by R D Martin
"That still doesn't mean I'm telling the future…" She trailed off as something clicked in her mind. The Algonde wasn't really talking about seeing the future, she was talking about accounting for variables. Every spell caster in existence knew about that. Her father had pounded that lesson into her head so often as a child it became second nature. The more variables a witch accounted for when casting, the more likely her spell would work the way she wanted it.
The Algonde must have seen the lights go off in her eyes because she smiled widely before speaking. "I think you understand now, don't you?"
Bella nodded. If what the Algonde meant was true, then the Finder would have to be some kind of genius. Not even that. He'd have to be a god himself, and she said so.
The Algonde gave a full-throated laugh that sounded enough like she was choking to make Bella wonder if one of the half-dressed men in the room knew CPR.
"No, he's not a god. Don't tell him, though. His ego's already too big. No, he sees all the potential outcomes of every situation and acts to make the one he wants happen. It may be something even a child could do"—her forehead creased as she threw Bella's words back at her—"but he does it on an infinitely larger scale."
"So he knew he'd be attacked?"
"Most likely."
"But then why did he come? Why did he bring me instead of Gar? Gar would have been a better choice for protection. He knows way more magic than I do and could have helped."
"I don't know…" The Algonde's voice trailed off and Bella whipped her head up, pushing to the side the wall of questions threatening to crush her. A man with orange-bronzed skin and enough muscle to make two regular-sized humans had approached without Bella even seeing him. No one that large should be able to move so quietly. The Algonde had reached out and was stroking his muscled leg as he bent over to whisper in her ear. If it was possible, her smile widened even more.
"You must excuse me. I have other, um, business to attend to. I'll see what I can find out. Please see yourself out."
She slid out of her seat, dropping to her feet with a quiet thud on the thick carpeting. The sound made Bella blink. As frail and bent as the Algonde looked, she would have had to pack a lot of muscle into that frame to make that kind of noise. Bella watched the creature follow the muscled titan through another door and disappear as it closed behind them.
When something tapped her on her shoulder, she almost jumped. In the past few years she'd become a little more paranoid, but having her room invaded and being attacked by Ceto, not to mention being stuck at this Conclave with no way out and thousands of creatures willing and able to eat her, she was thinking a little paranoia just wasn't enough.
Her heart rate settled as she saw a man raise his hands to show they were empty. He was the same one who'd let her into the Algonde's suite of rooms, and the smile plastered on his face then was still attached. He gestured toward the door with his head but didn't drop his arms until Bella started doing the same thing.
She followed him to the door and, giving him one last look-over, stepped into the hall. One last thought struck her and her hand shot out, stopping the door from closing behind her.
Surprise flashed across the man's features, but his grin slid back into place as Bella leaned toward him.
"You guys," she started, trying to keep her voice low. "You guys are all right, aren't you? I mean, you're not all under a spell or hooked on drugs or something, are you?"
If he'd looked surprised when she stopped the door, the look he gave her now was one of absolute shock. His mouth gaped open as if he wanted to reply but just couldn't bring himself to say the words. After a moment that stretched longer than it should have, the man laughed. It was laughter, pure and deep, full of genuine humor.
Bella felt her cheeks burn again. How often were people going to laugh at her today? She was just about to storm off when the man spoke.
"I'm, I'm sorry for laughing. It's just I have heard nothing quite so funny in a long time."
"So, then why are you here? You know she's not human, don't you? I mean, she could use magic to make you think you're happy."
"Maybe." The man's face looked pensive for a moment. "I guess that's possible. But if that's true…" He bent, coming almost face-to-face with her before looking both ways down the hall. "Even if that's true…"
"Yes?"
"Even if it's true…" His voice was now at a whisper so low no one but her could hear.
Her chest tightened and she felt as though her heart had jumped into her throat. She would get them out. She didn't care if the woman was an ally of her boss.
"…she still pays really well." He shut the door, leaving Bella standing alone in the hall and staring at the brown door.
14
Bella was still furious when she stalked into her own set of rooms, though she wasn't sure who she was most mad at. Herself for acting like a fool, or the Algonde's concubine for pointing it out. She'd only wanted to help. He didn't need to make her feel like an idiot.
She passed the plinth meant to hold the Finder's box. It still lay in pieces on the floor. That was another reason to be angry. If the Finder could tell the future, why had he brought her along on this trip? It would have made more sense, at least in her mind, to bring along someone more capable of protecting him. Maybe his ability to see possibilities was more limited than the Algonde led her to believe?
Bending, she scooped up the box and splinters of wood, and dropped them just as fast as a sliver jabbed into her finger. Great. Just great. One more thing to add to her list of complaints for the day. She could just imagine the online review she'd leave if she were able. Took a visit to the underground complex belonging to the leaders of the Vampire Nation. Met a lot of strange people, some of whom didn't even try to eat me. Small rooms, though. Boss disappeared or kidnapped. Attacked by an ocean goddess. Also got schooled by an ancient Cro-Magnon who keeps male models around for decoration. Oh, and got a splinter. One and a half stars. Take your vacation somewhere else. At least that thought made her smile.
