by A J Brahms
That's when I saw in the flickering light, a vial. One of Emmet's vials. I reached for it and she helped me bring it to my lips. I drank it fast because…ass flavored.
The explosion that happened behind my eyes as the blood went to work, mending my body, knocked me back on my ass. I stopped shivering and became still. I could see we were in a cave now…with a fire and lots of boxes… "Stupor."
"Yes I know. The Troll can't find us here. I will be here when you wake."
When a Ghoul drinks their monthly taste of Night Walker blood, because our reserves inside are low enough, we lay in a coma-like stupor for twenty-four hours. That's why we call it Stupor. My Maker had always believed this is what made it easier to control Ghouls because they couldn't get away. If they tried, they would come back in need of Blood. And yet, when they drank, they were helpless in their Maker's arms, easy to chain and manipulate.
The perfect slave.
There. I'd finally said it.
I had been a slave. Her slave. And her Chevalier.
This woman was stroking my hair. "Sleep, Ren Grainger."
Then it dawned on me as the blood took hold and I slipped away. I didn't know who she was, or her name.
Not even what she was.
I woke again and sat up. In fact I sat up so fast I had to stop myself before I was on the other side of the cave. I looked down and realized I was wearing nothing but my jeans. My jacket, shirt, and shoes were gone. I put my hands on my middle. Not even a scar.
That's not right. I had scarred before. Not all Night Walker blood could remove all scarring, especially not on a Ghoul. The fire was still up so I walked even closer, just to make sure I could see it all.
But there was nothing there. In fact, a previous scar I'd gotten during a Ghoul Fight was gone. I knew I'd had Vampire blood, because of the taste. But what kind of Vampire? Usually it was always the young, watered down stuff since that was a quick way a Night Walker could make a buck, donating blood. But that stuff…
I looked around and saw the stacks of boxes again and immediately recognized them. These were boxes from inside Greybeard's little lab room. I counted seven of them and opened them all. Herbs, and vials and vials of blood. All kinds, all labeled and all of it packaged with names.
"I stole those," a voice echoed around me and I turned to see a young woman standing by the fire. She was dripping water on the ground and I looked to my left to see a shore, water lapping out of the darkness. This was an underwater cave!
I had a vial in my hand and held it up, but I was amazed at her appearance.
She looked human, but didn't. She had a head, shoulders, two arms, breasts, waist, legs and feet. But they were the wrong textures and colors to be human. Her skin had a soft greenish grey cast to it, and her eye were bright and luminous. Her hair was long and seemed to move in the air about her, as if she were underwater. She wasn't wearing much of anything, except a wrapping of foliage on her breasts and hips.
And around her left wrist was a manacle, with a trailing chain.
Solomon's Balls.
I put the vial down and gave her a deep bow. "Ginny Greenteeth."
She smiled at me in a tentative, bashful way. This wasn't the creature that had attacked us in the lake, but again I was sure it was. I looked at her shoulder, where I'd shot her, and saw a black hole there, just above the green leaves.
"You're not afraid?"
I gave her a smile. "I'm terrified. And fascinated." I nodded to her shoulder. "I'm sorry I did that."
"It was your aim that alerted me that you knew I wasn't the one causing harm." She put her hand on her shoulder. "This is what brought me back from insanity. Sensing what you were, I knew you pulled the shot. So when I saw it was you he was killing this time," she stepped closer. "I had to return the favor."
"I am in your debt, Miss Greenteeth."
"Ginny."
I put the vial back in the box. "You stole all of these from Greybeard."
"While he was away. I wanted it all to expire. And it will, except the Ancient blood. That will take longer." She nodded to the box I had opened. "That's what's in there. It's what I gave you."
"This is an Ancient's blood?" I picked another vial up and held it in front of me. It looked like any other vial of blood.
"The oldest of the Night Walkers. The Grand Company, Ren. The ones who once ruled the Night Walker world. These creatures are as old as our Queens in my realm. In fact, they are so old they no longer move. And that is why they no longer rule."
I made a face. "I'm not sure what it is you're talking about."
