Chapter 11
"Tell me we're not too late," Sookie pleaded as she snuggled into Eric's embrace. "Tell me we'll get to Mina before anything horrible happens to her."
Their room was cool and dark in the waning hours of the night. The dying glow of a single candle flickered in a wall sconce near by.
The sex had been glorious, an unbridled celebration of the progress made tonight. Eric led them to Ramon and his secret section of the villa. Gawain led them to the portal and provided them with useful information from Niall. And dear Ramon, without even realizing his contribution, he may have led them to the one person who might be able to lead them to Mina, Alexei and Saaset.
The silversmith faerie, Oran wasn't on the villa work schedule for the next few days, some excuse about an illness in his family, but when he came back, they would be ready for him. They had interviewed his supervisors and gotten little more than a physical description and his work schedule. Tomorrow night they would interview the staff who worked with and around him to see if they could discover anyone he may have spoken to or gotten information from.
Add to this Ocella relieving Eric of the need to waste time pretending to be running an organized search for something he knew wasn't there, and this night could definitely be called productive.
Sookie had been practically giddy with hopeful excitement and much to Eric's delight her giddiness translated into other forms of excitement as well. They had finally managed to exhaust one another only moments ago and now with the heat of their passions subsiding, the sober chill of their daunting reality was beginning to cast a pall over their mood.
"I cannot, Dearest. I will tell you we are going to try, and we will not stop trying, so long as any hope for her recovery remains."
XXXXXXX
Night passed in the grotto. Ramon's nannies came for him. Gawain was shown to a room where he could sleep for a little while before dawn, when he would take up his watch. Oliver stood in the shadows of the grotto staring toward the pool until minutes before sunrise. Nothing. Not so much as a ripple in the water.
The following night was the same. No one and nothing came up out of the pool.
Ermessen set several of the glamoured nannies to the task of keeping an eye out for any activity from the portal during the day and Gawain went through to see if he could locate Oran of the other side.
For the first time in centuries, there was something going on in Ramon's world that didn't revolve around him and he was having the time of his life with all the strange new comings and goings. Ermessen felt pangs of guilt for not having realized how much he would enjoy and probably even need the monotony of his life to be occasionally broken with something different.
XXXXXXX
Less than an hour had passed since evenfall and already Ermessen had received two messages regarding an impending visit from Appius. Had it not been necessary to keep the impetuous little Italian away from the real search for answers going on in the villa, she would have blown off meeting with him and remained in the soundproof upstairs conference room. It was there Eric, Sookie and Oliver were interviewing members of her household staff for information about Oran.
Alas, she had to wait upon him. It wouldn't do for him to come into the villa and go in search of her. She couldn't risk his stumbling upon anything that might pique his curiosity. A vile little man with a penchant for cruelty, and a firm belief that only the perfect should be made vampire could not be permitted to learn about Ramon. No matter what they found, or didn't find, in the grotto, Appius Livius could not know.
And so she waited.
XXXXXXX
Interviewing the staff supervisors had gleaned little useful information, apart from Oran's duty list. When he came to them, he was assigned to the general cleaning staff. It was the usual entry-level position for unskilled new additions to the household. Oran had not told them he was a jeweler or he would have likely been assigned more delicate work, but he wasn't looking for work assignments best suited to his skills. He wanted exposure to as many others as possible. The more people he was exposed to, the more likely he was to learn something useful to his fellow faerie mutineers.
The staff was summoned to the conference room ten at a time. They were interviewed two at once, by Eric and Oliver. The interviews were conducted, one on each end of the oblong conference table.
Sookie sat in a center chair on the left side, staring, trancelike at the opposing wall, with her hands palms down on the table in front of her. The strategy was for her to appear as mysterious and unnerving as possible. To that end, she didn't make eye contact with anyone.
The remaining eight people were seated along the wall behind Sookie and given headphones playing piped in music so they could not hear the interviews, but they could see what happened when someone did or said something the vampires didn't like.
