Chapter 642
As she headed back, she ran into Brandle. Crap. I forgot he was out here.
"Hello." He waved as she drew close. "It's been quite a day. Or should I say, quite a week."
"The last eight months have been something." She stopped when he offered her a cigarette. She'd wasted the other, after all.
He stared into space. She wondered that Estrilda had affected him so deeply. He didn't know her, did he?
"No," Brandle said to her unspoken thought. "I didn't know she existed. Andrei and Annabelle guarded their secret well. I'm afraid my thoughts are on William and Angelica." He took a puff and blew a cloud of smoke. "I've known them a long time. They were members of Henry's coven. Poor Henry. That was the first time I had the chance to meet your lover."
Her lover? Did he mean- "Jorick?"
Brandle nodded. "A new coven came into the area. McKenzie was their leader, I believe. He wanted our land and tried to run us off. Finally, he took Angelica and her sisters hostage. We reclaimed them with violence. McKenzie complained to the Sodalitas, who sent the Destroyer and his servants, the Tormenter and The Hand of Death. They were true to their reputations."
Katelina stiffened. She'd looked for betrayal from Des, but Brandle-
"It was long ago. I hold no grudge. He followed his master's orders. After that we were forced to cede the territory. William organized another coven from the remnants, with the plan of overthrowing the Sodalitas, but it disintegrated into murder and robbery. I left. He's never gotten over the idea of rebellion. I've tried to show him how much better a life of peace can be, but he doesn't want it. He wants lords and power and intrigue. I got too old for that some time ago."
"Is that when you changed your name?"
He chuckled. "No. I did that just before the party. It came from a book, if you'd like to know. Sadly, Brandle was a side character who turned out to be the villain. Aside from that, he was marvelously interesting, and it's a good name. Acwellen is too old fashioned to keep anymore."
Katelina agreed, though she wasn't sure Brandle was better. "Was Acwellen your real name?"
"It was the name my master gave me. I've carried it for too long."
It wasn't just his voice tone, but things he'd said before. "You had a bad time, after you were turned?"
His lips tightened. Katelina was ready to apologize when he said, "I wouldn't call it bad. Not until Mirabel was killed."
Katelina wasn't sure who that was, or if she should even know.
"She was my mate. A village girl who belonged to my master. He allowed me to turn her. When he was killed in battle, his heir was not so kind. He took her for himself. Had that happened later, she'd have been my property, and he'd have been punished. But this was before the Laws, before the Sodalitas. He used her as he wished, then dumped her in the courtyard to wait for the sun. It was all a show of power; the men liked me more than him and, given the choice, would follow my orders over his. With the help of a few, I took her back, and we rode away into the night."
When his pause stretched, Katelina prompted, "He caught you?"
"Funnily enough, no. I imagine he was glad to be rid of me. Mirabel and I settled near a human village and enjoyed happiness for many years. Then a band of vampires came; rogues they'd be called now. They burned the village, slaughtered the inhabitants. Blood ran in the streets. When they finished there, they came for us. My compatriots had long moved on. There was only Mirabel and I. We were no match for them. They hacked her to pieces, and left me staked to the ground. Not to spoil the ending, I obviously survived. Mirabel didn't."
"I'm sorry," Katelina murmured.
"I thank you for your sympathies. I won't pretend that I haven't had lovers since her, or that I haven't been in love, but she was the first in my immortal life. One never forgets the first, they say." He looked off into the distance for a moment, then snapped back. "I have a dozen more stories as cheerless as this. More than a dozen, perhaps. It's the reason I refused to help William overthrow the Sodalitas. Whether he likes it or not, we need them. Someone must maintain order. Without that, there is only chaos; a world where we must live in packs or risk being slaughtered like dogs. It's not a life I wish to go back to."
She cleared her throat, not sure what to say. Finally, "Speaking of William, what about him and Angelica? They didn't exactly jump to leave Lilith."
"I know. I'd hoped to talk sense into him, but I don't think I can. Angelica blames her sisters they moved in with her recently, and they bicker nonstop but she's really there to watch over him. If I can tie him up, she'll follow. It's doable," he added. "I do have phantom abilities, and William has no special skills at overcoming them. I just need to get behind him with some rope."
She thought of tying Sarah up and dragging her back. But-"Will that really help? Once you free him, won't he just go back? Or join another maniac?"
Brandle looked into the distance. "That's what I'm afraid of. His disillusionment, his anger, are things within him things I can't fix. Not even with rope." He winked, leaving her with only his milky white eye for a moment.
She tried not to stare and he smiled. "It's an odd thing for a vampire, isn't it? Most masters look for physical perfection, but mine wanted soldiers. Pity he didn't realize it came from a farming accident."
Katelina coughed on her smoke. "What kind of farming accident did that?"
"My brother had a wild swing with a sickle." He chuckled. "After that, I learned to stay away from him in the field."
Of all the things she'd imagined, that wasn't it. He laughed at her surprise. His mirth was so warm after the misery of the day that she couldn't help but join in.
