The Devil's Liege (The Mathias Saga Book 2) (2 page)

Nossy glared. “I like my claws.”

Seriously? He was acting like more than a diva than Vlad usually did. Stuart walked past him and sat down on the sofa. “Fine, so call me.”

“Why would I do that when this is much more fun?” Nossy asked, that smart-assy tone in his voice again.

Stuart leaned back into the sofa, his wings trapped underneath him. “I should have known.”

“But you love me.” Nosferatu fluttered his eyelashes.

Enough already. Stuart grabbed a pillow and threw it at the vampire. Nossy ducked, watched the pillow bounce off the wall, and grinned.

* * * * *

Mathias followed Vlad through the hallways of the school. It was never easy, following Vlad. The man kept pausing every so often, and then he’d dart down another hallway that looked just like the one they’d just left. Sometimes, Mathias wondered how in the hell he ever learned how to get anywhere in this damn castle.

“Where are we going again?” Mathias asked. Vlad didn’t usually move quite this fast. It was out of character. The speed was anyway, not the twisting and turning.

Vlad did not stop walking. He didn’t even miss a step. In fact, Mathias was glad for his long legs. They were helping him keep up.

“I told you,” Vlad said. “It is a surprise.”

That’s just what he needed. Mathias was beginning to not like surprises very much. Of course, most of the surprises he’d dealt with lately had ended up with people trying to kill him, so his hesitation was understandable.

The hallways wound further and further into a disjointed maze. Finally, Vlad stepped in front of a massive door. It was a giant thing made of old dark wood and was arched at the top. He waved his hand in front of the door in a specific cross-like pattern, and the door opened with the skreetch of old hinges that needed oil. Mathias felt the sound flit up his spine. He couldn’t help it, he cringed.

“This,” Vlad pointed with his hand. “Is the Order’s library.”

Mathias stepped into the room and his mouth dropped open. It was circular. Located inside a turret. Books wound about the walls all the way up to the ceiling, far over their heads. He’d never seen anything like it. He wanted to stay there, maybe not forever, but for a long time anyway.

“Knowing you, Mathias. You’ll learn more digging up things yourself.”

Wait. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He turned around and looked at Vlad. “You aren’t going to teach me anymore?”

Mathias almost felt like a little kid who was about to be left away from his parents for the first time.

Vlad shrugged, and then smiled sadly. “There really isn’t a need. You know more about some of these things than I do now.”

Mathias rocked back on his heels. It was almost too much to process. Yeah, he knew things, but he was still only sixteen no matter how many past lifetimes he could remember. “You sure?”

Vlad nodded. “Anytime you want to come here, let me know. It takes a few times to learn how to get to the library.”

Mathias could believe that. His mind drifted back to the labyrinthine path they took from Vlad’s rooms. He’d be lucky if he didn’t get lost. Then, he nodded. “Who else gets to come here?”

Vlad smiled. “Order members only, I’m afraid.”

The way he said it, it was like he was letting Mathias in on a secret. Mathias blinked. “But, I’m not a member of the Order.”

He stopped himself from asking what made him so special. He knew the answer to that. But, what Vlad was doing was against the rules apparently.

“Not yet.”

* * * * *

Later that day, Mathias sat in his room pouring over books he’d taken from the library. It was kind of cool to know that he now had access to something the regular students did not. Not that his standing in the school really mattered to Mathias, but whatever.

His mind flitted to one thought or another. In a way, he was thankful for all the books, but the alone time was something he needed to get used to. The routine of getting up, meeting Vlad for breakfast, and then discussing lessons was something he’d taken for granted.

He didn’t really want to admit it, but he was going to miss Vlad. It had been bad enough that he no longer saw Nossy as much as he used to. That was to be expected, of course with Nossy now being king of the vampire world. He spent his day trying to solve a variety of problems. There just wasn’t time for anything else.

It still hurt though. Nossy had been his friend for so long. The old memories rushed at him like a wave; relaxing with Nossy at his home, learning about Lilith and her kingdom. To be honest, when Nossy first got friendly, Mathias figured he could use all the information he gained to his advantage. What a surprise it turned out to be when Nossy ended up being one of the few people he could trust. Even after what Lilith had done, Nossy was not at fault.

Though he knew she was dead, Mathias couldn’t help but think about her. She’d changed his life so much, both before his death and after. It wasn’t easy to flip that off like a switch. He still hated her even though he knew she really was dead.

Mathias sat his book down on the bed, got up, and left the room. Sitting around sulking wasn’t going to help him any. He needed to find something to do. Something that didn’t involve dwelling on stupid shit.

Out in the main part of the chamber, Mathias decided to head toward the throne room. Nossy might have the time to visit. It wasn’t likely, but he could try. Plus, he didn’t exactly know what else he could do with his time.

He leapt into the air, stretched out his wings and flew through the hallways. Just the feeling of having the wind flow through the little hairs on his wings sent a thrill through his body. If there was one thing he loved about being a vampire, this was it. Technically, he knew he shouldn’t, but no one could match his flying either. And, well, flying was better than walking anyway. It was faster.

He whipped though the twists and turns of the hallways. A few times narrowly avoiding students by mere inches. They stepped away from him though. He was considered untouchable. Kind of weird to think about. In a former life, that might have been cool. Now, though, he felt like it made him look like a pompous ass. Okay, sure he could fly, and okay, he fought well enough to stay alive until Nossy could kill his mother and save him. He wasn’t exactly a badass. Not now anyhow. The past didn’t matter anymore.

