Vampire Girl 3: Silver Flame (8 page)

There's a pause, where all I hear is her breathing. Finally she speaks. "Ari, what the hell is going on?"

"I’ll tell you everything when you get here. I just need you to trust me. I'm in danger, and you might be too. Because of me."

"Everything? You'll tell me every goddamn thing? No secrets? No lies? No half truths or evasions like last time?"

I suck in a breath, make eye contact with Fen, who nods, and answer her. "Yes. Everything. Just be ready."

Sly has already sent a driver to the address I gave him when I hang up the phone and hand it back to him.

"Thank you, Sly. I appreciate this."

"You're more than welcome. I look forward to discovering what kind of favor I can extract from one as talented and lovely as you," Sly says.

Fen growls under his breath, and for a moment I wonder what I've gotten myself into, but I can't worry about that now. The most important thing is that my friends will be safe.

"They should be here within the hour," Sly says. "Do they know about… them?" he asks, with a raised eyebrow at the princes.

"In a manner of speaking," I say. "But I'll need to explain a few things." Like… how I signed a demon contract and live with vampires and am half Fae and have to pick one of the princes to marry… and how they are now in danger from a vampire prince because of me. Yes, there will be a lot of explaining to do.

"In the meantime, let us get to the crux of the matter, shall we?" Sly asks, looking at each of us. "As much as I adore your visits, you are making the other guests nervous."

Fen stands and pours himself a drink. "Are you kicking us out, Sly?"

Sly holds a hand to his chest in mock shock. "I would never dream of it, but we must discuss how to fix your situation at home. Sooner rather than later."

I remember my fight with Oren. How I wasn’t fully myself. Somehow, my powers had taken over, and I had defeated an ancient Druid. "If I get more training, if I learn to control the powers within me, that could give us an advantage in a fight against Levi," I say.

Fen frowns at me. "This isn't your fight."

"Are you serious right now?" I ask him. "Of course it's my fight. It might be more my fight than anyone else's, all things considered. I may not have asked for it, or known what I was getting into when I signed that contract, but the fact is, my blood woke up powers in your world that are leading to a war, and I can help."

"She's not wrong, brother," Dean says. "We need her."

Sly stands and walks to the door. "You do need her, that is true. And I have someone else you'll need." He opens the door to a familiar face.

I jump up and run to the man standing there and throw my arms around him. "Varis, what are you doing here?"

The Druid pats my back awkwardly and then lets me go. He whispers into my ear. "I had to flee Avakiri after taking a stand against Oren." Then he speaks louder to the rest of the room. "Most of the free Fae have rallied behind Metsi. I am no longer welcome amongst my kind."

Dean stands and reaches for a sword that's not there. "You're not welcome amongst our kind either."

"Stop it," I tell him, and I glare at Fen before he can argue. "Varis is my friend. He's the Air Druid. He was kind to me, and he helped us in the last battle. We need him." I turn back to Varis, and Baron approaches the Druid and pushes his head against him. Wow. Didn’t expect that to happen. By the look on everyone’s faces, they didn’t either.

Varis pets the wolf gently as Fen watches with a frown.

"Are you all right?" I ask the Duird. "Have you healed?"

He smiles. "Yes. I'm well." He glances over at Fen and then back at me. "I see things have changed since I last saw you."

"Yes, it appears they have. Varis, this is Fen, Prince of War… and the Earth Druid, as it happens." I reach for Fen's hand and pull him over. "Fen, this is my teacher, Varis."

Dean frowns and stands as if ready to break into fight at any moment. "I know who Varis is. He's one of them. He fought us once upon a time."

Varis sighs. "I didn't fight against you. I just… "

"Guys, it doesn't matter," I say. "You all live too long to hold grudges like this. If you hate everyone who's ever been on the wrong side of a disagreement with you, you'll have no friends or allies ever. Varis is one of the good ones. I vouch for him."

