The Devil's Liege (The Mathias Saga Book 2) (9 page)

It pissed him off. He wasn’t dying. His brain would heal. The hovering Vlad was doing was driving him crazy.

He was getting tired of not being allowed to do anything, and it had only been a couple of hours. What was he going to be like a few days from now? He was going to have to figure out some amazing master plan or he would likely finally tip over and fall off the sanity edge. Mathias slumped back in his chair and watched Vlad open the door.

In the doorway stood Azazel and Stuart. Azazel towered over the shorter man by a good six inches. He was one of those people you could have imagined being a Viking. The plaits didn’t help, but he had that thick hair that Mathias had seen in movies and in pictures. The only thing he was lacking as a beard. He was huge, though Mathias had to admit that even he had trouble remembering how big he was now.

In his mind, he was still the scrawny, starved, street kid who would do anything for his next meal. He’d been so small then. It was hard to forget. Now, he was tall enough that he had to duck through some doorways. It was weird.

Stuart walked in first and Azazel followed after. Mathias straightened up in his chair. No sense in looking like a kid if he could keep from it. Plus, maybe it would also make him look healthier than he felt. He needed to do everything he could to be involved. He didn’t think he’d survive being stuck back at the castle with Vlad while the others went out to look for Nossy.

“Come. I’ll order some food. I have a feeling we are going to be here for a while,” Vlad said. He motioned for them to sit at the table with Mathias.

In a way, Mathias hoped it would take a while. If they were going to do something different than what he knew how to do, then he wanted to know exactly how they were going to do it. It wasn’t like Mathias knew any police procedural techniques for this shit. Magic had to be involved here, but he didn’t want them to choose something he didn’t expect. He didn’t want any surprises. Surprises could be bad things.

As Azazel stepped forward, there was something about the man that Mathias just couldn’t put his finger on. Almost like he didn’t quite belong. Whatever it was, Mathias was both unnerved and intrigued.

Vlad came over and sat down on Mathias’ right. Stuart sat across from him and Azazel sat on his left. Vlad made no more mention of food. Mathias was almost glad. The pain in his head made him nauseous. Besides, they had more important things to discuss than food.

With Azazel sitting this close to him, Mathias noticed that he was taller, even sitting in the chair. Azazel was thicker though. It was still going to take some time to get used to being full grown. And, who knew, maybe he wasn’t done growing yet.

Stuart cleared his throat. Mathias looked over at him.

“Azazel has some information that might be of use to us,” Stuart said.

Well, that’s why they were here wasn’t it? But, he said nothing. It was better to get on with it. Mathias turned his attention to Azazel.

“Like I told Stuart, I don’t know if it will be what you’re looking for, but I’ve had to use it a few times over the years,” Azazel said.

“Use what?” Mathias asked. This was the first thing that sounded like it had some potential.

“It’s a little spell that I came up with a while ago. All I need is something that belonged to Nosferatu. Now, the bad part is how the spell works.” Azazel sounded hollow, almost, when he said the last bit. Mathias wasn’t sure how to take that, but it didn’t leave him feeling good.

There was a beat of silence. Mathias glanced around, everyone had stopped moving. No one even blinked their eyes. It was almost as if the dread of the spell needed its own entrance.

“And what does it do?” Vlad finally asked.

“It tracks the prisoner through pain,” Azazel replied.

There it was again. There was more to Azazel than just being the dungeon master. Who else would think of a spell like that? Mathias was sure of it. He could feel it in his gut.

“Shit.” Stuart replied and slumped down in his chair.

Mathias leaned toward Azazel. “Explain it fully.”

Azazel looked at Mathias for a minute. His eyes were strange. Amber almost with a metallic sheen to them. They were not usual vampire eyes.

“The spell sends out a … pulse of pain that attacks the central nervous system of its target,” he said. “It is a repeating pulse that make a connection, almost like Magical GPS.”

Weird, but all right. He could sort of understand how that might work. “And the pulsing does not stop?” Mathias asked.

“Oh it will stop… when the target is dead or when I use the reversal spell. Or well, when the party is found.”

Mathias scratched his wing against the chair for a moment. It was a lot to think about. Did he want Nossy hurt? No. But, this was the best they’d come up with. The only other option was for Mathias to continue dissolving his brain. This, still, was faster because Azazel already knew how to do it. Like he’d said before, it wasn’t pretty.

“Does the focal object have to be something that Nossy owns now?” Mathias asked.

“What do you mean?” Azazel was staring at him.

“I mean, does it have to be something he owned before he was kidnapped or could it be something that meant a lot to Nossy when he gave it to me?” Mathias had a very specific thing in mind. Something that meant a hell of a lot to both of them.

Azazel blinked. “Interesting idea, but it must be something that actually belongs to Nosferatu.”

Mathias twitched. It figured. He might as well stop trying to put his own stamp on all this shit and just let them do what needed to be done. “Any chance you know how to get into Nossy’s rooms?” Mathias asked Stuart.

Stuart laughed. “You’re in luck, tiny bat.”

Azazel looked from Mathias and back to Stuart again. “Tiny bat?”

Mathias wanted to crawl into the table and disappear. Leave it to Stuart to bring up one of his most embarrassing failures. No way was he going to explain it to anyone. He buried his head in his hands. “Long story.”

Azazel snorted.

“So, off to Nossy’s rooms?” Stuart asked.

“Lead on.” Vlad waved his arm and the door to the chambers opened by itself.

* * * * *

Mathias didn’t wait. He jumped out of the chair and left the room before Vlad had a chance to tell him not to. If he was going to help find Nossy, then he needed to know how all of this was going to work. Mostly, he figured, because Nossy would ask him about it. Vlad and the others could worry about the ramifications for a change.

