Chapter 5 - Glory
Glory
V
I leaned on the wooden worktop that stretched the length of my kitchen and watched my best—only—friend, Ashara, pour bags of blood into a large red flask.
“This should last you a few weeks,” she said as she stuffed the stopper into the mouth. “As long as you don’t overdo it.”
I licked my lips and followed the flask’s journey across my living room with a hungry gaze.
The stress of meeting first with the king and then with Cammon had wiped me out, and my body craved the nourishment that came exclusively from blood.
I didn’t require it often, but once the craving set in, the bloodlust grew until I either satisfied it or was overcome with hunger.
I doubted my donated fare would be as decadent as what I’d smelled in Cammon’s office, but it would suffice.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy drinking in front of witnesses, not even Ashara, so that ritual would need to wait a while longer.
“I’m bringing a case of backup vials as well, but if all goes to plan, I won’t need them.
A nip here or there to keep me going. And to help me maintain a level head with my travelling companion. ”
Usually, I kept my blood in the icebox and only heated what I needed, but I wouldn’t have that luxury in the middle of dragon territory.
Ashara was predominately an earth mage with an affinity for greenery, but she also carried an ancestral streak of fire magic that few knew about.
With it, she’d long ago discovered how to enchant a flask to keep the contents at the perfect temperature.
Mixed with the potion that prevented my meal from coagulating, I’d be set for as long as our journey took.
I just had to hope Cammon Ruxo never found out what the flask contained.
“And keep you from feeding on said travelling companion,” Ashara added with a raised eyebrow.
I shuddered. “We both know why that can’t happen. Can you imagine? All other aspects of that nightmare scenario aside, bonding with a demon who looks down on everything except the treasures he finds? Horrific thought, even if it would be temporary.”
Having never bitten someone, I had no idea if my half-vampiric nature would create the bond—a connection that drew biter and bitee together for the safety of both—let alone the permanent bond of a second bite, but I wasn’t about to test it. Especially not with him.
I swore not to give Cammon another thought for the rest of the night and smiled at Ashara. “Which is why I’m grateful for you and your magic.”
“That’s not the only reason you appreciate my power.” Ashara rolled her eyes towards the rest of my camping kit set up by the door, in large part enchanted by her.
I’d gone to her apartment after meeting with Cammon, begging her for help, and the two of us had passed the evening spending the king’s coin on anything I might need. I’d bought her dinner in thanks for casting her spells, and only now was the idea of tomorrow’s start weighing on me.
“Thank you for being here,” I said. “I would have been sitting around driving myself to distraction otherwise.”
Ashara winked. “Anytime, sweetie-pie. You know I’m good for it.
Whatever keeps you on your feet and guarantees that your secret is safe from the demon.
” She scowled and vented her frustrations on my cupboard as she searched for a glass.
“Tell me again why you’re not at least going on horseback? Wouldn’t that speed things up?”
“Me? On horseback? Come on, Ash, you know horses hate me. I’d spend half my time fighting to stay mounted.
Besides, what would we do with them when we entered shifter territory?
Or the mountains? We also have no idea under what conditions we might find the signposts. No, on foot makes the most sense.”
“At least I don’t have to worry about you wearing practical footwear. Your boring taste in shoes finally has a purpose.”
My belongings, diet, and foot health sorted, Ashara grabbed a bottle of red wine from the pantry.
My eyes widened at her generous pour. “Bit late to be starting, isn’t it?”
“It’s not for me. Here.”
A sharp laugh bubbled out of me. “Not a chance! I have to leave first thing in the morning. It’s at least a full day’s walk to the inn.”
She slid the drink towards me. “I’m worried if you don’t loosen up a little, your new friend is going to break you in half. One drink.”
I frowned but did as she said. The wine was rich and dry, singing across my palate.
She poured herself an even larger glass and stared at me over the rim. I narrowed my eyes at her. “What?”
“I’m worried, Glow-worm. This Cammon Ruxo… Not only does he earn his living digging up secrets, but the newspapers eat up everything he does. The more excitement he feeds to the press, the more famous he gets, the richer he gets. He could make a mint off you.”
She pushed today’s paper towards me, and we both scowled at the sketch of the demon’s smug face smiling next to a story of his latest exploits.
Beside his story was mention of the elusive Wild Rose, a light-fingered mage who’d made a name for themselves in Golth.
Both thieves, but of course only the charming demon was praised as an exciting adventurer.
I took a larger sip of my wine, not wanting to admit to my best friend that her concerns had plagued me since King Evaniel had given his orders.
“He won’t—”
Ashara raised her finger to stop me. “Don’t tell me he won’t find out.
You’re half-vampire, Glory. You’re a pro at hiding it, but the two of you will be alone for four weeks.
Sharing the road, sharing a camp. It’s not like you’re going to get much privacy.
What happens if he snoops through your bag and finds your stash?
If he learns what you are and lets it slip when you come home, you could find yourself off the mages’ council like you want, just not in the way you want. ”
All thanks to a law that had been in place for the past seventy years, ever since the vampiric numbers had threatened the growth of the human population.