With a little more care, she got all the pieces together and placed them back on the stand. She was tired, spent physically and emotionally. It had been such a long day, and right now the only thing she wanted more than answers was sleep. Thankfully, she had a bed with which to do just that. And if Cat was lying on it, he would be in for a rude surprise.
Stepping through the door into her own quarters, she flopped down on the bed. When nothing complained about her weight or how hard it was to breathe with her on them, she exhaled and closed her eyes. It didn't matter that her arms hung over both sides of the bed. The only thing that mattered was closing her eyes and letting the darkness take her. Everything would be better in the morning.
A pounding from somewhere inserted itself into her mind like thunder booming in the distance, and the discord was enough to end her dream of a white sand beach and fruity umbrella drinks. She wanted to ignore it, but the pounding was insistent. Opening her eyes, she realized someone was trying to get her to answer the door.
"I'm coming," she moaned. It felt as though she'd only been asleep for five minutes, though in this place, time was more than a little uncertain. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her phone and brought the screen to life. One benefit of being a witch was having a cell phone that neither cracked nor needed recharging. The screen flashed the time, but since she hadn't bothered to check before falling into bed, she couldn't tell how long she'd slept. It could have been an hour, or it could have been ten hours. Maybe that was why someone was banging on her door like a madman. If she'd slept through the assembly call, they'd have sent someone to fetch her again. The pounding on the door was even louder this time.
"I'm coming," she yelled, pushing herself up. "I'm coming."
Bella rubbed her eyes and looked around. No sign of Cat. What was he up to? She wanted to shrug it off, but his absence bugged her a bit. Not enough to tell him off for it, but enough to cause a small knot of worry to tighten at the bas
e of her skull. He was a small animal trapped in a place where much larger things could eat him without a second thought. She shook her head. He'd say something like If they catch me, they deserve to eat me, or Nothing can catch a cat that doesn't want to be caught. There'd be some insults sprinkled in as well.
More banging on the door and she lurched to her feet. This was getting ridiculous. Didn't they hear her? I don't need this. Shaking her head to clear out the last of her mental cobwebs, she left her room and made for the suite entrance. Coffee. I need coffee. She wondered if it would be possible for her to get some on the way to the Conclave chambers. They were already late, so what did a few more moments hurt?
Another round of banging made her jump just as she reached for the handle. After everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, who could blame her? She chuckled at herself and reached for the door again. At least this time there was no one there to see her.
The instant her hand touched the handle, a sizzling sound erupted and blue-green light flashed as the door burst inward, knocking her back and to the floor. Dazed, head spinning, she reached for magic to fend off the attack. The pure warmth of power rushed through her as the floodgates opened. It was as easy as breathing to toss up a shield spell. The magic erupted from her in a transparent wave, forming an invisible barrier between her and whoever was invading her room.
What was going on? Wasn't there supposed to be a pact or something to keep the peace? Who was breaking in? And why? What did they want? She tried to get her bearings, to figure out who was attacking her, but it was almost useless. All she saw were blurs in the air as whoever it was moved too fast for her to see. Wait. Blurs? What? Plenty of creatures could move fast, but the only ones who flitted fast enough to blur the air were vampires. But she should see them. That vampire, Charles, he'd given her the gift, right?
Before she could figure out an answer, something slammed into her shield. The force made cracks form in the air in front of her as her shield broke. Whoever, or whatever, had hit it was strong. Another impact followed before she could begin repairing the damage, but this one tore through her broken shield like wet tissue paper.
Bella gasped and the magic she'd been feeding to the spell whipped back as its tether shattered. She tried to pull on more magic to raise another shield or to power an attack spell, but her concentration, already frayed from the ambush, broke as one blur grabbed her ankle. A grip as unyielding as a steel trap squeezed, and she yelled as it ground bones. A tug at her leg and she was sliding across the floor, raking her back as she scrambled for purchase.
She tugged at her leg, but the grip never lessened. Now that it had her, she could get a good look at it. The blur looked human, but when it looked down at her, all she saw was the bloodshot eyes of a vampire. When it smiled, revealing white fangs, she didn't even try to stifle the scream. That only seemed to please him because the smile got wider. Looking over at his companion, he nodded, and the world around her became a blur as well.
The tail of her scream had barely finished when she felt something solid slam into her stomach, almost knocking the wind from her. The vampire had tossed her over his shoulder as though she weighed less than a sack of flour. Stars bloomed in her vision, and her head swam from the sudden movement. Even through that, she still tried to fight. Balling her hands, she hit at the back of her captor. It felt like she was trying to knock over a stone statue with her bare hands.
Held over his shoulder, she couldn't even use magic to protect herself. Vampires were immune to most attacks, and the ones that might work would affect her as well. What good would it do to hit him with lightning if she got struck as well? She tried to bring her knees up to hit him in the chest or face, but his arm held her as tight and immobile as a closed casket.
"Stop struggling." The command was accompanied by a slap on her backside that caused pain to radiate up her back and down her legs. It felt as though she'd been hit with a steel bar.
