Of Lords and Commoners: Book 1 (Lords and Commoners Series)

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  We swam the Golden Horn to the city wall and waited for a sentry to pass out of sight. Flying over the wall, we sped to the inn in a blur.

  Even with the looming danger it was wonderful to be back in the city. The Roman emperors had been hard at work restoring some of the inner buildings.

  Once outside the inn, I left my broadsword with Elijah. I felt naked without it. At least knives were still hidden under my clothes. Riddick and I went to the front desk. All I could smell were humans — no trace of vampires. Then again, humans smelled much stronger than vampires. Their scent could be the ideal cover.

  “How may I help you, sir?” the innkeeper asked.

  “We would like to rent a room. Not just any room though. You see, we would like the same room where we celebrated our wedding night.” Riddick placed his arm around my waist and pulled me close.

  Not bad, I thought. That will explain why we want that particular room but why would a couple stay in an inn on their wedding night? Still, the lie would most likely succeed. How did Riddick think of such good stories so quickly?

  “Of course, sir. Which room was it?”

  “We don’t remember exactly. We were … preoccupied at the time, as you can imagine.” Riddick winked at the man. I elbowed him in the ribs. “I can show you which room it was.”

  “Very well, sir.” The innkeeper grabbed a set of jingling keys and we led the way. I motioned to Elijah to follow us with the slightest glance and head nod.

  When we approached the door, Riddick swung me up in his arms. “This is it.”

  His ear was close enough that I could easily whisper without the human being able to hear. “You are enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “Completely.” Riddick gave me a wicked smile.

  “You are in luck, sir, as the room is unoccupied.” The innkeeper proceeded to open the door.

  I swung myself out of Riddick’s arms and cautiously entered the room. Riddick was only inches behind me. The room was modern and well decorated; it was barely recognizable. This made it doubly odd to be back here.

  There was no trace of vampire scent. We let our guard down. I looked for any sign of the old entrance in the floor.

  “Ah yes. Many fond memories in this room,” Riddick paid the man well and quickly shut the door.

  “I don’t see the entrance. It has been covered by the new floor.” Now that the innkeeper was gone, I opened the door so the others would be able to find us easily. “A wedding night in an inn?” I questioned.

  Riddick shrugged. “Who knows? Perhaps it will become a custom. Newlyweds want to be alone, so they should take a trip after their wedding. I think I’ll call it a honeymoon.”

  I laughed. “You are mad; such a trip will never become a custom.”

  “You have to admit it does make sense,” Riddick said.

  In no time the room was full of seven vampires. Elijah swiftly tossed me my sword, which I was relieved to have. We stood the bed against the wall in order to better search the floor.

  “It should be here.” Riddick pointed to a spot on the floor where the old bed would have covered the entrance to the cave.

  “Aaron, retrieve the others. Show them how to find us. You all can come in through the window.” Elijah turned to Riddick. “Break the floor.”

  Aaron quickly opened the shutters and disappeared out the window.

  “Are you sure we should continue?” Riddick asked. “This door has not been used in ages. Most likely they are no longer here.”

  “If Ramdasha is no longer here, we need to know for sure so we can focus our resources elsewhere. It could be that they have a new entrance. Either way, we must find out. That is why we are here,” Elijah said.

  Riddick nodded. “Let us proceed.” He swung his ax in his hand gracefully once for show, then he brought it down hard on the stone slabs. The floor cracked apart. With one more blow from the blunt end of his ax, the stone floor was in pieces. We quickly removed the rubble, revealing the round iron handle attached to the heavy stone lid leading to the staircase. With one arm, Riddick lifted the lid weighing as much as three grown men put together.

  The rest of us readied ourselves — all swords were drawn. Our army was close behind. As leaders, we were the front line. Leaders had to be willing to risk their own lives if they expected others to follow them. Kings and Emperors alike, the good ones anyway, led their armies into battle. They fought blow for blow with their infantry. Therefore, it was our duty to be the first to descend the stairs into enemy territory.

