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“How do you figure?” she asked. But at least I’d gotten her attention. I saw the camera lights blink off behind her.
“I’m chosen, like you. And Damien needs me. I’m sworn to protect him, above all else.”
“He’s a traitor,” she scoffed, but the confidence fell from her eyes. We’d both grown up revering prince Damien like a god, and now he was a prisoner.
“According to Nigel,” I said. “Running a kingdom he has no right to. The covenant was created by King Richard. Are we still even sworn to it, if its throne sits empty?”
“It’s not empty.”
“Nigel hasclaimedit. Why, how, with what power? Will the same rules be maintained? They’ve already been broken. Algrave imported like sheep during a storm. The demands of blood increase, while the rewards diminish. Is killing citizens still illegal? We found a handful of bodies in Algrave from those who didn’t make it. Who will be punished for those crimes?”
“I didn’t decide any of that,” Mary started.
“By opposing me, you’re maintaining his power. But forget about politics. Let’s assume the covenant holds and we are bound to our elite. I didn’t choose Damien, and I don’t control his actions. But I’m sworn to him, and I’ll die for him. Surely you can understand that. This is what they’ve made us. Weapons to use on each other. They decided our fates. There was no choosing, not for us. Only rejection or approval. And now we are here, each fighting to protect what? Our elite? Damien isn’t a threat to Stanely, as far as I know. But those who side with Nigel tonight may have an inaccurate view of how things will play out.”
“What’s that mean,” she asked, her eyes narrowing. “What have you been plotting?”
I had her attention, at least. I stepped closer, within striking distance, but kept my palms up.
“Your parents are here,” I said, trying to establish an emotional cord. “Have you seen them yet? Everyone from Algrave. All of them, under Nigel’s thumb. Are you sure of their safety while he’s in charge? Your siblings? Mine? I’m not.”
I could see her faltering, my will against hers. I wasn’t trying to compulse her exactly, just get through to her. Remember the people she cared about. I might have been able to hold her still like I’d done to Jessica earlier, but now that she knew our plans, I couldn’t afford to let her go again, leaving us in an awkward stalemate. Just when I was sure she was about to lower her weapons, April tazed her in the back of the neck. Mary’s eyes blinked rapidly and she spun, before crumbling into my arms.
“I had that,” I said, frowning.
“Probably,” April said. “But it was taking too long. Besides, I found this in a drawer and wanted to check it out. Seems effective,” she said, raising the device and pressing the button again, unleashing blue arcs of electricity.
“Help me carry her inside,” I said.
Zane looked up when we dragged Mary over the threshold.
“Everything went well then?”
“All things considered,” I said. April grabbed some thick wires and tied them around Mary’s wrists and ankles. Zane handed me a larger communication device, like the one that had been in the compound, and told me to check in and update the others.
First I called Algrave. Trevor picked up, and we confirmed the details. It was good to hear his voice, but we kept it brief. Then I called curate Marcus.
I tried to be careful about the specifics of what I’d accomplished, eyeing Mary warily, but then I figured we could just keep her tied up. She listened with interest, though I doubt she could have pieced everything together anyway.
“And Damien, or my siblings?” I asked him.
“I had tabs on them,” curate Marcus said. “But Nigel removed them yesterday, and I haven’t seen them since. Not in the prisons, palace, any normal place. I’ve checked everywhere. Same with Damien, which is weird. He’s a high-profile prisoner, it wouldn’t be easy to keep that kind of secret. And with the sudden influx of people, nobody is paying attention to new faces. He needs a vault. Somewhere secure, that he can’t get out of himself.”
“He couldn’t even get out of his own coffin,” I said. “They could have just kept him in that, and stashed him away somewhere.”
After hanging up, I sat on the counter as April took more blood. I went to the fridge to pull out more elixir, but only had a small sip. Somehow I’d managed most of my todo list and wasn’t dead yet, but I needed a rest.
Zane handed me a cold bottle of soda and some kind of flatbread with cheese and meat on it that he’d heated in the microwave.
April joined me on the small couch as Zane continued to work on making more antidote, which seemed to be a time-consuming process. I got up to get more food for Mary, pushing it into her hands.
“You should eat,” I said. “Your body needs it.”
We sat chewing the hot food in silence for a few moments, which was pretty good considering it was made in a blood lab. The timer on the microwave felt like a countdown as the minutes passed closer to sunset. I still had a few hours at least, but that wasn’t enough time to scour the citadel searching for Damien, when he could be anywhere.
We had a few contingencies in place, but none of them were good. I had to assume Nigel would use Damien against me, threatening him with harm. Damien could fight, but we had other fighters, and Tobias was our most powerful player.
“So what happens now?” April asked, as if reading my thoughts. But it made sense we’d both be worrying about the same problem. Might as well voice it together.
