The Queen Is Dead (The Immortal Empire) (19 page)

“I’m not going to tell them anything. The goblins are their own race just as we are. I’m certainly not going to bring politics into my personal life.”

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry being with me has caused you so much grief.”

His lips twitched. “I really am going to get you a cross so you can nail yourself to it.”

Before I could respond, my rotary rang. When I glanced down at the flip-slots and saw the name and number, I frowned. “It’s the prince.” Weird timing.

“Hello?”

“Xandra lady, good evening. It is William.” As though I wouldn’t have recognised his voice or his unique elocution.

“Good evening, sir.” I couldn’t help but smile–not only at his formality, but at my own.

“Of you the plague has need. Will you come?”

This was new. “Now?”

“Please.”

“All right.” I glanced at Vex, who arched a brow–he could undoubtedly hear what the prince had said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Vex will be with me.”

“Your wolf is most welcome.” That made Vex raise his other eyebrow as well.

I pressed the disconnect button. “What the hell was that all about?”

“We’ll soon find out,” Vex remarked gracefully leaving the stool.

“You don’t mind coming with me?”

“Nah. I’d be miffed if you left me behind. We’ll have to take the Butler, though; Ian hasn’t brought the Panther around.”

I didn’t ask how many cars he owned, because I knew how much he’d loved that Sparrow–and now it was a scorched pile of metal and leather.

“You drive.” I tossed him the keys from the foyer table. “We’ll go through Mayfair.”

He hesitated. “You sure?”

I shrugged. “No, but I’ll be with you, so it’s not like they can deny me entrance. Besides, Down Street is the official entrance to the den. If I have to, I’ll pull rank.”

“Pretty tough talk from someone who claims she doesn’t want to be a queen.”

I smirked at him through the V I made with my first and middle fingers.

It was a nice night for a drive on the Butler. The oppressive heat seemed to have finally moved on and a gentle breeze caressed the city. It seemed the rest of London felt the same way. Even though it was late for the daytime world, humans
were out and about at pubs and clubs, or just out for a stroll or coffee.

The closer we got to Mayfair, the more the hair colours of those moving about changed to vivid hues. The odd horse-drawn carriage began to appear. This time of year, many aristos were at their country homes, but some preferred to stay in London year round. They found the gates and walls of Mayfair safe and comforting.

The guards at the Mayfair entrance did not seem the least bit happy to see me when Vex announced me as his guest, but they didn’t put up a fuss. I might not be able to come and go as I pleased as before, but there was no reason not to let me in. When–if–I went through the official coronation as goblin queen, I’d be back on the list of those allowed all-hours access.

The walls followed Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. The streets outside had been widened to allow a lane inside the walls as well. It was all one-way, so we entered at the junction of Piccadilly and Regent Street, drove north, then west to skirt around Berkeley Square, before meandering our way south to Down Street.

The buildings at the end of the street were empty, despite having survived the attack of 1932. This was where the humans had come up into Mayfair–those who lived. They’d sacked this area first in an effort to destroy the goblins snacking on their mates. Then they’d set off for the rest of the neighbourhood. Though there were ruins throughout Mayfair, left as monuments to those who perished, the area had undergone spurts of renovation over the past decades.

The building above the old station wasn’t bad, and the brick town homes to the right needed a little work. The ones closest to the entrance of the lair weren’t inhabited, but
families remained in the spots a little further down. This was a popular spot for halvie housing–especially Peerage Protectorate.

Vex parked the motorrad right in front of the den entrance. I climbed off and hung my goggles on the steering bars. “Oh, nice.” Someone had put a bar across the door–as if that would do any good if those goblins decided they truly wanted out.

Still, it pissed me off. I yanked it out of its brackets, and then kicked at them until they were turned back on themselves and useless.

“Feel better?” Vex enquired when I was done.

“If I could shove this up the arse of the person responsible, I would.” I tossed the bar aside. It landed with a l snde-1"oud clang on the pavement.

The door itself was unlocked–the bar would only have prevented it from opening out, which made me further question the intelligence of the person who’d put it there to begin with. Even a young goblin could rip the door free of its hinges without effort.

Vex had remembered to bring a small hand torch to light the darker recesses of the tunnels. I didn’t need as much light as he did–and he didn’t need very freaking much. We didn’t have to be careful or stealthy, as we were expected. I jogged down the first flight of stairs, then another, until finally we hit the old platform and hopped on to the tracks.

“Do you smell that?” I asked Vex as we neared the hole in the wall that would take us down even further into the den.

He sniffed the air. “Sage.”

I’d take his word for it. “Why would they be burning sage?”

“A ceremony of some kind? Or they’re roasting chicken.” If they were roasting, it would be something a mite bigger than a chicken. I remembered that the prince told me once that goblins didn’t eat what couldn’t fight back. I didn’t think children would offer much sport, but I wasn’t going to judge. To most aristos, humans were food for their blood; the goblins just took it one step further.

The smell of burning herb became stronger as we descended into the den. A goblin standing sentry saw us and ran into the main chamber with an excited yip. Vex and I exchanged bemused glances.

