A Shade of Vampire 39: A Rip of Realms(16)

“You’ll be there for me. I know.” She smiled.

“What are you two talking about?” Benedict asked, sauntering into the kitchen with a frown.

“Nothing,” I replied quickly.

“This place is stupid,” he continued, ignoring me. “There’s no protection. I’m helping Ash assess the weak spots. This is obviously one!” He scoffed at the hole in the wall.

I glanced over at Ruby and she hid a smile. Were we the only ones that appreciated the palace?

“Right,” I agreed sarcastically. “This place is a dump.”





Ruby





“This isn’t exactly the most kingly duty,” I laughed, as Ash tried to air out a sheet with me. We’d found bedding, slightly damp and mildew-stained, in an old trunk, and in the absence of the kids—who had run off to explore the gardens—Ash and I were left to sort out the designated sleeping areas.

“Yeah, I didn’t exactly envision this being number one priority on my Hellswan leadership agenda. Not that I’m complaining. It’s certainly better than having to think about what we’re actually going do now that we’re all here.”

“Has Tejus got any ideas?” I asked.

“Only that I need to become emperor as soon as possible,” he replied with a sigh. “He believes it’s the only way to stop the entity.”

“Don’t you?”

“Not sure. You know what the ministers are like. Do you think there’s going to be anything helpful in that book?” Ash asked pointedly.

“I think it’s worth a try. What other option do we have?”

Ash plumped up a cushion with ferocity, sending dust flying off it in huge plumes.

“I don’t know,” he muttered. “That’s the problem. I don’t know anything.”

“Hmm…I think you need to start knowing,” I replied, my gaze fixed on the doorway where I could see a group of villagers fast approaching along the corridor.

“What?” Ash turned around. “Oh, damn.”

“I think they’ll want some answers.”

Ash put down the pillow, and I backed away from the door, allowing the villagers to have unrestricted access to their king.

“Don’t go anywhere,” Ash hissed at me as they arrived.

Six of them stood in the doorway. Abelle wasn’t among them, which was a shame—she could have been a bit of a buffer—but I reminded myself that these were Ash’s people. He didn’t alienate them the way Tejus and his father had. Most of them looked like farmers, with ruddy faces and gnarled hands that were fisted at their sides, and a few bonneted women looking woebegone, one clutching the hand of a grumpy-looking toddler.

“King Ashbik? Can we have a moment of your time?” one of the farmers asked politely.

“Of course,” Ash replied, adjusting his robes.

“We want to know what’s going on,” the farmer started. “It’s madness, all this—the blood rain, ice fires, and now our entire village destroyed, half of it down a great crack in the ground…no one giving us any answers!” As the farmer talked, he got madder and madder, the rest of the villagers nodding furiously as he spat out each event. “The last emperor never listened to us, but at least we had a bit of peace. Now we’ve got nothing, no land, all our animals dead or scattered—how are we going to grow crops, make a living?”

“Families torn apart!” piped up one of the women. “I’ve lost everyone, and I just know that Tejus Hellswan is at least partly responsible for all this. Ever since he got the crown there’s been nothing but trouble! We hoped you’d put an end to it all, but nothing’s changed, and then whenever we see you, that devil king isn’t far away!”

“Stop!” Ash raised his hands.

I clutched the sheet tightly; the villagers were getting themselves agitated, and I realized this could escalate out of control if Ash didn’t say the right thing.

“Listen to me.” He spoke calmly, but I could see the slight shake of his hands that betrayed his nerves. “Tejus has nothing to do with this, I swear to you. All of this is out of our hands; there’s something rising in Nevertide that’s beyond our control. We’re doing everything we can to stop it—”

“Lies!” roared the farmer. “We’ve heard the rumors! Do you take us for fools?”

“No!” Ash said quickly. “It’s not lies, it’s just unbelievable—but I wouldn’t lie to you. A great evil has been locked up in Hellswan castle for centuries; the emperor unleashed it, and Tejus and I, and the rest of us, are trying to contain it again. If you want to blame anyone, it’s Queen Trina!”