Sing To Me Your Darkest Secrets
Part III
Chapter 9:
Blood Sent From the Heavens
Dex didn't have to go nearly as far as Don presumed he did. Word moved quickly when sent through the proper channels - and a fae like Dex had easy access to those channels. Few in the magical community disregarded a request from any fae noble; most nobles rarely stepped out of the safety of their palaces or surrounding grounds. Their reasons ranged from that of traditions and precedent to self-import and protection. Dex had never been one for rules - or safety.
He didn't know Raph. He had seen Leo's conviction, the only thing that he held dearest to his person. Mikey and Don were on the periphery of his understanding. In fact, many would say he was mad for trusting near strangers, and more than that, putting himself in danger for it. A noble, the leader of a Kingdom in fact, putting his neck out for anyone, fae or not, was considered absolute lunacy. There was a rogue element in the mix of it all, which put Dex's absolute faith on the line. Josephine Hoxie. Their history was deep, long and winding from the time they'd both become the fae that they were. He trusted Joey and if Joey trusted them and would risk her life for any of them - so would Dex.
His conviction and resolve was as strong as Leo's. Like the good kings in story books, his morality was true and that compass always pointed north. He left little room for gray.
The sun was down, after all it was the only way his counterpart could be outside. Here, in the lush underbrush of north eastern Florida, Dex awaited the man who'd agreed to meet. No questions had been asked and no stipulation to Kenshin's arrival had been made. He agreed to come alone and unarmed.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Kenshin's voice preceded his appearance, but Dex knew he was there.
Unthreatened by the attempt at making Dex uncomfortable, the young king merely smiled. There was no question as to what the vampire prince was speaking in regard to. Dex had picked this spot for their meeting because he knew it was neutral ground - for vampires. It was sacred lan; even special for the fae because of the sheer amount of belief that pooled in this one spot.
"If you mean by blood pouring from an altar of hate, then yes - I can't deny it's majesty."
The vampire moved into the moonlight, cast on the open area in the middle of a thickly dense forested area. It was uncanny how the bushes and trees seemed to stop within a 100 foot circumference around the pinnacle of which the two were speaking. A massive tree was split in two centuries before and now, only the stump remained. However, twisted by nature and time, the heart of the tree had wrapped into an ornate series of vines making the grotesque scene somewhat beautiful; for from the center of the monument flowed thick crimson liquid in a continuous loop that troughed around the bottom by the way the vines had naturally woven themselves together.
The fountain was just as demanding a presence as the two leaders of two very separate casts of people in the same hidden world. Dex, a fraction of Kenshin's age, wasn't intimidated. The vampire prince seemed to harbor some misbegotten respect for the young man as he didn't dare move closer.
"My people base their lives around this very spot. It's quite remarkable how I am even drawn to it's power though I hold no allegiance to the original US clan of vampires."
Dex's eyebrow rose. "It was the Spanish who settled Florida and built the fort at St. Augustine, Castillo de San Marcos, just over the ridge beyond the highway and toward the sea. The Americans owe those sailors their finds. This place is evil. Magic comes with a price, including eternal youth."
"But a fountain of youth they found, my young king. You say magic comes with a price, but youth is what my people have and what yours seek to maintain. What Ponce de Leon himself sought and well...in more ways than one, found." Kenshin offered with a flick of a smile across his pale, dead lips.
Dex frowned. "TheFountain of Youth, I believe you mean to say. Vampirism is no answer - that's some pretty fine print on a promise of forever youth. What with the having to be dead part."
"A promise the natural human greed wishes to be fulfilled. How many men and women of your day inject and mutilate themselves to live the lives we live? To be young forever? When all they must do is...well...visit this land. One flick of this water onto you and you will be nothing more than an empty husk with a lust for blood. Long live the glory days."
Dex finally smiled, that mischief making grin that meant he was either playful or perfectly serious. "Ah yes but for you to touch the 'water' as you call it, I think that's hardly something to be defined as water, it would take your life just as you drinking from me would. Pure magic cannot be touched. That thing doesn't give life, it takes it away. I didn't come for threats, and don't pretend to play that off as a playful and friendly rib. I know what you meant in your words. I asked you here to make a deal. Neutral ground."
"A deal?" Kenshin asked as his hand hovered near the rolling spit of red liquid, mesmerized by it. "I wonder what it feels like? Is it hot? What was it like when those sailors stumbled here all those years ago and tasted immortality for the first time?"
