Dorian looked straight at Roran. “He started it.”
All of us were laughing so hard the horses were spooked. It took a long moment for all of us to get ourselves back together, but there was a softening of tension in the group. The laugh unintentionally brought on by brothers being brothers was a relief.
“So the vampires here lost their frigging minds?” Queen Gwynnore probed.
“Not all of us, highness,” Aiko answered. “We have a strong rebel component that tried desperately to preserve our collective culture.” He swept his gaze across the city and shook his head. “With Savion gone, I do not know what’s happening now.”
“We have someone who might be able to answer that now,” Staviz answered, holding the reins of Aiko’s horse. “But as you’re currently the only vampire the army trusts, Lord Knight, we need you to verify that he is who he says he is.”
Aiko dismounted, and I followed.
Roran and Rilen flanked me as we walked across the field to the small building waiting for us.
Jallina strode up next to me and leaned in. “Who are the other two on the horses?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Are you asking, or is the spy asking?”
She smirked. “I am. I have to find quarters for them.”
I groaned. “Oh, I do not envy you that duty for the queen.”
“What? She’s a queen? Of what? Where?”
“Queen Gwynnore, the Queen of Vampires on Earth.”
She looked me dead in the eye. “Where?”
“Hell if I know,” I answered. “She came through the gate with King Belshazzar.”
Her brow wrinkled. “Belshazzar. Why do I know that name?”
“He’s a vampire, apparently from here on S’Kir.”
“But King?”
I held up a hand. “I truly have no idea how to explain this, Jalli. Let them try. I want to see if this is who I think it is.”
Staviz opened the door and ushered Aiko in, along with the rest of us. He shut the door and pressed a button on the wall.
The room lit up.
I gasped and jerked around to him. “Electricity? But how? So quickly!?”
“The North raiding party brought back far more than just guns and ammunition, mistress,” Staviz said. “They brought us the small hydroelectric plan, a generator that is recharged by the sun, something they call geothermal power, and all the instructions to begin lighting our world with more than candles and lanterns.”
Jallina smiled. “We sent all of the plans to the university, and they were able to convert an old watermill in a day to offer some power. This, however, runs off the power of the sun. It’s indeed amazing. They are all atwitter about changing the trains to electric.”
“So some good has come of all of this…”
“Some, oh, yes. Don’t doubt that,” Staviz said. He motioned us through another door at the other end of the building, and we all followed through.
Sitting on a cot, inside a set of what was very clearly galena bars, was General Odom Panther.
He looked up as Aiko and I walked in, and a grin spread across his face. “Lady Stormbreaker, Lord Knight Aiko. I am delighted you are here.”
“Why are you in this cage?” I asked, glancing over at Staviz.
“It was my suggestion,” Odom said. “I didn’t want anyone to feel I was a threat before you two could verify who I was.”
“Not that we should believe them anyway,” came a voice from the desk to the right.
Turning, I found Master Bebbenel sitting there, looking very pleased with himself. He stood from the desk and walked around to stand in front of the four of us.
“General Staviz, would you escort Lord Aiko and Mistress Kimber into the cell with the general?”
“No.” Staviz stared at him. “Why would I do that?”
“Because we aren’t going to allow these vampires to wander around our compound!” His words were clipped and snapped. “We are in a war with these creatures, and you think that you can trust these two?”
“Master Bebbenel, we are in a war with the remains of Savion’s army, and the madness of Queen Niniane, not Lord Aiko, not General Odom, and certainly not Mistress Kimber.” Staviz folded his arms, the disgust rolling off him.
Bebbenel sneered. “I want the three of them in the cage until we can verify that they are really on our side.” He wrapped his hand around my upper arm.
That was a mistake.
Roran stepped forward and growled at him. “Get your filthy meat hook off our woman.”
“Do you need to go in there as well?” Bebbenel asked, unfazed.
“Let go of her, Bebbenel,” Rilen said, not moving.
“I don’t think so.”
They both looked ready to kill.
I held up my hand to stop them. “My dears, I have this. Don’t worry.” I stared at Bebbenel. “Let go of me, Master Bebbenel. Release my arm.”
“Or what, vampire?”
I hooked my foot behind his knee, and pulled it forward, pushing back with my upper body, and slamming him to the ground as I yanked the sword out from its scabbard at my waist and slapped his ear with the flat of the blade. I spun it once and made sure the tip of the blade pressed against his throat.
“Or that, asshole.”
He stared at the sword, trembling. “You are a vampire.”
“I am Mistress of the Temple of the Lost God Bright Sword, Healer of S’Kir. That I am half vampire does not influence my loyalty, you rotting coward. Get off the floor, get your useless ass out of this building, and go speak to Master Dorian.”
“Dorian has no special place in this!”
“Dorian is my mate,” I hissed. “He’ll choose if you go unpunished for laying a hand on me.” I swung the sword back and slipped it into the scabbard. “And don’t be surprised if he tells Masters Rilen and Roran to deal with you as they will.”
“You’re a vampire,” he growled, sitting up.
“And what of it?” Aiko asked. “What if she is half vampire? Does that change the fact that she was brought up here? As a druid?”
“We all agreed to raise her to the dais,” Roran stated. “She is the daughter of the Keepers of the Rest. She was an acolyte to our temple.”
“She broke the Spine,” Rilen stated, “and beheaded Savion.”
“She shares your bed,” he bit out, hauling himself to his feet. “You are not objective!”
“Mistress Kimber brought weapons and knowledge back from East S’Kir,” Staviz said. “Go ahead and accuse me of sharing her bed.” He wrapped his hand around Bebbenel’s upper arm and hauled him toward the door. “Go. Find Master Dorian. Tell him what you’ve said here. Or don’t. But know that we all heard what you’ve said. And know how close you walk toward speaking treason against the very temple you’re bound to serve.”
Staviz tossed him toward the now open door, and Bebbenel was barely able to catch his feet under him. He stumbled to a stop, straightened his robe, and walked out without even looking back.
We waited for the slam of the other door before finally relaxing a bit.
“He’s trouble,” Odom said from his spot on the bench.