After The Rabbit (Waldo Rabbit Series) Page 9

  XXX

  As they walked, Gronk went to Waldo and asked him something in a whisper. “So, Master, what do you do for your birthdays?”

  “Well, my family would simply have a small celebration and the giving of gifts. My mother would also offer to grant any single wish within her power.”

  “Wow. What would you wish for?”

  “Cake.”

  “Nothing else?” the ogre asked in surprise.

  Waldo shrugged. “I like cake.”

  Chapter 9

  Blooddrinker

  Castle Blooddrinker was unique.

  In the city of Alter, here alone plants grew. Within its courtyard existed a small orchard with apple and pear trees, rose bushes, shrubs, ferns, and various other flowers and grasses. These plants could only survive thanks to special magics that provided them light and kept out the black rain.

  So much effort merely to keep a fragment of the natural world here, Lilith thought. Such a waste.

  The Blooddrinkers certainly comprised an unusual lot, even in a place like Alteroth. Their family motto, “From blood, strength” summed up their obsession with breeding and with creating both pure and mixed bloodlines of the different races. There were no pure humans within the clan, branch families included. Every single Blooddrinker had a mixed heritage. Most were partly elven, while some boasted dwarf, goblin, and even werewolf blood. The family kept huge numbers of monster slaves, more than the other six Houses combined. Entire regiments of well-disciplined goblins and orcs served, as well as handfuls of Great Monsters such as ogres, giants, trolls, and medusa. Baldwin’s familiar surpassed them all. How the clan acquired Zeruel remained a mystery. A half dragon, the brute proved himself far and away the most dangerous creature in Alteroth. Even Enver would stand no chance against him.

  Their obsession extended to their human slaves as well. The clan refused to purchase any but the most attractive and physically gifted. The women were used as breeding stock and given to specifically selected males, not all of whom were human.

  The breeding program did not spare the members of the family. Marriages were arranged with an eye to the progeny. Political alliances, money, and love all being of no consequence, what mattered was that the children created from each union be as gifted as possible. Obviously, children with any sort of defect had to be quickly disposed of. Blemishes needed to be cut away to ensure the tree would grow healthy and strong.

  Lilith Corpselover was seated with her fellow Council member. Baldwin had extended her an invitation, and she was currently a guest in his home. His troops had escorted her all the way here from her own castle’s gate, and when she was done, they would safely return her. Since she had received an open invitation from Baldwin, Lilith knew she was completely safe. If any harm came to her while under his protection, it would be seen as an act of war between their two Houses. She didn’t think Baldwin had any ill intentions towards her, but even if he did, he would never act on them while she was his guest. Such a thing would be uncivilized.

  The two of them were in a small dining hall enjoying a pleasant meal. Four elven maidens in bright silks of green, blue, red, and gold served them. Such lovely creatures with angelic faces and fluid grace. To the eye, they might appear to be in their early twenties while each could be over a thousand years old. Elves kept their beauty and vitality almost to the end of their lifespans. Only the truly ancient ever showed signs of age. The older Lilith got, the more annoying she found that.

  Even more irritating was the way they fawned and smiled at their master. Lilith didn’t mind a little obsequiousness from the servants. Propriety demanded it. Their lack of fear was what was so irksome. When they spoke to Baldwin it sounded friendly, like talk between equals. The women had none of the deference you would expect of a servant with her master. And Baldwin actually seemed to encourage it. He smiled at them, called them by name, and even thanked them.

  The Blooddrinkers were a strange bunch indeed.

  Lilith motioned to the nearest one to fill up her cup. The elf took a pitcher and began to pour. Her hold slipped and a little wine spilled onto Lilith’s hand.

  Lilith snapped her eyes to the girl and looked at her, simply looked. The servant paled and quickly bowed low, gracefully of course. “I beg your forgiveness, Mistress.”

  Lilith held out her hand as she turned to Baldwin. The girl took a cloth napkin and dried it as swiftly and gently as she could.

  “Your servants don’t seem to be very well trained.”

  “You must forgive, Aelissa,” Baldwin said while lowering his face in apology. “You make the girls nervous.”

  “If they’re only nervous, they don’t know me very well.” She snatched her hand away without bothering to look at the clumsy fool again. “I assume you will punish her.”

  The girl flinched and backed away, careful to keep her eyes lowered.

  “For a little spilled wine? What, would you have me execute her?”

  “No, I think a whipping would be sufficient. At least for the first offense.”

  “Why don’t you go, Aelissa? I am sure we’ll be able to manage with three attendants.”

  “Yes, Master Baldwin.” She bowed to him and swiftly departed.

  “Why do you indulge them so?” Lilith asked. “I have my favorites, too, but I never let them think I will tolerate poor performance.”

