Stuart walked in front of him. His leather pants shone in the candlelight. Mathias was happy for the small distraction.
Then, Stuart motioned with his hands in a circling gesture toward the crowd. “Please. Calm yourselves. Master Mathias will have time today to eliminate all of your worries.”
Mathias blinked. That was laying it on pretty damn thick.
“And the kidnapping?” a voice from the back of the room said. The figure stepped forward. His long blond hair Mathias recognized very well. It was Nicolai Karsavin, Konstantin’s father. Konstantin, when Mathias had first come to the school, had been a hell of a bastard. Mathias having to take on the queen and all that kind of changed things. Well, that and showing Nicolai what it was like to be tortured by her probably had something to do with it too.
Mathias cleared his throat and looked at the man. “The kidnapping is one of the most important issues I have to deal with. I can assure you, that will be the first thing I take care of as king.”
Karsavin nodded and stepped back.
Mathias hoped he hadn’t just put his foot in his mouth. It was the biggest thing on his mind, but he still hadn’t a damn clue as to how to deal with it. And, unfortunately, he knew it all wasn’t going to be as easy as saying he was going to do it.
“How do you propose to have the knowledge to rule?” This time, the voice was kind of withered.
Mathias looked around the room and spotted an old vampire with long grey hair that looked almost like a wizard in one of those kid’s books everyone had been talking about a few years ago. It didn’t surprise him. There had to be at least one person who didn’t approve of him being named king. And, it would be naive to think that all of them would be connected to Nossy’s kidnapping. There needed to be more than just being an asshole.
“Do you really want the details, or are you just trying to make me sweat?” Mathias asked.
The hall fell silent again. Stuart leaned over and whispered in Mathias’ ear. “That is Speaker Tallus.”
“And who is he?” Mathias whispered back.
“Probably the best candidate for Nossy’s disappearance.”
Mathias twitched. So, being an asshole was a good clue after all. He had to keep himself under control, but it was so hard. In the old days, he would have used his sword to lop off his head. Of course, back then, he didn’t have to worry about finding Nossy either. “Well, what are you waiting for then? Catch them all.”
Stuart straightened up and shrugged. “With what?”
Mathias forced himself not to show any emotion. He was seriously annoyed. Did they really not have a police force or something? Jesus Christ. He took a deep breath. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, and the worst that could happen would be for Mathias to blow a gasket, but it was all he had.
He concentrated, pushed all other voices out of the forefront of his mind. Then, he felt down deep inside to the memories of long ago when time seemed to stop on the battlefields and in training. He pulled that feeling forward and spread it out amongst those in the hall. They froze. Tallus was caught just about to slip out the door. There was only one problem, Stuart was frozen too.
So as to not fuck up his trick, Mathias ran around the room pulling down those tapestries and ripped them into strips. Then, he tied up each vampire, and then tied them to the one next to them. Granted, it wouldn’t hold them for long if he did lose his hold, but it was better than nothing. Then, just before he was ready, Mathias walked over to Stuart, touched him, and pushed some of his energy forward. Stuart awoke.
Mathias pulled his energy back, making sure it didn’t drift to anyone else.
“What did you do?” Stuart asked, looking around the room.
Mathias followed Stuart’s gaze. The bodies of the vampires were so frozen in place, they were starting to look frosted. It was kind of cool, yet scary at the same time. “I have no idea.”
Mathias paused for a minute. Yep, they were all still frozen. “Now what?”
Stuart rolled his eyes and started blinking the captives away.
“Where are you putting them?” Mathias asked. It wasn’t like there was some huge cooler somewhere they could load them in. At least, he didn’t think so. Of course, he’d never actually visited the kitchen.
“Down in the dungeon in the holding cells beneath the castle,” Stuart replied.
Now that actually made sense. Mathias knew he was over thinking things, but there were just so many questions. Not to mention, the huge amount of crap he did not know. “How do they work?”
Stuart looked at him like he’d grown a new head. “What do you mean?”
