by Gayla Twist
Vagnar’s words were too true and decent for Whitright to continue to protest. He slumped back into his chair, defeated.
“So,” Vagnar said, rubbing his hands together, gleefully. “Let’s get to it. Where are the guards? Someone please cart me away.”
Madame Bishop said in a clear undertone, “The court accepts Lord Vagnar’s right of substitution for the life of Aurora Keys.” Turning to face my love, she said, “Armin Adami’s right to ask for retribution for the death of his brother, Viktor, will be satisfied by the voluntary execution of Lord Cornelius Vagnar. Jessie Vanderlind you are free to go.”
The room was a blur as the masked guards clapped Lord Vagnar in shackles and led him away.
“What’s happening?” I asked Jessie. “How is this possible?”
“I don’t know,” he said, just as lost. “I can’t imagine why Lord Vagnar is doing this.”
“But we can’t let him do this,” I said. “Can we? I mean, to face the sun so that we can be together. It’s just so…”
“Noble,” Jessie supplied for me. “I guess, somewhere in the lifeless heart of Bacchus, there is good.”
The courtroom was quickly emptying. I scanned the crowd, but I couldn’t see Alice anywhere. I longed to speak to her, but I knew that the mere sight of me filled her with bitterness and sorrow. I had drunk her blood, but she had not drunk mine.
Jessie and my destinies had been changing so quickly that I was left feeling disoriented. I just couldn’t get it through my head what Lord Vagnar had done. “Are we really free to go?” I asked, still half believing that masked guards were going to tear us apart at any moment. “We’re free?”
“Yes,” Jessie said, sweeping me up in his arms and twirling me around. “We are free.”
“What do we do now?” I asked, once he’d set me back down on the ground after thoroughly kissing me.
“Go back to Tiburon, get married,” Jessie said, kissing my hand. “Spend eternity with each other.”
It felt like my heart was singing in my chest. We’d somehow made it through our impossible ordeal and made it out the other side safe and clear. I would get to spend eternity with my true love. Lord Vagnar had given us the most amazing gift that I could ever imagine. He was truly the most unpredictable person I would probably ever meet.
“I think we need to be here for him,” I said, almost before I knew that I was speaking. “I think we have to be here for Lord Vagnar at the end. I know he’ll be full of bravado, even as he’s facing death, but underneath, he’ll be frightened. He’d have to be.”
“Of course,” Jessie said. “I’m sure many of his followers will be there. And quite a few of his enemies. But if you feel it is important that he sees our faces in the crowd, then I support you in that desire.”
Lord Vagnar had requested two weeks to get his affairs in order before his execution. As far as I could tell, he didn’t bother to do anything as practical as writing a will. We were invited to several balls and parties, all of which we declined. I didn’t feel up to facing the revelry.
Jessie and I took a suite in a vampire-friendly hotel. I had hoped the fact that we were engaged would have worn away a little at Jessie’s resolve to be a gentleman, but no such luck. Besides kissing me until I thought I might combust, he absolutely refused to be more intimate. It was both gallant and maddening; I wanted him so desperately.
I drew the line when it came to separate bedrooms. I was fine with keeping our personal effects in separate rooms, but I was determined to share a bed for the day. “I don’t think that is a good idea,” Jessie said when I told him of my resolution. “We’ll set a date when we return to America and you’ll just have to be patient until then.”
“Why can’t we just hold each other?” I pouted. “Do you really think I want to open my eyes in the middle of the day and not find you there?”
“I’ll be in the very next room,” he insisted “You can text me if you’re lonely.”
“Is that seriously what you want?” I wove my arms through his and nuzzled his neck. “Don’t you think spending the day together would be nice?”
“Aurora,” Jessie said, thrusting me away from him. He dragged his fingers through his hair several times. “I am not going to fall into your tender trap. That happened once, and it will not happen again.” He was obviously flustered. “I know that you are a modern girl and I respect you for that. But I am very old-fashioned in many ways and you need… Oh, for crying out loud, Aurora. You know I would lose my resolve with you squirming around in the sheets right next to me!”
