Like knives, the vampire’s claws cut into him, sending blood flying into my face. A cry of pain tore from Papa’s throat.
Blinded, I crashed against him as he started to fall. We toppled, falling backward. Desperately, I swatted at my eyes with my sleeve. Through crimson tears, I saw Papa’s grimace of pain.
The wound in his stomach bubbled with blood. I pressed a hand to it, trying to stanch its flow.
“Papa, Papa,” I cried.
King Maximus stood above, staring at us with an expression of disgust as he wiped his killing hand with the same black handkerchief he’d used for his mouth.
“The stench,” he said, taking a step back, his expression twisting further. “Datcu,” he called without raising his voice.
The Rook opened the door and stepped into the room.
“Your Majesty?” he said, inclining his head.
“The Trove,” he pointed at Talyssa’s immobile shape on the chaise lounge, “take her to the palace and put her with the others.”
Rook Datcu frowned, his gaze going from Talyssa to me. He had smelled me, but Talyssa had been standing next to me. I could almost see the cogwheels working in his mind and resolving that he’d made a mistake, for how could his King be fooled?
How, indeed?
I pressed my forehead to Papa’s shoulder and wept.
The bloodshade must still be working on you, Papa had said.
“These two,” King Maximus pointed in our direction next, “leave them here. The thief will suffer for a bit longer. The girl... she’s innocent, I suppose. Let her live.”
Discarding his black kerchief, the King turned on his heel and walked out. The echoes of his words played in my ears as Rook Datcu picked Talyssa up and carried her away with him, while the blood-stained piece of silk the King had used to clean himself floated to the floor, the falling flag that signaled our doom.
CHAPTER 4
A wet cough racked Papa’s weakening body.
“Help! Help us!” I yelled, using the skirts of my dress to try to stop the flow of blood.
No one came. No one lived near enough to hear my cries, and the servants had surely fled out the back door the moment they realized what was happening.
Papa coughed again as he tried to say something.
“Don’t talk please,” I begged, watching his paling face through a curtain of tears.
“Take... the... bloodshade and leave,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Go far away... from this house.”
I shook my head. “We’ll go together. We’ll figure out a way to leave Acedrex and find a nice place to live and—”
“There’s... money in the desk in my room. Ta-take that, too.” He coughed violently, speckles of blood spraying the air.
“Papa, Papa...” I said between sobs.
“Forgive m-me,” he said, then let out a drawn out breath and went still.
“No.” I shook him, stared into his ghostly face. “Papa, don’t leave me.”
I pressed my face to his chest and cried, begging him not to go.
I don’t know how long I stayed that way, but when I finally tried to stand, my legs would not respond. Crawling on hands and knees, I reached a chair and used it to help me to my feet. Two bloody handprints stained the seat once I pulled away. I stared at the blemishes with detachment.
This morning, a minor blot on the rug would have sent me running into the kitchen in search of a clean cloth and vinegar, but now that the entire world had collapsed around me, what did it matter?
This morning, a life full of promise and happiness had laid before me, and now, there was nothing.
In a trance, I wandered through the house, running my bloodied fingers along the wall and every piece of furniture in my path.
Subconsciously following Papa’s instructions, I made it to the kitchen and approached the cupboard where Louisa, the cook, kept my morning tea. I opened a drawer and pulled out a small box that rested easily in the palms of my hands. A familiar, bitter aroma rose from it. Talyssa hated the smell, but I’d always liked it.
Carrying the box, I went into Papa’s bedroom. The scents here were familiar too, and it was almost impossible to walk across the room to his desk without collapsing on his bed, crying.
A pouch full of Chekes rested in the bottom of one of the drawers. A small dagger also occupied the space. Ignoring the money, I picked up the weapon and gripped it tightly.
King Maximus’s evil face flashed before my eyes, and I imagined the dagger cutting across his throat, the way his claws had cut Papa’s stomach. Even so, I knew a wound like that couldn’t kill him. I could cut him a thousand times, dismember him limb by limb, and he would still live.
There was only one way to kill a vampire, and I was too weak to do it.
You could change that, a voice whispered inside my head. You could become strong and take away everything he holds dear, just like he did you.
I nodded to myself, an intense emotion filling my chest. I’d never felt anything so completely, never seen a goal so clearly.
It would not be easy, and I would probably die trying, but what was the alternative? Flee and die anyway? I wouldn’t make it alone. I had no relatives. I didn’t know anyone who would take pity on me—not that I wanted anyone’s pity and charity.
I lowered the dagger, holding it so tightly that my knuckles turned white.
“Wait for me Talyssa,” I murmured. “Be strong, for no matter how long it takes me, I will come for you.”
CHAPTER 5
After cleaning myself, I changed into a simple skirt and blouse and packed a small suitcase with similar garments. No hoops, no lace, no bonnets, just the kind of clothes I normally wore on lazy days.
Removing the dry bloodshade leaves from the box, I stuffed a few into my mouth, then transferred them to a bag with a drawstring and hid them in the case between my clothes. The dagger and money, I kept on myself, hidden at my waist, under my skirt.
