CHAPTER 15
“Come,” the commanding voice I knew was the Vampire King’s echoed through the Main Hall.
It was the first time I saw him since I was too preoccupied being broken in half to notice anyone before.
He looked older than any of the other vampires surrounding him, as if he were turned in his mid-thirties while the rest of us were turned in our late teens or early twenties. His hair was a soft blonde that almost looked silver in the flickering torchlight. Deep, charcoal eyes set wide apart and a prominent brow. His broad jaw reminded me of the faces of ancient warriors in paintings.
Though I was sure this could change in an instant, Charles would have been very frightening if it weren’t for the quizzical grin set on his very expressive face. It made him look very young, and practically kind, despite the pointy canines that were permanently extended at full length.
Annabelle had told me that once. The Old Ones could not retract their fangs like we could.
“Are you intact again?” It was a funny way of putting it. He could have asked if the pain was gone, if I’d be all right. The weird thing was, his strange way of asking if I was better made perfect sense.
He asked with what looked to me like a genuine smile. I was mesmerized by his face, by his every movement. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
He didn’t look at me, but around the room like he was giving a speech.
“Yes, thank you,” I said timidly, and hated that I sounded so feeble.
Charles held out his left hand and the owner of the slender finger that saved me from the pain stepped up beside him.
“This is my consort, Delilah. You may thank her for feeling better now.”
Delilah was not beautiful, to my complete surprise. She was tall and thin, but awkwardly muscled for a female. And she scowled at me, but I wasn’t sure it was at me or if that was just what her face looked like.
I nodded my thank you and let my eyes drift back to Charles. He was much more pleasant to look at.
I hardly believed Delilah could even be Charles’s partner. First and foremost, he was unquestionably handsome and animated. She so was not. Their hair and eyes were a different color. Though her hair was blonde, it had no hint of the silvery tones his had. And her eyes were a bluish, which were deep pools of charcoal grey water.
“And this is my Servant, Ansell,” he motioned to the giant to his right, who I surprisingly hadn’t noticed until now. The extremely broad male looked absolutely nothing like Charles, mostly because he was twice his size and had dark, ruddy skin covered in thick, black hair.
I nodded again and scanned the rest of the faces in front of me, wondering if each of them would look different. They were all well muscled but oddly slender at the same time, and a little odd, with pale hair and blue grey eyes. They all looked like Delilah. Well, like Delilah, only more attractive.
“You look like you have a question, little one,” Charles tilted his head and leaned forward in Colin’s chair, still not looking at my face.
“I—” I began, and could feel Declan and Annabelle shift where they stood behind me, nervous for what I was going to say. It made me want to ask something more provocative, but I stuck to what I actually wanted to know.
“I was wondering why none of your family looks like you.”
He hummed and blinked a few times before he answered, “I have been Vampire for longer than anyone in this room, longer than most that survive today. Time ages us, in a way.”
“Then why don’t we all look like your family? Why is my hair dark and my eyes pale while your families’ are the opposite?”
“Because I am not your sire,” he said.
“Yes,” I continued, and could feel my family squirm. But they wouldn’t do anything about it. Ha ha, losers. “But we’d be decedents of you, right? If you’re one of the Old Ones.”
“Well—”
“Are there other families, then, like mine? Who aren’t—related—to you?” Interrupting was a bad idea, and I knew it as soon as the words left my mouth. But it was interesting, and I’d never had anyone actually explain any of this to me. I wanted to know everything all of a sudden.
“We are all related, little—”
“Of course, technically. But—”
And Charles gave a laugh that rumbled through the room. I knew it was time to stop.
“Did Colin teach you nothing? You are what, fifty years vampire?”
“Twenty,” I answered.
“And who is this enchanting creature’s consort?” Charles asked, but I was sure he already knew the answer. I got the impression he knew everything about me and my family. But I couldn’t understand why he would pretend he didn’t.
Declan took his place in front of Charles but would not look at me. I couldn’t blame him for being mad.
“Ahh, Declan. How interesting. Did she inherit her incredible gift from you?”
Everyone in the room knew Declan didn’t have to answer, that Charles already knew the truth. But he looked down at Declan expectantly, and waited for a response.
“No, Charles.”
“Did she inherit anything from you?” he asked with an eerie grin. I would never get used to the amount of expression on his face.
“Yes, Charles.”
“Yes,” he chuckled. It sounded like tires on gravel. “She did indeed.”
Then Charles finally turned to me and stared me down. Did he expect me to look away? Please. If I was going to die, I was going to do it with my head up.
“Do you know about your sire, little one?”
I glanced at Declan, though I didn’t know what I expected to see. His eyes were looking at the floor away from me.
“What’s there to know?” I finally said, and heard a few vampires inhale suddenly in the crowd. I didn’t understand why.
Charles looked at me, then chuckled like gravel again. “I forget how spirited the young are. It has been centuries since I have been in discussion with one of your age.”
