Penelope eased off her cot, slipped her robe on, and came to sit beside me. She smiled. Her curly hair was frizzed and looked like a damaged windblown daisy after an intense rain. She leaned her head against my shoulder. “You want to get some sleep? I can watch the door until we’re ready to go.”
“I’m fine. People have been moving outside in the hall. Servants, I suppose.” I looked at the cuckoo clock. It was almost 5 a.m.
She stared up into my eyes in a way that made me feel funny inside. I stared at her lips, and she did mine. My stomach felt nervous. Without realizing I was moving, I leaned down to kiss her and Father abruptly wheezed and cleared his throat, startling she and I.
We pulled away from one another and turned to look at him. His eyes were still closed but he rolled over, facing our direction. He’d be awake within a few minutes. Once he tossed and turned, sleep lost its grip on him.
I released a long sigh. I glanced at her again, but the moment was lost.
Someone rapped at the door. Father sat up on the edge of the bed, as did Thomas and Madeline.
A few seconds later, the door opened. Jensen stepped into the room. His eyes regarded the stakes on the table. He suddenly looked concerned and partially confused. It showed a lack of gratitude toward Lorcan on our part.
His eyes shifted toward me. “I do hope you had a pleasant night’s sleep. Count Lorcan has requested your presence for breakfast in the banquet hall. He has matters to discuss while the stable hands are getting your horse and coach ready for you to depart.”
We nodded. After Jensen left, I packed my weapons into the box, and we hurriedly dressed. I don’t believe anyone rushed because they wanted to eat. We were ready to leave the castle and travel to Freiburg.
“Have you made your decision?” Father asked.
“I have.”
“And?”
“We will accept the offer.”
Father’s mouth dropped. His eyes grew fierce with excitement. He patted my shoulder with great enthusiasm.
“One thing, Father.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“When we get to the banquet hall, let me do the talking. Lorcan was quite perturbed that you kept interrupting him earlier in the night.”
Father grinned. “I’ll be silent.”
“And try not to divulge your zeal for the money, okay?”
He nodded, but I knew he’d never succeed. His eyes and smile were a direct reflection of how he felt inside. No matter how hard he tried, he’d never vanquish his lust for the reward.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lorcan sat at the head of the table when we arrived. He didn’t seem as jovial as he had been near midnight. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or simply impatient at hearing my answer. Of course with sunrise approaching in a couple of hours, I imagined he was ready to retreat to the darkness of his casket or sepulcher. It stood to reason a vampire might get cranky like a mortal when he doesn’t get rest.
After we took our seats, he rested his elbows upon the table and stared at me. “What have you decided?”
“We will slay Ambrose for you,” I replied.
He grinned with satisfaction. “Splendid. How did you arrive at your decision, if I may ask?”
I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair, attempting to look like I had spent a long time coming to my reasoning during the night. “I suppose if I had children and someone was trying to kill them, I’d find a way to eradicate such an enemy. And I wouldn’t care whom I had to hire to carry it out. Although I’ve not met your children, I can tell they are of the utmost prominence based upon their portraits on the wall.” Perhaps I had been too flattering, but I simply wanted to pack our belongings and travel on our way to Freiburg. Even though Lorcan had promised I could reject the offer without repercussions, I wanted to depart in the most amicable way possible.
“What is your business in Freiburg?” he asked. His eyes focused on Madeline and Varak. He suddenly seemed interested in them when earlier in the night he had not.
“Personal.”
He frowned at me. “Ah, I see. No coaxing it out of you?”
“It is not of your concern.”
Lorcan studied me for several moments in silence, trying to read me. He gave a disappointed smile. “You find it difficult to trust me?”
“Trust isn’t something I readily offer anyone.”
“You’re wise, Hunter. Trust must be earned. A foolish man who trusts a stranger often suffers great loss and tragedy. That’s why I have taken additional means in the hope I can prove my trustworthiness to you.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Flora!” Lorcan shouted.
Our attention turned to the tall slender brunette standing at the side door beneath the paintings. Her long curly hair hung down around her shoulders. Flora wore an elegant royal blue gown like she had when the artist had painted her image onto the canvas. Her alabaster skin was flawless. With high cheekbones and a narrow-bridge nose, her face displayed aristocracy, more so than her father’s did. My first impression was that she was haughty and regarded herself in a separate class altogether than any of us. Not that I could argue such a point because we were paupers in comparison.
A tall man stood limply at her side, standing only because she held him upright. In spite of her thin appearance, she was incredibly strong. The man must have been over twice her weight and stood about my height. She was holding him up by his shirt collar with one hand. Without much effort, she flung his body toward the table. He landed a few feet away, and the man didn’t move. He wasn’t breathing.
“Forrest?” Penelope whispered. “That’s Philip, isn’t it?”
I rose. Lorcan placed a fierce grip around my wrist, preventing me from leaving the table. If he chose, he could snap my arm with little effort. “Is he dead?”
Lorcan nodded. “Yes.”
I pulled my arm, and he freed me of his hold.
“You killed him?”
He smiled. “You should be relieved.”
