The Last Guardian Rises (The Last Keeper's Daughter) (8 page)

“Grigori, is he here?” Lily asked.

“No, not yet. When the Russian standard is raised he’s in residence.” He walked into her bedroom to make certain a fire had been laid for her, worried that she’d get a chill. He hadn’t expected her to follow him. “I should see to my own room.”

“Lucien.” She reached for his hand.

He took a step back from her. “You have nothing to fear. Thaddon Hall is sacrosanct. No harm shall come to anyone here.”

“I’m not afraid.” Lily moved closer to him.

He didn’t trust himself, not when her skin was flushed, her lips plump and red, her scent enveloping him like a warm blanket.

“I haven’t seen you much lately,” she said.

“The king’s business keeps me busy.”

“Lots of heads to lop off?”

His eyes traveled up to her face and saw no recrimination, in fact, she was suppressing a smile. 

“So many subjects, so little time.”

Unable to hold back her laughter, it erupted and filled the room. “Really, why have you been gone?”

“Research.”

“The gates.” Her smile faded. “Why can’t we find anything useful?”

He didn’t want to lie to her. His “research” consisted of hunting and “interviewing” members of the Brotherhood. “We will. It’s just a matter of time.”

Lily sat on the bed, bounced a few times and then leaned back on her elbows.

I need to get out of here before I do something that can’t be undone
.

“Do you enjoy everyone being afraid of you?”

Lucien blinked. Was she teasing him? He couldn’t tell by her expression. “You’re not afraid of me… Are you?”

“No, but I’ve heard the rumors about you.”

“Ah, well, court talk.” Lucien didn’t want to have this conversation. He turned his back on her and walked toward the door.

“Are you really cursed?”

He stopped and reached back to touch Dragon sheathed behind his left shoulder. “Cursed in what way?” Had she learned something from the archives? Were there tales of the curse Faye had laid upon his head sitting dusty upon the shelves? Is that what was written inside the book Lily had carried with her on the plane? Or was she just fishing? He couldn’t tell for sure.

“I don’t know. That’s all they’ll say. ‘The hand that wields the Dragon is cursed.’”

He relaxed. She knew nothing. “Never to my face.”

“No, they’d never risk saying it to you.” There was a rustle of bedclothes; she must have slipped off the bed. “If they knew you the way I do, they wouldn’t say such things.” He could hear her breathing behind him. “They whisper things about me too.”

He turned to face her. “What do they say?”

“I’m the cause of all the unrest.”

“You know that’s not true.” His fingers itched to touch her skin.

“Partly. You helped me, before, you know, to try and interact with Krieger’s subjects. I did try.” She wrapped her sweater tighter around her. “They don’t trust me.”

What she said was true. There was a faction of Krieger’s subjects that feared her influence on the king.

Lily’s hand rested on his arm. “I just wanted you to know that you can trust me, if you’d like to talk or anything.”

“I value your friendship.”

Lily reached out and placed her hand on his stomach. He’d just flown with her in his arms, but that was for a purpose. This contact was in her bedroom with no reason that he could discern. At least, nothing he would allow.

“Let me get this for you.”

His button had come undone. He felt nervous as a virgin groom on his wedding night.
I should leave, now
.

“Krieger and you are like brothers, Merlin is his advisor.” She brushed his shirt down flat and let her hands fall to her sides. He wanted to yank her back into his arms, but remained still as a marionette with no strings. “I’ve been thinking of telling Martha and Jo about all this.” She looked around the room. “The vampires, the Others, everything. I need their friendship.”

He knew loneliness well.

“Would it be selfish of me to tell them?” she asked.

“No. I think it would be good for you.” He gave her a wink, hoping to brighten her sad eyes. “And now, though I hate to do so, I must leave you,” he said and moved halfway to the door.

“Wait.” Lily had to run to catch up and block his path.

“Yes.” He fought his desire to cup her face in his hand.

“How do I turn on the lights?”

His chest relaxed. “Little mermaid,” he murmured. “You’ll have no electricity, but plenty of candles. The guards will see that they stay lit for you.” He indicated with his chin towards the bathroom. “Gravity will take care of the toilet. The large drum above the bathing tub is kept hot by the fire underneath it.”

