Vampire Girl 3: Silver Flame(53)

I study the woman again. Her face. Her eyes. They are of Arianna. They are of the woman I love. But it cannot be. She is safe. She is at the palace. I look again, and as she draws closer, I begin to notice details I had not before. A lock of hair purple where it should have been blue. A freckle where there should be none. It is an illusion. A well done one. But whoever cast the spell did not know Arianna as intimately as I.

I scan the crowd, and behind Levi’s retinue of men, I see a familiar face, smooth but wise, his beard long and white. Kal. His eyes are sunken and dark. His posture slumped and weak. His white robes are long, but not even they cover the purple bruises on his hands. He was the one forced to carry out this magic. Forced into helping Levi.

I turn my gaze back to the imposters. The man behind Arianna, the man who is supposed to be me, is an even better fake. His thick brown hair is mine, his eyes and nose are mine. Even the muscles of his shirtless body match my own. Kal knew me well, mentored me since I was young. It must have been easy for him to recreate me, and at the same time, unbearable.

I search for a hanging stage, the traditional punishment for criminals, yet I see none. Instead, the imposters are led to a wooden block. The woman is pushed down to her knees, forced to lay her head upon the slab. Even from a distance, I see the tears in her eyes. Real tears of a real person. I do not know who they are. Fae or vampire, innocent or guilty, but I feel their fear within me. Feel the dread of their coming fate.

Levi walks up to the block and draws his large silver sword. I realize, he is intending to do the deed himself. He wants the world to know he personally killed the Midnight Star and the Prince of War. "Look upon the woman who lied to you, the woman who pretended to be your princess when in truth she is their princess, plotting with the Fae to take your very homes."

People begin to yell and curse and throw what they can at the woman they think is Arianna. They once loved her. How could this be?

"Look around," says Dean. "These are not people of Stonehill. They are Levi’s men, crawled out from his realm." I do as he says, glancing around. My brother is right. There are few familiar faces, and those that are stay silent.

Dean seemed to have read my thoughts. My rage must be plain on my face.

"Today," continues Levi, "I slay the Midnight Star. Today, I end the war forever." He brings down his sword.

And chops off the woman’s head.

It tumbles down the steps, staining them with blood, and lands near my feet. I do not look upon it. I do not wish to see Arianna’s face torn from her body. I may strike at Levi if I do.

Next, the guards force the man down upon the block.

Levi grins. "Here is the one you thought your prince. The one you thought vampire. Instead, he is Fae. He is Druid. For millennia, he has deceived you. For millennia, he has used you. Now, his false reign is over. Now, the reign of Prince Levi begins." He strikes down with his blade, and Fenris Vane is no more. To the world, he is dead.

Levi walks down the steps, grinning like a fool, until he stands before me. "See, I rule Stonehill now. Tell all you see. Levi is the Prince of War."

I nod, meeting his eyes. I know he will take my look for sincerity, but it is filled with hate. Baron steps forward, baring his teeth.

And Levi recoils. On his face, I see even he does not understand why the dog scares him so. But I know. I know that Fenris Vane will return. And that, one day, Levi will find his own head upon the block.



***



The crowd disperses quickly as Levi returns to the castle. A few of his men stay behind to nail the woman I pulled down back onto the pillar. I do nothing to stop them, though inside I rage. It takes all my strength not to fight them. I can kill dozens. But I cannot kill every soldier in the city.

Dean squats down, studying the fake head with blue and black hair.

"Did the council approve this?" I ask.

"No." Dean shakes his head, no joy in him. "Like I said, Levi didn’t share his plans."

I keep my voice low. "How does he intend to respond when people realize Arianna and I yet live?"

"You assume he's thought that far ahead." Dean pauses. "Perhaps he will claim you are using illusion to impersonate them. People will believe whatever it is that makes life simpler."

I grunt. I forget how simple the common folk can be, but I have seen it to be true. One speech can sway hundreds, one lie change the minds of thousands, and once they are seduced by their fear and lies and a charismatic charlatan who feeds on their basest instincts, no amount of fact or truth or reality will shake them from their madness.

"Have you heard from Asher?" I whisper. "Has he plans to fight this?"