The blood queen, p.17
The Blood Queen, page 17
When her eyes landed on me, she smirked, “The only one still firmly supporting you is your pet wizard. I understand he rolls over on command for you, though...”
My grip on my cane tightened and I instinctively channeled power, causing the runes to glow verdant light.
Corvix squeezed my shoulder with his claws just enough to break my concentration.
The light in my cane’s runes faded and I took a deep breath.
When Magdalena gave me a satisfied smirk, I cleared my throat. It was probably uncouth of me to speak in this setting, but I wasn’t a vampire, so I wasn’t necessarily bound by their rules. “Remind me again why you look like a melted wax figure?” I smirked.
If the assembled vampires breathed, I’m pretty sure there would have been an audible gasp.
I settled for the half-hidden smiles a few of them presented. “That’s right,” I continued, not letting a good opportunity go to waste. “You tried to groom your own wizard pet. Always jealous of big brother’s toys, huh? Didn’t work out so well for you, though, did it? Think your coup is going to fare any better?”
If I thought the look of utter disdain Magdalena had shown Manny a few minutes before was intense, the glare I received should have stopped my heart cold.
Eyebrows raised and eyes widened, Magdalena looked as if she was ready to leap from her chair and pounce on me without a second’s thought.
“And that was after I buried your backstabbing ass,” I said with a confidence I only half felt. “Keep my name out of your mouth, or I’ll finish what I started a year ago right, right now.”
Manny finally looked my way and I could see for a moment a look of approval on his chiseled face. Damned if that look didn’t move parts of me that shouldn’t have been my focus at that moment... I’ve heard it said that love is blind, but lust is blind, deaf, and mute.
Fuming, Magdalena turned back to her brother, directing her disdain for me at Manny.
To his credit, Manny never lost his grin. It even took on a familiar quality to another lover from my past, the roguish faerie Puck.
Puck would show off a grin anytime he felt particularly impish, like he was the only one in the room who really knew what was going on.
“Up to this point, you’ve done nothing that can’t be forgiven,” Manny shrugged. His voice felt like steel covered in velvet. “I will clean up your... mistake at the wedding reception of Nicodemus’ friends. Recompense will be given—from your holdings, of course—and you will have to subject yourself to the Binding, naturally.”
I took several deep breaths. Hearing Manny call the attack on the Majester wedding a mistake brought my blood to boil.
Corvix leaned in and poked at my cheek gently, bringing me out of my increasingly wrathful state of mind. “This is how the game is played, Nico. You know it’s not personal,” whispered my familiar.
“Sure as hell feels like it,” I replied in a hushed voice only he would hear.
Corvix poked me again with his beak, this time hard enough to grab my attention without breaking skin. “If the Binding is what I think it is, Magdalena will be worse than dead.”
My conversation with Corvix was cut short when Magdalena let out a bitter, chortling laugh. “Really, brother? You subjected me to the Binding, once before. Never again. I will not be your plaything. You have the wizard for that...”
“The wizard is many things,” said Manny, his eyes flicking to me briefly, “Churlish, uncouth, obstinate at times.. But brutally effective, when he sets his mind to it. He is far more than a plaything. A plaything in the same sense as a finely crafted and honed sword...”
One of Maggie’s eyebrows raised. She glanced at me with a discerning eye, as if she were seeing me in a different light. I couldn’t quite make out what was going on in that twisted mind of hers, but it didn’t feel like a positive reassessment.
Calliope leaned in and whispered, “I always knew Lord Vega held you in high regard, but I had no idea how deep his affection ran. That’s the most praise I’ve heard him utter about anyone, let alone a mortal...”
“Thanks, I guess,” I said. I turned slightly to face the vampiress, who had gathered uncomfortably close to speak to me. I leaned back a bit to give us some distance. “Calliope, what is the Binding?”
The vampire blinked at me a few times as if I’d grown a second head. “I thought you wizards were supposed to be all-knowing.”
“I must have skipped that day in wizard school,” I remarked. “Seriously, what is it?”
