Almost Final Curtain (20 page)

Before long, I met the sentry.

He was stationed at a natural bend, so it was impossible for me to spot him until we stood face-to-face. In his hand he held a long stick; its tip had been sharpened to a nasty point. Lanky hair obscured his eyes, but somehow he recognized me.

“Ana?” he said in surprise, but then remembering protocol said, “Princess Ana, do you approach the kingdom?”

It took me a moment to figure out that the sentry was the same Igor that I’d talked to at the bus stop the day Nik’s band played at the assembly. “Hey, uh, you.” I felt so stupid. Why hadn’t I asked his name before? “Um, I need to talk to my dad. Is he around?”

“The prince is holding court,” he said, scratching the mop of his hair nervously. “I’ll have to get someone to announce you properly. Can you ... uh ... ?” He held out the pointy stick.

I didn’t take it. “Oh, you want me to watch the door? What do I do if someone comes?”

“I won’t be that long. It should only take a minute.”

Of course, if I took over, that was when the barbarian horde would choose to attack. “Can’t I just go in?”

He seemed to be considering my ability to fend off marauders too. Finally, he shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” In a more formal tone, he added, “You are free to pass.”

“Cool.” I smiled. “Thanks, uh—”

“Noah,” he said with a slight bow.

“Thanks, Noah.”

 

 

Did I tell you before about how weird vampires are? Probably the oddest part is all the nudity. And even knowing the vampire tendency toward wandering around au naturel, I was never quite prepared for the shock.

Especially when I saw my dad.

In fact, the sight of Dad in all his glory perched on a stone formation that vaguely resembled a throne was almost enough to make me turn back around and walk home. It was really difficult to stifle the urge to whine, “Dad! Get some clothes on!” because, really, I was the odd one out by not hanging out everywhere.

It was sort of like that dream you have where you show up to school without a shirt, only here I was in real life, surrounded by naked people, with my clothes
on
.

When I got over being scandalized by the multitude of fleshy bits, I heard what Dad was talking about. His voice reverberated with authority in the cave. “What do my scouts report? What news of the talisman?”

Oh! I’d come at the perfect time. I raised my hand. “I’ve got news,” I shouted.

From the horrified looks everyone gave me, this was apparently not the proper way to get the attention of the prince. My dad looked all disapproving until he realized I was the idiot who hadn’t received her copy of
Vampire Court Manners for Dummies
.

“Approach the throne, Princess Anastasija Ramses Parker. Speak your piece.”

The crowd parted for me to make my way to where Dad sat. There, just in front of his feet, the brook emptied into a dinner plate–sized sinkhole. As I got closer, I could see that the water had hollowed out a larger basin several feet farther down. If a person could squeeze through, it looked like it would probably lead to a huge underground lake complex.

“Cool,” I muttered.

Dad cleared his throat.

“Oh, right.” Despite my actor training, I felt suddenly nervous talking in front of everyone. That trick of imagining the audience naked was
so
never going to work again. So instead I stared at my dad’s uncovered feet. His toes were kind of hairy and the nails needed trimming, but it was much easier to focus on something almost-sort-of normal like that. “Look, I think I have bad news. I’m pretty sure that Mom has the talisman, and Mr. Kirov—uh, the hunter, I mean—wants to use it to kill everybody.”

In theater terms, the house erupted. Everybody started shouting. My dad had to stand up—
Oh, don’t do that! Look at the toes! Look at the toes!
—and motion for everyone to simmer down.

“Tell us how you came to this conclusion. Spare no detail.”

So I told my dad’s big toe the whole story; the only part I left out was my embarrassing bounce off the neighbor’s garage. Yet, when my dad questioned me further about how I made my escape, I ended up confessing even most of that.

I got a little sympathy chuckle from the audience when I told the details of my crash landing. Even though I wanted to point out it was a lot more painful than funny, I had to admit it made for a good yarn—not unlike Lane’s opening-night disaster.

After I was finished, Dad lapsed into a thoughtful silence. Even without looking around, I could tell the whole room waited on their sovereign’s opinion. Finally, I heard Dad say, “What’s your take, Constantine?”

