SWNOVELS Chapter 20 ~ A Bit of B&E
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Chapter 20: A bit of B&E
It didn’t take me long to pack. I had next to nothing to pack. A change of clothes had been left out for me on the bed, all in vampiric black. I would have left them there if whoever had left them hadn’t managed to pin down my style so well. The underwear was new, thank the gods, the white labels tugged off gratefully. Even the jeans smelt too clean to have been worn before. I slid on my combat boots, reattached my knife holster around my thigh, then put Padraig’s glittering gem encrusted blade safely in place.
The leather jacket looked worn but fit eerily well as I slid it on. Nosing the collar, I inhaled deeply but the only scent I caught was cigarette smoke which brought a small smile to my lips. Yup, just as I thought. Patting the pockets revealed someone had snuck in a lighter and pack of cigarettes for me. Titus? Surely not. And Atanas would have asked for thanks for letting me keep my bad habit.
So who...
A loud crash that reverberated beneath my feet snapped me from my thoughts. The racket of the fort was near deafening as we prepared to leave, the rumble of car engines and wheels over stone crunching up the drive. Too many voices all muffled together, and I found myself needing to pause and take a few deep breaths with my back to a wall.
Out of all who were here, who would return? How many would be leaving to face their death? If only I could believe the responsibility I felt for everyone wouldn’t crush me later. Even if I didn’t know them, they were here because of me.
“It’s just war,” I said to myself. “It’s just the safety of every human being in the world. Nothing to stress over.”
Zipping up the jacket made me feel more protected, and I grabbed the bag of blood on the bedside table before stepping out and down the stairs.
Vampires crowded the halls, more than I thought were even here. Men and Women had to shove their way through the throng, sharing clipped words and irritated glances when their path was blocked. Swords of all ages and styles glinted in the candlelight, some even carried bows and deadly looking knives. Hardly any were armed with guns, which I was happy to see after having experienced exactly how it felt to have a bullet tear through you. We could count on our enemy being armed much the same; twenty first century weaponry wasn’t exactly our style as a species.
I didn’t need to elbow my way through like everyone else though. As soon as my presence was noted, a space was cleared and silence fell. I did my best to walk with my head held high despite the mass of eyes on me. Men and women bowed their heads as I passed while some openly stared with curiosity. I began to feel self-conscious on my own until someone cleared their throat on the other end of the hall. Life broke out once more, vampires rushing to get back to their tasks.
Catching sight of Kincaid near the door, I rushed over and gripped his arm. “Who is staying behind?”
“I am, Your Majesty,” the blonde woman beside him answered.
It took me a minute to place her dainty features, but how could I forget such strange violet eyes? “I remember you. You helped me after escaping Airell’s dungeon. Cammi, isn’t it?”
She seemed pleased I remembered, standing taller under my gaze. “Yes. Is there something I can do for you?”
“I just wanted to make sure Seth will remain guarded. Even imprisoned, there’s no telling what he’s picked up on and could pass on to our enemies. Beware Titus’ vampire’s to. I imagine he won’t want the fort looked after by us alone.”
“Seth will remain in his room, Your Majesty. I’ll see to it myself.” Violet eyes flicked to Kincaid but he didn’t seem to notice the way her teeth tugged at her lip before she murmured, “I better get going. Be safe, both of you.” She spun around and marched down the hall. I found myself sending up a prayer for her to be looked after, and not just because Kincaid needed to get laid, I promised whichever god was listening.
“Make sure Atanas keeps his temper.” Looking down at me, Kincaid nudged my arm with affectionate honey eyes. “Keep yours as well.”
“I will. Don’t die until we get there.”
Kincaid scoffed. “Ne’er.”
Chuckling uneasily to myself, for a moment he and I shared a breath. Shoulders tense and eyes watchful, it was a relief to see he was as nervous as I was. But Kincaid was as old as I was and able to take care of himself.
Either way, I had to force myself to turn from him and head out into the brisk night air. Rows of cars took up the driveway, seeming so out of place next to such an ancient building. I plucked out a cigarette and lit it while gazing up at the sky. No stars shimmered in the dark, and thick clouds moved swiftly, obscuring the moon into an eerie luminescent grey smear.
I had the vague recollection of being told it was a bad omen in my human life. My mother had always been superstitious.
“Who gave you that?” Atanas called, eyeing the ash I flicked into the dirt.
“A friend,” I replied, because I wasn’t entirely sure. Not that it mattered, but I wanted to thank someone for providing me with clothes too.