"It's okay." She clasped her hands together in front of her.
That's when I got a good look at the wrist with the manacle. The skin around it was blackened, a bit hard to make out in the fire light and the gloom of the cave, against her ash green skin. But it was there. I put the vial back and approached her. She jumped back. "I'm not going to hurt you, but your wrist. The manacle has iron in it."
She held it out and looked at it. "Yes. Not enough to completely subdue me or kill me, but enough to make it impossible for me to go home or call for help. I can't even talk to the fish in the lake." Her shoulders slumped. "I've been his fount of blood for nearly two years. He's kept me in that shack on the lake, letting me in the water long enough so I wouldn't wilt, but keeping me firmly chained to this world." Her tone turned bitter. "I hate Trolls."
"So he really is a Troll."
"Yes. Thieving, scheming creatures. They'll do anything for a profit, and that even means turning on their own people. The Mórrígan expressly forbids such things, but do you think he cares? And what does she know? In her ivory towers, surrounded by her sycophants. She no longer pays attention to what happens in her own realm. She leaves everything up to her four daughters, the Queens, and they all hate the human realm." She sniffed. "And so I am stranded here."
I looked at my own wrists, and put a hand to my neck. "You were able to remove my collar and the cuffs."
"That was easy. I used a rock on the cuffs." She pointed to two rocks by the water and I saw the cuffs there. "The collar was rusted and broke at the hinge. I'm afraid he's killed a lot with that thing, but now it's gone and he won't be able to find it."
I looked to where she pointed and saw the bowling ball and attached metal collar. "That's the same collar he's used on his other victims?"
"Yes. I usually find them too late and he's come and removed it."
"I'm happy you didn't find me too late."
She blushed.
I licked my lips. "Ginny, what if I brought up what's happened to you to The Mórrígan? You think that would help?"
Her eyes flickered as she clasped her hands together in front of her. "Tell her! Can you? Tell her what Greybeard's been doing. He should be punished. I'm not the only one he'd done this too. He had a Hippogryph here for a while, then it died. He burned it."
"I take it that's a bad thing?"
"It's sacrilege to burn one of us, on Human soil. We must return to Summerland!"
I wasn't sure how I would get in to see The Mórrígan again, since it was Jedediah who got me in to see her the first time, and I sure as hell wasn't sure I wanted a second contract in force with her. But if I could get the help of Faerie on this one, it might get her home.
Unless…
I motioned her to follow me and had her put her manacled wrist on the stone beside the cuffs. I grabbed up the other rock and took a long look at the manacle. With a practiced eye, because I'd done this before, only for myself, I raised the rock and then smashed it down on the manacle. The thing made a weird noise and then opened and fell to the sand.
She stared at her free wrist and instantly her appearance changed again. Her skin became a soft, beautiful teal and her hair a darker green. Everything about her brightened and she looked over her hand at me and smiled.
Before she launched herself at me and planted a kiss on my lips. We fell back and she covered my face with lots of kisses, saying, "Thank you" b
etween each one. Laughing, I finally pushed her off and admired her as she watched her wrist slowly heal. There was still a black mark, but I knew eventually, with time, it would heal.
"Now you can go back home."
"But you'll still tell The Mórrígan?"
Uh…hm… "Sure."
Dork.
She took my hands in hers and kissed them. "Thank you so much Renwick Grainger. And now I will help you. The blood I gave you should sustain you for a much longer time than the the norm. I would say two moons."
"Really?" I looked back at the boxes. "I wish we could preserve it."
"You can with the Ancient's blood, Ren. The weaker, younger blood," she shrugged. "Useless."
"And if the sun hits it?"
"Not sure. I know it doesn't immediately destroy it, but if you leave it in the sun, it will eventually evaporate."
"Ginny—"
"Yes?"
"I heard something…overheard Graybeard talking to a Night Walker."
She spat. "Talmadge scum."
Uh oh. "Well, yeah, he's Talmadge, but I wouldn't blame all of them."
"What is your question?"
"Does your blood really reverse….will it cure being a vampire?"
