by Aya Walksfar
Head held high, I gave Gregory a haughty look. “You need to recall the Teachings, Gregory.” With a disdainful glance down as I strolled past Alexis’ dazed form, I commanded in a harsh tone, “Tend to the wanton; the Warrior should recover without assistance.” With fresh blood pounding through my veins I felt stronger than I had in a long time. I breezed past the line of silent Guardians.
I could feel Gregory’s stare on my back all the way down the staircase. Good! It’s time he learned his place.
I had finished eating a plate of eggs and French toast when Ariel stumbled sleepily into the Admin kitchen and over to my chair. Laying her head on my shoulder, she softly scolded, “Momma, you shouldn’t be up yet. You need your rest.”
How dare the child! Whipping to the side, I gripped her thin shoulders, held her away from me and stared into her face. Giving her a firm shake, I snapped, “A youngster does not chastise her mother. Go to your room, Ariel.”
Silence descended in the kitchen; not even a piece of silverware clinked against a plate. The wanton washing dishes stopped and gaped at the tableau then looked quickly away when she saw that I noticed.
Tears filled Ariel’s eyes. She tried to lean into me, but I firmly held her away. “Go, Ariel.”
The child ripped free of my loose grip and fled the kitchen.
I gazed around the room. “Does someone wish to chastise the First Councilwoman? Or tell her how to interact with her own child?” The cold emerald of my eyes challenged each of them until they dropped their gaze and turned away.
Am I surrounded by enemies? Unease ran chilled hands along my arms. I suppressed the shiver. It wouldn’t do to show any weakness.
Chapter 18
Alexis Night Runner
I stood outside the front entry of the Admin building and gazed up at the faultless pale blue of the late afternoon sky. Gregory deliberately rustled his clothing as he walked up behind me--a courtesy that not all vampires afforded humans. I waited until he stopped beside me before I spoke. “I'm worried.”
“Captain Night Runner, walk with me while I do a perimeter check.”
I blinked, but didn’t comment as I followed him out of the compound and into the surrounding woods. We hiked for over an hour before he finally halted and motioned for me to sit on a nearby log.
Legs still easily fatigued since my journey to save Kira from the Cold-Between, I gratefully sank down. As soon as he lowered himself next to me, I shifted to fully face him. “I'm worried about Serena. It’s been three days since she awakened, and she still isn’t acting right. Even taking into account that something has been awry for several weeks, it’s even more pronounced now.”
“I, too, have noticed that something appears to be wrong. Ariel told me what happened in the kitchen that first day. Serena would never act in such a manner toward any child, much less Ariel.”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t as bad as what she nearly did to wanton Crissy Belle. If you hadn’t shown up....” I didn’t complete the sickening thought. “And, her strange behavior continues. The Warriors are worried, too. Did you hear what happened with Nikki yesterday?”
“Yes, she forbade Lieutenant Howitter from any future contact with Ariel.”
“Nikki’s devastated. She takes her pledge to protect Ariel very seriously. Did Serena tell Ariel?”
He gave a grim nod. “This afternoon. The poor child burst into tears. Serena told her that a human babysitter made her appear weak; that she needed to be mindful of her place in vampire society and that weakness was unacceptable.”
“Nikki’s worried sick, Gregory. She says the child has nightmares of being trapped under the water in the cove if Ariel doesn’t sleep with her or with Serena." I turned a tormented gaze toward the west. The orange-red ball of the sun hovered at treetop level. Somewhere near, a robin sang. The clean smell of dirt and leaves drifted up from the forest floor.
Gregory bent over and propped his arms on his thighs. “Do you think when Serena broke that spell that it damaged her mind?”
I looked away from him. “Maybe this...behavior is some kind of reaction to the magic. Maybe this is some manifestation of extreme fatigue that rest and fresh blood will heal?”
He leveled his gaze at me. “Do you believe that, Alexis?’