I couldn’t help but giggle, even while I was trying to ensnare him in my arms.
Jessie firmly removed himself from my clutches. “Play nice,” he scolded.
It was one of the happiest times in my life. But every time I was curled up on a couch with Jessie, exquisitely enjoying myself, the thought of Vagnar’s pending suffering would sneak into my brain.
The night before the execution arrived too quickly. I was terrified to attend. Part of me wanted to hide in a corner and pretend it wasn’t happening. But I knew I had to be there for Lord Vagnar. He was making the ultimate sacrifice for us, the least we could do is be there to support him.
We set off early for the prison, well before sunrise. We expected a crowd and I wanted to arrive in time to thank Lord Vagnar one more time for his sacrifice. I had no idea how the Bishops explained such events to the mortal world, but they must have had some kind system. The prison itself was in the heart of Budapest, which also seemed peculiar to me. You’d think that most people would notice a massive building ringed in barbed wire and patrolled by guards with peculiar weapons. But we were just walking along a city street, no giant fortress appearing on the horizon.
“That’s odd,” Jessie said as we approached a simple red-brick building.
“What?” I asked, noticing nothing peculiar.
He waved a hand at our surroundings. “There’s nobody outside. I was expecting a mob.”
“Maybe Lord Vagnar just requested his inner circle,” I suggested. “I know he loves to put on a show, but this would be a little extreme.”
Jessie’s expression was grave as we climbed the front steps. “I suppose we’re about to find out.”
The inside of the building looked institutional, but institutional from two-hundred years ago. Which, to my eye, was quite ornate. There were lots of fancy woodwork and marble calming marble floors. Seated at the front desk was a masked guard. He was reading a comic book entitled Thirty Miles of Crazy. I noted that he was on issue six.
“Hello,” Jessie said as we approached the desk. “We’re here for Lord Vagnar. Is everybody already in with him? Or…”
The guard pulled out a sign-in book and flipped to a page that said Vagnar at the top. “You’re the first to arrive,” he said, thrusting the book in our direction. “Please sign in.”
Jessie and I exchanged looks. Where were the sycophants and the hangers-on? Where the hell was everybody?
I glanced at the sign-in log. The page opposite of Vagnar’s – the previous vampire who was condemned – showed a long list of names. Everyone from the vampire’s mother, to his ex-girlfriend from sixth grade had showed up to see him off to the next life, or whatever lies beyond. But Vagnar had no one. Not one single line in the ledger had been filled. It was just us.
As I signed my name, I felt sick with rage. There were dozens of people who had spent every waking hour trying to figure out ways to toady up to Lord Vagnar. But none of them thought it was worth their time to see him in his final hours. Where was Yvette? Where was everyone? The undead world was as cruel as the mortal one, if not worse.
“Well,” said Jessie, taking my hand. “Let’s go be there for him.”
I nodded. “It’s the least we can do.”
“The very least,” said Jessie. “And it makes me sick that we are the only ones to put forth such a tiny amount of effort. People have so little compassion; it makes me ashamed to live in this world.”
>
A guard led us through a series of hallways and up several flights of stairs. I had expected lines of cells, but it looked more like we were in a deserted office building. Finally, we came to a set of double-doors that opened into a miniature arena of sorts. In the middle of the arena was a cell, and in that cell lounged Lord Vagnar.
He had an extensive meal laid out before him on a table covered in white linen. There was roast beef, mashed potatoes, crème brulle; all wonderful food, but nothing a vampire could eat. And it was obvious that he hadn’t touched a thing.
“I wanted a last meal that reflected my favorite food when I was mortal,” Vagnar casually explained, after he noticed us loitering outside the bars of his cell. “It’s a waste, I know. But it’s my last day on this planet and I figured that one more excess piled on top of a lifetime of excess really wouldn’t matter one way or the other.”
