Page 26 of Queen of Darkness
“I’ll go get him. I can sneak around better than you. And bonus, the queen isn’t after me. Not with a Blood Letter at least, so it’ll be safer for me to go and move around.”
“You’re going to leave me alone with Count Haunt-ula?” I complained, shivering at the thought of spending time in the creepy castle ruins with the old vampire.
“You’ll be fine,” Fred promised. “I won’t be long. Once Aaron is here, we’ll figure out what to do next.”
“Just don’t get caught by Winnie,” I muttered as he rose.
“Winnie?” Fred lifted an eyebrow.
“The bear outside? Never mind,” I said, shaking my head. “Thank you.”
Fred grunted and then was gone down the hallway. Leaving me alone in an old castle with a mentally unstable vampire who could somehow shift into dozens, or hundreds, of little bats. And didn’t speak a lick of the same language as me.
I stared at the wall torches, hoping against hope that they were magical and wouldn’t burn out. Despite being a creature of the night, the last thing I wanted was to be left in the dark. Somewhere in another hallway, the sound of metal on stone started up again.
Count Drakul was on the move.
Chapter Fourteen
Not wanting to be caught out in the open, I surveyed the room again. The double wooden doors at the far end caught my eye. They were open, leading out into what could only be the rest of the castle. Is that where Drakul was?
I moved swiftly to them, pushing the doors closed. They creaked and groaned mightily, giving rise to the fear that Drakul would recognize the sound and come faster. But he didn’t, and I got them closed and barred, sliding the thick wooden beam down into place from its vertical resting spot with only minimal extra effort.
“That only leaves …four?” I moaned, “four more entrances.”
It seemed likely there was at least one secret entrance as well. The walls were covered in dark tapestries, dirtied by age to the point that they were nearly illegible unless right up close. At least one of them was certain to cover up a passage built into the wall. There was no way I could block them all. Not from someone who had spent centuries haunting the castle.
Accepting the fact that Drakul would get to me if he wanted to, I went back to the main doors and lifted the bracer that kept them closed. It was fun to put my strength to use, lifting something I wouldn’t have been able to move just a few weeks ago. With the doors open, I stole out into the castle, eager to explore.
There was a fluttering of wings from behind me, and then all at once, Count Drakul was walking alongside me.
“Jesus!” I yelped. “Where did you come from?”
Not that I expected a reply, of course. I couldn’t speak his strange language. Still, it unnerved me that he could move so silently. That gave rise to another thought. Was I allowed in this part of the castle? What if I was trespassing somewhere he didn’t want? How would he tell me?
Probably with the pointy end of that giant sword of his.
“So, you and Aaron, I mean Alaine, go way back, do you?” I said conversationally. “Don’t suppose you can tell me anything about him, can you? Something I could use to convince him to go after Elenia with me?”
Drakul came to a halt. I turned, readying myself to leap away if he went for his sword, wondering what I’d said wrong. Was the queen’s name banned from the castle?
The count worked his jaw, eyes burning red in the back of their sockets.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” I sighed. “What am I doing? I’m talking to a mute.”
“Alaine.”
I looked sharply at Drakul. “Yes, Alaine. He is my … friend.”
Drakul convulsed slightly while his throat produced a sound equivalent to two boulders grinding together. It took me several moments to realize he waslaughingof all things. I didn’t realize he could do that.
“Alaine … more.”
“What? More what?” I asked, shocked he knew English. Why hadn’t he used it earlier?
His eyes burned brighter. “You smell. You smell, Alaine.”
“I smell him?” I repeated, frowning. “Wait. You mean you can smell him on me?”
