Trust
A peal of laughter spilled from the Prince’s lips, clear and unrestrained. “I doubt they would do that. Once they find out I have been visiting you and the Resistance, I will be lucky if they don’t kill me themselves.”
“They didn’t know you were planning to come here?” Myra asked.
“Of course not,” Vlad said. “Armida thinks I am merely out for a ride. And Tristan—the poor boy was in a bad shape after all your merry gang put him through. He went to bed shortly after he returned, and I left before he had awoken.”
“Bed, really?” Ila asked. “I always thought you and your minions preferred coffins, like good old-fashioned vampires.”
He shrugged. “We are flexible and open-minded. And Tristan is not my minion.”
“And then you wonder why they think you’re being patronizing,” Myra said. “You keep treating Armida and Tristan like children, shielding them from danger and worry, and you take all risk and responsibility on yourself. Do you realize how unfair to them this is? You come here, to the one you call your archnemesis, and before that you walk into the Resistance’s Headquarters all alone? We could have killed you.”
Another burst of laughter threatened to escape him, but this time he stopped it. “You could have killed me? You are joking, right?”
“I don’t think she was,” Ila said. “And neither am I. You claim your two groupies will be unwilling to assist me in destroying the WeatherWizard to save your sorry hide? I guess there is only one way to find out.”
Vlad straightened his back. “You are missing something here,” he said calmly. “Let us say that they agree to help you. Then it is Armida, Tristan, you, and your fighters against everyone else. You are all capable, even if you yourself are somewhat deranged, but you stand no chance. If you release me, you also have me on your side. I am the Prince. People obey me. I am the only one who has the power to stage this. Whether you like it or not, you cannot do this without me.”
“That may be so,” Ila said and stood up from her chair, leaning over the table, “but the problem remains. I can’t trust you not to lead us into a trap.”
The Prince stared at her evenly. “I have no reason at all to lead you into a trap. I could kill you right here and now.”
Vlad’s movements became a blur of speed in front of Myra’s eyes. When and how had he freed himself from his chains? His shackles lay on the table with newly broken locks, and his hands, now free, flew to grab the table’s leg and break it. The table tilted to the side and glasses slid down, thick blood seeping through the wooden floor. He broke the wooden leg once again against his knee so that one end was sharp, grabbed Ila, turned her around and pressed the pointy end against her chest.
“I could stake you right now,” he whispered in her ear. “Or I could use you as a hostage to get away. But I will do none of that.” He released her, pushing the makeshift stake into her hands and pressing the pointy end against his own heart. “Instead, I choose to trust you. It is the same trust that I ask of you now.”
Ila glared at him. “You have no idea how tempting this is.”
“You have resisted the temptation of human blood,” he said. “Surely you are strong enough to resist your desire to stake me.”
“Oh, but this desire is so much stronger,” she said, but she put the stake down. “If this is some trick, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”
He sat back down on his chair and took a slow sip from his blood and wine—his own glass had miraculously remained upright on the tilted table. “This is no trick. I wish to destroy the Wizard as you do, but you must do as I ask.”
“Of course,” Ila said sourly. “It has to be you making the plans. So what do you want of us?”
“Once the Wizard is destroyed, our enemies will likely slaughter the domesticated humans or use them as hostages,” Vlad said. “We must set them free shortly before the destruction. We need to send as many of your men to as many strongholds as possible. Tell me, can you spare two hundred warriors?”
“If this is some convoluted plan to learn how many vampires I have—”
“It is not,” the Prince said. “I have made a list of the strongholds with the largest human farms. We need two or three of your people in each, so they will free the humans on the day the Wizard is destroyed. I will give them letters of recommendation, so their arrival will not be suspicious.”
The largest human farms… Vlad wished to save as many lives as possible, and he was measuring lives in terms of quantity. Myra thought about all the people trapped in the small and insignificant farms that no one would bother to save.
“What area do you wish to cover?” Ila asked.
“The whole world, if possible,” Vlad replied, his face grim. “I do not wish to leave an entire continent, or even a large island, under vampire rule only. I have checked when the postal ships leave—if your people leave within a week, they should reach the farthest destinations in a couple of months.”
“And how should my people know when you are going to destroy the Wizard? We cannot send any signal once they leave.”
“This is why we need to decide on the date of the Wizard’s destruction in advance,” Vlad said. “I propose the first of March. That should give them all enough time to reach their destinations, and we will have time to prepare.”
“And I suppose you wish to keep your involvement in this a secret from the rest of the vampire world?” Ila said. “You wish to destroy the Wizard, but make it so that no one learns it was you who orchestrated it. Otherwise, both humans and vampires would be hunting you down. Every single creature on the planet would be after your blood.” She paused, waiting for his barely perceptible nod. “You’re a coward. You made this whole mess, and you are not ready to face the consequences.”
“You know very well my death is not what I fear,” he said softly and Ila smiled.
“Ah, yes. Armida and Tristan. If your involvement in this is revealed, they will be targeted too, and you wish to spare them. It might have been touching if it weren’t pathetic.”
“You will help me, then?” he said, taking a piece of paper from his pocket. “Here is the list of farms I wish to cover. Let me know the names of the vampires you wish to send, and I will write the letters.”
The two vampires sat down and continued their discussions while Myra and Sissi watched in silence. Once all was arranged, Vlad stood up and placed his empty cup on the tilted table. “Come.” His eyes darted towards Myra and Sissi. “It is time I take you back to your commander.”