The stage was set, Eric, to Sookie's right, at the far end of the table with a pretty, young housemaid named Carla, and Oliver at the end nearest the door with a footman called Arpa, who despite his street savvy appearance, couldn't have been twenty. Eric and Oliver looked to Sookie for their cue to begin the play. She lowered her head until her chin touched her chest and raised it up again. There was absolutely no point to the movement, other than to create a bit of drama.
"You may begin," she said with the solemnity of leading a prayer in church.
"Have you met the new footman, Oran Corday?" Eric and Oliver asked almost in complete unison.
"Yes, of course," Arpa responded.
"No," the maid answered.
Sookie raised her right hand and lowered it back to the table. Oliver stopped and looked toward Eric.
"Do not lie to me again," Eric said in a silky voice. He was smiling, but the threat was clear in his eyes. "Only this once I will repeat my question. Answer carefully, Carla. Have you met Oran Corday?"
Carla was nervous before. Now she was terrified. "I, well, Yes, I, I mean, I've met him, sort of. Whenever someone first starts, they introduce them to everyone all at once, so no one freaks out when they see someone new doing things."
"There, you see?" Eric said sweetly. "That wasn't difficult, was it? So you have never spoken to him personally? And he has never spoken to you?"
"No, sir. Never."
Sookie remained still.
"Very well," Eric said. "And have you ever seen him somewhere you felt he shouldn't have been, or doing anything you thought he shouldn't have been doing?"
Carla's face screwed up into an expression of utter confusion.
"Simply answer the question. Don't worry about trying to figure out why I'm asking or what answer you think I'm looking for."
"I'm sorry," she cried as tears began flowing down her face, "But I honestly can't remember seeing him at all, except when he was introduced. I just don't pay much attention to anyone else when I'm working. I just do my job." She dropped her face into her hands and continued sobbing.
Oliver looked disgusted and turned back to his footman. "Have you had any conversations with Oran Corday?"
"Yes. He asked about my ring." Arpa held up his hand. He was wearing a large ring in the shape of an eagle's head.
"You may go," Eric told Carla.
Carla was quick to jump up and scamper away, but Sookie holding up a hand stopped her. Sookie turned to her, made eye contact and said, "You will not remember anything about coming to this room today." Sookie moved her hand back to the table. Carla blinked several times and gave her head a little shake before leaving.
A burst of laughter came from Arpa. "Cool! We're going to be glamoured. I've never been glamoured before. At least I don't think I have."
Sookie raised her left hand.
Arpa looked at her and laughed again, not so loudly this time. "Wow. I wonder why?"
"Does it really matter?" Oliver asked.
It was established Arpa had nothing useful to offer and he was dismissed. Two by two, the rest of the first group went by without incident.
The second group of ten was following the same repetitive pattern, until Maria Torrez sat down with Oliver. She'd been a housemaid at the Villa for over a decade. She was well liked and trusted by everyone and she was always one of the first people asked when someone wanted to know anything about how the house was run.
"Oh, yes. I have spoken often with Oran. He will make a fine footman, perhaps even a valet or butler one day. He takes a keen interest in everyone, residents and guests alike. He is exactly the sort of young man we need in a large house like this. If you're investigating something missing, I would be willing to risk my reputation by saying, I do not believe he is a thief."
Eric lost interest in his interviewee. "Take a nap," he said to the boy before getting up and heading to the other end of the table. He sat on the table corner, behind Oliver.
Maria Torrez had been confident before, even a bit cocky. Now, as she looked up at Eric's cool stare, she was intimidated.
"Please, carry on," Eric said pleasantly.
"Were there any people he seemed particularly interested in?" Oliver asked.
"He was interested in everybody," she answered. "He wanted to know what everyone liked and didn't like, what he could do to better serve people, all that sort of thing. He wanted to know all about any visitors or overnight guests. Where did they come from? How long would they be here? What languages did they speak? All the normal things you would expect a good servant to want to know about a guest."
"And he didn't seem to be any more interested in one guest more than any other?"
