Juliette turned her head one way and the other. Her eyes rested on Tristan's, her golden eyebrow arched up.
"Ah, Juliette,” Tristan said with a sigh, “we were all around before the days of television. He described the first couple hundred years of my existence."
She squeezed her eyes tight. "Oh. I should have thought of that." The warmth of Tristan's hand covered the back of hers.
"Would you like to do some archery?" Tyr asked Juliette. "You brought a bow. One of my carvers got his hands on it, and I'm afraid he whittled a bit. It functions fine."
Juliette's eyes opened wide. "Where did he do?"
"Come. We will go to the range. Everyone is free to explore the town. The library is the only all-wood building. Stay within the stone border."
Juliette, Tristan, and William followed Tyr to the archery range. Another vampire handed Tyr the bow he had been rubbing with a cloth. Tyr presented it to Juliette.
"Oh, it's beautiful!" She sighed and ran her fingers over the polished grip, noticing the sheen even in the deep shade of the leaved canopy. Different shades of wood had been laid into the yew, creating a floral pattern common in the village. "How did this happen so fast?"
"Hundreds of years of practice, Miss," the carver answered.
Juliette plucked an arrow from the quiver set beside her. Deftly she nocked the shaft, drew back on the string, and took aim at a hay bale fifty yards away. Her eyes searched for something to consider a target but didn't find one. "Aiming for dead center," she told them, and released the string. The arrow sailed through the air and landed where she called. She swiftly pulled a couple more arrows and aimed them at the same time. "Two inches inside opposite kitty corners." She let go of the string again.
"How did you learn to do that?" William asked, wide eyes staring at the arrows on their targets.
"Did you think I was kidding about using this thing out in the forest?"
"Actually I did. I'm sorry I underestimated you."
Tyr opened a large cabinet holding a few dozen more bows in all sizes and hundreds of arrows in leather quivers. Juliette helped Tristan and William select the proper equipment, and she gave William the same lesson she had given Tristan.
"You are quite good at this," Tyr said with awe after she had loosed dozens of arrows against the hay bale, destroying it. "Shall we continue on?"
They followed him to a silo about ten feet in diameter with a spherical roof, one side half cut away. In the middle facing the standing wall, a vampire woman began to sing but stopped to correct herself. Outside stood several others offering words of advice.
"Voice practice," Tyr told them. "Decent acoustics."
A pretty brunette skipped over, her burgundy gown bringing out the berry tint in her cheeks. "Good day! I am Corisande. I heard we had a couple guests." Her eyes flicked between Tristan and William, ignoring Juliette's presence.
"Get back over here!" another young one said, looping arms with her, dragging her off. "Excuse her, she's excited about some new men. You know how it is."
"Raina, we never get new ones," Corisande whined.
"Back to rehearsing," Tyr chuckled with a wave. "Pardon her. As you can imagine, we do not have guests often. Some of our younger members grow tired of the pickings.”
Walking past the singing silo, Tristan scanned the village. "How do you do it? This place is extremely calm. I don't get the sense of much tension among the residents."
Tyr led them to the side of a small, low building before answering. He spoke softly. "When everything you have in the world is what is within our borders, you learn to pick your battles wisely rather than to cause rifts. We aren't the only vampires on this great planet, but we're all we have. Our friendships and relationships cannot be replaced. So we work through problems in a calm and respectful manner, and let go of the small things that don't matter. We have an industry that doesn't use money. We are a very large family, and our contributions are equal and necessary. We are a village of peace."
The door swung open on leather hinges. Merry voices drifted out.
"Tyr! Bring your company in here!" a middle-aged vampire called out.
Juliette stepped in first. "Wow!"
The room was full of many folds of fabrics in dozens of earthen tones. Cottons, silks, wool, pallets of leather. One wall was packed with clothing. Dresses, breeches, tunics, even boots. Juliette couldn't read the faded piece of parchment above each stack. Several men and women sat around holding cuts of fabric and pinning pieces together.
