I nodded.
“Not long after that,” Nick said, “they started bringing in some questionable potions and unlabeled blood, stuff like that.”
“Most of the time it wasn’t that bad,” Chris countered. “I stuck around as long as Serana and Victor weren't there. It was pretty nice, but you could definitely tell the atmosphere had started to change.”
Nick nodded in agreement.
“How did you end up here, then?’” asked Danio.
“Well,” Nick said slowly. “They never told us, but it turned out that Reave and Victor were in some pretty serious debt, both from the farm and from all of the vampires and dhampirs they were helping out… Serana had money.” He cleared his throat and then said softly, “A lot of money. Or at least her family did.”
“Oh, yeah?” said Danio.
Nick held his arms out. “You're standing in Serana’s family castle.”
Danio and I both looked around.
“Oh,” Danio said. “A lot of money.”
Chris sighed. “Serana offered it to them. Said she liked what they were doing and wanted to help. With a much bigger place they could really expand to help vampires and other non-humans in need from all over the place and she would finance it too.”
“How generous,” Danio said flatly.
“You came with them?” I asked.
They both nodded.
“They moved the whole operation here pretty quickly,” said Nick. “As soon as Reave and Victor agreed. We came along, intending on hanging out for a while…” He hesitated and glanced at Chris.
“I didn't have a job,” Chris said. “I lost it when I was turned.” The old, but still raw, pain flashed across his face for a moment. “I figured I'd stick around and see what was what.”
“And I…” Nick said awkwardly, “Kind of got caught feeding from a non-magic, so I was laying low from MES. This seemed like a good place to do it in.”
I nodded slightly, knowing that he was significantly downplaying things. If he had been caught feeding from a non-magic, then not only would MES be very interested in tracking him down, but it also meant that he hadn't been able to register and feed legally ever since. He’d be in serious trouble if MES ever caught up to him.
“At first things here weren’t too bad,” Chris said. “But then, little by little, they started to bring in new people who were much more like Victor and Serana. Things here started just… I dunno, to feel a little… less like a party and more like a gang meeting.”
Nick pursed his lips and nodded. “Some of the older people started to leave. By that time, I had been here for so long without being registered with MES, I knew I didn’t really have anywhere else to go.”
“We’re probably both wanted for illegal feeding now,” Chris said.
“I thought our records were being um… taken care of,” I said.
Nick nodded. “Reave does that. But it took a while for him to get the remote access to MES that he needed, so a lot of us don’t have that luxury.”
“Wait, Reave still works for MES?” Danio blurted.
“Not anymore,” Chris said.
“But he can still fix our records?” I decided to try and make it seem like I was more worried about myself than the database. “I mean, if I get marked down as not feeding…”
“No, no, you’re fine,” Nick said. “I’m not sure what they did exactly, but I guess Reave still has full access to all the MES records.”
I narrowed my eyes, as far as I was aware, that was impossible. The changes we had seen made to the CVLR files were done through the backend of the database which, according to Ember, could only be accessed by a hardwired computer at a MES office.
Danio and I exchanged a quick look.
“That’s a relief,” I lied.
They nodded, but neither spoke again. I had a feeling we might not get a chance to have a private conversation like this with them again and quickly tried to think if there was anything else I wanted to know about. Luckily, it seemed like Danio was on the same page.
“What’s up with this whole utopia thing Victor is always going on about?” he asked.
Chris actually rolled his eyes. “Well, they say that's their plan. I don't know when that came about. Everyone here just kind of…” He shook his head, frowning. “Changed over. Nick and I are the last two left from the original group. It seems like every time Victor goes to the mainland, looking for new recruits, he comes back with a batch even more bloodthirsty than the last. No offense to you guys,” he added.
I shrugged and Danio chuckled darkly.
“Somewhere along the way,” Chris continued, “they started talking about expanding, bringing this somewhere even bigger. Reave is happy with the way it is; he said all he wants is for it to be a sanctuary. But Victor and Serana turned it into… something more and now everyone is all excited to be part of this “army” to go change things and… I don’t know; make the whole world like this, I guess.”
“You don't seem too enthused,” I commented softly, not bothering to hide how sympathetic I really was.
“We just kind of keep our heads low,” said Nick. “We used to do alright in the fights and Reave has convinced Victor to keep our names out of the rotation now, since we've been here for so long, but...” He shrugged. “Well, if I didn't have to stay here, I wouldn't.”
I nodded.
“Of course,” Nick went on, “leaving might not be…” He hesitated and looked at Chris. They stared at each other for a moment. Chris sighed and looked away from him. Nick cleared his throat and said in a whisper, “We’re not completely sure people are allowed to leave. No one who has left has ever come back, even the ones who say they will. It's…” He hesitated. “Concerning.”
At the same moment Chris muttered, “Suspicious.”
“You think something's happening to them?” I asked.
They both shrugged.
