RBC06.50 - Marcella, Vampire Mage (12 page)

“Well,” I thought, “that’s an unsettling subject to take a nap with”.

“Sarah, finish my hair and get out a simple sheath for me. I won’t be able to rest now. I want to go to see Nulla. Quinn said he would take me.”

“What else did he say he’d do for you?”Sarah teased.

“Sarah, please. You know it’s forbidden.”

“Yes,
I
remember, Katrina. But do you? I know your feelings for him; after all, we talked for hours on the way, if you recall. And I can see the look on your face and the flush of your cheeks, so don’t act so innocent with me.”

“Very well, but it’s our secret—it has to be. All right, let’s get me dressed, and then go ask that Joseph fellow to find Quinn, so that he can escort me to the stables.”

When Quinn arrived, I guessed the other girls were resting, because there was no sound in the common room.

“Thanks for coming a little sooner than we planned.”

“Not at all, my Lady. It’s my duty to be at your beck and call,” he said without a smile.

I rolled my eyes. He was obviously making an effort to be more professional in front of Joseph, who gave us a look and a smile but said nothing.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Quinn asked. “We’ve had quite a trip.”

“I wasn’t tired,” I said, as we walked down the stairway and then across a small garden courtyard.

 “Sarah brought up the situation that Father faced with the fledglings in the Far East last summer, and I knew I wasn’t about to sleep after that. And I really do want to check on Nulla. Are you sure she’s going to be all right?”

“They carefully extracted the arrow, then cleaned and bandaged the wound, and she seems comfortable. I even brought her carrots from the kitchen. She’ll be fine.”

“How about Father and the others?”

“They’ve been in Council since we arrived. Everyone is a little shaken because of the attack this morning. I don’t really understand the attackers’ motives either; there have been no killings other than the ones they bring on themselves. Maybe that’s what they are trying to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, how can they get rid of you—that is to say, us, all the clans—if they can’t blame current unrest and murder across the continent on vampires? Without the violence and killings, no one would believe you’re a threat, and then they’d have no right to hunt you.”

“Well they don’t have any right. We
are
peaceful. We take care of our own problems as they arise amongst ourselves, as we have for a hundred years. Why do you think these Volator hate us so much—especially the leader, whoever he is?”

“I don’t know, but I wager your father does. Have you ever asked him?”

“When subjects like that come up he always says ‘it’s Council business’ and tells me ‘not to worry’ about it. He let me know that this was one of the subjects not suitable for discussion. It’s just like when I bring up my mother.”

“Here we are the palace stables. After you, my Lady.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, I’ve been Kat for all the years you’ve been training to be my Watcher, and now all of a sudden it’s ‘my Lady’?”

“It’s the proper way to address you, especially around here.”

I turned to face him then.

“What if I were to punch you right in the gut?” I said. As I started to make a fist, he threw his hands up in surrender and backed away a couple of steps.

“Very well, Kat, but only when we’re alone, all right?”

“All right, but that doesn’t seem to be very often anymore,” I said, as we continued on.

“Nulla, oh Nulla, there you are.”

She nuzzled my hand as I reached out and then put my head against her cheek.

“Oh, Nulla, you scared me half to death.”

I patted her neck, and she bobbed her head up and down and shifted her weight, trying to get closer to me. She was such a good friend and I loved her dearly.

“See, she’s fine.”

“It’s just that we had quite a scare today, and if anything ever happened to her, or you…or any of your brothers, I’d be heartbroken.”

“Listen, Kat, this is what we train for, and we’re very, very good at it, all right?”

“I know it’s just that…”

I paused and looked up into his eyes.

“That I care very much about…all of you.”

He moved closer to me and took my chin in his hand; his fingers were warm against my cool vampire skin. As I lifted my hand to brush away the hair that always seemed to be in his eyes, he leaned forward, his lips parting. I could smell the sweetness of his breath and…

“Excuse me, my Lady.”

Damn it! Why does someone always have to appear when I’m about to have the thing I want most, a kiss from Quinn?

“Yes?” I responded, with the most annoyed voice I could muster.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, my Lady, but they have asked all of you to come to the great hall for introductions, and Sarah said I’d find you here. I’m to tell you that you must come to your room to change.”

“Tell her I’m coming right along.” When he hesitated I pointed to the stable’s door, “Well, go ahead. I’ll be right there.”

Quinn turned to leave.

“No you don’t,” I said as I pulled him to me.

We hurried back across the courtyards and gardens hand in hand. He left me at the entrance of the hallway, as he too had to change and receive his orders.

“Katrina Von Dracek, where have you been?” Sarah demanded in a very annoyed voice.

“You know perfectly well where I’ve been, or you wouldn’t have known where to send someone to find me.” I responded in the same tone of voice.

“You know what I mean. What took you so long to get back here? The other girls have already been escorted down to the great hall.”

“Sarah, calm down. Next to the others, I will simply disappear anyway. They make me look like plain white bread next to pastry.”

