With no other options, Mab signals for her friends to hang back and stay on guard while she approaches the coffin. Running a claw along a corner, she cuts away a few of the tantalizing diamonds, which she pockets. Hearing Luther clear his throat, she waves to let him know that she is being serious. Not finding any traps, she taps at the glass and considers cutting a hole in the side to let the gas out. The possibility of it reacting to the pink dye is enough to make the burglar take a step back and focus more on the headstone. Walking behind it, Mab finds a detailed picture of Apelios made from jewels that are embedded in the marble. She gently presses on all of them, but freezes when a polished piece of obsidian almost gives way. Going back to the front, she examines the neatly engraved message that shares the basic facts of Rellan Everald’s life. It is only when Mab touches the headstone that the letters beneath her maker’s name and age of death shift into another message.
“You two can come over here because I don’t want to shout this,” the burglar says, her eyes never straying from the headstone. She taps at it again to see if it will revert back to its original form, but all she receives is a mild shock up her arm. “Here lies Rellan Everald. He was the greatest thief the vampire world never knew about. Rellan had two charges. One loved him with all her heart and wished to be his wife. The other used him like a fool and stole him from this world. May he always be remembered by those who deserve his praise. You’re laying it on rather thick, Jewelz. I mean, dramatic is an understatement this time. Let’s move behind the headstone and I’ll hit the switch I found. Stay away from the black stuff just to be safe.”
“We’ll be extra careful,” Bob declares with a spin. His lance bangs into the coffin, which shakes for a second and only stops after a groan rises from inside. “Now we know somebody is in there. How about one of us hits the button and you stand there? That way Rellan sees you and might not notice us.”
“Touch the obsidian piece that marks where my treehouse would be on a map,” the burglar states without hesitation.
Taking her position, Mab retracts her claws and tries to forget that she is bright pink from head to toe. Watching Luther count down with his fingers, she cannot stop herself from feeling oddly giddy about seeing her maker once more. A voice in the back of her head is yelling for the burglar to remain cautious, but she is unsure if it is a spirit or her own mind. A hiss from the casket breaks her train of thought and she watches as the black mist billows out of the sides, which steadily dissolve into sand. Whatever hopes Mab had for a joyous reunion are dashed as she watches the emaciated corpse of Rellan Everald rise out of the coffin. His body is covered in gems of various sizes and the only reason she knows it is her maker is because of a tuft of golden hair coming off the side of the creature’s head. Instead of his vivid green irises, the jewel golem’s eyes are octagonal pearls that are constantly rolling in their sockets. Opening its mouth reveals sapphire teeth and two sets of ruby fangs, which grind against each other until they can close comfortably. The construct takes a step towards Mab, but stops at the sound of crunching diamonds. With a loud creak, it bends over to check the ground and sucks up all of the gems that were once part of its casket. At the sight of Luther and Bob, the golem moans and delivers a punch that shatters the headstone and knocks them back.
“What’s the point of this?” Mab asks, getting the creature’s attention. Growing her claws, she waves for it to come at her, but it only takes a few steps. “Is this supposed to upset me? I mean, it’s sick and disturbing, but Rellan died long ago. He was murdered by the one who claimed to love him with all her heart. All because she hated losing and knew she couldn’t beat me in a real fight. Defiling his body might be a step too far for most, but I learned not to put much past you, Jewelz.”
Without making a noise, Luther lunges at the golem and tries to stab his sickles between two of the larger gems. He grunts at the sensation of hitting solid stone and feels both of his arms go numb from the jarring impact. A glowing sapphire knocks him back with a blast of cold that encases his torso in ice, which threatens to seep into his flesh. Bob frees the forest tracker with a stomp before rushing the construct and trying to impale it from behind. Seeing several of the gems spark, the Dawn Fang disappears and leaps away, but the elemental lightning continues to follow him around the tower. Sending fireballs after both Vengeance Hounds, the golem refuses to look away from Mab, who has yet to move. Its head cocks to the side when all of its attacks are evaded, so the gems along its sides unleash more spells to pursue the two vampires that it does not recognize.
