Just as Lanca was about to explain something else, either about her coronation, her father’s death, or her betrothal, there was a massive hammering at the door, and then the lights went out.
Chapter Eleven
Before I went to Public, if I had been in a room that was suddenly plunged into darkness while I knew there were assassins trying to kill me, I would have screamed.
Now I knew better. I knew to keep quiet and keep breathing. Panic got you killed.
My friends and I closed ranks around Lanca’s chair, forming a protective ring. Maybe it was silly to assume that she was the target, given that we had one of a handful of living dream givers with us, the only elemental, and Lisabelle, who, let’s face it, pretty much everyone wanted dead.
“Can you turn on any light?” Sip whispered. She didn’t sound scared, more like she was bracing herself for a fight.
“Not a good idea,” Lisabelle whispered. “We don’t want them to know where they are.” We were all touching shoulders and arms so that we could keep track of everyone’s location even in the dark.
I put my mouth right next to Lanca’s ear. “Can you sense anything?” I asked, thinking that Lanca knew her father’s hiding place so well that if there were demons around she must be able to feel it.
“No,” said Lanca. I felt her breath on my cheek. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Aren’t there vampires trying to kill you too, though?” Lisabelle whispered. “It must be a Rapier.”
“How did you know about that?” Lanca asked hoarsely.
“Vampires are trying to kill you?” Sip demanded, her voice rising. “I thought they were trying to control you! Why can’t I associate with normal paranormals?”
“Shh!” Lough ordered.
“Just a few,” said Lanca, as if it didn’t matter at all. I could almost see her shrug. “It happens. They think the Rapiers will be weakened after my father’s death. They don’t think I can lead senior male vampires.”
“Can we talk about this later?” I asked. “Pretty sure we should deal with whatever is coming for you now.”
Silence fell among us. Usually when I spent enough time in darkness my eyes adjusted and little shapes became clearer as tiny flecks of filtering light hit my eyes. Not here. In King Daemon’s den the blackness was impenetrable and suffocating. I could see no break in it no matter how hard I stared.
I didn’t like that I couldn’t see an enemy coming. Next to me, Lough must have felt the same way. A thick, clammy hand touched my arm and held. I reached over and put my hand on his.
“How is it we can face demons no problem, and then this is scary?” he whispered in my ear.
“Pretty sure we had problems when we faced demons,” said Lanca dryly.
“Now is not a good time to retain your sense of humor,” said Lough darkly.
I heard a muffled noise, like something being choked, and realized Lanca was stifling a laugh.
A creak above our heads made us all silent again.
“Don’t suppose this mountain has rats?” Lisabelle murmured. “Really large rats.”
“Rats left this place long ago,” said Lanca. “When the Rapiers came. It is not rats.”
“So, that was a paranormal above us?”
A crash like that of a great battering ram beating against the door answered that question for us. I felt my whole body shake and vibrate in reaction. I was just getting my breath back when the battering ram slammed again.
This time I was forced to grab onto something for balance. Trouble was, I couldn’t see anything to grab onto.
“This is wrong,” Sip muttered. “We can feel the crashes, but we aren’t hearing anything.”
“That’s right,” Lanca murmured. “A silent attack is the mark of. . . .” The fear was gone from her voice.
“VITAL!” She yelled. Her voice was filled with fury and something that was remarkably like familiarity. “HOW DARE YOU? TURN ON MY LIGHTS. NOW.”
There was a brief silence, and then the lights came back on.
I blinked several times, trying to get the spots out of my eyes. The room was in disarray. If King Daemon’s papers had looked scattered before, now they blanketed the room like dirty snow that had blown everywhere. One of the chairs was overturned and many of the books had fallen off the shelves to lie splayed on the floor.
Lough was also on the floor, his hand having slipped from my arm during the second mini-quake.
Lisabelle and Sip were both holding onto the desk, while Lanca was standing, every line of her body showing rage.
