Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
With a restless spirit, I lingered outside the jewelry store where Sunaria had found Jacob’s locket.
A distant memory of who I’d once been barely remained.
Fragments of my younger life drifted in and out, but I could not hold on to them.
Ancient blood refined my features, dissipating previous character traits.
The promise I’d shown could never have foreshadowed such a transformation.
Had I known that the elders possessed such preternatural power, I dare say I’d have pursued it sooner. Nevertheless, fate delivered.
Sunaria reassured me that this feeling was merely transitional, that my past would again catch up with me and I’d remember everything with even more clarity than before.
I hoped she was wrong.
No longer seeing any sign of the Creda, I hoped it meant we’d shaken them off.
The decimation of the Stone Lords, with the only apparent survivors, Lord Archer and a handful of his men, lessened the fear of their return.
The year 1497 was about to come to an end.
A new year would be better than the last.
And Jacob would be another year older.
Using all my will to stroll with a somewhat natural gait, I entered the store. I removed Jacob’s locket from my pocket and showed it to the man behind the counter, after first making small talk so as not to arouse suspicion.
The owner couldn’t remember where he’d acquired the piece. I did what I could, even going as far as sucking out his last drop of blood to nudge his memory.
I left with no answers.
I flew off into the night searching for the others. I found Sunaria with Marcus, standing outside the gates of Blackfriars Manor. Gothic towers loomed before us, a terrible reminder of all that had transpired.
Inside, I entered the grand house one final time – but didn’t stay long.
The blaze that raged through the building would leave no evidence. “I thought you’d be long gone by now,” I said at last to Marcus.
“And miss this? Never. Where did you start the fire?”
“I went back to the painting of Delacroix in Venice,” I replied, “and started with that.”
He peered through the brass railings. “Locals will think it’s the great fire of London all over again, what with the cathedral and now this.”
“It’ll burn itself out,” I said. “As long as the properties don’t encroach on the buildings around them, the fire won’t spread.”
The inferno lit up the London skyline.
“Nothing wipes out the past like fire.” I gave a long sigh.
“When will you go back to Spain?” Marcus asked.
“When I’m ready. What are your plans?”
“I’m not sure. Still trying to...” Marcus bowed his head. “How do we justify the things that we do?”
“We take the criminals off the streets,” I said, facing him, “one man at a time, but it all adds up.”
“Look.” Sunaria pointed. “There are still vampires in there.”
“When the flames lick at their heels, the rest will leave,” I said.
The structure imploded, sending puffs of smoke around us. These dying vampires were Delacroix’s servants who’d assisted him, and others had merely done nothing.
A rush of fiendish pleasure made me shudder. “Or maybe not.”
Orange fire reflected in Sunaria’s eyes, dancing flames mirrored in her irises. She caught me staring at her and gave a subtle smile.
Thunder roared above us, and more clouds gathered. An imminent storm threatened.
Not yet, rain…let it burn to the ground first. Nature had created me, so perhaps there existed a supernatural power that would allow me to control the weather.
“What do you think the Creda will do to the count?” Marcus asked.
“They’ll bury him in a casket,” Sunaria said. “Deep underground.”
“Still alive?” Marcus sounded anxious.
“Yes.” She gave him a look. “That’s what they do.”
“And Roman’s head?” he asked.
“It will probably be placed in the same coffin,” she said.
“Bloody hell.” He nudged up against me.
I smiled. “You’re safe with me.”
The manor was gutted by flames, reduced to a charred skeleton. A sudden rain struck the ground and splashed around us, and yet we remained stock-still, watching, waiting. Gradually, the rain suppressed the fire.
“Delacroix,” I shouted, “you were weighed in the balances and found wanting.” I pushed open the gates.
“Now it’s you quoting the Bible.” Marcus followed close behind me. “That’s from the book of Daniel, isn’t it?”
All three of us were drenched, but we didn’t care. With my arms outstretched and my mouth wide open, I stared up at the grey sky, enjoying the sensation of the rain drops striking my tongue.
I spun around and faced them both. “Welcome to Belshazzar’s.”