Constantine? That was Elias’s last name. Was Elias here? Did I dare look? Did he have clothes on?

When I looked around, I couldn’t see him at first. But everyone in the room was staring in the direction of the far wall. Elias stood on a rock shelf, his arms outstretched. Heavy iron manacles bound his wrists to the wall. He was only half naked—stripped to the waist—which somehow made him seem more vulnerable.

My hand flew to my mouth, hiding a gasp.

“You know my feeling on the matter, Your Highness,” Elias said calmly, as if he weren’t wrapped up in chains and on display like an animal. “We should attack while there remains any hope of a tactical advantage.”

“But if they hold the talisman, how can you fight them? Won’t they just, you know, ‘zap,’ and you’re, uh—” I stopped because I was going to say “in chains,” which was suddenly awkward. Also, I hadn’t meant to say any of it out loud. It just sort of slipped out.

What I really wanted to know was how they could stand to treat Elias like that when they had been slaves themselves only a couple hundred years ago. I also needed to figure out how to get him down from there. I tried to catch Elias’s eye, but he stared resolutely forward, holding his anguish proudly in check.

“You see, this is the traitor’s problem,” Dad said to me, but his words were clearly directed at Elias. “He thinks he knows best for the people, but he doesn’t consider the long view, the consequences of rash action.”

I bristled. I didn’t even notice Dad’s nakedness anymore, and glared angrily into his face. Who was he to talk about rash actions? Apparently, he wanted to do nothing—nothing other than casting Elias in chains!

“I didn’t say it was wrong. I just wanted to know what the plan was,” I shot back defiantly.

Dad’s expression hardened. I could see that he wasn’t used to one of his subjects mouthing off. Well, I wasn’t one of his vampire minions. I was his daughter. If he wanted to throw me in chains, I’d like to see him try.

I planted my feet firmly apart, and stared back. Dad was the first to look away, but in case I’d thought I’d won, he said in a smug sort of tone that implied that he knew best, “Of course you’d defend Constantine. You still consider him your betrothed. But he is in disgrace, and that arrangement has been nullified.”

Nullified? Hushed surprise rippled through the court. My jaw hung open. Did my dad just break me and Elias up? “That’s not fair. And anyway, I don’t agree. No. I don’t accept.”

“Perhaps you should have considered that when you counseled treason.”

“Which you wouldn’t know anything about except that I told you,” I reminded him. Though shame heated my cheeks at my betrayal of Elias, anger narrowed my eyes. “Just like you wouldn’t know anything about Mom’s plans if I hadn’t hiked all the way down here to your creepy-ass lair to give you this information you’re not even going to do anything with. Which is lame. Elias is right—you’re kind of a do-nothing. And you know what? I risked my life with the hunter. You owe me.” Without looking at him, I pointed in Elias’s direction. “Let him go.”

All around me, I heard gasps. My dad listened to my rant, his face dotting with color, but he kept his lips pressed thinly together and quirked his eyebrow haughtily. It was clear no one had talked to him like this in centuries. But I was winning. In my peripheral vision, I could see sympathetic eyes turning toward Elias. My dad noticed too.

He tried, however, to act distant, as he said, “Even if I give in to your petty demand, I will not let you court him; do you understand?”

I was so angry, my whole body shook. Words just came tumbling out. “Oh, I understand. I understand you’re a jerk, and, betrothed or not, Elias is my friend and he doesn’t deserve to be treated that way.”

I’d clearly pushed him too far. I could see Dad’s fists clench.

“Maybe the two of you would prefer banishment?”

Collectively, the vampires gasped. I had no idea what banishment entailed, but there was no way I was backing down now. Still, I’d caused Elias enough trouble, so I shook my head sadly, and said, “This is such a dumb time to kick out your best knight, but whatever. I’m leaving. Elias can decide for himself what he wants.”

“I go with Anastasija.”

Elias’s declaration caused the court to utter more astonishment. Some people even shouted, “No, you can’t!” and “Our best knight! All is lost!”

My dad rose to his feet again. When he raised a hand, there was utter silence. Slowly, his gaze swept the room, lingering on Elias and me. Then he turned his back to us. “Elias Constantine, you are released from service. Anastasija Ramses Parker, you are no longer under our protection.” Then he said something very solemn in a language I didn’t understand.