I didn’t move my eyes from the deep green sword fern growing a few inches from my foot. “No. Not after three days of live feedings.” I raised my face and held his steady gaze. “I feel something...” Hands thrown in the air, I bent my neck backward and stared up at the intertwined branches of the Douglas firs and Western Red cedars. When I finally lowered my eyes, I said, “I feel something dark, something evil hovering around Serena.”
“Can you See her Aura?”
A wry grimace twisted my lips. “So far, that’s not one of my magics.”
I had never seen Gregory looking so lost. “I know about vampires and about wars, but I have no knowledge of magic beyond my own poor talents. You are the Magic User, Alexis. What can we do?”
Fear weighed heavily on my shoulders as I got to my feet. “I don’t know, Gregory. I'll keep going through the library, looking for answers. That’s all I can do right now.” Leaving him seated on the log, I headed back to the estate.
Dear Goddess, please let this sickness of Serena’s be a quickly passing thing.
As much as I wished for it to happen, I didn’t think a simple prayer was going to heal whatever damage had happened to Serena’s mind. I wished I knew what would.
****
The rest of the week went from bad to worse on a fast freight. It culminated on Friday evening when Serena slapped Ariel for disturbing her meditation. The child had had the temerity to ask when her mother would teach her how to use her own magic.
I stormed over as Ariel raced from the room. “What in Caine’s Hells did you hit that kid for?”
Serena flashed fangs at me. “You are stepping beyond your bounds, Warrior.”
I was too angry to pay heed to the dangerous edge that I walked. “Fuck your bounds, Serena. You had no reason to hit Ariel.”
Eyes blazing emerald green, Serena flowed to her feet. “Ariel is not your child, Alexis Night Runner, nor is she your concern. Step back or feel the consequences.”
I opened my mouth to respond when Nikki snatched me backwards. “Our apologies, First Councilwoman,” Nikki bowed her head as she physically handed me off to Sheena and Warrior Elsbeth.
Sheena glared me into silence as the two Warriors unceremoniously hustled me out the front door of the building. Within moments, Nikki joined us beyond the gate of the estate.
“What the fu...” I started to say only to have a hand clapped over my mouth.
“Not here, Captain,” Nikki hissed in my ear.
Recalling Gregory’s reticence to speak before putting distance between us and the estate, I nodded then followed as Nikki led deeper into the forest.
We moved rapidly up the mountain. Nikki didn’t halt until miles stretched between us and the estate. When she stopped, she sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “As my grandfather would have said, you were skating on thin ice with the First Councilwoman, Captain.”
I stomped a short path back and forth, trying to rein in my anger. “What in Caine’s Hells is wrong with Serena? She hit Ariel. Actually hit the kid for asking a valid question!”
“The other day you said you felt something dark hovering around Serena.” Sheena sank onto a tree stump. For the first time, I really looked at the Warrior. Fatigue dulled her eyes. “Since then I went down to the Warrior’s House and dug through some of my old books, ones that Matriarch Belora gave me when she realized I could do magic. This morning, I drew runes on myself.” She peeled her shirt over her head. Symbols drawn in some kind of red paint had been sketched on her chest, in a vertical line between her heavy breasts.
I studied the symbols then shook my head. “I have no idea what I am looking at besides a nice set of tits.”
Sheena chuckled. “Glad you like them
, Captain.” She cupped her breasts in the palms her hands and lightly jiggled them. “You do know that I swing both ways.”
A blush crawled up my neck and across my cheeks.
Sheena laughed then dropped her hands and resumed serious mode. “These symbols allow me to work a spell to See a person’s aura. What I Saw when I looked at Serena was a translucent film of dark slime coating her aura.”
I abruptly stopped pacing and swung to face Sheena. “What caused it? Where did it come from?”
Hands lifted in a search-me gesture, Sheena said, “Either the spell I used doesn’t provide that information or, much like me and computers, I haven’t learned how to play with all the function keys on that particular model.”
Collapsing on the ground, I folded my legs into a lotus position, arms resting on my thighs. “Sweet Artemis, what are we going to do now?”
“That’s not all, Captain.”
My eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t think this could possibly get any worse.”
Regret shone in the Warrior’s eyes. “I'm sorry, Captain, but Serena’s aura is showing wear. Let me explain what I mean. If a person becomes spiritually or psychically ill, it can dim or tear that person’s aura. In some extreme cases of spiritual illness, it can eventually destroy the aura and the person; even though the person may or may not physically die, as well.”
Eyes wide at the implications, I stared at Sheena. “You are seriously freaking me out.”
“Sorry, Captain, but First Councilwoman’s aura has hot spots.”
“Hot spots?”
“That’s the only thing I can call them. There are spots on her aura that appear to be burning. They’re a blood red color, like a glowing ember, and at the edges of those spots, her aura appears thinner, like the hot spot has somehow burned away a layer of it.”
I scrambled to my feet. “We have to find some way to stop whatever is happening.” My heart burst into a frantic gallop.
Nikki held up a hand as if to say ‘wait’. “There’s something else you need to know, Captain.”
“Oh, Goddess,” I moaned. “It’s not good, is it?”
“No, it isn’t good.”
I rolled my hand in a get-on-with-it gesture. “Tell me.”
“Serena sent a message with Warrior Honey to the werepanthers this morning. Because the First Councilwoman acted so secretive, Honey hung out at the panther’s headquarters on the pretext of waiting for a possible reply and eavesdropped. The ability to listen in on others while remaining undetected is part of her skill set. Anyway, the message told the panthers that Gregory’s agreement to provide mutual aid is null and void. That their recent, false accusation claiming that a vampire murdered Elder Coahoma had shown Serena the wisdom of continuing the vampires separation from Were society.”
I dropped my face into my hands. “Goddess help us.” Indescribable fatigue overwhelmed me. My hands fell to my sides. “Who else knows of the message--either Were or vampire?”
Nikki shrugged. “Elder Maria Mendea of the Wolves of North America was present when Queen Rianna received the message. Apparently, Ri has been consulting with Elder Mendea as she learns how to deal with her new position as Queen. From what Honey observed of Serena’s actions, I’d venture a guess that Gregory has no clue about the message, though.”
“He probably doesn’t. She keeps sending him off on ridiculous errands. It’s like she doesn’t want him around. Damn it, this is beyond a disaster.” I hunched my shoulders as if expecting a physical hit.
“The question is--how do we choose to respond?” Nikki stared at me.
Blinking, I tried to clear the grit of fatigue from my eyes. “I think the first order of business is to have a chat with Gregory.”
When I returned to the Admin Building, Serena pretended not to see me, or perhaps, this was her new vampire persona--humans were beneath notice. Over the years, I’d met a few European vampires and recognized the haughty too-advanced-in-the-evolutionary-chain-to-interact-with-mere-humans attitude.
It’d be another week before Gregory returned from the errand Serena had dispatched him on a couple of days earlier. I prayed to Artemis that nothing else would happen before he returned.
The type of attack Serena had launched against wanton Crissy Belle had not been repeated. She had, however, continued ‘drinking from the source’ regardless of location. Several times I stumbled into the main gathering room or the kitchen only to find Serena sucking on someone’s neck; her victim writhing in the throes of sexual ecstasy as Serena rubbed her body against the donor. Every time as I turned to leave, I felt Serena’s eyes on me. Every time, I had twisted around to look and our eyes had met.
Every time something bitterly vindictive had shown amid the green glow of Serena’s vampire eyes.
The Vision The Lady had shown me haunted my waking hours now, as well as my sleep, whenever I finally found sleep. Would this situation escalate and end in me murdering Serena? A steel fist of dread clamped my gut.
The tension in the Admin Building built rapidly toward intolerable limits. Dread twisted my guts. Something bad was going to happen and I hoped Gregory returned before it did.
Chapter 19
Alexis Night Runner
Three days after he should have returned, Gregory hadn’t come back. In fact, no one seemed to know where he was. Disheartened, I returned to one of the cubicles that had been assigned to the Warriors.
