The body of the auburn-haired villager collapsed on the floor, making a thunk that reverberated around the room and would’ve made a human cringe, but Asteria hardly noticed it. Venette had thought the new morsel would last a while. However, Asteria had been so upset after she returned from her expedition on the mountainside, she’d finished the woman in just a few gulps. While she was delicious, it was more the need to reenergize after such a harrowing event that kept her drinking. The baby was kicking furiously now. Apparently, he had liked her, too.
“My Lady, now that you are refreshed, would you care to tell us more about what Daunator told you on the mountain?” Hines had the sort of smile on his face that told her that he was trying to be patient but really wanted to know what she had found out. Unfortunately, since that was nothing, it didn’t really seem to matter how long he waited.
Asteria grew weary of the asking, however, since her psychotic physician wasn’t the only one who wanted to know. She took a deep breath and rested her hands on her bulging belly. “He didn’t say much. As I already mentioned, he said he thinks my baby is a demon. He said it was impossible for a Vampire to procreate.”
None of the other three faces that stared at her so intently wavered, as if they were afraid to agree with Daunator because she might come unhinged but also didn’t dare disagree with the devil in case he showed up there and destroyed them all.
“Did he say anything else about the Guardians?” Hines asked, his voice meeker than usual.
Asteria narrowed her eyes. “He said that I am doomed to failure, that the creature who dwells inside me should be returned to hell, and that all the ashes that fall shall be on my head. While he did say that it is possible the method you came up with may work, he said that the injections could cause them to become something far worse than what they are now.”
“What could that mean?” Hines asked, scratching his head so that his shaggy hair shook around resembling an unseen animal lost in shrubbery.
“I haven’t the foggiest,” Asteria admitted. “I told you this would be a waste.” She ran her tongue along her teeth and looked at the body on the floor, wishing there was more. There were others in the cells, but none of them tasted the same. She absently wondered about the other two Vampires Hines had created and wished they were back in America, back in their cells. So many stupid ideas.
“Did he say anything else at all?” Nelo asked. “Sometimes even the slightest comment can mean more than just one of us could predict on our own.”
Asteria went back over the conversation in her mind. She’d spent much of it trying to dodge loose rocks falling from the roof of the cave, and since Daunator was trying to blame her for the demise of the Ternion, she hadn’t been inclined to pay too much attention to anything he had to say. She certainly wasn’t going to mention how the old bastard had rendered her powerless. “He said that I traveled through means meant for others to get here, which I assume meant that the Blue Moon Portal was intended for Guardians only?”
“Yes, as far as I know that is true,” Nelo nodded checking with Venette. “Guardians and other heavenly beings.”
Asteria raised an eyebrow. Whatever else that might mean, she wasn’t sure. If there were angels on Earth, she’d certainly never met any. “He said blue dancing lights were meant for good, but there was another means, one intended for devils. He seemed to think a Guardian trapped in whatever he was talking about wouldn’t be able to escape.” She hadn’t been listening too intently to that part of his speech because it was spoken in prose, but that was as much as she had gathered from it. For all she knew, it was all a bit of gibberish.
But the other three perked up at the idea. “Can you remember exactly what he said?” Venette asked, taking a step forward.
Asteria leaned back in her chair, resting her head against cushiony velvet that had likely sat in this same room for five centuries. “I don’t remember exactly what he said. Something about devils dancing from one world to the next. That’s where blackness dwells and entrapment might be permanent.” She suddenly felt exhausted and clambered to her feet. “That’s all I can tell you.” The exchange of blank stares between the three of them was evidence none of them had any idea what Daunator may have been talking about, and she had no doubt whatever it was, it would stay hidden in the mounts with the beast. It was just as well. She’d known all along if she were going to defeat the LIGHTS team, she’d have to find a way to do it on her own.
She slowly began to pad her way down the hallway, thinking her abdomen had stretched and grown again, and now the baby felt heavy and low. The weight of him pulled her forward so that she had to walk as if she had a bowling ball between her knees. She hoped this pregnancy would end sooner rather than later.
“Your Majesty, should you think of anything else, please let us know,” Hines called after her. Asteria didn’t even raise a hand to acknowledge him. Hopefully, she would get a few hours of rest before all hell broke loose and the fortress she built in Melbourne would fall under attack. Every fiber of her being was telling her to get back there right away, but she knew the attack was coming, and she wouldn’t be able to make it back in time, so she may as well get some rest before heading home. Hopefully, the obstacles she’d constructed would be enough to hold them off, but at this point, she felt completely hopeless. Perhaps Daunator was right and the Ternion as she knew it was about to burst into ashes, and if that were the case, it would all be her burden to bear.
