The King's Vampire (18 page)

The admonition stung because he knew it as the truth. “Begging your Lordship’s pardon, but I’ve been waiting until I decide what’s the best line of action to take.”

“Inaction is the death of the civilized world. If you leave these demons in charge, they will destroy every good and true thing I’ve ever worked for. I restored much of the unity of the old Roman Empire, and now England has the opportunity to do the same, unless you let the evil ones take control of the world.”

Humbly, Darius tried to grasp Charlemagne’s hand in order to kiss his ring, but his hand went right through the king’s fingers. Coldness shot up his spine and he gave a shudder that shook his entire body. “My liege, so much blood was on our hands in the name of God. I don’t want to make the same mistakes we did during the wars with the Saxons and the Moors.”

Charlemagne stared at Darius with no sign of apology in his eyes. “I ruled by the sword and the cross, and mistakes were made. The gloriousness lies in the fact that the masses of people I killed in the name of Christianity still exist, and they’ve forgiven me, as did God. Forgiveness is a powerful tool. But don’t forget the psychic vampire demons are purest evil, and no longer human. They are beyond forgiveness and trapped in damnation.”

“I understand,” Darius said, but he couldn’t lift his head to face Charlemagne, so he kept his head bowed. His face burned with shame, and he didn’t know if he could ever face his former lord again. Somehow, Charlemagne’s somewhat high-pitched voice reverberated inside his head and ordered him to look up.

“What is troubling you so deeply, my son?”

“I’m afraid of what will happen if I do fail. I’m terrified if I try to destroy the psychic demons I might . . . fail. I don’t know how to contain them now the abyss is open. What must I do?”

“There’s no shame in fear. The disgrace lies in being frozen into a state of inaction. Look to your faith for answers. Remember our Council of the Knights at Aachen? Our greatest ideas came after prayer and meditation. Pray.”

“I haven’t prayed since I became a vampire.”

“You’re a vampire no longer. Perhaps it’s time you learned to pray once again.”

Darius felt the temperature of the room rise, and the gel-like substance of Charlemagne disappeared through the stone wall. Once the spirit of Charlemagne left him, he felt bereft. He wrestled with his own thoughts. Could something as simple and pure as his faith destroy the power of the demons? If he were to close up the abyss, Julian must be destroyed first.

The clock on the mantle struck five, and he knew it was time to go and talk to the Duke of Denham. If anyone could help, it would be his friend. He knew he could travel faster on foot, but it was always best to keep up an appearance of normalcy in his life. He ordered his coach, and it quickly delivered him to the duke’s estate.

Darius handed his riding cloak to the servant who led him into the Duke of Denham’s library. The clack of Darius’s high leather boots on the marble floor caused his friend to glance up. Books were strewn across the table’s surface.

The duke grimaced and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Darius sat across from his friend. “The witch finder is here in London, John. The vampire community is in danger, and that includes you, my friend.”

John set down the leather-bound manuscript he’d been reading. “You saw him?”

“He’s staying at the Boar’s Head Inn.”

“How convenient for you, at least this way you can keep an eye on him. Will he try to arrest anyone?”

“The witch finders work differently with vampires. He’ll be searching out those who work at night.”

John lifted the treatise he’d been reading and said, “These are some writings of Catherine Montvoisin, the woman who became La Voisin.”

“Isn’t she the one who has set herself up in Paris as high priestess of the psychic vampire demons?”

John’s face clouded over. “I’m afraid so. I’ve heard many of the aristocrats of King Louis XIV’s court are taking an interest in her teachings. I think that’s what the demons have planned for the Duke of Buckingham to do in Charles’s court, entice the courtiers to embrace the dark arts. The court has become jaded enough I’m afraid they will fall for it simply out of boredom. We need to stop the demons from succeeding.”

Darius furrowed his forehead and raked his hand through his hair. “Don’t you think I know that? But we need to study spiritual writings, not La Voisin’s blasphemies. That will give us the answers we need.”

“How can we vampires help? We have no souls, so how are we to have faith?”

“I need the vampires as a diversion to the demons. The demons still wish to work together with them in order to preserve the immortal bodies in the world. Vampires are attractive, whereas, psychic vampire demons are definitely not appealing in their true form, and no one would willingly choose to become one without deception.”

