The Devil's Liege Read online

  “Not yet.”

  * * * * *

  Later that day, Mathias sat in his room pouring over books he’d taken from the library. It was kind of cool to know that he now had access to something the regular students did not. Not that his standing in the school really mattered to Mathias, but whatever.

  His mind flitted to one thought or another. In a way, he was thankful for all the books, but the alone time was something he needed to get used to. The routine of getting up, meeting Vlad for breakfast, and then discussing lessons was something he’d taken for granted.

  He didn’t really want to admit it, but he was going to miss Vlad. It had been bad enough that he no longer saw Nossy as much as he used to. That was to be expected, of course with Nossy now being king of the vampire world. He spent his day trying to solve a variety of problems. There just wasn’t time for anything else.

  It still hurt though. Nossy had been his friend for so long. The old memories rushed at him like a wave; relaxing with Nossy at his home, learning about Lilith and her kingdom. To be honest, when Nossy first got friendly, Mathias figured he could use all the information he gained to his advantage. What a surprise it turned out to be when Nossy ended up being one of the few people he could trust. Even after what Lilith had done, Nossy was not at fault.

  Though he knew she was dead, Mathias couldn’t help but think about her. She’d changed his life so much, both before his death and after. It wasn’t easy to flip that off like a switch. He still hated her even though he knew she really was dead.

  Mathias sat his book down on the bed, got up, and left the room. Sitting around sulking wasn’t going to help him any. He needed to find something to do. Something that didn’t involve dwelling on stupid shit.

  Out in the main part of the chamber, Mathias decided to head toward the throne room. Nossy might have the time to visit. It wasn’t likely, but he could try. Plus, he didn’t exactly know what else he could do with his time.

  He leapt into the air, stretched out his wings and flew through the hallways. Just the feeling of having the wind flow through the little hairs on his wings sent a thrill through his body. If there was one thing he loved about being a vampire, this was it. Technically, he knew he shouldn’t, but no one could match his flying either. And, well, flying was better than walking anyway. It was faster.

  He whipped though the twists and turns of the hallways. A few times narrowly avoiding students by mere inches. They stepped away from him though. He was considered untouchable. Kind of weird to think about. In a former life, that might have been cool. Now, though, he felt like it made him look like a pompous ass. Okay, sure he could fly, and okay, he fought well enough to stay alive until Nossy could kill his mother and save him. He wasn’t exactly a badass. Not now anyhow. The past didn’t matter anymore.

  Finally, he reached the throne room, but there was no one there. It had an abandoned feeling about it. Mathias almost expected a tumbleweed to blow across the floor. Not that there were tumbleweeds in Siberia, but his brain couldn’t think of anything more desolate. The tapestral colors hung from the ceiling like they were supposed to. Mathias touched down right inside the door.

  “Maybe he went to lunch?” He didn’t even mean to speak it. It just slipped out of his mouth.

  Then, he saw it. Lying on the floor in front of the ornate throne was Nossy’s necklace. Well, technically, the regal necklace. The throne was cracked down the middle.

  “Oh, shit.”

  Chapter Two

  Mathias closed his eyes and pushed with his mind. He sent what he hoped was a distress call to Vlad. He was still learning how to handle the thought talents. He was better with physical things. There wasn’t much else he could do. The throne being split and Nossy missing was bad news. It was a weird feeling to have his brain flex inside his skull when he did it and he thought he managed to send it out to Vlad alone.

  He would have sent it to Stuart too, but he didn’t know Stuart well enough. Granted, yes, Stuart was Nossy’s brother, but he didn’t trust what he didn’t know. And, Mathias didn’t know what type of man he’d become. Stuart had been a little kid when Mathias had first met him. The list of people he could trust was getting smaller and smaller.

  Soon, the elder vampire appeared, blinking into the room next to Mathias. Mathias was relieved.

  Vlad looked over at him. “What’s going on?”

