“Jack,” said Volandar. “What do you know about your father?”
The question caught him off guard. Jack took a long sip of wine, as much for the sake of building up his liquid fortitude as to hide his expression for a few seconds. He frowned and gave a small shrug, trying to seem indifferent to whatever information Volandar might have to offer.
“He was a good man,” said Jack. “And he died. Along with my mother, in a car crash.”
It was a lie, but it was the one he’d been told, the one he’d believed for so long. Jack’s memories of the time around the crash were hazy and shallow. Most of what he knew had been explained to him by his aunt and uncle.
He’d remembered a scene from the incident after a fight a few weeks earlier. A fight which had left him on death’s doorstep, in basically the same condition he’d been in after the crash. The most important detail of what he’d remembered was that he’d been sitting in the front passenger seat. His father hadn’t been in the car with him and his mom, which left a question. One that Volandar seemed to be offering to answer.
“Your father isn’t dead, Jack,” said Volandar. “Anything but. If you ally yourself with my cause, I’ll tell you exactly where he is.”
Jack stared across the polished stone table, drawn in by Volandar’s offer. How could it even be possible? If his father hadn’t been killed in the car crash, why hadn’t he heard anything from him in the following years? And how would Volandar be in a position to know anything relevant?
“You aren’t negotiating this alliance with Jack, Volandar,” said Mira, before he could respond for himself. “You would do well to remember that.”
She glanced over at Jack, letting concern enter her expression.
“What authority do you claim over him?” asked Volandar. “I’m merely presenting him with an option, in much the same way I have with you in the past, Mira.”
“Tell me what you know,” said Jack. “If you tell me, I’ll—”
Mira dug her fingers into his leg hard enough to make him wince, effectively cutting him off. Volandar was grinning, but he looked past his two dinner guests, toward one of the side tables, where a vampire was waving to get his attention.
“If you’ll excuse me,” said Volandar. “We can continue this conversation in just a moment.”
Volandar left the table. Jack slowly shook his head, looking over at Mira and feeling a little angry at the way she’d interrupted him when he’d been so close to getting answers.
“He might be telling the truth,” said Jack.
“It’s a possibility,” said Mira. “But certainly not one worth pledging yourself to his side for just yet. We came here to form an alliance on our terms, Jack. Not on his.”
“But…” Jack shook his head, taking a breath. He was aware enough to recognize that he’d slipped into an emotional state of mind. “Could he be telling the truth? Mira, have you ever heard anything about this?”
Mira let out a sigh and gave a single shake of her head.
“I wish I had answers for you,” she said. “I knew of your father, James, but only in passing, and only because of his relationship with your grandfather’s daughter. I wasn’t close enough to Peter when the car crash happened to hear about the events that followed. I’ve never heard of anything that suggested your father might still be alive.”
“Do you think he might be lying?” asked Jack.
Mira didn’t respond immediately. She shot a glance in the direction that Volandar had disappeared off into, as though she could judge his trustworthiness just by getting a look at him.
“Maybe,” said Mira. “I’ll go talk with him. See if I can get him to let something slip. I should at least be able to establish whether he’s being sincere in his claims.”
“What makes you think he’ll tell you anything?” asked Jack.
“He’s fond of me,” said Mira. “Though it might not always seem like it.”
Jack must have let his reaction show on his face, but Mira immediately smiled and set a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Not in the manner you might be thinking of,” said Mira. “Volandar… He had a family once. Before he became a vampire. And several daughters. He has a sweet spot for young, female vampires and is always trying to play the role of the magnanimous father figure.”
“That’s… a little weird,” said Jack.
“Undeniably,” said Mira. “You’ve seen Vyara, have you not? She is not his daughter by birth or blood. Volandar tends to attract vampires like that to him. Those of the most damaged variety.”
“You said he took an interest in you, though,” said Jack. “Were you…?”
He cut the question off, realizing how it came across. Mira chuckled quietly and pushed a few strands of blonde hair back into place.
“I was damaged, Jack,” she said. “I still am. But that’s neither here nor there. Let me speak with Volandar on the behalf of both of us. It will let us negotiate from a more powerful position.”
She gave his shoulder a squeeze and then stood up from the table. Volandar was near the dining hall’s entrance, and he fell into step next to Mira as the two of them disappeared back out into the hallway.
CHAPTER 16
Jack was left alone at the central table. He sipped at his wine, feeling disinterested in what remained of his food. Volandar’s words echoed in his head. Those words had come close to reopening the old wounds the crash had left him with, and Jack suspected that they’d been intended to.
He felt conspicuous, by himself, in the center of the dining room. And it wasn’t just his imagination. Most of the vampires left in the room were watching him, and at least a few were even pointing in his direction and discussing his presence openly. It reminded Jack a little of sitting alone in the school cafeteria as the new kid, except with the tension and danger amplified by magnitudes.
Someone did eventually approach his table. Jack felt his shoulders stiffen and then relax as he recognized who it was. Vyara sat down in Mira’s spot, disdainfully pushing a half-finished plate out of the way so she could rest her elbows.
