Chapter 10 #2
I understood. I was supposed to be quivering in fear. To give them the credit they deserved, they certainly were an intimidating sight—a row of centuries-old, ridiculously powerful ancient vampires who could probably dart over and rip my throat out with razor sharp teeth in the blink of an eye.
Fear was a funny thing, though. I’d already faced my worst fears, and they had nothing to do with dying a bloody death at the hands of a bunch of overpowered goths.
Oh, goodness. This was silly. “Hello,” I called out. “I’m Susan Moore.”
Nothing. None of them moved.
“My pronouns are she, her.”
Silence.
A fit of irritation poked at me like a devil’s pitchfork.
This was bordering on rude. Corporate Susan was coming out, and I wasn’t going to stop her.
“Would you care to introduce yourselves? Or perhaps we should go around the table and say our names, and a little fact about ourselves, just to break the ice.”
Jillian let out a choking noise behind me.
“Okay, I’ll start. I’m Susan, and I’m from San Francisco, California, the Human Realm in the Middle World. I enjoy red wine, long walks on the beach, and protecting innocent supernatural creatures from genocidal megalomaniacs.” I waved my hand towards the table. “Okay, your turn. Go ahead.”
One vampire—a willowy woman with ice-white skin and long platinum hair that fell in a thick sheet on both sides of her face—stood up. “We are the Ancients.” Her voice was odd, a soft whisper like the leaves on the trees swishing high above us.
“Okay, fabulous.” I locked my gaze on her. Eye contact was good. “I’m in the right place, then. Would you like to tell me your name?”
She stared back at me for what felt like a million years. Mindful that this meeting had somehow devolved into a weird staring contest, I decided to just wait it out.
I was freezing, though. Goosebumps rose on my skin.
Donovan, obviously sick of all the posturing, moved first. “I shall get you a chair, Chosen.”
The blonde vampire twitched, a tiny movement, a little cock of her right eyebrow.
Donovan had very subtly insulted their hospitality.
The Ancient’s eyes all moved as one, following Donovan as he walked over to a large spike of broken stalactite.
He kicked off all the candles, picked it up almost effortlessly, carried it to where I stood, and buried it point-first in the hard ground, making a kind of triangle-shaped stool for me.
With a flourish, he whipped off his cape, draped it over the seat, and held out his hand. “My lady.”
I hid my smile and strode forward, swishing my fancy blood-red gown as I nestled myself delicately on the seat.
The blonde vamp opened her mouth. “I am Kathryx,” she said, pronouncing her name kath-reex. Her voice was as cold as if I’d tortured the information out of her. I’d just asked for her name, goddamnit.
“Oh, nice to meet you, Kath. Let’s get down to business, shall we, friends?” Yes, I was making a mockery of this meeting. They deserved it. “You invited me here for a reason. I understand you wish for me to close your spark stone for you.”
Kathryx lifted her chin a fraction of an inch upwards. “We have not decided.”
I cocked my head. “So, why am I here?”
“First, we wish for you to prove that you are worthy.”
I thought so. I waited a moment, then shook my head firmly. “No.”
The Ancient’s eyes all narrowed very slightly. Kathryx was far more expressive; her eyebrow twitched again. “No?”
“No,” I repeated. “I don’t have to prove anything to you.”
In the long silence that followed, Jillian let out an odd, strangled noise behind me.
“You will,” Kathryx eventually said. “If you wish to receive our support in your campaign.”
“What campaign?”
The blonde looked at me. “Your campaign.” Her face didn’t move, but I read the anger in her eyes. I wasn’t behaving like they expected. “For the Ruler of All Worlds.”
I shrugged carelessly. “I have no campaign.”
“You wish to ascend to the throne of All Worlds.”
“I don’t, actually,” I said, keeping my tone light. “We should probably get that straight. The only thing I want is to stop Connor, the Devourer, from becoming more powerful, killing millions of innocent creatures and destroying whole races of supernatural beings. He wants the throne. Not me.”
There was another minute of tensely loaded silence. “The prophecy says that either he, or you will be Ruler.”
I let out a tiny sigh. “The prophecy says a lot of things. None of which are very easy to understand. And for what it’s worth, I think that it is wise to be wary of anyone who craves power as much as Connor does.
” I glanced over at Donovan. “His Majesty told me earlier that even though he was born heir to his throne, he would abdicate in a heartbeat if there were someone more suited to lead his people. Isn’t that what you should be looking for in a leader?