"Like I said, he was interested in everybody." Her smile grew as she looked in Sookie's direction. "But I must say, he was fascinated when he heard about an American Queen coming to visit. We all were."
Eric's hand landed on Oliver's shoulder to hold him in place.
"Our Queen is an enthralling woman, to be sure," Eric said. "If you would, Maria, tell us about your conversations with Oran regarding Queen Sookie."
Maria was a font of information for them, just as she had no doubt been for Oran. In her constant effort to be the ideal servant, she made it her business to know as much as possible about everyone she might need to wait upon. When the eager young Oran came on board, she'd been only too happy to share her information with him. They had discussed Don Perdigo's chosen, the beautiful Saaset, with her cascades of milk chocolate colored hair the very night before she disappeared. They discussed how to remove stains from ladies dresses in case something spilled during the reception. Of course, Saaset never made it to the reception, poor dear. Maria didn't think Oran ever even got the chance to see her.
Oran was helping her prepare the guest rooms the day before Alexei was scheduled to arrive. He said he had crossed the Mediterranean many times.
"Oh!" Maria said excitedly, "That was different about him. It is very unusual for someone so well traveled to want to come into service for a vampire. Most new employees are looking for excitement and in my experience, people who have traveled a lot, have usually already had a lot of excitement."
"And what of Mina?" Oliver almost growled at the maid. "What did you tell Oran about her?"
"Not a thing he didn't already know," Maria replied indignantly, stiffening her back and glaring back at Oliver. "I am not one to gossip."
You didn't need to be a telepath to know the fool meant every word she said. Everything she did was done in the proper course of her work and in the pursuit of doing the best job possible. She was merely helping the new guy do his best as well.
"She pointed Mina out to him," Sookie said as she turned to look at Maria, the dedicated subordinate who had unwittingly cost so many, so much.
"Keep your seat, Oliver," Eric warned. He was near crushing Oliver's shoulder again, holding him in place.
Sookie ran to stand between Oliver and Maria. "She didn't know, Oliver. She couldn't have known he was a spy."
"A spy?" Maria gasped. "Who was a spy? Not Oran? He couldn't have …" She stopped mid-sentence. He could have. And clearly the vampires thought he did … with her help. Her heart rate instantly doubled and she developed a hitch in her breathing as what she'd done began to sink in. She looked desperately from vampire to vampire, from the unforgiving hatred in Oliver's eyes, to the calm indifference in Eric's, to the sympathy in Sookie's.
"She didn't mean it," Sookie said to Oliver, gently cupping his cheek in her hand.
"Mina," he whispered pitifully.
"Maria," Sookie said, turning to the woman.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Go to my room. I want you to work for me exclusively until we leave. I'll talk to Ermessen. You'll find paper and pens on the shelf over there," Sookie pointed to a shelf near the door. "Take some with you and when you get to the room, I want you to try and remember everything you told Oran; every conversation you ever had with him. I want to know everything, no matter how trivial it seems to you. If you discussed the weather, I want to know exactly what he had to say about it. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am. Should I finish my regular duties for tonight before I go to your room?"
"No. When I talk to your Queen, we will arrange for someone else to finish for you. I want you to go to my room now and begin writing."
Sookie looked up at Eric. "I think we should still talk to the rest, just in case he got any different information from anyone else."
Eric agreed, but suggested they change tactics. "It seems Oran gathered most of his information from Maria. To her, he was a listener. We need to know if he was a talker with anyone. I think you can do this best, Dearest. I will ask the group if he ever said anything to them and you see who recalls conversations. Only those you indicate will be held for further interviewing."
They got through the rest of the staff in just a little over two hours. They didn't learn much, almost nothing really. It seems Oran never had much beyond 'hello' to say to anyone. He'd mentioned an illness in his family to a fellow footman, no doubt the same illness he'd told his supervisor about, the one causing him to need several days off.
One of the kitchen maids with a heavy French accent, Yvette, said he often came to the kitchen and sampled the cakes. "One afternoon when he came, I showed him my éclairs." She smiled brightly. "He has quite a sweet tooth."