  He smiled at one of the maidens who wore red and had hair the color of polished brass. She smiled back at him. “I love them.”

  “So? I have fucked plenty of my slaves. It doesn’t keep me from punishing them when they deserve it.”

  “You misunderstand. They are not simply my lovers. I truly care for them and want them to be happy here. They are my sunlight and my night sky. I would never hurt them for something so trivial.”

  “When you say such things, it makes me think you belong more in Avalon than here.”

  He gave a soft laugh. “Considering they would view me as an abomination and kill me on sight, I will have to disagree with you.”

  “Then, maybe you would be happier in Ostagraad, where the monsters reign. You could go to one of the elven kingdoms and frolic in the sunshine. Flowers were never meant to grow here.”

  “I would be as welcome in the elven lands as I would be in Avalon. They view half elves with disgust and loathing. Elves see humans as being far beneath them, much as you would see a goblin. Like too much of the world, they have no appreciation for what can be achieved by taking the best attributes of different races and melding them together.”

  “Oh, it must be horribly unfair: humans hate you for being too elven, and the elves hate you for being too human. Life is so very cruel.”

  Baldwin frowned. “Are you mocking me Lilith?”

  “Not at all. My heart is simply filled with sympathy for you.”

  “How very kind. In any case, this is where I and my family belong. It is the only place where we can be truly accepted. And flowers can grow here; it merely requires some effort.”

  “Then, I suppose it’s really all a question of what you think worth the sacrifice.”

  Baldwin leaned back into his chair and steepled his fingers. “You asked me for this invitation to my home. What is it you want?”

  “Oh, nothing of any great importance. I simply wanted to meet with you as a precaution.”

  “Precaution for what?”

  “In ten days, I will be leaving the city to tour my lands and holdings and visit my relatives.”

  Baldwin nodded. “Very wise. It is always good policy to introduce the next head of the family to the branch members.”

  Lilith gave a weary shake of her head. “Hera is not my heir. Part of the reason I am making this trip is to make it clear to everyone. I think they need a reminder of why they fear me. I intend to chop off a few heads and bring the branch families back into line.”

  “Couldn’t you have done something the other day when your relatives were here?”

  “What? And ruin the solstice? In
any case, it is much better to arrive unannounced. It always unnerves them. You also get to see things with your own eyes. It’s dangerous to always rely on reports.”

  “Is Hera truly not your heir? Why take her as an apprentice, then?”

  “My plans for Hera are my own concern. The reason I wanted to meet with you is to give you this warning. I will be absent for about eight weeks. I intend to depart under cover of night and keep my journey as quiet as possible, but it’s impossible to be gone for so long and have it not noticed. Darius may see this as an opportunity.”

  “Even if you are unavailable, he would still need four votes. I doubt he can get them.”

  “I agree, but the stakes are too high to take unnecessary chances. If Darius does see this as an opening, you are the one most likely to secure Soulbreaker’s vote. He would have to try and win over Xilos. He has no hope at all with Gawreth.”

  “Or with me?”

  “You are much too sensible to have any interest in silly adventures.”

  Baldwin displayed an amused grin. “Why, Lilith. It almost sounds as though we were friends.”

  “I wouldn’t go quite so far. I haven’t forgiven you for your part in what happened to my son. But we share a common interest in avoiding a pointless war.”

  “You can be sure I will be vigilant in your absence and will do all in my power to maintain the peace.”

  “Good. Your agreement is all I wanted.”

  XXX

  Two days later, a message scrawled on scrap was smuggled out of Castle Blooddrinker. Following secret delivery to a seamstress shop, it was passed onto a servant of one of the Great Houses. The message soon found its way to the hands of Darius Heartless. He read it with a great deal of interest and began making plans.

  Chapter 10

  Conversations

  Alice continually glanced over her shoulder as they traveled the road. Through their connection, Waldo could sense something bothered her.

  “What is it?”

  “Probably nothing,” she said. “But I keep getting this feeling that we’re being watched.”

  “Somebody wants attention,” Gronk lisped.

  “I am being serious. I keep getting this weird sense we aren’t alone.”

  “Have you actually seen anything?” Waldo asked.

  “No, it’s probably my imagination.”

  “Or there could be another possibility.” Waldo took out his wand. “Taranos evel monstri desu noratal est aki est avaratos.”

  To Waldo’s eyes, a small light came from one of the trees.

  XXX

  Ikban watched as the magic one used the magic. Ikban did not like the magic or the magic ones. Most of all, Ikban did not like the dead magic one who brought Ikban to this other place. Ikban wanted to go back to where from, to home, but the dead magic one had power over Ikban. Ikban had no choices.

  Ikban saw the three go off the road and to trees. Ikban waited then followed, fly Ikban did to other tree. When Ikban get Ikban see only magic one and big green one, no see girl one. Ikban taste air to find. Too late.