I flicked the switch on the torch to turn it off. There was plenty of light now. We turned the corner into the great hall, and stopped dead in our tracks. The place was packed–wall-to-wall goblin. Every freaking goblin in the country had to be there. Seeing them all, I understood why the other factions would want them. They were impressive, and more numerous than I’d first thought. That was a scary realisation. Still, there were fewer goblins than there were aristos, so the numbers weren’t that startling.

I used to think they all looked like dogs, but they didn’t. They didn’t quite look like wolves either. They were something else, and there was an equal amount of the beautiful and the terrible in them.

At the sight of me, many dropped to one knee. That was when I noticed a female lying on a cot near the fire. She looked tired, her fur damp, and she seemed to be squirming under the blanket draped over her. What the hell was going on?

“Please get up,” I said, a little peevishly. This bowing business was too weird. I liked it but I didn’t.

The goblins rose in almost perfect unison. The prince approached me with a huge, teeth-baring smile. For once it didn’t send my stomach to my toes. “Lady, you honour us!”

“If you say so,” I replied, letting him embrace me. He offered his paw to Vex as well, and greeted him with great cordiality.

“Something to show you,” the prince announced, taking my arm. “Come, come.” I’d never seen him so animated. Fang me, he was happy. Joyous, even.

“What is it?”

He led me to the cot where the female lay, and said something to her in a guttural tongue. I didn’t quite understand, but it sounded vaguely Welsh–if Welshmen barked.

She pulled back the blanket and the prince stepped in front of me, bending down to her. Then he straightened and turned. The thing in his arms made a noise…

d i="-1">He thrust a bundle into my arms. At first I thought it was something wrapped in fur, but then I realised that it was a baby. A baby goblin.

“Fuck me,” Vex whispered, peering over my shoulder. The furry little thing was almost the size of a halvie baby, a tad smaller. Its fur was dark, with faint caramel markings. Its eyes were closed, its muzzle tiny and its velvety ears were so new they only stood at half-mast.

It was–and I’m not lying–the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. And, from what I knew of goblin husbandry, something of a miracle. Goblins gave birth even more infrequently than aristos did. It wasn’t impossible, but it was rare. Very rare.

Maybe that was changing. If that was the case, I didn’t blame the cobblesiders for wanting to align with us. With them.

I turned my attention to the mother as I stroked the infant’s muzzle. “She’s beautiful… I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.” I didn’t know any of them really.

The goblin smiled. She looked so tired, and happy. “Medeira, and thank you, lady.”

I looked at the prince. “Is this why you called?”

He nodded, still smiling. “Wondrous, yes? First in eight years. Would not be right without our lady to bless us. First you, now a live pup.”

Until that moment, I hadn’t realised just how these creatures saw me. To them, I was as much a gift as this squirming infant. I was hope for their race, for their future, for—

“Ow!” My head whipped around and I looked down at the baby. My finger was in its mouth. It had bitten me and was now sucking on the wound. Terror lashed through me as I jerked my finger free. The goblins gasped, but I grabbed the prince, horrified. “Will my blood hurt it?”

A few chuckles rose up from the crowd. Even Medeira, who I thought might attack me for possibly harming her child, was smiling. “No, lady. Blood is what a pup needs. The lady’s blood is an honour.”

They were all staring at me, waiting to see what I’d do next. A few months ago I would have run screaming for cobble side. Now… well, now I poked my bleeding finger into the baby’s mouth and let it nip and lick away.

It was a good thing I hadn’t known goblins were this cute when I was a kid. I would have begged my father to let me have one–and that would have been very wrong on so many levels.

“May I?” Vex asked, and the mother nodded. He ran his
thumb along the baby’s glossy head. It made a small whimpering sound around my finger and then sighed.

There’s nothing quite as odd as hearing an entire pack say the goblin equivalent of “aaah”. It was like a high growl that bounced off the walls and pooled at the base of my spine.

“She likes you,” William informed me as though it were a great honour. I had to admit, it did feel something like that, looking at her sweet furry face.

“She’s a fine girl indeed,” I pronounced. “What are you going to name her?”

Medeira and the prince exchanged a glance before she turned her amber gaze to me. “With the lady’s permission, her name be Alexandra.”

“Oh.” Unexpected wetness burned the back of my eyes. “Oh, that would be lovely.”

Reluctantly I gave the pup back to her mother so they could bond and the little mite could nurse properly. I had just straightened when growls rose sn g"-1">R from the pack. A familiar scent, mixed with some unfamiliar, assaulted my nose.

DI Maine sauntered into the great hall backed by six men in light armour carrying guns big enough to take down an elephant–or stop a goblin.

“Well,” he said with a forced smile. “Isn’t this a touching scene?”

I put myself between the little bastard and the cot. A growl the likes of which I’d never heard before tore from my throat.

“Careful, Your Majesty,” Maine chastised. “I might perceive that as a threat.”

Wait till I had my fangs in his throat and ripped it apart. See how much he mocked me then. The goblins moved closer behind me, each furry body vibrating with tension. If I gave the word, they would attack. What a head rush that was.

Vex put a hand on my shoulder. “Easy,” he murmured. “DI Maine, I assume you have good reason for being here without invitation?”

The peeler produced a sheet of paper from inside his jacket. “I have a search warrant, signed by the PM on behalf of Her Ensanguined Majesty, Queen Victoria.”

The prince growled as he came to stand at my side. “No authority has
she
here.”