfortable, Princess.” Elise sat down besides her, throwing an arm around Briony like they were best friends. “You won’t be here long if Barron has his way, and he usually gets what he wants.”
“The scepter,” Briony said.
“Oh, so you have been listening,” Elise said drily. “Yes, the scepter. All supernatural creatures of the dark want it, after all.”
“Why?” Briony asked. “What’s so special about it?”
“Power, obviously.”
“What kind of power?”
Elise laughed. “I could explain it to you, but I suspect it would be too much for your wee human head to take in.”
“Elise,” Barron’s voice shot through from a hall way. Briony hadn’t even noticed him step outside.
“Don’t be patronizing to our guest. She is after all, King Waltham’s daughter.”
He came back into the room with a cut glass goblet in each hand. Elise reached out for one, but Barron ignored her, handing one of the goblets to Briony.
“Here.” His voice was soft. Almost gentle. “You must be thirsty after our little jaunt.”
Elise reached out her hand for the other goblet Barron held, but he kept that for himself, drinking from it in one smooth swallow. Elise didn’t seem impressed, but Barron kept his eyes on Briony.
“You look like her to say the least.”
“Who?” Briony said, looking into her goblet. Was it blood?
“Your mother,” Barron said. “And no, it isn’t blood. Those of my kind who make it to Palisor are generally old enough to put such thirsts beyond us.
Blood is just a conduit for other things in any case, and as we age, we no longer need it to act as a medium.”
Briony thought back to Elise asking to drink from her.
“Elise is the youngest of us,” Barron said.
“She found her way into Palisor during the time you would call your Middle Ages. She does not need blood, but is
still weaning herself off of the memory of it.” Barron smiled again. “And yes, I can read your thoughts. That is one of my gifts.”
Elise stood up, was obviously not happy about the comment. “You could at least have brought one out for me. You know how to torture a girl, don’t you? I smell the Princess, and I’m suddenly back to craving human blood.”
“Then show some will power, Elise,” Barron said. “You have no need for the blood. How many years have you not had human blood and lived perfectly well without it?”
“Too many to count,” Elise admitted. “It doesn’t make it easier, though.”
“I have a job for you that will see you clear of the Princess for a while, then,” Barron said. “Go send a message to King Waltham that we have the Princess, and we will feed on her if he does not bring the scepter to us.”
“Assuming he even has it,” Elise said. “I searched the castle before throwing the dagger down on the banquet table, and it wasn’t there. Nor was King Waltham. I would have finished him off before he could rejuvenate if he had been.”
“He must have the scepter with him, then,” Barron said. “And he must not be in the castle.”
“So, how do I send word to him?” Elise asked.
“Do I just run all over the Kingdom looking for him?”
Barron appeared to ignore the sarcasm in the question, reaching out to Briony with a hand, softly touching her hair, feeling its silkiness between his fingers. Briony tried not to react. Not even when he leaned in close to breathe in the scent of her hair. “Ah, human hair,” he touched her cheeks, “human skin…so soft, so warm and alive.”
Elise coughed, and Barron came out of his dreamy look. “There was a time when I wanted to become human again, but that was long ago, and since finding Palisor, I am glad to be what I am… a vampire.”
Barron’s fangs extended and he came in close to Briony’s neck. So close that she was sure he would bite. She even started to twist out of his way, but in an instant, Barron was gone. He was standing up away from her, a lock of blonde hair in his hand. He’d taken it from her. Barron took out a handkerchief and placed the hair in it, wrapping it up, before handing it to Elise.
“Give this to one of the courtiers,” Barron said.
“They will get the message to Waltham without you having to run about anywhere.”
“Except back here,” Elise said. “I’ll run all the way. I won’t be long.”
Barron’s eyes were fixed on Briony again.
“Take your time. There’s no hurry. So long as Waltham gets the message, it does not matter.”
Elise grimaced. “Yes, Barron.”
Barron didn’t look at her even then, but Briony did. The vampire girl gave Briony a hostile look. One that promised retribution in the near future, before speeding off. Frankly, with Barron still so close to her, Briony suspected that she had bigger problems.
Chapter 11
Briony watched Elise go, blurring off from the room. She didn’t know whether that was a good thing or not. On the one hand, it got rid of a vampire who had already asked to taste her blood. On the other, it left her alone with Barron.
Barron smiled over at her. “I knew your mother quite well, you know.”
“How?” Briony asked.
“I watched her when she first entered Palisor from the mortal world. I thought she would be the one to help us.” Barron’s eyes clouded over. “She was your age, young, confident and very lovely. I see where you get your looks, Briony.”
Briony wasn’t sure that she wanted another vampire around her who spent his time complimenting her. Not when they invariably wanted something from her, at least.
Barron went on. “I thought I was the first one to see your mother come through the gate. When she came over, she was lost, and I helped her get her bearings. For a while, I was intoxicated by her, the smell of life, the feel of warmth on her skin. It made me remember what it was like to be human…so long ago before I found Palisor.”