“Um…okay?” I shrugged. I didn’t really mean to sound so rude, but I hated his tone. I couldn’t decide who was fuller of themselves, Charles or Colin.
“You are aware that sires pass traits and abilities onto their family.”
I nodded politely this time, eager to hear the story Charles was dying to tell me.
“I admit, I’ve always been fascinated by the phenomenon. Which traits pass on and which don’t. How one with no discernable abilities can sire a very powerful individual. I suppose what really interests me are anomalies. Contradictions.”
Maybe that was why he had so much expression, so much personality. I wouldn’t call him more human than other vampires. Maybe less even. But he had a very distinct, very illogical quality.
Unique had been the word Annabelle used. It was the right one.
And I saw now why he was bothering to take any interest in me. Oh sure, I was quite the anomaly. I could only imagine what Charles thought I could do for him.
“Declan has proven to be an enigma for some time, going against his true nature.”
“His true nature?” I muttered, doubting this could be the case. Declan was exactly what Colin always wanted him to be. Why would anyone act that way unless they didn’t have a choice?
Charles continued after an exaggerated nod. “You might know how difficult it is for a vampire, of any age, but especially as old as we are, to go against who they truly are.”
Another way I was normal? It sure would have been nice to know this before.
“I think I have an idea,” I said with a grimace.
“Your sire was turned by a particularly unruly old friend of mine.” Was Colin anyone’s sire? “His name was Patraicc, and he had to be put down for his rebelliousness. It pained me to do so, but as you know, feeding from a living human without authorization is, after all, forbidden.”
He glared down at me again, and I swore he knew what I had done. It
seemed like he knew I’d fed from a human among all of my other offenses. But I did not flinch. I had years of practice at keeping my calm while being belittled.
Colin loved to do this to me. His favorite thing to tell me was that I was pathetic.
“Patraicc liked to break our rules, any rule really. He had been free-spirited, I believe you would call it. My old friend did not want to be confined to our way of life. He wanted to explore, to learn, to see the world.”
“Unfortunately, when a vampire is on his own, the urge to feed on humans is hard to resist if blood is not readily available. It takes us over, one might say, and it can overpower if we don’t remain aware of it,” he said, then looked into my eyes. “Do you understand?”
I stared into him. Charles’s charcoal eyes were like looking into the depths of the ocean, and I wasn’t sure what to say. I got lost looking at him, and I knew he was reading me again.
There was a distinct feeling of this powerful, old vampire in my mind. Like the certainty I was being watched even though I was locked away in my room with the curtains drawn. And it came with a sound, like wind. But only the memory of wind, since the room was still.
There was so much I needed to keep secret from him. Charles couldn’t know about me feeding on a human, or that would be it. He couldn’t know what I’d told Will about us. He couldn’t know how much I despised Colin or how much I didn’t want to be Declan’s partner. Above all, he couldn’t know how much hatred I had for our kind. There was supposed to be a sense of solidarity among vampires. I didn’t feel it. Never had. If he knew I hated being a vampire, how much I hated being a vampire, I could only imagine how swiftly I’d be dead. Really dead.
But I was being irrational. Charles couldn’t read my mind. He couldn’t see my secrets. He could only see who I really was. I would thank Annabelle later for telling me.
“Little one, your sire has gone against his true nature most of his immortal life. His true nature is like his sires’, just as your true nature is like your sire.”
I’d nearly forgotten what we were talking about. His presence in my mind was overwhelming.
“Tell me, what made you think you could survive in their world?” Charles’s eyes flitted to Will, who was shackled to the side wall. This got my attention.
I made myself not look at Will. I knew he was alive. Looking at him would only confuse my focus. He was okay, for now. That was all I needed to know.
“There is only one world,” I said, making sure my tone was steady.
“For you, it would seem. For the rest of us, this is not the case. You, my little one—” I heard Declan crack his jaw at the words, “—are quite an oddity. There has never been a vampire that could feel comfortable communing with humans. And especially not one who could make humans at ease in their company.”
Charles turned his attention back to Declan, “Are you aware of what else makes your consort special?”
“Yes, Charles,” Declan said, only this time through clenched teeth.
“Would you enlighten my family, please?”
“I—” Declan began, but shut his mouth and finally looked at me. I narrowed my eyes, then childishly looked away and back at Charles.
“Out with it,” Charles said coldly.
“I do not know the word to use for it, Charles. And until earlier this night, I did not know she retained the ability.”
“What do you mean?” Charles leaned forward, the smugness wiped from his face and replaced with a sort of childish awe.
I had no idea what he was talking about.
“This ability you see in her, she had before. When she was—”
“Enough!” Charles bellowed, and it shook my eardrums.
Everyone stayed quiet, with wide eyes as we all waited for Charles to deliberate. He leaned back in his chair, folded his hands, then leaned forward again.
“Leave me with her,” he said, but no one moved. “I said leave us!”
My eardrums shook again as all of the vampires scattered quickly from the room. Declan slinked slowly from my side, reluctance vibrating from him.
I refused to meet his eyes.