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“He came to the castle at 3 a.m. with the intent of finding and killing you. He arrived on horseback, covered with ice and snow. Determination was what had kept him going. A normal person would have died from the frigid cold. But not him. He was raving mad. What’s odd, Forrest, is that he held no interest in slaying me or my children. He was, however, insistent on killing you.” A strange amused smile curled on his lips. “What would possess a Hunter to kill another Hunter? I’ve never heard any reports of a Hunter turning against another within their league. Especially not with the passion he exhibited. He considered you his enemy. Why is that, Hunter?”
“He didn’t tell you?” I asked.
Lorcan shook his head. “No. But it makes me wonder what trespasses you’ve committed against him?”
“None.”
“And yet he’s pursued you?”
I shrugged and tried to appear dumbstruck.
“Come now, Forrest. You’re amongst friends. While none of us were able to compel him to get the answers we wanted, we know he has ruthlessly tracked you for quite some time. For what purpose?”
“We didn’t see eye to eye.”
“Apparently not,” Lorcan said. “But there has to be more to this.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“How’d he know you were in my castle of all places?”
“I don’t know.” And that was the truth. I didn’t understand how he had escaped from the cemetery. Father had tied Philip better than I had the time before, and yet, he had somehow caught up to us. I didn’t have any idea how he had done so, and certainly, I was dumbfounded at how he knew where we were lodging for the night. He had to have had help. What worried me was who had helped him and guided him to us? Was it through another Hunter’s intellect? Had we not stopped at this inn for the night, he would have found us on the road and confronted me probably for the last time.
Lorcan’s eyes narrowed. “You really
don’t know, do you?”
I shook my head.
“Nonetheless, he was your mortal enemy, and we’ve ensured he won’t ever make another attempt to kill you.”
I walked around the table. Philip lay face down on the floor. I grabbed his shoulder and flipped him over. Rage had frozen in his facial expressions. He had not feared death or the vampires. He had probably tried to fight them off, but even he wasn’t a match for Lorcan’s children. His determination to defeat them was only so he could find where Varak was.
Two sets of bite marks were on his neck with two more sets near each wrist. If my guess was correct, Lorcan’s children had drained him of his blood. They had feasted on a Hunter’s blood, which boosted their strength far greater than normal. Now was not the time for me to make any accusations or even hope to combat any of his children. We were outnumbered, and with their increased strength, it would be like trying to fight a dozen or more vampires.
I checked Philip’s mouth for blood but found none.
“And this is supposed to build my trust in you?” I asked.
“Shouldn’t it? He was your enemy. We killed him. This is my way of showing loyalty to my oath. My gesture of good faith,” Lorcan said with genuine pride in his voice.
I knelt in silence beside Philip’s body. I grieved over his death, not for who he was as a person, but because another Hunter was dead. Because I had vowed to protect the hybrid infant, Philip was dead.
Lorcan turned in his seat, offering a reassuring smile. “Do you not realize that I sense your skepticism, and what Hunter wouldn’t be skeptical making a pact with a vampire? It’s not like you’re dealing with the Devil.”
I had my doubts about that.
Lorcan continued, “Just like another Hunter seeking to kill you, it’s doubtful many vampires would dare consider the thought of a master vampire hiring a Hunter to kill another master. Perhaps this is why destiny crossed our paths. Hunters hate you and you have befriended the vampire who killed your enemy.”
Anger stirred inside me. I wanted to blurt out how wrong he was and that he was forever my lifelong enemy. He certainly wasn’t my friend. Killing the Hunter, which did prevent me from killing him or being killed, could be viewed more as a threat, his way of proving the strength of his family, which was daunting on a whole other level. Philip had far more experience slaying vampires than I did. I’m certain Lorcan was aware of that.
The more vampires I encountered, the better I had become at determining how old vampires were. The older the vampire, the greater his or her strength. I didn’t know if vampires were able to determine the same thing about Hunters. I guessed it was possible, and if Lorcan could, he knew I was still a novice Hunter.
I kept an even expression on my face. The last thing I needed to show was my inner rage or the slightest hint of fear. I didn’t have fear for myself, but for Penelope, my father, and the others. I feared what might happen to them if I didn’t keep my temper in check. For the first time since I had expressed my feelings to Penelope, I recalled why I had predetermined the risks of falling in love. It wasn’t my death that was the greatest loss. It was hers and the agony of living without her.
Father must have sensed the potential threat, too. He kept looking at Philip and then he glanced toward Flora who stood at the door. She held a defiant look when she gazed at me, almost like she wanted me to attack her father. I knew better. Lorcan had already shown me his strength when he had gripped my wrist. Without a weapon, I wasn’t physically capable of fighting him or her. Flora could be at my throat before I saw her move, especially with her enhanced power.
I rose to my feet, standing beside Philip’s corpse. “I appreciate you having an interest in my welfare.” I expressed the words, but I was torn inside with gut-wrenching sickness. It troubled me that a Hunter was dead and in a way, I had offered thanks to the vampires who had killed him. It was difficult swallowing the vile taste of guilt.
Lorcan smiled. “It’s not just your welfare, Hunter, but the rest of your party, too.”