Finally, he reached the throne room, but there was no one there. It had an abandoned feeling about it. Mathias almost expected a tumbleweed to blow across the floor. Not that there were tumbleweeds in Siberia, but his brain couldn’t think of anything more desolate. The tapestral colors hung from the ceiling like they were supposed to. Mathias touched down right inside the door.

“Maybe he went to lunch?” He didn’t even mean to speak it. It just slipped out of his mouth.

Then, he saw it. Lying on the floor in front of the ornate throne was Nossy’s necklace. Well, technically, the regal necklace. The throne was cracked down the middle.

“Oh, shit.”

Chapter Two

Mathias closed his eyes and pushed with his mind. He sent what he hoped was a distress call to Vlad. He was still learning how to handle the thought talents. He was better with physical things. There wasn’t much else he could do. The throne being split and Nossy missing was bad news. It was a weird feeling to have his brain flex inside his skull when he did it and he thought he managed to send it out to Vlad alone.

He would have sent it to Stuart too, but he didn’t know Stuart well enough. Granted, yes, Stuart was Nossy’s brother, but he didn’t trust what he didn’t know. And, Mathias didn’t know what type of man he’d become. Stuart had been a little kid when Mathias had first met him. The list of people he could trust was getting smaller and smaller.

Soon, the elder vampire appeared, blinking into the room next to Mathias. Mathias was relieved.

Vlad looked over at him. “What’s going on?”

Mathias didn’t say a word, but simply pointed at the broken necklace on the floor. The chain had been snapped as if jerked from Nossy’s neck. Nothing needed to be said after seeing that.

“That’s not a good sign,” Vlad said.

No shit. But he didn’t say it. It wasn’t the time for that. “So, what do we do?” Mathias asked.

Vlad closed his eyes for a minute. Finally, he looked at Mathias again. “For now, no one knows anything. I’ll call in the guard to investigate. Do you have any idea who could have done this?” he asked Mathias.

Mathias shook his head slowly. “No.” It wasn’t like he’d walked in on the scene or anything, just the aftermath.

* * * * *

Mathias was installed back in his room. He guessed that was a good way to put it, especially when he was escorted there by two guards. They were meant to be protection. Vlad had simply motioned for them to follow Mathias back to his room. It wasn’t where he wanted to be, but he didn’t complain about it. Mostly because there really wasn’t anything he could do to help. Not yet anyway.

Still, he’d noticed things. When he’d been on the streets, he consistently worried about being linked to crimes via DNA. If it was discovered who he was, well, he’d get a one-way ticket back to his Aunt’s house. In his mind, almost getting killed by a pissed off vampire queen was preferable. She’d been that bad. He still remembered the look on her face as she watched her oaf of a son abuse him. Talk about a toxic family.

The vamps didn’t solve things the normal way. They’d charged into the crime scene and picked up the necklace. Mathias felt it was smarter to get any DNA evidence that was available, but he wasn’t an “expert”. He had to hope that there were vampire scientists that knew something about DNA and what to do with it.

But, maybe there weren’t. Maybe they focused on other things. Otherwise, they would have approached the whole thing with care. Whoever did this had been smart enough to know how it was going to be investigated. And, they’d been strong enough to overpower Nossy—bar none one of the oldest living vampires. They had to have done something to distract him.

Mathias froze. A thought crept into the forefront of all the turmoil in his mind. Maybe his dreams had meant something after all. He knew Lilith was dead. There was no reason for Nossy to lie to him about that. Still though, he had to focus. It was time to make a list.

He grabbed a piece of paper out of his notebook and snatched up a pen off the desk. “Okay. Who are the oldest vamps here?” he asked himself.

1.    Vlad

2.    Nossy

3.    Stuart

4.    Order members

5.    Lestan

6.    Nicolai Karsavin—Konstantin’s Dad.

It wasn’t a very long list, and without knowing who all of the Order members were, the list was flawed. Nossy was kidnapped, so he could be crossed off the list. But the others? Who knew. He needed to find out who was the most to gain from Nossy disappearing. He had to follow the money trail like his dad always said. But, he didn’t know where to look for that either. It wasn’t like there was a vampiric stock rating or something.

He had to stop thinking about this like a kid. Sometimes, his brain still hadn’t caught up with the past and the present. In body, he was an adult. And, he had the memories of his past life and the centuries he had lived, but what he knew about the modern world was still very short in comparison.

He still operated like he was still the runaway who was both afraid of nothing and everything. He could trust no one. Everyone was suspect until he found a reason to knock them off the list. Even people that seemed like friends can turn on you. Maybe his time on the streets had made him jaded, but these politicians of the Order didn’t seem all that different. He needed to collect what information he could from the few he really did trust.

The only thing Mathias knew for sure was that the people that did this—they were going to pay. Even if he had to do it himself.

* * * * *

Vlad paced around in his office. He felt too nervous to do much else. It was only going to be so long before the people knew of Nosferatu’s disappearance. He had to do something quick. The new “king” had to be named before someone else publicly announced their claim to the throne. He just knew that the one who stepped up was likely involved in Nossy’s kidnapping, but he couldn’t risk even letting that person in power for a short time to draw them out. What would he do if that person immediately imprisoned them all?

Choosing who would be king wasn’t an easy task on any day, but with something like this going on … Well, it was harder than it needed to be. The “king” had to be someone the people wouldn’t object to as well as someone the council couldn’t do anything about. Since he, himself, had ruled not all that long ago, back before Lilith seemed stable, he was not eligible. Stuart, maybe, but would be people really back him?

He stopped pacing, sat down in his desk chair, leaned back and closed his eyes. Could he live with himself if he did this? He let out a breath. Yes. Would he like it? Probably not.

He threw open the lower drawer in his desk and snatched a piece of golden parchment from it. Then, he signed away Mathias’ fate.