“Is Vital one of the vampires who have tried to kill you?” I asked, unable to think of any other explanation, although Lanca now looked remarkably calm.
“No,” she gritted out. “Vital is my personal bodyguard. He is supposed to keep me from being killed, not give me a heart attack.”
“Oh,” was all I could say. “He’s doing an excellent job.”
“He would be doing a better job if his princess didn’t sneak away when she was supposed to be in bed,” came a gruff voice from the other side of the wall.
“He sounds almost as angry as you,” said Lisabelle, her eyes shining. “I like him already.”
“I have heard of you, Ms. Verlans,” came the gruff voice again. “I’m not happy about it.”
“Excellent,” Lisabelle muttered. “It only took me until sophomore year in college for my reputation to start preceding me.”
“Let me in,” came Vital’s voice again. He didn’t sound like the sort of man you argued with.
“He’s a great fighter,” said Sip with wonder. “The best. Known around the world as the vampire who has never lost. You are lucky to have him as a bodyguard.”
“If only the princess would realize that,” Vital yelled again.
“Must take a lot of experience to get that good,” said Lough, trying to straighten out his clothes. “Years of practice. I couldn’t do it.”
“You’re a lover, not a fighter,” said Sip, as if she was defending him against critics. Behind them I saw Lisabelle roll her eyes.
Lanca put her delicate hands on the chair arms of her chair and rose, her eyes locked on the wall at the spot where we had come in. She took her time getting there, but Vital didn’t say anything more as she made her slow way over. Lough, now standing upright, collapsed into one of the couch seats.
“You could take longer,” said Lisabelle dryly, “but it would be hard.”
“Maybe I won’t hate you as much as I thought after all,” came Vital’s voice.
Lisabelle smirked. “Oh, I’m sure you will.”
“She’ll make sure of it,” said Sip, joining the conversation.
“That must be Ms. Quest,” said Vital. “I was hoping the voice of reason would be present at this little gathering of insanity.”
The rock door, which had slid out of our way just moments before, was now slammed back.
The spots had just cleared from my eyes, but I had to do a double-take when I saw the vampire standing in the doorway. The first thing I noticed was that he was not that old, maybe mid-twenties, but definitely not what Lough would call “seasoned.” I had expected to see a vampire of middle age, a little older than Dacer, perhaps, but younger than Zervos. Instead I saw a vampire who had probably just finished college when I was still in high school.
The next surprising thing about him was that he was not very big. I had expected a fearsome vampire fighter to be large and intimidating, but instead of size, Vital had a sort of quiet presence.
He had clear eyes that alternated between looking white and looking silver. His hair was a rich black that shone in the newly turned on light, and his skin was darker than that of the average vampire, who gave snow a run for its money.
I would realize later that Vital’s silence and stillness were more intimidating than any large, lumbering vampire could ever have been. He was deadly, and everyone knew it.
Lanca was lucky to have him.
Which is
why she blasted him with so much power he went flying backward and disappeared into the tunnel we had just been led through.
“He let her do that,” said Lisabelle, as if she was narrating a fight between two equal parties.
Lanca didn’t follow him. Instead, she stood there and waited for him to come back.
He did. This time, when she raised her hand to strike again he grabbed It. There was not so much as a hair on his head out of place.
Lanca growled and tried to rip her arm away, but he was stronger.
“You dare touch me?” she hissed. “You DARE follow me?”
“It is my job to follow you,” he said, his clear eyes meeting her blazing ones. “No one has ever called me lucky, but I can, if I want, follow you, especially when you sneak away from where you’re supposed to be.” In a much softer tone he said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lanca’s shoulders slumped. Her arms went limp and her head fell. In a fraction of a second she looked again like a tired young woman with the weight of the paranormal world on her shoulders.
“I didn’t tell anyone,” she said. Vital reluctantly released her arm and she moved back to sit in her father’s chair again, as if she was too tired to stand.
