Page 16 of Redeeming the Angel

I nodded in surrender.At least I’d have some chances to see her.And, if the fates were kind, I’d be able to arrange for there to be more.“The last thing I wish is to hurt her.”

The sorcerer king relaxed and finished his wine.“You may stay for the rest of the night, of course.Then, tomorrow I will take you to your house.It’s very roomy and has a large garden space.You may do what you wish with it so long as it’s still hospitable when the time comes for you to leave.”

“Very well, Your Highness.”I finished my wine before I rose and bowed.

Zareth transported me down to the level where my soon to be former room was, then vanished as he doubtless returned to his queen.I struggled my way out of armor I’d barely needed, now understanding why the knights in Wurrakia had squires to help them in and out of these steel contraptions.Once free, I availed myself of a hot shower and changed into a soft tunic and trousers woven from Delcine wool.

Though I was exhausted from the battle, sleep was impossible.Not after this day.So I went downstairs, hoping there was more of that sweet wine in the kitchen.

I heard voices in the parlor and recognized two heavily accented ones as the vampire twins, Razvan and Radu.When I’d first met the vampires, I was repulsed, as they were creations of Mephistopheles.But after tonight, seeing them so fiercely fighting their creator, my revulsion was replaced with admiration and curiosity.

I didn’t find the wine Zareth had provided, but the refrigerator held bottles of something labeled “hard cider.”I loved apple cider, so I grabbed one and cracked it open with the bottle opener magnet on the fridge door, then headed to the parlor to join my strange new allies.I wanted everyone who frequently came to Zareth’s tower to like me.Then perhaps I could tag along with them.

Razvan Nicolae was the first to notice me.He set aside the pipe he was loading and waved.“Ah, it’s the luminite prince.”

His twin, Radu, spoke with an even thicker accent.“Your swordsmanship was impeccable the few times you used it.”

“Yes,” Razvan said.“Though Nikkita is better.However, your fire magic is as good, if not better than our queen.But do not tell her I said that, and I will not tell her about your drinking her hard cider.”

“I didn’t know it was hers.”I shifted awkwardly, wondering what to do.“I’d put it back, but…”

“It would go flat.”Razvan beckoned me with an impatient gesture.“Sit.Drink.She has plenty, and it is easy to procure more for her.”

I sat.And I drank.The cider tasted amazing.Crisp and tart like a green apple, but also sweet.There was that telltale bite that promised intoxication, and I didn’t care.After all I’d seen and experienced in that battle, I wanted to get drunk.

After that first sip, Radu gave me an odd look.“May I bite you?”

I nearly choked on my second sip.“I beg your pardon?”

Razvan smacked his twin on the back of his head.“Radu has the ability to taste food and drink from someone he’s fed from.However, he’s recently awakened from many centuries of hibernating and has yet to recover his manners.”He turned to his brother.“Your wife can get this cider tomorrow.I’m honestly surprised she hasn’t tried it.”Then his black eyes shifted back to me and a sinister smile curved his harsh, angular lips.“However, itwouldbe interesting to try pure luminite blood.Our queen is only half luminite, and Silas gained more power when he accidentally fed from her.”

“One of you drank Xochitl’s blood?”I found that I very much disliked that notion.

“On accident,” Razvan repeated.“She was shielding so well that he couldn’t sense his Mark on her.Silas and Zareth settled the matter and all was forgiven.But now Silas can fly.You’ll have to have him tell the whole story sometime.He went back to Earth to be with his wife and child.”

Again, he eyed me with discomforting speculation.

“I don’t want anyone to drink my blood,” I said firmly and began to rise from my seat.

“Please stay, Lucian,” Razvan insisted.“As per the treaty with the King of Aisthanesthai, we are not to drink from anyone without their consent.If we disobey this decree, we’ll be exiled, or possibly killed.I swear your veins are safe.”

Maybe it was the wine I’d had with the meal and later on with Zareth, or maybe it was the cider, but I decided to trust him, despite his sinister air.Oddly enough, his brother, who had been the one who wanted to bite me in the first place, did not seem threatening.However, there were two more vampires with us.One I’d never seen before sat in a darker corner.He’d been staring out the window at the two moons in the sky when I’d entered the parlor, but now I realized he was watching me and I had no idea how long he’d been doing so.But I did sense danger and power from him.He’d been fighting with a sword as well.One of those narrow swords that the Shyr warriors of Aisthanesthai favored.Nik’s preferred blade.He even looked like a Shyr warrior, with jet black hair tied in an intricate braid down his back, golden skin, and dark, heavy-lidded eyes that took everything in and gave nothing back.

Razvan followed my gaze.“This is Shen Li, Enforcer to the Lord Vampire of Coeur d’Alene.This is only his second visit to Aisthanesthai, so he’s a bit overwhelmed.”

Shen’s gaze shifted to Razvan and he frowned with thunderous disapproval.

“I can speak for myself.”His attention returned to me.“I understand that you are from yet another world, yet you and Nikkita fight in my people’s style.How did that come to be?”

I explained the rescue missions when Earth’s magic was being stolen by the evil one and how the Shyr people came from Earth in the first place and a warrior taught Kerainne, Nikkita, and me how to fight with a blade.Somewhere in the process, a second hard cider was in my hand.By the third, I found myself telling them about Kerainne, but it all came out in a muddled mess.

“And when I saw him tonight, smiling at her like that, after what he did to her, I felt so helpless.I know Xochitl said I shouldn’t make it about me, but I want to kill him and I hate that I can’t.And Xochitl… I wronged her so badly.And in ways she probably doesn’t know about since her anger is directed at me for what I did to her mother.But I want to make up for it and I want Kerainne back.I love her so much!”

Embarrassingly, tears leaked from the corners of my eyes.I wiped them away, took a big swig of cider, and my foolish mouth pressed on.I knew I sounded pathetic, but I couldn’t stop.“And now Zareth is banishing me from the tower.I’m to move in a guesthouse somewhere in the village.He says I may visit for war councils and such, but I want to be here more.I understand his reasoning, with the crowding and his worry that my presence will hurt Kerainne.But I want to heal the hurt I caused her.”

I wiped my eyes again and slumped back in my chair.Aside from the humiliation of blubbering in front of three vampires, and the annoying way the room sometimes tilted and spun, I felt such a catharsis.

Razvan regarded me, stroking his thin, pointed beard.I was grateful for that beard, otherwise, with the state I was in, there was no way to tell him from his brother, who was clean-shaven.

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