Just before dawn, a Warrior shook me awake. “Captain, First Councilwoman demands your presence in her room.”
I sat up on the edge of the cot and rubbed sleep from scratchy eyes. A quick glance at my watch and my heart hit warp speed as I sprang to my feet. “What’s wrong?” I hurriedly dressed.
The Warrior shrugged. “I was on inside patrol and the First Councilwoman opened her door and said to bring you to her. You’re to come alone.”
“Wake the Warriors...”
Before I could complete the sentence, the Warrior was shaking her head. “First Councilwoman was adamant that I was not to alert anyone else in the house; only you.”
It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped down my back. I strapped on the short sword that hung on the back of a chair next to the cot. Leaning close to the Warrior’s ear, I whispered, “Wake the Warriors and have them play ghost and disperse into the woods outside the gates without anyone seeing them. I have a very bad feeling about this.”
Concern flashed across the Warrior’s face, but she’d been too well trained to question a commanding officer. “Yes, ma’am. What do I tell them?”
“Tell them to secrete themselves at some distance from the estate and to utilize evasive strategies, if necessary. They are not to engage with anyone unless Lieutenant Howitter or I command it.”
The Warrior hurried off to inform the others as I slipped out of the room and found Nikki patrolling downstairs. “Get the Warriors off the estate and hidden in the woods. Something’s not kosher. Serena demands my presence…in secrecy.” I swallowed hard and pushed the next unwelcome words out. “If anything happens to me, get the Warriors to Ri. Join forces with her People.”
Nikki didn’t engage in false assurances; she clapped a hand on my shoulder then rushed off.
Eyes closed, I gathered my resolve then went into the kitchen. I threw together a pot of coffee. A hard knot of dread filled my chest. I had to give the Warriors a chance to vanish into the woods.
I pulled the refrigerator open and removed what I needed to fix a couple of sandwiches. Tears filled my eyes as I slapped together Serena’s favorite--roast beef with plenty of horseradish sauce. Randomly opening cupboards, I found the stash of oatmeal raisin cookies wanton Nancy had baked that evening, and added several to the tray.
Unable to stall any longer, I headed up the stairs to Serena’s room. When I tentatively knocked on the closed door, she called for me to enter. As soon as I stepped inside, my gut clenched.
A wanton I didn’t recognize lay crumpled in the corner of the room. Though I wan
ted to rush to the woman, some survival instinct held me fast where I stood. I carefully schooled my face and body into neutral. I tilted my head toward the carelessly discarded body as I looked into Serena’s eyes. “Who was the midnight snack?”
Serena gave a negligent flip of her hand. “A nobody.” She beckoned with her hand; the same one that had dismissed the dead. “Come over here, Alexis.”
Warily, I circled to the right. Keeping myself between the door and the vampire, I set the tray on the dresser that stood midway along the wall to the left of the First Councilwoman. “I thought we might need some coffee and a snack if we’re going to talk at this hour of the morning.” I picked up one of the sandwich plates and a cup then crossed the couple of feet of floor and cautiously set cup and plate on the occasional table next to Serena.
With pretended nonchalance, I turned away and retrieved the second cup of coffee, but left the sandwich plate on the tray. Retreating as far from Serena as possible without seeming to defy her command to be closer, I evaluated the situation. Realistically, without hella luck, I would never make the door if she decided to take me down.
She sipped the coffee then gazed over the rim of the china cup. “I suppose, you are wondering why I wanted to speak with you.”
Choosing to sip the hot beverage instead of replying, I kept a suspicious eye on the vampire who had once been my savior and then my best friend; and had recently been my lover.
Serena set the cup on the table then crossed one leg over the other and loosely folded her hands in her lap. Head cocked, she openly studied me. “I know you are curious, so I’ll tell you--the wanton is dead. I drained her.”
Not a trace of regret informed her voice. I fought to maintain a blank mask and thought I had succeeded until Serena gave a delicate laugh.
“Shocked and angry, Alexis? Why? You knew what I was before I ever brought you to the estate.”