Vital quirked an eyebrow at all of us.
“I’m Sip,” said my werewolf friend, darting forward and extending her hand. Vital smiled at her and shook it.
“Delighted.”
“I’m Lough, but I’ve had a fright and I’m not getting up,” said the dream giver, appearing to try and sink lower.
Vital nearly bounded over to him and shook his hand. The speed and grace with which he moved explained a lot about his status as an unbeaten fighter.
“I’m Charlotte,” I said, reaching out to him. When his eyes met mine I saw a calculating assessment. I don’t know what he saw, but he must have liked it, because he smiled warmly at me and said, “The Last Elemental. It’s wonderful to have you here. Lanca needs all the protection she can get and it’s a dream that she’s friends with the one paranormal who can complete the Power of Five.”
“Humph,” said Lanca from the chair. She had started to gather her father’s papers, ignoring the rest of us.
Lisabelle stood next to her, not moving. When it came time for her to introduce herself she waved. “Lisabelle Verlans. Hi.”
Vital nodded. “I wish I could say I was delighted.”
“Oh, you’ll get there,” said Lisabelle. “Everyone does.”
“I’m still waiting,” said Sip, rolling up onto the balls of her feet and grinning. Vital grinned back at her, then his eyes returned to his princess.
“You told all these people and not me?” he repeated. Lanca sighed, obviously having hoped to avoid this conversation.
“Do I have to spell it out for you?” she asked tiredly.
“Apparently,” said Vital. “I don’t understand. Do you know how I felt when I saw that your bed was empty? Luckily, I had a suspicion you had a place to sneak off to, because make no mistake, Princess, I will tear this place to shreds to find you. Try me.”
Lanca met his steely eyes, but I couldn’t read her expression. It was a mixture of gratitude and sadness.
“I told them because they’re my friends. I needed a place to talk to them where I wasn’t being spied on.” She gave him a particularly pointed glare. Apparently she counted his watching as spying, right along with the real kind.
“That’s not all of it, though,” said Vital, starting to pace. Even in his pacing he moved with a grace and awareness I had never seen before. I found myself fascinated as he worried the floor. Lough looked just as interested, keeping his eyes on the vampire. Lisabelle scratched her nose and looked bored.
“I can talk to my friends if I want,” said Lanca, jutting her chin out.
“But,” Vital started to argue.
Tired of the conversation, Lisabelle interrupted, “Wow, for a brilliant fighter you’re dense,” she said to Vital, not even unpleasantly. “She didn’t tell you, because you’re a Rapier. It’s as simple as that.”
Vital stopped mid-pace. He didn’t topple over, because he was too controlled for that, but his face registered surprise.
“Lanca . . .” he breathed. “You cannot possibly think . . . ?” He trailed off, watching her, his face devoid of emotion. Lanca met his eyes, hers filled with sadness.
“No,” she said, “But my father told me not to reveal this place to anyone. There are things here I have to protect. I had to disobey that instruction to be with my friends” - she smiled around the room at us - “but I have to stop taking risks.”
Vital didn’t say anything. He just gave her a hard look.
Lanca fidgeted uncomfortably. He was silent for so long that she finally gave up even the fidgeting and just stared back at him. None of us moved. I had no idea how air was getting in and out of the room, but though I didn’t feel stifled, I still held my breath.
“I can’t protect you if you don’t trust me,” he said quietly.
Lanca blinked once. Again. Then shook her head silently.
“It’s not about you,” she murmured. “I have to take care of myself.”
Vital threw up his hands and paced toward the desk, stopping a few feet away. “It’s never about me. That’s the point. I don’t have feelings and I cannot die! That’s how you must think of me. I am here as a weapon, nothing more.”
“Ah, so you ask that I forget you are vampire? That you are my subject? You ask that I think of your life as useless? How can you imagine me so cold?” Lanca’s voice cracked at the end, her eyes burning with sadness.