  Mathias didn’t say a word, but simply pointed at the broken necklace on the floor. The chain had been snapped as if jerked from Nossy’s neck. Nothing needed to be said after seeing that.

  “That’s not a good sign,” Vlad said.

  No shit. But he didn’t say it. It wasn’t the time for that. “So, what do we do?” Mathias asked.

  Vlad closed his eyes for a minute. Finally, he looked at Mathias again. “For now, no one knows anything. I’ll call in the guard to investigate. Do you have any idea who could have done this?” he asked Mathias.

  Mathias shook his head slowly. “No.” It wasn’t like he’d walked in on the scene or anything, just the aftermath.

  * * * * *

  Mathias was installed back in his room. He guessed that was a good way to put it, especially when he was escorted there by two guards. They were meant to be protection. Vlad had simply motioned for them to follow Mathias back to his room. It wasn’t where he wanted to be, but he didn’t complain about it. Mostly because there really wasn’t anything he could do to help. Not yet anyway.

  Still, he’d noticed things. When he’d been on the streets, he consistently worried about being linked to crimes via DNA. If it was discovered who he was, well, he’d get a one-way ticket back to his Aunt’s house. In his mind, almost getting killed by a pissed off vampire queen was preferable. She’d been that bad. He still remembered the look on her face as she watched her oaf of a son abuse him. Talk about a toxic family.

  The vamps didn’t solve things the normal way. They’d charged into the crime scene and picked up the necklace. Mathias felt it was smarter to get any DNA evidence that was available, but he wasn’t an “expert”. He had to hope that there were vampire scientists that knew something about DNA and what to do with it.

  But, maybe there weren’t. Maybe they focused on other things. Otherwise, they would have approached the whole thing with care. Whoever did this had been smart enough to know how it was going to be investigated. And, they’d been strong enough to overpower Nossy—bar none one of the oldest living vampires. They had to have done something to distract him.

  Mathias froze. A thought crept into the forefront of all the turmoil in his mind. Maybe his dreams had meant something after all. He knew Lilith was dead. There was no reason for Nossy to lie to him about that. Still though, he had to focus. It was time to make a list.

  He grabbed a piece of paper out of his notebook and snatched up a pen off the desk. “Okay. Who are the oldest vamps here?” he asked himself.

  1. Vlad

  2. Nossy

  3. Stuart

  4. Order members

  5. Lestan

  6. Nicolai Karsavin—Konstantin’s Dad.

  It wasn’t a very long list, and without knowing who all of the Order members were, the list was flawed. Nossy was kidnapped, so he could be crossed off the list. But the others? Who knew. He needed to find out who was the most to gain from Nossy disappearing. He had to follow the money trail like his dad always said. But, he didn’t know where to look for that either. It wasn’t like there was a vampiric stock rating or something.

  He had to stop thinking about this like a kid. Sometimes, his brain still hadn’t caught up with the past and the present. In body, he was an adult. And, he had the memories of his past life and the centuries he had lived, but what he knew about the modern world was still very short in comparison.

  He still operated like he was still the runaway who was both afraid of nothing and everything. He could trust no one. Everyone was suspect until he found a reason to knock them off the list. Even people that seemed like friends can
turn on you. Maybe his time on the streets had made him jaded, but these politicians of the Order didn’t seem all that different. He needed to collect what information he could from the few he really did trust.

  The only thing Mathias knew for sure was that the people that did this—they were going to pay. Even if he had to do it himself.

  * * * * *

  Vlad paced around in his office. He felt too nervous to do much else. It was only going to be so long before the people knew of Nosferatu’s disappearance. He had to do something quick. The new “king” had to be named before someone else publicly announced their claim to the throne. He just knew that the one who stepped up was likely involved in Nossy’s kidnapping, but he couldn’t risk even letting that person in power for a short time to draw them out. What would he do if that person immediately imprisoned them all?

