Page 1 of The Vampire King's Victory

DISCOVERY

Balthazar paced along the length of the dining room table. He’d set Meffy down on one of the chairs and the battlecat had fallen asleep in a tight little ball. Daemon had gone off after the boys. He should have been able to bring them back immediately. And yet, ten minutes had passed since Daemon had teleported away and he had not returned.

What is taking him so long? What is the problem?

Fiona, who had been the one pacing before, now watched him out of concerned eyes as she suggested, “Perhaps you ought to sit down, Balthazar. You don’t look well.”

“I’ll sit down when Daemon brings the boys back! I can sit very well then!” Balthazar snapped.

But she was right. He was exhausted. He felt wornthin. He didn’t so much want to sit down as tocollapse. But he couldn’t with Christian and Julian out doing who knew what.

Christian’s mind was closed to him. He wouldn’t admit that his fledgling’s mind was completelygone, out of reach, even though some part of him was sending out a warning signal that it was. He couldn’t feel Julian’s mind either. And Daemon… Daemon seemed to be made ofstoneat the moment.

That can’t be good. What is going on? How could Daemon not stop two newly made fledglings?

He reached for Daemon again, but the Vampire King remained silent. There was a sense that Daemon was…praying?

Why is he praying?

“What were they thinking? Where did they go?” Balthazar’s hands flew up in the air. “They don’t know where the gate to Moonfall is so…” Balthazar stopped in mid-step and then spun around towards Caemorn, his eyes narrowing, as he hissed, “You!”

Caemorn hadn’t moved since the boys had left. He had sat there, upright and with his fingers laced together on the table before him, like a good little schoolboy. But the flash of guilt he gave at Balthazar’s words about the boysnotknowing the location of the gate to Moonfall was like a Bat Signal to him. Caemonknewsomething. Caemorn was responsible for something bad. He practically radiated guilt even though his outside demeanor was still and unruffled.

I trusted him. Should I have trusted him? We’ve been enemies for a long time. A few good deeds and I open my house to him, open my heart to him. What was I thinking?

“What did youdo, Caemorn?” Balthazar asked as he stalked towards his Blood Brother.

If he has done what I think he has, he is no brother to me!He will not survive this night if he has hurt a hair on the boys’ heads!

The whine of his fear and anger filled his head and he could not hear Caemorn’s thoughts. Seeyr turned her bandaged eyes towards the Kaly Vampire even as Sophia patted her mistress’ shoulder. The child-like vampire seemed unsurprised by what was coming. But, instead, was simply sad. Sad for everyone.

“Caemorn?” Seeyr asked, her voice soft.

“It had to be done,” Caemorn stated.

“Yes, it did. It did,” she agreed and there wassomethingin her voice that Balthazar could not read and the whine in his head blocked out her thoughts too.

“You told the boys how to get to Moonfall, Caemorn? You told them to go?” Fiona asked, her eyes huge. She looked stunned that Caemorn had betrayed them.

“Yes,” Caemorn answered without a sliver of hesitation or shame. He spoke in the same tone as he would of the weather.

Balthazar exploded across the room at him. His hands were on Caemorn’s neck and he had the other Vampire up against the wall. Caemorn’s feet were six inches from the ground. Balthazar hadn’t even been aware of moving and it had seemed like he had teleported he’d gone so fast. Caemorn did not resist him. Not even to put his hands up to his throat as Balthazar’s fingerssqueezed.

“How could you do it?!” Balthazar screamed. Spittal left his lips and sprayed Caemorn’s face, but he didn’t care. He wouldspitinto Caemorn’s face. He had sent the boys to their Second Deaths! “How could you betray us?! We took you in! We saved you from Kaly! We offered you a second chance!”

Betrayal and rage fed that whine in Balthazar’s head and he couldn’t hear the answers to his questions or delve into the Kaly Vampire’s mind. Had Caemorn always been a traitor? Had he somehow managed to hide his continued allegiance to Kaly?But everything that Balthazar had seen in his head told himno. So what happened? That last encounter with Artemis-Kaly in the dungeon had not been pleasant for Caemorn. There had been no exchange to warrant this turn of events!

Caemorn stayed calm, but choked out, “B-b-because i-i-it h-h-had t-t-to b-b-be d-d-done.”

Had to be done? HAD TO BE DONE?

Balthazar slammed Caemorn against the wall again and again until the plaster cracked then broke altogether andtumbled to the floor. The air filled with choking white dust that coated Balthazar’s tongue as he shrieked, “No, it didn’t! They didn’t have to go!”

“T-t-they d-d-did. Y-y-you k-k-know t-t-they d-d-did,” Caemorn gasped out even as his lips turned blue.

I know?! I know that my newly made fledgling had to go with his best friend to Moonfall where the creatures are insane? The moons are falling? The Ever Dark is being destroyed? No, I did not know this!

“No!” Balthazar shouted.

---