CHAPTER FOUR - FLY

Vampire Lord Ryder of the Weryn Bloodline and second-in-command of House Legion flew over the Vampire capitol city of Nightvallen in the Ever Dark. The dual moons--one red and one blue--reflected off the feathers of his many glossy, black wings. 

He had used the Weryn gift and shifted into a group of ravens to scout the city. He had done this many times over the months he had resided here, but the city was filled with mysteries and seemed to change when one wasn’t looking. Ryder though was intent on knowing it like the back of his hand. Knowing the terrain was the best way to ensure a defensible position. Not that he or the Weryn feared any other Bloodline, but so many Vampires had not been in one space together since before the War.  

And he was careful. 

And there was tension.

He flew low along one of the streets that was being prepared for the students. Book shops, coffee shops, restaurants--casual to fine dining--and clothing stores, among others, were all being set up, staffed by Acolytes or even Vampires. The students would only be allowed to leave the Ever Dark and return to Earth through the gates if they were not chosen to be turned. Otherwise, they would spend the entire year in the Vampire World and, if they were very lucky, become a Vampire at the end.

Not that any would be Weryn Vampires out of this class or any other. His Master--Lawson Hughes, leader of House Legion and de facto head of the Weryn Bloodline--had made that clear. 

This idea that Vampires must vie with the other Bloodlines for fledglings from a handful of humans chosen by other Bloodlines had to be crushed.  Even if it was King Daemon’s idea. The Weryn had tradition and history.  That could not simply be ignored and overridden by an Immortal who had gone to sleep before any of them had been born for the first time.

As Ryder flew over the street, workers unloading books, meat or clothes all glanced up at the flock and many narrowed their eyes. A group of ravens was called an “unkindness”, a “treachery” or a “conspiracy” because of the ominous feelings that the birds often engendered in the onlooker. But Ryder simply found them beautiful. And if others found them menacing… well, all the better.  

It was just one of the species that he could shift into. Most Weryn could only shift into one type of animal, but Ryder found that new animals opened up to him all the time. In fact, he had just mastered becoming a bear, but the normal joy that had brought him had not been there. 

Just a few hours earlier, he had shown his new animal form to Lawson, his Master having come to Nightvallen for the opening ceremonies of the academy.  Ryder’s heart had been beating fiercely with pride as he let out a roar in his bear form. 

He had shifted effortlessly into a massive brown bear with sharp teeth and a heavy, powerful body covered in thick fur. He rose up on his hind legs and extended his front ones towards the moons, his claws seemingly trying to rake them and leave his mark.  

There were shouts, whistles and claps at his new form from the other members of their House.  It was always a celebration when a Weryn discovered their animal form. Of course, normally, it was newly made fledglings--not Vampires over 450 years old--that were showing off their animalistic prowess. But Ryder was the exception to this as he was in many things.

Lawson had called all of House Legion to join him in one of the courtyards of the mansion assigned to all Weryn Vampires.   There was one palace for every Bloodline forming a semi-circle with King Daemon’s palace at the center. But no Weryn were able to enter the Weryn Palace though, because the Immortal whose Bloodline sired them all had not yet returned to life… or perhaps did not remember themselves yet. 

Lawson’s mood had grown darker and darker as he’d watched other Bloodlines coming in and out of their magnificent palaces while the Weryn were excluded from theirs. Not that their accommodations were poor in any way. They were lavish. 

The mansion that King Daemon had given them was as large as a whole city block. He had also made sure it was to their taste.  There were plenty of courtyards open to the sky with trees and gardens filling them. They were piled into one of those now and it suited Ryder admirably. He thought the others would love it too, if only Lawson would allow himself to realize that it wasn’t a snub.  But Lawson had been brooding and ill-tempered since the Vampire King had returned.

The courtyard was filled with fragrant trees and studded with plenty of places for people to sit and congregate as the Weryn liked to do. Unlike the Kaly Bloodline, for example, which consisted of solitary, sociopathic Vampires who avoided others of their own kind, including their own Masters and Houses, the Weryn were pack-like, enjoying being together more than anything. 

His Master--a big man with dark blonde hair and a broad face that was quick to smile and laugh or cloud with anger--was sprawled out on a huge pillow on a grassy area. There was a glass of blood mixed with wine in one of his hands while the other was tangled in the locks of his current paramore, another Weryn Vampire named Natasha Lyon, who, like her name, could shift into the big cat. Unlike Lawson’s usual lovers, Ryder liked Natasha as she was the leader of her own House and didn’t allow Lawson to push her around. Perhaps it was because they were both lion shifters and no lioness would take guff.

Natasha smiled and clapped loudly, too, for him like a proud Mistress. At the same time that Ryder did though, she caught sight of the fact that Lawson was not celebrating Ryder’s newest animal form. She reached up to take Lawson’s hand from her hair and urged him to clap like everyone else. Lawson only did so half-heartedly and Ryder felt a stab of disappointment and something else. 

