my mind with his spirit of darkness, I will die true-dead first.”
“As will I,” Thema said. And she was suddenly holding a small subgun, a different configuration, make, and model from one of Eli’s, but no less dangerous. Eli moved almost vamp-fast, keeping them both in line of sight, his fingers at the triggers. This was going bad fast.
Thema went on, “We parley with the Dark Queen.”
“Okay,” I said. “The Dark Queen hears.”
“We will feed your Onorio. We will leave no chevalier vampire in the hands of the Maker. We will save your servant-knight. We will fight at your command. We will put away our weapons. But we will not give them up.”
“Chevalier vampire?” I asked.
“Knight of the Dark Queen,” Shaddock said, then clarified: “Edmund.” He sounded amused, his eyes moving between us as if we were an entertainment just for his enjoyment.
“Edmund is not just a knight. He’s the Master of the City of New Orleans,” Eli said, not moving his lethal muzzles away from them, “and the emperor of the European Mithrans, should the empress fall.”
Kojo tilted his head, disdain on his face. “The heir of all Europe allowed himself to be captured? How is such a raeb, one powerful enough to inherit the emperorship, taken and used by the Flayer of Mithrans?”
I had no idea what raeb was, but I understood the question. There was a lot of crap going on here and it needed to be brought to an end, fast. “Betrayal,” I said simply.
“I have heard whispers, my heart,” Thema said to Kojo. “Those loyal to the Flayer, with territory in the French countryside, helped with some treachery.” She added to me, “These same treacherous ones welcomed the Nazis with open arms and gave those of us with darker skin to be tested and used. We fought and killed many, and my heart and I were not taken, though we lost many friends. There is no shame in being bested by betrayal. But vengeance is demanded.”
Yeah. Vengeance. That was exactly want I wanted. I put a hint of command in my tone and shifted on my paw-pad feet to better display my scarlet-painted claws. “Put down your weapon, Thema. Stand down, Kojo. Once they stand down, put away your weapons, Eli.”
“Copy.”
Copy meant he’d heard, not that he would put away the weapons. I sighed. “Pretty please?” I asked. “With sugar on top?”
Eli snorted. Thema hesitated and then dropped her head in obeisance, placing her weapon on the floor. She was really limber. When she stood upright, Eli lowered his little killer guns. The stench of violence began to fade from the air.
I glanced at Eli. “You’ll make sure everything that needs to be done is done?”
“Yes, my queen.”
My queen? Ooookaaay. Someone was making a point. I said, “And that the meat is put in the kitchen?”
Eli chuckled. “Roger that.”
Alex said from the shadows, “If you’re interested, I know where the Flayer has been for the last few months.” I nodded and he entered the main room, holding a tiny laptop on one arm, the screen balanced open in front of him. “The Flayer of Mithrans has been staying in Chambord Castle, Loir-et-Cher”—he mangled the words—“in France.”
“I know this place,” Thema said, her voice going tighter, her body drawing up into a fighter’s stance.
“The largest French Renaissance castle in the Loire Valley.” Alex glanced up at me and I nodded again. Things seemed to be ratcheting down. Dang vamp politics and all the mumbo jumbo that went along with it. Alex visibly relaxed and went on. “The castle was built by Francis the First in 1519 as a hunting lodge for the royal court, but it was rarely lived in. One hundred rooms out of four hundred forty are open to the public. The remaining three hundred plus are private. Lots of places to hide and hunt.”
Thema moved to Kojo. He stood and she laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her to his side, but they each had one arm free, and the bulges beneath their snow-damp clothing were proof of more hidden weapons.
Thema said, “The Flayer of Mithrans would have taken over what empty rooms he wanted and his scions would hunt in the park and nature preserve that surrounds it, as well as the nearby countryside, taking humans to feed upon. That they are close to so many humans, and yet there are no reported deaths or large numbers of missing humans, implies they are not