“It’s nothing I’ve done, then?” she asked, and peered up at him. “The reason you’ve been avoiding me.”

“Just work.”

“Hmm. So work is why you watch me swim sometimes, but when I get out of the pool you’re gone.”

“A momentary break in my dull day to watch a beautiful mermaid.” This time he didn’t stop himself from cupping her face with his hand. Her hair, soft and silken, brushed against his knuckles. Just this once and never again, he told himself as he ran his thumb over her lower lip, plump and inviting as the berries he’d picked as a child. “Now, I must go.”

Before she could protest, he left and closed the door behind him.
Gods forgive, but one day I may forget what I am.

Krieger

Self-appointed King Grigori was the last to take his place at the round table. He was a trim, youthful man with soft brown hair and eyes that reminded Krieger of a deer. There was nothing harsh or rough or human about him. There was no fear either. He was why everyone was here, he should be a little anxious, but he showed not one sign of anxiety as he casually took his seat, like he’d been here on numerous occasions before.

The six Royal Houses were now in attendance, closed off at the base of the castle inside a cavernous room. There were no wall hangings or items of interest, only two roaring fireplaces at either end of the long rectangular shaped space with candle-lit candelabras on the table and chandeliers above.

With no Elder to look to, there was an uneasy silence. Their eyes all said the same thing. Who should start the meeting?

Krieger inwardly groaned when King Carlos, the last Spanish Hapsburg, awkwardly pushed his chair back from the table and lifted his hulk of a body to lean against the table. He ruled South and Central America along with Mexico. His territory was large, but sparsely populated with Others and vampires. The Inquisitions and a still highly superstitious human population made his area less desirable.

“Now that we are all here…” Carlos eyed Grigori. “I propose that we start with the demise of the Elder.”

“Carlos,” Queen Merneith of Africa said softly. She remained seated with her hands placed face down on the wooden table. “We have already agreed on an agenda.”

“I was not told this.” Carlos’ eyes narrowed. “Is my claim to Spain on this agenda? The Elder was going to cede it to me. By rights it should be mine.”

King Beline flared his fangs but said nothing. Whenever he had the chance Carlos brought up Spain. It was an old and tiresome protest. It would take war to separate Beline from any of his European territory.

Queen Pao was turned vampire in her fifties, in a time when most humans died in their late twenties. China, Japan, and Indonesia were her territories and she’d ruled over them for close to a thousand years. Hers was the longest reign of all the vampires in attendance, and she had no patience for Carlos’ constant whining. “Unless you’d rather discuss the three vampires you’ve made in the last four months.” She tapped her talon of a fingernail on the table. “Didn’t we agree that no new vampires were to be sired without council approval?” She flashed her blackened teeth at him, stained from betel chewing before she was turned. “Then let us follow our agenda and discuss the death of Queen Ekaterina of Russia.” She turned her perpetually bloodshot eyes on Grigori. “And your rise to power.”

“Surely such awe-inspiring beings as you would not fear me.” Grigori had a honeyed voice to go along with his passive exterior. “As I have communicated, the queen did not die by my hand. It is my understanding that King Krieger’s brother helped Ekaterina to her final death.”

“Henry was out of his mind when I saw him last. He spoke of witches who drank vampire blood who spelled him and the queen. It was they who killed her.” What Krieger said was not entirely true, but who was here to contradict him? “The witches, are they not now your advisors?”

“Do you not have a witch, a most powerful sorcerer, for your advisor?” Grigori countered.

“I do. Merlin is my most trusted advisor.” He had heard the arguments against Merlin for too long to be lured into anger by Grigori’s comment. “Merlin does not drink vampire blood. Something this council has forbidden.”

“Neither do they drink of the blood, any longer.” Grigori fixed the cuff of his shirt. “I meted out their punishment.”

“Which was?” Carlos asked.

Grigori sucked air through his teeth. “If you’d like me to produce their burned bones, I will do so.”

“You say it like their demise was as easy as snapping a twig,” Beline said.

Grigori grimaced at Beline’s words. “Not so easy as that,” was his response.

Queen Merneith was elegant, black as night, and sharp of tongue. “We are not here to discuss the witches, egregious as they may be. We are here to speak about you. Tell us, Grigori, what exactly are you?”