Sly puts out his cigar and downs the last of his drink. "Varis can complete your training. You can defeat Levi. And you can all get the hell out of my hair and get back to your own worlds. It's a win/win for everyone."

"There's one problem," Varis says.

"Just one?" Fen asks with a raised eyebrow.

"We can't train here," Varis continues, ignoring the irritated man at my side.

Sly frowns. "Of course you can. I can keep you safe long enough to get our girl here up to snuff."

Varis shakes his head. "This world is too removed from the source of her powers, from where the Midnight Star first originated. Even Yami isn't strong enough to manifest here yet. We must return to…"

He pauses and I realize he can't talk about Avakiri here. Dean and Fen don't know about it, though at minimum I need to bring Fen up to speed. He is Fae after all.

"Return where?" Dean asks.

"To our world," Varis says, evasively. "To complete the training."

"We are wanted on our world. It's not safe," Fen says.

"There is a place that could be safe for her. A place she can train," Varis says.

Dean claps his hands. "Great, when do we leave?"

"The invitation wasn't for you," Varis says. "Just Ari."

Dean shakes his head. "No can do. She's mine for the month. Bound by a blood oath. No breaking it, isn't that right, Princess?"

I look at Varis, frowning. "I'm afraid he's telling the truth. I have to stay with Dean."

Fen crosses his arms over his chest. "And she's not going anywhere without me."

"That won't work," Varis says. "I can't possibly bring two princes of hell to… this place. It would be instant war."

"Then we stay here," Fen says.

"We could go to my realm," Dean offers.

Fen turns to his brother. "Where Ari and I will be hanged upon return?"

"No one knows I helped you escape, and they will hardly suspect me at any rate," Dean says.  "You'd be safe in my realm, at least long enough for Ari to train."

"Until someone recognizes us and reports us to Levi's men," Fen says.

"There are ways to remain unseen," Dean assures us. "Disguises. Illusion. It's the perfect solution. We get home, assess the damage, make plans, train up the princess until she can kick ass, and off we go."

"No," Fen says. "We don't go back until we're strong enough to defeat Levi. We can't risk it."

Sly yawns and opens the door to his study. "Okay boys and girls, you're boring me. Go sort this out elsewhere. I have matters I must attend to. This club doesn't run itself, you know. I—"

A loud screech interrupts Sly, who smiles. "Ah, Lopsi is awake. Time to feed my sweet pet."

"Your pet?" Dean asks.

Baron whines and stands closer to Fen and me.

There's another screech, and I shiver, wondering what kind of pet can make such a sound.

"Indeed. A darling little beast. I collected her as a gift from a realm known for their remarkable creatures. We're getting along smashingly." With a bow, Sly leaves, and the energy seems to get sucked from the room.

"What do we do now?" I ask.

Dean stretches and puts his drink on the table. "I'm off to enjoy some of the perks of being here. This is all too dry for my liking." He saunters out and Fen frowns.

"He needs to learn to take life more seriously," Fen says.

Varis turns to me, his face unreadable. "How is… Asher?" he asks softly.

"He's fine," I assure the Druid. "Caught in the middle of this, but unharmed last I saw him. Missing you, undoubtedly."

Fen raises an eyebrow at the exchange, but says nothing. Does he know about his brother's relationship with the Druid? It's not something we've ever had a chance to talk about.

"Varis, can you help me get Yami back? He was injured and disappeared. I haven't seen him for days." I've been holding in my fears about Yami for so long, it's a huge relief to talk to someone who might know where my baby dragon went and how to find him.

"He is young and weak," Varis says. "When injured, threatened or scared, it's not unheard for Spirits to retreat to an ethereal form while they recover. It shouldn't be hard to reunite with him once we return home. We cannot summon him here, however, not until you have much stronger control of your magic."

"Then help me."

Varis stares at me a moment, then looks at Fen. "So… the stories are true then?"

"What stories?" Fen asks before I can.