I frowned.
Lorcan stood. “Come. All of you. Let me show you.”
He walked toward the door where his daughter stood. She slid her arm around the crook of his, and they led the way down the long dark corridor. The walls were made of massive stones. Every ten feet a lit iron sconce was fastened to the wall. This area was the older section of the castle and had not been renovated like our inn room and bathhouse had been.
The long hallway was cool with a dank smell. The path we walked seemed endless. I was reminded of the long outer wall when we had arrived. This arched tunnel must be inside that wall.
Lorcan glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Not much farther.”
Uneasiness settled over me. Father and Penelope both gave me nervous glances. Perhaps they felt the same as I did. Was he leading us into a trap?
Again we had left our weapons in the room, and I was already having second thoughts. I had never expected to see Philip dead at the hands—well the fangs, I suppose—of Lorcan’s children. Even had I suspected they had killed another Hunter, I knew our weapons would not help us. Not at this particular moment anyway and not with their increased strength.
Philip might have been capable of defending himself against two of the siblings, but it was highly improbable that he had any knowledge of the total number of vampires in this castle. One master and six of his offspring. Of course, there could be even more than that, if each sibling had made sires, too. But depending upon how long the siblings had been vampires, their strength and prowess might equal that of a master. Philip never had a chance to survive against such odds. Even if I was fighting by his side, we’d have been easily defeated. The unity of these vampires was too powerful for a couple of Hunters. I wondered if Lorcan realized the dangers of assigning each of his children to a different section of his territory within the Black Forest. The farther away from one another they were, the weaker they became.
Lorcan and Flora turned to the right at the first hall that connected to the corridor we were walking along. This corridor was shorter and the iron bars on each side of the hall looked about as inviting as any prison cell might present itself to an unsuspecting victim.
But there weren’t any prisoners here. Each barred room held a different torture device. If the rock walls could scream, I had a good idea of the terror they’d reveal. Spiked weapons, stretching racks, and metal enclosures that were placed over roaring fires to cook prisoners alive. Lorcan and his family were more demented than I had credited them. I suppose Philip had gotten off easier than previous prisoners.
We passed all of those rooms and entered the circular room at the end of the corridor. Inside this room a banister encircled a pit below. Flora placed her hands upon the smooth railing. Her father stood beside her.
“Look below.”
Except for Madeline, the rest of us stepped to the side of the rail with extreme caution and gazed down. She remained outside the room, cradling Varak, gently rocking him. Down at the bottom of the pit were eight plague demons like the ones Penelope had killed. I frowned and caught Lorcan’s intense stare.
He smiled. “Until your arrival, we’ve never encounter such demons within our halls. Like the Hunter, are these also your enemy, Forrest?”
I shook my head. “Not mine, but our coachman’s.”
“I see. And why is that?” he asked.
“You don’t know?”
“I wouldn’t be asking you if I did.”
“You have no knowledge of Albert the Were-rat?” I asked warily.
He shook his head, slightly puzzled by the name. “No. What significance does this were-rat have with these demons?”
Until this moment, I truly had thought Lorcan had received word about me through Albert. While vampires could mask lies, I didn’t perceive him as being dishonest. And the plague demons had seemed to have caught him off guard, too.
“Thomas?” I said.
Thomas nervously rubbed his moustache, swall
owed hard, and held onto the banister to hold himself upright. “Albert sent these after me.”
“Why?” Lorcan asked.
“As punishment for not repaying my debt to him.”
“I see. So you have a death sentence hanging over you? Rather than face your rightful punishment, you’ve decided to flee?” Lorcan asked.
I shook my head. “No, the demons are more of a test, or in this case, a twisted game.”
“Game?” Lorcan asked. “What sort of game?”
“If Thomas succeeds in getting us to Freiburg without getting killed by one of the plague demons, his debt is cleared.”
Lorcan said, “I see. Interesting. Then if I were all of you, I’d gather your belongings and finish your journey to Freiburg. Your horse and coach should be ready and awaiting you at the entrance. These demons are trapped here and cannot escape to follow you.”
Penelope looked at the demons in the pit with eagerness in her gaze. She wanted to kill them. I sensed her detestation toward them was the same as mine toward vampires. “Why are these demons confined to the pit?”
Flora said, “As a precaution for the castle’s safety, there is a summoning circle on the pit floor that draws invading demons here.”
“Who drew the circle?” Penelope asked.
“I did,” Flora replied with a prideful smile.
Lorcan chuckled softly. “She has taken a keen interest in demons and other dark arts.”
“You realize these demons carry the plague?”
Flora’s smile didn’t fade. “Indeed I do.”
Penelope regarded Flora with a skeptical glare.
Flora pursed her lips. “It’s not like I keep them as pets.”
“Then why do you?”
“To study them and their behaviors.”
“These have only one purpose, and that’s to infect villages and cities with the Black Death.”
Flora crinkled her nose. “They are the most boring of demons.”
Forrest Wollinsky: Predestined Crossroads (Forrest Wollinsky: Vampire Hunter Book 3) Page 17