Fenrick gasped. His gaze contorted into a mixture of horror and fear. He doubled over, both hands on Leah’s right fist still knuckle-deep in his midsection.
Leah walked forward, forcing Fenrick into his room. She shut the door behind her.
Fenrick opened his mouth about to scream for help, but Leah performed a quick spell that would render anything he said soundless. Fenrick’s mouth twisted in a string of screams, yet nothing came out.
Leah swiped hard to the left, with her right hand tearing open enough of Fenrick’s stomach she was sure he would bleed out within the next few minutes.
Fenrick fell hard onto his room’s carpeted floor. A red rush of blood seeped through his fingers as he tried in vain to hold in the vital fluid.
“Fenrick, Fenrick, Fenrick.” Leah sat on his bed, allowing the glow of purple magic around her right hand to dissipate. She used his white sheets to clean her crimson knuckles. “You were the perfect example of keep your allies close and your enemies closer. If it weren’t for you, we’d be in the dark of the goings-on in New Hope. I just wanted you to know in your last moments of life that your work as a spy was meaningless, and now you will die alone. Well, not alone. I’m here, but you might as well be alone for all I care.”
Fenrick was mouthing something, and his attempt at holding in his blood and intestines were failing. His face was as pale as the white sheets Leah had cleaned her hands with.
“I’m going to allow you your last few words.” Leah waved a hand over Fenrick’s prone form. “If you scream at this point, I can’t imagine it would be very loud.”
“You will not succeed.” The whisper had come so faint, so barely audible, Leah had to move in. “There is another.”
“Oh, yes.” Leah rolled her eyes and stood up to go. “We are well aware of my sister, Croft, and her attempt to sway the inevitable. She won’t succeed, and you should feel no hope at her doing so.”
“Not … Croft.” Fenrick’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, his breathing so faint now, Leah had wondered if he had already died when the next words escaped his blue lips. “Your … brother.”
“What did you say?” Leah was already headed for the door, but stopped at the mention of her brother. She turned round and knelt next to Fenrick’s body, grabbing him by the throat. “What do you know about my brother?”
But Fenrick was dead. Leah would get no answers from him.
Leah hated Fenrick for what he had done. He’d made her care. Even if it was a care that would die in the next few moments, for that time, she had relieved memories of a brother who had disappeared. Not even with her powerful range of magical spells had she been able to track him down. Whether Fenrick actually had useful information about him or had used his last dying breath to torment her would be a mystery.
Instead of fixating on the question that would have no answers, Leah focused on the next door that stood in front of her. This one, unlike Fenrick’s, had a pair of vampire soldiers standing guard.
They twitched to attention as she approached. As one, they saluted their creator.
Leah ignored the sign of respect and instead knocked on the door. Her blows were gentle like those before.
A few moments passed with no response from the other side.
Leah knocked again.
This time, the door swung open. Eleanor was dressed in a white silk nightgown. Her hair had been braided behind her head and fell down her right shoulder. Surprise showed on her face as she ushered her sister inside.
Leah nodded her thanks. It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary to visit her sister at this hour, but tonight wouldn’t be like any other night.
“What’s wrong?” Eleanor closed the door behind Leah before asking her question. “Is everything going as planned with the beasts?”
“Oh, yes.” Leah found a seat on a lush footrest. “Everything is going better than planned. I was able to trap Marcus in his beast state. He’s more raving animal than man right now. The same goes for the soldier he turned. We’ll unleash them on Azra, and they’ll tear to shreds Sloan and anyone else who stands in our way.”
Eleanor gave Leah her trademark eyebrow lift Leah had begun to detest.
“Remember, Charlotte Sloan should be taken alive at all costs.” Eleanor went to the far side of her bedroom where a nightstand stood with a large, circular mirror. She reached for a silver brush and began combing her long, grey hair. “Our goal should be singular in uniting the Outland under one banner, but as soon as we do, we’ll need these same people to rally behind us as we push past our own borders and explore the world beyond.”
Leah rolled her eyes. The rehashing of this conversation was only making her decision easier. She and her sister were similar enough; they had been aligned up until this point, but every day their opinions on how to handle things were becoming more and more unique.
“Unity will only see us so far.” Leah stood and walked over to her sister. She gently took the brush from Eleanor’s hand and began combing her sister’s hair for her. “It’s better to be feared than respected.”
“Well, I guess that is where we will have to disagree.” Eleanor looked up at her sister through the reflection of the mirror.
Leah’s hand began to shake. Her sister was looking at her with that same stupid, placating smile once again. The smile that said, I’ll listen to whatever you want to say, but it doesn’t matter; it will never matter as long as I am the older sister and the queen of New Hope. Leah could feel her anger swelling in her chest. All those many years she had been second to her sister, her ideas always coming in just shy of meaning anything.
“Leah”—Eleanor winced in the mirror—“easy on the hair. I only have so much of it left.”
Leah pressed the comb in harder, raking her sister’s skull with the grooming tool. “You could never let me win. Not even once when we were growing up, could you?
