RBC06.50 - Marcella, Vampire Mage (14 page)

The dream began with my taking in a breath just before our party was attacked. I could ‘see’ men on both sides of us, but there was something else, much farther away. I could almost place it…almost. Then it hit me. Now wide awake, I sat straight up in bed.

Damien! It was Damien in the woods that afternoon! Damien was the traitor! It was
his
scent! That was what I couldn’t place! I had to tell Quinn; after tomorrow he would no longer be my Watcher, but for tonight he was, and I needed him. We had to get to Father, now! By the look of the light, it was nearly four in the morning. I asked myself, “
Why would Damien want to have us killed?”

Quickly, I dressed in my training outfit, leggings, boots, white long-sleeved shirt, and a leather vest. I tied my hair back with a strip of leather and strapped on my weapons.

The fire was low but still crackled; the candles had melted almost completely. I rushed to the door, expecting to see Joseph, but found the hallway empty, the flickering hall lamp casting shadows on the walls and floor.

Something was terribly wrong, I thought. With four girls inside, at least one Watcher would always be at the door, and now the hall was empty.

“Joseph?” I called. No answer. Should I go back inside, close the door, and wake the others? “
That’s ridiculous. I’m a vampire; I’m fast and strong, and I can take care of myself,”
I told myself. I had Joseph’s scent; he was around the corner. Why didn’t he answer me? Rosalinda was going to hear about this if I found that he was sleeping.

When I rounded the corner I could see him slumped on the ground. As I approached him, I sensed someone too quick to be a human, come at me from behind, but I was quicker. As the attacker grabbed for my neck, I ducked and ran for the stairs, drawing my blade as I moved.

“Quinn!” I yelled as I ran. “Gunter,
help!”

As I got to the stairs, a vampire I didn’t recognize was blocking my way. He hissed and rushed toward me. I rammed my sword into his side, his legs crumpled, and he fell to the floor. I heard footsteps from behind. I kicked the fallen body off my sword with my right boot and turned to deal a fatal blow across the neck of the assailant. His head fell to the floor. I turned to see the first would-be assassin rise from the landing, his sword wound healing quickly. I swung and dispatched his head as well. Gunter pounded up the stairs toward me, Quinn was right behind.

“Katrina, are you all right?” asked Gunter, looking around wildly.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

I was panting and still in a defensive crouch, but I
was
fine, better than fine! I had done exactly what I’d been trained to do, defend myself and those around me. And I’d done it very well.

“Joseph is dead, around the corner from our rooms. Gunter you’d better see if the other girls are safe. Quinn, I must see Father, right now.”

We headed toward the other side of the palace, where the Council had their accommodations. I was relieved to see Thomas and Simon in the hallway.

“Have you had any trouble here tonight?” I asked.

“No, not here. What’s going on? We were told that guards are to check every room.”

“The Watcher guarding Katrina’s room was killed and she was attacked,” Quinn relied.

“By whom?” Simon asked.

“No time to go into it now. I must see Father.”

Thomas opened the door; Father was staring out the window.

“Father, I must speak with you.”

“Katrina, what’s happened?”

He embraced me, and at once I felt safe.

“I was attacked Father, outside my room.”

“Where was the Watcher?” he asked as he looked angrily at Quinn.

“Dead. Father, I was attacked by fledglings.”

“Fledglings? But why? Who would be creating fledglings? Quinn did you get a look at them?”

“Yes, but only after Katrina had already killed them.”

Father looked shocked.

“It
is
why you have the Watchers train me, isn’t it Father? I don’t think my attackers wanted to kill me. I think they were trying to kidnap me. Something else, Father, I had dressed and was preparing to come and see you. As I left my room I found that Joseph, the Watcher on duty, was not outside my door, so I went looking for him and found that he was slumped in the side hallway. That’s when I was attacked by two vampire fledglings. But Father, the reason I had to see you was that I remembered something from the first attack outside the gates. I remembered the scent of someone in the woods with the Volator. A vampire. I couldn’t place because I had never ‘seen’ this scent before, not until we arrived here.”

I looked into my father’s eyes.

“Who is it Katrina? Who’s the traitor?”

“Damien. It’s Damien Daminov Father!”

He stepped back away from me and gave me a stern look.

“You’re absolutely sure, Katrina?”

“Yes! You’ve trained me well, Father. Everything and every being has its own unique scent, and once I match that scent, I never forget it. And how would Damien know what my gift is? He mistakenly thought he was too far away from us for me to pick him up. Once the frenzy started, he thought he would be safe, but I had sensed something was wrong very early on that afternoon and took a very deep breath.”

“That’s right,” added Quinn. “She started to use her gift about two miles outside the palace. I remember thinking that could only mean trouble and drew my sword.”

“What should we do Father? The son of the High Regent has betrayed us. But why would he try to have us killed and then try to have me kidnapped?”

“Without more proof we will only expose the fact that we know what he is and what he’s done. We’ll need more, and what of the fledglings? If we can prove he is making new vampires against all the laws of the Council, we’ll have more than enough evidence to convict him.”

“But why would he take such a chance, knowing that if he is convicted of this, it would mean his death? He must have powerful allies to do something this bold. He’ll be very cunning; we have to find a way to learn his plans, either through someone involved or by getting someone into his circle. We must find a way to get close to him,” reasoned Quinn.

“What of his Watcher? Anything going on concerning Damien, his Watcher must know.” asked Father. “Gunter must know Damien’s Watcher.”

I turned to Father, “The Council meets today. There has to be a connection between the  attack on the road and this one.”

