"So bothersome," Vlad grumbled.
Mina, trotting along beside him, glanced up at him. "What is?"
"Everything."
"Oh." She wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction at the answer. "Okay."
Behind him, Lucy stumbled along. She was still looking a little pale. She'd vomited everything out of her belly and was still gagging even when they left the clearing.
In front of him, the men of the Dragonbound Clan led the way.
A few glanced back at him sometimes with worried looks, but none looked to be considering treachery.
Good for them. They might get to keep their arms.
But it wasn't the men who were causing his irritation.
It was the Court itself.
How could the Court treat the Romani with such disregard? When Vlad had been alive previously, the Romani had been invaluable.
Some served as spies. Some as manual labour.
Some even settled into the Court as Renfields or Dolls.
Whatever role they had served, Vlad remembered the Dragonbound as loyal and hardworking.
There was no good reason to drive the Romani away.
None at all.
Hearing Sandu speak of the troubles the clan had faced only made Vlad seethe. Apparently, the clan had been dispersed due to hardship. They were mocked wherever they went. Treated with contempt and scorn.
Some countries had even openly hunted them like dogs.
Every man in the group had lost someone because of persecution.
One had lost his own child.
A child! Barely five summers old. Driven into the ground with a spear by a local militia which had chased them for many nights.
Once one man spoke, a floodgate opened and Vlad listened to their stories. Each more brutal than the last.
He endured their tales.
Listened hard.
His concentration never wavering. He stayed silent. The only sound he made was the grinding and gnashing of his teeth in frustration at the sheer lunacy of the Court driving the Romani into the arms of their oppressors.
With all he knew, Vlad felt the weight of debt fall on his shoulders.
The clan needed recompense.
And the Court would pay it.
He wasn't sure how, but he would force the issue and damn anyone who got in his way!
Lucy gnawed on her lip as she studied Vlad's broad shoulders and the huge sword on his back. The sword had cut the head off a man not long ago. The sight of it was burned in her memory.
As was that of him tearing the arms off him first.
Both arms!
Ripped off a man as though he was plucking fruit from a tree! What kind of savage strength did this vampire, a fledgling, possess?
It was inconceivable.
She knew vampires had plenty of strength. She'd even met a few before meeting Vlad. But none had displayed anything quite like this.
It was brutal. Powerful.
There was no doubt in her mind that Vlad was a predator. There was no part of him which wasn't dangerous.
Slowly, the memory of blood and gore became a set of numb moments.
Instead, she focused on him.
How fast he'd been. How fluid his movements had been.
And how ultimately devastating was his violence.
She wasn't sure what the other fledgling were like. Or what the elders were like. From Elder Miklos, she'd sense power, but not this kind of raw barbaric strength.
This one was different.
Was it luck that had thrown him in front of her?
Or was it a curse?
Only time would tell.
Suddenly Vlad paused, which caused everyone to stop. His head snapped in direction of a dark shadow among the trees. And his lip curled.
Baba, the Cunning Woman of the Dragonbound, squinted from the shadows. She'd thought her shadow-work was top tier.
But the fledgling had simply glanced at her and seen her straight away.
Sighing, the old crone leaned heavily on her staff and picked her way towards him. She knew no good would come if she skulked. She hadn't seen this moment clearly, but she trusted her instincts.
Her old grey eyes swept across the gathered men and she sighed again.
Mihail was missing.
She'd expected that.
But Varkis was gone, too. He'd been nebulous. In some dreams, he'd returned. In others he'd come back maimed.
It seemed he would join the land instead.
She would pray for his soul later. For now, she was more concerned with the living.
"Master," she rasped, giving the young vampire a deep bow. "We have waited for your return for many generations."
"My return?"
She lifted her withered face and tried to hold his gaze. It was difficult. Her heart chilled at the cold expression staring back at her.
But she knew his kind.
They valued strength above all.
As an old woman, the only strength she could show was strength of will.
"Yes," she said as calmly as she could. "It was foretold."
"Was it really?"
His voice lacked any mockery, so she took no offence. If he didn't believe her, he wouldn't hide his scorn.
"My mother saw it. Her mother saw it before. And I have seen it."
"Hmm." He tapped his chin in thought. "The one called Mihail is dead."
"Our Patriarch will grieve for him. The clan will grieve for him. But he was an impatient child. His passing was foretold."
Vlad nodded.
He understood what she was saying. The clan would hold no grudge.
But there had been a stress in her voice which he picked up.
"He was the Patriarch's son," he said.
"You are wise, Master."
"Eldest?"
"Middle."
"Tch. That explains his behaviour."
"He hoped to be Patriarch one day soon," she confirmed softly. "But it is much too soon for a change of leadership. Still. He was family. He will be grieved."
"As it should be," the vampire said. And there was something in his gaze which tugged at Baba's heart again.
He had experienced loss.
Terrible loss.
His voice was the voice of a youth. His body the body of a man in his early 20s. Recently Turned, the fledgling should be an immature man.
But Baba wasn't fooled.
She hardly saw the man in front of her.
She saw instead his soul. And it was old. Even compared to her, he was ancient.
"The Patriarch is waiting," she said, turning to Sandu. "Please take our Master to him. It is time we were reminded of our oath. Although, by sight of you all, you have tasted something of the memory. Perhaps next time, the impulsive fires in the bellies of youths will cool more to the words of their elders…"
Her wry words caused more than a few cheeks to flush with shame.
"Wise words, Baba," Sandu said. Then bowed again to Vlad. "Please follow me… Master."
Vlad said nothing about the honorific.
In truth, a fledgling should not be called Master. It was disrespectful to the elders of the Court.
However, Baba had named him such, and the rest of her clan would follow her lead. She was the Cunning Woman. If she called him Master, then she knew more than they.
As he passed through the men, they bowed to him.
It was a bit much and he felt Mina grip his arm tightly. "I could get used to this," she whispered over her shoulder to Lucy.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Don't be a peasant, Mina."
Mina giggled.
Her response surprised Vlad as he realised the two women had continued to bicker, but it now felt more good-natured than spiteful. As though they'd come to an understanding.
Good for them, he thought. It saves the beating I'd have to give them.
Watching Sandu lead the vampire into a wide circle of wagons which ringed a large fire, the Patriarch stood with his arms crossed in front of his own wagon.
His heart felt heavy as he noticed Mihail wasn't among them.
"My boy is dead," he croaked. His eyes glistened as he watched the vampire approach. "Ah. It is a hard way to remind us of our oath. Was it truly necessary?"
"What?" Toma, his youngest, started. "He murdered Mihail?"
"Bastard," Stefan hissed. He squeezed his hands into fists. "What did he do to deserve such treatment?"
The vampire paused in front of the fire.
His eyes glowed with crimson heat as he drew the huge weapon from his back.
"My name is Vlad," he announced. His voice rang loudly as the tension grew so thick it could be cut easily. "Your son told me something ridiculous. He told me he had come to take the mountain from the Court. He told me he would take the castle from my people. He told me he would kill me and take my women. I have killed your son, Patriarch. I have slain him like a dog. I then took the arms of his servant and let him crawl on his belly until it no longer amused me. Then I took his head. Will you die to defend him? Will any of you die to defend him?"