04 Silence (8 page)

Abandoning the banqueting
hall
,
Briony ran with her great-aunt through the
halls
and corridors of the castle. They stopped at each room, searching for signs of the Hugtandalfer servants and nobles who should have been there. Yet there continued to be no sign of them. Had the sudden threat of vampires driven them into hiding, or was something else going on?

“
We
’ll
need weapons,” Aunt Sophie said.

Briony hadn’t even thought of that. Back home, she would have had ready access to weapons designed specifica
lly
with vampires in mind. Here though, what was there that they could use?

Aunt Sophie grabbed a chair in the next room they came to. It was a beautiful thing, almost a work of art, but Aunt Sophie broke it without any hesitation, handing one of the legs to Briony to use as a stake.

Briony guessed that
killing
vampires came before having nice furniture. Now, they just had to work out what was going on.

“Where are King Waltham, Archer, and the rest of them?” Briony asked. “I mean, if there are vampires here, shouldn’t there be knights or something to defend the place?”

Aunt Sophie shrugged. “I don’t know any more than you do, Briony. At a guess, I would say that, the people here aren’t used to being attacked by vampires in their own court. Just the sign of a dagger was enough to scare them away from the banquet, so I don’t know if we
will
get any help from that quarter.”

Aunt Sophie shook her head then. “Looks like we have our work cut out for us, Briony. I suspect that half these elves haven’t seen a vampire in so long, they’ve forgotten how to fight them.”

That certainly explained some of the comments before, about Briony and Aunt Sophie showing up at just the right time. Though Briony wasn’t so sure about it being perfect timing from where she stood. Showing up just in time for a fight with vampires was not her idea of fun.

“Are you sure that we’re up to this?” Briony asked. She didn’t mean to sound defeatist, but there was no way of knowing how many vampires might have managed to find a way into the castle. It could be just the two of them against an army, for
all
they knew.

“Up to it?” Aunt Sophie laughed, and Briony couldn’t help reflecting again that this new, younger version of her was a little brasher than she had been.

“I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t felt this good in…
well,
forever. Right now, I feel like I could take on any vampire. Now come on. We’re wasting time.”

She set off again at a run, and Briony struggled to keep up. They were moving so fast that Briony could barely look where she was going as she ran. So fast, in fact, that when they rounded a corner and found a
tall
,
broad-shouldered figure coming the other way, there was simply no time to stop. Briony rebounded and sat down heavily, her only consolation in her embarrassment the fact that Aunt Sophie did the same.

Briony looked up, and even that consolation went out the window. It had to be Vigor, didn’t it? The Prince stood over them, resplendent in armor that was a mixture of steel plates and leather strips, designed to give the maximum amount of protection while
still
allow
ing the wearer freedom of movement. A sword hung at his side. The col
lision
hadn’t moved him in the slightest, of course.

“Why, if it isn’t my favorite statue,” Aunt Sophie said, leaping nimbly to her feet. To Briony’s surprise, Vigor flushed, and moved forward to offer Briony his assistance in regaining her feet. He even mumbled something that sounded like an apology as he lifted her, setting her on her feet as easily as he might have lifted a child.

“What brings you out here?” Aunt Sophie asked.

“I am here to sweep for vampire assassins,”

Vigor said simply.

Briony looked around at the empty corridor.

“Where is everyone else?”

“They have taken up defensive positions deeper in the castle. As should you both.”

Aunt Sophie raised an eyebrow. “You’re planning on fighting whoever left that dagger on the banquet table
all
on your own.”

“It is my duty,” Vigor said. “My fa… the King is not
well
enough to fight. Those around him, including the dragon, have moved to keep him safe. I am what remains.”

“So you rea
lly
are
planning to take them on alone?” Briony asked.

Vigor shrugged. “As I said, it is my duty. I am protector of this castle when the King cannot fight, and I
will
not fail him.”

Briony could just see Prince Vigor throwing himself into the middle of a mob of vampires in the name of duty.

“
We
’ll
help,” she said. “Aunt Sophie and I know vampires. We know their strengths and their weaknesses.”

Vigor shook his head. “You should go and seek out the others. Remain with them, where it is safe.”

Briony bristled a little at that. “What? Because we’re girls? Just because you live in a castle, that’s no reason to have medieval attitudes, you know.”

“Because you are
human
,” Vigor said. “Sophie here may be one of us now, but you don’t even possess supernatural strength or magic. How can you possibly hope to survive a fight against a vampire?”

Briony wasn’t about to let that go either. “I may be human, but I’ve seen and fought more vampires than you ever have, Vigor.”