She blinked at me. "You don't want to be a Ghoul, Ren?"
"It was never my choice, Ginny. I have a long and painful past. I'm a free Ghoul now. But…is it true?"
Ginny chewed on her lower lip and my heart sunk. "It's not, is it?" I said.
"It is. I mean it's true." She winced. "But it's not as simple as drinking my blood. If you tasted it now it would make you sick. And it could kill you, and any vampire it touched."
I shook my head. "Were they lying?"
"No. Greybeard has something that changes the blood. Something he uses for the full moon. It was a ritual for him. On a full moon he'd draw blood from me and then he'd pour it into this cup. Some magic cup. When he poured it back out, the blood was no longer red but white. And that's the elixir that makes a Night Walker and Ghouls, human," Ginny touched my face. "You want to be human again?"
"I'm not sure." I was truthful, but not so much about the wish to be human. Mainly because I was thinking about the cup Mia recently stole from New York. Was it the same cup? It couldn't be if Greybeard had a cup. Mia's compulsion was to gather Ginny's blood, that cup and bring them to Cimitir Hall where her Maker's bones were. Was it a leap to think they were connected? Was this just a coincidence?
Was there more than one?
Had Mia's Maker knew the combination could somehow reverse the curse that kept her locked into her bones? I mean, it was too late to reverse being a vampire, wasn't it? She was dead.
"Ren are you okay?"
"Can your blood, if taken from this cup, bring a vampire back to life?"
She shrugged. "I don't know." Now she tilted her head. "What is in your thoughts, Ren Grainger?"
"I need to find out more about this. Your blood and the cup."
"You would need to talk to an Ancient."
I sighed. "I've never known an Ancient, if you're talking a Night Walker."
"Yes you have," She pointed at me. "Photographer, Ghoul and Chevalier. Made in 1964 by Elizabeth Herne and trained by none other than Mille Le Court. He was an Ancient."
I blinked a few times. My Chevalier trainer had been an Ancient?
Wait… "Was?"
"Your teacher was killed not long after you were trained, Ren. His death was a blow to the community. There were those who believed it was you."
"Me? I haven't seen Mille in decades."
Ginny nodded. "They know that now."
I scratched at my beard. "How do you know this? About Vampires? And about me?"
"I listened when they thought I was asleep, or unconscious. The Vampire who controls the Troll hates you, Ren Grainger. Which makes me even more interested in you. He talked about how disappointed and angry he was when it was proven you did not kill the Ancient. And how you mock age old rules of Night Walker Society by being free. He would have you as his, to dominate and use, Ren."
I felt a shiver as I heard these words. I knew Aubrey disliked me, but not to this extent. "Did they discover who killed Mille?"
"Yes. She was on several Death Watch Lists, Blood Hunts and was marked for a Wild Hunt."
Death Watch was Werewolf, Blood Hunt was Vampire and I was pretty sure the Wild Hunt was Faerie. "Was marked…she's dead?"
"Yes." She took the vial from my hand and I noticed her nails were dark and green. Everything about her flowed seamlessly together. "Her name was Elizabeth Herne."
Twelve
Ginny told me she would procure an Ancient's name for me, and their location. I doubted that, but thanked her just the same. Ancients hid themselves for safety these days if they wanted to live. I had to wonder sometimes, if their desire to survive was driven by their fear of death, and the nothingness oblivion of a place like Cimitir Hall that awaited them.
It would me. But as far as I knew, if I died, that would be it.
I just didn't want to yet.
Ginny took me back to the surface of the lake, far away from the Three Sisters Island. It was another park area with a paved parking lot and a restroom building. Occam appeared instantly at my side and within minutes after Ginny departed, below the lake waters, a familiar sedan rolled up. Julie and Luke jumped out and before I could explain what happened, Julie wrapped her arms around me.
Tight.
I looked over her shoulder at Luke and he gave me a half smile. I finally wrapped my own arms around her and held her.
"I—we were so worried," came her muffled voice against my chest.
"So was I," I said and kissed the top of her head. "I'm alive."
