Authors: Danielle DeVor
Vlad thought for a moment. “And what does the Order say?”
“For now, they will watch. But I think we can count on their support.”
“Then we need to come up with a plan.”
* * * * *
Mathias pulled clean clothing from the dresser and quickly yanked the shirt over his head. He felt alive, more than he ever had. It was strange really to know that he’d once been someone else- someone that even the vampire world didn’t know well. It was like watching home movies that only he had access to.
Part of him was grateful for the chance to live again, but when it came down to it, he was angry that once again the Queen was going to be the deciding factor on whether he lived or died. And if he had the ability to be truthful about it, he was afraid. Not of death, but of the possibility that his second chance might not amount to much.
He stepped out of his room and noticed that Nosferatu still hadn’t returned. Curious, he crept over to a door he hadn’t ever dared to enter— Nosferatu’s private bedchamber.
He knew that going into Nosferatu’s rooms without permission was a serious breach of etiquette, but he needed information. He needed to know more. More about Nosferatu. More about them all. What he knew of Nosferatu, he’d gained from the small bits of memory that seemed to be coming back- that and the journal Nosferatu had allowed him to read. It wasn’t enough.
He didn’t have any specific thing he was looking for. It was one of those things where he would know it when he found it. What he really wanted to do was patch the holes in his memory and try to be whole again. There was a memory of a young boy staring at him while he died, but Mathias didn’t know who the boy was. He cared about the child, but couldn’t explain why.
He might not have admitted it to anyone, but he was becoming obsessive. Mathias wanted to know everything about his life before he’d met the Queen. He hoped that there would be some clue, something that would help him protect himself against her. And hopefully, cause her death.
He paused. This had been the first time he’d ever planned to kill someone. Part of him was frightened that he had thought of something that heinous, but another part, the older part, was exhilarated by the idea.
He shook off the feeling and looked around Nosferatu’s room. Like much of the rest of Nosferatu’s chambers, the room wasn’t a mess per se, but an amalgamation of stacks of books and numerous old items that Mathias didn’t dare touch. Oddly, there was no bed, just a plush but moth-eaten old emerald green velvet chair that was rather dusty.
Suddenly, Mathias heard footsteps outside the door. He quickly looked around, but unfortunately there was nowhere to hide. The windows didn’t even have curtains. He did the only thing he could, and tip-toed as quietly as he could and hid behind the door to Nosferatu’s rooms.
“You might as well come out. I can smell you, you know,” Nosferatu said from the sitting room in a voice that certainly was not joyful.
Mathias took a deep breath. It was no use to prolong the inevitable. He stepped out from behind the door and entered the sitting room.
Nosferatu glared at him with eyes as red as rubies. “May I ask what you thought it was that you were doing?”
Mathias felt only slightly guilty. “Do you want what I had planned to tell you, or do you want to hear the truth?”
Nosferatu rolled his eyes. “Mathias, we do not have time for childishness.”
Mathias felt the ire rise behind his eyes. “It was anything but childishness that led me to look in your rooms. I’m not as stupid as you think.”
“Mathias, no one said that you were stupid.” Nosferatu threw himself down in the chair closest to him.
Mathias held up a finger as if to silence him. There was no way to say any of this gracefully. “I entered your rooms not to snoop about you, or play ludicrous fucking games. I went in there to teach myself about the things that no one else will teach me.”
“And what would that be, Mathias?”
“Information. In order to beat your enemy, you have to know your enemy, right?”
* * * * *
Nosferatu paused. It felt off, to be honest. One minute, Mathias spoke like the average sixteen-year-old. And, for him to speak that way was good. It meant he was recovering from the streets. But, then he would switch to speaking like someone much older was living in his body. That was the part that disturbed Nossy. He stared into Mathias’ eyes. “You know, before you manage to do much else, you are going to have to figure out who in the hell you are.”
Mathias raised his head like an asp. “What do you mean by that?”
Nosferatu shook his head. “Just listen to yourself! If you go much further, you’re not going to have to worry about whether the Queen will permit you to live! You’ll be in a nuthouse!”
Mathias slumped into the other chair. “What am I going to do?”
Nosferatu grinned. “There is only so much you can do. First, you will continue to train. Second, I believe that now is not the time for schoolwork. The Queen has seen to that. And third, I want you to spend some time each day not worrying about this and do something for yourself.” Nosferatu got up and went into his private chambers, slamming the door behind him.
* * * * *
Mathias sat up and straightened his clothes. Perhaps Nossy was right, but he knew no way of fixing his brain. He tried to assemble his thoughts into one cohesive line, but it just didn’t work. It was going to take time, and he hoped that it wasn’t going to take forever.
Chapter Fifteen
Vlad straightened his suit coat and took a deep breath. Another thing the myths got wrong. They weren’t dead. Vampires were just transformed into something different. It wasn’t that they had to breathe to live, they didn’t have to.