“The Binding is a blood ritual, one of the oldest known to our kind. Where I come from, it was called ceangailteach.” She cast a worrisome look at Manny and Magdalena. “A vampire under the Binding is forced to obey another, even up to giving up their own unlife for them.”
My eyebrows raised and I nearly whistled, before stopping myself. “You mean they become a slave.”
“That is as good a word as any,” replied Calliope with the same tone of voice one would use to discuss the weather. “If what Magdalena said is true, she shouldn’t be able to take up arms against Lord Vega. Unless...”
I finished her thought for her, saying, “Unless someone powerful broke the spell.”
Manny glanced at me and Calliope, then cleared his throat; I adjusted my seat, as did Calliope. “Sister, what has driven you to this?” asked Manny.
Another bitter, reproachful laugh escaped Magdalena’s lips. “You ask me that? I served alongside you for centuries. When we came to America, after Bautista fell, and we had nothing.” Magdalena stood and placed both hands on the table. Through the veil, I could see her glowering down at her brother, who remained unmoving. “I was the one who buried our enemies, allowing you to ascend to your current position. If it weren’t for me, you would still be a foot soldier for Lord Vélez.”
For the first time during the confrontation, I saw Manny squirm slightly in his seat.
“And, how did you repay me? I should have been at your right hand. Instead, you allowed others like Demetrius, Viscardi, and Calliope to carve out their territories.” Magdalena lifted the veil so that Manny could get a better look at her. Her skin looked like it had been through a cheese grater. Fire is one of the few things that vampires don’t heal quickly from, and Terry Masters had immolated Magdalena. She looked like someone had dragged her behind a truck for thirty miles over rough asphalt.
“When it was time for me to assume my own territory as a Lady, I asked for your assistance to take over Orlando. We could have controlled all of central Florida, cutting the state in two.” Magdalena leaned back and sat down, her lips drawn close into an angry pout, “What did you say when I asked you to help me claim a place for my own?”
Manuel Vega didn’t speak for some time.
I felt the tension around me as the assembled vampires leaned in. Calliope’s remark earlier about sharks smelling blood in the water was an apt metaphor. Even the elders who had arrived with Manny were staring at their Lord like a pack of hungry lions gazing at a wounded cape buffalo.
“I said that it was a foolish attempt and even with my help, you would have failed,” Manny answered her question, finally, “And, you would have died in the process.”
My spine shivered from the ice in his voice.
“My plan would have worked!” shouted Magdalena. She slammed a fist down into the table, denting the metal a solid inch. “With Omia by my side, we could have taken down Lady Fischer and claimed the city! But you... you lacked faith in my abilities. You lacked faith in me!”
The pain in Magdalena’s accusation felt raw to me, as if the event had happened just yesterday. In a strange way, I understood how she felt. The Assembly had always regarded me as a disaster they had to contain or a problem they needed to solve; even when I had accomplished a goal for them—like tracking down and disposing of an errant gargoyle—they acknowledged the deed, but not that I was instrumental in performing it.
I was still going to kill Magdalena for what she had done at the wedding, as well as everything else. Recognizing what drove her to commit those acts didn’t change the fact that she was a monster, through and through; but, at least in that moment, I understood something about Magdalena that I hadn’t realized before.
Manny considered his sister for a few minutes before asking, “Is that why you left?”
“Yes,” replied Magdalena. I’d never heard such malice in a single word, but there was enough weight in Maggie’s voice to sink a cruise liner. “I left! And found someone who recognizes my talents!”
It was Manny’s turn to rise and tower over his sister. Despite the confidence she displayed a moment before, Magdalena scooted back a few inches when her brother stood.
“Yes, your benefactor who consorts with devils from the Hells,” said Manny with enough ire that even I reeled back from how much anger was behind his voice, “You would bring that kind of maldición into our city?! Have us consort with demons and devils and God knows what else?!” When Magdalena did not respond, Manny addressed the assembled Conclave, “Whatever power my sister has promised you, it comes with a far greater price than you can afford to pay. When you consort with demonio, you are never their masters, only their unwitting pawns.”
