Blood Vengeance (Bewitching Bedlam)

  I thought for a moment. What else could I try? I thought about trying to shatter one of the windows, but that was better suited toward wind magic, and my specialty was fire. And there was still the little matter of me being stuck in the chair.

  That left one thing that I could think of. I had, on occasion, been able to bilocate. With a slow, deep breath, I closed my eyes.

  Bilocation—the ability to be in two places at once—wasn’t easy, but it could be immeasurably helpful. I needed a set place to focus on. Someplace where I knew the layout.

  It occurred to me that if I dropped in on my best friend Sandy, she might figure out that something was wrong. I focused on her house. I wasn’t sure what time it was, so decided to aim for her bedroom. I envisioned the set up—her huge California king-size bed with its Zen-green comforter, her urns with bamboo shoots growing in them, the dresser that was low and wide with its cloisonné enameled surface.

  Once I had the image firmly in mind, I gathered my energy and shifted through the dimensions, so that my spirit moved through the astral. My mind reeled as I stretched out, as though I were reaching—reaching—reaching for something. And then, I opened my eyes. I was standing there at the foot of Sandy’s bed.

  Sandy was sprawled on it in her bra and panties, painting her toenails. Mr. Peabody lolled around on the bottom of the bed. He noticed me first and hissed—as skunks were wont to do. Sandy glanced up and caught her breath.

  “Maddy? What—”

  I had a scant few seconds that I knew I could hold on to my focus. My ability to bilocate wasn’t very strong so I had to make it quick.

  “Penthouse. I’m in the penthouse. Call Aegis and tell him. Hurry. It’s life or death.”

  I glanced at the clock on her nightstand. The luminous display read 8:30 PM. It wasn’t quite as late as I thought. At that moment, the sound of a door slamming back where I was seated startled me and I careened back into my body and opened my eyes.

  “HOW ARE YOU feeling? Or should I bother asking?” The voice was definitely male. The man—shadowy, although without the robe I had set on fire that morning—moved into the room. I could see him by the light of the stars trickling down through the skylight.

  “Who are you?” I still didn’t recognize him. “What do you want with me?”

  “All in time, Ms. Gallowglass. So, we finally meet. Let me enjoy this moment. I’ve waited a long time for this.” He moved closer and now I could see that his eyes glowed with a faint crimson in the darkness.

  I caught my breath. He couldn’t be a vampire. Not if he had been in our room this morning. “You’re...”

  “A vampire? Why yes, I am.”

  “How is that even possible? You were in my room this morning. After sunrise.”

  Vampires couldn’t be out during daylight hours, even if it were cloudy or overcast.

  At that, he flipped on a battery-operated lantern and set it to the side. “Why, yes I was in your room. Surely you know about the Arcānus Nocturni?” He sat in a chair opposite me. His slow, easy stance made me nervous. That meant he wasn’t worried about anybody interrupting us.

  I had never heard the term, and Aegis had never mentioned it. “No. Should I have?”

  The vampire let out a laugh. “Oh, that’s a question with a long answer. But trust me, we have plenty of time. You’re not going anywhere and neither am I.”

  He sounded so casual, as though he spent every day sitting around with a woman chained to a chair. Actually, for all I knew, he did. I leaned back, trying to stay calm. I had to play it smart. Obviously, I wasn’t dealing with just any run-of-the-mill vamp here.

  “Then why don’t we start with the obvious question? What’s the Arcānus Nocturni?”

  He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Oh, Maddy Gallowglass, you mean to tell me that in all the years you spent raging across Europe, destroying my kind, not once did you ever hear about us? How could that be? And why hasn’t your boyfriend ever told you about us? The most famed vampire hunter ever, and you really never bothered to find out about those of us who engendered the vampire race? I’d say that’s shortsighted on your part, wouldn’t you?”

  His tone took a cruel turn, and my heart skipped a beat. He knew who I was. He knew about my past. Maybe I was in more danger than I had thought. Maybe I had been wrong. Maybe he wasn’t after Aegis. Maybe, he was after me.