"When the last Earth Druid died, she was pregnant, this was common knowledge. It was assumed her child died in the battle, but there were rumors. Rumors that he yet lived and was raised by wild wolves." Varis looks down at Baron and pats the wolf on the head. "Rumors that he was taken by the vampires and used as a blood sacrifice to their gods. And one barely whispered rumor that he was the heir to the Earth Druid's Spirit."

"Did you know her? The woman who gave birth to me?" Fen asks.

I notice he doesn't say 'mother.' He clearly still isn't ready to accept who he is. I guess it makes sense, given how long he's been alive and how long he's been living with his current identity. He could argue that time makes this transition harder for him than it was for me, but I don't know. At least he already knew that all these beings and worlds existed. My entire worldview flipped and turned inside out when I met him.

Varis nods. "I did, of course. We were bonded by the Spirits, just as we three are now bonded to each other, and to the remaining Druids of Water and Fire."

"But--Oren's dead, right? He can't come back, can he?" Sweat breaks out on my forehead and under my arms at the thought of the Fire Druid coming for me. The way he cut into me with his blade of fire. The pain that ravaged my body. It's a terror that lives deep in me now, burrowed into my core memories. Fen reaches for my hand to calm me as I take a deep breath.

"He is dead, yes, and the Fire Spirit will have chosen someone new, someone worthy. So we have Metsi, who has her own agenda for the Fae, and one unknown who we must find," Varis says.

"Tracking down wayward Druids isn't my job or priority," Fen says gruffly. "We need to reclaim Stonehill and stop Levi before he destroys both of our kingdoms."

Varis tilts his head. "I think you'll find that to do one we must do both. But first, we must travel to a place where Arianna can access her magic. Without further training, she will not be useful in the coming war. And you, Fenris Vane, must move past your blindness and embrace who you are. You are not only the Earth Druid, but the blood heir to the most powerful Wild One we've ever seen. Your mother was highly revered for her ancient magic and knowledge of the Old Ways. You have her blood and her Spirit… you are stronger than you know. Your people need you."

"And who are my people?" Fen asks. "I've been raised a Prince of Hell, a vampire demon hated and despised by your people. You think they will accept me as a Druid after my kind nearly destroyed your world?"

"Times are changing," Varis says softly. "Our Midnight Star is half human and aligned with the vampires. Our Earth Druid is a turned vampire. We don't even know who our Fire Druid is. There are many of the Fae who resist these changes, who want our blood to stay pure, but they don't understand the truth of the magic that flows within us. It is not bound by blood alone. For our people to survive… all of our people, we have to broaden our minds and embrace a new world. I think we need to rethink our choices." Varis looks at me, and I nod.

"Tell him," I say.

Varis nods. "You think the Fae have been decimated. That all who remain exist in the Outlands. But you're wrong."

"What do you mean?" Fen asks.

"There is another kingdom, one mostly hidden from your kind," Varis says. "It is called Avakiri. It is Ari's birthright as promised ruler. It is your birthright too, as a Fae and Druid."

"If you could see it, you would understand," I say. "It's magical. Beautiful. They have their own tribes, their own stories and cultures and communities. There's more to this world than you know."

Fen looks at me with an unreadable face. "When did you go there?"

"When they kidnapped me," I say. "That's where I trained with Varis. I wanted to tell you about it, but we've had a lot going on. You travel there through the Waystones. I tried to call you there with your demon mark."

He looks down at his wrist. "I think I found a Waystone. But I didn't know how to work it. But… it's a futile conversation. Even if I was willing to walk into the center of Fae power—which I'm not—Dean was right about one thing. He has to stay with Ari."

Varis nods. "Until we know his loyalties, he can't be given access to this information. We'll have to find another way. Another place to train."

Fen does not look happy by this conversation, and the clock is ticking. Plus, Es and Pete will be here soon, and I need to get to them before anyone else does. Lest they go into shock.