"This is our clothing house," Tyr told them. "When something is needed, we come here and are assisted. Dyeing happens in the back, sewing inside."
Juliette lifted the sides of her billowy skirt. "So this was made by one of you? It's beautiful! I wondered where it came from. I feel like I'm a wood nymph in a fairy tale."
Tristan tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "You look like one."
"Before they get a chance to start making out, should we find the others?" William asked Tyr.
"Oh, let them have their young love. It doesn’t last forever."
* * *
Jareth sat in a corner leaning close to a vampire, the weathered wood of the bookshelves behind his companion complementing her fiery hair. They read over the same book and spoke in whispers. Sunil, Emma, and Gabrielle studiously read various texts. None of them paid attention to the door when it opened.
"I take it you're enjoying our collection," Tyr said, peeking over Sunil's shoulders. "Yes, quantum mechanics is fascinating."
Sunil shook his head. "I cannot believe what I'm finding here. Sciences, mathematics, history of the Americas, history of India--"
"History of Middle Earth," Emma said, lifting her book to show them the cover.
Tyr chuckled. "Well, we do enjoy classic literature and epic tales. One of my favorites is 'Vanity Fair.' The character Ms. Sharp reminds me so much of a woman I once knew."
"Aw! I want to know more about your Becky." Juliette patted his arm.
Gabrielle closed her tome and stood up. "Well, as wonderful as this place is, we have a whole village to explore, not only the library. I think we need to consider where we go from here."
The redhead with Jareth quietly excused herself from the building, leaving the outsiders and Tyr alone.
"We face no harm, though I appreciate your concern. You may stay as long as you like."
"We thank you for the offer," Gabrielle replied, speaking on behalf of them all. "But we should probably not delay in returning home and resetting our roots. We've had too long without anything resembling normalcy for us.”
Tyr stared through the window at the unending shade of a village that never saw more than the smallest, briefest ray of direct sunlight. "My world may be dreary to you. I bid you to stay a few days. Rest, maybe rethink staying, and experience our nights."
* * *
In this sphere of frequent parties and frolicking, days were long and nights were longer. After only a few of them, the village was bidding them farewell with a variety show. The redhead they had seen in the library had taken to the stage to perform an act of a circus master. She called out for a volunteer. Jareth's hand shot up as he stood. She pointed her wooden baton at him. He tripped over his own feet in his hurry to get to her side.
William slapped his knee and doubled over in laughter as Ash snorted, failing to keep composure. Even Gabrielle smothered a laugh.
"What's so funny?" Juliette asked.
Tyr gently tapped her with his staff for her attention. He was shaking too, his eyes gleaming. "My dear, that fellow is quite enamored with Jessica. He is like a teenaged boy."
Juliette whipped her head around to gawk at Jareth's clumsy attempts to do as commanded. His lopsided grin, forward-leaning posture, and eager nods made him quite the spectacle to those used to seeing him aloof. The one called Jessica kept closer to him than necessary, her own emerald eyes as bright as the smile on her face. Juliette wasn't sure if the two participants on stage even reme
mbered they had a large audience.
"Aw, Jareth's in love!" Juliette sighed.
"He's not the only man in love around here," Tyr whispered into her ear.
Juliette turned to ask what he meant, but he was staring at Tristan. She looked up into Tristan's face, his soft gaze and very small smile revealing the depth of his feelings for her. Her cheeks flushed while her lips curved upward. Shyly she lowered her eyes to her lap. The raucous laughter from the audience and the act on stage fell on ears deaf to everything but the sound of her heart. Tristan gently tipped her chin upward so their lips were inches apart, their eyes locked.
Lost in their own private world, they didn't realize Jareth had returned and grew surly upon seeing them. They didn't notice Cian approach the throne, nor that he leaned down and spoke quiet words to the man sitting on it. They did not see Tyr's hand tightly grip his staff, turning his knuckles whiter than they already were, his jaw clenched, his nostrils flared, his eyes darting between them.
