Alexia folded the parchment carefully and tucked it into her reticule, next to Ethel. “I’ll prepare to leave at once.”
“My
Alexia sneered. Nothing was more annoying than a self-satisfied vampire, which, given that seemed to be their natural state, was saying something about vampires.
A great hullabaloo out in the corridor heralded some kind of emergency. There was a good deal of yelling and then a banging at the door to the Blue Room.
“I left orders not to be disturbed!” yelled the queen, moved to irritated vocalization, if not actually moved to, well, move.
Said orders, however, were clearly to be disregarded, for the door burst open and in stumbled Dr. Caedes, Major Channing, and Madame Lefoux. They were carrying between them an exquisite young woman with dark hair, whose eyes were closed and body ominously floppy. Her perfection was marred by a great gash at the back of her head that bled copiously.
“Oh, really! I just had this room made over,” said Countess Nadasdy.
CHAPTER FOUR
Several Unexpected Occurrences and Tea
“It’s Asphodel, My Queen. Riding accident.”
The vampire queen made a beckoning motion with two fingers. “Bring her to me.”
The three carried the drone over to her mistress. The girl’s breathing was shallow, and she did not move.
“Dead drones are so inconvenient. Not to mention the hassle in finding an adequately fit, able, and attractive replacement.”
“I think you should try for the bite, My Queen.”
Countess Nadasdy looked at her vampire companion skeptically. “You do, do you, Doctor? I suppose it has been a while since I took the gamble.”
The door crashed open once more and Mabel Dair appeared in the aperture, resplendent in a bronze riding gown with red trim. The actress swept into the room. “How is she?”
Miss Dair sashayed across the thick carpet and cast herself forward to kneel on the floor next to Countess Nadasdy and the injured drone. “Oh, poor Asphodel!”
Alexia had to give the actress credit for a moving performance.
Madame Lefoux stepped forward and bent to press Miss Dair’s shoulders soothingly. “Come away,
Mabel allowed herself to be gentled into a standing position and away from the hive queen. “Oh, you will try, please, won’t you, mistress? Asphodel is such a sweet girl.”
The queen wrinkled her nose and looked back down. “I suppose she is quite pretty. Very well, bring me my sippy goblet.”
Dr. Caedes sprang into action. “At once, My Queen!” He vanished from the room.
While they waited for him to return, Alexia turned to the new arrivals. “Good evening, Madame Lefoux. Miss Dair.”
“Lady Maccon, how do you do?” replied the actress. Hands were clasped to her trembling bosom, and the bulk of her attention was still centered on the dying girl.
Madame Lefoux merely tipped her head in Alexia’s direction and gave her a small, tight smile. Then she returned her attention to the actress, placing a solicitous arm about the woman’s waist.
Dr. Caedes returned, bearing a small silver goblet with some kind of lid attached to the top. It looked like those cup attachments designed for gentlemen with mustaches. He passed it to the queen, who took it in one hand.
“Prepare the girl.”
Dr. Caedes grabbed the comatose woman by the shoulders and shifted her into his mistress’s lap. His supernatural strength made the task an easy one, even had the girl not been relatively slight. He turned her head so that she rested with the side of her neck exposed.
The queen took a drink from the goblet, swished the contents around in her mouth, and paused, an intense look of contemplation on her face. Then Countess Nadasdy bared her teeth, both the longer regular fangs, the feeders, and the smaller fangs to either side, the makers. Alexia wasn’t quite certain on the logistics of vampire metamorphosis. They were secretive about the details, and rarely were scientists, save their own, permitted to observe. But she knew the current theory held that feeders sucked the blood out while makers pumped blood in, so metamorphosis occurred by process of the queen literally giving her own blood over to the new vampire.
The countess opened her mouth wide. The makers were dripping perfect drops of dark blood, almost black. Alexia wondered if the contents of the sippy goblet acted as a catalyst.
Dr. Caedes bent and looked into his queen’s mouth. “I believe we may proceed, My Queen.”
Lady Maccon could only hope that the vampire metamorphosis process was less brutal than the werewolves. Her husband had practically eaten Lady Kingair whole in order to change her. It was most indelicate. The last thing Alexia wanted was to witness the vampire version of a three-course meal.
“Should we be watching this? Isn’t unbirth a matter for family intimates only?” Alexia asked Major Channing on a hiss.
“I think we are remaining as witnesses apurpose, my lady. She wants to prove her strength.” The major seemed not at all perturbed by the prospect.
“Does she? Why? Did I look as though I doubted it?”
“No. But our Alpha has managed two successful metamorphoses in the past three years. That has got to smart something awful for the vampires.”
“You mean, I have stumbled into some kind of eternal tiddlywinks match? Who can make the most immortals? What are you people, schoolroom children?”
Major Channing tilted his hands, palms up, in supplication.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” said Alexia, and then hushed, for the countess was biting down at last.
It was a good deal more elegant than with the werewolves at first. Countess Nadasdy sank her feeder fangs deep into the flesh of the girl’s neck and then kept going until she was far enough in for the maker fangs to sink in as well. She cradled both arms about the woman and leaned back so that she was held up to her mouth like a tea sandwich. The girl’s slack white face tilted toward the small audience. Countess Nadasdy closed her eyes, assuming an expression of ecstatic bliss. She moved not one muscle, except that Alexia could see a strange up and down fluttering in her neck, like a cow regurgitating its cud, only faster, smaller, and in both directions.
Asphodel remained limp in her mistress’s arms for a long while, until her whole body jerked—once. Alexia jumped in reaction, as did Major Channing. Madame Lefoux gave them both a quelling look.
Asphodel’s eyes popped open, wide, startled, looking directly at the observers. Then she began to scream. It was a deep, drawn-out cry of agony. Her pupils dilated, darkening and changing color, extending outward until her entire eyeball was a solid deep red.
The girl’s eyes began to bleed. Drops of blood leaked out, running down the sides of her face and dripping off her nose. Her screams became gargles as blood began to pour out of her mouth, muffling the cries.
Dr. Caedes said, “Enough, My Queen. It isn’t taking. There will be no making this one over.”
The hive queen only continued to suck, her expression beatific. Her arms were beginning to lose their hold, however, and she was sagging over the girl.
Dr. Caedes stepped forward and ripped Asphodel off of his queen’s fangs. Under normal circumstances, Alexia suspected he would not have been able to do so. All vampires were strong, but queens were reputed to be the strongest of them all. However, the countess’s beautiful eyes, when they finally opened, were sunken with exhaustion.
Dr. Caedes yanked the maid from the countess’s grasp and threw her to the floor like a used dishrag. The girl