"And looking better than yesterday," Luke said as he sized me up. "What happened? You've been missing for nearly twenty-four hours, Ren," he said. And his expression meant he didn't need to say anything else. So I held her, taking in the moment and memorizing everything about it. Her body pressed against mine, her arms around me, her smell, her warmth…
Luke's phone rang. He answered it and then handed it to me. "It's Aberdeen."
I reached for it and Julie pulled away. I couldn't hide my disappointment when she did, so I turned away as I answered. "Aby."
"…Okay you can call me that just this once…but only because I'm happy you're not dead."
Wow. I actually heard relief in his voice. "What is it?" I'd also heard something more.
"Mia Tavern escaped sometime during the night. I'd locked her in the basement storage—"
"But she broke out." I wasn't surprised. Each of the tenants in my apartment building had a storage room, large enough to store two standard sized cars. Mine held several items better not revealed to the rest of the world, as well as an assortment of things I'd collected over the years.
Okay…so I have vinyl records in there. Sue me. But come on…it's Lynard Skynard!
Though the room had no windows and only the one door, even I could have broken the door. We Ghouls are strong like tractor.
"And the cup?"
"Where I left it."
"Good. The cup's all I'm worried about right now. I'll be back in a bit, okay?"
"I'll have your dinner procured. Where is your car?"
"It's parked down the road from Greybeard's house."
"I'll drive it back myself." And with that, he hung up. I stared at the phone and smiled. Aww…he really cared about me.
I felt Julie's eyes on me, as well as the gaping hole in my shirt, and the fact I was still wet.
"Let's go," Luke said and we piled into the car. Julie drove and I sat in the back. "Okay, tell us what happened and where you've been for the past day," Luke said as he twisted around in the seat to see me.
With Occam ever present overhead, keeping a watchful eye on the car as we drove, I filled them in on what had happened. I didn't name Aubrey, only that there was a Night Walker involved. And I didn't tell them what I'd learned about my Maker, about Mill
e and about the possibility this cup and her blood could cure being a Ghoul.
Yeah I nipped and tucked the truth, but I always justified it by telling myself they were safer not knowing everything. And it kept key pieces about what I was out of the way.
Once back at my place I ate something in my private bathroom. Eating in the shower had sometimes proven to be time saving. I won't go into details, only that by the time I was sated, clean and stepped into the living room, the only one left was Julie. She was sitting on the couch looking at something on her phone. "Where's Aby and Luke?"
"Don't call me that," came Aberdeen's voice from the kitchen.
"Laura's in labor," Julie said, still focusing on her phone. Then she looked up at me and gestured with it. "We're texting. I wanted to be in the room with her when she had the baby, but…"
"You can go, Jewels," I said as I walked to the kitchen. "Aberdeen and I can handle this."
I didn't realize she'd followed me in till I saw that Aberdeen was making tea and then turned and ran into her. She was looking up at me with wide eyes. "What…what did you call me?"
I had to think on that, and then I realized I'd called her Jewels. "Oh…sorry. I guess that's just my nickname for Julie. I won't do it again."
She didn't say anything, just looked at me and then gave me a half smile. "So, what's the plan."
"Surely you wish to be at your friend's side while she goes through the deafening cries of childbirth," Aberdeen said as he poured hot water into a ceramic pot. "Boil the water and find clean towels?"
But Julie just smiled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, parish the thought, Aberdeen. I'd much rather spend my time working, just to be close to you."
Aberdeen gave her a withering look. I really wasn't sure if he liked her, or he tolerated her. I know on several occasions he'd warn me that she had feelings for me, and he'd advised me to be honest with her. But I wasn't sure if that was because he thought she was good for me, or because he assumed, as I did, that if she knew what I was and saw what I ate and did, she'd run screaming and be out of my hair.
Just never knew with a Gargoyle.
Julie stood by the kitchen door. "Ren knows Greybeard killed Emmet and the others. He knows he did it to cover up his illegal….procurement operation because," and she looked at me. "I'm assuming that kidnapping and syphoning blood out of a…Greenteeth, is bad news for Faeries."