“I am in your debt. If you ever have need of me, do not hesitate to ask.”
Mistress Hopkins flicked her cloth at him. “Now, go on with you, Sir Rhys, and take your lady back to the palace. The queen will need all her ladies around her soon.”
“Are you attending the birth, Mistress Hopkins?” Verity asked as she deposited the basket on the table.
“No, my lady. I haven’t been invited.”
Verity met Rhys’s gaze. “I wonder if we could arrange for Mistress Hopkins to be there. With her special skills she might be of more use to the queen than any of these learned physicians King Henry has called in.”
“We should speak to the king,” Rhys agreed. “Would you be willing to attend the queen, Mistress Hopkins?”
“Of course I would, sir. The poor soul looks worn to the bone.”
“We believe she has encountered the same Vampire who tainted my blood.”
“Oh, the poor sainted lady.” Mistress Hopkins made the sign of the cross. “She will need all her strength to survive this.”
Verity looked pained, and Rhys took her hand. “We will bid you good-bye, then, Mistress Hopkins, and I will see you in another week.”
Rhys led Verity down the narrow path between the rows of vegetables and onward toward the smithy and the stables.
Verity sighed. “I don’t see how we can save the queen, do you?”
“It will certainly be difficult at this point.”
“I can’t see the king and his privy council allowing us to take her into a Druid circle and let her bleed over a stone altar. We’d probably be burned alive for witchcraft.”
Rhys considered the matter as they walked. “I wonder if we could get her to drink our blood. Would that help at all?”
Verity shuddered. “I fear you have been consorting with Vampires for too long. No human would agree to do that.”
“What if we were able to do it secretly?”
Verity shook her head. “Rhys, it will never work. Even if we were able to tamper with her food, every morsel the queen eats or drinks is tasted by her physicians.”
Rhys exhaled. “Then what in God’s holy name are we going to do?”
Verity squeezed his hand. “It is good to hear you trying to think of ways to save the queen. I thought you had given up on her.”
He glanced down at her. “I’m feeling far more positive now that I’m no longer tainted with cursed Vampire blood.”
“You are really feeling better?”
“I no longer feel so weak and it seems like Janus is no longer feeding my anger.” He glanced down at her. “Is he still with you?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I have no idea why.” She hesitated. “Verily, he seems stronger.”
Rhys stopped walking. “Can you not shut him out?”
She gave him a strained smile. “I’m trying, but at the moment it feels like all of you are in my head and that is somewhat complicating matters.”
“I have a similar sensation. I hoped it was just the lingering effect of Janus’s power, but perhaps it is more than that.” He paused. “I certainly feel different.”
“It is hard to work out exactly who is who.”
“Can you hear our thoughts?”
“It’s not that distinct. I just have a sense of you all. But Janus is the loudest.”
“That sounds like Vampire magic.”
“Mayhap it is. I’ll have to ask Elias how he is feeling and how to deal with it.”
“Strange that it affects us so differently. I can definitely sense Elias’s strength and power the most.” He frowned. “I feel responsible for your current distress. If I hadn’t taken your blood—”
She placed her hand on his chest. “You did what was necessary and was sanctioned by our gods. I will be fine in a little while.”
“We’ll have to see about that.” His elation over defeating the Vampire’s blood curse dissipated as he considered the adverse effect it was having on Verity and possibly on them all. “I wonder why our gods allowed this if it brings danger to those involved.”
“It is only right that they be concerned with the survival of our race and not the welfare of a few individuals.” She patted his sleeve. “I am sure that whatever their reasons, the Vampire race will suffer.”
“That’s true,” Rhys replied and tried to shake off his melancholy. “I’m supposed to be playing the harp for the king and queen this afternoon. Will you be there?”
“Indeed I will.” Verity glanced around the sunlit stable yard. “The queen will be going into complete seclusion soon and there will be little to amuse us all then.”
“You’ll be able to escape occasionally, won’t you?”
“I’ll have to,” Verity answered, “or else how will I see you and Elias?”
Rhys wished she hadn’t mentioned Elias as well as him, but he smiled anyway.
“Whatever happens, my lady, Elias and I will be there for you.” He hesitated. “You said you could sense me in your thoughts. Do you think if I called you, you would hear it?”
Verity straightened and tried to look resolute. “Why don’t you try?”
He chuckled and kissed her hand. “I have no idea
how
to try. I’ll ask Elias. He said he wanted to meet with me tonight, anyway.”
“Without me?”
“I believe it is something to do with Lady Rochford, although I’m not sure why he needs me.”
“Then I will be more than happy to stay away.” Verity curtsied and opened the side door into the queen’s apartments. “But be on your guard, Rhys. Lady Rochford is an extremely unpleasant woman.”
Rhys nodded to Elias, who had appeared beside him in the archway between the Clock court and the busier outer court. It was dark and the courtyard was lit only by a few burning torches. The multitude of shifting shadows they created made the hunter in Rhys nervous.
“Good evening, Elias.”
“Good evening, Sir Rhys.”
The Vampire’s normally perfect complexion was pale and tired-looking. “Are you not feeling well, Elias?” Rhys asked in surprise.
“Why do you ask?”
“And why do you always avoid my questions?” Rhys muttered. “Lady Verity and I seem to be suffering some ill effects since we shared our blood. I was wondering if you had experienced anything similar.”
Elias leaned back against the brick wall and sighed. “In truth, I do feel rather strange.”
“In what way?”
“As if too many people inhabit my body.”
