The Vampire Gift 2: Kingdom of Ash (15 page)

I’m blushing despite myself when I turn to Phillip. He has a coy smile on his face.

“What?” I challenge.

“Oh… nothing,” he says, both his eyes sparkling.

“Tell me.”

“I’m just glad that someone’s found love in the midst of all…
this
.”

My eyes go wide and I suddenly feel short on breath.
Love? No, I wouldn’t call it that…

But my body’s reaction tells a tale of the opposite.

“I want to see April,” I say, shifting the conversation away from myself. “I haven’t said more than two words to her since getting back. Do you know where she is?”

Phillip nods. “At the infirmary. I’ll take you.”

***

We arrive to find April lying in bed, a white sheet pulled up to her neck. She’s sound asleep.

“I don’t think we should wake her,” I tell Phillip. He seems more anxious than me to speak to the girl.

But at the sound of my voice she stirs. Her eyes open and she sits up.

“Eleira!” she says. She smiles at me. Then she notices Phillip, and her eyes become withdrawn. “What’s
he
doing here?”

Phillip flinches a fraction of an inch.

“He wanted to see you,” I explain. “As did I. How do you feel?”

“Good,” she says. She pushes herself up in bed. I can see the effort it takes her. With my new vampire senses, I can tell how truly weakened she is. Her heart is barely beating beneath her ribs.

Suddenly her head twists to one side. “Did you hear that?”

Phillip and I look at each other. We shake our heads. “There was nothing.”

“I swear, I thought somebody spoke…”

“It wasn’t either of us,” I tell her.

She shivers. “Weird.”

The connection flares in my mind. April’s still human. Morgan
confirmed
the voice the humans heard was real.

Before I can speak my mind April turns to me. “You came back.” She sounds almost angry. “After all we did to help you escape.”

“It’s not like I had a choice coming back!” I protest. I hate the judgement in her eyes.

“You were set free, and you returned to become a vampire,” she accuses. The resentment is clear in her voice. “Well done.”

I exchange a look with Phillip.

“Maybe we should come back later,” I suggest.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m… testy. I’ve been having nightmares.”

Phillip instantly takes a step toward her. “What sort of nightmares?”

A look of shame takes her. She draws in on herself. “They’re nothing. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“April, if it has to do with what I did to you—”

“No!” she snaps, going all on the offensive. “It’s nothing
you
or
your kind
could ever understand.”

She shoots both me and Phillip a scathing, hateful look.

“April, we’re your friends,” I begin. “I know you’ve been through a lot, but we’re here for you now—”

“
You
know?
You
? You, the vampire heiress? You, the girl brought into The Haven and instantly elevated above everybody? You, who’s been given such great power and done
nothing
to deserve it?”

“April—” Phillip tries.

“Don’t!” she snarls. “Don’t defend her, Phillip. You’re just as guilty of bringing her here as anybody else. You think I’d still be your friend, Eleira, after all that
they
put me through? After all I suffered for you, only to have you spit in my face by returning as you are now?” April’s voice takes on a maniacal inflection. Her words get louder and louder, until she’s almost screaming at us.

“But the time of Soren rule in The Haven is nearly over. You think your peace will last? You think your false equilibrium will be maintained? Oh, no. No, no. Soon, the humans will rise up. The humans will rise up and band together and they will
take what is theirs
. With The Convicted on our side and the rightful leader in His place—”

Suddenly she starts to cough. My eyes go wide when she coughs up blood.

Phillip is at her side in a flash, holding her while the fit passes. When it’s done, April looks at us with stunned, dazed eyes.

“I—I’m sorry,” she says in a small voice. “That… that wasn’t me speaking. I don’t know what took hold of me. I would never…”

She breaks off with a shudder.

I share a look with Phillip. He gives an almost-imperceptible nod. There’s enough understanding in his eyes to let me know what he suspects.

The Voice is responsible for April’s behavior.

“Phillip?” April sounds scared. “What’s happening to me?”