Movement behind him drew my gaze to the cloaked figure hovering at his back, a woman if her slim figure was anything to go by. Magic crackled in the air around her, almond shaped, onyx eyes barely visible under her hood. She gave me a timid smile but everything about her posture, the shiftiness of her stance and darting eyes, told me she didn’t want to be here. But then I remembered how I felt being in Atanas’ presence in the beginning and decided I couldn’t blame her.
Sniffing discreetly at the air, my brow creased. Her scent was nearly masked completely by the smell of others, too strong to be just from spending time together. Vampires had left their markers, signs that warned others someone had been recently fed on. Gaze raking over the rest of her, I noted the swollen red skin around her wrist before she could tug her drooping black sleeve into place.
Suddenly I worried the blood I’d been drinking wasn’t from a hospital after all and felt the need to hide the bag I held behind my back.
Just how and why had Titus procured this witch?
“Why do we need...”
“Xiaodan” she offered quietly, repeating it again slowly so I could hear each individual sound.
“Why do we need Xiaodan.” Hoping I hadn’t butchered the pronunciation, I stood taller as she nodded and smiled again.
Taking my hand, Atanas led us over to one of the cars; a huge jeep with blacked out windows, orange lights flashing with a beep as Atanas brandished the keys. He was learning, but I hoped he wasn’t thinking of bloody driving.
Turning me to him, he brushed his knuckles over my cheek. “As far as you’ve come, we need someone with more knowledge of magic. I’m not sure how we’ll be received in Brașov so if any spell is conjured that could us harm, Xiaodan will sense it and hopefully be able to stop it.”
Eyeing the small witch who grunted as she hoisted herself into the jeep, I waited until the door shut before asking, “Is she here willingly? She’s been fed from, far more than is probably safe for a mortal.”
“She’s not Titus' prisoner.”
“Atanas.” I gripped his arm to stop him from reaching out for the door, his leather jacket creaking under my fingers. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
His heavy gaze met mine, his voice clipped. “I didn’t ask. She volunteered out of the group that was here, her power is strong for one so young, that is enough for me. All I care about is she will help keep you safe.”
Lips pinched in disapproval, I put my weight against the door when he touched the handle. A small growl rumbled from his lips.
I smirked.
“Once she has helped us, I will make sure she is free to go wherever she pleases.”
Smiling brightly, I removed myself from the door and patted his cheek. “Good.”
My mate growled again, deeper, huskier as he leaned in to nip my lip. “You enjoy keeping me in check more than you let on.”
He pulled away, smug when I rocked forward to keep close to him. “Get in, Libertas Mea. We have another long journey ahead of us and sneaking you past borders is still a problem we haven’t figured out yet.”
Ah yes. In the chaos, I’d almost forgotten. The movies made being a fugitive seem far more exciting.
***
Hours of driving, a short plane ride with a dazed pilot, and our small army parted ways at the Transylvanian border.
While Kincaid and Nadia headed for the warehouse to make camp and stakeout where our final battle might take place, I was left with the three Stooges and an eerily quiet witch who watched me unwaveringly. Every now and again I could feel tendrils of her magic pushing against my mental defences. If it weren’t for the curiosity in her searching touch, I would be increasingly unnerved. No amount of baring fangs or quiet hisses of irritation gained as much as a blink, so I let her carry on. It gave me something to focus on while the countryside whizzed past and it was good practice in the very least. Keeping up the barrier of magic felt like stretching a muscle that had been knotted and tight.
“Do you remember the way?” Atanas asked Padraig. The Irish vampire was our driver tonight, careening down the winding roads without headlights on. As if that was any less conspicuous. How Titus was managing to sleep was a mystery.
“I remember it from nearly a century ago but who knows how much it might have changed.”
“They won’t have touched the city centre. The buildings will be of historical significance by now.” Blue eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, proud of his own joke about his age. I offered him a dramatic eye roll which gained an even bigger grin.
And they’d all been groaning and telling me to shut up when I’d made a few more Dracula jokes once we passed the border. After hours of debate, they decided to chance their luck and shove me in the damn boot, Xiaodan using magic to make the humans who checked us at the border a little less on point than they normally were. We passed by easily without incident. Once they’d opened the boot further down the road to let me out, I’d sat up with my arms crossed over my chest, fangs on display like Vlad rising from the coffin. Only Padraig had shown any sign of amusement with a snort that echoed down the empty road.
I sighed, pressing my face against the cool window. Anna would have laughed, or high fived me. Even Una might have cracked a smile.
Tracing the skyline with a bored finger, I noted the trees becoming thicker, dark shades of green blurring the view of the sky. Every now and again, I caught a glimpse of deer nearly camouflaged amongst the trunks. Round the next bend, Brașov came into view. The forest wrapped around the old city, slated orange roofs encircling a towering Gothic style church, the spire reaching as tall as the surrounding treetops.
