vampires get to the young girl.
The approaching man stopped just in front of her, as casual y as if Vigor and Aunt Sophie weren’t stil fighting his fel ow vampires just a little ways away.
“Princess Briony, I presume,” he said, giving her a courtly bow that had to be designed to mock her. “We have been awaiting your arrival for a very long time.” He smiled, and just for a second, Briony was reminded of Fal on. The same near beauty in his face. The same delicacy to his features. Then the new vampire’s fangs appeared, and he snarled.
“Where is the scepter?”
“Scepter?” Briony asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The newcomer shook his head and stepped stil closer. “There’s no point in trying to deceive me.
You’re Waltham’s heir. Of course you would know about the scepter.”
“Believe me, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Briony looked around, trying to locate a weapon. Aunt Sophie was on the other side of the room, fighting off two vampires with desperate speed, while Vigor on the other side, stil trading sword moves with the dark haired vampire who had been the first to attack them. Neither was near enough to throw over a weapon, and in any case, both looked as though distracting them might prove fatal. It seemed Briony was on her own.
The vampire in front of Briony grinned, looking almost frighteningly friendly despite his fangs.
“You know, I think I actual y believe you. Stil , you may not know what the scepter is, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help us get it.”
“I’l never help you,” Briony said.
“Oh, I think you wil .”
Briony tensed, expecting the vampire to rush her, but he just stood there grinning, crossing his arms casual y. Why wasn’t he attacking? Something was wrong. As Briony began to think that thought, she felt strong hands grabbing her from behind, a feminine laugh sounding in her ear. The girl?
It was indeed her. She laughed again. “You real y are that naïve. You couldn’t even tel …” Briony turned her head and saw the girl’s fangs exposed as she stared longingly at Briony’s neck. “I haven’t had human blood in so long. She smel s so good. Can I just have a taste, Barron?”
Thankful y, the vampire in front of Briony shook his head. “No, Elise, we must keep her alive. Bring her.”
The girl, Elise, improved her grip on Briony, holding her around the waist and lifting her with one arm. Briony tried to twist out of the hold, but found the vampire had as much strength as anyone she had ever met. She was fast too. Before Briony could cal out to Aunt Sophie or even Vigor for help, she was being borne away through the castle with blurring speed. And when they reached a window, the girl leapt.
It was so different to the time Fal on carried her through the air. It was smoother, far more control ed, and somehow Briony knew that Elise had done this thousands of times. She barely skimmed the ground with each leap before taking to the air again, while a black blur soon joined them as they passed through the nearby forest and into the hil s.
Eventual y, they came to a stop. The land around was different than the rest of Palisor, and it took Briony a moment to realize why. It was dead. The sky was a dul , cloudy grey. The rocks around were jagged, with no signs of vegetation. And at the top…
It was the kind of castle Briony had always imagined vampires having; a thing of pointed towers and dark banners, set with spikes on the outer surfaces and imposing its might on the world around. It could almost have been stolen wholesale from Transylvania.
Elise set down Briony, letting her scramble to find her footing on the rocks. Meanwhile, the black blur that had accompanied them resolved itself into the too handsome form of Barron, who took Briony’s hand, touching his lips to it in a parody of a courtier.
“Princess,” he said, mockingly. “Welcome to the Kingdom of Darkness, our home.”
“By our, you mean…”
“Vampires,” Elise put in. “What else?”
Briony shuddered. The castle reminded her of something from the days of black and white horror films. She did n o t want to go inside. Not that she would get a choice, probably.
Next to her, Elise laughed. “I had forgotten how a human would see this castle, Barron. Just look at the Princess’ face. Such