“Our weapons can’t pierce it’s hide!” Luther shouts after another failed strike. He releases a phantom as a decoy, but the creature ignores it and nearly hits the vampire with a wide spray of acid. “What’s the purpose of this? It isn’t causing you pain or giving you a clue as to where our friends are being kept. In fact, this whole island appears to be a death trap designed specifically for you. That doesn’t really go along with the whole suffering and revenge plan. If you died here then you wouldn’t see Clyde standing alongside Jewelz.”
“Guess you don’t know her as well as you used to either,” Bob says as he rushes by the burglar. He yelps when a wall of force erupts from the golem and harmlessly passes through Mab to narrowly miss him. “I think it likes me. I remember playing a game like this when I was a kid. You would-”
“I let my hate blind me to the good times,” Mab mutters with a stomp of her foot. Moving at lightning speed, she rushes by the golem and juggles its pearl eyes as the rest of the body falls apart. “The first thing Jewelz and I did when we met was plan a heist together. We stole these pearls from a merchant and gave them to Rellan. He was happy that we weren’t butting heads and placed these on our room doors as symbols of our friendship. We always touched them before going to bed. Never even thought to look for them when I came back to find him murdered. Pretty sure I know what to do next.”
The burglar smashes the pearls together, which creates a mist that depicts a hazy image of Jewelz’s grinning face. “It’s been far too long, Winthrop, so I’m looking forward to seeing you again. Did you enjoy killing our maker with your own hands? Of course you did since destroying lives is your specialty. Now, you’re certainly wondering where your friends are. They’re with me on Apelios. Not the fake that you’re standing on, but the real one that the Great Cataclysm moved beneath the greatest jewels in the world. The wreck you see around you is something I cobbled together from scraps of other islands. Left your giltris friends and that unsightly treehouse there too. Neither had a place in my new kingdom. Anyway, I hope you can be intelligent for once and find me before my fun is over. Your brother isn’t too fond of being here, but I can guarantee that Clyde is very close to forgetting you ever existed.”
“That’s the only thing we get?” Bob complains as the dome of bubbles fades away. They can see that the island has split into more pieces that are floating away, two of them coming dangerously close to the ship. “There has to be a clue in that speech. I mean, she can’t be petty enough that this whole adventure revolves around a heavily guarded gloat. No wonder horses think we’re stupid. Maybe we should start settling our differences with kicking.”
“I’ll fly down to get our things and meet you back at the ship,” Luther offers, his voice trailing off. He stops his transformation and goes back to the golem, which is nothing more than bone dust and cloudy gems. “We should take this with us. The clue might be in the corpse instead of her words. What do you think, Mab?”
“Leave it for the winds,” the burglar numbly replies.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“She didn’t win, Mab.”
“Are you sure? Because I have no idea what to do next.”
“Don’t start doubting yourself now.”
“I’m not . . . I’m just angry . . . I want to stop playing this stupid game!”
A searing pain brings all of the vampires to their knees as they hear Lost screaming in their skulls, �
��I hear a yelling voice! Someone needs help. They need it now. I kind of know where. It’s like this place, but not. We only have seconds. Why are you pink? I think someone is about to die!”
For a brief moment, the three vampires sense that their hearts are about to stop and are then consumed by a sudden flash of heat. Feeling a knot in her stomach, Mab sprints towards the edge of the tower and launches herself into the air. The power in her legs is enough to shake the pillar and send enough cracks through the top that the structure begins to collapse. Ignoring the shouting of her friends, she hurtles towards the ground, which is tilted and on the verge of falling into the roiling ocean. Twisting to adjust her descent, the burglar stretches her arms and plunges into the shadows, a faint ripple in the darkness being the only sign of her passage.