  The air that came from the staircase was musty. It was impossible to tell what or who might be down there. These stairs had not been used in a long time, as they were laden with cobwebs. It was difficult to imagine that there had been a time when I had called this place home, even briefly.

  With one last glance, Riddick descended the stairs. I started to follow but Elijah took my arm to stay me. Elijah moved ahead of me. He beckoned for Samuel to follow.

  “Wait here for the rest of the troops to arrive,” Elijah whispered to Mary and Elizabeth. “We will call for you and the others if needed.”

  I gave Elijah a questioning look.

  “Something is telling me that they should stay behind,” he whispered in answer to my unspoken question.

  This seemed contrary to logic. I would have felt better with our soldiers directly behind us. Yet I did not question him further. I trusted him.

  We descended deep underground. There was no clear indication of vampires. Riddick had to brush away the thick cobwebs as he moved downward. The air grew thicker with each step. It was as if we were being buried alive — each breath was like inhaling dank earth.

  When Riddick stepped on the bottom stair before the long hallway, we heard stone scraping against stone. I looked down to find the last stair collapsing under Riddick’s weight. The sound of a flame coming to life could be heard. We briefly looked at one another with wide eyes before proceeding. An explosion came from the stairs behind us. We were blown down the long hallway.

  Rocks of all shapes and sizes, as well as a heavy dust, fell around us. When I tried to move, my back screamed in pain. I shook my head to get the dust and debris off. As I slowly rolled over, it dawned on me that I could not hear. It was as if the entire world had gone silent. Elijah picked me up and I screamed in pain when he touched my back. He had blood coming from his ears and half his face was cut and bleeding. I tried to touch his face but found it hurt too badly to raise my arm. He kicked a door in and placed me gently on a bed. My old bed, I thought vaguely as my world turned black. No, no, I can’t; Elijah is hurt. These were my last fighting thoughts before I remembered nothing.

  Chapter 81 Constantinople 1346 A.D

  I woke with a start — gasping for breath. There was not enough air — heavy dirt was crushing me. It was a nightmare. I sat up and winced at the discomfort in my back. No. It was not entirely a nightmare. Wherever I was it was dark, but there was enough air to breathe, though be it dank and putrid. At least I was not buried under piles of earth. I threw my arms out in panic and my hand found Elijah’s chest.

  He slowly opened his eyes. Only faint scars could be seen on his face.

  “Thank God, you are safe!” I threw myself on top of him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

  Being careful of my back he gently wrapped his arms around me.

  “What happened?” I did not let go of him.

  “It was a trap. The good news is that Ramdasha and his men are not here.”

  “And the bad news?” Yet I did not truly want to know.

  “We are entombed down here. It was an explosive powder that most likely collapsed the entire staircase.”

  “Explosive powder? Oh no!” Samuel would have received the brunt of the blast. I pulled away from Elijah.

  “Samuel will heal,” Elijah read my mind, as only he could. “All of us are safe … for now.”

  I had the urge to kiss him but instead I laid my head on his chest. We lay like that, me curled on top
of him, listening to his heartbeat, for a long moment. I thought he might have fallen back asleep.

  “Come. We must relieve Riddick,” Elijah said.

  I sat up. “Relieve Riddick?”

  He placed both hands on my hips and lifted me off him. When he grabbed me, it sent a strange feeling through me. It was pleasant, yet confusing. I still had no idea what real intimacy was. I had to shake my head to clear it.

  He went through a nearby chest. “You need some new clothes.”

  I looked down to find that my tunic was in tatters. With a slight tug I pulled my clothing off. There was barely anything left of the back of my tunic. What fabric remained was covered in dried blood.

  “Put this on.” Elijah threw me a dress.

  It was one of the dresses Anna, the keeper of the Dancing Stallion tavern in Bucharest, had given me so long ago. It was musty and worn but otherwise wearable. A crooked smile crossed my face. I must have gotten the expression from Elijah. “This was mine … once.” Being topless in front of Elijah was not even a concern.