“You should be with the courtiers,” Vigor insisted. “The King would never forgive me if I
allow
ed you to be
killed.
He has made his feelings about you plain. And you… whatever you say, you are too human for this.”

Aunt Sophie gave Vigor an annoyed look then.

“Briony is part human, yes, but she’s also Hugtandalfer like you. Her strength and powers
will
be realized in time. Do not underestimate Briony, Vigor. Or me. If you want us to stay where it’s safe, you can try to make us, but I don’t like your chances.”

With that, Sophie took the lead and charged ahead down the corridor. Vigor gave an exasperated sigh and set off after her. Briony grinned at that and did her best to keep up. Aunt Sophie came to a halt in a gal
lery,
hung with portraits of people who were undoubtedly Briony’s ancestors and relations. Briony couldn’t resist a quick glance around at them. There was so much she did not know about her family here.

Aunt Sophie was speaking, though, so Briony did her best to listen.

“Do you know how to fight vampires, Vigor? First thing’s first, if they’re as old as everyone says they are, they possess incredible strength and abilities. Even the ability to read minds, hear things from a long distance, and fly.” Aunt Sophie poked Vigor in his armored chest. “It takes more than strength and bravery to win against ancient vampires. It takes smarts and the element of surprise if you want to get close enough to stake one.”

“Oh, surprises. I love surprises.”

The voice came from above them, and a dark shadow flashed down, knocking Aunt Sophie flat, the stake spinning from her hand to clatter against the wal
l.
She leapt back to her feet as a laugh sounded around them, echoing in ways it shouldn’t have been able to.

Briony tightened her grip on her stake, not wanting to be caught out in the same way. She saw Vigor draw his sword and take up a fighting stance.

Together, the three of them glanced around, but there was no sign of anyone. Only when the laugh sounded again, above them once more, did Briony look up.

A young man was clinging to the ceiling like a spider, dressed in a dark tunic and pants, with black, almost knee-length boots and a sword at his waist.

His long, dark hair
fell
around his face thanks to his current location, but even so, Briony could make out the redness of his eyes, could see the moment when his mouth opened to reveal fangs.

Briony thought that she would have plenty of time to raise her stake as he leapt at her, but the vampire was faster even than Pietre. Before Briony could so much as blink, he was in front of her, mouth opened wide to bite her. Briony didn’t have the time to do anything.

Vigor was faster, though. He charged the vampire, aiming a slash with his sword which forced the creature back. The vampire drew his own sword and spun, aiming a low slash at Vigor’s legs. The Hugtandalfer prince leapt, avoiding it neatly.

They kept on like that, and it soon became clear that the two were both master swordsmen.

Vigor’s style was brutal, with stroke after stroke aimed at his opponent in a continuous onslaught, but the vampire was a constantly moving target, throwing out sudden thrusts to force Vigor onto the back foot just as Briony thought the Prince might fina
lly
break through.

Such was the quality of the swordplay on show that Briony did not dare to interfere. Instead, she found herself glued to the action taking place in front of her as counter riposte fol
lowed
riposte, and the two combatants’ feet slid back and forth, looking to gain some advantage in distance or timing that might fina
lly
allow
them to finish off their opponent.

Briony was so involved, in fact, that she didn’t notice the moment when more vampires arrived. They came as the one fighting Vigor had come, scuttling along the ceiling and dropping down to attack. Aunt Sophie kicked one back, and then barely parried an attack from another.

“Fight, Briony!”

That was enough to break Briony’s immobility.

She lunged for a vampire, but it twisted away easily.

Another moved around to her side, dancing back as Briony spun to attack it. On they went, switching back and forth as Briony tried to strike at them, but never quite enough to gain a hit. They were toying with her.

While Vigor and Aunt Sophie fought hard around Briony, the vampires were actua
lly
toying
with her.

Each one moved so fast that Briony knew it had to be true- these vampires were
all
at least as old as Pietre. Which meant…

Which meant Briony, Vigor, and Aunt Sophie had a slim chance of winning. Not like this. Not in a fair fight. Maybe Vigor and Aunt Sophie could have beaten one or two of them, but not as many as this, and not with Briony there. Vigor was right. She was a liability.

Almost as soon as she thought it, Briony found her makeshift stake knocked out of her hand like it wasn’t there. At the same time though, the two vampires attacking her took a step back. Briony turned, expecting some fresh threat. Except
all
there was standing before her was a sweet faced girl with jet black hair and green eyes, only a little older than her brother Jake.

Briony took a longer look at the girl. She looked healthy, even beautiful, and was dressed after the fashion of the rest of the court. She had to be some Hugtandalfer aristocrat’s daughter, so what was she doing here?