Not someone who can prove they’re super-strong or super-powerful.
Shouldn’t you want someone who wants the best for their people? ”
Kathryx arched a perfect blonde eyebrow. “And is that person you?”
I shrugged. “How am I supposed to know? I don’t know everyone in the whole world. Look,” I sighed out another small breath. “I’m not here to gather your support.”
Donovan’s shoulders twitched, and I understood. Connor commanded his army. If we were headed into a fight, having the vampires on our side could turn the tide our way. Relax, honey, I thought. I’ve got this.
I took a deep breath and continued, “I came here because I was under the impression that you wanted me to close your stone, to protect it from the Devourer.”
Kathryx didn’t say anything. All the Ancients just stared at me.
“But if you don’t want me to, I’ll just go.” I got to my feet. “Thanks for inviting me to visit your realm. I’ve had a lovely time. The conversation was dazzling, the food and drink superb,” I added, managing to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.
They stared back at me, blank-faced. These creatures were almost worse than the centaurs.
They, too, had an overblown sense of their own importance.
To be fair, the vampires’ ego was probably justified, since they were far more powerful and dangerous than the centaurs were. But still. Arrogant pigs.
I bowed my head and turned around.
“Wait.”
I hesitated.
“You do not wish to close our spark stone?”
I turned around to face Kathryx again. “No, I don’t.” I braced myself for the buzz of my lie to roll over my skin.
I was surprised when it didn’t.
That was interesting. I really didn’t want to close their stone. Come to think of it, I didn’t want to close the fae stone either. I should want to—it would mean they would be protected against Connor—but for some reason, I was… scared.
I took a moment to chase my thoughts. I had plenty of time—the blonde Ancient had decided to kick off another long staring competition.
It might be several more minutes before she deigned to speak to me again, so I rummaged through my feelings, trying to make sense of why I was so reluctant to close the stones all of a sudden.
Was it because I knew it would pause their evolution indefinitely? That really was the only consequence, as far as I understood it.
No, that wasn’t it.
The answer hit me. “Oh!”
Donovan appeared at my side instantly. “Chosen?”
“I just figured something out.” Oops, Kathryx was obviously glaring at me now. I held up a finger. “Can you give me just one moment, Kath?”
I turned to face Donovan. “I didn’t want to close your spark stone. I don’t want to close theirs, either.”
Understanding dawned on his face. “I did notice your reluctance, and I was hoping you would share the reason why. I am eager to help you work through it, because even though our stone is safe with my father, protected by Violet… I confess I may only relax when you close it.”
“I didn’t know the reason why, Donovan. I do now. I’m worried that it will give me some of its power. And I don’t want it.”
Cecil whistled through his little foxy teeth. “Chosen, you are such a weirdo sometimes. Who says no to more magic powers?”
“Shush, coat,” I hissed back. “And it’s not that simple.
My worst fear was accidentally hurting someone with my magic, and I’ve only just begun to process that fear.
But now it seems I’ve got a new aspect to consider.
I’m worried about the power eventually corrupting me, I suppose.
Since I accidently compelled Bronwyn, I’ve been feeling sick about it.
I don’t need any more magical powers bubbling away in my gut. ”
I turned back to lock eyes with Donovan.
Even just looking at his face gave me strength.
“If I close your high fae stone, it levels me up on every possible parameter. If I close the vampire spark stone, it could gift me compelling magic. I guess I’m worried that it's all too much. Connor was corrupted by the power of the spark stones he devoured.” I hesitated.
“It’s an awful truth of our existence, Donovan, and I can’t ignore it. Power corrupts.”
Donovan’s gaze softened, that luscious mouth fell open, and he exhaled softly. “Perhaps you are too good, Chosen. I do not know of another being in existence that would deliberately reject so much magic.”
I shook my head, desperate to make him understand. “Look, I know that all that extra power would help me do what I want to do, and that's to keep everyone safe and happy. I just want to make sure I stay worthy of it.”
Donovan took my hands in his; they covered mine completely, so warm, the knot of anxiety in my chest dissolved almost completely. “The fact that you even have such a train of thought proves that you are worthy.”
“You asked Bronwyn to move, not kill herself.” Cecil rolled his eyes. “And now you think you’re a tyrant. Please, Chosen.”
“I compelled her. I took away her free will. And it was by accident, which makes it worse.”