"Are you sure you're talking about pastries?" Oliver asked brusquely.
She gave a tittering laugh and lowered her eyes. "Rum custard filling with chocolate icing, monsieur. Nothing more, I promise. He asked if I learned to make them in France."
"And did you?" Eric asked.
"Oh, yes, votre Majesté. I learned in Paris, but I did not finish the course. I think I must have reminded him of his mother."
"Why do you say that?" Sookie asked.
"I don't remember exactly what he said, but I got the feeling his mother might be French. Or maybe she only lives in France. She is sick, you know, his mother."
"He said it was his mother who is sick?" Everything in the girl's head was kind of fuzzy. At first Sookie thought she might be some kind of supe, but she decided it more than likely the girl was simply on drugs of some sort. That's probably why she hadn't finished her pastry course.
"He said the woman he loves more than a lover is ill. Who else could he have meant, but his mother? He took an éclair for her. Boys always love their maman best."
The door slammed open. Ermessen stalked through and glared at Eric.
The French kitchen maid dropped from the chair to her knees. The other servants in the room followed suit. Ermessen didn't even seem to notice them.
"If I have to tolerate him much longer, I will put you all out," she shouted. "Perhaps you can get Don Perdigo to play host to you."
"Clearly my Maker has offended you, Ermessen," Eric began. "Allow me to apologize on his behalf, but you know what you suggest is not possible. Ocella might relocate if the possibility is presented to him, but it is just as likely his suspicions would be piqued by the suggestion and he would insist upon staying here."
"Do you have any idea what he's asking for?" she demanded. She headed toward Eric and almost tripped over the French girl. "What the … who are you? What are you doing on the floor?"
"I am Yvette, from the kitchen, Majesté," she said without looking up.
"Go back to the kitchen then. All of you go back to wherever you are supposed to be. If you are needed again, you will be summoned." Ermessen stepped back so Yvette could get up without brushing against her. All the remaining servants hurried out of the room.
"Ocella tends to be extravagant in his requests. At the very least, I'm sure he asked for more men. He'll want a rather large contingent of humans, from which he will choose around a dozen men per hundred for special training. These men, regardless of their leadership aptitude will be given authority over other men. At least half of them will abuse their authority and because they do not know how to lead, their charges will turn on them. The result will be chaos and the break down of command. Yes, Ermessen. I have an idea, though I have no knowledge of any specific requests he has made to you."
"A dozen per hundred?" Her incredulous tone told everyone the number requested must be large. "Is he mad? How long does he plan to be here? He has asked for two thousand men. I have no way of producing half so many. Eric! What can I do to appease him? He MUST be kept out of the villa. I can't have him lurking about and wandering my passageways like a caged tiger looking for something to pounce on."
"Ermessen," Sookie said with a sincere smile. "We have good news. One of the maids, Maria Torrez, talked a lot with Oran. She is in our room now, writing down all their conversations. I'm sure we'll get some good information from her, and Yvette, the girl who was kneeling on the floor here, he told her his mother was in France, so maybe we can find out more about where he went. I'm sure we're on the verge of discovering something we can use. It won't be much longer. I'm confident of that."
Ermessen looked at Sookie. Clearly she did not share the confidence.
"Why don't the two of you go below? I'm certain a visit with Ramon will lift your spirits, Ermessen. And Sookie, you can see if Gawain is back from his travels. Perhaps he learned something useful. Oliver and I will see how much recruiting we can do for Ocella's army before dawn.
I agree with Sookie. I feel certain a breakthrough is close." He kissed Ermessen's hand and then Sookie's cheek before leaving with Oliver.
"Do you really believe something will happen soon?" Ermessen asked.
She was asking for the same reassurances from Sookie, which Sookie had asked from Eric. Sookie put an arm around her and gave a tight squeeze. "I do, Ermessen. I really do."
