Page 19 of Sleeping With the Vampire

“Who?” Costello asked.

“They call him the Servant,” the captain said, uneasily. “He is a medium but he has risen in their world.”

“There is a medium on the Council,” I said.

“That’s right, but she has lost the loyalty of her people. The Servant is apparently promising the rise of the Witches.”

Costello coughed and as I turned to look at him, the captain slipped from my grasp and rushed from the room.

“This is bad,” Costello said. “If what he says is true, then another war might be coming.”

I understood what he meant. After the forces that emerged victorious after the Great War came to agree on the terms of peace, it was decided that the door to the underworld be kept closed. This was done by the medium on the council, Lare, who represented the supernatural world of faeries and daemons. She ensured the walls between our and their world remained impenetrable. There were stories that during the final days of the war, demons had been sent in to help certain parties, but they were uncontrollable and caused huge destruction. Closing the portal and ensuring that the last demon was destroyed, had been the job of the demon hunters, former guards and one of them, Dominic, served on the Council as well. Dominic knew my father and this was the man I was trying to find now.

Costello wanted to come with me, he feared that finding Dominic would lead us down some dark alleys. We had arranged a meeting with another Guard and as we made our way to the meeting place, I thought of Lucca and how I would have liked to talk to him. It was a thought that popped into my head quite unexpectedly, wondering what he would make of what was happening.

I knew his family’s fortune was made during and after the war, he might stand to lose a lot if the Council was shuffled and the balance of power was disturbed. His family was in alliance with the humans, they were thought of as reformed vampires.They needed people and in return, the vampires promised to help protect them from the other, less controllable supernatural beings.

Costello was worried. I knew he wanted to get back to his workshop and his cars. He didn’t like politics and dealing with people who lied for a living. Like my father, his belief was that the Citadel was made up of two-faced and duplicitous beings who only cared about themselves and their positions. I assured him we would leave as soon as I’d spoken to Dominic.

Our destination was a house at the end of the Citadel. We had to take some steep steps and climb down to almost on top of the wall to reach this place. There was a huge door with an iron knocker. As soon as we lifted it and brought it down, a tremendous gong reverberated inside. The door was opened and we heard a voice inviting us inside. We went in and it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

“Come, friends,” I heard a warm voice say. There was a room next to the entrance hall, in which a big fire was roaring in the fireplace. A man came towards us with a big smile, giving Costello a bear hug and after a moment’s hesitation, the man with the beard and laughing blue eyes, gave me a hug too.

“Ah, Bo’s daughter, Izzy! If you aren’t the spitting image!”

There were two dogs with wagging tails sniffing our feet. I eyed them warily but they seemed to be ordinary dogs, pets.

“Don’t worry about these mugs,” Joe said, winking at me. “They’re friendly. Here, have some wine.”

He handed us glasses with red wine and I pretended to take a sip. I needed my wits about me. I listened to Joe and Costello talk about people they knew and how things had changed over the past few years. I looked at the room with its deep couches and carpets. It had been a grand reception area once, I thought, but the rug was frayed and the upholstery onthe sofas was torn and dirty. It may have been the house of a prominent family once, but things had changed for the worse.

Joe was a jovial guy and seemed glad to catch up with Costello. As soon as there was a lull in their conversation, I jumped in, impatient for answers.

“Could you get us a meeting with Dominic?” I asked.

The smile disappeared from Joe’s face. “Why would you want to do that?” he asked, carefully.

“I am looking into a few things,” I said, but I could see that if I wanted to get through to him, I would have to trust him more.

“I have been contracted to investigate the death of Queen Tanata. It seems connected to my father’s murder five years ago. I received a tip that it may have something to do with what is going on at the Council, possibly to MoZa.”

Joe stared at me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself. He turned to Costello. “You knew about this?”

Costello shrugged.

Joe got up and walked over to me, dropping his voice really low.

“Don’t say his name like that!” he hissed. “The walls have ears!”

“Even here?”

“Everywhere!”

There was movement at the door and we all turned around. A bear of a man, huge and imposing entered the room. Even though I’d never seen him before, I knew this was Dominic. He had the look of a man who feared nothing and no-one. He walked straight up to me and said to me.

“Looking for me?”

I knew he’d heard what I had just said. I had a feeling I didn’t have much time to get to the truth.

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