But breathing had its own purpose. Filling his cells with oxygen made him feel stronger. It also helped to calm him down. Sometimes it seemed like he breathed a lot, but things kept happening that forced him to calm himself. Otherwise, he would explode.
He knew that he and Nossy had to think of something. He just didn’t know what. The fact remained that now Lilith had been angered by Nosferatu, the wheel they had hoped would break was now set in motion. He could feel it. Any day now, the Queen would issue the document that would demand Mathias appear for testing. Hopefully, they would be able to thwart anything bad before it happened.
If they failed, he wasn’t sure that he could stand to live with himself. After his fall from Heaven, he’d been alone until Mathias had demanded his capture in the fifteenth century. Even he had to admit things had gotten out of hand in the small area of Wallachia he had governed, and it had been Mathias’ right to demand that he toe the line.
When he’d been captured by Mathias’ Myrddin army, The Hungarian Empire army to the mortals, he hadn’t been sure what to expect. He didn’t even know that Mathias was his long ago friend from his days as an angel until he’d seen the spark of life behind Mathias’ eyes.
As soon as he was presented to the king of Myrddin, he was surprised to find himself treated more like an honored guest rather than a prisoner. He’d been given a room of his own, was allowed to attend courtly functions, and even more surprising, he received several private audiences with King Mathias.
It was over these meetings that their friendship was renewed. After he’d been released to re-seize his throne in Wallachia, he and Mathias had retained their friendship through letters and other means of communication.
In fact, it had been Mathias who had recommended that he, someday, run for the position of headmaster at the University. This was a singular honor. At the time of Mathias’ death, the University was the first vampire school to allow vampire children of different races within its walls.
Over time, all vampire children ceased being taught at home, and the laws were changed so that all vampire children must be trained at The University before being allowed entrance into vampire society. He was proud of what he’d accomplished.
Vlad shook himself out of his thoughts and made his way to Nossy’s chambers.
* * * * *
Lilith smoothed her hair. She had an audience with The Order of the Dragon and she knew that she had to look completely trustworthy and in control. To help her achieve what she wanted, she purposefully dressed in a cream colored suit with a skirt that reached down to her knees. She chose her most understated gold jewelry and had pulled her hair up into a French twist. She looked a good bit like a lawyer she had seen on television.
She moved through the hallways, not fast and not slow. She didn’t want to draw extra attention to herself, but she held her head high. The best way to get people to believe you was to act like nothing was wrong at all. Her high heels clicked across the stone floors, but she made sure that the sound was not too loud. If she let her anger take over, her footsteps would have sounded like the heels of her shoes were chiseling into the marble as she walked. Finally, she came to the headquarters of the Order.
The headquarters were located in a large room that was completely below the ground. It was the most underground chamber connected to the castle. This was done for safety reasons, and because the location of the Order was a secret, having it inside another important building was an intelligent bit of security. The headquarters was separated from the rest of the castle by a great iron door. The door, given its location, should have been rusted a long time ago, but not a speck of rust could be seen on the door at all. She knocked on the door. She did not have to wait long before the door opened and granted her entrance.
She walked along the short hallway into the main room. She felt calm at the sight of the old familiar frescos. Why, she’d even seen some of them painted. She walked to the podium and placed her hands on the top of it. In front of her seated at the semicircular table were twelve Order members. One was missing-- her son, Stuart. But she knew he wasn’t going to be there. She hadn’t seen him in over fifty years. And that didn’t seem likely to change.
The members stood and bowed. Speaker Tallus stood, his long white hair sparkling in the candlelight. He was wearing robes that were so purple that the only description that gave the robes justice was to describe them as a deep, dark amethyst. A nod her to position. “Your Majesty,” he said.
She nodded at him and smiled. “You all may sit. Hopefully, we will not be here long today.” She paused. “You know that I do not come here unless something has gotten so out of hand that it can no longer be ignored.”
The Order nodded.
“We have a grave situation. The boy, who at this point cannot be denied as the reincarnation of King Mathias of Myrddin, has created, although inadvertently, a serious problem for me. With prompting from Tepes, he showed one of my loyal subjects, images of a time we all know about and wish to forget. Now, Nicolai Karsavin has spread the information around the court like a cancer. I have heard from my son that members of court are calling for my head.”
The Order gasped.
“So, I came up with the idea of testing young Mathias to see his worthiness to join our ranks. I remembered the old law, and thought it would suit our purposes grandly. Because he was crossed without my or your express permission, the boy is subject to testing because of our laws. If he lives, the vampire world will see how gracious we are and willing to try to remedy old mistakes. If he dies, well, then they will be reminded of my wrath.”
Speaker Tallus coughed; his was the seat exactly in the center of the semi-circle. “Your Majesty, if they are already calling for your head, are you sure that this is wise?”
