A Shade of Vampire 40: A Throne of Fire(23)

“Oh, God,” Rose gasped. “How were they hurt?”

The woman paused momentarily.

“Have you come across others of my kind before?” she asked, changing the subject.

“No, you’re the first,” Sofia replied.

The woman nodded again. I could see her mind spinning—whoever this woman was, she wasn’t striking me as particularly trustworthy. There was something about her, beneath the eagerness to help and her woeful tale, which struck me as sly and cunning.

“They beat the children badly. They wanted them as slaves to help them in the trials. So many were taken—snatched from their homes in the other dimension…” The woman went on to describe the trials, but I zoned out. I had heard enough. I didn’t believe this woman for a second. Why would supernatural creatures, who had obviously gone to great lengths to keep themselves separate from the human world, bother to kidnap children just to be sword carriers and punching bags? No, the woman wasn’t telling the truth—and there was something going on here that just didn’t add up.

“Where are the Hellswans now?” I asked, cutting through another sob story about the woman’s plight at the hands of the evil family.

“They’ll be in a castle, one not far from here—Memenion’s palace, or Hadalix’s, Thraxus’s…I’m not sure. One of the royal kingdoms of Nevertide. They left me here to die—they didn’t tell me where they were going,” she added mournfully.

I nodded. That at least sounded like the truth.

“Rose, Grace, stay here with…what is your name?” I asked.

“Abelle,” she replied.

“Stay here with Abelle. Sofia and I are going to discuss what we do from here.”

We made our way to the opposite end of the corridor, entering a deserted room. I shut the door.

“I don’t trust her for a moment,” I stated, waiting for my wife’s reply. I knew that I could rely on her above all else to tell me the truth—whether I was being overly suspicious just because the woman was unknown to me.

“Neither do I,” she replied. “I don’t think she’s being completely honest with us. So much of her story doesn’t add up…especially about the kids.”

I nodded with relief—we were on the same page.

“But,” Sofia added, before I could contemplate chaining the woman back up, “I also don’t think she’s that dangerous. I do kind of feel sorry for her. I don’t think we can just leave her here. She’s going to have to come with us…if she will.”

“I’m not sure I want to give her the choice,” I muttered. I wasn’t comfortable releasing the woman—she had been chained up for a reason, and though her tales of the evil ‘Hellswan’ family might well be true, we couldn’t know for sure until we found out more. The rest of the castle seemed deserted, so there was no way we could validate her story.

“Dad?”

We both hurried out of the room on hearing Rose’s voice. She was where we’d left her, standing by Abelle.

“Abelle has offered to help us get to the other castle—she says the woods are dangerous,” Rose said. I knew my daughter well enough to know that she wasn’t completely convinced by the woman’s authenticity either.

“They are—full of strange creatures that I doubt any of you would have encountered. Nevertide is a dark place, for those who don’t know its ways,” she murmured coyly.

“Fine,” I replied pleasantly. “If you wouldn’t mind, it would be helpful to have a guide.”

She nodded sagely, lifting herself off the floor. When she stood, I was shocked by her height. She was taller than me.

“We should leave quickly. The Hellswan army has spies everywhere. Nowhere in Nevertide is safe.”

As she finished her doom-laden warning, she swept past us, heading back down the staircase. I gestured for Rose and Grace to follow closely, while I hung back with Sofia.

“Do we trust her enough to lead us through the forest?” my wife asked. “I’m concerned that she might lead us into danger, rather than avoid it.”

“She doesn’t know about the Hawks or the dragons. She’s going to get a shock when she realizes we have our own lookout.”

“Good point,” Sofia muttered. Her worried green eyes glistened with faint amusement. “If she thinks there are strange creatures in the forests, wait till she gets a load of us…”



Our predictions turned out to be correct.

As soon as the woman stepped out from the castle and caught sight of the army of supernaturals that covered the gardens of the palace, she staggered back in surprise and horror.