“What? You’re hurting me.” Eleanor winced again, trying to turn in her seat, but her sister held her firm. “Guar—”
Before Eleanor could even get the word out of her mouth, Leah channeled the same purple blade in her right fist and drove it through her sister’s back. The white hot magic blade went straight through the back of the queen’s heart and sprouted through her chest like a newly sprung flower ready to bloom.
Blood began to seep from the corners of Eleanor’s mouth. Her struggling hands fell limp by her side as her eyes clouded over, already heralding the end of her reign.
“New Hope deserves a queen that will rule with impunity,” Leah whispered into her sister’s ear. “And I will be that queen.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Leah
Framing the New Order for the queen and Fenrick’s deaths had been too easy. Most of the vampire soldiers were loyal to her already, and those who did ask too many questions were disposed of immediately.
Everyone understood New Hope was on the brink of war. The New Order had been a threat publicized in the paper. That’s what Leah loved most about the free media; they were willing to put almost anything into print, and people were all too eager to gobble it up like swine in their troughs.
Leah was sure to leave a bloody katana hidden in the palace garden to solidify her claim that New Order assassins had come in the night. Was it really so hard to believe? They had attacked the palace once before, practically blowing up the armory as they made their escape.
The day after the assassination of Fenrick and the queen, Leah was ready to give her speech to the gathered throng of mourners. It was an overcast day, perfect for the event. Leah ordered the soldiers to pack into the palace courtyard and beyond with as many New Hope citizens as possible.
Leah wore her favorite color of black on black. Unlike her usual appearance of a plain robe, she wore a well-tailored dress with a black veil. She stayed clear of any jewelry or flashy pieces to adorn herself with. Things like this didn’t call to her anyway. Leah couldn’t care less about money; she only craved power.
“Are
you ready, Your Highness?” Commander Steel stood with one hand on the closed door that would lead her outside to make her speech. “You’ll have them eating out of her hand in no time.”
“By the end of the day, I’ll want the names of a new treasurer, as well as someone who can handle the media.” Leah straightened her back. “Both of these should come from the ranks of the vampire soldiers. I trust them more.”
“It’ll be done.” Commander Steel nodded.
“Open the door.” Leah didn’t even look at the commander. Her focus was only on appearing as despondent as she could. Already she had rubbed at her eyes until they were red. She added gentle dose of water she used to splash on her eyes to fool the foolish.
Commander Steel swung open one of the two doors leading into the palace for New Hope’s new queen. Leah walked out slowly. The light chatter that rippled through any large crowd hushed as she exited the building.
All eyes were trained on her now. It had been a shock for most to believe that the queen had a sister in the first place. It was something always rumored, but never proven. When Leah had made her claim, it had come with a ripple of backlash. Time to solidify her place.
Leah walked to a black podium that had been erected just outside the palace’s large double doors. She looked out into the crowd, making watery eye contact with as many of the influential citizens and politicians as she could.
When she was satisfied she had grabbed their attention, she began. “Many of you don’t know me. Others of you know me as Leah Noble. I was an advisor to the queen, as well as her sister.”
A few hushed whispers rose up as those who hadn’t heard of Leah Noble’s claim to the crown looked to their neighbor for direction.
“My identity as an Eckert was kept a secret in large part by my sister, the late queen. She thought it best I change my last name to protect me from being used against her. She was the best older sister a woman could have asked for, and my personal hero.
“Now, I realize many of you will challenge this claim and dig into my past. I welcome the endeavor. I have nothing to hide, and whoever searches for the truth will find that I am indeed the legitimate sister to our queen. I also understand that a new queen or king will have to be elected in New Hope, but for the time being, it is my place as her next of kin to maintain that mantle.”
Leah’s plan was working perfectly. Already there were nods through the crowd. Leah searched as many faces as she could to get a temperament for the crowd. It seemed they were content to go along with her words, like sheep led by their shepherd.
“Until an official election is put together, I plan on finding and punishing the cowards responsible for my sister’s death.”
At this, there was a round of applause Leah had hoped for. Wondering eyes soon turned to angry words and shouts about the slaughter of their beloved queen. Leah let the people’s anger level rise before she continued.
“We have been gathering intel since late last night when the assassins crept into your queen’s and treasurer’s rooms and stabbed them to death. Although the crimes were just committed late last night, we already have clues as to who the criminals are.”
“Tell us!” a voice from someone Leah had planted in the crowd roared in righteous indignation. “We want to avenge our queen.”
A few more shouts came from people Leah had handpicked to scream at this exact moment, and then, to her glee, shouts from the rest of the citizens as the crowd began its transformation into a mob.
“Please, please!” It took everything in Leah to not crack a smile. This was far too easy. “Everyone, I’m not here to start a full-out war. I’m here to give you information and to mourn my sister.”
The crowd died down, looking to one another, almost ashamed of themselves. Almost.
“We have found that the terrorist group working inside New Hope calling themselves the New Order is conspiring directly with Azra. It was the two of them that have colluded together to form our true enemy. Trust me, there will be plans to bring those criminals to justice, but we must first attend to our dead. Then and only then will we rid the world of these pathetic cowards who strike in the night.”