We both stood there, gaping at him, not really sure what to say. How do you even begin to express the gratitude you feel for someone who is choosing to die so that you can live?
Jessie found his voice first. “Lord Vagnar, the thing you’re doing for us… We really can’t express how thankful we are.”
“Think nothing of it,” he said, waving off our gratitude. “I’ve been toying with the idea of dying for a few decades now. You just provided me with a very dramatic way to do it.” He leaned forward and peered down the hall. “It’s a pity that more people didn’t show up to bid me farewell. But…” he said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair. “Even with eternity spilling before you, people tend to book out their schedules. I suppose everyone is busy today.”
“That’s bullshit,” I muttered. I hadn’t meant to say anything, but the words escaped my lips. I was no friend of Lord Vagnar’s – his behavior was too wildly confusing – but the fact that none of his friends were there to support him made me angry.
Jessie squeezed my hand to silence me. There was no benefit in pointing out the obvious. We weren’t there to make Vagnar feel worse.
But Lord Vagnar had heard me clearly and it brought a smile to his lips. “How delightful to hear you curse on my behalf,” he said. “It almost makes everyone else’s betrayal worth it.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, blinking rapidly. For some reason I felt like I was going to cry.
“Don’t be upset,” Vagnar said. “I know I’m not. And besides, if you think of life like a physicist, then we don’t even know that I will die.” When we both looked confused, he explained with, “There’s a little quote that Einstein sent to the widow of his best friend after he died. Death signifies nothing. For those of us who believe in physics, the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. So, if that be the case, then everyone on the planet is a vampire because, on a different plane, we can all live forever.”
Tears were rolling down my cheeks. I couldn’t help it. “Thank you, again,” I said, my voice high and shaky. “We will never forget what you’ve done for us.”
“Oh, my dear, he said, reaching between the bars and cupping my cheek. The silver sizzled his skin, but he seemed to barely notice. “Please don’t mourn for me. I don’t deserve it.”
“Yes, you do,” I blurted. He may have been horrible to us in many ways, but at the end he was noble.
A siren sounded and then the roof began to rumble. “What’s happening?” I asked, wondering if Budapest had earthquakes.
“It’ll be sunrise soon,” Vagnar said in a matter-of-fact tone. “They’re testing the ceiling.”
Jessie and I both looked up. The ceiling over Lord Vagnar’s cell was set up to retract like a sunroof.
“So, they…” I stammered through trembling lips.
“When the sun starts to rise, they open the roof,” Vagnar said. “Is it going to be a sunny day?” he asked. “I’m hoping for sun.”
“That’s…” I searched for the right word. “That’s barbaric! How can they? How can you…?” To open the ceiling and let the condemned vampire slowly fry was a worse death than I ever imagined.
“You should go now,” Vagnar said. “I’d like a few moments to collect my thoughts before I slip the mortal coil and all that. Besides,” he sniffed, “if you stay here past sunrise, you’ll have to spend the day in prison. And believe me, it’s not nearly as fun as it sounds.”
“But…” I felt panic starting to race through my body. We couldn’t just leave him there by himself. We had to stay with him until the end.
Vagnar gave Jessie a firm look.
“Good bye, Lord Vagnar. And thank you,” Jessie said before leading me away.
“Have you ever read A Tale of Two Cities?” Vagnar called after us, causing us to pause before the double-doors. I had read it for English class and was about to tell him that I had, but he cut me off with, “If you haven’t, don’t. Dickens wrote a bunch of melodramatic crap.”
“Goodbye,” I whispered before allowing Jessie to lead me away. I knew that Vagnar said it was cheesy, but I couldn’t help but remember the closing lines of the book. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.
Chapter 17
I was dressed all in white and standing at the altar of a gothic chapel. Jessie stood across from me, wearing a blue-gray suit. He was holding both of my hands and looking at me with so much love and adoration that I wanted to cry with joy. I could have spent the rest of eternity just staring into his gray eyes. I was so happy that it felt surreal. If someone had pinched me and told me it was all a dream, I would have believed them.
