The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1) by Clay & Susan Griffith;Clay Griffith;Susan Griffith (34 page)

Suddenly a shadow moved in the wrong direction.

Adele jumped up, grasping the pistol. However, she didn't fire. Her
instincts held true. It wasn't a vampire creeping in the darkness. It was
a cat.

The furry little beast stretched lazily, as if it had been woken from
its sleep. The cat didn't even question who the stranger was in its room.
It hopped onto the bed and came over to her without fear, immediately
purring its contentment at finding company this evening.

Adele warmed to the cat's affections; after all, it had no concept of
its circumstances. It was not to blame for being in the house of a monster. Its fur was grey and white, with little white paws and a white spot
dotting the left side of its face.

Adele reclined. The cat's body was warm and it curled against her,
its tail encircling its feet. Such unconditional trust eased Adele's own
anxiety a bit. She reached out with her other hand and pulled the long
blade close, her fingers wrapping around the cold metal. Before she realized it, she fell asleep, clutching Greyfriar's sword.

Adele woke alone in the bed. Her dreams had been filled with vampires
and screams. The cat that had kept her company through most of the
night had disappeared somewhere, although the bedroom door still
remained locked and barricaded. Pale daylight streamed through the
thin curtains, dispelling the darkness that had so frightened her during
the night. She threw back the warm covers and opened the curtains to
see a bare castle courtyard. Not so very different from her view in the
Tower of London.

She turned from the window with her breath misting and lifted her
ratty cloak from the back of a chair. It was stained beyond measure, and
there were rips and tears over most of it. The cloak was hardly worth
mending, but she had to try anyway. She had no idea how long it would
be until she could find another to replace it. There was no thread and
needle in the room, so it would have to wait. All she could do was brush
it as clean as possible. Perhaps the girl Morgana could supply the necessary items to mend the cloak properly.

It was easy enough to restart the fire to ward off the damp morning
chill. Then she strapped on the weaponry and sat by the fire. However,
it didn't take her curiosity long to get the better of her, and she wondered what lay outside the door.

The hall was quiet, with a few cats moving in the shadows. No one
seemed to be watching her; even the cats gave her only the occasional
glance. Adele couldn't help but wonder who else lived in this sprawling
castle besides the three people she had already met. Well, one person and
two vampires.

The hallway wound through the castle, and she passed many doorways, open and closed, on either side. The majority of the rooms were
unoccupied, but all of the doors were unlocked. Nothing was forbidden
to her.

She heard sounds and cautiously approached, finding Gareth and
Baudoin as the source. The former sat alone at the head of a great table.
Cats mewled around the two vampires as if looking for handouts, while
Baudoin prepared a place at Gareth's left.

Gareth turned to her, although she had yet to step through the
threshold. "Good morning, Princess Adele. I told Baudoin to expect you
up early."

It annoyed her that Gareth knew even that much about her. "I'm
surprised you allow me to wander around alone. I could have walked
right out the door."

Gareth leaned back into his chair. "Yes, you could have."

Baudoin gestured for Adele to join them. She remained rooted to the
stone floor. The servant brought plates of sizzling eggs and warm bread
with fresh jam and thick rich coffee. The smell of it was overwhelming
to her.

A cat jumped into Gareth's lap and immediately curled up. It was
the grey-and-white cat that had spent the night with her. It presented
its chin for him to scratch. He obediently obliged the feline, which
began to purr.

"I hope you slept well," Gareth said to her.

Adele turned on him angrily. "No! I didn't! Did you? Did you laugh
yourself to sleep? If your kind even sleeps."

Gareth drummed his long fingers on the table. "There is no danger
here to you. You may rest easy."

"Why should I believe anything you say?"

"I can't ask you to. But I tell you again, I will see you home in time.
Just as Greyfriar promised."

Adele resented the pain that struck at the name of her onetime hero.
"Why? Why the charade?" she exclaimed abruptly. "The mask and the
glasses and the voice."

"I want to help."

"Help me feel a fool? Congratulations. Well done!" Adele strode
over and grabbed a long loaf of bread. "Am I free to go back to my
room?"

"Yes." Gareth drew in a deep breath. "You are free to walk anywhere
here in the castle. I beg you please not to leave the grounds, however."

"What? No chains?"

The vampire flicked a glance at her from beneath clenched brows.
"You are not my prisoner. I can only tell you so many times. You will go home. When the time is right. Go where you will. But please be
mindful that there are dangers about. I depend on your native intelligence to stay safe. I do not intend to follow you around like a jailer."

Adele glared at him and stalked out the door with bread in hand and
a sword in her belt.

The cat jumped down from Gareth's lap and followed her out, tail
in the air.

Baudoin appeared from the shadows. "Should I follow her?"

"No."

"What would happen if she left the castle and Flay found her?"