“You’ll be all right,” he assures her. “You’re still in recovery. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” He smiles and brings a hand up to brush a thin strand of hair out of her eyes. “You were very brave when you offered yourself to me.” His hand shifts, and he touches the underside of her jaw. “You’ve been through a lot.” One of his fingers applies subtle pressure to a specific spot on her neck. “You should sleep.”

April yawns.

“Sleep,” Phillip continues, applying that little bit of pressure. I don’t think I would have picked up on what he’s doing were it not for my enhanced senses. “Rest. A good sleep,
without
nightmares
,
will help you recover.”

April’s eyes drift closed. A few moments later, she’s sound asleep.

Phillip quickly ushers me out of the room.

“You did something to make her sleep!” I accuse. “With your fingers. I saw!”

“Keep your voice down,” he hisses. He looks around to make sure we’re alone. “Yes, I did, but it was for her own good. Did you hear what she was saying? About
rising up?”
He becomes deadly serious. “If any of the other vampires heard and told Mother, she would sentence April to death in a heartbeat. But that wasn’t her speaking. Somebody—something—took control of her mind.”

I think of the link Victoria shares with me.

“What happened here with April, and what we saw with the other humans, it’s no coincidence. When Mother sent James to challenge our Father, she drew attention to The Haven. For centuries we’ve remained hidden. But now there are forces on the Outside focused on us. I’m sure of it.”

He starts to pace the small space between us. “If the humans could be rallied against us, The Haven would crumble from within. They outnumber vampires ten-to-one. If a
real
uprising were to begin… it would be mayhem.”

“What about The Convicted?” I ask. “What did April mean by that?”

“I don’t know,” Phillip admits. “But have no doubt: all of this is connected.”

I nod.

“Mother knows this too, I’m sure of it.” He taps his lips in thought. “She’s unpredictable, but not stupid. James’s escape will only fuel her anger. She’ll be more likely to lash out.”

He takes hold of my shoulders and looks me in the eyes. “There’s nobody in The Haven as powerful as you, Eleira. That puts you at great risk of becoming a target.”

“If I’m not one already,” I mutter.

He nods. “Dark times are coming. “Keep your eyes open and your senses alert. There is a lot more to The Haven than you would believe. There’s a
reason
Mother’s been able to maintain the wards around this place for six centuries. I only have the most cursory understanding of magic. But I know that a single witch, no matter how strong, would not be able to keep up the wards by herself for this long.”

He shifts his gaze. “I’m not sure quite how it works. Magic is not an infinite resource. It drains the user. But The Haven is special. Maybe it’s the land, maybe it’s something else. Make no mistake about it: whatever Mother’s secret is, it
is
valued. And the more beings on the outside are alerted to it, the greater their desire to break through the wards will become. Maybe—just maybe—if you can figure it out, if you can gain Mother’s
trust
and understand how she does it. It’ll give us a chance to survive. Because right now?” He blinks. “It feels like we are on the verge of the first coven war in hundreds of years.”

JAMES

I break through the surface of the water, coughing and sputtering.

Before I know it, two strong hands grip my shoulders and haul me out. I’m thrown on the ground a dozen paces away.

I roll over, and see a dozen pairs of hostile, red-rimmed eyes staring down at me. Heavy cloud cover blocks the night sky above.

Somebody kicks my side. I grunt, and, in my blasted weakened state, curl into myself like a small child.

Laughter comes from the circle.

The collar is still tight around my neck. The silver, combined with the enormous impact from the dive, have me in a daze.

More kicks rain down on my body. I try to shield myself.

“Enough!” a stern voice rings out.

The kicking stops. A massive vampire strolls into their midst.

I gape up at him. He must be seven foot three, seven foot four. It’s not just his height that’s impressive. His entire body is knotted with thick, tight muscle, the sort I’ve only seen on a bull.

He speaks. “You are the one known as James?”

It takes a few moments for me to regain my breath. I push myself up to my hands and knees.

“Yes,” I finally say. “I am.”

“James Soren?”

“The one and only.” I spread my arms and give him a deep, mocking bow from my knees. “At your service.”