I scanned the room.
It’s difficult to read a vampire’s facial expressions. The lack of blood flowing in their bodies, not to mention the fact that they don’t need to breathe... The normal facial tics and giveaways become obsolete.
Their body language, on the other hand, is easier to read.
The vampires on Magdalena’s side of the room wore impassive masks; but, their bodies were practically vibrating with rage. They looked as if they were one second away from exploding out of their chairs and assaulting Manny.
A few of the other vampires that had arrived with Manny were casting capricious glares at their counterparts on the other side of the room. Viscardi stared at Manny, then shifted his gaze to Magdalena, weighing the pros and cons in his head, then around at the others on his side, two of whom returned his gaze. No words were spoken—or gestures made—but, there was clearly an understanding being shared between them.
I looked to Calliope, who I found was eyeing the room in much the same way I was. She gave me a half-hearted smile. There was a glimmer in her black eyes, that almost begged for a similar silent comprehension.
Manny turned back to face his sister and sat down. “Agree to the Binding and I’ll spare your life, Magdalena. Refuse, and I will destroy you,” he stated, resolutely.
Magdalena simply chuckled and gave a curt nod of her head.
Demetrius moved faster than I could see. One moment he was standing with his back against a steel rack, the next he was behind Manny with a large revolver pressed to the back of the vampire lord’s skull.
It was Magdalena’s turn to stand tall and gloat. “Brother, you took the words out of my mouth. Submit to the Binding, yourself, and I will keep you as a pet.” She kicked her seat back and flipped the table over like it was a piece of plywood. “I think your first task will be to kill Nicodemus. There’s a wonderful amount of irony in that idea. Perhaps I’ll even let you defile him one last time...” Magdalena stared at me with abject hatred in her eyes.
I found myself unable to swallow.
Corvix leaned in and whispered, “Time for the cavalry.”
I nodded, imperceptibly, and Corvix disappeared from my shoulder, slipping into Sideways as easily as I could step into a pool.
“Even your familiar abandons you in your hour of need, wizard,” scoffed Magdalena. “How sad your life is.”
I rose from my chair, the runes in my cane glowing brightly as I channeled power from the area. “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie,” I clicked my tongue like a disapproving father, “I will not go quietly, and I won’t be going alone.”
Manny turned his head slightly and smiled at me. “Well said, Nico. Loyalty like that is hard to come by, isn’t it, Demetrius?”
“Suck my dick, Lord Vega,” sneered Demetrius. “Magdalena offered me what you never could, a chance to be more than an errand boy for you and your boy toy over there.”
I glared at Demetrius before saying, “I’m a man toy, little vampire. Put some respect in your voice when you talk about me.”
“Loyalty,” hissed Magdalena, as if the word were poison in her mouth. “Obedience is bound by power, brother. Those without power obey those with power. It is the way of things for us.”
“Too true,” agreed Manny, “But, it is not always that way for all.”
A blade appeared next to Magdalena’s throat before I could even register the movement. Omia had closed the distance between her and Magdalena, drawing her short sword and bringing it to stop perhaps a half-inch from her “master’s” throat.
I saw a small trickle of blood escape from Maggie’s flesh. The seething rage I had received a few moments before was now reserved for the quiet Asian woman who had, until that moment, been just a figure in the background.
You know those moments where time seemingly stands still? It’s usually when the shit is just about to hit the fan.
No one moved or spoke for what seemed like minutes but was probably just a scant few moments. I held my breath, which wouldn’t have been unusual in a room full of living people. Casting my gaze around the room, I could see the other vampires tensing. A few even licked their lips.
Then, everything seemed to happen at once.
Several of the vampires on Magdalena’s side of the room sprang from their chairs and seized Omia, pulling her blade away from their leader’s throat.
Manny spun with preternatural speed, seizing Demetrius’ gun and shattering the vampire’s wrist in the process.
