“It went well, I take it?”
“We’ll see.”
Roche told him about the meeting, and by the
time he was finished, the Ambassador was smiling, too.
“I wish I could’ve seen the looks on their
faces,” he said.
“It was gratifying.”
“So we may have a chance to win the war, after
all.”
“We will see.”
“What of the Libertarians?”
“I’ve thought of something to end that threat,
as well.”
“Yes?”
Sarnova just smiled.
Seeing that his friend would not reveal his
plan, Mauchlery said, “Where are you off to now?
The chess
game?”
“Yes. Actually, I’ve changed the schedule around
somewhat.”
“How so?”
“Originally, the eight survivors of the Pit were
to face each off in four games the first night. The four victors were then to
compete in two games the following night. On the third night, the last two were
to compete to determine my heir.”
“But you’ve changed it.”
“I’ve decided the first two rounds will be finished
tonight, with only a short recess between them.”
After a moment, Francois nodded in
understanding. “You wish to see how Kiernevar fares, is that it?”
“Exactly.
If he survives the
first two rounds, he and the final contender will face each other tomorrow.
If he loses, so much the better.
I can’t take that chance,
though. If he wins both games tonight, I must go to my alternate plan.”
“Which is?”
Again, the Dark Lord just smiled.
*
*
*
After
successfully seeking out Sophia (predictably helping the Funhouse set up for
that night’s performance), Danielle told her the news of Ruegger’s return, and
the Ice Queen seemed pleased, but it was hard for the vampiress to fully gauge
her true feelings. Like her father, Sophia was a mystery to Danielle.
The Ice Queen had some information of her own to
exchange. “They’re only rumors,” she admitted, “but there is some truth to
them.”
“What?”
“The Libertarians are here. Apparently, they
attacked Roche Sarnova’s raiding party with a tactical nuclear missile.”
“Christ!”
As Sophe fleshed out the story, Danielle found
herself torn between gratitude and sorrow. Surely most of the denizens of the
Castle were an evil lot, but a wholesale slaughter of them seemed to be
overkill, as it were. Then she remembered the waiter at the Blood and Stone and
knew that over ninety percent of the residents of the Castle shared a similar
morality. The Castle was evil. Even Sarnova, who promised such great deeds,
would kill a mortal as thoughtlessly as he would floss his teeth. And the Libertarians,
though certainly no saints, were at least trying to accomplish a righteous
cause—if vengeance could ever be called righteous.
“Good for Malie,” she heard herself say.
Sophia nodded. “Well, I’m glad Ruegger’s back.
How do you plan to get him out?”
“I’m going to have a little talk with Blackie.”
Looking skeptical, Sophe gave the vampiress a
brief hug. “If I can be of assistance, just drop on by.”
Danielle found Harry in the bar that had become
his second home. When he saw her, he raised his martini (his first of the day)
in greeting. “I was just coming to get you.”
“I’m sure you were,” she said, but did not sit
down to join him. She still wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject of
Ruegger’s arrival. Also, she wasn’t sure how to approach Harry now, in light of
the fact that he was Cloire’s lover.
Sensing her unease, Harry took her by the arm
and steered her to the bright shadows of a nearby booth. When they were both
seated, he ordered a second drink and asked if she wanted any. Still feeling the
effects of last-night’s binge, she declined.
“What is it?” Harry said. “Cloire told me you
came by last night.”
“I did.” Unable to look him in the eyes, she
glanced down to her fidgeting hands.
“You
don’t like me with her, do you?” he asked.
She shook her head.
He sighed. “Sometimes I don’t, either. The other
night, I was watching her sleep, and a horrible thought occurred to me.”
She met his gaze. “You thought about killing
her.”
He nodded. “Sometimes she still refers to me as
the Slayer. She’s well aware of the deeds I did when I was younger. Also, she’s
aware that she could just as easily have been a target of mine as any of the
others were. I think that appeals to her for some reason.”
“She’s twisted, Harry. Stay with her any longer
and she’ll twist you, too.”
He took another sip of his drink. “Anyway,
that’s not what you came to talk to me about.”
“No.”
“What, then?”
“Ruegger’s back.” For a moment, he looked
stunned, speechless. Then one of the biggest smiles Danielle had ever seen spread
across his face.
“Let’s go to him,” Harry said.
“He’s in prison.”
He ordered another drink and listened to every
word she had to say.
*
*
*
Many
times throughout the previous day, Jean-Pierre had lost consciousness. But this
time, when he opened his eyes to find the air above the layer of ice dark with
the onset of night, he knew his time had come. Still weak, he knocked himself a
hole in the frigid ceiling and crawled to the snow-covered bank of the little
river.
“Damn,” he muttered, his teeth chattering. It
was
cold
.
The water began to freeze on his skin. He’d
better get moving unless he wanted to wind up a pop-sickle. He took note of the
mountains around him. To his surprise, he realized he wasn’t that far from the
one holding the Castle. In fact, its blazing lights were the only sign of
civilization in sight. They called to him, spurring him on. Somewhere inside
its stone halls waited Kharker, his dearest friend, and Sophia.
Shaking off the ice, he thrust one foot in front
of the other and forced himself toward the lights.
*
*
*
When
she entered the Throne Room, Danielle found it busy and tense. Leaning forward
in their seats, the remaining half of the Dark Council sat their thrones, as did
Roche Sarnova. Before them lay four small tables, and on each of these four
tables loomed a stone chessboard. Two shades crouched opposite each other at
each of these tables, intent on the game before them, as well they should be.