The strike of his club blindsides me. I go back down, sputtering.

“You will show proper respect, worm,” he warns. He plants a foot between my shoulder blades and pushes me to the dirt. “Or I will make your life a living misery. Understood?”

I mumble something I hope he takes for agreement. It’s hard to form words with all the raw earth between my teeth.

The giant bends down. He grabs my hair and jerks my head up. “We may have been sent to retrieve you,” he says. “But we weren’t once asked to ensure you were in top condition!”

He spits in my face. A surge of anger rushes through me but I push it down.

I can be deferential when I suspect it’ll save my life.

He stands, and pulls me up with him. “My name is Dagan,” he tells me. “You would be smart to remember.”

In the back of my mind, I add “Dagan” to the list of vampires I intend to kill.

“Where is The Ancient?” I ask when I’m upright. “He is the one who spoke to me. I need to confer with him.”

Laughter, bounds of jeering laughter, meets my proclamation.

“The Ancient is safe in The Crypts,” Dagan sneers. “What makes you think he would risk himself coming for you?”

“He can’t be,” I say. “I heard him in my mind. He could not have communicated with me through such a distance.
He
is the one who made the earth break. Isn’t he?”

“My, my, but you have a lot to learn,” Dagan grunts. He shoves a pendant from around his neck into my face. “You see
this?
This is called a torrial. It is a special type of object that can temporarily hold magic. It can also enhance a magical spell. The Ancient’s power flows through it.”

Is that what the chalice Victoria told me about is? A torrial?

My mind wanders at all the possibilities. The potential strength that something like that can give its owner…

Without conscious thought my hand moves to touch the pendant. But Dagan sweeps my feet out from under me before I can make contact. I fall on my back again.

“Never,” he growls, looming high above me, “try to touch the torrial again. I am the one it’s entrusted to. I am the only who will hold it. Any who defy me face
death.
”

A harsh silence falls from the surrounding vampires.

Struggling to keep my anger in check, I push myself up. I shoot a grudging look around the group, then say, “I respect a leader who can keep his soldiery in line.”

Dagan snorts a laugh. “Your
respect
won’t net you anything. Being quiet will. We came to retrieve you. Our mission is done. You are with us.”

He looks back and whistles. On his cue, another dozen vampires appear from the trees. I didn’t even sense them!

It’s the damned silver collar.

“If I might beg a single indulgence…” I begin. I hate grovelling, but I’ve known vampires like Dagan before. It’s the only way to get in their good graces.

Dagan looks at me. “Go on.”

“This collar,” I gesture at my neck, and roll my head side to side. “It’s not the most comfortable of adornments. A gift from my Queen Mother, but one I’d rather do without.”

Dagan grunts and nods at one of the other vampires. “See if you can get it off.”

A slender male who looks like he was barely a teenager when he was made separates himself from the group and comes up to me. He has dark, hooded eyes.

“I thank you, friend,” I say.

He doesn’t answer. He spins his finger for me to turn around.

I do. Once my back is to him, he mutters something in a strange tongue. The words are foreign, but the cadence unmistakable.

It’s the same language Mother uses when casting her spells.

The collar drops. Relief washes through me. I rub my neck and take my first full breath in ages.

I turn to face the vampire who freed me. With the collar off, I can take measure of his strength.

For a second, confusion mounts. This vampire… he’s barely stronger than a human! He’s weaker than even the weakest I’ve ever encountered—weaker than Phillip, weaker than any fledgling newly made. He’s so weak, in fact, that I doubt I could sense him were he more than a foot away.

But he can do magic.

I hold out my hand to show my gratitude. The natural hierarchy between us should make him jump to take my grip.

He only turns away and rejoins the ranks.

“Satisfied?” Dagan asks from behind me.

I turn up to the monster. He’s not as strong as I thought he would be, either. His strength is only a few small segments above mine. If a season passed in which I fed and he didn’t, I’d match his strength.

“Yes,” I say. “My thanks.”

He grunts and nods. “Now we go. I’ll let you roam free for now. But if you try
anything
…“