XXXXXXX
Mina huddled in the corner, alternating between wishing she could see a clock and being grateful she couldn't. Time had slowed to a maddening crawl, but a clock would only serve to prove it was passing at its usual pace. If these were to be her last minutes on Earth, better they were slow so she could take in every detail of the remainder of her life. Or maybe she would rather it just be over with, so her mind would finally be at rest and not filled with the horrors of this place.
She wished Oliver were here. Not really, because she would happily die tonight and leave Alexei to the twisted whims of Lorcan rather than Oliver. She couldn't bare it if it was Oliver chained to the wall a few feet away. Oliver. She was leaving Oliver. Once the thought entered her brain, it took hold and wouldn't let go. She wondered what he would feel as her life drained from her to Alexei, to give him the strength to endure the ordeal to come. She began to tremble uncontrollably, but she refused to cry.
The servant faerie, whose name she didn't know, was setting up for the evening's entertainment. She didn't bother trying to speak to him. He'd never responded to her before, there was no reason for him to start now. He made several trips, first bringing the two chairs for Lorcan and Niamh, arranging them side-by-side and facing the cell.
A low table was next. It was situated just in front of the space between the chairs. It made Mina wonder if Niamh was left-handed. If she wasn't, then the arrangements were set up for Lorcan's convenience. He was definitely right-handed.
Why does everything always have to favor the males of the species? Even among supes. Mina wondered. Sure, being female had definite advantages if you were a spider, but who'd want to have to be a spider just to get the upper hand?
The next trip brought the tray. He placed it on the table. It was piled high with something and draped with a pale blue cloth. She knew it was dozens of small silver daggers with heavily weighted handles under the cloth, but a small voice in a corner of her mind was feverishly trying to convince her, maybe it was sandwiches hidden there this time. She knew better. When the servant removed the cloth, there wouldn't be any snacks revealed.
Lastly, a new element was brought in and placed between the two chairs and behind the table, a tall, pole-type stand with something bulky at the top, like a birdcage. Of course it was covered, so she couldn't see for certain what it was, and she didn't hear any movement or tweeting.
This time when he turned to walk away, he looked into the cell. His eyes found her in her shadowed corner and stared for several seconds. She saw no pity or emotion of any kind there, only an odd sort of confusion, as if he were looking at an animal in a zoo, but he'd never seen one like it before so he was trying to make out what it was. After a moment, he went away and left her alone with her thoughts.
A full hour, at least, must have passed between the tall thing being placed down and when she heard Alexei stir. She jumped to her feet and turned away from him, facing into the corner. She couldn't look at him.
The time had come.
Despite having spent the last few two days preparing for this eventuality, she couldn't stave off the consuming panic that rushed over her in waves. There was nowhere to run. She was going to cry. No matter how she tried to keep them at bay, the tears were going to come. "Please, Alexei! Be quick."
The clicking of shoes on stone was nearing. Lorcan must have said something amusing, because she heard Niamh laugh. The silver chain curtains moved inward, herding them into the center aisle of the cell.
"I won't do it, Mina," Alexei whispered.
Mina felt the muscles in her abdomen contract hard and release again. When they released, she was flooded with warmth. "Goodbye, Oliver," she murmured.
"What?"
"Quick, Alexei. You must be quick. Do it!"
"Yes, Alexei," Niamh said sweetly, as if she were asking him to pass her the potatoes. "Your audience is here now. Do it."
Hearing Niamh encourage him broke the dam on Mina's tears. Within seconds everything appeared warped by the pools of saltwater in her eyes. Her abs tensed and released. Dear Oliver, he was trying to help her. He felt her panic and he was trying, but his own distress was too great, she could feel it compounding hers.
She wiped at her face and got a brief look before her eyes overflowed again. The servant was removing the covers. No snacks. The pole stand held a sort of display tray. Her vision blurred before she could identify what was being displayed.
Alexei saw. Tonight, Lorcan had a new hell in store for him. Three rows of brightly shining silver throwing stars with barbed and jagged points designed to do more damage as they are removed than they do when they pierce the flesh.
