“Including your father?”
He flinched. It was quick but I caught it. “I would say he was her greatest threat of all, so yes.”
“You’ve never spoken to your father about the stone?”
“By the time I learned of it, I was already a hostage here, so no.”
“Who told you about it?”
“Maeron and I discovered it together during one of our more adventurous outings. We snuck out of the palace together and took down the guards.” He glanced at the ceiling. “We played in the armory upstairs for an hour before Father appeared to deal with the situation. We asked him about the stone after he doled out our punishment and he told us what he knew.”
I didn’t ask about the punishment. I had a feeling vampires were cruel even to their own kin.
I looked back at the stone. “And how did the second stone compare to this one?”
“Quite similar. Very plain, basic in size, but with a different symbol. The dealer drew a picture of it on a napkin.”
“At the palace, no one remembered the symbol.”
His smirk was non-apologetic. “What can I say? We lied.”
My jaw tightened. “Did you recognize it?”
“No. Would you like to see it?”
“Gee, it might help given that you expect me to find it.” I would die if I tried to throttle him, but I really, really wanted to.
His fangs elongated and he bit through the skin of his arm until blood bubbled to the surface. He dipped his index finger in the beads and drew the symbol on his arm in blood. Charming.
Five triangles around a circle. Not quite a pentagram. Not the Star of David. More like a star and a flower combined.
“You’re just trying to show off your muscular forearms, aren’t you?” I said.
He grinned. “You find them muscular?”
“It’s an objective assessment, not a compliment.” I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo of the stone, as well as his arm. “You don’t mind, do you? It’ll help with the investigation.”
“That’s why I brought you here. As far as I’m concerned, if we find the stone, we find Davina.”
“At least we can rule out the wizards. If they had her, they would have said so.”
“They clearly didn’t have the stone.”
No, but the fact that we had competition for the stone was a problem. If the Green Wizard located it first, we might never find Davina.
“Allow me to show you something else.” We emerged from the White Tower and descended the steps. Once on solid ground, he pointed to the wall ahead. “Do you see there?”
I squinted in the darkness to see a silhouette. No, three silhouettes. “Yes.”
“I could sense the question in your mind when we were talking about the Immortality Stone. You met the vampire guards at the entrance, but there are also vampires and magic users positioned on the wall around the clock. The perimeter is warded too.”
“All because of the stone?”
“There are other valuables here, of course, but the stone is the main reason. Queen Britannia chose this place because of its history. No one would think twice about heavy security at the Tower because of its past reputation. Everyone believes House Lewis stores its valuables and most important prisoners here, which is only partially true.”
“I didn’t think House Lewis held prisoners.” Their justice was swift and brutal. There were no long, drawn-out sentences in the vampire world.
“It happens on rare occasions.” He pointed to another section of the Tower. “They tend to go there.”
I peered at the tall structure. “How do you know?” The Highland Reckoning didn’t seem the type to bring in prisoners, as evidenced by the five corpses we left behind at the excavation site.
“Because it’s where I was taken when I first arrived as a hostage.” He said this with no emotion. Just a fact.
I resisted the urge to pity the boy who’d been wrenched from his family and delivered to their enemies. “Anyone in there now?”
“Why? Planning a prison break?”
“Not today.” But there could come a day when the information might be useful. After all, what was a history buff if not a collector of information?
He motioned toward the exit. “Satisfied?”
“Rarely.”
“I can help with that.”
Walked right into that one. “Not today,” I repeated.
He grinned. “Sounds promising.”
“I’m merely being polite.” I turned and hurried toward the gateway. The more physical distance I put between us, the better.
When I returned to the street, Barnaby was perched on a nearby wall.
“You should tell him about his ancestors,” the prince said. “He might be interested in taking up residence. I’m sure the family would enjoy having a flock of ravens back at the Tower.”
“I think he’s happy with his current situation.”
The prince studied the large bird. “Does he live with you? I have to imagine the quarters are rather cramped.”
“We’re comfortable, but I appreciate your concern.”
“You’ve visited the smithy and the excavation site. You’ve seen the stone. What’s next?”
“I’ll let you know when I decide.” I sauntered toward the raven, fully aware of the vampire’s eyes burning a hole through my back. Or was it my butt? Either way he was definitely watching me with intensity.
“Let’s go,” I told the raven. He cawed and took flight, his black feathers merging with the night.
11
I didn’t want to return to the flat just yet. With the menagerie in stasis and the possibility of workmen installing windows, I decided to keep working on the investigation and that meant a stop at the library.