  I pulled the dress over my head when Elijah sat down behind me. He ran his graceful fingers across the bare skin on my back. “You are going to have some good scars back here. They will match the scar on your hip. You were burned badly and some of the debris cut you in several places.”

  I turned around and ran my hand across his scarred cheek. There was only one really notable scar. The rest were only thin scratches that could barely be seen. Again I wanted to kiss him. This was the moment I fully admitted to myself that I loved him. I had for a long time. It took a life-or-death situation for me to admit it but I did truly love him. I was lost in his stormy smoke-filled eyes until he brought me back to our situation.

  “Come. There is much work to be done.”

  I closed my eyes to break his spell over me and finished pulling on my dress.

  Out in the hallway, Riddick was working hard to remove the endless rubble. I put my hand on his shoulder to stay him. He looked relieved to see me.

  “Get some rest,” I whispered.

  He looked exhausted and did not argue. He retired to my old room. Elijah and I went to work removing debris. It was not long before Samuel came out of an adjacent room.

  I hugged him gently. “How are you healing?”

  “Well enough.”

  I moved to examine his back. A sharp inhale escaped my lips. Samuel’s skin was red and swollen from the healing burns and there were random fresh scars across his back from flying debris. “Is that what my back looks like?”

  “Your back is not quite that bad.” Elijah put a hand on Samuel’s shoulder. “I’m terribly sorry, old friend but you took the worst of it.”

  “I will be thoroughly healed within an hour,” Samuel snapped. He jerked his shirt down.

  “Thankfully, you are alive and safe.” I gave him another quick hug.

  “It is fortunate that we all survived and that the rest of the army was not directly behind us. They would have been annihilated. This was the perfect trap. Ramdasha knew we would come here eventually and he could have eliminated the majority of our best men and trapped the military leaders down here, without risking any of his own men,” Elijah said.

  “He is intelligent,” I sneered.

  “But how did he do it?” Samuel asked.

  “With this.” Elijah gestured to what was left of a wooden barrel. He ran his hand along a piece of the wood and revealed the black powder that was smeared on his finger.

  Samuel did the same. Sniffing the substance he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “What is it?”

  “Explosive powder. It comes from the Orient, I believe. I have heard tales of its power. Yet I have never seen it or fully understood what it is capable of until now.”

  “So there is no other way out?” Samuel surveyed the scene and focused on the overwhelming pile of rubble blocking our exit.

  “No. That is why this is the perfect trap. Only one way in or out,” Elijah said.

  “Do you think our men are removing the rubble from the top?” Samuel asked.

  “Possibly, unless they think we are dead and they returned home,” I said.

  “Either way, Father would want to know for sure if we were dead. He will come to retrieve our bodies if nothing else. So we may be able to get out before we starve to death down here.”

  “I heard that we do not actually starve to death — rather, we mummify until someone gives us blood,” Samuel said.

  I frowned. It sounded as if death would be better than becoming a mummy.

  “Let’s hope we don’t find out.” Elijah said. “If they are digging from the top, then we can help by removing rubble from this end for as long as we can. We must try to get out of here, so that this is not a complete waste. We have learned two important things: Ramdasha is no longer here and he has better weapons than ours. We must get this information to Father.”

  Samuel constructed two makeshift wheelbarrows. We went to work digging ourselves out. We moved tons of stone tirelessly, filling nearby rooms with the rubble, leaving the main hall clear. Room after room was filled and stair after stair was uncovered. The stairway was no longer a thin passageway that fit the frame of the average man but was hollowed out to over twice the size it had once been.

  Samuel was fascinated with how the explosion had worked. He removed the bottom step that had collapsed under Riddick’s weight. “Look at this.” Samuel beckoned us over. “A large piece of flint was placed under this heavy step. With the spark from the step moving across the flint it must have caught something, a rope, perhaps.” He pointed to a long thin black line. “These burn marks run all along the walls to hidden compartments containing the barrels full of black powder.”