"I suspect they didn't all find it - this a fraction of the Dreaming Kenshin. It's like twilight and it takes a lot of belief to access this land. A lot of strength most mundanes don't possess. Come away from the fountain, Kenshin." Dex took a few steps back himself, fearful of being too close and equally tempted by it's power. He liked to think his will would be stronger, but he dared not risk it.
The vampire glanced over his shoulder and for a second Dex saw a flick of feral lust cross his face. Dex knew Kenshin to be a patient and poised man, but the draw of the fountain clearly had a hold on him for a moment and the young king wondered if his location choice - though in driving distance for himself - was a bad one.
"It's about Raphael. I've come to negotiate his release."
Kenshin hissed.
Dex held up a hand. "It will be worth your while to listen, to agree. But first, you must step away from the fountain."
Kenshin considered it and the part of him that was still logical and hadn't gone completely feral forced his body to step toward the teenage boy. It would do him well, he knew, to listen and ignore the succulent smell of Dexter Murphy's faeire blood in the air, mixed with the magic of the eternal youth fountain. "Go on, your majesty."
"Really, it's just Dex," the king said with a crooked little smile and twinkle in his eye. Magic was thick in his veins and this area, so close to his natural form - the Dreaming, where everyone's fantasies, desires and fears lived - drew out that already powerful blessing and made his skin glow slightly and his features appear more regal and aristocratic.
When Kenshin didn't respond, Dex took his queue to go on. "Noble fae have a value to your kind. Value of unspeakable numbers. Raphael is a trinket to you, a rare object to add to your collection of things. I'm willing to offer a pint of my blood, kingly blood, every 8 weeks for the next six months in exchange for ownership of the turtle."
Kenshin's head lifted and his eyes cast down on the young man. "King's blood..."
It was worth more than could be put in numerical value. A mere drop, let alone all those that made up a pint, of fae blood mixed with any human would drive a vampire to a high so pleasurable and addictive, even if dangerous, that none could resist. The pure magic of faerie blood was already sinking its hooks in Kenshin's porcelain skin and he could feel his mouth watering at the idea of slurping on such a delectable drink. Having a hold of King Dexter Murphy's, ruler of the White Sands Kingdom, blood in his possession meant Kenshin would have absolute power and control of every vampire he came in contact with. That was, of course, if he could refrain from gorging on it himself first.
Dex nodded. "A pint would make you wealthier and more infamous than anything you can imagine now. Three pints - six months. I will have it delivered to you still freshly drawn from my veins."
"A year." Kenshin shot back. "Six pints over a year and you have deal." The vampire's Japanese accent, in his excitement, made him trip over the words, making them songish and slurred.
"Done." Dex agreed with a single nod and bow.
No movement could confirm the deal fast enough as the vampire slipped the ring from his finger, the one he'd used to brand Raphael with his seal. He dropped the ring into Dex's open palm eagerly. This act, born of a magical agreement, caused Dex's hand to glow yellow for a moment when he closed his hand around the ring.
"I expect the first shipment tomorrow." Kenshin's voice blew on the wind as he too disappeared and Dex looked down at the ring. It was warm on his palm but cooling quickly as the magic ebbed back into the object and the promise that was struck. He knew his offer could swing the tides of vampire power. He knew of the war, the danger and the backlash it could cause. That was something he would deal with when the troubles arose as Kenshin's clan grew in strength and power because of this very pact.
It was his trouble to deal with - for now, he would finish what he'd come to do. What he'd promise to do.
In the dead of night, in a magical land that overlapped reality he pulled the ring, drawn back into a fist, close to his chest and smiled. He whispered, "You're free. At least...free."
With a burst of energy, he threw his arm toward the sky and opened his fingers, releasing a handful of hundreds upon hundreds of beautiful, colorful butterflies. The ring transmuted into something else entirely, as the magic consumed it and configured it to its newest, purest shape. It was no longer marked with the malice intent it had once bore in the ownership of a vampire prince. Dex laughed and chased after them for a moment, with his arms out to the side as if he'd reverted to early childhood, while they fluttered off and eventually disappeared into darkness.
"You're free, my friend." Dex said softly, to no one at all, taking a deep contented breath. He peeked over his shoulder at the fountain and then lowered his eyes. "May no one else ever find eternal life from your waters."
Somewhere, south, a turtle's body rested and a lean faerie healer cooled his forehead with a wet rag. The scar on his neck, marking him as property, faded into green skin leaving no evidence that it had ever been there.
Raphael was truly free at last.