"Excuse me," he told them all, his voice tight. Tyr stood and rushed through the doors with the guard by his side.
The magical heat in the village grew as cold as the air outside of it, sucking Juliette and Tristan back into the world shared with others.
"What do you think is wrong?" Ash said too softly for all but those nearest him to hear.
Sunil leaned his head toward the center of the small group. "Could it be the skin-walkers?"
Jareth huffed and threw his hands up. "What else? Of course it's going to be skin-walkers!"
The quiet vampires all around them began to murmur.
"Skins?"
"They don't even exist anymore, do they?"
"Did they lead skin-shifters here?"
"But they can't get in."
"We're safe--"
"One bite if they’re wolves is all it takes.…"
"Jareth!" Emma hissed, slapping his arm. "Sunil was being quiet for a reason!"
Jareth looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Almost bored, he said, "They're going to find out sooner or later."
"It should have been later!" a voice boomed behind them, putting a stop to all talk. Tyr had returned, fury evident in his rigid posture and stern tone. "Everyone go to your homes. Meet here at sunrise. That is an order." Tyr pointed with his staff at the newcomers. "You lot, you come with me."
Wordlessly they followed him inside and down a hall they hadn't been through before, into a room smaller than any other they had seen. A long oval table around which a dozen chairs took most of the space. Guards and trusted members of Tyr's staff lined the dark stone walls. They waited with no more knowledge than those who had just arrived.
Tyr sat in the largest chair at the head of the table and motioned for them to sit down. A small vampire, who couldn't have been a teenager when he was bitten, stood with his back pressed into a corner, his eyes wide in his lightly freckled face.
"We have a traitor, a coward. He sent a child to deliver his message." Tyr beckoned toward the vampire. "Adhelm, tell our guests what Calvin told you."
Adhelm bit his lip and wrung his hands. Trembling, he took a couple steps forward. "Well, um, he told me our coven's days are numbered and there are about five hundred skin-shifters with him, and the leader is named Nate, and they’re all wolves. I saw them. He said if we send out Juliette first and surrendered quietly after that, then the wolves would make our deaths quick and easy. If I don't go back with her by the end of seven days, then on the seventh sunset, the leader is going to declare war and Calvin will lead them in. He has us surrounded."
"My god," Gabrielle whispered.
All those in the room looked at Juliette. Cian asked, "If we deliver her, might it buy us time?"
"What? No!" Juliette squealed, shaking her head. She reached for Tristan's arm and, in her panic, dug her nails into his flesh. "No! Tristan, don't let them send me to him! It won't work! Please no!"
Tristan stood and dragged her from her chair, holding her protectively in his arms. "You are not taking her! Nate has hurt her enough. You'll have to take me to get to her."
Jareth rested his hands flat on the table. "She and Nate, the leader of the mutts, used to date. If you send her and the rest of us surrender, he'll still draw it out. That's how he is.”
Tyr's eyes were wide with his mouth forming an O. He leaned back in his seat and sighed. "I'm surprised you'd think I'd even consider serving her on a platter. I would not sacrifice her any more than anyone else. Do you hear me, Cian?"
"But, Sir--"
"No," Tyr told him sternly. "We will not start sacrificing. We will figure out a better plan."
"What do we do, Sir?" Cian raised his voice and slammed his own staff into the ground with a loud crack. "We use her to distract them and buy us some time, or we, a village forbidden from acts of violence, try to take up arms and fight. We have sixteen guards and hunters with any experience in defense, but none against creatures whose bites assure our deaths. We fled across the open sea to seek a life of peace. Sixteen cannot protect against five hundred. It would be a madman's war to try."
William laid his hand on his chest. "We stand by you, Tyr. On the outside, I had a job as a bouncer, a kind of guard. Allow me to pledge my service to you now. I will do as you ask."
Ash stood and walked to William's side. "As will I."
Jareth united with his brothers. "We're not sending Juliette out, and we're not running. Command us."