"I don't believe even Flay could've tracked her here by now. Even if
she did, everything would remain status quo. I would merely say that I
recaptured her from Greyfriar."

"Would your brother really believe that?"

"Of course. What's the alternative? That I am Greyfriar?" Gareth
laughed harshly.

"I did not mean any disrespect, my lord."

Gareth waved a hand at his servant, dismissing the issue. "I know.
This is just not how I imagined it would be."

"My lord?"

"I don't like that she feels betrayed. She is very angry and hurt."

"You are not in danger, are you? Surely she's not powerful enough to
strike you down. You mentioned she had skills."

"No," Gareth emphatically assured his servant. "I'm not afraid of her
attacking me. It's just that she's ... far more pleasant when she is not
angry."

"You like this human female's company?" Dismay rather than surprise filled Baudoin.

Gareth was lost in his own musings, unaware of his servant's horrified expression. "I find her most interesting. Full of life and vigor."

"I gather you're not referring to her as a delicious meal."

Gareth gave him a scathing look. Then he stood.

"Are you going to follow her," Baudoin asked, "like a jailer?"

"Yes I am." Gareth slipped from the room.

D STORMED OUT of the castle. She had no plan; anger
propelled propelled her. She had no idea what awaited her outside the
castle walls, but she had every intention of leaving and making her way
somewhere safe. There had been so many lies lately that she couldn't
trust anything anymore.

She followed the same path that had brought her here, heading
north toward the water and the boat. The city had been empty when she
arrived, but she now saw people. Lots of people. And what amazed her
was that they were performing everyday duties: cooking, cleaning, and
bartering. Adele had seen none of that in London. The humans there
were repressed, as if having no will. People here seemed content; some
even smiled. The only other time she had seen a northern human show
a happy emotion was the couple in Canterbury, Alphonse and Nina.
They hadn't known Greyfriar was a vampire. She wondered if the people
here knew the truth about him.

Adele finally reached the lonely sea and scanned the shoreline. The
boat was gone. Of course, he would hide it from her. She was a prisoner,
after all. Her anger seethed at Gareth.

As she slowly trudged back into town, people eyed her curiously,
and a few lifted a hand in greeting. Adele hesitantly returned their waves. Then hurrying down a street was Morgana, carrying a bundle in
her arms. The princess called out to her.

Morgana stopped and smiled. "Ah, there you are, miss. I went to
your room, but you weren't there."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I collected your cloak to be mended."

"You shouldn't do that. I can sew. I just need a needle and thread."

"No bother, miss. I'm just bringing it to 01' Mary. She'll fix it up
right."

Adele hesitated, then asked, "May I come along with you?"

"Of course, miss."

The two walked quietly for a bit until Adele's curiosity got the
better of her.

"How did you get here?" Adele asked. "To Edinburgh, I mean. Were
you born here?"

"Have you ever heard of Greyfriar? Human wonderworker. He rescued a number of us from the slave pens in London and brought us here.
He must work with Prince Gareth or something."

"Or something."

Morgana laughed loudly. "I'd most likely be dead by now in London,
a meal for the royal court or worse, if not for Greyfriar. And Prince
Gareth. They are gluttons there, and not one of them would stop before
they drained a soul dry."

Adele couldn't help sneering. "So everyone is safe and happy here?
Then what does Gareth eat? Dirt? Angels?"

"No. We offer ourselves to him."

Adele's expression of horror was raw and open. "You let him feed off
you?"

"Prince Gareth asks for only sips and none from the same person
within the year." Morgana bared her wrist. There were long-healed puncture marks. "It's a small price to pay not to be murdered in your sleep."

"My God! I would die before I let him feed off me!"

"I doubt he will ask it of you. There are too many who would give
it willingly."

"You're all insane. This place is insane." Adele pointed north toward the water. "And the boat is gone! He took it away! He knew I could use
it to get home."

"Where are you from, miss?"

"Alexandria." A sigh escaped the princess.

Morgana nodded knowingly. "That's near Berwick-on-Tweed, isn't it?"

Adele laughed. "No. That must be another Alexandria. I'm from
Alexandria in Egypt. In the Equatorian Empire."

Morgana whistled low. "That sounds far away, wherever it is. No
wonder you're out of sorts. But I'm sure there is good reason for you to
be here."

"Greyfriar brought me here from London." Adele's voice was laced
with sarcasm.

"Well, isn't that something, we both having that in common?" Morgana smiled warmly again. "Things will feel less strange if you know
your way around."

Adele eyed the servant critically. "Tell me the safest route out of the
city."

"Out? There is nowhere much to go that is safe."

"So in essence we're trapped here."

"Well, I'm not trapped. I live here. I'm content. But I wouldn't suggest you try to make your way through any realm not under Prince
Gareth's protection."