  Elijah scratched his head in wonder. “Perhaps the ropes had been soaked in a highly flammable substance.”

  “Most likely an oil of sorts,” Samuel said.

  “One thing is for sure: we are headed for a new type of warfare,” I said.

  Elijah and I exchanged a worried look.

  Though it seemed like an eternity, it must have been only a handful of days before we heard the distant scraping of stone and faint voices.

  “We are here!” Riddick yelled.

  I heard movement and more voices.

  “Elijah!” a faint but familiar voice called.

  “Yes, Father, I am here. We are alive.”

  I collapsed into Elijah and we slid down the wall of the staircase.

  “We are going to get out of here,” he whispered in my ear.

  “Thank God,” I breathed. Exhaustion was a luxury I could not afford … until now. I felt faint, as if I might fall asleep on the spot. My lungs ached for fresh air.

  “Get them out of there,” we could hear Lord Chastellain command.

  It did not take long before a hand broke through the remaining rocks and sweet air escaped in with it. I took a deep breath, savoring every bit as it filled my lungs.

  The first one through was Lord Chastellain. He wrapped his arms around Elijah.

  “I’m unharmed, Father,” Elijah whispered.

  Chastellain did something I had not anticipated, he embraced me. “I’m glad you are alive.”

  I pulled back and looked at him with wide eyes. Usually he appeared not to like me in the least. In fact, I thought he despised me. Or is it I who hated him? I was confused and grateful and relieved all at once. “I’m glad you came for us,” I managed.

  Elijah gave us a warm smile.

  “We have to get out of here. Victor has brought it to our attention that parts of the ceiling are threatening to collapse. He thinks that the explosion and the removal of the debris makes this tunnel very likely to fall in on itself.”

  That was the lord I remembered — always straight to business.

  Victor carried in a large log and shoved it between the ceiling and one of the steps.

  “Victor has done this all along the stairs in order to shore up the passage,” the lord explained.

&n
bsp; “These logs will not hold for long,” Victor said.

  Behind us, dust fell from the ceiling. This was followed by a loud crashing sound as dirt and stone fell to the stairs. Below us, the roof was caving in.

  Elijah took my hand. “Everyone out!”

  We ran. Riddick was the last one to lift himself out of the staircase and into the hotel room. He was followed by a waft of dust and a loud cracking sound as another section of the tunnel collapsed permanently behind him. I pulled him the rest of the way out and wrapped my arms around him.

  “We escaped,” he whispered.

  The window in the room had been opened up to make a larger entryway. There were now mountains of rubble, as well as a large hole in the street where the staircase was completely buried. It looked as if a war had occurred here since we had last seen it.

  Mary and Elizabeth each greeted me with a hug. Mary turned to Elijah and did the same.

  My mouth fell open. Mary used to hate Elijah and I had never seen her show affection toward a man.

  “We would be dead if you had not ordered us to stay behind. You are more prescient than I would have guessed. I’m grateful for your leadership,” Mary said.

  There is nothing like almost dying to bring people together. I smiled at Mary.

  We turned our gaze to the collapsed street. Elijah put his hand in mine. “I’m glad that place is gone. Let’s go home.”

  Chapter 82 Europe 1352 A.D

  Over the next seven years we worked endlessly to find Ramdasha. Now it was a personal mission for Lord Chastellain. Ramdasha was cunning enough to remain one step ahead and just out of reach. He stayed hidden and trusted only those closest to him. The lord sent out several calls for Ramdasha to meet us in battle. The calls went unanswered. He was a coward and he was … unfortunately, cunning.

  We increasingly had to fight in the North to eliminate the growing vampire epidemic, or what the humans call the plague. Either way, “Black Death” was a fitting name for it. Elijah’s single army of Vampire Killers could no longer keep up. Riddick was given his own well-trained men to lead. He did not like the idea of leaving us but we were able to convince him that he was our best military leader and he must help us defend the North by spreading out. By 1352, Samuel was given his own army to lead as well. We often had to fight on many different fronts across the North.