Vampire Girl 3: Silver Flame (11 page)

A Fae looks up from his book, a monocle covering one of his eyes.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you," I say, crossing my arms, hoping to find more modesty in my dress.

"Disturb me?" says the Fae, and I realize it is Baldar, Dean’s Keeper. "You bring an old man company. Come, come sit."

I take his invitation and find a plush chair across from him. I glance at the book he was reading. Something about herbs and their proper uses.

"Can’t sleep?" asks Baldar, raising a giant grey eyebrow behind his monocle.

"Just wanted to look around. I…"

Before I can even finish speaking, he pulls out a bag from under the table and begins rummaging through the contents, mumbling to himself. "Not this one, no. This one? No. No. Definitely not that. Oh, yes. Here is it." He pulls out a small vial filled with a white liquid and holds it between us. "Two drops before bed, and it’ll keep the bad dreams away. Make you sleep like a babe full of milk."

I take the vial from his hands. "Thank you."

"Ah, it’s no trouble, my lady. No trouble at all. But… when you run out, come visit my show by the lion fountain. I have all manner of potions. To cure the cold, treat the aching head. Even something to entice the man of your dreams."

I chuckle. "A love potion?"

"Like I said, I have all manner of brews. Perhaps you require something for Prince Fenris…"

"Thank you, but we’re fine. Wait." A shocking thought comes to mind. "You know who I am?"

"Apologies, Princess, but I can see through the illusion. I am a Keeper, after all. But I promise, I won’t tell anyone who you are." He reminds me of Kal, and that puts me at ease.

"Thank you."

"Is he here right now?" asks Baldar, looking around thin air.

"He? Oh, Yami. Yes. He’s on my shoulder."

Baldar’s jaw drops so low it almost hits the table. "It is truly an honor to be in his presence. And yours, Princess. I’ve just… please, forgive my excitement. I’ve just never met a Midnight Star before."

"It’s fine. But I’m just a normal girl. Well, mostly."

"Of course. Of course." He doesn’t look like he believes me.

I try to recall what we were speaking of, and a dark thought crosses my mind. "How effective are these love potions?"

He leans back, casually relaxing in his wooden chair. "Depends on the herbs and the craftsman, but in the right hands, very."

"So someone can slip me one of these, and I’ll just, I’ll just—"

"Calm yourself, princess. These potions have limited effect on one already in love, and I suspect you are."

I let out a long breath, grateful I won’t have to pick Levi as my husband just because he poured some magic herbs in my drink. "Are Fen and I that obvious?"

He chuckles. "Yes. But, even if it were not so, the rumors of your… partnership… have spread far and wide."

"What do people say?"
"That the princess has already chosen her king. That Fenris Vane will soon rule all seven realms."

Man. No wonder most of the princes seem to hate me. They haven’t even had a turn, and already they hear of their failure. But the people are wrong. Even if I wanted to pick Fen, he would not forgive me for placing the crown upon his head. "I don’t know what I’m doing."

Baldar laughs. "And who does? Please, do let me know. I must study them. Create a potion to replicate the effects."

His humor brings a smile to my lips. "I just… I feel like the seven realms are in the palm of my hand, so delicate and fragile, and if I squeeze too hard, if I move too fast or stumble, I will crush them. Nothing I do feels right, and every choice feels on the brink of bringing ruin to everything."

Baldar nods sagely. "Wait a moment. I know just the potion." He pulls out a goblet from his bag and places it on the table. He fills it with golden liquid.

"What is it?"

"Eighty percent alcohol. Twenty percent something nearly as strong."

I laugh so hard I snort, and then laugh some more at my ridiculousness. Once I’ve settled down, I grab the goblet and try a small sip, fearing the concoction will burn my throat. Instead it fills it with sweetness and warmth, like honey coating my tongue. "Wow. This is amazing."

"Thank you. Thank you. Tis my own brew. Nectar of the Elder Ones, I call it. It’s the twenty percent that makes the taste, you see. Secret formula. The eighty is for the kick."

I take another sip, a big one, and already I feel the effects numbing my mind and body. "This could make a fortune."

The Keeper looks down, his face suddenly dark and melancholy. "Yes… yes it could."

"Did I say something?"

"No. No. You just remind of another time. Another place. I was not always a Keeper, you see. Once, before the vampire came to this land, I lived free, not far from here. My parents were of the Earth Tribe and owned a small home in one of the mighty trees that once stood in Inferna. They made a modest living, but worked hard, constantly. I spent most of my days at, well, I suppose you would call it an inn. There I would talk with the locals, and hear the most wondrous stories from the barkeep. I spent so much time there, eventually, he hired me on as an apprentice. I didn’t take much to cleaning tables and floors though. No. I had more devious pursuits. The mixing of drinks and liquors. At first, only the truly brave and adventures tried my concoctions. But, as time passed on, and my skills and ingenuity improved, even common folk would take a sip. Eventually, I became the most famous brewer in all Inferna. I’d pour drinks that’d fill your dreams with visions of grand adventures and trials. Mixtures that’d wash away all cares in the world and bring you back to your lover’s arms.

"I made a fortune. More than one thought possible in such a trade. And when I had saved up enough, I bought that whole tree that my parents had raised me in, and I put them up in the fanciest room, with the most glorious of views. They told me I’d done them proud then. And I told them it was because of their work and love that I got where I did. After, I was busy with work, so busy I never saw them again.

"For the Unraveling came. And when the vampires raided our city, they set the forests on fire, and the tree I grew up in, the tree where my parents lived… it lit the night up in flames. I still remember the shadows the fire cast. Of faces screaming. Screaming into the night."

Baldar wipes at his eyes, turning away, wearing an embarrassed expression. "Excuse me, Princess. I must have partaken too much in my own wares."