“Curious…” murmured Vyara. “You don’t look like one of us. But you smell… like one of us.”
Jack shrugged. There was a fairly pronounced difference between himself and Mira and the other vampires. He and Mira looked basically human, aside from having slightly paler skin, and the way their eyes shifted red while they were using their powers. Volandar and most of the other vampires in his flock straddled the line between man and monster. So did Vyara, in her own, unnerving way.
“You don’t look like the other vampires here, either,” said Jack. “Is that why you’re so curious about me?”
“I am different,” said Vyara. “But you… are unusual.”
The way she spoke sent a chill down Jack’s neck with each syllable. But it was still preferable to sitting at the table alone.
“How are you different?” asked Jack.
“I…” said Vyara. “I am… a Mithridian vampire. My father and his clan… are Valerian vampires.”
“I’ve heard of Valerian vampires before,” said Jack. “But what is a Mithridian vampire?”
Vyara blinked, and her eyes were out of sync to an unnerving degree.
“I am… a creature of curiosity,” said Vyara. “Fascinating. I’ve never studied an Aquinian vampire before.”
“Right,” said Jack.
“Have you allied yourself with my father?” asked Vyara.
He hesitated for a couple seconds, sneaking a glance to one side at the rest of the vampires in the room. He was still being watched.
“No, I haven’t,” said Jack. “At least, not yet.”
“Do you plan to ally yourself with my father?”
He wasn’t entirely sure how to answer the question. Answering in the affirmative seemed like it would make him open game for Vyara’s interest and experiments. After all, as her father’s ally, how could he refuse?
“I’m not sure yet,” Jack said. He
tried to make the words sound as gentle as he could.
Vyara gave a small nod, keeping her big eyes focused on Jack. Then, without another word, she stood up from the table and left the dining hall.
As creepy as she’d been, sitting with her had still been better than being at the central table by himself. Jack took a bite of chicken and a deep sip of wine, trying to ignore the glances and gazes of the other vampires in the room.
Now that he was actually within the Emerald Keep, the audacity of Pierce’s plan was almost galling to him. It seemed rather hard to imagine there being an artifact of enough value within the moldy ruin worth risking his and Katie’s lives to obtain.
And Mira’s life, too. She would, of course, be open to Volandar’s reprisal if he discovered the theft while she was still his guest. The thought annoyed Jack, especially since he hadn’t considered it earlier. He wasn’t supposed to be concerned about Mira’s welfare.
He took another sip of the wine and almost choked on it. His coughs echoed conspicuously through the dining hall, but as much as Jack tried to reel his body’s reaction in, he found that he couldn’t. He stumbled to his feet after a couple of seconds, feeling his head begin to throb and pound.
Was it his bloodthirst? No. It felt too sudden, and he was hot all over, but cold at the same time.
Jack forced himself out into the hallway, not wanting to appear weak in front of the Jade Circle vampires, if it could be helped. He managed to make it past the first intersection before falling to one knee in the shadows.
He felt like he needed to vomit, but at the same time, he couldn’t. His vision was marred, fluttering black in time with the rhythm of his pounding head. He shivered but also felt so overheated that he wanted to rip his shirt off.
It wasn’t his bloodthirst. That left sickness or poison. He wasn’t sure whether vampires could develop a sickness through the natural course of events. Maybe a delayed concussion from the headbutt that Babish had delivered to him in their earlier fight?
Jack’s body seized, and he fell off balance, collapsing entirely to the ground.
It was poison. He was sure of it now. He’d attacked his food and wine like a starving man, and he’d reaped what he’d sown. He’d been poisoned in Volandar’s keep, but by whom?
Jack forced himself to keep moving forward, alternating between stumbling steps and crawling on all fours. The path from his guest room to the dining hall had been simple enough for him to remember. He needed to get back immediately. He needed to get to Katie.
He was wavering in and out of consciousness when he found her. She was outside their room, headed in his direction amidst a small group of thralls that included Aiden and several emaciated members of Volandar’s herd.
“Katie!” he gasped, forcing himself upright.
Katie’s eyebrows shot up when she saw him. The rest of the thralls and Aiden scampered away like scared mice, but Katie only hesitated for a second before rushing over. She slipped under herself under his arm and supported him toward their room.
“Your bloodthirst?” she asked.
“No,” said Jack. “Poison.”
“Which poison?” asked Katie. “Do you know? What does it feel like?”
Jack could barely move his tongue to form words. He suddenly felt so light all over, and it was hard to keep his thoughts traveling in a coherent direction. Katie pushed him to the side, and he flinched in panic for an instant before realizing that they were at the bed and collapsing forward onto it.
“Headache,” muttered Jack. “Cold and hot at the same time. My stomach feels upset.”
“That could literally be a hundred fucking things,” said Katie. “I need more than that.”
She pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight in the back of it. Jack tried to be as cooperative as his body would allow as she examined his eyes and the inside of his mouth. She pressed her ear against his chest, listening for a couple of seconds, and then hurried into motion.
“Jack,” said Katie. “The most important thing right now is for you to stay conscious. Can you focus on doing that?”