  Choosing who would be king wasn’t an easy task on any day, but with something like this going on … Well, it was harder than it needed to be. The “king” had to be someone the people wouldn’t object to as well as someone the council couldn’t do anything about. Since he, himself, had ruled not all that long ago, back before Lilith seemed stable, he was not eligible. Stuart, maybe, but would be people really back him?

  He stopped pacing, sat down in his desk chair, leaned back and closed his eyes. Could he live with himself if he did this? He let out a breath. Yes. Would he like it? Probably not.

  He threw open the lower drawer in his desk and snatched a piece of golden parchment from it. Then, he signed away Mathias’ fate.

  He rolled the piece of paper that would change Mathias’ life once again, took a piece of red satin ribbon from a drawer in his desk and tied it around the parchment. Then, he leaned back.

  One day, he hoped, the boy could actually live without someone always trying to kill him.

  * * * * *

  Speaker Tallus was tired. All of the planning and scheming had taken its toll. Even, now, he was pacing. Always pacing. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to wear a depression into the floor. The walls of his chamber were covered in dark wood and full of bookcases. The focal point in the center of his sitting room was a massive burgundy leather chair. He almost never received visitors, so extra seating seemed so very pointless. Besides, he liked his chair.

  He laced his claws together. The light from the fireplace reflected off them, making them seem to shine like glass. Interwoven, they resembled the underbelly of a large crab—alien and beautiful.

  He didn’t like waiting. It was a necessary annoyance, but necessary didn’t mean pleasing. The messenger should have been there by now, shouldn’t he? If the deed was not done, he was not going to be happy. Too much was at stake for this to fail. He shuddered. He didn’t even want to think about the ramifications if it did.

  He stopped pacing and sat down in his chair. He forced himself to stop dwelling by staring at the flames in the fireplace. The colors dancing in front of his eyes were almost mesmerizing with orange and yellow undulating amid red sparks. Within them, he could see the crowds of people cheering just because he graced them with his presence. It was going to be so perfect. Soon, they would know what it is like to be led by a real leader.

  A short time later, he heard a faint knock at the door. This was it. It was about time. He sprung up from his chair and almost knocked it over with his wing in the process. He chuckled to himself. He needed to be in better control of his emotions. He righted his chair and headed over to the door. No need to let the underlings see him out of control. He opened it a crack.

  “Yes?” Tallus asked. He had to still himself to keep his body from quivering in excitement.

  The messenger bowed. The man was dressed in a black waistcoat and grey stockings, the standard uniform. His dark hair was contained under a grey velvet cap. This was not the one he was expecting. The messenger he knew had blond hair, but no matter. “Message from Master Tepes, sir.”

  Tallus opened the door wide enough to accept the scroll he was being handed. He froze. The scroll was gold. His worst fear had just materialized.

  He swallowed hard, accepted the scroll, and closed the door in the messenger’s face.

  No sense in putting up appearances now. It didn’t matter if he acted rude or emotional. Vlad had beaten him. How, he wasn’t sure. With the way things were going, Tallus had a feeling that sheer dumb luck was involved.

  He let himself drift back over to his chair. He knew, at this point, messengers would be carrying scrolls just like this one announcing the name of the new monarch. It couldn’t be anything else. Gold was only used for this purpose. His plan, his dream, was ruined.

  He steeled himself and sat back down in his chair. Maybe, if he could publicly say the person Vlad chose was not strong enough to lead, then he’d have a voice. Tallus needed to grasp on to any crumbs he could. He stripped the red satin ribbon off the scroll and slowly unrolled the parchment.

  As was custom, there was only one thing was written on the page: a name.

  Mathias

  * * * * *

  Nothing like being stuck Father knows where with a sack over your head, having to pee, and your hands and feet tied together. It was just wonderful. Really. The only reason Nossy knew there was a sack over his head was that he could feel and smell the burlap. Nossy clicked his tongue behind his fangs. At least the bag hadn’t held something rotten. It could have been worse.

