by Gwynn White
The vampire leader stopped in front of me. His head turned down. I felt so small before his massive form, like an ant standing in front of a mountain. And the black face mask of his helmet made me squirm inside my own skin. I didn’t like not being able to see someone’s face. It made them seem even scarier, even more intimidating.
“I am Major Pall. Who are you, and what is the purpose of your visit to Earth?” There was command in his voice, a command that rang through the helmet, loud and clear. He was completely in charge here, and he knew it.
The vampires were running the Galactic Assembly’s police force right now. They maintained the law and order as set out by the Galactic Assembly. The role was rotated every five years between the vampires and the witches. Most people said the vampires made the best galactic police. Whenever the witches held the gig, it was hell on Earth—and on every other planet too.
“I am Terra Cross, Princess of Laelia.” I gestured toward Jason. “And this is my friend Jason Chanz, Prince of Pegasus.” I paused. “We came for the muffins.”
“Muffins?”
The vampire sounded perplexed, but I couldn’t be sure. I wished I could see his face to gauge his response. Father had taught me to read body language and facial expressions; he said it was almost as accurate as reading their minds. My time playing poker with leprechauns and goblins had only solidified my skills. But in that armor with those helmets, the vampires didn’t have much in the way of body language or facial expressions.
“Yes, muffins,” I repeated. “The Pacific Sunrise Bakery makes the galaxy’s best muffins. You really should try them.”
The other five vampires turned their heads my way. They probably thought I was nuts to talk about muffins at a time like this, when we’d just survived a beastly encounter. Obviously they didn’t appreciate the fine distinction between crazy and irreverent.
“How did you go from eating muffins to fighting beasts?” Major Pall asked me.
“While we were sitting at the cafe, it ran down the main street. The beast, not the muffin,” I added with a smile.
No one laughed. Geez, vampires were no fun at all.
“We led the beasts away from the town so we could deal with them here,” I finished.
“How?” Major Pall asked.
“What?”
“How did you lure them away from town without using magic in front of human witnesses?”
Ah, so he was trying to catch me in a crime. Damn galactic police, always looking for trouble.
“I threw rocks at them,” I told him.
“And you expect me to believe that worked?”
I just kept smiling. “They were big rocks.”
“I’m going to ask you again,” the vampire said, clearly unimpressed. “What is the purpose of your visit to Earth?”
Ok, this was getting ridiculous.
I folded my arms across my chest. “I already told you.”
“You told me something. I didn’t say I believed your story.”
This was insane.
“We were saving those humans’ lives and protecting the Veil of Secrecy,” I snapped. “Why are you giving us a hard time?”
“Why are you here?”
“Because you won’t let us leave.”
“You don’t get any points for smarting off,” he warned me.
“Or for telling the truth apparently,” I grumbled.
“What is the purpose of your visit to Earth?”
I could have just strangled him.
“What is yours?” I shot back.
“We are here to hunt down renegade mages.”
I pointed at the empty patch where the portal had been before this ridiculous conversation began. “They went that way. Have fun.”
“They aren’t the only ones who have been naughty,” the vampire told me.
Oh, no. He did not just call me naughty. Like I was ten years old.
Major Pall snapped a pair of handcuffs over my wrists. “Princess Terra and Prince Jason, we are placing you under arrest for disturbance of the peace.”
10
City of Secrets
Major Pall and his men brought us to the galactic police station in Lear, a neutral world. It was close to both the vampires’ and the witches’ empires. The position of the station wasn’t just a matter of prestige for whichever empire happened to hold it at any given moment. It also held strategic value. Lear had the nickname the ‘City of Secrets’ because so many secrets were made and broken here. The empire that controlled the police station had eyes in Lear—and ears on the secrets exchanged here.
The vampires and witches had been fighting each other for so long. Neither one ever passed up an opportunity to take a stab at the other. I could understand the vampires locking me up if I’d been a witch. But I was a mage. The vampires had no qualms with the mages. In fact, we were on the way to becoming allies.
I was alone in the interrogation room, sitting at the drab brown table while I stared at the drab brown walls and drab brown floor. I’d been here for hours in this excessively sterile room, the smell of cleaning chemicals burning my nose, and no one had come to question me. They were letting me sit and stew, trying to make me antsy so they could draw out a confession. But confess to what? I hadn’t done anything wrong.
I didn’t know where Jason was. I had a feeling he was still in the station, though. He could have fought his way out of here, but that would have gotten his world into trouble with the Galactic Assembly. So he’d let the vampires take him. They had split us up as soon as we’d reached the station. Maybe they thought we’d conspire to set the hideous brown curtains on fire.
Finally, there was a loud beep, and the door opened. A vampire entered. It was Major Pain-in-the-Ass. I recognized that armor.
Yes, he was still wearing his battle armor, helmet and all, even though this wasn’t a battlefield. It was said that a vampire soldier never took off his armor when he was outside the empire. He was always armed, always armored. Always ready to fight. The vampires were a perpetually battle-ready society. Plus, they really liked to intimidate people.