“Thomas and Simon will come with me to the High Regent. We must not delay the Council. I’ll see to it that the meeting happens as soon as possible. Quinn, you and Katrina ask Gunter about Damien’s Watcher and set up a schedule to follow both. They must not find out what we know of their involvement, so be very careful whom you speak to, and beware of palace spies. Remember, Damien is very dangerous and has nothing to lose.”

Once we were alone, Quinn took my hand and led me to another room.

“I think I might know the reason Damien wants your father dead. I’ve heard rumors that this Council meeting’s real purpose was to choose a new leader. Today the High Regent will be stepping down. That’s why all the families have been assembled—to vote. Your father is the most likely to be elected to take his place, and I think Damien knows he can only become Regent if your father is no longer a candidate. Don’t you see, Kat? First he tried to kill us on the road, and when that failed, he tried to kidnap you. I think that by using you as hostage Damien thinks your father could be made to step aside. He could trade you life for the regency.”

“Oh, my God! He saw us in the stable; Damien knows about us, too.”

“The important thing now is to talk to Gunter as soon as possible. And somehow we have to make Damien believe we no longer involved, so he won’t be able to use our feelings against us.”

“You’re right. Quinn, I have an idea. Maybe
I
can get close to Damien. He seemed to be very interested in me, if only to get to my father.”

“No, Katrina it’s too dangerous.”

“Quinn, listen to me, as soon as the Council meets it will be too late for his original plan to work. He will have a backup plan, we have to find out what that plan is. If he made those two fledglings I killed, there may be more of them somewhere. If he can’t gain power through the vote, maybe he plans to take power with an army of fledglings. We are going to spread the rumor that we have parted. What if I can convince him that I am vulnerable to his charms because of our recent breakup? He may think he could court his way into power.”

“Who knew you could be so devious? We will of course explain all this to Thomas, Simon or whoever is to be your new Watcher, and I will insist that an extra Watcher be assigned—me—to secretly watch his every move.”

“Yes, of course. We can say you’ve been reassigned because of our ‘closeness’. Why don’t you send for Avery, Gregor, and Cedrik? We’re going to need more Watchers and we know that we’ll be able to rely and fully trust your brothers.”

“Let’s go find Gunter. He was checking on the other girls,” said Quinn.

We hurried back to my quarters, where we found Gunter speaking to a large group of Watchers.

Sarah was sobbing into her handkerchief. Her face brightened when she saw us approaching and she rushed towards me crying with relief.

“Thank goodness you’re all right. Something terrible has happened!”

“I know. Joseph is dead,”

“Not just that, Katrina. It’s the girls; Rosalinda, Eleanor and Arletta; they’re gone.”

“Gone?” I looked at Gunter, “tell me what’s happened?”

“We found a side gate unlocked, and we think fledglings surprised the girls in their sleep. Once they had the girls, they took them out that gate. With their speed, and obviously some inside help, no one saw a thing. Had you been in your room, they would have had you too, but the fledgling lookouts had the bad luck to run into you and didn’t fare as well.”

“Sarah, I’m all right, and we’ll get the girls back. Find me something to wear to the Council meeting. Gunter, Quinn, send a vampire courier for your brothers. We have need of them. Come Sarah, I need to change, and I’m feeling a little weak, so I’ll need to eat. From now on make sure all the food and drink come only from our stores; trust no one but our people.”

My mind was spinning. What did Damien want with the other girls? Was this just a ploy to cover the fact that his real target was me? When I didn’t come right back to my room, instead going to the stable with Quinn, it must have messed up his plan, so he came looking for me. When he saw us together, it was just a bonus to be used later, since he didn’t dare expose himself and try to capture me there. Our only advantage at this point is that I wasn’t taken and that we knew Damien was involved the in the girls’ disappearance.

Sarah brought the food in. The poor thing was still shaking.

“I didn’t hear anything and I was just at the end of the hall. I woke when I heard you yell for Quinn. I looked out, and all I could see was a blur of swords. Then it was over.”

“I told you I could take care of myself. The other girls were surprised in their sleep, but they’ve had training and will not be easy captives to hold. We will find them, and whoever is responsible will pay a heavy price, I assure you.”

I wolfed down the fruit, cheese, and meats Sarah had brought me and drank the Crimson in the small pewter pitcher. The Crimson quenched my thirst, and strengthened me, but adrenalin surged through my body and I longed to hunt, although I knew there was no time.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, Katrina. I don’t know if you realize it, but you’re splattered with fledgling blood. I filled the bath, get in and I’ll come in to wash your hair.”

“Quickly, then,” I said. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror on the way by; I looked like a warrior. It made me stand up tall and proud.

“
I think you’ve met your match, Damien,”
I thought.

After I was clean and clad in the simple dress Sarah laid out for me, set out for the Council room.

Once there, I found the room packed, and I could feel tension in the air. Council members were speaking to one another of the events of the day before. Guards were posted all around the perimeter, while the Watchers were posted along the back of the Council room.

The Council members arrived, solemnly entering wearing robes of dark grey. They were followed by the High Regent, dressed in royal purple. Once all were settled in their places, the High Regent announced without preamble, “We shall come to order at once, as we have pressing business to discuss. It has come to my attention that three of my Council members’ daughters were abducted this morning, and the daughter of Baron Von Dracek was attacked. A Watcher was killed, as were two fledgling vampires.” The Council room was filled with angry murmurs as the gathering absorbed the enormity of what they were being told. “We know no reason for these acts and are pursuing every avenue to insure the safety of our citizens and bring to swift justice whoever is responsible. As you know, the making of new vampires, fledglings, except under very special circumstances and by express permission of this Council, is prohibited and punishable by death. If whoever responsible for these egregious crimes thinks he can intimidate this council, he is mistaken.