Everything was like pulling teeth with him. For some reason, Stuart never seemed to want to give him a straight answer. Mathias wished he would just open up. “They are all vampires. Really powerful, right?” Mathias asked.
“Yes …”
“Then how are the cells holding them?” What Mathias could remember, they never kept captives too much. On the battlefield, people died. Period. Even he could blink a chain apart. The bars of a cell wouldn’t be all that hard.
Stuart paused. “Oh, you are talking about the magic.”
Mathias wanted to give him a gold star. Instead, he shrugged. “I guess so.”
Stuart sighed and leaned against the throne. “The cells are forged with a combination of minerals and blood. Because the blood is used, it creates a link to the materials. I don’t understand it exactly. Nossy came up with it.”
“Yeah. He would. So, what do we do now?” Mathias asked. At least he finally got a straight answer on something.
Stuart snatched his cell phone from his pocket and began pecking at it. “We call Vlad.”
* * * * *
Vlad was in his office, pacing. He was too nervous to do anything else. He knew he should be there for Mathias’ first public appearance as king, but he needed to keep an eye on other things too. Plus, if Mathias was shown to be strong by himself, the others couldn’t object. Not easily, that is. He needed the Order to be behind Mathias. If they weren’t, well, it was going to be more than Nossy who was doomed.
He stared out the window, looking over the grounds of the castle. Everything was still—too still almost. He expected to see a bird fly by once in a while, but there was nothing.
Suddenly, his phone on the desk rang. He walked over and picked it up. “Yes?”
He put his hand to his head. He had hoped that nothing would happen, but he should have been prepared. “All right. I’m coming.”
He hung up the phone, threw open the door, and flew through the halls. He couldn’t even remember if he’d closed the door to his chambers. It didn’t really matter. He kept telling himself that. The flying was something he knew he shouldn’t be doing. Yes, he was breaking his own rule, and it was a good rule, but this was an emergency. Rules like that didn’t seem so important now. Besides, he didn’t want to risk blinking into something he didn’t know the ramifications of. An emergency with Mathias could be a disaster indeed.
In minutes, he arrived at throne room. The place looked like a tornado had come through it. Most of the tapestries were gone and what was left was hanging by threads. It was empty of people but for Stuart and Mathias. Both of them looked fine physically, but Stuart seemed scared. That was not normal.
“Now, explain to be again what is going on,” Vlad said as he landed.
“That Tallus guy was being an asshole,” Mathias said. “There just wasn’t something right about him or the shit he said. Then, Stuart told me he wouldn’t be surprised if Tallus wasn’t the one behind Nossy’s disappearance, and well, I kind of froze the room.”
Vlad blinked. Okay. That explained, somewhat, as to why Stuart was scared. Things were coming up with Mathias he hadn’t seen before. It made him uneasy too. “Froze how?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Stuart said. “One minute, Tallus was hauling ass. The next, I felt Mathias’ hand on my shoulder and the entire room was still. Even what was left of the tapest
ries were frozen in place.”
Vlad looked at Mathias. “How did you do that?”
Mathias shrugged. “Things are weird in my brain. When the past and the present kind of run together, there is this weird state of being, I guess. It’s hard to describe.”
Vlad rolled his eyes. That was not an answer to his question. “It would be.”
Mathias ruffled his wings. “So, anyway, I just tried to force what happens onto everyone in the room—and it worked.”
Vlad looked at Stuart. “So where are they all now?”
“Blinked into the containment cells,” Stuart answered.
Vlad swallowed. He could just imagine the cacophonous roar of angry voices. “All of them?”
“We didn’t know who we could trust,” Mathias said.
“Of course not,” Vlad replied. The boy really needed a break, and it didn’t seem like there was going to be one soon. The choices he was making were … intense. Too intense for someone his age, no matter how much of his old life he remembered.
* * * * *
The whole tone of the room changed. Mathias felt it. It was almost like energy surged around them.
