Bavar opened the contraption again, and a long and dark hallway stretched before us. The ceiling soared high above, and a wave of magic brushed against me.
Bavar quickly gestured for us to get out of the elevator, and something inside me vibrated, my senses instantly going on high alert. Magic tingled within me, and somehow, I knew that another one of my kind was close.
No sooner had that realization hit me than a male vampire appeared before us.
My eyes widened. He looked to be around my age with blue eyes and blond hair that brushed the tops of his shoulders. Leather loafers, fitted slacks, and a crisp shirt with buttons up the front adorned his frame.
For a moment, all I could do was gape. I’d never met another vampire before, and my innate sexual urges began to warm. Mortification hit me, but if he sensed my arousal, he had good enough manners to hide it.
Instead, the vampire’s nostrils flared, scenting us no doubt, and then his lips lifted in a smile. Like me, his canines were retracted, but the tips of his looked just as sharp and deadly as mine.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t help but stare at him. His skin was also pale, and an undercurrent of sexualneedclung to him.
Gods and goddesses, he’s just like me.
“Now, this is quite interesting,” he said in a smooth, cultured tone. His words held a strange accent with a cadence that I’d never heard before. “A fairy who’s been made into a vampire. I can’t say that’s something I’ve encountered often in my lifetime.”
Bavar grinned. “Or ever? I can’t recall meeting a fairy who’s been turned, but I’m glad to see that you’re right on time.” The SF Major waved between the three of us. “These are the two fae I was telling you about yesterday. This is Kole Swordwielder, the warrior who works for the Imperial Council on the Silten continent in the fae lands. He’s agreed to help our organization in the future in exchange for our assistance with this pressing matter. And this is Princess Primelle Rose Everline Manafold, third daughter to the king and queen of Mistvale Kingdom on the Silten continent. I’m afraid she was turned into a vampire against her will by a potion. Tell me, have you ever heard of such a thing happening before froma potion?”
Nicholas’s eyebrows rose. “You’re truly saying that someone was able to create a potion mimicking vampire venom? But no one’s ever been successful at it before.” His attention shifted to me. “And was this potion injected into your blood?”
“No, I drank it.”
Nicholas’s frown increased. “How odd. Vampire venom usually needs to enter the bloodstream to turn a human or supernatural.”
Human?But I figured it was another term I wasn’t familiar with and stuck to the matter at hand. “We believe the potion was blessed with magic from Tenevris, the God of Night, the original creator of vamfeers that morphed into vampires under alterations made by Heleveer, the Goddess of Light. Perhaps it was the godly intervention that allowed such a potion to be drinkable.”
Nicholas’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. He looked between the three of us. “And where did you learn this fascinating theory about fae gods creating vampires?”
“We don’t believe it’s a theory,” Kole replied. “Our own scholars in the fae lands have found it documented in our most ancient scrolls. The God of Night is the original creatorof vamfeers, and the Goddess of Light is the original creator of vampires. Proven even more since a fairy in the fae lands discovered a way to contact the God of Night and have his assistance in potion making.”
Nicholas dipped his head, and it struck me that, unlike Bavar and Kole, he was as silent as me. No heartbeat. No breathing. And when he’d been listening to us, he’d stood entirely still as he contemplated everything.
Bavar clapped and grinned. “Lovely! Well, I can see I’m leaving you in good hands. Nicholas is very knowledgeable in all things related to vampires and research. And I really must return to headquarters. Nicholas will take it from here.”
Kole and I thanked Bavar for his time and help. But I kept wondering how much assistance Kole had promised the Supernatural Forces in exchange for their help in assisting me.
But I didn’t ask. That was something I could learn later. At the moment, the clock was ticking, and in all likelihood, we only had another hour, two or three if we were lucky, before we had to return home.
Bavar ascended in the rickety elevator, leaving us alone with Nicholas in the dark hall. The gargoyle representative clasped his hands behind his back. “We can begin today by me gathering as much information from you as possible so I can help you with your current predicament. Unfortunately, at the moment, all of the gargoyles are still sleeping since it’s nighttime, but the sun rises soon, and I can task several of them to work then.” He gestured to the long hall. “Shall we?”
We followed him, and our footsteps echoed around us. My gaze wandered upward as we carried on down the endless hall. The ceiling was incredibly high, and it was lined with huge columns. My lips parted the second I saw what sat upon each column at the very top.Hundredsof stone gargoyles perched atop the mighty pillars.
Since the gargoyles were all currently stone, they were dead for all practical purposes, and if they were anything like fae lands’ gargoyles, they would only come awake at dawn if they’d leeched enough life from another creature’s life force.
Amazed, I couldn’t help but ask, “How many gargoyles are employed by these libraries?”
“At the moment, four hundred and eleven.”
The end of the hall finally neared, and the scent of anise and thyme grew even stronger in the air.
Nicholas led us to a set of huge double doors and opened them for us. “I have a table already set up to record more information inside here. This is the Veritas Library, one of the five libraries within these depths.”
The second I stepped over the threshold into the actual library, heavy aromatic magic shimmered in the air around me, and when I fully pushed through to the other side, the air felt even heavier, and I realized that even theairin these libraries helped with preservation.
My scholarly mind once again became abuzz with interest, and I eagerly followed Nicholas to a table, not even trying to hide my vampire speed since in this realm, I didn’t have to.
Once the three of us were seated, Nicholas picked up a very thin and short tube and held it over a sheet of thin-looking white parchment. “Now, tell me more about this potion that turned you.”