A roar echoed across the palace as the citizens of New Hope and the vampire soldiers standing at attention screamed for their new queen.
Things could not be going any better. Leah was ready to act. Her sister’s body could wait to be buried. She would bring the full weight of New Hope down on Azra—now.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jack
Far away from the palace, on a rooftop where they could barely hear the words the new queen shouted, Jack and Saber watched.
Jack hadn’t slept much since Elizabeth put into his mind that his father was still alive. For many reasons he’d shut down the voice in his head that told him it couldn’t be true, yet there was always some way for his mind to work around his logic and hope Elizabeth was telling the truth.
Abigail wasn’t in much of a better place. Since their foiled run to steal weapons from the armory, Abigail hadn’t said much. She had even refused the offer to go on the reconnaissance mission Jack and Saber found themselves on now. It was unlike her, and Jack was worried.
“She killed her own sister for power.” Saber looked across the rooftops to the tiny forms of the people all listening to Leah’s speech. “This isn’t good, kid. This isn’t good at all.”
“How are you so sure she killed the queen?” Jack asked, following Saber’s gaze to the distant palace. “Maybe she had someone else do it.”
“That nut did it herself.” Saber heaved a weary sigh. He rubbed his short hair with this right hand. “We’ve traded a shrewd enemy for an insane one. She’ll play to the people, giving her sister a hero’s burial tomorrow, and then she’ll come. She’ll use all of this as a reason for a full-out war with us and Azra.”
“She’s not going to want to leave.” Jack was already thinking of where Saber was going with this conversation and what it would mean for Abigail. “I’m not sure I want to go if my father could be alive.”
“Enough of that.” Saber glared at Jack with his one good eye. “Elizabeth was saying anything to get under your skin. Your father is dead, kid. I’m sorry to be so blunt, but that’s what you need right now. Put anything else out of your mind. If you love Abigail like you say you do, then the only thing you should be worrying about is how to get her to come with us to Azra.”
“And if I can’t? If she won’t leave without Elizabeth?”
“We have a day, maybe a day and a half, before Leah mobilizes the entire army and goes door by door through New Hope. When that happens, we have to be long gone. Azra is the only safe place for us now.”
Jack just nodded. He knew Saber was right, but any scenario he came up with where Abigail willingly left New Hope and her sister behind with it seemed like a fairy tale.
“We leave tonight, Jack.”
Saber’s use of his actual name instead of ‘kid’ made Jack give his mentor his full attention.
“Get her to come with us. If she doesn’t, she’s dead.”
Jack
“I’m not leaving, no matter what. I’m not giving up on her.” Abigail shook her head. She turned her back on Jack. “She wouldn’t give up on me if the tables were turned.”
Jack sat in Abigail’s room. Even with her twin bed pushed into a corner, the space still seemed small. He stared at the far wall, looking for answers, but the flaking, white paint gave him none.
For the first time, fear crept into the pit of his stomach. What if Abigail refused to come? He wouldn’t leave her. But that meant they would face the entire New Hope army alone. They would die.
“You’ve thought this out, then?” Jack tried using the most non-combative tone he could muster. “In a few hours, Saber’s taking the New Order with him to Azra. You and I are going to stay behind. When the vampire soldiers come knocking, it’ll be the two of us against an army.”
Abigail turned to Jack, her face a picture of torment
. “I can’t … I can’t give up on her. I’m all she’s got. She’s my little sister. No matter how lost she is, I can’t just leave her.”
The two sat in silence for a moment.
“You go.” Abigail walked over to Jack. She took his hands into her own and lifted him up off the bed. “I love you too much to ask you to stay here with me. I know it seems like I’m crazy, but I couldn’t live with myself if I left her.”
“You never asked me to stay with you,” Jack corrected her. “My love means you’ll never have to ask me to stay. I’ll always be here.”
Tears began to fill Abigail’s eyes as she pulled Jack in close for a kiss. Jack allowed himself to be led into her embrace. Alone in her room, the warrior and the wizard enjoyed a moment of peace.
It was Jack who’d finally broken away. “I’ll tell Saber. He’s not going to like it.”
“We’ll both tell Saber,” Abigail corrected him.
As one, the two walked through the New Order’s secret hideout to the large mess hall where the relocation process was taking place. All around them, New Order rebels ran back and forth, some carrying items to pack, some shouting orders, all of them scared.
Jack scanned the wide room for any sign of his mentor. He finally caught sight of Saber in one of the corners of the room, ordering what was to be taken and what could be left behind.
“We need to pack light,” Saber was instructing a handful of new recruits from the queen’s army who had just joined the New Order. It seemed there were more than a few soldiers unwilling to go through with the transformation from human to vampire. “Make food and weapons a priority. Go, hurry. We leave within the hour.”
The group of ex-soldiers scattered to obey.
“I see you’ve come to your senses.” Saber looked at Abigail and then Jack. “Hurry up. We have enough mounts for all of us, but pack light. We’ll be leaving soo—”
The Complete Vampire Project Series: (Books 1 - 5) Page 61