I had to admit I was feeling pretty intimidated, but I was determined not to show it. As the vampire stopped in front of me—I wondered if he could even sit in all that armor—I stood up to face him. Though the top of my head barely reached his helmet, though I couldn’t see his face or his eyes through that opaque facial shield, I didn’t look away. I was a princess of Elitia, and I would not be cowered.
“I demand that you release me immediately,” I said with all the authority and regal grace I could muster.
He folded his arms across his armored chest. “Oh, do you?”
“You had no right to arrest us. And you have even less right to hold us here. Jason and I were acting perfectly within the law. We saved human lives and maintained the Veil of Secrecy. We should get a medal—or at least a pat on the back.” I threw up my hands in frustration. “Not this.”
The vampire just stood there like a big, black statue. “Are you finished?”
Through his helmet, his voice was deep, frightening. It was the sort of voice that made the guilty shake in their boots. But I wasn’t guilty. And I wasn’t wearing any boots.
“We’re only finished when you release me and my friend.”
“You are feisty. Your friend merely glared at me the whole time and said nothing,” he told me. “What happened? Why were you two playing with beasts? Did you set them on the town?”
“We weren’t playing with them. And we didn’t set them on the town. As I explained to you before, we were minding our own business, enjoying a muffin, when the beasts ran through the town. Jason and I led them away from the city to protect people.”
“Don’t lie to me,” he warned me.
“I don’t know anything else.”
“The beasts were mages, mages who can shift. That is not a registered ability.”
“They were rogue mages.”
“Are there a lot of rogue mages, Princess
?”
This was a trap. And I wasn’t going to fall into it. I said nothing.
“Beasts are dangerous,” he said. “Their bite could be poisonous. Releasing them is not a fun prank when people die.”
I forgot my anger for a moment. “Was anyone hurt?”
The vampire was silent for a few moments, then said, “No. Fortunately, they weren’t in the city long enough to kill, poison, or maim anyone.”
“Because we led them away. We were trying to help, and this is what we get?” I held out my handcuffed wrists.
“It is not your job to ‘help’. Beasts are dangerous. Catching them is a job best left to the authorities,” he lectured me.
“I’m confused, Major,” I said in my most innocent voice. “Are you accusing us of releasing them onto the world, or accusing us of helping capture them?”
“I don’t find this amusing,” he retorted.
“Well, that makes two of us.” I leaned my cuffed hands on the table. “Let’s just cut to the chase. You don’t have anything on us. We did our duty to protect the Earth and its people, as well as uphold the Veil of Secrecy. You can either hold us here under false pretenses for a while to make yourselves feel big and bad, then eventually be forced to release us. Or you can just dispense with the bullshit and release us now.”
The vampire was silent again, watching me. I wished I could see his face, just to gauge his emotions, his reaction to me. But the helmet blocked that. That was another reason he was still wearing his armor. I just knew it. He could see me, but I couldn’t see him. That put him at a distinct advantage in this conversation.
“Or we can just take this to the Galactic Assembly and see what they have to say about you overextending your authority,” I added.
Finally, he spoke, “You know the law well.”
“You kind of have to nowadays. The galaxy is full of bullies.” I held out my handcuffed wrists to him. “If you please, Major.”
He clicked a button on his wrist, and the cuffs clicked open. The silver metal dropped into his hands.
I shook out my stiff wrists. “Ok, now return my property.”
He unlocked a cabinet. I gathered my weapons and accessories, then put them on. The vampire just stood there, watching my every movement, like I was going to blow up the whole station with the power of my mind or something. But I wasn’t that kind of mage.
“Now release my friend,” I told him.
I knew I was pushing it with my demands, but the vampire didn’t say a word. He simply walked to the door and opened it. I followed him into the hall—and into the room next door. Hmm. Jason and I had been side-by-side all this time, and I hadn’t known it. The rooms must have been soundproofed.
Jason was standing at the wall, staring at his two vampire guards like he was going to kill them, even though they were in armor and he was bound and weaponless. It didn’t take any magic to see that Jason was pissed off as all hell and wanted to kill them. But his hands were tied. Not literally. Ok, yes, those were tied too, but he could have removed his restraints—and then blasted his way out of here. His Phantom magic was a weapon, even more deadly than his knives.
If the vampires thought they had him where they wanted him, they were seriously overconfident. Jason could have gotten out of his restraints, even without the aid of his magic-augmenting accessories. He was the Elite Phantom, the most powerful Phantom alive today. His accessories helped him channel his power, but he could use some small part of his magic without them. That small part just happened to be larger than most mages’ entire magical arsenal.
So firepower wasn’t the problem. Or magical power in this case. Jason only hadn’t attacked the vampires because that would have created a diplomatic incident.
As we entered, Jason’s gaze flickered from Major Pall to me. “Are you all right?” he asked me.
“Fine,” I replied. “The Major was just about to let us go.”