Grigori shook back his curly brown hair. “I am the future.”

Five sets of ancient vampire eyes stared at him.

“Oh, come now, why so serious?” Grigori scoffed. “Did you ever ask the Elder what he was?” He took his time making eye contact with each royal. “No, I’m sure you did not. I’m not here to disrupt your rule. I only want peace.”

“Men who come in peace rarely leave that way,” Merneith said.

“Ekaterina’s rule would have ended sooner rather than later. She was ineffectual and…” Grigori tipped his head to the side. “Dangerous in her desires. Tell me, how did Henry die?” Grigori’s jovial demeanor did not waver as he watched Krieger.

“My brother died by my hand. I have recounted this to council. He threatened our existence.” Krieger responded as if he were bored of the subject. “His instability was dangerous to us all.”

Grigori tilted his head just a tick more. It reminded him of the Elder’s gestures.

“Are you sure it wasn’t your Sanguis Ancilla that delivered the death blow?” Grigori looked smug. “Of course, I must be mistaken. What would I know of such things? Her name, your Sanguis, is Lily Ayres, is it not?”

Krieger regarded him as a human would an ant. Grigori was obviously proud of his spies in Krieger’s kingdom. Would he be so self-satisfied once Krieger rooted them out and sent them home sans their head?

Pao spoke up. “Krieger’s human is not our interest.”

Krieger didn’t care for the way she referred to Lily, like she was talking about the plague, even if she was taking his side.

“Hmm.” Grigori rose, placing his hands on the table. “What do your spies say I am?”

Carlos coughed up sputum. He’d been made vampire seconds before he would have died of a stroke. He was a sickly, rotund, misshapen man whose ugliest feature was his face. Krieger had often thought that the vampire who sired Carlos was depraved. To force eternity upon someone who was miserable, grossly disfigured, abused, with little intelligence and a penchant for cruelty, was reprehensible.

“We prefer to hear the words from your mouth,” Beline said. He ruled the prestigious lands of Europe. The Elder used to say he was ‘the bridge which links east to west.’ As a human, Beline had fought and killed his own beloved brother to rule over Briton. Beline had warned him, told him to step down, explained what the consequences would be if he did not, and when it was clear Beline would have to follow through on his claim, he wasted no further time talking.

“Did you think the world would not change?” Grigori asked. “That the ones the Elders imprisoned would not one day rise up to escape their imprisonment?”

Merneith sighed. “We have no time for childish tales.”

“No.” Since his arrival Grigori had not taken the meeting or them seriously, until now. His tone took on an authoritative quality. “The Elder knew he was dying. It took the full strength of five Elders to lock the last gate. How long did you think Huthwiat alone could keep it closed?”

“You waste our time with legends.” Carlos wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, clearly dismissing Grigori’s words.

“
You
are a fool,” Grigori said with a smile.

Krieger couldn’t argue with that statement. “There is always a kernel of truth in legends. How long will the ninth gate remain closed?” Might as well see what Grigori had to say, even if he doubted there was much truth to the myth.

“It is no more.” Grigori looked directly at Krieger. “As my being here attests. And the presence…”

Krieger jaws clenched.
Do not say Lily’s name.

“The presence of magic returns,” Grigori finished.

“Yes, yes, the magic,” Merneith said. “What were you to the Elder? What are you to us?” She looked dramatically around the room, as if to indicate she spoke for everyone. “Why do you, a non-vampire, presume to take the throne of Russia? I must have missed the explanation of your lineage.” She smiled a toothy grin at him.

Grigori walked around the room, clearly enjoying the drama. “You would all sit here and argue while the world burns.” He rolled a ring around his finger. “Father warned me of this, this pettiness of the children of humans.”

Carlos started to rise. “Sit the fuck down,” Beline yelled at him.

“Touchy, aren’t we?” Grigori mocked him by bowing like a court jester. “What I meant was you are born human but are made vampire. Huthwiat was not impervious to weakness. He was the last of his kind, alone in a world he’d seen formed and was destined to die in. I am not the enemy. The enemy is lying in wait. The enemy will not be reasoned with. The enemy grows stronger daily.”

Krieger had grown weary of Grigori’s cat and mouse games. “You have our attention; now tell us what we need to know so we can return to our kingdoms.”