Alexei walked toward the bars, dragging his chains with him. When he'd gone as far as he could, he extended his arms outward and said, "I surrender, take me."
Mina finally turned to face him. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What did you say?"
Lorcan reached for one of the stars. "I have you, you pompous ass." He threw the star, striking his target with stunning accuracy, despite the distractions and obstacles.
Niamh leaned forward in her chair, her beautiful pale green eyes widened to their fullest.
"No!" Alexei screamed.
Mina lurched backward, her hands groping at the base of her throat, where only half the star was still visible to others. She'd never felt such intense pain. She felt as if the flesh of her neck was being torn away with every breath in or out, with every heartbeat. Oh God, make it stop. Having her leg crushed was child's play by comparison. The tightening knots in her abdomen were barely noticeable.
She reached out to Alexei and tried to take a staggering step in his direction, but her knee buckled beneath her. She wanted to beg him to end her pain, but she couldn't speak.
Alexei caught her as she collapsed to the floor and stared into her pleading eyes as she bled profusely all over both of them. He couldn't stop her bleeding. If he put pressure on it, he would only drive the star deeper. If he tried to remove it, it would rip her throat out with it.
"Do it," Niamh hissed.
"What's happening?" Saaset screamed from her cell. "Mina!"
"She'll bleed out regardless and you know what's coming." Lorcan's even, businesslike tone made the situation even more harrowing than it was. "You can end her agony or you can lap her blood up off the floor if you prefer. You will have it either way. You will have no choice." He drew his arm back. He was holding another star.
One last fleeting glance and Alexei struck. He sucked hard and deep. Speed was the imperative tonight, not delicacy or neatness. She'd shown him nothing but kindness. He owed her a quick death. As her heartbeat stalled, he felt regret over a kill for the first time. He was overwhelmed by it, until he was distracted from his grief by the star Lorcan imbedded in his leg.
It was the last star thrown, but as usual, the entire tray of knives was emptied. Because he staying close to Mina, his blood was drenching them both and pooling all around them rather than splattering the walls and ceiling as it usually did. He had done his best to protect Mina's lifeless body from the knives, but it was no use. Several wild misses hit her instead of him. Niamh's aim didn't seem to be showing any signs of improvement.
When the last of the knives was flung, Lorcan and Niamh made their usual hasty exit. As their footsteps faded, the silver curtains moved back to the walls and Alexei set about the business of removing the blades so the wounds would begin the long slow healing process. He saved the star for last, because he knew it would hurt the worst and leave a bad wound.
He was right. After seeing what removing the star did to his leg, he couldn't bring himself to remove the one from Mina's throat. She'd been damaged enough. He removed the knives and laid her body out straight, as close as he could get her to the bars. There was so much blood. Hers, his, his that was originally hers before he drank from her. There was no way to tell it apart. He couldn't look at it without seeing her eyes, pleading with him, blaming him for not doing as she'd asked. If he'd only drained her when she wanted him to, he could have given her a quick painless death.
Perhaps tomorrow, he thought. After they've taken her body away, maybe then I'll be able to look at the bloodstains without seeing her face. He cringed against the back wall with his face buried in his hands.
Two hours later, he still hadn't moved when a hysterical young man, begging for an explanation, was shoved into the cell. The hysterics worsened when the man looked around at what he assumed to be three corpses, two females near the bars and a male toward the back of the blood soaked cell.
The man began to beat on the bars and scream to be released. Alexei was able to ignore him until he took a step back and tripped over Mina's legs. He got tangled causing her to be yanked into a contorted position.
"Don't touch her!" Alexei howled as he lunged at the man, draining him dry in under a minute.
Without looking at her face, Alexei straightened her corpse and returned to the rear wall, where he stayed until the approaching dawn claimed him for another day.
XXXXXXX
As the sun faded over the horizon in Zaragoza, the halls of Ermessen's villa echoed with Oliver's anguished screams as he felt Mina dying … and even worse, the heartbreaking keening when he no longer felt her at all.