11
Clyde ducks his opponent’s clawed hand, which stretches across the arena and tears a chunk out of the wall. He rushes at the gangly vampire and is about to deliver a powerful jab when the hair on his arms stand up. Diving to the side, he narrowly avoids hitting a crackling shield that billows out to meet his attack. The Dawn Fang gets a foot up to block a swinging limb, which leaves him open to a sweep that knocks him onto his back. He throws a punch and stops short of the electric barrier, but the force of his blow continues traveling to knock the incoming arms away. Cartwheeling to his feet, Clyde strikes his fists together to send shockwaves at his enemy in the hopes of creating an opening. Thinking that he sees a gap in the shield, he leaps to the far side of the arena and releases his Lord’s Rage, which causes his body to break out into an icy sweat. Running at top speed, he slides and stretches his foot, so that it goes under the protective spell and hits the other vampire’s toes. The long-armed combatant screams as his digits are shattered and he is flipped onto his back. Before he can take advantage of his prone enemy, a psychic blast strikes Clyde’s brain and he nearly tears his own head off due to the unexpected agony.
“He has so much bravado, but he isn’t much at half strength,” Jewelz mentions from the viewing box. Offering a bowl of grapes to Xavier, she hides her surprise when he accepts the food. “You seem to be in a better mood this morning. Have you accepted your fate or do you have a plan of escape? Not that I expect you to answer, but you’re much more pleasant to be around. Don’t think being nice to me will win my favor though. As rude and loathsome as he is, I require Clyde to win for my revenge to be complete.”
“I am terribly sorry, but I forgot to listen,” Xavier says as he snaps out of his trance. He smirks at the sight of his rival taking a claw to the chest before grabbing the arm and swinging the other vampire into the ground. “He does appear to be weakened. Even when he uses Lord’s Rage, which makes me wonder if you have gone too far. Take away too much of his power and he will die before Mab arrives. After all, Clyde will always be more thief and thug than warrior. He wins solely on savagery and brute force. Occasionally, he remembers he has a brain and uses it, but he depends too much on his horrifying strength. Take that away and you have a floundering fool who deserves to die.”
“Such a fate wouldn’t upset you,” the Vampire Queen casually states. Seeing Clyde get knocked down by another psychic counter, she applauds along with the excited crowd. “I made him an offer where he could swear himself to me and everyone would go home. He refused because he loves fighting too much. That’s very selfish, especially when you consider that the only one who will give him a challenge is you. Clyde would sacrifice all of you to retain his freedom, which makes me question the durability of your alliance. You told me once that when you two fight, it will be the only time. Do you think he believes that as well?”
Pulling a silver hair from his head, the Lord of Nyte lets it float away on the breeze. “It would not surprise me. Clyde and I hate each other, but I believe the years have tempered our emotions. We both have responsibilities, which prevent us from indulging in one glorious battle after another like the old days. Being a Dawn Fang myself makes it difficult as well because I hold out hope that a cure will come from his camp. I guess I still see a purpose in the abomination’s existence, so I focus on restraining his power and influence. My kingdom is international and still in the open while his must stay in the shadows. It frustrates me that it has come to that and I believe he feels the same. I am sorry, but I rambled like I tend to do. The simpler answer is that the moment we stand against each other in violence, we will not be able to hold back our emotions. That single encounter will settle the question of superiority once and for all.”
“Thank you for your honesty.”
“You do not believe me?”
“It was an unexpected level of openness.”
“Perhaps I am feeling more comfortable here.”
“What about your wife?”
“Oh, I can simply bring her over after Mab kills you.”
With a wry smile, Jewelz goes back to watching the fight below, but her left hand remains clenched in a fist. The audacity and casualness of her guest’s response hits her harder than she imagined, so she snaps her fingers at a servant. Snatching the goblet of blood wine off the man’s tray, she frowns at the sensation of liquid sloshing onto her hand. Keeping her arm extended, she waits for the mess to be cleaned before she enjoys her drink and the entertainment. The possibility of Clyde losing becomes stronger when she watches him get kicked into the air and slammed back down. He stands up and wipes the dirt from his body, but there is a slowness to the motions that makes her fear that she has gone too far. Jewelz considers ordering an end to the fight until the long-armed Dawn Fang stumbles into a punch that sends him flying. Instead of the psychic counter hitting Clyde, the shield bows inward and sends the blast backwards to drive its owner completely through the wall.