Vital shook his head. “I am here to serve you. That is why I exist, from now until the day I die.”
“But what if I die first? Then you will have served for nothing.”
Vital stopped in his pacing again, careful to hold her eye contact.
“You will not die. I will not allow it. Neither will these friends with yours. I must say, befriending a darkness mage at a time like this is not the wisest of decisions, but if you had to befriend one” - he cut off Lisabelle’s protest - “I would hope it was this one.” He didn’t look at my friend, but Lisabelle quieted.
Lanca stood up but continued to organize papers while she talked.
“I can’t imagine you as nothing more than my protector. It would be too cold,” she said. “My father was never cold.”
“Your father knew that what was necessary does not always feel good, “ Vital growled.
“And anyway,” Lanca continued as if he hadn’t said anything, “how could you possibly want to sacrifice your life for me?”
“I should get popcorn,” Lisabelle muttered. “Never did have dinner.”
“You need a filter,” said Vital, without looking at the darkness mage.
“I have a filter,” Lisabelle responded coolly. “She’s about yea high” - she put her hand at around her own hip height - “and blond. I tried to get rid of her with Drano, but she saw me coming.”
Sip just glared.
“Who better to lead?” Vital asked. “Who wiser, kinder, and more thoughtful? Who more deadly? You are to be feared and respected. In the vampire world, there are no two greater qualities.”
“Which must be why Castov wants to marry me off and the factions want me dead?” said Lanca bitterly.
“Pretty much,” said Vital. “Well, no, not really. They would want King Daemon’s successor out of the way no matter who that successor was. They are probably more desperate because it’s you, though.”
Lanca was about to say something else when Vital interrupted her. Obviously he wasn’t entirely subservient to her, because you didn’t interrupt a vampire princess unless you were either very brave or very foolish.
“None of this, however, relates to why I came down to find you.” He gave her a stern look.
“You are hopelessly nosy and your concept of boundaries needs updating?” Lanca muttered.
“Neither of those is true,” he growled, raking
his fingers through his dark hair. “You must trust me. Your life depends on it.”
“So does yours,” Lanca pointed out.
“Which I have already told you does not matter,” he said. “You are the most stubborn . . . irritable and unreasonable charge I have ever had.”
“Oh, please,” said Lanca, tossing a set of papers back on the desk right where she had found them. “This is the first time you’ve agreed to babysit. I still don’t understand why.”
“Is that why you don’t trust me?” Vital demanded, his eyes burning. “You don’t trust my motives?”
“Alright, I’ve heard about enough of this,” said Lisabelle, rising from the corner. She looked tired and bored. “Lanca, trust him. I do, and all the people in the world I trust are in this room, minus two.”
“Who are the two?” Sip asked curiously.
“My uncle and that one’s boyfriend,” said Lisabelle pointing at me. “He’s a fallen angel, but even I can’t hold that against him.”
“You could try,” said Lough.
Lisabelle smiled. “I did, the first year, but he’s just so darn cute.”
“Watch it,” I muttered.
Lisabelle just laughed and shook her head. “Yeah, like he ever looks anywhere but at you.”
I blushed and looked down. Being reminded that I would see Keller the next day sent happy little flutters coursing through my blood.
“Let’s get to bed,” said Lanca. Her shoulders, normally pulled back, slumped forward. Vital looked like he wanted to protest, but thought better of it when he saw how tired Lanca was.
“Fine,” he growled. “But I want you to trust me.”
“Everyone wants something from me at this point,” said Lanca tiredly. “I’m losing track.”
“Well, what I want is simple,” said Vital as we followed Lanca toward the door. “And I am not everyone.”
“No,” said Lanca quietly. “What you want is the most complicated thing of all.”
I didn’t look back at the door as we left, but somehow I knew we were leaving the only safe place in this whole mountain, which was strange, because weren’t we among friends?
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