“I’m with you. Whatever you want me to do, I’m here for you.”

Amelia strolled in, her luxurious blonde hair flowing down her back, and the beauty of her face radiated light like the moon. “Darius, my dear, whatever are you doing here? I thought you were busy protecting Elizabeth.”

He took her hand and kissed it. “I have need of your husband tonight.”

“Certainly, but where are we going?”

With a shake of his head, he returned, “Not this time, Amelia. We’ll be dealing with a witch finder. I know John would be too concerned about your safety if you went with us, and then he’d be of no help to me.”

Her blue eyes flashed sparks and she spoke in frustration. “What are you talking about? I’ve faced the psychic vampire demons, so you know I’m not afraid.”

“I don’t doubt that, love, but Darius doesn’t want you to come along this time.” John wrapped his arms around his wife. Pulling her close, he said, “Just for once, won’t you please listen to reason?”

“Truly, Amelia, I need you to look out for Elizabeth. Between the king, her ex-husband, and the Duke of Buckingham, I hardly feel she’s safe at Whitehall. It would be a great comfort knowing you were with her.” Darius took her hand in his.

She crinkled her delicate, upturned nose. “Very well, I’ll leave you men to your business, but only because I want to protect Elizabeth.”

“Thank you, darling. I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart.” Darius bowed his head briefly, before turning to John. “Now, my friend, we must be off.”

The Duke bent down and kissed his wife passionately, seeming reluctant to let her go. He then released her and nodded. “Let’s go and save the immortal vampires from the witch finder.”

Darius felt a sharp pang of jealousy when he saw the closeness and deep attachment apparent between John and Amelia as husband and wife. Would he and Elizabeth ever be able to form such a lasting relationship based on mutual love and trust? He feared that if she remained a vampire, she’d never fully accept his love. He vowed to himself that, together, they’d find a way to save her soul and stay together forever. The psychic vampire demons wouldn’t defeat them.

Chapter 18

Elizabeth paced the floor of her bedroom, trying to make up her mind if she should go to the Boar’s Head Inn. Her little mongrel dog, Charlie, started yapping. She went into the corner of the room where he stood, and what she saw caused her to gasp in horror. Apparently, he had sucked the blood from one of the King’s spaniels who had wandered into her room. She lifted up the poor little limp dog only to discover all the blood appeared to have been drained from his body. She panicked. How on earth could she explain that to King Charles?

Before she had a chance to make up her mind what to do, one of her maidservants announced the Duchess of Denham had arrived to see her. She wrapped the pup in a pillow casing and shoved the spaniel beneath her four-poster bed.

When Amelia entered, Elizabeth dismissed her maid, and waved her friend into a chair, while she continued to pace.

“Elizabeth, what’s wrong?”

“What?” She sat down beside Amelia. “Nothing—nothing’s the matter.”

“Don’t lie to me. What has happened?”

Her little wire-haired dog leaped into her lap and tried to nuzzle her neck. Impatiently, Elizabeth sat him on the floor. “You’ll not get around me that easily after what you’ve done.”

Amelia looked at the ragtag dog. “Are you angry with this poor little mongrel?”

“Angry? I’m furious with him. He’s killed one of Charles’s spaniels, and I’m terrified Charles will find out.”

“This fellow killed one of the king’s dogs?” She leaned over to pet him, but he gave a growl, showing canine incisors that were much longer than normal. Amelia yanked her hand back. “What’s wrong with the little beast?”

“He’s a vampire dog.”

“How did he become a vampire?”

“I’m afraid I accidentally made him one.”

Amelia’s voice scaled up a notch. “You’ve made a vampire dog? How did you manage that?”

She sighed impatiently. “When I fed on him, I must not have drained him entirely of blood. I can’t let him loose now.”

“You can’t keep him at court, you know. If people find out about him, they’re sure to discover your secret and maybe ours as well.”

“What if he makes other dogs into vampires? That’s all we need in London.”

Amelia tickled Charlie behind the ears until he wagged his tail, and then she raised him up, allowing him to lick her face. “I can take him home and watch him there. At least that will be safer than court. Where are the . . . remains of the king’s dog?”

“He’s beneath the bed. We can sneak him out, and then take Charlie to your house before I go meet Darius at the Boar’s Head Inn.”

