Heirot

Atul bowed his head respectfully to Sinead, another unmarried ruler. If anything, she gave Atul hope that he could keep the ruse going with his subjects so he could be with Tenele, Tenara, and Vlad longer. "Your majesty," he greeted. "It is very good to see you, as well. You're dock hands are very diligent workers. I have never had my ship greeted so warmly and so efficiently before."

His gaze turned on Tenele as she balanced Tenara on her hip. Tenele's eyes said more than she wanted them to the moment she saw Sinead. The woman before her represented every hope she had of getting her husband out of the clutches of a mad man. But, before Tenele could have her resolve shatter, Tenara threw her hands into the air.

"Aunt Queenie!!" she proclaimed, giggling. Her legs kicked out, a signal that the child either wanted down or to clam her tiny hands in Sinead's soft clothing.

Sinead smiled and swept the little girl up in her arms, twirling her around. "Were you good on the boat, dear?" she asked adoringly. If she was anything like her father, sitting bored on a ship was not one of her strong points. She did another scan of the gangplank. "Where is Vlad?" she asked conversationally.

Tenara laughed as Sinead spun her around. The question didn't seem to register to her, as she let her gaze and attention be captured by other things now that she was in Sinead's arms, like the carefully designed jewelry the woman wore.

Tenele swallowed, glancing to Atul. The King reached down for her hand and clasped it tightly. "I hate to come to you with this, but you are the only one I know who can tell me where my husband is... A little over two weeks ago, Tenara's birthday, Maxwell used my child as leverage to secure Vlad's surrender. He took him away, and I don't know where. Talon is awaiting news from Maxwell. He is to be invited to wherever the man keeps his experiments.... Maybe we should discuss this somewhere else?"

The dock workers around them began to slow in their tasks, eavesdropping on the conversation. Everyone in Lowight knew who Vladimir Dracul was.

"Alright, to your work," Sinead commanded them tersely, gesturing for her guests to follow her to the carriage. Her thoughts were spinning, absorbing the news delivered all too swiftly after the excitement of seeing them. "Please," she gestured for them to climb into the carriage first, and she boarded swiftly behind them with Tenara secure in her lap. The guards closed the door, and the horses drew them forward.

"So Maxwell has finally defied me openly. He will not pay lightly for this," she murmured. Two weeks... she was thankful the others had never seen firsthand what that man could do to Vlad in two weeks, but it didn't save her from thinking about it. "You say he will call for Talon. Why? Is he with you? On the ship?" She didn't expect to hope for Talon's presence in her kingdom after the way they'd parted last time.

Tenele glanced out the window. "He stayed in Hajara encase Maxwell sends for him," Tenele replied. "When the initial deal was struck with Maxwell, Talon needed careful training and watching by Vlad. But, when the deal was struck Vlad was only to have a year with Tenara and I. Vlad has had three years to train Talon and he has grown in both skill and restraint. But, Maxwell decided to still honor the request Vlad made. I'm not sure why he would honor that specific one, but he has. Talon should be receiving word shortly. My thoughts were that Tenara would stay in your care, and that when we know the location of Maxwell's domain, Atul and I would travel there. Talon would be our contact on the inside, with the assumption that he has more freedom than my husband. I don't want him to have the inkling that we are going to try and rescue Vlad, so we are going under the guise of normal travellers. But, I need to know his location. I am going to be frank with you, my Queen... Mother... That man put a knife to my daughters throat. He terrorized her. He stole my husband and is torturing him. I care not how useful he is to your kingdom..." Tenele smiled at Tenara and leaned forward. She covered the child's ears and Tenara giggled.

"I am going to open his gut and hang him by his entrails before burning him alive in holy fire." Tenele smiled the whole time she said those words, but it wasn't a happy deranged smile. It was forced for the benefit of not frightening her daughter.

Sinead frowned. "I agree he needs to be stopped, Tenele, but he is not an opponent to underestimate. You need to be extremely careful. He's unlikely to kill Vlad, provided his research goes well. However, he won't hesitate to do something to the rest of you."

"I understand that," Tenele replied, settling back in her seat. "But, I'm not going to let him torture Vlad a year. I can't. He can't be invincible. We defeated Verin, I think we can defeat Maxwell."

Atul rested his hand on top of Tenele's knee. "I'll be with her, your majesty. I don't know Maxwell's strengths, but I am half a god. I can protect her. If you have any other suggestions for how we do this, now would be a good time to share them."

Sinead met his blue eyes and thought hard about his question. "I'll just say this. Maxwell is a man of science and careful preparation. Once he is located, take the first 5 or 10 plans that come to your mind, and assume he has already prepared against them. You need to be a step ahead of him, or he will swat you down like flies. You'll need to confuse him to defeat him."

The carriage slowed to a halt in front of the palace. "Come in. I will help you in any way I can."

Tenele followed Sinead into the palace with Atul by her side. Her mind was already spinning. Confuse Maxwell? How would they possibly do that? The first confusion could be that they would actually find him. Or that they would go after Vlad. Then, again... He knew her threats better than that. He knew she wouldn't rest until Vlad was safe. So he probably assumed they would come for him eventually.

When they settled in Tenele left Tenara and Stalker with a handmaid so she could speak more openly with Sinead and Atul.

While she waited on Sinead Tenele paced the room over until Atul swore she'd burn a hole in the floor. He stopped in front of her, catching her arms when she tried to turn away to go the other direction. "Wait," he sighed, drawing her closer to him. "Just stop thinking, for a second. Just stop."

"I can't stop," Tenele breathed. "I just keep thinking about how much agony he's in... I want him back. Now."

Atul pressed his forehead to her's. "Shh," he whispered soothingly. "Don't think about his pain. Think about how much you love him. Think about his hands, his lips. Just think of all the good in him, what you love about him. Whenever you find yourself panicking over his pain, think about his happiness. We will get him back."

"In what shape?" she choked.

Stalker sat at the corner of the room, observing them all closely. He could feel his master's presence in the corner of his mind. He knew he was alive. That was all Vlad was letting him see. The hound's health had improved dramatically, thanks to Atul's blood. He stood and trotted over to Tenele's side, sensing her alarm. He pressed his nose into her hand.

"When Talon hears from Maxwell, he will alert us, I presume?" Sinead said. "We will plan from there.

* * * * *

*Talon*, Vlad's voice came into his bloodling's mind. It was close to his usual voice, but quieter than normal, like it had been frayed around the edges and speaking too loudly could rip it in half. *Are you well?*

Talon was lying in bed, doing nothing much other than thinking when the quiet voice filtered into his head. *Master?* he whispered, sitting up. *Where are you? Where can we find you?* He wanted to tell Vlad more, but feared someone was listening.

*Maxwell intends to uphold the conditions of my agreement. This is your invitation.* The vampire's tone faded in and out. *Coming or not is your choice, but you will come alone. Personally, I'd rather you didn't.*

Vlad rested his head back heavily against the metal table. The holy water in his system was interfering with his concentration. He opened his glazed eyes to be sure Maxwell was still watching him.

*I'm coming,* Talon told him. *I need you to tell me where.* He reached into his pocket for the jewel that connected him with his sister. "Tell me where exactly so I can find you." So she can find you.

* * *

Tenele heard the voice coming from her pocket. She reached in quickly and pulled the blue stone out. "Talon? Where? Tell me where..."

Vlad struggled to keep the connection open. *Listen to me, my Blood. Don't come,* he murmured, almost pleading.

*I'm coming,* Talon said more forcefully. *Tell me, please Vlad. So I can help you, tell me where you are.*

* * *

"Talon, please," Tenele called. "Talon answer."