The chapel was part of a massive cathedral with hundreds of slender arches reaching for the sky. We could have had a wedding with a massive guest list and a three-day celebration afterward, but that didn’t feel right. None of our friends were in Budapest; not our real friends. Viggo and Gloria weren’t there. Neither was my mom or Blossom or Fred. Jessie’s mother had disappeared with Lord Braxton after the trial, so she wasn’t even present to witness our union.
We just wanted to be married by a real priest, not the fake one that Lord Vagnar had arranged for our first wedding ceremony. In a year or two, after I had officially turned eighteen by mortal standards, we would have a night wedding back in Tiburon. I knew it would make my mom happy to see her daughter married. It was the least I could do. I was going to hurt and disappoint her in so many other ways in the years to come. But I wasn’t going to think of any of that on the happiest night of my life; I was just going to focus on my love for Jessie.
At first, the priests put up some resistance about marrying us in the chapel in the middle of the night. But Jessie explained it was an emergency. And then he made a hefty donation.
And in a way it was an emergency. No matter how persuasive I tried to be, Jessie was stubbornly insistent upon no fun in the bedroom until we were properly wed. If he needed to be a gentleman, then I respected that. It was part of the reason that I loved him. But it was also driving me insane. So, a sweet little wedding with just the two of us and a priest seemed like the perfect solution.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the priest said in halting English. “You may kiss the bride.”
When Jessie’s lips met mine, my whole body thrummed with happiness. The violin string that rang through my body whenever I was near him felt like it would never stop vibrating. I knew, without a doubt, that we would live happily ever after. And, seeing that we were both members of the undead, that really meant something.
An hour later, we were back at our hotel. “Come on,” I said, pulling Jessie by the hand after he got the door to our suite unlocked. I intended to make a beeline for the bedroom. He had no excuses now that we were husband and wife.
“Wait a moment,” he told me. “There’s something I need to do, first.”
“What?” I was too preoccupied with my own plans to think of anything obvious like getting something to eat.
“Like carrying you over the threshold,” h
e said, sweeping me off my feet.
“Oh, Jessie,” I sighed as he carried me into our honeymoon suite. “I love you.”
“And I love you, Aurora,” he told me, his voice grave with sincerity. “More than anything in the world.”
We kissed again, and it was like the world fell away. “Can we please go to the bedroom, now?” I asked, rather desperately.
Jessie chuckled, rather devilishly. “Yes, Mrs. Vanderlind, we can.”
In the bridal chamber, a small present had been placed at the foot of the bed. The wrapping paper and the ribbon were the exact same shade of midnight blue, but the paper had some twinkling stars.
“Who even knows we’re here?” I wondered aloud as my husband gently set me down.
Jessie shrugged. “There’s probably a card inside; take a look.”
I picked up the package, slid back the ribbon, and flicked open one end of the wrapping paper. Inside was a velvet clamshell box. That really only meant one thing. “Who would be sending us jewelry?”
“Probably my mother,” Jessie said, sitting down beside me. “There might be some family piece that she wanted to share.” He gently flipped my hair over my shoulder and then slid his lips down my neck, making me shiver. “Take a quick look, if you like,” he whispered, his voice warm in my ear.
No pretty trinket would ever be as intriguing as what Jessie had to offer. A moment later, I had forgotten all about the box. At some point during the next four hours, it was knocked off the bed. I only thought about it again when Jessie got up to order us some dinner. And that was because the twinkling stars on the wrapping paper caught my eye.
Getting out of bed seemed like an impossibility, so I stretched my arm out as far as I could and snatched up the presentation box. Upon closer inspection, it looked quite old, so Jessie was probably right about it being something his mother wanted to pass down. Truth be told, I girded myself for something gaudy. Not that Alice had bad taste, but I’d been presented with a couple of weird family heirlooms since meeting the Vanderlinds.