He felt responsible. If he’d been thinking of more important shit, maybe he could have kept Nossy from getting kidnapped. Or, at least tried to stop them. Something. Instead, he’d been wrapped up in his own selfish world. He needed to grow the fuck up. That’s exactly what he needed to do. Enough with the whining about his past and how he almost died because of Lilith. He needed to grow a set.

Who knew what condition Nossy was in? And if he was in a lot of pain already, what would the spell do to him? It sucked. But, he knew Nossy would likely do anything to get out of the situation he was in. He just hoped that the vampire would understand once they found him.

Mathias started walking down the hall in the direction of Nossy’s rooms.

“Not so fast,” Vlad said.

Mathias felt himself snatched backward by the collar of his t-shirt. Mathias jerked the fabric out of Vlad’s hand and turned around. “What?”

“We just got you out of the infirmary. I hardly think you need to be rushing around.”

Mathias rolled his eyes. So, he felt like shit? He’d definitely been in worse health before, if his starvation on the street was any indication that is. “It was about two hours ago.”

Stuart came up from behind Vlad and snorted. “What is it about this jaunt that makes you think you have to go?”

Mathias steeled himself. It really wasn’t any of the bastard’s business. “I owe it to Nossy.”

“Nossy’d be right here with us telling you to go back to bed,” Stuart said.

“I wasn’t in bed,” Mathias replied. But, he could see now that whatever he said wasn’t going to make any difference.

“Yeah, you look like hell,” Azazel said. “Better rest now. I promise I won’t do the spell until you’re awake.”

That was not going to be how it was going to happen. If they were going to make him sit there while they went off to find something to work the spell with, then they would just have to wait to do anything so he could see it all. “No, you’ll do the spell when you get what you need. Wake me up.” Mathias stared him, making sure the point came across.

Azazel nodded after a minute. “Fair enough.”

“Good.”

* * * * *

Nossy blew at the material in front of his face. It didn’t move all that much anymore. Even that gesture was taxing. He felt so awful, like his stomach was trying to eat itself. He tried to adjust his position again, but it was painful.

Lying on his side was the best he could get. If he lay on his back, he hurt his broken wings and smashed his hands where they were tied behind him. If he lay on his stomach, his face was forced into the floor. At least, on his side, only one arm was crushed under the weight of his body. And, no matter what position he was in, his tender bones dug into the floor. So, he blew at the fabric again.

If he could just heal, use his powers to get out of there, but his kidnappers had been smart. Without food, he was crippled, and while he’d been unconscious, and from the shape of his body and the pain he felt, they had made sure that his body no longer healed before they brought him to this place. They’d made escape impossible.

Suddenly, he got an idea. It wasn’t the best idea in the world, but maybe, he could help things a little by getting this damn sack off his head. Plus, it would give him a little more movement. He sucked in as much air as he could, pulling the sack close to his mouth. Then, he grabbed at the fabric with his fangs.

The rough texture of the bag had a strange tang to it and it felt fuzzy on his tongue. He used his tongue to press the bag further onto his teeth. Thank Father they caught. He exhaled while clenching the fabric. He pulled his head down to his chest then spit out the fabric. He felt the hood move a little.

He took several deep breaths. His heart was hammering in his chest. Something to give him hope. This was the most he’d accomplished in all the days he’d been there.

Then, he raised his head up again … and felt the bag move back.

“Fuck!” He felt like slamming his hands into the floor, but he stopped himself. He was too weak to do it. If he tried, he’d probably shatter his hands, and that would be one more thing that needed to heal when he got rescued. If he got rescued.

If he could escape, he would, but he was stuck. Normally, he wouldn’t use Mathias’ language, but in this moment, it was fitting. In fact, if it would help him to get out of there, he would use the sailor’s speech more than any being had heard before. Too bad he knew that none of it would help him one iota.

He forced himself to calm down. Getting himself worked up wasn’t helping anything. More than likely, he was using even more energy than he needed to.

It was time to try again. He arched his head back and repeated the process, when he got his fangs sunk into the fabric he pulled his head down to his chest again. Then, he rested his head on the floor and pressed it so that he could control how much the fabric moved when he readjusted his head.

This time, he gained more traction. He kept repeating the process, over and over. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he pulled the last of the fabric off the top of his head. He shook it and managed to dislodge the fabric from his neck. The bad part was, he still couldn’t see a damn thing.

Wherever he was, they made sure no light entered the room. Even with his vampiric night vision, he could not detect any light. He was either very underground or they were very clever. And maybe, it was a little bit of both.

Nossy pushed his knees to his chest and rolled himself around until he was sitting upright. At least now he could breathe a little more freely, not that he needed to breathe, but it was one thing he could latch onto for comfort. His wings felt like crushed pop cans.

* * * * *

Vlad led the posse up to Nosferatu’s chambers. Mathias was going to be the death of him. He just didn’t understand his lack of regard for himself. In a way, it was sweet that he cared so much for his friend that he was willing to risk his own life, but that had implications the boy didn’t understand. It was going to take some doing to get the boy to cooperate. And, how he was going to manage it, he had no idea.

“So, what do you think we should use for the spell?” Stuart asked.

“Anything small. Hopefully, something Nosferatu will not miss,” Azazel said, following the other vampire to the rooms.

“Why?” Vlad asked.

“Because whatever we choose will be destroyed during the course of the spell.”

Vlad asked no more questions. He just hoped that whatever they chose, Nossy could stand to miss. If they inadvertently chose something that meant a lot to the old bat, well, that was a risk they were going to have to take.

Finally, they reached Nossy’s door. It was chilly this high up in the castle. The windows would need to be repaired come spring. And, eventually, when he got around to it, he would arrange to have heating installed up in this section.