The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires

Theo's eyes were shaded by the brim of his hat, but I could see the light color of his irises even before I got up close to him.

Not a good sign.

'I don't suppose you'd care to explain just why you felt it necessary to kidnap someone when we're attempting to clear your name of a murder charge?' Theo asked.

'I told her it wasn't a good idea,' Sarah piped in. 'But you know how Portia is—once she has a goal in mind, she moves heaven and earth to achieve it. It must be all that science stuff—she's so linear in the way she thinks.'

'She can be,' Theo said, his gaze darkening into something expressing less displeasure and more thoughtfulness. 'Which leads me to believe that I might owe her an apology after all. It's been my experience that Portia doesn't look before leaping, so to speak.'

'Thank you, I will graciously accept your apology. Is there a mare or two around we can speak with? I think they're going to find Carol very interesting.'

Theo gave the bound woman a long look. Who is this?

Milo's wife, Carol Lee.

Theo waited for more. I smiled into his head. Don't you recognize her? She's an old friend of yours.

His eyes narrowed as he looked her over more closely. She jerked convulsively, trying to break my hold on her bound arms, her eyes all but spitting hatred at us.

I knew the instant Theo recognized her. His eyes widened as he took a step toward her.

'I think we should let that wait for the mare,' I told him. 'Are they in the library, do you know?'

'I have no idea where they are, but we will find out,' he said, stepping past us, careful not to leave the shade of the building as he hailed a young girl passing on a brightly colored bike. He had a few minutes' discussion with her, then gestured to us to follow him. 'The messenger says that two of the mare are in the sanctuary.'

Carol flung herself on the ground, shrieking behind her gag. Theo simply hoisted her onto his shoulders and carried her to the area of the Court containing the offices and grand apartments.

'We have an audience,' Sarah said as we marched along. I glanced back to where she was looking. Just about everyone who had been in the town square was following behind us, with others streaming in to swell their ranks as we proceeded to the other section of the city.

This should prove to be interesting, Theo said as we waited for the same dapifer who had taken care of us a few days before to determine if the mare would see us. Added to what I found out while you were so industriously occupied, I believe we may have a solution.

Oh, I can't believe I didn't ask you about that! Did you talk to Terrin? What did you find out?

'Their graces the mare Irina and mare Disin have granted you an audience,' the dapifer said, his lips moving soundlessly as he eyeballed the gathered crowd behind us. 'I believe the ballroom will be best. This way, please.'

What did Terrin tell you?

Have you ever heard of renascence?

Renaissance? Sure.

No, renascence. He spelled it for me. The concept is similar to renaissance in that both essentially mean rebirth, but in this instance its usage applies solely to the Court of Divine Blood.

In what way? I asked as we were led to an entirely different area of the keep from where we'd been before.

It is the method by which the entire Court hierarchy is remade. The sovereign allows one renascence per millennium.

What happens to the people who are remade? I asked, my skin crawling as thoughts of concentration camps and ethnic purging danced through my head.

They take new positions under the reformed hierarchy. It is not a mass extermination, sweetling…although the results can be nearly as devastating.

'Do we get to see the sovereign?' Sarah asked in an awe-hushed voice, drawing my attention from the dark path my thoughts had taken.

I looked around us as we made our way into the depths of the castle, noticing the surroundings with growing amazement. The word 'grand' was an understatement when applied to the reception rooms. Rich ebony-edged lapis lazuli furniture jostled for room with crimson and gold chairs, settees, and opulent drapery. The walls looked like something out of an art museum, with objects adorning almost every free space: everything from chunks of rocky walls bearing faded cave paintings, to wooden triptychs depicting the medieval idea of religion scenes, to icons, both old and new.

The dapifer leading the way stopped before a pair of rococo double doors. He turned back to us, giving Sarah a frown. 'The sovereign is never seen.'

'What do you mean, never seen?' Sarah looked confused. 'Not seen without an appointment?'

'No, I mean that the sovereign is never seen. That is, the sovereign does not appear in the Court of Divine Blood. Their graces are waiting for you,' he continued, giving Theo and me a nod.

'Wait a second,' I said, stopping him as he was about to open the door. 'Are you saying that the person running the Court doesn't bother to put in an appearance once in a while?'

The dapifer's face reflected mild annoyance. 'The sovereign does not choose to make its physical form known.'

'How incredibly convenient,' I said, shaking my head. 'Why?'

'Why?' The dapifer's eyebrows went up. 'Why what?'

'Why does the sovereign choose to not make its appearance known in the Court, its own home, if I understand the premise correctly. Is it afraid of something?'

The murmur of conversation that had accompanied the crowd following us hushed into a pregnant silence.

Portia, you are treading on very thin ice, Theo warned as the dapifer's eyebrows rose in startled surprise at my question. I urge you to discontinue this line of conversation. It can do no good to you, nor does it have any bearing on our situation.

No, but surely I can't be the only one here to find it more than a little suspicious that the almighty sovereign, the supreme being of everyone here, doesn't bother to pop in now and again and see how things are going.

I turned to the people filling the hallway as far back as the eye could see. 'Doesn't anyone here wonder about the fact that sovereign has never been seen? Doesn't anyone question that policy?'

Sweetling, you must stop before this goes further.

So free thought isn't allowed here? Is no one allowed to question the existence of a supreme being that no one has ever seen?

The existence of the sovereign is not in doubt by any members of the Court, he answered, and I could feel how carefully he picked his words.

'Is there any empirical proof that the sovereign is even here now?' I asked, amazed that something so basic had escaped everyone. 'Does no one even wonder if the whole idea of a sovereign is…untrue?'

'No,' the dapifer said, his face once again bland and emotionless. 'It is a matter of faith.'

'Faith? Because you believe the sovereign exists, it follows that such a being must be?' I shook my head again.

Theo turned so Carol's foot whapped me on the arm. Sweetling, cease. We have more important things to take care of, and you arguing the logic of faith will not help our case.

He was right. I had met fanatics before—I'd lived with them for eighteen years—and I knew well that such people were not often open to logic and reason. This would be a battle for another time.

Sarah was watching me closely, concern in her eyes. I gave her a weakly reassuring smile and waved a hand at the dapifer. 'Sorry to hold you up. We're ready if the mare are.'

The dapifer opened both doors with a grand gesture, sweeping in to make a bow to the dais at the far end of