“Reave wouldn't allow it,” Chris said firmly. “But I wouldn't put it past Victor.”
“Do you think Victor could do… something to these people without Reave knowing?”
They exchanged another nervous look and then turned their eyes back to their chessboard for the first time in a while.
“Where is Serana anyway?” Danio asked. “Skulking around here somewhere?”
“She was glued to Victor's side at first, said Chris. “They were like two peas in a pod but…” He paused and shook his head slightly. “It was Reave she had feelings for. I'm not sure how it all happened, but Victor was jealous and…” He mimed being staked through the hearts.
“Oh,” Danio and I both said.
We stood in another awkward silence. I wasn’t sure why I was surprised to hear Victor had killed the person who sort of kicked this whole thing off, it certainly sounded like him. Then again, wasn’t this supposed to be Serana’s castle?
“What about Serana’s family?” I asked. “They don’t take issue with Victor still using the castle?”
The two vampires exchanged a dark look.
“I heard,” Nick said slowly, “that her family disowned her when she became a vampire. So, I don't think they would have willingly given her anything, much less this place…”
Chris nodded along and said added. “I never liked her. I think she was using Victor to help her drive her family out of here and take the place by force. We didn't help with that and I don't think Reave knew about it… but… well, I overheard enough conversations, not long after we got here, that make me think she did not come by this place honestly.”
“Especially when you consider how easily some of the staff took to this,” said Nick.
“The staff?” I asked. “Do you mean the witches and wizards?” Calling them staff was generous, most of the time people referred to them as servants, if they didn’t just sneer humans.
Nick nodded. “The castle was full of witches and wizards who worked for Serana’s family. A bunch of them left when she took over, but a few stuck around.”
&nb
sp; “Al has been a cook here since the beginning,” Chris said. “I think he’s head chef now.”
“And Adaira,” Nick said. “Reave never returned Serana’s affections – even though Victor seemed to think so – but he and Adaira are quite cozy.”
The mention of Adaira made me think of her seemingly unyielding conviction that Reave was going to turn her someday, even though she had apparently been here for quite some time, waiting for it.
“Do these wizards and witches really all want to be turned?” I asked skeptically.
“That’s why Al and Adaira are some of the only original ones here. The other humans left, but the ones who wanted to be turned were given the option to stay.”
“What about all the others?” asked Danio. “Where did they come from?”
“They show up,” Chris said with a laugh. “Victor goes out and finds them, somehow.”
“I heard he hunts them and the ones who ask to be turned are brought here,” Nick said darkly.
The idea made me shiver.
“Either way,” Chris said, “here they are. Victor says they can give up their wands and serve us, to prove their loyalty, and someday they’ll be turned into vampires and enjoy the benefits of a place on top of our ‘new world order’ or something.” He snorted, obviously unimpressed with Victor's philosophy.
I still couldn't believe dozens of witches and wizards were here, ready and willing to be turned and had given up their wands. It seemed crazy to me.
“It's not wise to go around talking about this,” Nick said suddenly, almost urgently. “Victor would probably kill us all if he knew.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Danio snarled.
“We won't say anything,” I promised.
Danio added something in Greek that made both of them smile. I caught his eye and he nodded. We had pushed our luck long enough and gotten more than enough information.
“We’ll let you two get back to your game,” Danio said. ‘We’ve kept you long enough. Thank you for your time.”
“It was nice talking, even considering the subject,” Nick said. “Good night.”
Danio said goodnight in Greek – one of the few words I did recognize – and the two of us left.
We walked silently down the hall together, not saying a word until we got back to my room.
I sat down heavily on the bed and Danio dropped into a nearby chair; we both stared at each other for a moment.
“Holy shit,” he said finally.
“At least we know for sure it's the same Reave,” I said. “We were onto something at the farm, we just didn't know what.”
Danio cursed again. “I wish we could find a way to tell the others,” he said softly. “Even just letting them know about Victor; that was a name we never turned up. Or those two, there can't be that many Greek vampires running around New York. If we could just get them some of these names… more information.”
“We’ve been looking for a way to contact them for weeks,” I groaned.
“Fuck this place,” he muttered.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
I flopped onto my back with a sigh and closed my eyes, trying to remember every last detail about the conversation. Naturally, my brain went back to the fight instead. The new information had been a welcome distraction, but as soon as the thought of Olivia and the berserker crossed my mind, I shuddered.
“I can't believe there's a berserker here.”
“Yeah, fuck him too,” chuckled Danio. He sighed and added, “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“We've got to get out of here.”
“Mm-hm.”
“I would say we should ramp up the exploring a little more, but we were lucky it was those two who caught us. Grabbing a board game isn't going to be the best excuse if we get caught in a completely different area of the castle. How much more do you think we have left to check out?”
“I don't know,” he groaned. “This place is huge. Serana’s family must have been loaded.”