Everyone seemed to hold their breath until Dad was done speaking. When it was over, I heard someone sobbing softly. The only other noise was the scrape of the key turning in Elias’s manacles.

I watched as he was freed. His arms seemed stiff, and he flexed his fingers as though to try to return feeling to them. Moving painfully, he came down to stand beside me. Even though Dad’s back was turned, Elias sketched a low bow. With a glance at me, he headed for the cave’s entrance. I caught up to him and grasped his hand lightly. We walked through the narrow passage and past the surprised sentry, hand in hand.

 

 

Only when we got to the train tracks did Elias allow himself to show any sign of how badly he was injured. He sagged against the wall, breathing hard.

“Are you okay?” It was a stupid question, but previously I hadn’t noticed the nasty red welts on his back. Seeing them only rekindled the anger I thought I’d spent. “I can’t believe he did that to you!”

Elias drew himself up painfully. “I’ll be fine in a minute.”

“No, you won’t, will you?” Given how much my back still ached from my roof acrobatics, I didn’t think vampires had super-healing powers. Unless that was one of those things that full vamps did better than half. “You’re really hurt. You need—”

“Blood,” he supplied.

Okay, I was going to say “help,” but I guess that was another answer. I looked around as if hoping to find a spare pint lying on the ties. Next I examined my own wrists. The last time I offered Elias my own blood, we’d ended up betrothed. I guessed there was no chance of that happening again, so I thrust them at him. “This is all my fault. Here,” I said. “Use me.”

He hesitated. “I need too much.”

Remembering biology class, I said, “I’ll make more. Just take a little now; you can have the rest later.”

“Not here,” he insisted. “Let’s put more distance between ourselves and the kingdom.”

I positioned myself under his armpit, so he could lean on me as we walked. At first, I thought he’d be too proud to accept, but he put an arm around my shoulder with a grateful sigh.

When we got to where the tunnel opened up, I realized another problem. In his current condition Elias would never make it through the narrow gap under the barrier. He must have had the same thought because he rested an arm heavily against the stone wall, and looked up through the gate at the darkly clouded sky.

“Let me sit a minute,” he said, already lowering himself to crouch above the loose sand and gravel. Sandburs and other scrubby weeds had established patches among the detritus.

“Maybe I could dig it out more,” I suggested, but he put a restraining hand on my elbow when I started toward the passageway.

“Let us make our exchange here, and I’ll have the strength to bend the metal aside.”

Exchange? Oh. “You will?”

He nodded gravely, but when his eyes found mine, they held a dark twinkle. “Besides, let’s just say, I have a little sublimated anger to draw on.”

I sat down on the edge of a wooden tie. The flush of my own anger had finally exhausted itself and now I felt empty. I stared down at my hands. Even in the blanketed darkness, my skin glowed pale white. My finely tuned vision could make out the blue veins standing out on my wrist. I supposed I should get this over with. I didn’t really relish the idea of being bitten; it hurt. But I had to help Elias. If I hadn’t told my dad—

—when I looked up, Elias’s gaze was fixated on my wrists as well. His face wore an expression that could only be described as predatory.

I swallowed nervously, and offered my arm.

He didn’t seem to notice how much my hands were shaking when he seized my wrist in a surprisingly powerful grip. As his fangs descended, I squeezed my eyes shut.

My eyes snapped open. I didn’t feel anything, but the sight of his fangs in my flesh made me shout, and try to jerk away to cradle my arm to my chest protectively. But Elias held firm. Instinctively, I kicked him. My foot connected squarely with his thigh before I could stop myself. He didn’t even flinch, though I thought I heard a noise like a growl rumble deep in his throat.

Or maybe it was a passing train.

Yeah, I told myself, that was what it was, because the way Elias hunched over my arm disturbed me profoundly. Did I look like that when I’d licked Thompson’s cheek? No wonder he was freaked-out by me.

To distract myself from slurping sounds, I examined the angry marks on Elias’s back. Had they actually horsewhipped him? Bile rose in my throat. My hand reached out in sympathy. Before my fingertips could even brush wounded flesh, he recoiled.