Vampire's Prey

Chapter 34: A Crumbling Lie

Author's Note:

Hi everyone. I'm changing the name of the vampire who beat up Julia from Kol to Keld. When I wrote it, I didn't realize that the name Kol is already used in other vampire content.

It's been a while since the last update, so here is a quick recap. Julia has lied to Rahlan, leading him to abandon his pursuit of Ivan by tricking him into thinking that Ivan's dead. Rahlan reported Ivan's death to the vampire king, and under the king's orders, Rahlan and Julia are living in Litton castle with four vampire guards – Julke, the commander under Rahlan, Keld, who was beaten by Rahlan for attacking Julia, and the Maksan twins.

Previously:

A loud bang wakes me up, and the bed shifts beneath me as Rahlan gets out. I can't see much in the soft moonlight.

The banging returns, and I jump to sit up. Someone is knocking on the door – our bedroom door. Someone is in our living room in the middle of the night.

Rahlan heads to answer it.

"Rahlan?" I whisper. Why is someone else inside the keep at night? Rahlan's sword sits on the desk, far out of his reach if whoever's at the door decides to lunge at him. Wouldn't it be better if that door stayed between it and us?

He glances at me, interpreting the look on my face. "Intruders don't knock."

He opens the door, and candlelight fills the room. A vampire clad in dark wool with a sword at his hip waits by the door – Julke. His gaze jumps to me before quickly returning to Rahlan.

The light reveals that Rahlan didn't bother to change, dressed in only his underwear. I'm in nothing but my underwear. I yank the covers up to my nose. He shouldn't even be in here.

"Lord," Julke begins, "A servant of King Groel has brought an urgent message. He awaits your presence at the gate."

My heart flips. King Groel knows about Rahlan's quest to kill Ivan, and Rahlan left him with the impression that Ivan was dead. With King Groel's connections, he'd be the first to know of a Huntsmen attack – the first to know that Ivan is alive. I'll be forced to follow Rahlan as he hunts my last remaining family – the last connection I have to putting my life back together.

This can't be happening so soon. I'm not ready. We've been here less than a week. I haven't even had time to find a map to Fekby yet.

"What is the message?" Rahlan asks.

I take a deep breath. This is still King Groel's land, and Rahlan's here to act as his hand. This could be a message about anything – a command to ship supplies or tighten defenses. There's no need to panic.

"He claims that he is not to give it to anyone but you, lord," Julke says, "'Tis personal."

With a series of quick movements, Rahlan has his pants on his legs and his feet in his boots. He grabs his coat and sword and heads out the bedroom while still tying his shirt.

Without minding my improper outfit, I scurry out of the bed and hurry to the bedroom door, hoping to catch another piece of their conversation, that by some miracle Julke will say something that would rule out Ivan being the subject of the message. The initial embarrassment that I felt just moments ago has evaporated, replaced with a burning hole in my stomach. I catch a glimpse of the back of Rahlan's coat as he slides it over his shoulders and steps into the main hall.

I take quick steps up to the hall's threshold, hoping to hear more of their discussion and praying that I somehow misunderstood Julke's words.

They're silent. Did they hear my steps? Does Rahlan know that I'm eavesdropping? Is he waiting for me to step into the hall so he can turn around and scold me in front of Julke?