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didn't want to wait there, but he did as he was told. There were a few muffled noises that were obscured by the wind. When Celticad looked at the top of the wall, sharp flakes of snow fell into his eyes, but he didn't look away. Agitated, he felt useless waiting around, while the King went over the wall alone, but Celticad couldn't jump like that. The King practically flew over the icy wall and landed soundlessly on the other side. A noise caught Celticad's ear and he leaned closer to the wall, trying to identify the sound. Next to his eye, a small fissure appeared in the white wall. Celticad leaned closer, watching it spider into several directions before the wall made a loud cracking sound. Celticad stumbled back, his arm covering his face as the section of wall exploded. Shards of ice flew past his eyes, nearly blinding him. When he lowered his arm, Celticad saw a small opening in the wall where the crack had been. It gave way. Caving in, the hole expanded and formed a passage big enough for him to walk through. He didn't wait for the air to clear. Keeping his arm at his eyes, Celticad walked through the floating debris and emerged on the other side of the wall. The King stood there with three dead vampires at his feet. Their blackened blood soaked into the ice, staining it like ink spilled from a bottle.

"Where is the tunnel?" the King snapped, looking at the ground, like a door would magically fling open just because he asked.

"In this garden. It's part of the history of this place, a reason why the Queen chose it. Caverns were vast in this part of the country, often stretching underground for miles. We aren't looking for a small tunnel, we're looking for the entrance to a cavern." Celticad spoke with certainty as his eyes scanned the landscape.

The King was tense, moving swiftly through the garden, but he didn't see any way in. Before they had much time to look a voice crackled to life. The noise came from the communicator on one of the dead vamp's body's, "Report. Over."

The King looked at Celticad. They'd know he was here any moment. There were two posts down on this side of the palace. He didn't have time for this. As if he read the King's mind, Celticad walked over to the vamp and lifted the white box from his belt. Pressing the button on the side, Celticad said something the King knew to be a report, but the way that it was spoken concerned him. The report had to be given a certain way, parts of it in code. Celticad spoke fluently, like he'd done this many times before. Celticad knew the Queen's codes. While the King didn't know all of the code, he knew enough of it to recognize it when he heard it spoken.

When Celticad finished, he said, "Over," and clicked the thing off, tossing it to the ground on top of the dead vampires. Every single one was killed the same way - decapitation. Vacant eyes were still open in shock, like they couldn't believe that they were attacked.

"When were you in the Queen's guard?" the King asked suspiciously, ready to destroy one more vampire. Another body was nothing, not with his power.

"After I was turned," Celticad replied, his voice angry.

"Then, why should I trust you?" the King asked, gaze narrowing. He didn't expect the vampire to speak truthfully. He expected lies, a faulty reason why he knew the Queen's code.

"You shouldn't," Celticad said plainly. The large vampire looked directly into the King's face as he spoke, not making any apologies for his past. "You'd be a fool if you trusted anyone. Make no pretense for me, your Majesty. Assume I'd kill you, if I had the power. You'll live longer." Wind whipped Celticad's dark hair. He stood rigid, ready for the King to attack.

After a moment, the side of the King's lips pulled up into a sadistic smile, "A man after my own heart."

Celticad nodded once. "Exactly," he said gruffly. "Now, let's find that door before someone realizes we're here."

Chapter 29

"This is stupid, Reggie." Kahli grumbled for the fourteenth time in five minutes. The guards already spotted their vehicle and they were being escorted toward the palace, flanked by the Queen's vampires. They were surrounded by various forms of snow mobiles and ice bikes like the one Will rode when he chased her from