“Yeah.” I bit back a yawn and rolled on to my side. Part of me wanted to keep exploring tonight, just go until we found a way out. But another part of me knew that we needed to get as much rest as we could. There was another week until the next scheduled fight, but there was no telling when one of our evening explorations would end in a much different way than it had tonight. We'd both need to be in top shape if that happened.
“Will you be able to fall asleep?” I asked.
“I’m alright.” He sounded honest enough. He stretched and then flopped down on the far side of the bed. “See you in the morning,” he said, yawning as he did.
“See you then.” I yawned too.
“I’ll try not to spoon you in my sleep,” he added with a weak chuckle.
“Well, if you wake up on the floor, it's your own fault.”
He chuckled again. I felt the bed move as he got comfortable. “This place does have its perks though.”
“Like what?”
“I get to sleep with you.”
“Oh, shut up,” I grumbled.
In all honesty it was kind of nice having someone else in the bed, even though it was a little weird that it was Danio. After just a couple of months I had become accustomed to having Jen with me and couldn't count the number of nights that I had fallen asleep with a werewolf curled up on the bottom half of the bed. Before Tethys, of course, my familiar slept with me every night. Nights by myself were always just a little melancholy; even though I wouldn't admit it, it was nice having him nearby. While we both maintained it was for safety I knew, especially after his encounter with Victor, that nights on his own were harder than usual; there were no sleeping or anti-anxiety potions here. Even though I couldn't get a straight answer on how long it had been since he took any, I also knew it had been a long time since he heavily relied on them. I hoped that just being near someone else would be enough to make up for it, especially if we were going to be here much longer.
“Goodnight then,” I said softly.
“Night, Tom.”
Chapter Seven
Danio
One night they threw a party for no reason. Maybe there was a holiday in the real world – it couldn’t possibly be Thanksgiving already, could it? I counted fights, trying to add it all up. No, no we hadn’t been here that long, but if I was right then Thomas’ birthday probably wasn’t far away and mine wasn’t long after. Shitty place to spend it. Then again, it was actually probably better than the one I spent in a cell in ‘Nam, although I was also pretty out of it for that one; wouldn’t have minded sleeping my way through half of this chaotic bullshit either.
“These pants are so tight!” Thomas growled from the bedroom. “This is ridiculous!”
I left the bathroom and leaned against the doorway, watching him struggle to put on the gaudy clothes supplied for the party. He noticed I was fully dressed and glared at me.
“How did you put those on?!” he demanded.
“First one leg, then the other,” I said. His eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Also, I’m not wearing underwear,” I added. Somehow, he glared even more. “No, seriously,” I said. “You’re never going to get those on with boxers.”
“I am not taking off my underwear!” he snarled, giving the pants another heave up his hips. “How did you do this?!”
“Do you not remember the crap I used to wear in the eighties? These are like a slightly-snug trip down memory lane.”
“Believe it or not…” Another frustrated tug. “I didn’t pay much attention to the tightness of your pants.”
“I’m hurt.”
He rolled his eyes, then started trying to peel the pants back off. “Although if I had, I might have figured out you were gay a few years earlier.”
“Probably not,” I chuckled, earning a snort and another eyeroll. “In all fairness to you, I typically changed clothes at the bar.”
He paused mid-pantleg yank and shot me a half-alarmed, half-sympathetic look. I shrugged, then held out a hand.
“Give them to me.”
Tom’s expression turned skeptical.
“Either you trust me on this or you’ll be late to the party.”
“I’m not sure which would be worse,” he groaned, successfully freeing his leg. He tossed the pants to me. “Knock yourself out.”
I gestured to him. “You need to lose those,” I said, turning to go back into the bathroom.
“I’m not taking off my underwear!”
“Then you’re going to go to the party in nothing but underwear.” I drowned out his reply by turning on the bathtub. I gave the water time to get hot, then wadded up the pants and kneaded the water into them until they were sopping wet. I dried them enough so they stopped dripping, mostly, then returned to the bedroom.
Tom was standing there, glaring at me, with his hands cupped in front of himself. “You better not be wearing any either,” he said.
“I’m not. Here.” I held out the pants.
“Why are they wet?!” he cried.
“I’m probably going to dry them for you.” I shook them at him. “Hurry up before they cool down.”
He reluctantly took them with one hand and considered them. Then, with a sigh, he lowered them and stuck a leg in.
“Ew. Wet pants.” He yanked them on to his other leg, then up to his hips. “I hope you’re enjoying the show,” he grumbled.
“Immensely.”
He sighed in defeat as he managed to pull them up all the way. “Don’t say I told you so.” He started to zip them.
“Don’t catch yourself in the zipper.”
“You’re so helpful.”
“Be nice, I still haven’t dried them.”
He snorted and tried to zip them up again. “Any ideas now?”
“Lay on your back on the bed,” I suggested.
He rolled his eyes. “Could you try to enjoy this less?”
“Nope. Do you need help?”
“No.”
Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6 Page 48