Releasing his hand, I slid off the bed and walked over to the door.
I opened it to find Veronica, the red-haired beauty we’d seen the first day. She seemed to be Gwala’s personal go-fetch-it girl, as, any time I’d been summoned, she was the one to do the attending. It was painful for her at times, since she often had to get me during the day, and she’d have to weave all over the hallways to avoid cascading sunlight. She seemed embarrassed by her deficiency, to the point that she acted in deference to both Schwint and myself. She was the only vampire I’d seen that seemed the least bit human. Though she’d never spoken more than absolutely necessary, I’d grown to like her—something I never would have considered a possibility.
“May I escort you to dinner?” Her voice was soft and childlike.
“Of course. Thank you, Veronica.”
I waited for Schwint as he got up from the bed and walked toward us. It was bizarre to see him with a limp, however slight. Despite his recreational Spor habit, he’d always seemed impervious to any physical ailment. My heart clenched at this sign of mortality.
I turned just in time to see the expression on Veronica’s face. My first thought at seeing her in the doorway was how she might respond if she knew about the mers and how they might change her life. Though I’d never wish such a thing since it would mean her ending one of the mer’s lives, but if any vampire deserved to be in the sun, it was Veronica, with her sweet nature. However, as she observed Schwint’s limp, I couldn’t suppress the superimposed image of a lioness eyeing an injured gazelle and planning on separating it from the herd.
At my attention, her gaze darted to me, then fell to the floor. Without a word, she turned, knowing we would follow.
A look at Schwint told me he hadn’t noticed her reaction to his new physicality. Before, I might have wished to see a vampire try to attack Schwint, certain he’d be able to shrink to the size of a speck of dust and dart away if need be. Now, after Omar, I wasn’t quite so sure.
No weaving was required on Veronica’s part. The sun had set, and she walked through firelit hallways with typical vampiric grace and surety. I’d always had a ridiculous amount of candles in my house, preferring their soft light over the harshness of overhead lighting. If I ever had the chance to return home, the first thing I was going to do was throw away every damn one and flip on every single switch in the house.
Typically, no matter what time of day we traveled through the Cathedral, we’d run into at least two or three vampires, if not more. This night, we were the only three wandering around. Our footsteps echoed through the chambers, giving it more of a haunted-house feel than was typical. With everything emerging from the mountain and being formed from organic materials, the Cathedral was more a natural wonder than anything else. At times like this, though, its true nature seemed to shine through.
Even Gwala’s chamber was empty, both thrones shining like beacons from the countless sconces around the space. I wondered if Sonia had sat upon her throne yet. I was certain the human she’d been wouldn’t have cared about such a status symbol, other than liking its beauty. The vampire that I knew better than the woman, I was certain cared even less. Nor had I detected any emotion directed at Gwala when the three of us had stood poolside—neither love nor fear. I couldn’t fathom what her motive was in choosing to be Gwala’s queen. Maybe she was as much a slave as I.
Then I remembered Gwala inquiring if she was going to spend the day in the sunlight. She was a Royal, and I was willing to bet, a new one. There must not be any part of the human Sonia left in her if she was able to kill one of the mers so she could be in the sun. Of course, she only had to kill one. I was going to be responsible for killing countless numbers.
The door to the oval dining chamber was open, and Veronica walked through ahead of us, not having to worry about the moonlight flooding into the space through the open roof.
As Schwint and I followed her, I could barely make out the golden table or the multihued bench that surrounded it. It looked as if every vampire in the Cathedral was in attendance for this meal. More than could even fit around the huge table.
My nerves spiked at the sight of all of them together, and I looked over at the vine-covered walls formed by the mountain. Even in the night, butterflies flitted over the flowering plants. Another rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. This time closer, though maybe it was only the reverberating sound in the tubelike room that made it seem that way.
“Thank you for joining us.”
Gwala’s voice brought my gaze back to the vampire crowd. I wasn’t sure how I’d missed him when we’d entered. He was front and center, ever so subtly clothed in a lavish robe. The violet fabric stopped midthigh, but the sleeves fell to the golden floor, wide slits revealing his thin arms within.
I nodded in forced reverence. “Thank you for having us, Your Majesty. And thank you, once more, for helping Schwint heal.”
As if just noticing him, Gwala looked at Schwint. “All better?”
Schwint nodded as well, making more of a bow than I, despite his injured leg. “Yes, I am most grateful.”
Without further acknowledgement, Gwala turned back to me and motioned across the room, sweeping the countless vampires with the gesture. “We are here to honor the new queen. And you, Warlock Finn de Morisco.”
Blood chilled in my veins. There could be no good to come from such a production as this. I forced my eyes to travel over the crowd, doing my best to not look afraid or aggressive—as if I could pull that off even if I wanted to. On my second pass through the crowd, I found Sonia directly behind Gwala. I hadn’t recognized her at first—she was dressed in finery equal to Gwala’s, her red silk dress plunging nearly to her navel, the train of her skirt flowing across the floor, forcing an area of separation between her and the other vampires, lest they step on the queen’s gown. She was otherworldly gorgeous, yet the look didn’t suit her, and, though her face let no emotion escape, I got the sense she was nearly as uncomfortable as I was. Of course, my unease was the feeling that Schwint or I was in danger, or one of my sisters. Hers was probably due to wanting to be in hooker boots, short skirt, and a tank top. Hardly the same thing.
“Come, come.” Gwala made another sweeping motion, and with it the horde of vampires parted, with only Sonia staying stationary. “Take your seats at your feast. Tonight, you are officially namedTheWarlock of the Vampire Cathedral. There is no higher honor that can be bestowed.”
As the vampires moved to make a path for us to the table, opening the view of the feast, I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out. Even so, a whimper escaped from deep in my chest. In the stillness of the room, I had no doubt everyone had heard it. Schwint slipped his hand into mine, offering strength and maybe even hoping to receive some in return.
Although a massive amount of food was spread out on the table, it was not to the exorbitant level of the only other meal we’d had in the dining chamber. Many of the spear-like spikes rising from the table were completely void of food. However, the two making up the middle section were smeared with blood from their tips, and it traveled down their widening girths to the naked body impaled at their bases.
Even if I hadn’t seen his defining features, I would have known whom to expect. Omar’s lifeless form lay upon the table, arms folded as if in a casket, hands clasped around the spike emerging from his upper torso instead of a funeral bouquet. The second spike surged from his lower abdomen, right above his groin. His legs rested on either side of the next spike farther down.
Neither Schwint nor I moved. We just stared down the hallway of vampire bodies that led to the table. As we stared, a butterfly flitted across the path, making its way across the room. I couldn’t make out its color, nor did I try, only shuddered as it deviated from its original course and veered toward the feast spread out on the table. It touched down delicately on fruit that overflowed from a large crystal bowl. A roll of thunder filled the room once more, and the insect lifted off again, then found its rest beside a pool of blood that was growing from beneath Omar’s torso.
Gwala stepped toward us. “Let us dine before the creatures devour our banquet before we are given the chance.”
Even at his command, I couldn’t force my body to move. I’d hated the warlock, but this was beyond anything I’d ever wished upon him, especially after the notion that he might have been like me when the whole thing started.
I saw my future lying on that table. Sometime, in five years or a thousand, there would be a witch Gwala wanted more than me. At that point, I too would be nectar for butterflies.