  “You know my name.” My history was no secret in Bedlam who I was, but once away from the town, I had managed to fly under the radar for the majority of people I had met.

  His eyes flared and he leaned forward. “Oh, I know who you are. You’re the Mad Maudlin. You’re the same Mad Maudlin who invaded my village in Romania several hundred years ago, burning it to the ground and destroying dozens of vampires in your fires. You’re no better than the witch hunters who you ran from. Your fires blazed like theirs. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. All in all, one fiery death is the same as the other, isn’t it?”

  My stomach churned. He knew about that night. That last sunset when Sandy, Fata Morgana, and I had finally tracked down a band of ruthless vampires who had been rampaging and killing people through the small villages. I had brought forth a wave of magical fire to cascade down on the thatched roofs, to roll through the village of vampires as they rose from their lairs and coffins. Sandy had stirred the flames with her wind, and Fata...Fata made sure the surrounding countryside was safe with her waters.

  When the three of us had walked through the ashes come morning, we knew we were done. There comes a point where the blood clouds the senses. When you either have to let it swallow you whole in a haze of vengeance, or you walk away, clear your head, and remake your life. After a long period of running wild, of partying to forget the horrors, to forget that the vampires had stolen my beloved Tom, I had chosen to move on.

  I swallowed the lump of fear rising in my throat. “I remember some escaped. You were one of them? You were there?”

  “No, I wasn’t there. If I had, you would have died that night. But the vampires in that village were my children—I sired the elders. They were my army and my family. And you destroyed them. When I returned home a few days later, all I found was a sodden pile of ashes.”

  In the blink of an eye—a quick blur—he was off his chair to bend over me. His face was inches away from mine. “You think we can’t feel pain or sorrow?”

  Trying to control my fear, I forced my voice steady. “No, I don’t think that. But your family killed close to a thousand villagers around the countryside. Your family destroyed so many lives that there was a pall of fear that washed through every village. So I became their vengeance and their protector.”

  “My family hunted for food! Humans are nothing in the scheme of things. Mere mortals—they mean nothing. A witch as powerful as you are should understand that. You should revel in your superiority, not lower yourself to their world.”

  Before I realized what he was doing, he backhanded me. He had to be holding back, because he didn’t break my neck, but my jaw felt bruised and I knew I had a nasty contusion from one of the rings he wore.

  I cleared my throat. “You were human once, weren’t you?”

  He raised his hand again, then paused, his eyes burning. “You are a fool.”

  “So you may think. Fine. So we’re at a stalemate. Once again, I ask you, what is the Arcānus Nocturni?”

  The vampire hovered over me a moment. I wasn’t sure if he was going to turn me into a snack or answer me. But after a long pause, he slowly withdrew. The tension was so thick it might as well be pea soup, and I could tell it was taking tremendous discipline for him to keep from ripping my head off. I’d seen the same struggle for control within Aegis. It was just never aimed at me.

  “All right. Fair is fair. I want you to know, before you pay for your war crimes.”

  “War crimes?” I tried to gauge how long it had been since I had seen Sandy. Would she be able to call Aegis? I prayed that cell
reception was working.

  “You know exactly what I’m saying, Mad Maudlin. You waged war on vampires and now, I claim justice.” He eased himself back to his chair. “The Arcānus Nocturni are the forebears of the vampire race. We are the original members of the Fallen. We witnessed the rise of the great pyramids of Egypt. We watched as the first humans began to gather in villages. We live in secret, and in secret, we stay. We are the eyes and ears of our race. Unfortunately, vampires have weakened to the pathetic creatures you see today. Our long-distant children can no longer walk in the sun or wake during the daylight hours. They can no longer breed true.”

  I realized that I was facing a creature far older than anyone I had ever met. Aegis was probably among the oldest vamps I had ever met. And yet, he seemed young compared to...

  “I still don’t know your name.”

