Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

DB Chapter 8 - It Begins At Dawn

Chapter 8

DAWN CAME TOO early for Allison, although the night seemed to go on forever. Pretend to be Maglania if she doesn't wake up overnight. That was easy for Melody Balan to say; she wasn't the one whose head would roll if she were discovered.

As Allison went to check on Maglania's state, she heard a rustling in the grand bedroom. She ran inside, half expecting Maglania to be up. No, it wasn't Maglania. It was Julian. Allison would recognize him anywhere, even bent over and shuffling through the old woman's precious wooden box. That box was where Maglania kept the chains that bound all ten of her Princes.

"Namura? What do you think you're doing?" Allison demanded. "If you're here for your new boss, she has his chain wrapped around her wrist. Though if he wanted it that badly, he could have just come and taken it himself."

"No, I'm not here for Oslen," Julian muttered and continued sorting through the box until he found a chain that didn't match the rest. It was much longer and thinner than the rest. "You don't mind, do you? Handmaiden?"

"You can't just walk in here and take that!" Allison snapped.

"Says who? You?" Julian demanded. "This one doesn't belong here anyway. I'm sure she won't miss it."

"Whose chain is that?"

"A nobody named Calbert Henton. I can promise you he's not involved in your fight against the Winthers."

"The Winthers aren't letting go of Aethon," Allison noted, changing the subject. Whoever this Henton guy was, he didn't matter. She saw that Julian wasn't here to sabotage her efforts to defend the palace. "Do you have any ideas in that conniving head of yours?"

"Let the Winthers hold Aethon. Better them than us."

"If she were awake, she would order us to take back Aethon. The longer the Winthers hold it, the longer the Sarastris lose their seat of power. And all of us become obsolete."

"No, Handmaiden, you become obsolete."

"You've already moved on to a new job?"

Julian wrapped the chain around his wrist and scratched his head.

"You're in a privileged position; you do know that, don't you? She hasn't stopped talking about you the entire time we were in Remin. Maybe it's time for you to sow your seeds too, in case you aren't going to serve the Sarastris much longer."

"Never," Allison whispered.

"Fine," Julian shrugged. "I always thought you were sensible about your own survival. Now, I see, you're just plain petty. You can't stand it that she has more of everything than you now. Your friendship was built on you being the star and her quietly supporting you. Without that, it falls apart. Doesn't it?"

"If I didn't know better, I would say you're falling for her too," Allison retorted.

Julian just grinned in response. He saw that his remarks had hit their mark, and he would give her no ammunition in return.

"All I'm saying is this: reach out to her and meet with her. You know Oslen is going to ask you soon enough. Better to get ahead of it. You'll look like a loyal friend rather than an unwilling stranger who is being dragged every inch of the way."

"Look around you. Aethon is burning to the ground as we speak. Sulia will soon follow. Do you think I could spare time to go have tea with Vivienne?"

"I know as soon as I leave, you're going to call Oslen. You'll beg him to come and help you with the Winthers, even though you know how much he risks if he is recognized." Julian paused and strolled past Allison. He turned as though he suddenly thought of one last thing. "Eventually, he's going to figure your closeness to him goes beyond your mutual relationship with Vivienne Weisse. When that happens, his only concern will be how to break the news of your unfortunate death to his one and only."

"And you believe he won't kill you? When he realizes you've fallen for his girl?"

"If he loved selfishly, he would have tracked her down ages ago. If I learned anything in Remin, it's that she controls him, even without that necklace. He nearly gave himself a brain bleed saving those backward Remin High School students from his own soldiers. As long as I have her friendship, I am the safest vampire in Manna City."

"Fine," Allison sighed. She should have known Julian didn't spend all that time in Remin because he couldn't accomplish his mission. "I'll visit Vivienne. Tomorrow."

"Devon?"

Allison spun around, and she nearly walked into the door frame in shock. Maglania was awake, reaching out to her. Allison forgot about Julian and rushed inside. She dropped to her knees in front of the old woman's skeletal hand. The skin was grey and ashen, and the muscles had long since withered, but Allison grabbed her hand and held it close to her heart.

"You're awake! I waited up all night."

"Did he take care of Lysander?" Maglania's voice was hoarser than usual. Allison worried that instead of welcoming Maglania back to the world of the living, she would witness the woman's last words.

"Yes! Lysander is dead," Allison paused. That wasn't the whole truth, was it? "He didn't kill Lysander. Melody Balan did."

"Melody Balan?" Maglania asked as though she couldn't possibly have heard that correctly.

"I-I asked her for help because I thought he wasn't coming. I was wrong! He did come, and he killed Lysander's fire-wielding bodyguard."

"William Oslen came?" Maglania stated, her voice broke with disappointment.

"Yes. Who else?" Allison laughed nervously. Was Maglania confused? She had explicitly asked for William to come deal with Lysander.

"Blake Thorne," Maglania whispered and yanked her hand out of Allison's grasp. "Will you call on Gabriel Balan for me? Say to him, I wish to discuss the plan of succession."