I would have to figure out where to acquire more bloodshade, but that was a problem for another day. At the moment, I had enough to last me a month, perhaps more.
My plan wasn’t the best, considering what I was: a Trove. But Papa had often accused me of being an insensible girl, and without him here, I saw no point in changing my ways.
Suitcase in hand, I left my bedroom and walked out of the house without looking back. Papa wasn’t there anymore. His spirit had left this world, and there was no reason to mourn the shell that was left behind.
I had no doubt that King Maximus’s Rooks would soon take possession of what had always been the King’s property. Flagfall House was built on a black square, after all.
But Acedrex wasn’t entirely his. He shared the privilege of ownership with someone else.
The Queen Lovina, and it was to her palace where I was headed.
IT SEEMED RIDICULOUS to think that a game of chess had, thousands of years ago, decided Acedrex’s fate. But all one had to do was look around to see it was true.
We lived on a chessboard, ruled by a White Queen and a Black King. Bullied by their Rooks, and “protected” by their Knights, Pawns, and Sentries. Our monarchs’ Boards.
Once, a millennia ago, vampires had infested this land. There had been so many of them that they’d nearly wiped out the entire human population, feeding on them at leisure, making game of hunting and killing them.
Two vampires, a male and a female, both smarter and more powerful than the others, saw their food supply quickly dwindling and decided to do something about it. Ruthlessly, they set out to annihilate their brethren, until they were the only two vampires left.
In their greed, they sought to destroy each other, too, for how could there be trust between them after what they’d done?
Their fight went on for years until, tired of constantly watching their backs, they agreed to settle the score over a game of chess.
The female vampire won, and with strange, ironic wisdom set out to base their form of government on the game of chess itse
lf. So she had created a White and a Black Court and divided the city into perfect squares.
She became the White Queen and he, the Black King. They built the city, and a tall, thick wall around it. Inside, on the East and West ends, atop two hills, they erected separate palaces and filled them with human servants and others to help govern the city, which they named Acedrex, in honor of the game.
Two Bishops, two Rooks, two Knights and eight Pawns filled their Board, their governing body, while Sentries comprised their guard.
Fearing boredom in her eternal life, the Queen ensured her amusement by leaving a door open for a line of succession, a way for even a mere Pawn to be promoted to Queen or King. She didn’t make it easy, but it wasn’t impossible.
Now, the original Queen and King were dead and had been so for millennia. Through the centuries, other queens and kings had come and gone. They’d joined the White and Black Boards as Pawns, had fought their way up the ranks until they became Bishops, and earned their right to challenge and kill their monarchs to become full-fledged vampires and rulers of Acedrex.
And it was this very thing that I, Bianca Flagfall, intended to do.
King Maximus would die. I would become the White Queen, a vampire.
And I would kill him.
By the time I arrived at the gates of the White Palace, night had fallen.
Flickering lights shone from the windows of the manors that flanked the palace: the homes of the nobles who lived in utter privilege and comfort and outside the boundaries of the chessboard. Papa and I had lived well, but our fortune had been nothing compared to theirs. I’d aspired to become the wife of one of the men who lived in those manors, but that goal now seemed empty compared to my new one.
I should have been nervous walking up the steep road that led to the White Palace, but I was not. The type of fear I had known this morning meant nothing now. Thieves and bandits seemed harmless compared to what I’d already been through.
The Queen’s lair stood prominently atop a big hill, its spires peeking past the tall wall that surrounded it. I had never been inside or seen more than its white, conical tops. Tonight, that would change.
I came to a stop in front of the gates, set my suitcase down and faced the two Sentries, a man and a woman, who walked up to meet me. Their ivory uniforms stood out against the night as they eyed me up and down as if I were an apparition. Swords hung from their belts, while two torches burned on each side of the gate, casting swaying shadows around us.
“Ma’am,” the woman said, “petitions are only accepted the first Monday of each month and in the morning.”
“I’m not here to petition anything,” I said, trying not to squirm under their roving gazes.
“Then why are you here?” the male Sentry asked, stroking his black beard and lifting an eyebrow. He was broad and a full head taller than me.
That’s when I noticed the Pawn-shaped insignias sewn to the right sleeve of their uniforms. My heart drummed, and sweat trickled down my back. These guards were not simple Sentries, they were Pawns, members of the Queen’s Board.
Calm down, Bianca, I told myself. They’re just Pawns who, most likely, will never make it to the next rank.
“Maybe you meant to go to the Black Palace instead,” the male Pawn said. “King Maximus enjoys the odd human girl once and again.”
They chuckled at the crude joke.
Tears prickled the back of my eyes. I had never been so disrespected in my life. Still, I swallowed the lump that threatened to form in my throat and stood straighter, reaching my full height.
“No,” I said. “I’m just where I intend to be.”
Which meant I’d gone as far away from King Maximus as I could: the White Court.
“Is that so?” the bearded Pawn asked, regarding me curiously.
I imagined myself turning and running down the hill away from this place and its awful possibilities, but the moment of cowardice passed, and I remained firm.
“That is so,” I said. “I call upon my right to join the Board.”
