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I glance at him, briefly taking in the three Lapp Witches that have him in their grasp, the same way that three are holding onto me. Their magic is far too powerful for us to break through.
“Did you know about this?” I ask him.
Valtu frowns. “About what? That Lapp Witches would appear and hold us hostage for no reason at all?”
I stare at him, studying him closely. Valtu has always been a slippery one and owns his shadiness proudly, which in a way makes him harder to read than someone like Kaleid. “Did you know that we wouldn’t be able to travel into that world?” I ask eventually.
He shakes his head. “No. I’m not upset about it, but I can tell you are.”
“Lenore has gone on without me. To be used as bait,” I seethe, anger starting to bubble in my veins, but I’m not sure who the anger is directed to. Most likely myself.
Valtu eyes me. “You knew that was the plan, even before you got here.”
“Not without me,” I say gruffly.
“You think you can protect her from Skarde?” he asks with a snort of disbelief. “I know you’re the first made, Solon, but give me a break.”
“And so you think Kaleid and Natalia can do it?”
“With them alone…” he says. There’s something in his voice, something I don’t like.
I bristle. “What do you know, Valtu? You’re not telling me the whole truth here.”
He doesn’t say anything and looks away.
“You fuck!” I roar, trying to get at him, to tackle him, rip his throat out, but the Lapp Witches have a tight hold on me and I’m powerless against them. “Fuck you! What do you know? Did she just walk off to her death?”
He gives me a stiff smile “Probably not. No one is lying to you, Solon. We all want Skarde out of the picture. His time has come. It’s time to destroy the kingdom that created us. And Lenore is needed to do that. Skarde wants her, and she’s no good to him dead.” He licks his lips and attempts to give me a pitying look. “Kaleid will make sure she stays alive.”
“As will I,” a deep, rich voice comes from the forest behind us. The Lapp Witches tighten their grip and turn us around to face the intruder.
There is a man in black, who smells like death, who has a moving, changing face, a glowing witch’s blade at his side.
“Oh, Christ,” Dracula swears, and from the fear in his voice, I know he didn’t plan on this. “This is where I die, isn’t it? Right on the shores of that bloody lake, in fucking Finland.”
“Jeremias,” I say as he approaches. His face is mesmerizing, always changing, just as Lenore had described.
“The infamous Absolon Stavig,” Jeremias says, stopping in front of us, giving us a predatory smile. “I’ve heard so much about you I feel like I actually know you. And yet, after all this time, this is the first time we’ve met. Can you believe that?”
“We run in different crowds,” I tell him stiffly.
“Ah, you’re trying to be clever but that’s actually not true. You do run with the witches Absolon, just as you run with the vampires. I run with the vampires as I do with the witches. As you can see, we are very similar. Perhaps that’s why Lenore is so attracted to you, like a moth to a flame.” He leans in closer. “Too bad that flame has already singed her wings a little. You know it was me who glued her wings back on, Absolon. Without me, she would have died at your hands.”
“I am not the beast,” I say through grinding teeth.
“Yes, you are. You are the beast through and through. And my poor daughter, she was almost willing to trade her soul to save you. Did you know that I would have made it so that she could control you? That she could prevent you from ever hurting her again? But she wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t succumb to the dark side.”
“You sound like the fucking emperor, you know that?” Valtu comments derisively.
“I am an emperor,” Jeremias says, not picking up on the Star Wars reference. “And I do what any good emperor does to stay in power. I expand. Tell me, Absolon, do you really think that Kaleid has any power to destroy your father? If he did, don’t you think he would have done so by now?”
I stare at him. “You’re working with Kaleid?”
He smirks. “Bit slow on the uptake. Yes. I am.”
“Double-crosser,” Valtu mutters angrily.
“Kaleid?” Jeremias asks. “I suppose he’s a double-crosser if you think working with a witch is worthy of being called a traitor. To that end, I assume you would think the same of Absolon here.”
“I do,” Valtu says, glaring. “He is a traitor. I barely tolerate him.”