  XXX

  Alice spotted the ugly little thing and leapt out of the bushes. She was in her true form and was able to fly up to the tree branch where the monster was and grab hold of it. “Got you!”

  “Skree!” The imp thrashed about and desperately flapped its scaly wings to try and escape. It was only the size of a small dog, though, and Alice had no trouble holding on to him. His body was a greenish brown, with hands and feet both having three clawed digits. When he couldn’t get away, he tried to bite her with his fangs.

  “Hey! You bite me, and I’ll twist your head off!”

  The creature didn’t pay her warning any mind.

  As soon as she caught the little monster, Waldo and Gronk hurried back. Her husband took one look and slowly nodded. “I was afraid of this. It’s an imp, a very weak creature but skilled at tracking and remaining hidden. Perfect for pursuing and keeping tabs on people. My grandfather must have summoned him.”

  “Is that so?” Alice gave the creature a shake. “Did the lich send you?”

  “Skree! Skree!”

  “Don’t bother. Imps can’t speak. They’re only about as smart as dogs. If you summon one, you can give it commands. Otherwise, they’re impossible to communicate with.”

  “What do we do with it?”

  “Kill it. What else? My grandfather will know the moment it dies and send something else to chase us, but we’ll have a little leeway at least.”

  “All right.”

  Alice casually took hold of the back of the imp’s head and twisted his neck until there was a snap, just as she would have done with a squirrel or rabbit. The thing stopped squirming and went limp. Alice tossed it to the ground and wiped her hands.

  “Can I eat it?”

  “Sure, Gronk.”

  XXX

  “This is a rare sight,” Dante Poisondagger said. “Outside of council meetings, it is quite unusual for more than two of us to gather.” He, Tiberius Blackwater, and their host Darius Heartless were in a private study within Castle Heartless. He had received an invitation and an urgent request to come here at the second hour past midnight. No reason had been given. Dante was quite suspicious, but he had done good business with Darius in the past and had not wanted to offend. The escort that delivered him here had been quite small in number. No servants to greet him, and he had been led to this place rather than to a dining hall as would be customary. Obviously, Darius was doing his utmost to keep this meeting a secret.

  Tiberius smothered a yawn. “I was as surprised as you.” He glanced at Darius. “Why are we here?”

  “One of my spies learned something very interesting. Lilith Corpselover will be going on an extended tour of her properties. She will be gone from the city for some weeks.”

  Dante couldn’t keep his eyes from widening. “How do you know that? I have multiple spies in the Corpselover household, and they’ve heard no such thing.”

  “Apparently she is keeping her plans a secret right up until her departure. My information actually comes from the Blooddrinkers. Lilith had a meeting with Baldwin recently. She is afraid I may try and get a declaration of war again once I know she is gone. Lilith wanted Baldwin to forestall me.”

  “Will you?” Tiberius asked. “Even if she is gone it still takes four votes. Getting a draw isn’t any better than getting voted down.”

  “The stalemate won’t happen again. I’ll make sure to secure Xilos’s vote prior to the meeting.”

  “You tried it last time, and he wasn’t interested. What makes you think he will listen this time?”

  “I can promise him an even greater share of the spoils, as well as a large bribe in gold. Without Lilith here to outbid me, I am sure I can get his support.”

  “Are you certain Lilith is going on this trip?” Poisondagger asked.

  “She told Baldwin directly,” Darius replied. “Why would she lie to his face? She would greatly offend him and gain what?”

  “I see your point.”

  “Once she is well and truly gone, I will work quietly on Xilos.” He turned to Tiberius. “Would you be willing to offer Soulbreaker a share of the spoils? Gold as well, if you can spare it? Together, we can outbid Baldwin.”

  “If it helps get us this war, then yes.”

  “You’re going to pay to help Darius get his war?” Dante said in surprise. “What, has he actually won you over with all his insane talk about Avalon and the whites? I didn’t realize you were so gullible.”

  “I don’t give a damn about Avalon. I need this war for my own reasons. My position as head of the family is still tenuous. They knelt to me because there was no one else in the main family to offer a challenge. But I am sure some in the branch houses think they can usurp me. I need the glory of a victorious war to firm up support within my House.”

  “And what happens when the Alliance armies arrive?”

  “We crush them!” Darius stated with obvious rel
ish.

  Tiberius by comparison did not seem excited by the prospect. “I don’t care. I am sure at the very worst we will hold them to a stalemate.”

  “You’ve never been to war, Tiberius,” Darius said. “If you had ever seen our troops in the field, you would understand. Our forces are massive and battle hardened. The Alliance is nothing but a cloth dragon. They are fearsome to look upon, but they have never had to fight a real war. We will annihilate them!”