Again Rhys felt the pinch of guilt. “Lady Verity said the Vampire was even clearer in her mind. Is he bothering you?”
“Not particularly. I find having his blood in me quite enlightening. It helps me understand his moods.” He glared at Rhys. “
My
discomfort comes from sharing Druid blood, not Vampire.”
“What do you mean?”
“I feel . . . weaker.”
“Yet you are not as debilitated as I was.”
“You are a mere human; of course the effects were worse for you.”
Rhys hid a smile. “Of course. Then you feel well enough to confront Lady Rochford tonight?”
Elias hesitated. “That’s why I asked you to come. In case I . . .” He stopped speaking and stared haughtily at Rhys. “Not that I will need your assistance, of course, but Lady Rochford might be the key.”
“How so?” Rhys allowed Elias to lead him through the maze of outbuildings until they were at the rear of the queen’s apartments.
“In some ways she is weak and therefore exploitable. I’m not sure you will approve of my methods, Sir Rhys, but I fear time is running out for the queen and for me.”
“You are not planning on dying, Elias, are you?”
The Vampire’s smile was cold. “Not if I can help it. But Janus is strong and seeks my position as liaison between the court and the Council. He seems very interested in the Llewellyn family.”
“Have you met him, then?”
“No, he has been keeping out of my way while he gathers his supporters and plots to destroy me.” He hesitated. “Since I have taken his blood, through you, I do not believe he is related to me in any way. I believe his connection to us all comes through the Druids.”
Rhys frowned. “But it is considered dangerous to turn a Druid into a Vampire.”
“Aye, because of the ancient blood connection we share. Remember that before my ancestors decided drinking human blood was far more intoxicating than spilling blood for the gods, we were one race.”
“If this Janus was once a Druid, it might explain both his unusual powers and his interest in me and Verity.”
“Indeed, and if he is a former Druid, my attempts to overpower him alone were bound to fail.”
“Except that you now have some of his blood in you.”
Elias’s smile was chilling. “As do we all.” He looked over Rhys’s shoulder. “I am expecting Lady Rochford at any moment. May I suggest that you hide somewhere close by?”
“You do not want me by your side?”
“Hardly.”
Rhys was glad to see that Elias had regained some of his usual arrogance. “Lady Verity warned me to be wary of the woman.”
“And she was right.”
Rhys retreated behind a convenient stack of barrels and made sure he could still make out Elias’s blond head. From a distance, with the moonlight shining down on him, Elias looked quite angelic. Rhys drew his dagger as another hooded figure appeared and Elias bowed.
As the two Vampires disappeared, he cursed and stepped out of his hiding place.
“Elias, damn you,” he whispered. “Where are you?”
He heard Elias’s amused voice in his head.
“Follow me, Sir Rhys. You are well capable of it.”
“How?” he replied.
“Picture where I am and imagine yourself close by.”
Rhys closed his eyes and pictured Elias. He half expected to be taken up into the air, but instead he found his feet moving in a particular direction. He kept the image of Elias in his thoughts and simply followed his instincts.
Eventually he found himself in a quiet corridor of the servants’ wing of the queen’s apartments. He could hear Elias’s voice and a woman’s and paused outside the closed door.
“The room next door is empty and connected to this one.”
Rhys quietly opened the next door along and then closed it behind him. Apart from a pile of dusty wall hangings and a large oak chest, the room was empty. There was a connecting door between the two rooms and it was slightly ajar. Rhys could now hear the voices quite clearly and he settled down to listen. Elias seemed to be doing most of the talking and he sounded like his old self.
“Lady Rochford, I do not believe you. Someone not sanctioned by the Vampire Council is gaining access to the queen’s bedchamber.”
“That isn’t true, Master Warner.”
“Don’t lie to me, woman.” Rhys winced at the cold lash of Elias’s voice. “I have the ear of almost every member of the Council; I can have you destroyed with just a word.”
“Master Warner, I swear that I cannot tell you anything.” Lady Rochford’s voice rose in an unpleasant whine.
“Whom are you more afraid of, Lady Rochford, the Vampire you now serve or the Vampire Council?”
“You don’t understand, Master Warner!” Lady Rochford whispered. “Janus will kill me!”
“And you think I will not?”
Lady Rochford gasped and Rhys tensed and drew his dagger. He leaned closer to the crack in the door and saw that Elias had his hand around Lady Rochford’s throat.
“I knew your husband and the lady Anne very well,” Elias said, almost idly. “It would be a pity if either the king or the Vampire Council were to hear about your involvement in their plot to overthrow the king.”
“You would not do that to me, Master Warner!”
Elias laughed and the cutting sound made Rhys wince. “Why not? I care nothing for you, Lady Rochford. I only care that this Vampire you now claim to serve is destroyed. He is not even purebred, do you realize that? He is part Druid.”
“He is more powerful than you are!” Lady Rochford protested.
“He is not.” Rhys tensed as Elias’s grip tightened and Lady Rochford started to struggle. Cold power surged through Rhys and he fought to contain it. “Shall I prove it to you?”
Rhys flinched as somewhere in his mind an echo of the pain Elias was now inflicting on Lady Rochford shot through him, followed by a deadly sense of purpose that made him feel invincible. Rhys wanted to groan as Elias shoved Lady Rochford away and she fell back against the wall, gasping and holding her throat.
“What—what do you want from me?”
She sounded terrified now, and Rhys wasn’t surprised. He too would have been alarmed at such a blatant display of power. But that power was seductive too, and Rhys realized he was anticipating Elias’s next move with all the enjoyment of a hunter.