A tall, lithe, tanned vampire with exotic looks, waist-length black hair, and bottomless black eyes walked into the holding area and looked around. His shoulders were wide, and his entire being sparked with power.
He’d just had blood.
My stomach twisted.
Dressed in black from head to toe, his coat had just a few epaulets on the breast pocket. A sword rested on one hip, with a scabbard that curved just enough to be noticed, and a bright metal object rested in a holder on the other hip, both just peeking out as he walked into the room.
“My Lord Knight,” the one guard said, with a stiff bow.
“The king wishes to see them,” he snapped.
“Which ones, my lord?”
“All of them.”
“Allow me to get more handcuffs, then, sir.”
The lord knight nodded sharply, and two of them ran out of the room. Walking slowly, he traced the outer perimeter of our cage, studying us.
“Have they said anything, captain?”
“The two females over there were mumbling to each other, but I didn’t catch what was being said.”
The dark man walked toward Carolee and me. I heard Roran and Vitas growl, and Carolee shot both of them a look, cutting them off.
Cocking his head, he looked us over from top to bottom. “I’ve never seen a druid before. I didn’t expect that you would look so… common.” He tossed a look around at the other in the cell with us. “Judging by the clothes you wear, you are not soldiers like the others. Some kind of civilian leaders, perhaps?”
His hand snapped out and grabbed Carolee’s wrist. Vitas was next to us in the next moment, snatching her back from him.
“Ah, a pair! Interesting. You don’t need to fear me, druid. I’ve fed and have no interest in your woman’s blood.” He grinned, a mouth of pearly white teeth. “Yet, anyway.”
Carolee punched Vitas’s shoulder. He’d given away that they were paired off.
“I wonder if you can even understand me. We’ve separated for millennia. You may not even share our language.”
Still, no one spoke.
“Sire, we heard them in the forest,” one of the guards said. “They were plotting to blow up the armory at the Crossing.”
He chuckled. “Indeed. I suspect they understand us perfectly.”
We held our silence as the two guards ran back in. “My lord, the handcuffs.”
He looked at the fourteen of us shoved into the cell. “Each of you will come forward and put hands out through the slot near the door. Once you are all secure, you will be taken to see the king.”
The man’s eyes burned red. “Do not attempt to use your magic for any reason. We have been told to execute you if you tryanything.”
Just a few minutes later, we had all been shackled with galena metals, and the door opened. Filing out, we made two straight lines, and everyone seemed to understand Carolee and Vitas, and then Roran and I were to stand together.
“March,” the lord knight commanded.
We were led through the winding halls of a cold, cavernous building. It felt as though there were spirits trapped in the walls, screaming for help. The torches fell away after two levels and were replaced by small shining globes that held no magic but put out a tremendous amount of light.
One of the guards behind us chuckled. “They’ve never seen light bulbs before!”
Another guard chuckled. “I heard they don’t have electricity, either. Just some basic generators that don’t work well.”
“Quiet!” the lord knight snapped. “No gossiping! No rumors! Do your jobs!”
