Friends and Foes
“Some of them have.” Vlad stood up from Zack’s high chair and winked at Lidia. “I trust my patient is recovering?”
Myra’s heart rose to her throat. Prince Vladimir is in the Resistance’s Headquarters. All the separate worlds she had lived in were now colliding, leaving collapsing ruins.
“How dare you come here?” Zack spat. “You’ll never leave this place alive.”
The Resistance reacted quickly. Zack had barely finished speaking when several wooden bolts flew in the Prince’s direction. Vlad twisted around, letting them all fly past him without even scratching his clothes. All but one.
Vlad raised his hand and caught the projectile midair. Before anyone could blink, he turned around, throwing the bolt back. Sean, the Warrior who had fired the bolt, fell to his knees with a cry, clutching at his shoulder. His other hand still held his crossbow, and he made a feeble attempt to lift it.
“I would put that down if I were you,” the vampire said. “It is not a toy for little boys. You’re alive only because I chose so. Don’t give me a reason to change my mind.”
At Zack’s nod, three Warriors lunged at Vlad, swords raised. The vampire grabbed the wrist of the first attacker and yanked the sword out of his hand. He raised it just in time to block a blow from above and twisted around, disarming his third attacker with a powerful swing. He ducked to avoid another blow from the only remaining armed Warrior, and as he stood up, he kicked his opponent in the chest, sending him flying backwards and gasping for air.
The vampire turned around to face them, a sword in each hand. “Why, thank you,” he said. “I hadn’t thought to bring a weapon, so it was thoughtful of you to provide these.”
He twirled the swords to deflect more wooden bolts, his blades moving so fast they became a blur, serving him better than any shield. Vlad sighed dramatically. “Honestly, if you would just stop playing soldier for a moment, you’d notice I come in peace. If I wanted to harm you, you all would have been dead by now.”
“Zack, listen to him,” Myra cried. “He says he comes in peace.”
“What the hell?” Zack cried. “How did he come here in the first place? You.” He stared at Myra. “You betrayed us. You brought him here, just like you freed the prisoner.”
“Oh, please,” Vlad said. “Myra didn’t free Tristan.”
Zack turned his burning glare towards the Prince. “And how would you know that?”
The vampire threw his swords to the ground, and they hit the stone with a clang. “I see you are very slow. Myra couldn’t have rescued Tristan because I was the one who did it. He is safe in the Palace, in case anyone is interested.”
Myra smiled in relief at those words, but there were so many questions still left unanswered. How had Vlad found them? How had he gone past the guards, apparently twice, and how had Tristan gotten out unseen? And what was Vlad doing here now?
“Now, if you are done with the baseless accusations,” the Prince said, “we can finally move on to business. I am recruiting fighters for my campaign to destroy the WeatherWizard. I thought some of you might be interested.”
What? Myra was glad she had dropped her glass already because she was certain she would have dropped it again. And again. And again. But seriously, what? What had Vlad just said?
“Would you…,” Zack started, his voice hoarse. “Would you care to repeat that?”
Vlad kicked the discarded blades to the side and walked to the wall, leaning his back against it and sweeping the room with his eyes. “I see you are deaf as well as slow. I said, I am going to destroy the WeatherWizard. But the task requires careful planning and many resources. I need fighters, and I thought you could provide some.”
“You… you want to recruit people to destroy the Wizard?” Zack choked. “Of all the absurd lies you could have spun! Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Now I do,” the vampire said calmly.
Zack bristled, and Myra reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. “Zack, please, calm down. If he wished to hurt us, he would have done so already.” She turned to Vlad. “Let’s say that’s true. The Wizard is yours. Why would you need our help?”
Vlad walked towards the other wall. “Many vampires like the new lifestyle. The majority of our kind who now walk the earth were turned during the Nightfall. They cannot imagine a life where they need to fear the sun and hide from humankind.”
“You have to destroy the Wizard in secret,” Myra said.
He nodded. “And I need your so-called Warriors to back me up in case something goes wrong.”
“But why destroy the Wizard?” asked Zack. “Do you want to give the world back to us, so humanity can thrive in peace, or do you want a return of the good old times, when you hunted humans like prey and drank them at will?”
“The latter,” Vlad said calmly.
Myra was used to such statements, but Zack’s jaw dropped, his eyes wide. “And why would we help you?”
“Because this is the only chance to restore your world you will ever get,” the vampire said. “Besides, once we are done, you will all have a fair chance to hunt me down and kill me.” He grinned. “If you believe you can.”
Suddenly, the smile disappeared from his face, and the Prince froze, staring at a single point. Myra followed his gaze and her heart skipped a beat. Oh no. No, no, no, please, no! If there was any chance for peace and cooperation between them, this would blow it apart.
There at the open door stood a tall figure with a shock of fiery-red hair against his pale, freckled face. Thomas had returned.