The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1) by Clay & Susan Griffith;Clay Griffith;Susan Griffith (33 page)

She sidestepped quickly and spun, catching the shoulder clasp of his
cape. It snagged the sword, and Adele shoved the blade hard into his
shoulder. He surged toward her, capturing the blade in his muscle
almost to the hilt, barely feeling the coldness of the steel. She tried to
flee, but his arms snaked around her.

"Princess! Please! I do not wish to harm you!"

"You ... you can't be ... Let me go!" she shouted struggling against
his grip. "What have you done with Greyfriar? You ... you killed him ...
took his place!" Her voice was hoarse with wrath and terror.

"You know that's not true. I am Greyfriar, and have been from the
beginning."

Adele sobbed against his arms. Of course she knew it. There was no
way this vampire could have pretended to be Greyfriar. He was Greyfriar.

Oh merciful heaven, she had placed her trust and her ... How could
she have been so blind!

His voice was low in her ear. "I feel deeply for the plight of humans.
I swear it. I regret how my kind has treated your people. I want to help."

"Liar!"

"To what end, Princess? I've only tried to keep you from Cesare's hands."

"You hide behind a mask, pretending you're a human, like it's a sick
game!" Adele could barely breathe. Her struggles ceased. It was no use
to fight against the strength of this vampire. Her freedom had been
snatched away again like a terrible joke.

Gareth's arms slipped away from her, and he stepped back. His face
was cold and pale, his eyes as colorless as frost. He lifted a hand to the
hilt of the sword and pulled it free of his shoulder in a single tug. Adele
stiffened, ready for a fight, but he merely tossed the blade at her feet.

"You may not believe me, Princess, but it is my hope to succeed my
father's throne and begin reforms. But such a thing takes time, and until
then, I can only help humans from disguise."

"Why should I believe anything you say? Stop using his voice!"

Gareth shrugged and drew Greyfriar's cloak around him. He consciously altered his voice to his normal deeper tone, the voice of Prince
Gareth. The voice that spoke to Adele of London and death and horrific violence. "Keep my weapons for safety, but you must follow me to the castle."

Adele cautiously knelt and picked up the sword, still wet with
Gareth's blood. "What do you expect of me?"

"Nothing, but to stay safe until I can return you to your home."
Gareth indicated the castle. "Please."

Adele rubbed her face with a tired hand. All her energy had drained
away, leaving her confused and helpless. She stated wearily, "I hate you."

"I know."

The prince gestured again with Greyfriar's hand for Adele to go
ahead of him. She dropped back to gather the rest of his weapons,
placing them in her belt and pockets until she was a walking armory.
She straightened with his blade held firmly in her one hand and his
pistol in her other. "After you."

He studied her a moment and then turned and strode toward the
ominous castle. Adele stood alone on the cobblestones, staring at the
bleak city and empty streets. Then she followed him.

H STREETS o Edinburgh were soulless and damp. Adele
remained fixated on the back of the vampire walking before her,
his dark cloak floating behind. The smell of smoke filled the air, and
homey yellow windows glowed in many of the dark slate buildings.

"Where are your herds?" The acid in Adele's voice burned her own ears.

Gareth didn't flinch. "I have none."

How easily the vampire lied.

As they entered the courtyard of the great castle, the gaping maw of
a door yawned open before Gareth. A dark figure stood just inside. Startled, Adele stepped back. The man bowed low to Gareth and then to the
princess.

Gareth inclined his head to the man. "Allow me to present my
oldest friend, Baudoin, the only other vampire in all of Edinburgh."

Adele pointed a pistol at him in warning. Baudoin's eyebrow rose
and he regarded Gareth a moment, studying his prince, noting his
blood-soaked shirt.

"Are you all right, my lord?"

"Have rooms and a hot meal prepared for the princess, Baudoin."
Gareth's hand rose to touch his shoulder. He swore the wound pulsed
with each beat of his heart, as if his flesh was freshly raw.

He waved Adele inside, but she still refused to go first. With the
barest of defeated sighs, he went in, gesturing Baudoin after him, expecting and hoping the princess would follow. To Gareth's relief, she
did, leaving noticeable distance between them. He couldn't blame her,
really.

Adele's eyes bored into the back of the vampire. She couldn't believe
that she hadn't been able to tell the difference between human and vampire, that a mask and dark glasses were enough to fool her. Gareth had
used a different stance than the Greyfriar, and his voice was wildly different. But still. Now, every gesture appeared so obviously similar.
What an idiot she was.

Baudoin disappeared into a side door, and Adele almost didn't
notice, so intent was her attention on the vampire prince. As her gaze
shifted about she noticed other inhabitants of the castle, dark shapes that
slinked from shadow to shadow as if uncertain.

Cats, hundreds of them.

They swarmed around Gareth, but he seemed to pay them little
notice. Their small heads rubbed against his legs in a desperate attempt
to attract attention. Finally he reached down and scooped up a blackand-orange cat that immediately began to purr loudly and settle in the
arms of the vampire. He stroked it absently as they continued down the
hall. Empty suits of armor lined the walls like silent sentinels, many
with living feline sentinels perched on their shoulders. The cats seemed
almost happy to see their master. Adele had never heard of animals that
could abide the company of vampires, nor vice versa. Every living thing
was food to vampires.