Major Pall nodded at the soldiers, who released Jason from his restraints.
A cabinet opened, and Jason gathered his things. There were a lot of weapons inside. Thirty-two blades, most of them throwing knives. But Jason put on everything quickly. He’d done it so many times before. I bet he could arm himself in his sleep.
Jason glared at the vampires as though he could see right through their helmets—and through their souls. Then he turned toward me. We walked down the hallway in silence. At the end, he pushed the glass doors open, and we left the station side-by-side.
Outside, it was hot enough to fry an egg on my forehead. We walked down the empty main street of the largest unallied city in the galaxy. It was a transit point between the different empires, kingdoms, and various other territories. But at this hour, most of the city’s inhabitants hid away within their cool stone buildings, counting down the hours of scorching humidity until it would be bearable once more.
The sun shone directly overhead in the cloudless sky, blazing down on our heads. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and splashed myself with water from a nearby fountain. Beside me, Jason was sucking it up, stubbornly bearing his misery with all due manliness, chest puffed out and head held high. He must have been boiling under all that leather.
Once we’d made it some distance from the station, Jason spoke, “The vampire soldiers who arrested us were Diamond Edges.”
“I noticed that too.”
Their armor had been a dead giveaway. It was top-of-the-line military armor, best of the best, reserved for the vampires’ elite soldiers. That was the Diamond Edges. They were a black ops division of the Selpe Empire’s military. They didn’t usually handle official arrests—just the unofficial ones.
“What is going on here that’s so big the Diamond Edges have gotten involved?” I asked Jason.
He just shook his head. “If only I knew.”
11
Diamond Edge
After our run-in with the Diamond Edges, Jason returned to Pegasus. We’d been stuck at the police station most of the day, so we had to wait until tomorrow for our little unsanctioned field trip. The black market portal keys he’d bought us only allowed access to the Temporia portal during the morning hours. Bootlegged stuff was so unreliable.
Once I arrived back home, I had little time before dinner, so I went straight to the audience chamber to eat with my father and Davin. I didn’t even stop off at my bedroom to change out of my dirty clothes or put away my weapons. That was the great thing about family: you could be yourself with them.
When I reached the audience chamber, only one person was in the torchlit room, and it wasn’t Father. It wasn’t Davin either. Muse, a Cipher who served as one of my father’s advisors, sat in the only occupied chair of sixteen at the walnut table. Stacks of papers were piled all around her. The steady scratch of a pen against paper echoed off the high walls, making it sound as though at least a dozen people were writing in sync. I approached the table, and Muse’s bronze eyes turned up from the paper to look at me.
“Where are my father and Davin?” I asked her.
“In the south garden. You have guests tonight for dinner,” Muse replied.
“What kind of guests?”
“Vampires.”
I swallowed a groan. I’d had quite enough of vampires for one day.
I thanked Muse, then left the room. Davin was waiting in the hallway, dressed to receive a king.
“As always, Terra, you know how to make an entrance,” my brother commented.
I looked down at my leather jacket and dusty pants. “You spend the whole day at a galactic police station and then let’s see how you look.”
His brows arched. “Getting into trouble again?”
I let out a deep sigh. “It wasn’t my fault.”
“You always say that.”
He had a point. I did always say that. But only because it was true. The bad things that happened to me weren’t usually my fault.
We walked to the south garden, where several tables had been set up under an arch of climbing ros
es. A string quartet played a soft, soothing tune. It looked like the party had already started.
I scanned the vampire guests. The visiting party included Emperor Ambrose Selpe himself. He looked like the personification of every monster story about vampires. His suit, adorned with a satin sash and blue diamond brooch, hung loosely on his gaunt form. His wrinkled skin was so pale, so thin, that I could almost see through it. His white hair was frayed and his eyes hard, like he’d seen a lot of suffering in his many years.
His two sons, Hayden and Ian, stood on either side of him. The twins were about my age. Though identical in appearance with their sandy hair and jade-colored eyes, I could pick out some differences in manner between them. Ian was the bookish brother, while Hayden was more active, more muscular. Their clothes walked the fine line between formal and hip. Each brother wore a pair of dark dress pants with a big, decorative belt I’d have expected to see on cowboys, not princes. Their vests were colorful and their coats stylish—open and short in front, long and sweeping in the back.
A large man stood behind the Emperor and his sons. The harbinger of death. At least that’s what he looked like, posed there with his thick arms crossed against his chest like two tree trunks locked in a heart-shaped embrace. Built from solid muscle, he wore only black leather—from his studded boots to his thick, textured jacket—which along with his spiky tangerine-orange hair, pierced nose, and steady glare made him look so imposing that any sane person would think twice before taking him on. The perfect facade for the personal bodyguard of the Selpe emperor.
He was a mage. And not just any mage—a Phantom. His name was Wrest, and he was rumored to be over five hundred years old. He was one of our oldest warriors. Eighteen years ago, he’d gone to work for the vampires’ emperor. There had to be a story there, but I didn’t know it.