Vlad nodded to Stuart. “Call in those we trust. This isn’t going to be easy.”
Stuart didn’t say a word, just pulled out his cell phone and started texting away.
Vlad turned to Mathias. “I’ll be perfectly honest. This will be grueling, but it is the only way. You shall have to see each prisoner individually so that we can question them. Then, and only then, if they have had nothing to do with Nossy, you will set them free.”
Mathias didn’t really care that Vlad was calling the shots. He was honestly thankful for it. It wasn’t like he knew what the fuck he was doing. The stress was making his wings sweat. Even though he was sitting down on the throne, his heart was hammering in his chest. If this kept up, he was going to need a vampire shrink. And, maybe, a long vacation.
What was he supposed to do if they did find a traitor? Kill them? He wasn’t opposed to it, but the younger part of himself wished there was another way to handle the whole thing. Plus, if the traitor was simply killed, where did that leave Nossy?
Vlad stepped over near Mathias. “I’m just going to say this right now. No, we can’t just kill them all.”
Mathias blinked. He wasn’t exactly thinking that, but now that Vlad mentioned it, it would be easier. But, it still wasn’t a logical option. He had to know what to do about Nossy before anything else happened. “Look, I’m not that stupid. One: I wouldn’t haul off and kill someone that was innocent unless I had a damn good reason. Two: killing everyone would put the vampire world in turmoil.”
Vlad grunted. “Glad to see we are thinking the same things for once.”
Mathias didn’t stop to ponder how scary that actually was; he needed to get his head on straight. Truth being, he was going to find out where Nossy was, even if he had to torture it out of them. Would it be ugly? Yes. But, sometimes, ugly was necessary.
Chapter Four
Nossy was starting to get nervous. He hadn’t heard anyone come into the room? Shack? Whatever he was in? In hours. It was cold. He could barely feel his butt, not that he had much of one to begin with, but whatever. Too bad his tail wasn’t soft.
If he thought about it really hard, no one had been there since he’d been kidnapped. It was not looking good. If they didn’t care enough to torture him, they didn’t actually plan on a ransom. That meant, essentially, that he was thoroughly screwed. The thirst was getting to him. His throat felt like it had been rubbed with sandpaper for a while.
If breathing wasn’t a compulsion, he wouldn’t bother. It just made his mouth and throat drier and drier. The bag over his head let in no light at all. In fact, he’d tried to blink himself out of this mess, but they’d used his own technology against him. There must be minerals and blood mixed into the bindings, but he could not smell them. All he could smell was this infernal bag over his head. He supposed he was lucky they hadn’t soaked it in cat urine.
Needless to say, the blinking did not work.
Dammit.
He was starting to understand why Mathias was as insane as he was. The months of torture and thirst had to have changed the entire way he thought. No wonder he was having trouble making sense of things now.
Still, the fact that no one had come to torture him did not look good. It meant he was forgotten. He didn’t even want to think how long it would take for a vampire to starve to death.
* * * * *
Vlad had placed a table in the middle of the throne room. It was going to be better to present a unified front instead of just Mathias on the throne. The more people you had to face at one time, the more nervous you would be. Or, at least that’s the way Vlad thought about it.
Behind the table sat Stuart and Mathias. In front of it was the opening to the containment hold. He was ever so glad that he had nothing to do with the dungeons.
Vlad knew that this was probably the logical thing to do, but Mathias seemed twitchy. His eyes kept darting around the room. With the new powers the boy seemed to be able to possess, he didn’t even want to think about what was going to happen if he lost control.
“Ready?” Vlad asked.
Mathias nodded. Stuart stared straight ahead.
“All right.” Vlad motioned to the guard. It was time.
The guard had long brown hair that was separated in plaits on either side of his head, the usual look for a royal guard. His name was Azazel, and legend had it that he was a prince of hell. Well, sort of, if hell was the dungeons of Lilitu. Still, the old rumor made Vlad smile.