Before Demetrius’ howl of rage and pain had begun to echo in the room, the vampires on Manny’s side of the room rose from their seats—but, their target was not Demetrius. Instead, they surged toward Manny, bloodlust in their eyes.
Calliope stood up and seized my arm, pulling me back into a tight embrace.
“Nothing personal, Nicodemus,” uttered Calliope as she licked my neck and gave it a soft kiss.
Chapter 16
Manny whirled on his heels, the gun he had taken from Demetrius firing shots with lethal precision.
The vampires who had arrived with him—the ones he had expected to support his claim to the position of authority he’d held for as long as I had been in Tampa—took the blows from the bullets in stride, inching closer to taking down the Lord of Tampa.
“Let’s sit this out and let them settle things, Nico,” whispered Calliope. She gave my exposed neck another affectionate lick. “I’d hate to have to damage you.”
Redirecting the channeled power from my cane into my free left hand, I planted it over Calliope’s face and shouted, “Lumen.”
A burst of radiant green light filled my periphery, causing me to shut my eyes briefly.
Calliope howled in pain, her grip on my arm loosening.
I broke free and grasped my cane in both hands, like a baseball bat.
By the time Calliope recovered, I was already mid-swing, connecting the heavy knot end of my cane with her jaw. Staggered, she leaned against an empty metal rack against the wall behind us.
Pulling in a quick amount of energy, I cast my hand at the metal shelf and said, “Ligare metallum.”
The metal in the shelf shifted in consistency and wrapped itself around her arm and leg.
Calliope howled in impotent rage at me, her fangs bared.
“Be a good lass and stay put,” I said, smugly.
As I turned, I removed my gun from my jacket pocket and fired off a handful of rounds at the vampires approaching Manny. A few of them hit; the rest sent shards of metal and concrete as they ricocheted.
Seeing that none of the vampires were impeding by my bullets, I pushed power into my cane and swept it from left to right, screaming, “Repulso.”
A wave of green magical energy flew outward from me.
Manny, even while firing his purloined gun, had the wherewithal to duck under the energy wave and roll toward me.
The vampires who were seeking to harm him, however, were caught in the blast wave. All of them tumbled backward—landing hard on the concrete floor, or bouncing off the metal shelves that lined the walls.
“Thank you, Nico.” Manny dropped the spent pistol and balled up his fists. “We need to free Omia and get out of here.”
“If we can take out Maggie, now would be as good a time as any,” I said. When I scanned the room, I saw the back of Magdalena’s dress as she was exiting the storeroom. “No way is that bitch just gonna walk away,” I muttered.
Ejecting the magazine from my Glock, I tucked the weapon away and bolted toward the door that would lead back into the club proper.
I caught sight of Omia—five vampires holding her in place while a sixth raised Omia’s blade high for a killing stroke.
My gaze darted to the closing door and Magdalena, before returning to the bound Omia.
“Fuck...” I growled. Pointing my cane at the sword-wielding vampire, I focused the energy I pulled in and shouted, “Adigo!”
A lance of concussive green energy launched from my cane, striking the vampire in the ribs, just under the arm. The downward slice’s trajectory altered, landing against one of the arms holding Omia captive.
A scream erupted but that was all that Omia needed. With one hand free, she lashed out, repeatedly pummeling one of her captors in the face. Her tongue flew out from her mouth, stabbing one vampire in the eye before whipping around and slashing another across the face.
Once freed, Omia stepped forward and planted a firm punch to the solar plexus of the vampire still holding her stolen sword. A pair of sharp kicks followed in rapid succession, aimed at crippling the vampire’s knees.
Taking her sword from her crumpling adversary, Omia spun and sliced, removing the vampire’s head from its shoulders.
“You owe me one,” I reminded her.
Before I could see how Omia responded, a sharp pain stabbed through my kidney.
I was spun around by the force of the agony to see the grim visage of Demetrius, his hand pulled back for another blow. I leaned back, catching only a fraction of the punch with my chin, which was enough to almost make me pass out.