She tried to push herself up, to get some kind of leverage, but the arm around her midsection pinned her down tight.
"Take a breath."
"Wha—?"
The world blurred again, though this time it wasn't just her moving. Both her captor and his companion, a small woman in a pantsuit with short-cut hair, took off at a run.
It was odd seeing the world from the perspective of a running vampire. The walls of the corridor had become a gray blur, interspaced with dashes of red as they passed hanging tapestries. But while the world had a warped look, her captors were almost normal. Though Bella was upside down, to her it looked as if the female vampire was jogging at a measured pace, almost like she wanted to make it to her destination early but wasn't worried about being late. And while Bella couldn't tell if the male holding her looked the same, the back of his legs didn't look like they were pumping hard at all.
Wherever they were taking her, it was close, at least by vampire standards. The ache in Bella's ribs and stomach had just reached the point where it was becoming a throbbing pain when the world righted itself again as they dumped her on the floor. Before she could do more than lift her head, they clasped steel manacles around her wrists. As soon as the metal lock on them clicked, purple light flared as runes etched into the metal came to life. Magic rippled along the surface of the cuffs for a moment before settling back in.
Her eyes widened as she recognized the spell. It was a barrier, similar to the one she'd used to keep the vampires back, but instead of putting a wall between her and her attackers, this barrier put a wall between her and magic. She closed her eyes and tried to feel out the spell, to find some weakness in it, but it was like trying to find one specific snowflake during a blizzard. There was just too much for her mind to sort through. The cuffs combined rune magic, sympathetic magic, and to her horror, blood magic. Her heart leaped into her throat. The only way out of these cuffs was for someone else to remove them or for her to die. And if she died wearing them, the blood magic would consume her soul, adding her power to its own as it waited for the next victim.
"Bella Flores."
Her pulse raced and her head pounded as her blood roared through her system loud enough to drown out most of the world. "Bella Flores."
Someone was calling her. The voice sounded familiar, though, and for the first time since arriving, she looked around. Her captors, the two vampires, moved away to lean against a far wall with the air of people who'd seen everything. The voice wasn't coming from them, though. It was coming from in front of her.
Behind a stone table sat three figures, two of which she recognized, since they'd been at the center stage of the Conclave. The first was the octopus-bear creature, she hadn't learned its name just yet, and the second figure was Darius. She recognized his voice as the one calling her name. The third being, somewhat reptilian and covered with scales that shifted color in the light, she was sure she'd never seen.
To her left, sitting on a metal chair brought in for the occasion, was the Imperium Representative, Wallace. Of all the people in the room, seeing him made her blood boil. He'd pretended to be on her side, yet here he sat, staring at her in shackles and doing nothing. She would have struck him down if she had her magic. Instead, she tried to rise to her feet. She could still use her hands, still claw his eyes out before she choked him to death.
She got no farther than her knees before the magic in the shackles stopped her. Pain burned its way up her arms and into her head as the purple runes activated. It felt like she'd shoved her hands into a burning pit, but the fire was burning her bones instead of her hands. She tried to gasp, or perhaps scream, but even her lungs froze up. The pain scoured her insides, only stopping when she slumped back down. As it ebbed away, she took a great, rasping breath.
"Bella Flores." Darius's smooth voice seemed to cut through the pain, not enough to dull it, but enough to shift her focus. She looked up again, trying to bring her panting under control as she looked the ancient vampire in the eye.
"What…" She tried to spe
ak, but her throat felt as raw as if she had screamed. "What am I—"
"You've been brought before the Council to answer for your crimes. How do you plead?” The accusation came from the reptilian creature, and Bella's heart almost seized in her chest. What was it talking about? What crimes? Her mind whirled and the room threatened to do so as well. Was everybody here crazy?
Darius leaned forward to frown at the reptilian. "Jurile, that is not how we do things here and you know it." As he turned to Bella, his face returned to passive, though he nodded as he caught her eye. "My apologies. There has been an, um, incident and we are all at a loss tonight."
"Incident? What's going on? Why have you kidnapped me? Why am I locked up?”
"The accused does not ask questions," Jurile hissed. This time it was the second judge who admonished him. The larger creature’s speech, still like metal on crystal, was translated almost instantly. The reptile hissed back, but either it didn't have a translation or the spell didn't work for it.
"Again, apologies." Darius cleared his throat. Whatever was going on had a millennium-old vampire looking like he was about to walk into sunlight. Composing himself, he looked at her and continued. "We are here as a council of inquiry, not a trial, to look into the facts surrounding the unfortunate demise of one of the attending Conclave members."
"Demise? Who is dead? And that still doesn't explain why I'm here." Her voice cracked at the last word. She was in a madhouse, and the inmates held the keys.
"You are here," came the metal-on-crystal voice of the second member, "because you were seen leaving the apartments of the Algonde. Two hours later, a messenger reported finding the door of her apartments open and the Algonde, along with all her attendants, dead."
"Dead? The Algonde? But I, I thought something like that was not possible here. You said so. You said the pact—"