Padraig slowed down and flicked on dim lights, taking his time driving over the ancient cobbled streets towards the city centre. Cute baroque buildings of every colour imaginable looked like something out of a fairytale, the headlights catching in the windows of small cafe’s that I was sure bustled with life during the day. And I ached to see it, imagining Atanas and I going to one for a date like the humans loved to do. Atanas had never taken me on a date.
Maybe when we got home and things were calm, we could convince each other to do something normal. Human.
We came to a stop in front of a sign that proclaimed were in the Piaţa Sfatului, next to a stately looking building with a thick square clock tower. The walls were lit up by lights and I could hear the rushing of a fountain somewhere behind us too.
“What’s that?” I asked, moving through the middle of the front seats to get a better view.
“Casa Sfatului. It used to be the town hall, there were two wells here too. . .it’s changed more than I thought it did.” His gaze was on the cars parked all around, and he sighed wistfully. “It seems the hall is a history museum now.”
“Let’s hope not much else has changed or we might end up lost,” Padraig grumbled, swinging open his door.
I was about to do the same before I noticed Titus still snoring peacefully with his head resting against the opposite window. I had half a mind to walk round to his side and open the door just to watch the look on his face but instead I gave him a hefty nudge.
Grey eyes bleary with sleep and he sat up slowly. “We’re here?”
“We are. Come on.”
Slipping out the car, I held the door open so Xiaodan could get out too. She mumbled words I didn’t understand but I took to be thank you, and smiled. Her nervousness hadn’t diminished at all.
The night air was icy, a breeze howling down the streets before it all went eerily still. Instead of feeling like I’d stepped out into the setting of an old story book, between the dark and our reason for being here, it felt more like a horror story. And gods, I hoped we were the monsters.
Atanas wasted no time, marching confidently down the street with the rest of us trailing after him. We didn’t walk for long before he slowed down, signalling we were close. Heading towards the North-East of the city, the houses grew fewer and farther between, the forest visible ahead.
A shiver went up my spine as we crossed the cobbled road, heading towards a small house at the end of a quiet street. Too many scents lingered heavy in the air for this time of night. Atanas lifted an arm, stopping our approach. I crept closer to Xiaodan on extinct, eyes darting to every shadowed corner, ear straining to pick up the smallest sound. The soft rhythmic pad of a cat in the street over and a window shutter gently creaking on its hinges were the only things that stood out.
“Watch our backs, Titus.”
The Roman vampire jerked his head and slipped quietly past me. His gaze flicked to the dagger strapped to my thigh, and I unsheathed it in response. Patting my shoulder, he kept his eyes locked on the street behind us, grey eyes scanning the rooftops as well as the windows.
Without a word, my mate began to creep forward again. I opened my mouth to protest then snapped it shut. We’d made enough noise already.
Darting a glance towards me, Atanas gave me an easy-going smile and a wink before carrying on. I was too aware he carried no weapon, wondering why on earth he’d come unarmed. A quirk of his fingers summoned Xiaodan to his side. The witch moved as silently as we did, the swish of her cloak billowing out behind her sure to make her no more than a shadow to any human who might be see. When she reached him, she lowered her hood. Raven black hair spilled down her back, revealing more new and old bite marks over her neck that made me question again why she was with Titus.
A buzz began to fill the air. Hands raised before her, her lips moved silently, eyes closed in concentration. My own body reacted to her magic but there was little I could do about the silver glow of my hands. Her power pulsed out, like a radar searching for signs of life, and I took a step back when it beat against me. Her head quirked to one side, features creased as if something didn’t make sense. Then she dropped her stance and lifted her hood back up with delicate fingers.
“There are no vampires inside. If there is a witch, she is hiding her magic well.”
Her assessment made Atanas frown.
“Well, we can’t linger out here.” Stalking forward with little care of being subtle, Padraig stepped up to the door and knocked.
When the rattling sound gained no calls for us to be quiet, and no attack or ambush to start, we all let out a collective breath. Titus and I followed suit, making our way over to peer inside dark windows. No light flicked on. No movement of someone waking up. The place remained entirely empty.
Gripping the handle, Padraig turned it slowly and his head flew up when the door opened easily.
“Maybe she doesn’t keep it locked?” he offered quietly, but even he didn’t sound convinced.
Time for a little breaking and entering. How many human laws had we broken in the last week?
Gripping my blade tighter, I followed everyone inside. Hit by a wall of copper, the smell of blood hadn’t made its way outside yet. Nor had the subtle icy clear smell of vampires.
We were too late.