Tension.

As Ryder went back down onto all fours, he shifted to his human form and stood, proud and naked before his House. His best friend and Blood Brother Demos stepped up beside him and handed him a robe to put on. 

“What number is that now?” Demos asked, his handsome ebony face splitting into a grin. “Eleven--”

“Twelve,” Ryder corrected. “Twelve different forms I can take on.”

“I see you already added the bear to your menagerie.” Demos chuckled as he tilted his head towards the two sleeves of tattoos that covered Ryder’s massive, muscled arms. 

The tattoos were all done in blacks. There was the face of a wolf on his right, outer forearm with a hissing cat on the inside. An eagle graced the back of his elbow rising up towards his shoulder where a raven perched. A stag raced towards his throat while a lion’s head waited for it on the other shoulder. A panther curled around the lion on his skin in a way it likely would not have in life. A snake wrapped around his left bicep while a gazelle appeared to run from it. An exotic bird swooped past the gazelle as it was tracked by a sly fox on his left forearm. The bear was proudly displayed on his right bicep.

“You’re out of room on your arms for any more!” Demos chuckled again, but goodnaturedly with a shake of his head. 

“I still have plenty of skin to cover,” Ryder grinned and gestured to his naked body before pulling on the robe.

Natasha gestured for him and Demos to approach. Two of the younger Vampires brought them wine and blood as Ryder and Demos lowered themselves gracefully onto the cool grass. While it was always night in the Ever Dark, Ryder noted that dew always appeared about this time. The grass was slightly damp between his bare toes.

“A bear?” Lawson grunted and took a large swallow of wine. “There are no bears in House Legion.”

“Yes, it was a surprise,” Ryder tried to sound easy about it. His heart quickened as he remembered when the form had called to him. He eagerly recounted it to his Master, “I discovered it when I was in the woods just outside the city. I was--”

“You could not be satisfied with being a lion?” Lawson interrupted him. “Or a wolf? Or a raven? Or an eagle? No, you also had to be a bear.”

Though Vampires could not get drunk on normal wine, Lawson’s voice sounded thick. It was the sound of drunken belligerence. Ryder knew it well from his biological father’s voice. Lawson had never spoken to him in this way.  Well, not often.

“I love my lion form. All my forms. You know that,” Ryder said quietly.

The lion form had been his first form. Lawson had been so proud that Ryder, too, had been a lion. When Lawson had turned Demos a century later, he had seemed just as proud when Demos had shifted into a black panther and then--to everyone’s shock--Ryder had done the same. Two forms. Both big cats. It had been a coup for Lawson to have a fledgling with two animal forms.

Not anymore, Ryder thought as he drank his wine. It was rich and the blood was heavily spiced, but he barely enjoyed it.

Natasha, who had been watching Lawson with slightly pursed lips, said, “It is a wonder that you can shift into so many different animals, Ryder. It is a great thing.  I am quite jealous though I love being a lioness.”

Lawson grunted and finished his wine before thrusting out his glass for more.  Ryder felt a dull dread in his stomach. His Master had gone to see King Daemon before coming here. Had something untoward happened that had put him in such a terrible mood? What could the Vampire King have said to have turned his Master’s usual love against him? 

Demos’ eyes narrowed, but then he said lightly, “I personally like your little kitty cat form, Ryder.  The one that is small enough to ride on my shoulder or the palm of my hand.”

Ryder snorted. “The Rusty Spotted-Cat is one of the mightest hunters--”

“House cat,” Demos teased.

“No! It is a wild cat--”

“You like to be petted behind the ears when you are in that form!” Demos rocked back and forth in amusement. 

Ryder playfully elbowed his Blood Brother. “Just wait until I sneak into your room and bite your toes off. You will fear my kitty cat form then.”

“Promises! Promises!” Demos laughed.

“You should not show off any more of the forms you can shift into. That is for new fledglings,” Lawson abruptly stated. “People will say that you are unsettled in your skin and will wonder about you.”

Silence fell among the group. It was such a shocking thing for Lawson to say. Ryder swallowed.

“They do not wonder that, Master,” Demos said, his voice dropping slightly. 

Though Lawson had turned them both and they owed him their Second Lives, Demos had never felt the urge to please Lawson as many fledglings do their Masters.  It wasn’t that their relationship was rocky, but Ryder and Demos had developed a much stronger bond than Demos and Lawson had. Whenever Lawson and Ryder fought--rarely, but it did happen--Demos always took Ryder’s side, even if Ryder was in the wrong. Ryder reached out and touched his Blood Brother’s leg. He didn’t want a fight over this. He wasn’t even sure what this was.