“Sure,” he muttered. It was easier said than done. Jack could already feel the allure of slipping away. His body felt like it was undergoing a personal form of torture, and if he just closed his eyes and relaxed, maybe…
“Jack!” snapped Katie. “Look, I have a guess as to what it is. I might be able to make an antidote potion, but… to stay… possible.”
He could barely hear her now. The scene was playing out for him in skipping frames. Jack watched as Katie disappeared and then was back in the room. She’d grabbed one of the torches off the wall in the hallway, and she was now using its flame in place of the Bunsen burners she relied on for her alchemy back home.
“It’s Kavendish seed poisoning,” said Katie. “I think it is, at least. Try to keep your body relaxed, Jack. This poison causes severe seizures, along with heavy swelling of the throat, which is the part that usually kills.”
Jack could only groan in response. His breathing had grown shallow, and he could feel the swelling that Katie was talking about. He tried to watch what she was doing with her potion vial over the flame, but in addition to the flickering black spots, he now had double vision.
“Jack?” said Katie. “Stay with me. You’re going to have to drink this in a few minutes, so don’t…”
The pain was unreal.
It felt like a snake moving through him, slithering around his muscles as they tensed and burned. His skin felt like it was separating from the rest of the body, as though he’d chafed so uniformly that he’d created a blister that covered him completely.
He couldn’t think through the pain. He could barely keep existing through it.
The next thing Jack was aware of was Katie shaking him by the shoulders as hard as she could. He found that he was barely able to still breathe, and it took several seconds for his eyes to steady enough for him to see her holding the vial to his lips.
“We only get one shot at this,” said Katie. “Come on. You have to fucking focus. Try to relax your throat, because you have to swallow this, and it isn’t going to taste very pleasant. Swallow, no matter what. I won’t have time to make a second dose if you spit this up.”
“Okay,” said Jack, forcing the word out. He cleared his throat and nearly gasped at the pain. It felt like he’d inhaled hot shards of glass.
“I can’t risk you passing out again,” said Katie. “Ready? Down the hatch!”
She pressed the vial to his lips and tipped it into his mouth rather forcefully. The taste had an awful, bitter quality to it that triggered a powerful sense of wrongness in both his mouth and stomach.
Katie was already straddling his chest, apparently to hold him still amidst his convulsions. She clamped a hand over his mouth and held it there. Jack felt his gag reflex as he tried to swallow, and only the skin of Katie’s palm kept the potion from exploding out of his mouth. A faint voice in the back of his mind suggested that he remember to thank her for all of this, later on.
“Swallow it, Jack,” said Katie. “For the love of fucking god, swallow the potion!”
Jack leaned his head back as far as he could, forcing gravity to do the job that his throat muscles could not. The potion finally went down, though Katie kept her hand where it was for a good minute afterward, just to make sure it couldn’t come back up.
“There,” she said. “Good. I should say, we aren’t out of the woods just yet. Kavendish seed poisoning is one of those ailments where the cure is nearly as bad as the illness. Jack… I’m concerned that you might not be strong enough to survive this without a little extra help.”
“Ugh…” groaned Jack. “The taste… sucks.”
“Oh, I bet it does,” said Katie. “But that’s not important. Do you think you could feed off me right now? The extra blood might give you the strength you need to get through this.”
Jack shook his head. The idea of trying to put anything more down his throat, even the sweet n
ectar that was Katie’s blood, seemed impossible.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, then,” said Katie.
He found that at the very least, his thoughts were beginning to flow normally. He thought back to where he’d been at the central table in the dining room, remembering Mira and how she’d disappeared with Volandar. Had she been poisoned, too?
“Mira…” Jack tried to force himself to his feet, only to feel a sudden rush of vertigo as soon as he lifted his head up. He took a breath, trying to focus on using his Blood Sight to reach out to her. It was like trying to tune a car radio into a channel outside of range, fuzzy and full of static.
“She’s probably still in the dining hall,” said Katie. “I’ll go see if I can warn her. Try not to move too much while I’m gone.”
Katie was up and out the door before Jack could think of an objection. How long had he been under the effects of the poison for? If the other vampires were still eating, it was unlikely that Katie would run into any trouble.
Except, not all of the vampires had been in the dining hall. Babish had been sent to his room by Volandar. And Babish had a grudge against Jack, along with a strong enough sense of smell to identify Katie as his thrall.
CHAPTER 17
Jack stumbled to his feet. It took a herculean effort just to force the first step forward. He stumbled, falling to one knee as he spilled out of the door and into the hallway.
It was eerily silent in the section of the keep he was in. The thralls that had been mingling around the rooms earlier were nowhere in sight, which annoyed him. If Jack had at least been able to spot Aiden, he might have been able to send him ahead to do something, anything, to help with the situation.
He moved at the pace of a crippled man, supporting himself as much as he could with one hand braced against the wall. Each step sent pain pounding through his temples, and each breath made his throat feel like it was being stabbed with white hot needles. He was almost on the verge of collapsing when he spotted Katie, along with Babish.
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