“That was unusual,” Xavier says with a chuckle. Leaning on the railing, he creates a ball of ice in his palm and rolls it against the warm stone. “It is very interesting how nearly everything will break if you hit it enough. I guess that strategy works for him. Then again, he has others to keep him away from the true abyss. You are aware that Clyde is always a few steps away from snapping, right? Mab, Chastity, and the Vengeance Hounds are all that stand between him and an outburst that could split Windemere in half. I hope you are ready to assume their roles if you happen to win this game.”
“My power is more than enough to keep him on a leash,” the Vampire Queen proudly declares. Hearing the crowd cheer, she looks down to see that Clyde’s opponent is staggering away with only one arm. “As you said, that is unusual. I would expect him to beat the man with the severed limb. In fact, that is a very neat cut compared to the wounds we’ve inspected on his previous victims. Is that smoke coming off the man’s chest?”
“It looks more like heat haze considering how hot it is today,” the nobleman replies, his eyes projecting out like binoculars.
Sensing that something is wrong, Jewelz pulls a sapphire out of her pocket and holds it up to her eye where it fuses to her skin. The world is bathed in blue as she gazes down at the battle and tries to pierce whatever illusion Clyde is using. She frowns at how nothing changes, except for a few invisible spectators materializing in their stolen seats. The Vampire Queen continues watching the fight, which is starting to turn back into the long-armed Dawn Fang’s favor. She sighs at how her beloved prey is knocked around and kept on the defensive, his punches never landing beyond a glancing blow. Turning to her guest, Jewelz nearly roars at the sight of Clyde standing next to her instead of Xavier. Her fangs grow and she is about to grab the man by the neck when he turns to her and blows a playful kiss. Angrily removing the sapphire and a few layers of skin from her face, the Vampire Queen throws the gem on the floor to summon five guards who immediately point their spears at the fake nobleman.
“Pretty sure she’s onto us, Tempest!” Clyde shouts as he drops his illusion. With a single swing of his hand, he steals the heads off all of the spears and tosses them onto his chair. “Why should you be the only one allowed to have some fun? Besides, we were
having such a pleasant conversation. You said it yourself that he hasn’t been very friendly. Sure, this trick was played on you in public and you must feel embarrassed, but I’m okay with that. Hey, Tempest, you can stop toying with him!”
“I wasn’t toying with him,” the nobleman growls before conjuring a churning ball of fire and metal blades. He hurls it across the arena and returns to his true form while his opponent is burned and torn apart. “It isn’t easy imitating your abilities with nothing more than wind and force spells. Remember that you owe me the treasure transport your people stole last month. I know it was Mab, which means it hasn’t been spent.”
“It’s adorable that he thinks she’ll give up her loot,” the thief whispers while giving his companion a friendly wave. Tired of the guards standing in his way, Clyde backhands the one furthest from the railing and knocks the entire squad out of the viewing box. “Don’t look so upset. It isn’t like this is a serious tournament. All you care about is turning me against Mab, which you can make happen with a snap of your fingers. If I want to skip a boring fight and let Tempest feel useful then nothing changes.”
“You do have a point,” Jewelz admits, her attention more on her men. She throws a handful of gems to erase the bodies and fill the holes left in the far side of the stands. “Still, I do not enjoy being made a fool of. You and Lord Tempest will be punished for this. In fact, I think I’ll take some anger out on my pathetic son as well. He wasn’t physically involved, but I know he had a hand in planning this.”
“I’m sure Titus will be distraught when he gets the news.”
“Yes . . . I assume he will.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Fearing that she has overlooked something, the Vampire Queen nervously licks her lips and watches Clyde for signs of deception. His relaxed demeanor drives her to the point of screaming since she is sure there is more to their plan. Glancing down at Xavier, she scowls at the sight of him being as laidback and casual as his companion. A thought is driven into her mind when she hears a distant crash from her private dockyard where the weekly supply ship is preparing to leave. Transforming into a curtain of diamond dust, Jewelz spills over the railing and lets a passing breeze carry her away from the arena.
Rivalry (War of Nytefall Book 3) Page 20