  If he could kick himself, he would. If only he didn’t have his weakness for pomegranates. That had been the end of it all. No more being trusting to everyone. No more Mr. Nice Bat. He’d been too nice. He’d always been too nice. He should have known better and not trusted his mother’s old advisor, Elias. But, it wasn’t like he’d had a lot of time to find someone else before he’d killed his mother. Still, though, he could have used Elias for a small while until he chose someone he knew he could trust. Instead, he’d been lazy.

  But, Elias had seemed fine after her death. Maybe he’d wanted his revenge for Lilith’s death, or maybe all along he wanted the seat for himself. It was possible. He’d been a hell of an actor. Plus, Nossy had to admit because of his laziness, he hadn’t bothered to really look at Elias too hard. He’d chosen not to look because it had been easier.

  “Damn Pomegranates.” He’d never look at them the same again.

  He adjusted his legs as best he could. His wings were broken; the pain radiating from his back was a minor distraction. He knew that whoever was responsible would not kill him for a while, not with an investigation going on. Also, he had to imagine that there was a ransom. Nossy just hoped someone found him before it all went to hell. Or heller. If this wasn’t a form of hell, he didn’t know what was.

  Now, he really wished he hadn’t ever invented the combination of metals and magic that prevented the blinking from working. It had been intended for keeping prisoners where they needed to be, but now, too many people knew how to use it. He adjusted his hands. Yep, he could feel the faint power of the spell. He was thoroughly and completely screwed.

  * * * * *

  As Mathias headed down the hall he found himself tired. He’d been looking for Vlad. It was hard to tell where the vamp had gone. It felt like he’d been going for hours. The castle was too damn big. Of course, the boredom and the fact that he had no idea where Vlad was probably had something to do with it too.

  He was pretty sure he could trust Vlad. Mathias just couldn’t see him doing anything to hurt his old friend. Not after all this time anyway. It just didn’t make sense. That realization put Vlad on the short list of people Mathias could trust. Sure, he was nervous about it, but he felt relatively okay about asking Vlad for names of people who stood to gain something from Nossy being gone. That was the only way they were going to be able to narrow down who was involved anyway. And, well, if he was wrong about some of them, then oh well.

  Then, he started noticing something. The more people he passed in the hallways, the more they bowed to him. This was something new. Sure, he was used to them dodging
him, but bowing to him? What the fuck?

  He paused in front of a little girl wearing a frilly pink dress. “What’s going on?” he asked her. She seemed harmless enough.

  Her red hair was pulled back into a severe bun. Her blue eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Honestly, she reminded him on one of those ballet dancers in a Degas painting he’d seen in art class back when he actually went to human school. She lowered her eyes from his. “What can I help you with, my liege?”

  Mathias froze. His mind blanked out the whole “liege” thing. This was, in no way, what he was expecting. He shook the cobwebs out of his head. “Why is everyone bowing?”

  “That is what one does in the presence of their king, my lord.”

  Oh. Fuck. Who in the hell decided this was a great idea? He forced himself to not show externally he was freaking the fuck out. Last thing he wanted to do was to scare the shit out of this kid. He patted the girl on the head, being careful not to catch her hair in his claws. He didn’t grow them long like Nossy did, but they were still longer than a human’s nails and wicked sharp. “Thank you. You may go now.”

  She curtsied and scurried off. So, someone had let him in on the joke. It wasn’t funny. Who in the hell thought it would be a good idea to make him king?

  * * * * *

  He hurried through the halls until he came to Vlad’s office and knocked on the door. It was as good a place as any to check. He’d been just about everywhere else.

  “Enter,” the voice said from within.

  Mathias grunted, opened the door, and closed it behind him softly. No sense in making any more noise than he was about to. He had to admit, he was doing a better job at controlling his anger. Then, he walked over and stood in front of Vlad’s desk— waiting.

  Vlad sighed. “I wanted to tell you before the message went out, but there just wasn’t time.”