“You’re with us for once?” William’s eyes widened.
“This one time.”
Gabrielle, Sunil, and Emma silently joined them.
Tristan secured his hold on Juliette. "We lose everything if we do nothing. I’ll fight to the death.”
Realization that she would not be sent away and had a team by her side filled her with courage and hope. Her love for them refused to let her wait idle and watch them head off to face possible death. From a distance, with her bow, she resolved to do her part.
Her recent fear forgotten, she removed herself from Tristan’s arms to go stand beside Tyr. She faced her family, the guards, and his council. Slender hands slapped down on the hard table, her body leaning forward. The fiery passion in her eyes kept the room silent.
"If they want to pick on those with everything to lose, then they will regret their mistake! Let us cultivate new skills every possible moment. You night-dwellers do not sleep as it is. Practice the art of physical combat, and I'll train whoever does not take a form that can engage them directly. Let us face this threat head-on and fight. Together we outnumber them."
Cian leaned toward her. "You do not understand, Miss. One single bite from a werewolf kills a vampire. We cannot go near them."
Juliette stood straight and crossed her arms. "If you do not even try, then you are a sitting duck and will die anyway. Would you rather go down trying to protect yourself and your village, or cowering in fear, waiting for your turn to meet the grim vampire reaper?"
The guard stepped back, his silence an admission of his defeat.
Tyr stood tall and rested a heavy hand on Juliette's shoulder. He gave her a small smile before looking around the room. "Gentleman, and ladies, she is right. So in seven days, our peaceful village will have a war."
22. Trepidation
Candlelight flickered and cast wavering shadows around Juliette, guiding her back to the low stone castle. She rubbed her chest, used to the brushed suede on Tristan, but not herself. The new fitted cream-colored leggings gripped her legs in a way foreign to her after the billowing cotton of the gowns she had been wearing. Such flowing fabrics would hinder the ability to fight and had to be abandoned.
Vampires hustled through doorways, speaking low to each other and shooting her frustrated glances as she walked toward the meeting room. She curtly nodded at Tyr as he passed and continued.
Juliette pushed against the door, and it swung open without protest. The sconces on the windowless walls flickered in response to the sudden rush of new air. Upstairs, surrounded by t
hose she loved who waited to pounce and question her, was the last place she wanted to be. Chair legs creaked as she pulled back a chair to sit in. Exhausted, her head dropped onto her arms.
"What am I doing?" she whispered to no one. "I'm going to die for this. But as long as…" Juliette pulled a tray with parchment, ink, and an old quill toward herself. “Okay, Jules. Time to come up with a strategy to get us out alive.”
* * *
Tristan leaned forward from the front row, overwhelmed and dizzy from the unfolding developments. Juliette, his quiet, meek, firecracker of a girlfriend, stood tall and sure of herself by Tyr's side.
While she'd explained the plan of attack, she didn't stutter. Her strong voice carried to the far reaches of the audience. Even upon her promotion to second in command, she did not show signs of fear. Her chin lifted a little more. Cian gripped his staff tighter at the announcement, but he said nothing and stepped aside to give Juliette his place.
The gathered crowd drifted away to do as ordered. Soon they would meet back in their animal forms to determine who had abilities to fight in direct combat and who needed to handle another weapon.
"Tristan, Sunil, William, all of you! Follow me please." Juliette shouted the order and strode inside.
Tristan blinked rapidly at William. None of them recognized this Juliette. They followed close behind her to the meeting hall. As soon as the door had latched, Juliette took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When they opened, her familiar, soft face stared back at them.
"What the hell am I doing?" she whimpered, balling her fists tightly against her chest. "Last night we were watching a talent show and planning to leave today, and now I'm second in command of the village and in charge of an army!"
Tristan walked to her and took her hands in his, massaging them to relax them. "You're doing an amazing job."
Juliette looked at each of the others in turn. After staring into Tristan's eyes and biting her lip for a moment, she pulled away to press her fingertips to her temples.