The chill of the castle infested the young girl. Adele shivered but
refused to draw her arms about herself to ward off the cold. The sword
clutched in her hand trembled, catching the ambient light, casting it
onto the dark walls in bright little slivers. The quick darting beams of
luminosity excited the cats, who vainly tried to catch them with their
paws. Adele sought to keep her attention on Gareth instead of on the
antics of the cats, but she was so weary and the long journey was taking
its overdue toll. Her eyes kept darting to the side, and her blade dropped
lower as she stumbled along.

Abruptly, Baudoin appeared in front of her, holding a hissing torch.
She started, pistol and blade slicing up quickly in front of her.

He kept his distance. "If you will follow me, Princess, I will show
you to your quarters."

The thought of going off alone with a strange vampire repelled her,
but she had no choice. She no longer felt safe with Greyfriar or Gareth
or whomever he chose to be.

Adele gestured with the blade that Baudoin should precede her. He
bowed slightly, his face grim, and slipped through a doorway. Gareth
had paused and was watching her, still holding the dark-coated cat.
Their eyes met; while regret infused his eyes, only smoldering resentment flared in hers. She turned abruptly away from him and disappeared
after Baudoin and the yellow glow of the torch.

The servant stopped in front of a massive wooden door etched with
geometric designs and with an ornate metal handle twice the size it
needed to be for a human hand. Opening it with little difficulty, Baudoin entered. The room was huge and appeared clean and comfortable.
There was a sitting corner with a chair and a table, and a huge sleigh
bed with layers of thick blankets. A fire already roared in the corner fireplace, flickering warmth into the room.

Baudoin stepped up to a wall sconce and fixed the torch into it. "If
there is anything you need, use this to call me." His hand fell upon a
thick cord beside the bed. "I'll send you a meal in a short while."

The princess bolted the door solidly behind him. Shuddering, she
moved closer to the fire so the warmth could seep into her aching bones. The
weight of all the weapons dragged at her. Her shoulders throbbed and her
legs trembled. A beautiful white rug in front of the fire warded off the chill
from the stone floor. She meticulously removed each weapon and set them
within reach before easing her body into a large, straight-back chair ripe
with cushions. She left the loaded pistol in her lap just under her hand.

Adele hadn't realized she had drifted off to sleep until there was a
knock at the door and she jerked in her chair, the weapons rattling as she
twitched. She would have sworn that it had been only a few seconds, but
the fire was now only embers and the heat was fading. Her vulnerability
frightened her.

The knock came again, gentle and almost hesitant.

Adele picked up the pistol and aimed it at the door. "Who is it?"

"My name is Morgana, miss. I've brought your dinner."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes."

Adele stood, and every muscle cried out in pain. She limped to the
door. Standing to the side of the door frame, she threw the bolt and then
stepped back with pistol raised. After a few seconds, the latch clicked
and the door opened slowly to admit a young woman. A human, dressed
plainly, but better than the humans in London. She was tall and sturdy,
with short blonde hair. The girl's eyes quickly locked onto the pistol in
Adele's hands. Her eyebrows rose in astonishment, though Adele could
not determine if it was the shock of being threatened or the mere sight
of a human holding a gun.

The woman's hands held a tray heaped high with food. Adele's
stomach immediately betrayed her as she breathed in a nose full of the
wonderful scents. It smelled of stew and bread and beer. It took all her
willpower not to leap on it like a starving animal.

"Are you another of Gareth's prisoners?" Adele asked, trying to keep
her attention off the food.

The young woman laughed softly. "I'm no prisoner. No more than
you." She placed the dishes on the table near the sputtering fire. "You
best eat now while it's hot." Morgana emptied the tray and set it on the
bed. Then she moved to the fire and stirred the embers before adding
more wood, making it roar once more.

Adele sat almost against her will. She didn't want any of Gareth's
kindness, but she needed her strength if she was going to find a way to
escape, and the serving girl seemed harmless enough. Adele watched the
dance of the flames as she devoured a piece of warm, crusty bread.

Morgana gestured to the pistol still in Adele's hand. "You have no
need to keep holding that."

"That's sweet, but I like having it while there are vampires lurking."

"You have nothing to fear of Prince Gareth."

"Did he write that for you to say? Oh, that's right. He can't write.
He's a vampire!" Adele ripped into a soft chunk of stewed pork.

Morgana smiled as she watched Adele chew. Then she rose, brushing
her skirt of ash and sawdust. "Rest tonight. Tomorrow you may see for
yourself." The girl retrieved the tray and left.

The room became silent once more except for the snapping of the
wood in the fireplace. Adele ignored her vulnerability for the moment
and concentrated on eating. She didn't even care if it was poisoned,
although she doubted Gareth would go to all the trouble of dressing up
and bringing her to Edinburgh just to murder her.

Eventually empty plates were pushed aside and Adele wiped her greasy
face with a stained linen napkin, hunger satisfied for now. She dragged a
chair to the door and jammed it under the latch before bolting the door
securely again. Only then did she remove the dirtiest of her outer garments,
like her shoes, cloak, and skirt. Those she folded onto a nearby chair, then
crawled under the bedcovers still dressed for the most part.

Shadows crept along the walls. Adele tried to still the fear that grew
inside her. The thought of giving in to her exhaustion terrified her. But
she knew that eventually her body would betray her.