I reach out and take his hand. "I’m sorry for what happened."

"No. No. I have it far better than others. Keeper to the Prince. And I still get to brew my mixtures, even if they are more potion than drink now." He sighs heavily, looking at the goblet between us. "I think it is time for me to go, Princess. Time for rest."

"Thank you for the potion," I say as he stands up and puts out the lanterns.

He smiles at me, though whether it's genuine or not I can't say. "Sweet dreams, Princess."

It takes me a while to find my way back to my room. Once back in bed, I take two drops of the white potion, and it fills my body with calming numbness. It is only then that I see him.

"Varis?"

He stands on the balcony, his fur cape flapping in the wind. "We cannot stay here. The vampires will use you until there is nothing left."

I sit up, though the motion is difficult with all the herbs and eighty proof alcohol running through my blood. "Varis, I trust Fen. He won't let anyone hurt me."

The Druid shakes his head. "You will be safer in Avakiri. There you can rally the Fae. Give them hope again. Hope for peace. Not the rage and fear that Metsi feeds them. If the Prince of Lust must come with you, so be it. I know herbs that will make him more docile. We can bring him with us."

"I can’t leave. I must go back to Stonehill. It’s my home."

He looks away, seemingly unconvinced.

I pause, thinking of what else I could say to sway him. "I know the way you feel about Asher. I see it in the way you look at him, in the way the two of you talk. So I know you understand vampires are more than just beasts. They are people. Some I deeply care for. And I will not abandon them."

Finally, Varis nods. "Very well. We stay here for now. I will train you, and hope it is enough to keep you safe."

***

The sun is bright when I wake. And Baldar is standing over me.

"Apologies, Princess," he says. "But I was told to deliver a message as soon as you awoke. Prince Dean and Prince Fenris request your presence in the training yard today."

I nod, reminded of my early days in Stonehill, when I didn’t yet know what I would do in this world. "How's Es? Is she okay?"

Baldar nods. "She is well. Resting. They both are. I gave them a stronger sedative to help them sleep. After a shock such as the one they've had, they'll need time to rest and process."

"Okay, well, please make sure someone notifies me when they wake. I need to talk with them." To try and apologize… to explain.

Baldar agrees, then waits outside the room as I grab another white dress from the armoire, and slip it over my current one. It's a little less see through this way. More or less.

Yami finds purchase on my shoulder, and the Keeper guides us outside the palace, to a courtyard filled with flowers and warriors, honing their swordsman skills on wooden and stone columns. Fen and Dean stand around a wooden table, pointing at a large map and taking turns speaking. 

"We can use the secret passageway behind the waterfall," says Dean. "Sneak into Stonehill and catch Levi unawares."

Fen shakes his head. "He knows of the passage. Would have had it caved in by now. Or worse, set with traps."

"Valid point. Well, that only leaves a frontal assault. But no great army. I have few men left after the battle against Metsi and Oren, and most of them are deserters."

"They will have to be disciplined," says Fen, massaging his knuckles.

I join them at the table, wrapping my arm around Fen’s, and smiling. "They fled a battle that wasn’t worth fighting. We shouldn’t blame them."

Fen grunts. "They fled because Yami made them shit themselves."

My baby dragon stands a little taller, roaring into my ear with pride. I giggle.

"He’s back, isn’t he?" asks Fen.

"Yes. And he misses Baron. Where is the wolf?"

"Hunting." The way Fen says it, he seems quite jealous.

Dean steps up to me, uncomfortably close as he scans my shoulder. "Where is the beasty? Come on boy, you can come out. I need to congratulate you for pushing the Fae back. I was surrounded by fifty men, near my wits end when you roared in the sky and sent them running. Ah, there you are."

I flinch. "He revealed himself?"

"I see him too," says Fen, grinning.

I turn to Yami and pet his little scales. "What a good boy. Such a good boy."

Dean takes a turn petting as well, and my baby dragon purrs with joy. "You train up and get big now," says the prince. "We’re going to need you." Yami nods, squinting and trying to look serious. "There you go. Good little beast of mass destruction. Now, back to the plans. We need a bigger army."

"Best keep your voice down," says Fen. "Back in Stonehill, I discovered there was a spy in the castle, reporting back to the Druids. They may have ears here as well."

Dean nods, lowering his voice to barely a whisper, sounding like an old woman on her deathbed. "Very well, then. Let’s all talk like this. It totally won’t draw attention."

I chuckle, then look around, seeing vampires train, but no others. "What about the Fae? We could recruit the slaves?"

Fen sighs, leaning down on his elbows. "Slaves make for poor warriors. They either join the enemy as soon as possible, or fight with so little vigor they lose you the battle."

"Okay. Well, what if we motivated them." An idea forms in my mind, and I start to tremble with excitement. "What if we offer them freedom after a certain term of service?"

Dean looks more serious than usual. "Might actually work."

"Maybe," says Fen. "But the masters won’t be happy, if we send their slaves off to die."

"Then we lose support of the vampires," adds Dean. "Maybe even the Shade."

I chew my lip thinking. "Maybe we compensate anyone whose slaves leave to fight. We could pay them."

Dean whistles. "And who has that kind of coin?"

"Niam," says Fen.

"Right. The person least likely to help us." The Prince of Lust sits down on a chair, running his hands through his golden hair, mumbling about stupid vampires and Fae. Seems Fen and Dean have something in common.

Someone yells outside the courtyard. Then others join him. "What the bloody hell is going on?" asks Dean, already up and running.

Fen and I follow him out to the streets. Three men, vampires wearing leather and carrying swords, tie a rope around a man’s neck. "You stole my dagger, you dirty Fae!" says the biggest vampire, his face dirty with mud.

"No," pleads the Fae, on his knees, his neck red and straining against the rope.