“Vampire hunter” was a recognized job title, and there were people who spent their lives travelling the country tracking down and destroying any hidden furies.
I might be lucky enough to be exiled thanks to my service to the throne for the past three years, but it was equally likely my position on the advisory council would push His Majesty to make a bigger statement with a public execution.
I was lucky that my half-blooded nature allowed me to be out in the sunshine and reduced my need for blood.
I’d spent so much of my life suppressing my vampiric traits that most of their effects were muted unless I concentrated, but if I leaned into them, I enjoyed heightened senses, increased speed and dexterity, the expected vampiric allure.
None of which I required in my day-to-day tasks, thank Olodin.
The wine sloshed in my stomach. “You paint such pretty pictures.”
“I’m serious. I don’t see how it’s possible to hide your beautiful quirks unless you stay on your guard every moment, day and night.
” Ashara latched on to my hand, her eyes burning with intensity.
“So that’s what you have to do, you hear me?
Whatever it takes, you hide your secrets.
Bury your instincts so far down you need a reminder to drink. He cannot find out.”
Any humour I had over her worries evaporated, and I squeezed her hand.
“I promise.” The memory of Cammon’s sharp red eyes, not captured by the newspaper sketch, caused something in my gut to twist, and I pulled my fingers free and picked up my wineglass.
“At least there’s one less thing for you to worry about. ”
Ashara raised an eyebrow. “Mm?”
I grimaced and spun my glass on the counter, watching the light dance across the surface of the deep red.
“I wish you could have come with me today and met him for yourself. The man’s an ass who can’t make it through a conversation without tripping over his ego.
His temptations might work on a lot of women, but I’m no simpering fool.
I know you were afraid for my virtue when I went in there, but let me assure you, he stands no chance of charming me out of my pants—or my secrets. ”
Long after sunset, Ashara left me to the rest of my packing.
Not knowing how often I’d get to wash my clothes, I gathered three spare sets, four pairs of underclothes, and all my related notebooks, reference texts, and maps.
I also had a tent that would be large enough to contain me and my supplies—and more, likely, but I hadn’t found the option of anything smaller.
Because my friend was amazing, she’d enchanted a sturdy woolen blanket to radiate heat, and I’d also purchased a thick bedroll. Just because I had to sleep in unknown conditions didn’t mean I had to be uncomfortable.
Once I was certain everything was bound up tightly and in a way that would be heavy but easily carried, I poured myself a bracing glass of blood to set me up for the week and turned my attention to the map spread out across my kitchen table.
Now that I was standing on the precipice of this journey, however, my stomach threatened to rebel.
The ill-judged glass of wine and the few sips of blood I’d taken bubbled and sloshed, leaving an uncomfortable, acidic burn along my esophagus, and my thoughts wouldn’t settle.
On the contrary, they bounced from one worst-case scenario to the next, offering a smorgasbord of all the ways this mission might go wrong.
Cammon could find out my secret, blab to the king, and get me executed.
Or Cammon could find out my secret and blackmail me into offering up all my deepest, darkest emotions.
Or worse, he could find out my secret and demand I give him full credit for finding the lost amulet.
I clutched my notebook to my chest at the idea of years of research being stolen by that space-taking, smirking, condescending… hammerhead. Much as it disgusted me, I would prefer the theft of my emotions or my execution over seeing that man—or anyone else—lauded for my achievements.
Of course, that all assumed we found the amulet.
There was a non-zero possibility it no longer, or never, existed.
There was also a chance someone else had found it.
My research had revealed numerous hints of where its final resting place might be, but in order to reach it, we’d have to follow the clues.
For all the research I’d done, I’d never come across anyone else who’d attempted the journey.
At least, if they had, no evidence had been discovered of their efforts.
That in itself made me worry. If the clues were straightforward, why wouldn’t someone else have tried?
This was a life-saving amulet. According to Mage Tersey’s journal, it could cure even the most serious of injuries or illnesses.
Of course it could. He’d designed it to keep himself alive long past his natural lifespan so he could be with his fae lover.
Rumours of the amulet abounded in several mages’ journals, but the only real evidence of its existence was in Mage Tersey’s hand, and based on the ramblings of some of his later notes and his hints about the nature of the signposts he’d created to prevent anyone from following his trail, I had reason to suspect the man’s sanity hadn’t quite been intact.
The reasons King Evaniel might want me dead before the end of this journey were staggering compared to the odds that I’d survive, but the gain…
I sighed and dropped onto my dining chair, resting my forehead on my notebook.
The gains were everything.
The position of royal researcher beckoned to me, promising a future of isolation where I didn’t need to work so hard to hide.
A refuge where I would report to no one but the king.
The only people I’d have to worry about were subordinates whose job it would be to fetch texts for me, and I could see them as little as I liked.
I could burrow in that office from sunup to sundown, then retire to my small apartment and spend my evenings with Ashara or by myself.
It was all I’d longed for since claiming my position on the mages’ council. I hated the constant bickering and back and forth and politics. I’d suffered through it for three years, waiting for my opportunity to rise above it.
That opportunity was here, now, and I wouldn’t waste it.