  “You hear all this and yet you still ask my name?” But he laughed. “I always wondered who Mad Maudlin was, and why she didn’t fear coming after us. Now I see for myself. You have either no sense of self-preservation or you’re as mad as the legends claim.” He shrugged. “Either way, you won’t be coming out of this alive, so I might as well tell you. My name is Lucifer. You may call me Luke.”

  I caught my breath. “You’re one of the gods.”

  “No. I was one of their messengers, though. I traveled via the morning star. I was brilliant and beautiful, and I lived in the heavens, until I fell ill.”

  I paused, realizing what he was saying. “The Fallen...”

  “You begin to see. Yes, the Fallen are those who contact vampirism. I contacted it when I was out, walking among the stars. When I fell ill, the gods feared catching what I had. Great Nyx pushed me out of her sky and I fell to earth, forced to live among the mortals, stripped of most of the powers that had made me Lucifer. So I became Lucian, then. And later, Luke, as the eons wore on. I’ve have been here ever since.” He scratched his chin, watching me closely.

  I stared at him. He predated Aegis, definitely. Aegis had been a servant of Apollo, who had cursed him with vampirism over a mistake in judgment. But Luke had been turned far, far earlier. I realized that I had just learned a massively important piece of information.

  One, vampirism was an alien disease—or it seemed so.

  Two, by telling me who he was, I realized that he really wasn’t kidding. I wasn’t getting out of here on his good will. The news about the Arcānus Nocturni would dramatically swing the public opinion on vamps. After all, if there were vampires walking abroad in daylight, then nobody was safe, ever. The wannabe Buffys would be out in full swing.

  “I imagine you’re wondering what I’m planning to do with you?”

  “You’ll understand if I’m not particularly keen on finding out, but now that you bring it up, I suppose you’re going to tell me anyway.”

  Luke had pretty much told me he wanted my head on a pike for what I had done to his sirelings. I refused to call them children—that implied a joyful creation and vampires were anything but joyful. Every vampire I had destroyed had been a blood-sucking demon.

  I cringed at the last thought and a flutter of guilt washed over me. Aegis was a vamp and he wasn’t a demon, though he did drink blood. I was still getting used to the fact that I had a vampire boyfriend. Not all vamps were evil by nature, I kept telling myself.

  “I suppose you want revenge.”

  “Revenge? Perhaps. But I prefer to think of this as justice. I’m your judge, jury, and executioner. I sentence you, Maudlin Gallowglass, become one of the Fallen. I’m going to bring you into our world, and then hold you under the sun as it tears apart your body in an explosion of dust—much like what you did with my people.”

  Crap! He was going to turn me and dust me.

  “Great. Sounds like you’re a man with a plan.”

  He stared at me. “You’re really going to sit there and say that to me?”

  I glared at him. “What else should I do? If I beg you to spare me, I doubt you’ll have a change of heart.”

  It occurred to me that, while the sun might not crisp him, maybe fire would manage the same result. Most vamps were terribly vulnerable to flames. Given he was one of the Arcānus Nocturni, I couldn’t be sure, but I didn’t have much else to work with.

  “You seem terribly blasé.” He sounded disgruntled now.

  Just as I thought—he wanted me to be afraid. He wanted me to beg and plead for my life. Then, he’d have the pleasure of dashing my hopes. I knew his type. In fact, one of my best friends had been his type. I might be known as Mad Maudlin, but Fata Morgana—she was far more the wild child than I had ever been, and she had been cruel at the end before she disappeared. A tempest incarnate.

  I thought about trying to melt the chain around me, but nixed the idea. If I melted the metal to the point of escaping, the molten steel would burn my stomach, not to mention light the chair on fire and me along with it. Besides, Luke was watching every move I made.

  “I’m surprised you haven’t already turned me, to be honest. If you hate me that much, why wait? Not that I’m eager...”

  Luke shrugged. “Why wait? Good question. I don’t know. I’ve hunted you for decades. I lost your trail several times and then, each time, something brought me round to you again. And now, here you are.” His voice was curiously flat. “I suppose I want to savor the moment.”