The Pawns exchanged puzzled glances.
“You?” the male Pawn asked, his accent changing from formal to that of a commoner. “You don’t look like the type.” His expression softened somewhat, and he added, “the Board ain’t no place for someone like you, little lady. You’d be better off finding a courtly husband, one of those well-dressed dandies who love attending balls. Don’t yeh think, Vinna?”
“I’d have to agree, Alben,” Vinna said, rubbing her cropped hair, which looked coppery under the light from the torches. Her accent was also that of a commoner.
“You have no right to refuse me,” I said firmly. “I know the law.”
“Refuse yeh?” Vinna backed away, her hands up in the air. “Ain’t no one said anything ‘bout refusing you. Just trying to offer some friendly advice.”
“Yeah,” Alben added. “You’ll get us in trouble if you go ‘round saying we refused yeh.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble. It’s just...” Tears came to my eyes, and my voice threatened to break, but I managed to finish. “My father died tonight, and I have nowhere else to go.”
Vinna stuffed her hands in her pockets, looking chagrined. Alben shuffled from foot to foot, his attention suddenly drawn to the ground.
“Um, I’m sorry, little lady,” Alben said after a stretch of uncomfortable silence. “We meant no disrespect. Vinna, why don’t yeh take her inside, let her talk to Knight Kelsus? Send a Sentry to replace yeh.”
Vinna nodded and extended her hand toward a side door. She let me walk ahead of her until we got inside. From there, she led me to the left down a long, covered corridor that ran along the outer stone wall. To the right, the corridor was open, facing a grand courtyard and past that, a long grassy field that extended toward the majestic palace in the distance.
“Sorry about yer pa,” Vinna said. “I lost mine when I was seven. Ma couldn’t feed three mouths on her own, so soon as I turned sixteen—that was two year ago—she sent me here to join the Board. I send them half my salary. So I guess I’m also here because my pa died.”
I nodded, unsure of what to say.
“Sorry if Alben and I were rude at first,” she said as the corridor ended, and we walked through a door into a small building. “We get lots of fools at the gates who don’t know what’s good for them.”
“I understand,” I said. “No need to apologize.”
The room we walked into was ample and furnished with several long tables and wooden benches at each side. It appeared to be some sort of dining hall. We moved slowly between the rows as Vinna let me take in the few additional details, such as the swords hanging from the stone walls, and the large coat of arms set proudly above the door toward which we were headed. The heraldic emblem consisted of a shield with a crown on top, a chessboard pattern in the center, and a metal plate with the words “Semper Lumen” carved in it.
Always Light.
The coat of arms was as familiar to me as that of the Black Court, which was exactly the same as this one, except with the words “Semper Tenebris” carved into it. The shields were a common sight all over Acedrex, a constant reminder of our rulers. As if we could ever forget.
“Knight Kelsus is probably still in his office,” Vinna said, stopping in front of the wide door, knocking, and lowering her voice to say, “You’re lucky me and Alben were the ones on duty. Knight Kelsus is a decent man. We’re in his Quadrant.”
A decent man? Was that possible in this place? Could he even be considered a man after drinking the Queen’s blood?
“Come in,” a voice said from within.
Vinna pushed the door open and walked in.
Knight Kelsus was sitting behind a large desk, writing intently, an inkwell to his right. A similar desk sat empty next to his. I assumed it belonged to the Queen’s second Knight.
“What is it?” he asked, without lifting his eyes from the page.
“Knight Ke
lsus, I bring you a new Challenger.”
KNIGHT KELSUS STOPPED writing and lifted dark brown eyes flecked with red in my direction. I expected him to show surprise when he saw me, but his expression was unreadable.
Setting his quill down, he stood and came to stand in front of the desk. He was tall and imposing in his white uniform, which contrasted beautifully against his dark skin. His hair was shoulder-length and was twisted in many small sections in the fashion of the island folk who were often seen trading in the markets. Outsiders weren’t normally allowed to become Acedrex’s citizens, so there must have been an interesting story behind his admittance and, furthermore, an even more interesting one to explain how he was now a member of the White Board.
“Please, come in Ms...” he let the word hang.
I hadn’t realized I was still standing outside the door. My stomach flipped with nerves. Once I crossed the threshold, there would be no turning back. Was I really ready? What if they tested me somehow to see if I was a Trove? Had I been too hasty in my decision?
After searching myself for a moment, I found I still felt the same way I had when I left home.
I wanted vengeance.
“Ms. Bianca Flagfall,” I said, entering the room.
“A pleasure, Ms. Flagfall,” Knight Kelsus said, displaying a perfect, white smile. “Vinna, you may leave.”
“Yes, Knight.” She saluted, extending her arm out, forming a forty-five degree angle with the floor. Then she left, closing the door and leaving me alone with an imposing stranger. I suddenly wished for Talyssa’s presence by my side. She’d been my chaperon countless times.
In an attempt to hide my nervousness, I set my suitcase down and brought my gloved hands together.
“I assure you I mean this as a compliment,” Knight Kelsus said, “You are not the type of Challenger we are used to receiving.”
White Pawn Page 3