“Actually Darius sent me here to look out for you tonight. He and John plan to warn Godfrey and the others the witch finder is here.”

“The witch finder’s finally arrived?”

“Yes, he’s staying at the Boar’s Head Inn, too.”

“Then we must go help Darius and John.”

Amelia put a hand on Elizabeth’s arm. “I did promise Darius I’d take care of you. Besides, they don’t want us there.”

Indignantly, she jerked her arm away. “What? Do you think you’re my mother now? I don’t need anyone to look out for me. I can take care of myself.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just that Darius thinks you’ve got enough to worry about here between the king’s attentions, Buckingham’s threats, and now your husband, Sir Michael Horbury’s plots. Let’s be honest. Nobody knows what he’s really after.”

Ashamed of her ill temper, she patted Amelia’s hand, “I know you want to help me, but I’ve got things under control. If you’d just take Charlie and the dead spaniel away now, that would be a great help to me.”

A tiny woof from beneath the bed made Elizabeth look underneath just in time to see the petulant face of the spaniel poke his nose out from beneath the pillow casing and he wagged his tail. Mouth dropping open, she said, “Charlie must not have drained all the blood from the spaniel.”

“Now we have two vampire dogs?” Amelia tilted back her head and burst into peals of laughter, while Elizabeth glared. “You have to admit it’s rather amusing.”

Elizabeth’s mouth twitched at the corners and soon she was reeling with laughter, too. “What will the witch finders think if they discover vampire dogs? Maybe we can turn the cats into vampires, too, and then we’ll have everlasting pets.”

They hugged each other, shoulders shaking with laughter. At last, they stopped, and Elizabeth wiped tears from her cheeks.

“Truly, I’m sorry, Amelia, but I’ve got to find Darius, no matter what he said. He needs me.” She glanced in the gold-leafed Venetian mirror and dusted her cheeks with Spanish paper to rid herself of her deathly pallor.

“But darling, the men didn’t want either of us to go after them. I don’t think they wanted to worry about us.”

She pushed out her lower lip. “I’ve got to help Darius.”

Amelia raised her hands in surrender. “If you must go, then I’m going with you.”

A yipping, and the sound of sharp claws ticking on the marble tile outside her bedroom caused Elizabeth to spin around.

Her waiting woman tapped on the door and announced, “Your Ladyship, the king’s coming down the hallway, and he has a visitor with him.”

Poking her head out the door, she said, “Yes, Rose, have them come into my antechamber when they arrive.” She turned to Amelia. “Please take the dogs out the back stairway and keep them at your house for now.”

“All right, but be careful.” She rushed out the side door with the dogs tucked beneath her arms.

Elizabeth’s dressing gown flowed back from the stiff, lacy petticoat she wore beneath, which she smoothed down before strolling out into the antechamber.

Her mouth dropped open when she saw who stood behind Charles. She closed her mouth quickly, hoping the king hadn’t noticed her reaction. What were these two doing together? It couldn’t be good news for her.

Charles strolled into her bedchamber with four of his spaniels surrounding him, while Michael trailed behind. “I’m sorry if we’ve disturbed you, Elizabeth, but your girl said it would be fine if we entered,” Charles said.

“Your Majesty, of course it’s always an honor to see you.” She curtsied, and then darted a warning look in Michael’s direction.

Charles sat down on the wine red cushioned armchair she had placed in her room especially for any such surprise royal visit. With a nod from him, both she and Michael took armless chairs on either side of him. Michael quickly slipped onto the king’s right hand side, and he lifted his eyebrows in a childish quirk. Elizabeth blew out her cheeks and stuck her tongue out at him, but not before the king glimpsed her way and caught her in the act.

The king gave a burst of laughter, while she ducked her head in embarrassment. He then took one of her hands and held it between his large palms. The heated look of passion he gave her caused her heart to thud heavily in her chest.

“Are you all right?”

Elizabeth clenched her teeth, realizing she’d better compose herself. “I’m fine, Your Majesty. I’m so pleased you took the time to pay me a call. I guess I was wondering what has brought Sir Michael to my chambers along with you.”

“His Majesty is looking for one of his young pups, Custard. Someone said they’d last seen the spaniel in your apartments, and so he asked me to help him search.”