The Queen’s eyes began to glow, ever so softly. “It is my only recourse at this juncture.”
Speaker Tallus nodded slowly. “And you plan to test the boy yourself?”
“Yes, I do.”
Speaker Tallus looked around the Order. “Well, I’m not sure why you have come to us, my lady. Our advice would be to welcome young Mathias into the fray and try to befriend the boy and show your subjects that you have changed.”
“Trust me; that will not work.”
“We cannot stop you; you are our Queen and thus outrank us. We can only advise. I believe that if you are sure about this test that you should speak with your family first. I do not think young Master Stuart would like this idea very much.”
The Queen’s eyes turned red. “What my family does and does not think is of no concern of yours!”
Speaker Tallus paused.
She stared at him and broke through the barrier he’d created in his mind. She caught one thought:
The Queen has really had lost her grip on reality, just as Nosferatu said.
“Very well, my lady,” Speaker Tallus said. “Let us know when the testing will be held, and we will make sure that the room is ready.”
“Thank you for your support, Speaker Tallus.” She gathered her things and stormed out of the room, the iron door slamming behind her. She pricked her ears and waited. She wanted to hear what they were going to say.
“Well, I believe we shall have to notify Nosferatu that he can take any measure that he wishes in order to protect young Mathias.” Speaker Tallus said.
“Should we tell Stuart?” another Order member asked.
“It would be nice to, but I have no idea where he is. He said something about exploring the Amazon. I don’t even know what he will be back.”
“Well then, that is all that we can do. Let’s let Nosferatu know immediately,” another said.
Lilith ground her teeth and walked in the direction of her chambers. “After Mathias, I’ll get them all.”
* * * * *
Lilith waved her hand and righted the furniture she’d destroyed after coming back from the meeting with the Order. Calmly, she walked over to her favorite chair and sat, allowing the velveteen smoothness to engulf her body and leech away the stress of the day. Ever so slightly, the index finger of her left hand began to tap against the arm of the chair.
She knew that as Queen, she had to uphold the laws of the kingdom, but her own misguided opinions made her morality faulty. Before Mathias met her son, she’d been a great ruler, kind but stern. Her people were her largest concern, second only to her son. Then,
he’d
come back with all of his glory and wiles. He distracted her son and distracted her as well. And when Lestan provided his lie, it provided the vehicle for her to take over the entire vampire world.
When Mathias’ soul was gone from the earth, Myrddin lands were conquered and the vampire world united. Since the return, her life was once again upside down. She could think of nothing but of destroying Mathias, and because of that, her kingdom suffered. Because of Nosferatu’s demands, the child Mathias must be destroyed at all costs.
She supposed that she had given her side of the matter much too descriptively to Nosferatu. There was no way that she could make him believe in her innocence. And then there was the matter of the court, and what to do about those who thought ill of her.
“They can die,” she said. “How dare they speak ill of their Queen. There will always be more subjects, and if I lose this lot, I can always make more.”
She rose from her chair and walked over to her corner desk, removed a piece of parchment from its place and set it exactly in the center of the desk. She gently lowered herself into the desk chair, located her favorite pen, and bit into her finger so that she could use her blood as ink. She dipped the nib into the drop of blood on her finger and pressed it to the parchment.
On the first day of the month of April, it has been decreed that Mathias Drvar must submit to The Order of the Dragon for testing to prove his worthiness to the vampire world and the lands of Lilitu. If the subject is found unworthy, the law of Les Morts will be applied in accordance with the laws of The Order of the Dragon. If the subject does not appear for testing, the test will be considered failed and the subject will be left to face the bowels of the beast.
Time of Testing: 7:00 pm 1
st
day of April.
Judge: Lilith, Queen of Lilitu and respective lands.
Place: The Ring of Immortality.
Lilith grinned as she slowly folded the parchment. She knew that Nosferatu fully understood the rules of the test. She could only hope that the notification would inspire the fear that she wanted.
* * * * *
Nosferatu swirled the wine in his glass. Being with Vlad was comfortable, and that was what he needed right now. “You know, I do believe that this is the finest Merlot I’ve tasted in recent years.”
Vlad laughed. “You do realize that the wine you are drinking is a cheap fruit flavored infusion available in American supermarkets?”
Nossy grinned. “I never said I had taste.”
“Be that as it may, I do believe that we have other things to worry about.”
Nossy grunted. That was certainly true. His mother wanted Mathias dead, and when she discovered his betrayal, he’d be next on the list. “I got the word from the Order today. Apparently Mother came to see them, and showed them exactly what I was trying to tell them. They’ve given me permission to do whatever needs to be done.”
“Even if it means killing her?”
“Even that.” That talk hadn’t been easy, but after they had seen the insanity for themselves, they decided that Nossy was right. It was about time.
Vlad’s shoulders slumped. “Is her pride that great, or is she just that self-absorbed?”