There wasn’t any time to ask. “You shouldn’t be here,” Briony said instead. “It’s not safe. Hurry and go before they attack again.”

Yet even as she said it, a new vampire stepped forward. Even by the standards of vampires genera
lly
, he was good-looking, appearing to be in his early twenties, with sandy hair and eyes of a deep hazel. He was dressed in black, from the fingers of his gloved hands down to the tips of his highly-polished boots. And he was heading for the girl in front of Briony.

“Get behind me!” Briony ordered. She ran in front of the girl, placing herself between her and the new threat. Even unarmed as she was, Briony was determined not to let the vampires get to the young girl.

The approaching man stopped just in front of her, as casua
lly
as if Vigor and Aunt Sophie weren’t
still
fighting his
fe
llow
vampires just a little ways away.

“Princess Briony, I presume,” he said, giving her a courtly bow that had to be designed to mock her. “We have been awaiting your arrival for a very long time.” He smiled, and just for a second, Briony was reminded of
Fallon
. The same near beauty in his face. The same delicacy to his features. Then the new vampire’s fangs appeared, and he snarled.

“Where is the scepter?”

“Scepter?” Briony asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The newcomer shook his head and stepped
still
closer. “There’s no point in trying to deceive me. You’re Waltham’s heir. Of course you would know about the scepter.”

“Believe me, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Briony looked around, trying to locate a weapon. Aunt Sophie was on the other side of the room, fighting off two vampires with desperate speed, while Vigor on the other side,
still
trading sword moves with the dark haired vampire who had been the first to attack them. Neither was near enough to throw over a weapon, and in any case, both looked as though distracting them might prove fatal. It seemed Briony was on her own.

The vampire in front of Briony grinned, looking almost frighteningly friendly despite his fangs.

“You know, I think I actua
lly
believe you.
Still,
you may not know what the scepter is, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help us get it.”

“
I
’ll
never help you,” Briony said.

“Oh, I think you
wi
ll.
”

Briony tensed, expecting the vampire to rush her, but he just stood there grinning, crossing his arms casua
lly
. Why wasn’t he attacking? Something was wrong. As Briony began to think that thought, she felt strong hands grabbing her from behind, a feminine laugh sounding in her ear. The girl?

It was indeed her. She laughed again. “You rea
lly
are that naïve. You couldn’t even
tell
…” Briony turned her head and saw the girl’s fangs exposed as she stared longingly at Briony’s neck. “I haven’t had human blood in so long. She smel
ls
so good. Can I just have a taste, Barron?”

Thankfu
lly
, the vampire in front of Briony shook his head. “No, Elise, we must keep her alive. Bring her.”

The girl, Elise, improved her grip on Briony, holding her around the waist and lifting her with one arm. Briony tried to twist out of the hold, but found the vampire had as much strength as anyone she had ever met. She was fast too. Before Briony could
call
out to Aunt Sophie or even Vigor for help, she was being borne away through the castle with blurring speed. And when they reached a window, the girl leapt.

It was so different to the time
Fallon
carried her through the air. It was smoother, far more control
led,
and somehow Briony knew that Elise had done this thousands of times. She barely skimmed the ground with each leap before taking to the air again, while a black blur soon joined them as they passed through the nearby forest and into the
hills
.

Eventua
lly
, they came to a stop. The land around was different than the rest of Palisor, and it took Briony a moment to realize why. It was dead. The sky was a
dull
,
cloudy grey. The rocks around were jagged, with no signs of vegetation. And at the top…

It was the kind of castle Briony had always imagined vampires having; a thing of pointed towers and dark banners, set with spikes on the outer surfaces and imposing its might on the world around. It could almost have been stolen wholesale from Transylvania.

Elise set down Briony, letting her scramble to find her footing on the rocks. Meanwhile, the black blur that had accompanied them resolved itself into the too handsome form of Barron, who took Briony’s hand, touching his lips to it in a parody of a courtier.

“Princess,” he said, mockingly. “Welcome to the Kingdom of Darkness, our home.”

“By our, you mean…”

“Vampires,” Elise put in. “What else?”

Briony shuddered. The castle reminded her of something from the days of black and white horror films. She did
not
want to go inside. Not that she would get a choice, probably.

Next to her, Elise laughed. “I had forgotten how a human would see this castle, Barron. Just look at the Princess’ face. Such dread. Quite lovely, rea
lly
.”

“Come,” Barron said, taking hold of Briony by the waist and lifting her. Couldn’t someone just let her walk for once? “It is much cozier inside.”

He sped to the top of the
hill
through the main gate and into the castle, not stopping until he had reached a suite of rooms, where he set down Briony on a chaise lounge covered in deep red velvet.