“Shouldn’t finding Palisor make you want to forget everything about the mortal world?” Briony asked. “Isn’t that’s why you’re here?”
Barron smiled slowly, “On the contrary, I am like all the vampires who have made it through here – the old ones, the ancient ones. We yearn for this place so much so precisely because it offers us the ultimate gift, the ultimate power here in Palisor.”
Briony knew she had to ask. “What is that?”
“Life.” Barron said it simply, but Briony could hear the yearning in it. That was what the vampires wanted here? Just to be alive? To be human again?
“Don’t underestimate it,” Barron said, obviously reading her mind once more. “To become human again, to feel blood, our own blood, rushing through our veins again… there is something special to that, Briony. And we could achieve it so easily.” Barron moved so that he caught Briony’s chin, turning it up to look at him. “We simply need the scepter, and someone who is still human enough.”
“Which means I am the way to meet both of those needs,” Briony guessed.
Barron nodded, obviously pleased.
“Precisely.”
Briony laughed to herself.
“What is it?” Barron asked. “You’ll have to think more clearly if you expect me to understand.”
That, Briony decided, could quickly get annoying. “It just occurred to me that Pietre and the others like him spend so much time trying to get here, thinking that it will make them more powerful vampires, and here you are saying that the big prize of Palisor is to be human once again.”
Barron shrugged. “Even among creatures as long lived as us, lore shifts and changes. Stories don’t say what they originally did. Meanings shift.
People mishear, or hear what they want to. I am sure you have seen it before.”
The stories about vampires and werewolves back home sprang to mind. Still Briony wanted to be clear. “So, if you get the scepter, you will turn back into mortals once again?”
Barron nodded. “Assuming that we have a human around so that the scepter can have a life essence to copy and give to us.”
“So why fight with the Hugtandalfers?”
Briony asked. “If you truly intend to become human again, then you don’t need to antagonize them or their king. Why steal me away like this? Why sneak into their castle?”
“Why not just ask for it?” Barron finished for her.
“Would you stop doing that?” Briony nodded though. “Yes. Why not just ask?”
Barron smiled once more. “If it helps, I am asking you, Briony. Help us.”
Briony thought about it for several seconds.
Her first instinct was not to trust this man. This vampire. For all that Barron had said, he had still kidnapped her. Yet, if all he wanted was to be human…
Briony nodded. “All right. I can find the scepter for you and perform this transformation There’s a price for it, though.”
“Name it,” Barron said.
“You don’t harm anyone else. I’m doing this to curtail a war.”
Barron’s smile became brilliant. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear you say, Briony. I can accept your terms.”
“You still haven’t told me why you didn’t just ask King Waltham, though,” Briony pointed out.
“Surely he would have helped? I mean, why wouldn’t he and his people want to turn the vampires back into mortals?”
Barron’s eyes narrowed, and Briony knew that she had said the wrong thing. “Because we are evil, and you do not help evil things. That is what they call us, anyway. We are the ‘evil ones’, our corner of their world is the Dark Kingdom. They need to feel that they are good, and for that, they need someone to label as evil. It is the same in your world, though at least there, humans have a reason to fear those of us who have not shifted to more civilized means of feeding.”
“You sound like you hate King Waltham.”
“Hate?” Barron’s voice g
rew lower. “Hate can barely begin to describe what I feel for him. He hunts us down, calling us monsters. He has denied us our right to the scepter’s power. He has kept us from being… human again. To me, he is the monster.”
Barron seemed to make an effort then, composing his features. “And yet I will do what you asked, because I am not.”
Barron looked like he might say more, but he found himself interrupted by a sudden explosion of voices beyond the room. Barron winced.
“Someone you know?” Briony asked.
Vampires sauntered into the room. They were not as well -dressed as Barron, favoring leather and furs, studs and spikes that made them seem somewhere between the goths back at school and the real life barbarians of that name. They were joking among themselves, laughing raucously as one of them with shoulder length white hair told a story of some kind.
“And then I’ll probably start on the Hugtandalfer women and children. You know how delicious fear tastes in that last moment.”
“So you wouldn’t just rip out their throats, Marcus? Take the blood?”
“Why? If being here has shown us one thing, it’s that there are better things than blood. Oh, we’ll probably have to kill a few quickly, but it’s better if we take our time. Especially if we want to do it publically, so that the other things that live here learn their place.”
“Marcus.” Barron managed to fill that one word with more disgust than he’d managed even when speaking about King Waltham. The white-haired vampire looked around, falling silent.
He was tall, over six feet, which would probably have made him a giant of a man when he was alive, and every bit as handsome as Barron. In fact, the two looked so similar in their features that Briony knew they had to be brothers. When the newcomer’s gaze slid from Barron to her, Briony felt a shudder go through her. Briony could see in that moment all the things that this vampire wanted to do to her, and it made the charm of Barron in the past few moments melt away like mist. These vampires were every bit as bad as Pietre, if not worse.