Nikolai wrapped a protective arm around Sienna for he could feel the fear and anxiety radiating off of her ten-fold. A bright flash caught his attention to the left. He scanned up the small rise above the village, his heart pounding hard. There, atop a snow-white horse sat Queen Morgrid, donning a royal blue riding gown and silver armor, winking in the sunlight. And at her side was not the king but her son, King Dominik of Izeling. Even from here, Nikolai could see the arrogant tilt of his square jaw and a crooked smile on his face as he watched the scene below. If they should catch the two of them there, they'd-
Dread sank like a stone in his chest, imagining what they would do. Specifically to Sienna. Without warning, he clamped his hand over Sienna's mouth and flashed in vampire speed out of sight, pausing only for a moment at the bottom of the craggy mountainside to shift her into his arms carefully. She wept and wrapped her arms tight around his neck. He pressed her head to his chest.
"Shhh."
Then he sped lightning-fast back through the woods, not pausing for a second. The sounds and smells of the horror in Kellswater would drown out their scent even if someone should catch it for a second on the wind, but he would take no chances. Not with her. They'd take the open path across the plains and get to Dale's Peak as swiftly as possible. For there was no doubt now the Black Lily would need the recruits.
Queen Morgrid was building her army, one village at a time. Nikolai needn't wonder about her purpose. She was turning the men into vampire warriors, using the women as bleeders and toys for her soldiers, and harvesting the children for when they were old enough to join the ranks.
The war had just taken a very sinister turn. He had been taught to fight with honor and to respect his opponent. It was the way of the Legionnaire. But the queen was making a mockery of them all, spiraling out of control to win back her power with might and cruelty and bloody vengeance against the people she claimed to protect. No more pretending she longed for a strong monarchy. She sought tyrannical rule with an iron fist and rivers of blood.
The only ones capable of defeating her now was the Black Lily.
Chapter Seventeen
Sienna hadn't spoken at all since they'd mounted their horses and bolted across the plains toward Dale's Peak. Though traveling in the open, it was the wiser call. They'd made good time, stopping only long enough for the horses to rest and feed. He'd tried to offer her the leftover rabbit or a crust of bread, but she'd refused anything to eat.
Her eyes had taken on that forlorn look of one who'd seen the true darkness of the world-man's cruelty toward his fellow man. And he couldn't blame her. He'd seen this kind of bloody horror himself in decades past. Not on the scale of Kellswater, but never had it been perpetrated by the very ones who were supposed to be protecting the people. The betrayal of his own kind against humanity twisted his gut and was also responsible for the look of hopelessness in Sienna's eyes.
The church tower of Dale's Peak came into view as they wound higher into the foothills of the Bluestone Mountains. They slowed their horses to a trot.
"Who's our contact?" asked Sienna, her voice rusty from lack of use and most certainly from the tears she'd shed throughout the day.
He'd wanted to console her, but there was no time and little he could say. She needed to release her emotions and come to terms with what they'd seen on her own. At least until he could find a private moment alone with her.
"Her name is Sarah Winchester," he answered as they leveled out on the even slope where Dale's Peak sat. "A widow who runs a boarding house on the south side. We should be able to find it easily from this direction, once we board the horses."
Sienna gave a stiff nod. The energy of a busy, populated town filled the air as they drew closer, and the pointed rooftops of well-crafted buildings came into view. The sun had already slipped beyond the horizon, coloring the sky lavender and the landscape in dusty pink. It would have been a beautiful sight on any other day. But not with the stink of death and the screams of innocents echoing in one's mind.
A farmer hauling his empty cart back out of the town tipped his hat to them as they passed. Nikolai motioned for Sienna to stay close. They'd put many miles between them and Kellswater, but he was still on high alert. Now that he understood the queen's game and the reason for the vanishing villages on Friedrich's map, he knew they were safe enough for the time being. Her Legionnaires would be busy carting those poor people wherever she was holding them prisoner and making the men into vampires. She'd apparently enlisted her son Dominik to assist in the dirty job.