It went with the rest of the room. Everything there was red, or black, or silver, and it seemed no expense had been spared. The reds came in velvet, silk and rubies, the blacks in ebony, onyx and jet, while
all
the silvers had to be platinum, given the way vampires reacted to the real thing. Put together, it looked either like the most expensively furnished place Briony had ever been in, or like further proof that vampires liked to take decorating tips from old movies.

“Don’t make yourself too comfortable, Princess.” Elise sat down besides her, throwing an arm around Briony like they were best friends. “You won’t be here long if Barron has his way, and he usua
lly
gets what he wants.”

“The scepter,” Briony said.

“Oh, so you have been listening,” Elise said drily. “Yes, the scepter.
All
supernatural creatures of the dark want it, after
a
ll.
”

“Why?” Briony asked. “What’s so special about it?”

“Power, obviously.”

“What kind of power?”

Elise laughed. “I could explain it to you, but I suspect it would be too much for your wee human head to take in.”

“Elise,” Barron’s voice shot through from a
hall
way. Briony hadn’t even noticed him step outside.

“Don’t be patronizing to our guest. She is after
all,
King Waltham’s daughter.”

He came back into the room with a cut glass goblet in each hand. Elise reached out for one, but Barron ignored her, handing one of the goblets to Briony.

“Here.” His voice was soft. Almost gentle. “You must be thirsty after our little jaunt.”

Elise reached out her hand for the other goblet Barron held, but he kept that for himself, drinking from it in one smooth swal
low.
Elise didn’t seem impressed, but Barron kept his eyes on Briony.

“You look like her to say the least.”

“Who?” Briony said, looking into her goblet. Was it blood?

“Your mother,” Barron said. “And no, it isn’t blood. Those of my kind who make it to Palisor are genera
lly
old enough to put such thirsts beyond us.

Blood is just a conduit for other things in any case, and as we age, we no longer need it to act as a medium.”

Briony thought back to Elise asking to drink from her.

“Elise is the youngest of us,” Barron said.

“She found her way into Palisor during the time you would ca
ll y
our Middle Ages. She does not
need
blood, but is
still
weaning herself off of the memory of it.” Barron smiled again. “And yes, I can read your thoughts. That is one of my gifts.”

Elise stood up, was obviously not happy about the comment. “You could at least have brought one out for me. You know how to torture a girl, don’t you? I
smell
the Princess, and I’m suddenly back to craving human blood.”

“Then show some
will
power, Elise,” Barron said. “You have no need for the blood. How many years have you not had human blood and lived perfectly
well
without it?”

“Too many to count,” Elise admitted. “It doesn’t make it easier, though.”

“I have a job for you that
will
see you clear of the Princess for a while, then,” Barron said. “Go send a message to King Waltham that we have the Princess, and we
will
feed on her if he does not bring the scepter to us.”

“Assuming he even has it,” Elise said. “I searched the castle before throwing the dagger down on the banquet table, and it wasn’t there. Nor was King Waltham. I would have finished him off before he could rejuvenate if he had been.”

“He must have the scepter with him, then,” Barron said. “And he must not be in the castle.”

“So, how do I send word to him?” Elise asked.

“Do I just run
all
over the Kingdom looking for him?”

Barron appeared to ignore the sarcasm in the question, reaching out to Briony with a hand, softly touching her hair, feeling its silkiness between his fingers. Briony tried not to react. Not even when he leaned in close to breathe in the scent of her hair. “Ah, human hair,” he touched her cheeks, “human skin…so soft, so warm and alive.”

Elise coughed, and Barron came out of his dreamy look. “There was a time when I wanted to become human again, but that was long ago, and since finding Palisor, I am glad to be what I am… a vampire.”

Barron’s fangs extended and he came in close to Briony’s neck. So close that she was sure he would bite. She even started to twist out of his way, but in an instant, Barron was gone. He was standing up away from her, a lock of blonde hair in his hand. He’d taken it from her. Barron took out a handkerchief and placed the hair in it, wrapping it up, before handing it to Elise.

“Give this to one of the courtiers,” Barron said.

“They
will
get the message to Waltham without you having to run about anywhere.”

“Except back here,” Elise said. “
I
’ll
run
all
the way. I won’t be long.”

Barron’s eyes were fixed on Briony again.

“Take your time. There’s no hurry. So long as Waltham gets the message, it does not matter.”

Elise grimaced. “Yes, Barron.”

Barron didn’t look at her even then, but Briony did. The vampire girl gave Briony a hostile look. One that promised retribution in the near future, before speeding off. Frankly, with Barron
still
so close to her, Briony suspected that she had bigger problems.