“That’s not true, Katrina,” she said, as we hurried to get my sheath off and the new dress on. It was my favorite red silk, with puffy sleeves to the elbow, which then were fitted from elbow to wrist, and with beautiful silk-covered buttons adorning the sleeves. The same buttons appeared again on the corset front which pushed my breasts up and out made my waist look even smaller.

“Good thing we did your hair earlier,” Sarah grumbled.

She pinched my cheeks and whisked me to the door. I smiled and then stopped dead when I saw that Quinn had changed into formal attire and looked soooo handsome. I felt my heart skip a beat.

“No time to gawk at each other now. Go, go,” Sarah said, as she pushed me out the door.

“You look stunning Kat.”

“Thank you. You clean up nicely yourself,” I said, looking up at him.

We laughed. Here we were, just two people in love, walking into the unknown; all we knew was that we were going there together.

Father was waiting for me at the door to the reception room.

“Finally,” he said. “We are one of the last to be introduced. Almost all the others have already arrived and have taken their places.”

When we got almost to the top of the stairs I looked back for Quinn. He smiled and at once I felt better.

“Baron Fredrik Von Dracek and Lady Katrina,” the liveried herald announced in somber tones.

My Father made a head bow and I a slight curtsey and we started down the stairs.
Don’t trip, don’t trip, smile, don’t trip,
I thought.

I surveyed the room, hoping to find a friendly face and located Eleanor, Rosa, and Letta with their fathers. All three looked stunningly beautiful.

Eleanor was in blue gown, the color of a night sky. Rosalinda in teal, her black hair braided around her head and down her back; and Letta wore red satin, trimmed with black lace around the collar and down the front and at the edges of her sleeves, her hair still the way I saw it earlier. Of course with their beauty, all three could have worn sacks and would have made them the new fashion. But having them all smile at me helped me feel at ease.

Philepe and Gerhardt gave a head bow of acknowledgement as we passed. My face burned as I noticed Gerhardt’s gaze didn’t leave my chest. It is my best asset, but it would be polite of him remember I had a face. As we took our place, I thought that Father had been right; we should have been here sooner. Being one of the last to be announced was a big disadvantage, because now I didn’t know who anyone else was. Except for the three I’d already met and Philepe and Gerhardt, everyone else in the room was a complete stranger. I’d have to meet up with the girls later in the evening so they could help me put names to faces.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let me now introduce the High Regent, Count Petrovich Daminov, his wife, the Countess Margarite, and his son, Damien, and daughter, Luena.”

All eyes turned to the top of the stairs. The Count was quite old, and his pure white hair made his skin look even paler, but he was regal and handsome and in no way frail looking. From one of the oldest known clans, Count Daminov has been ruler of the vampires for over one hundred years, since the clan wars ended and the Council began. Both feared and respected, he’s ruled the clans with an iron fist and swift justice. Some say it’s time for a change, but fear if his son Damien came into power, that the alliance between clans would break and the ground would again turn red with the blood of both vampires and humans. His wife, the Lady Margarite was his second wife, and it was gossiped that his first wife had disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but this was before my time and I knew none of the details.

Margarite looked lovely in a silk gown which seemed as if it had been spun from pure gold. It was cinched in at the waist, with a full skirt billowing to the staircase. The largest ruby I’d ever seen adorned her neck, and on her ears were earrings to match—rubies circled with diamonds. Her hair was piled beautifully atop her head and sparkled with a diamond and ruby tiara.

The Count and Countess were halfway down the stairs, when I looked past them at Damien and Luena, now taking their turn on the stairway. As they descended, they looked from side to side, acknowledging the crowd. I had heard that Luena adored her brother and would like nothing more than to see him rule next, whatever the cost. Some even said that the Count should watch his back, as betrayal could come from within his own family.

I watched as they came closer and despite Damien’s flawless handsome features, a combination of his shoulder-length brown hair, long sideburns, square jaw line, and piercing dark eyes, there was something else; a nagging feeling that I struggled to grasp. I smiled to myself; he was so good looking that from behind me in the hall, I heard the sounds of women swooning. But, again there was that irritating feeling of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Just then the Count and Countess reached the bottom of the stairs and greeted my father, who then preformed my formal introduction.

“May I present my daughter, The Lady Katrina Von Dracek,” he said as I curtsied slowly, dropping low over my foot.

“She’s lovely, Fredrik. So much like her mother.”

Was I? I had no memory of her, so I couldn’t know, but still it made me feel…proud. I wished Father would talk about her. Introductions compete, the Count and Countess moved on to meet the many others waiting to greet them. Damien and Luena were now at the bottom of the stairway. I hadn’t even looked at Luena until now. Like everyone else in her family, she was breathtaking. Her dark brown eyes were set in porcelain skin; her low-cut emerald-green silk gown shimmered in the candlelight of the hall. Large emeralds, their color perfectly matched to her gown, adorned her neck and ears. They made a stunning pair, the brother and sister royal.