One of these shades was Kiernevar, wearing a jacket probably issued to him by
Sarnova in order to mask the sight and stench of his feces. To Danielle, he
seemed the least perturbed individual there. She wondered if he was winning. A
glance at the board told her it was too early to tell.
A throng of people surrounded the contestants,
leaving an opening just wide enough so that the Dark Council could also see
what was going on. Pausing only long enough to size up the situation, Danielle began
her approach on Roche Sarnova. Seeing her, his guards withdrew their sabers.
“The Lord is not hearing petitions at this
time,” one said, careful to keep his voice low.
“I couldn’t give a fuck.” She turned her gaze on
the Dark Lord in his throne.
“Hey, you!
Blackie!”
The guards took two big steps toward her before
Sarnova called out, “Leave her be.” His large dark eyes studied Danielle. He
glanced at the chess-war in front of him and, seeing nothing there to keep him
riveted, gave is attention to Danielle. “You’re the one they call the Gutter
Angel, aren’t you?”
“My name is Danielle.”
“Oh, I know. I was going to throw you in jail. I
would have, if it hadn’t been for Lord Kharker. He convinced me that you
weren’t part of the plot to kill me.”
“If that’s an attempt to get me to take it easy
on him, it’s a waste of your time.”
He nodded. “So what’ve you come to see me
about?”
“Take a wild guess.”
With a thumb and pointer finger, he rubbed his
thick eyebrows, which hid his eyes for a moment. Then, perhaps a little sadly,
he said, “Danielle, I can’t release Ruegger, not now.”
“Why not?
He was only doing what
he thought was right.”
“So was Hitler. The Darkling is still a threat
to me, although ...”
“What? Although what?”
He frowned at the games behind her.
“Nothing.
Now is not the time.” She could feel the weariness
coming off of him like smoke from burning wreckage. “Danielle ... please ...
leave now.”
“But Ruegger—”
“I know you love him, but let it go. You’ll only
do yourself harm if you do something rash. Trust me. I will have a talk with
Ruegger,
see if he can be persuaded ...”
“Damn you, you’d better release him.”
“It’s up to Ruegger now.”
*
*
*
That
night, needing to feed and unwilling to return to the Blood and Stone—and
equally unwilling to buy a human off the trading blocks—Danielle moved down
several floors to a less prosperous portion of the Castle, to a “blood brothel”
where patrons could simultaneously satisfy their sexual and immortal urges.
They could sleep with the girls and boys of the brothel, as well as feed from
them, but not kill them. It was Vegetarian only. Though Rosie’s Din did not
prosper as other brothels in the fortress did, Danielle found it one of the
only bright spots in the Castle.
She paid a fee, selected her “mate”, and moved
on to a private room.
The young human girl she had selected was polite
and friendly, but she seemed disappointed that Danielle did not want to make
love.
“Don’t you find me sexy?”
Danielle almost blushed. The girl was actually
quite attractive, and she knew that Ruegger would not object to such a union,
but to Danielle at that moment, sex simply did not appeal to her. The shadows
of Junger and Jagoda loomed long, and she wondered when she would ever be able
to view sex in a more healthy light. Soon, she hoped, promising
herself
that she would be ready the moment Ruegger was released.
For the moment, intimacy was the last thing on her mind.
She took blood from the girl and smiled as the
familiar waves of strength rolled over her. Then, to Danielle’s surprise, the
girl started stroking her hair and singing her a lullaby. Danielle,
unaccustomed to such gentleness in this place, suspected an ambush and braced
herself.
Instead, the girl sang on. Eventually, Danielle
relaxed and drifted off into some semblance of sleep, and when she opened her
eyes the girl slept beside her, snoring softly. Danielle left a tip on the pillow
and made her way out.
To her further surprise, she saw the werewolf
Cloire approach the blood brothel even as she left it. The former enemies
stared at each other for a moment.
Cloire laughed. “You should see the look on your
face.”
Danielle shook herself. “What’re you doing here?
You can’t kill anybody here, you know.”
Cloire shrugged. “A promise I made to Harry.”
Without another word, she brushed past Danielle
and entered the Din. Danielle blinked, surprised that Cloire would go to such
lengths to appease a human, but the shock wore away as she began to understand
that there was something very real between the she-wolf and the Slayer. Perhaps,
just perhaps, Cloire wasn’t so twisted after all.
Danielle moved down the torch-lit corridors of
the Castle, making her way into the dark tunnels of the catacombs and into the
dungeon. Soon she stood before Ruegger’s cell.
Behind those bars, he smiled at her.
In that moment, all thoughts of Junger and
Jagoda washed away from her to be replaced by sincere longing for this
creature, this man whom she loved above all others. For a long moment, she
stood there as if turned to stone by the very sight of him, but then she broke
free of the spell and rushed to him.
They kissed through the bars. She stayed for perhaps
an hour, talking to him about her concerns and about events happening in and
around the Castle, and when she left him at last, her step was a little
lighter, more spirited. Somehow, someway, things would work themselves out. He
would be freed, or she would help him escape. They might die trying, but she
was more than willing to give her life in the attempt, and she knew that if the
situation were reversed, he would do the same for her.
The image of his face fixed in her mind, she moved
into the upper chambers of the Castle, where the Funhouse was just beginning
its show.