  As I watched him, an inkling of what was going on began to worm its way into my mind. I’d seen this before, especially among those with a long lifespan. “Let me guess. After all this time, you caught me. And you don’t have all the feel-goods you thought you would. Am I right?”

  He blinked twice, which told me I was on track.

  “Why would you think that?”

  I let out a long sigh. “Because, I know what happens when you nurse a grudge for decades. Why do you think I came after your people?”

  Long silence that stretched even longer. After a few minutes, he gave me a half-shrug. “I suppose you had family who...”

  “Who lost their lives to your gang of vamps? Close. I was in love with a magical musician. Your family took him, turned him against his will, and he became a monster. He became everything he had always been against. So, you see, I have my own vengeance story.”

  That seemed to shut him up. He sat back in his chair, quietly watching me. Finally, he held out a bottle of whisky. “You want a drink?”

  I stared at it. Vampires could eat and drink like the rest of us, although it didn’t do them any good on a nutritional level. And they couldn’t get drunk. But he might not know that I knew that. Any chance to get this damned chain off me was worth a shot.

  “Sure, but let’s up the stakes—pun intended. Want to play a game?” I leaned forward as far as the chain would allow.

  He kept his gaze focused on me. “Really? What kind of game?”

  We drink for my life. Last one standing walks out free. I lose, you do whatever you want to me. You lose, you chalk it up to the past and leave me and my family alone forever.”

  I held my breath. Would he take the bait? Luke had lived so long he had seen the beginning of the world—at least the civilized world. After a while, long life became a burden rather than a blessing. While he couldn’t lose to me, maybe my offer might give him some sense of sport.

  After a long while, Luke pushed himself out of the chair. He crossed over to me, taking my chin in his icy hands and lifting it so that I was gazing into his eyes.

  “You really want to bet me?” His voice was oddly soft.

  “What have I got to lose?”

  I had one thing in my favor. I could drink just about anybody under the table except my girl Sandy. A few shots wouldn’t touch me, and then if I could catch him off guard, I could light the whisky bottle on fire and throw it at him.

  “One rule though—you have to unchain me. I’m not as strong as you are, and I don’t have a stake, so that shouldn’t be a problem, should it?” Appealing to a sense of
fair play wouldn’t work, but appealing to reason just might.

  He let out a soft snort, but then carried the table over. He placed it in front of my chair and plunked the whisky bottle down on the marble surface. After dragging his chair over, he leaned down to unlock the chain while watching me closely.

  Bide your time, Maddy, I thought. Move too fast and all bets are off.

  I stayed put, and cleared my throat. “Got glasses?”

  “Right here.” In a blur, he vanished into the darkness, then returned seconds later with two shot glasses, setting them beside the bottle. He sat down again, leaning his elbows on the table. “You first, Maudlin.”

  Trying to steady my shaking fingers, I reached out and took hold of the whisky bottle, pouring two shots. A thought ran through my head that maybe he had poisoned the booze, but then I decided that would be too easy for him.

  I held up my glass. “To those we both lost in the past.” It churned my stomach to toast his “family,” given how many deaths they had wreaked.

  He held his glass for a moment before touching it lightly to mine. “To the dead.”

  I tossed back the shot. At least it would give me a blood sugar boost. The whisky was smooth as it raced down my throat. A pale fire that blossomed into notes of oak and apple, of autumn mornings. I stared at the glass, bringing it up to my nose.

  “What is this stuff? I’ve never had anything quite so good.”

  “MacFadden Aberdeen Blend. Aged sixty years.”

  I’d have to remember the name, if I managed to escape. I pushed my glass forward. “Another round.”

  He poured. “This really should be sipped, not chugged like a college kegger.”

  “You want to sit and sip, fine.” I leaned back. It would be a shame to destroy that bottle. But alcohol was a good fire-starter. I slowly sipped my drink, watching my adversary cautiously.

  “Why did you try to kill Aegis?”

  “Because he’s a traitor. He stays with you, knowing who you are and what you did. I was going to let him fry under the sun, but he managed to get away from me. I didn’t count on him being so strong.” Luke laughed. “I won’t underestimate him next time.”