Azazel pulled a handle on the wall and the mandala on the floor suddenly separated. It was this intricate deign with Chinese-style bats in a ring. There was the sound of ancient stone and gears grinding together. A single figure rose up from the depths. It was Nicolai Karsavin.
* * * * *
Konstantin’s dad was smiling. For Mathias, that was weird because he still remembered how the elder vampire had treated him before he knew the truth. Hell, it wasn’t that long ago that he looked down at Mathias like a piece of mud from his shoe. Now, it seemed like every time he had the chance, Karsavin kissed his ass. He was starting to prefer the latter.
Still, Karsavin didn’t look as pompous as he usually did. His fine black suit was rumpled and stained. And, there was hay stuck to the bottoms of his formerly shiny black shoes. The man had lost something. Mathias wasn’t sure if it had happened before his stint in the dungeon or during.
Mathias looked over at Stuart. Stuart looked like he was barely holding himself together. Not cool.
“What do you know about Nosferatu’s disappearance?” Stuart asked. His wings seemed stiff almost. Mathias wasn’t sure what he was going to do if Stuart decided to try to attack. Strength in the vampire world was deceiving.
Karsavin’s eyes popped from Mathias to Stuart. “I’ve heard that a council member is involved.”
Mathias grunted. Tell me something I don’t know. He hoped that the entire questioning session wasn’t going to go this slow. He’d be here forever. But, at least, since this wasn’t something for Stuart to lose control over, he could relax a little. “Who?”
Karsavin smiled at him. “Why, the one who stands to gain the most, of course.”
Mathias wanted to kick him right square in the ass. Now, he was getting pissed. Stuart could worry about him for a while. He glared. “I want you to say it.”
“My words mean nothing,” he said. “Even if I did tell you, you’d need to prove it.”
Mathias smiled. Technically, the man was right, but still, he wasn’t worried about proof right now. He was worried about finding Nossy before it was too late. “No. I don’t. I am king. If I do choose, I could simply kill the lot of you, consult a seer, and continue looking for Nosferatu that way. Instead, I’m being prudent.”
It was like his mouth had taken over and completely detached itself from his brain. He could hardly believe the wo
rds that left his mouth. He wasn’t usually this…intense. But, all of this shit concerning Nossy had brought out his dark side. Or the old him. He still didn’t have it all straight.
Karsavin’s eyes grew wide and he swallowed hard. “Talk to the speaker.”
“What do you want to do with him, Mathias?” Vlad asked.
He couldn’t back down now. He forced himself to drum up that part of himself again. Mathias motioned toward Karsavin with his head. “This one can be set free. He knows what can happen if he steps out of line.” He stared at the blond. The man lowered his eyes.
Vlad untied his hands and Karsavin ran out.
“Well, that was interesting,” Stuart said.
Interesting was not how Mathias would describe it, but whatever. “Shall we bring up the speaker?” He asked and looked at Vlad.
Vlad motioned to Azazel. Azazel smiled evilly.
* * * * *
Tallus could not believe the gall. To imprison him? He who had kept their government going for quite some time while the queen bitch had been lost in her insanity? It was outrageous. He should be on a chaise lounge being fed grapes by concubines, not standing in hay that likely had a coating of horse shit.
He looked around the cell. The other captives were keeping their distance. Good. They did not belong anywhere near him. The least they could have done was to put him in a cell by himself. Though, he still didn’t remember how he got here in the first place.
He had no idea how he’d been caught. The last thing he remembered was trying to duck out of the throne room after he’d said his peace. Something had happened, but what?
Suddenly, he heard a clanking. He looked up. The evil one, Azazel, was standing there looking at him. He’d dealt with the man many times over the years. He was great at punishment.
“Come to spring me, old friend?” Tallus asked.
Azazel smiled. “Something like that.” He opened the door to the cell. Tallus walked through. The others kept themselves huddled against the wall. Cowards. If there was any question about whether they were beneath him before, it was just answered.