Broken furniture lay scattered over the floor, deadly splintered wood stained with enough red, I was sure it had hit its mark. Smashed glass and shards of pottery crunched under foot, and colourful flowery wallpaper was scorched black in some places. I didn’t need to feel the tingle in the air to know it was caused by magic.
“I don’t smell Airell,” I said, my voice echoing too loud in the dark.
Atanas grunted, moving over to an open door that led to a kitchen. Various herbs hung on thing string to dry but their smell was overpowered by the stink of death. My gaze fell to what had caught Atanas’ attention, something he nudged with his boot. My stomach rolled. A leg stuck out at an awkward angle, and as I stepped closer, I could see the makeshift stake from earlier had indeed hit it’s target. Atanas crouched and rocked the dead vampire onto his back. Glassy brown eyes stared up at me, jaw locked eternally as if he was gasping for breath.
“They really don’t care about letting the whole world know we’re here,” Titus spit. “We can’t leave the body.”
“We’ll dump it in the boot and get rid of it later.” Atanas stood, dark blue eyes swirling with a growing storm. “Check upstairs.”
Titus and Padraig thundered up the stairs to search the upper floor while I took in the rest of the mess. As if hypnotised by the carnage, I crept further down the hall, watching my step so I wouldn’t cause further damage. A pool of blood shimmered by another darkwood door and I sniffed again.
Human.
Shit.
I summoned Atanas over with a glance and when he saw too, his face hardened. Lifting a finger to his lips, his gaze focussed on the door. I readied myself too, jumping forward as soon as he swung it open but just like the rest of the house, the living room was empty. Unlike the rest of the house, it had remained untouched by the attack. Odd winding symbols on long tapestries hung from the walls, ever available space overflowing with books bound in crumbling covers of dark blues, reds and greens. It was clear Airell had waited for the occupant to go to bed before attacking.
Coward.
But the witch had put up a good fight.
“We should have come here sooner. I didn’t think Airell knew about Ihrin. My last words to her were a promise she and her family would be safe.”
“It’s not your fault, Atanas. The blame lies solely with Airell.” My words did nothing to ease the guilt creasing his features. “If he’d killed her, her body would be here and it’s not. Which means she’s sill alive.”
“She’s right,” Titus called from behind us. “Upstairs looks normal too. The bed is unmade, she must have sensed them quicker than they expected.”
“Strong magic sticks to these walls,” Xiaodan agreed.
Atanas growled, his irritation and sense of failure flooding through our bond. We let him pace and curse, unsure of what to say.
“We need to check on her children, and her grandchildren,” he said once he’d composed himself.
Reaching out, my fingers brushed against the back of his hand. “We can do that. Kincaid and Nadia will only just have arrived anyway, we have time. You know where they live?”
“I. . .no. Not anymore. Fuck!”
Blinking at my mate using such a word, and in English too, I turned to Titus and Padraig for help but they both shrugged. Sighing heavily, I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, forcing myself to think how my maker would. He had the witch, now he just needed her to reveal what she knew, or conjure some spell.
“He won’t have gone after her family,” I said slowly, nodding to myself as I thought it through again. “He has to have leverage over her, something to make her do as she wants. Children and Grandchildren are the perfect thing to hang over her. If he hasn’t taken them too, my bet is they are tucked up in bed right now, none the wiser.”
Again, the comfort my words should have brought instead seemed to cause my mate immense pain. Grabbing my arm, he barked for us to leave. We all jumped to attention. Padraig grabbed the body from the kitchen, throwing it over his shoulder while we made our way back out of the house. I only just managed to make sure the door was shut behind us before Atanas whisked me out of reach.
“What’s wrong?” I gasped, glaring when he shoved me forward into a run.
He said nothing, pushing me on until we arrived back at the car. We all cringed as Padraig unlocked it, the car beeping and flashing to give away to anyone watching that we were here. The body was dumped in the boot with little care, and this time Atanas got into the back with me and Xaiodan, Titus and Padraig up front. I’d barely sat my ass on the seat before squealing tires propelled us back out of the sleeping city.
“Are you going to tell me why we flew out of here like a bat out of hell?” I snapped, rubbing where his fingers had dug into my arm. Poor Xaiodan was panting heavily with the effort it had taken her mortal body to keep up with us.
“Ihrin won’t risk a single hair on anyone one of her kin’s head. Like you, she would be willing to offer a monster the keys to the castle if it meant nobody would be hurt.”
That opinion hurt.
“He’ll have taken her to the warehouse, and once he has what he needs, he won’t keep her alive.”
It was then I understood what he was saying. Airell didn’t have to waste time torturing or manipulating Ihrin. By now, she might have already given him everything he needed.