“What do they wonder, Demos?” Lawson asked as he swallowed half a cup of wine. Some of it trickled down his chin and he wiped it away with a heavy hand.

“Let’s have some more wine. There is a long night ahead of us,” Natasha suggested  even though almost everyone’s cup was full and Lawson clearly did not need anymore. 

“I am curious what my youngest fledgling has to say,” Lawson said, staying Natasha’s hand from gesturing for the younger Vampires to serve them.

“No one is saying anything,” Ryder stated firmly and gave Demos a look that said, “Enough.” 

“Everyone knows about Lord Ravenscroft, or should I say Eyros,” Demos ignored him. “And Lord Losus, or should I say Kaly.”

“Lord Balthazar Ravenscroft. Exile. Master-killer. And now… recognized as the Immortal Eyros and tasked with running the academy with Lord Caemorn Losus. Former Precept of the Order. Master-killer.  And now… recognized as the Immortal Kaly,” Lawson listed off the two Immortals that were running the school. “Are you saying that Ryder bears some resemblance to them?”

Master-killer… what’s going on here?

“Walk with me, Master,” Ryder said suddenly as he rose to his feet in an abrupt movement.

Lawson focused on him. “Are you asking me or telling--”

“Walk with me, Master. Please,” Ryder stated.

Demos was glaring daggers at their Master still. Lawson appeared belligerent, but he got to his feet slowly. Ryder towered over him by six inches and was broader by several as well. Ryder started walking down one of the white stone paths that meandered through the courtyard. He did not stop until they reached a water feature. It was a nymph-like creature blowing a horn from which water emerged. The nymph appeared to have fangs.

“Why did you task me to represent the Weryn Bloodline at the academy?” Ryder asked.

His Master was silent. There was shock on his features, but then he hardened them into that belligerent again. “You are my second--”

“Because you do not seem pleased with me these days,” Ryder continued as if his Master had not spoken.  “Why did you choose me then if you have no faith in me? If you would suggest…”

Master-killer…

He couldn’t even say the words. It was insane! 

Lawson was quiet again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lawson wince. His Master felt badly about the tension between them. That had Ryder letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“It is not you that is displeasing me,” Lawson finally admitted as he reached down and whipped a stray stone into the fountain. “Demos is being disrespectful--

“He’s only doing that because he feels you’re being unfair to me,” Ryder interrupted. “You know that he is a born protector. He would stand up to anyone.”

“Am I being unfair?” 

“You used to be… to be proud of what I can do. Now… now you view it as if it is a failing,” Ryder pointed out. “You and I have always been honest with one another. Now everything you say is veiled. What is going on? What is the source of this--this tension between us?”

Again, he saw the jaw muscle flex in Lawson’s face. Then all of the tension just bled out of him.  “Some are saying about you what they said about Balthazar and Caemorn.”

Ryder let out a sharp laugh. “That I’m Weryn reborn?”

His Master nodded. And, for a moment, Ryder felt like he did when he was about to step off a cliff and become a creature of the sky. There was always a moment when he wondered if he would shift or if he would plummet to earth. His stomach quivered with anticipation and nausea.  He thrust the feeling away and did not examine it further. 

“Well, they are wrong!” Ryder shook his head.

Lawson was quiet for long moments. “I did not select you to represent the Weryn at the academy.”

Ryder’s forehead furrowed and a frown graced his lips. “What are you talking about? You announced it to everyone after--”

“King Daemon told me you would be the representative,” Lawson interrupted this time. 

Ryder stared at him silently. He couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. And his mind refused to draw any conclusions from it. He had a single glance at King Daemon since he’d arrived here. It was at a party to celebrate the Blood Pact with humanity and the upcoming opening of the school.

“Why would he ask for me? We don’t know one another. I am your second and--”

“Perhaps because he wishes me replaced,” Lawson answered. “You know our ways, Ryder, as, evidently, does he.  If you are--are Weryn then you will wish to take your place as our leader.”

And if Ryder did that, he would have to make Lawson bow to him and no Master ever bowed to a Childe in the Weryn. So that left open only a bloody battle where one of them would be given their Second Death.

A cold chill wound its way through Ryder. He grasped Lawson’s right arm to get his Master’s full attention. 

“I am not Weryn reborn!” The madness of even saying this had Ryder’s jaw gritting. He shook his head violently as if to clear the idea out of it. “But even if I was, you are the only real father I have ever had. I love you. I love House Legion. I have no desire to change anything. To take over anything.” 

“King Daemon thinks otherwise,” Lawson said, his silver eyes scanning Ryder’s face. 

“He is wrong. He is trying to interfere in our business!” Ryder scowled. “He thinks that I will go along with his plan to find our fledglings at the school. I will not.  We should show him that by having you take my place at the school and--”

“No,” Lawson stated. His big shoulders curved forward in relief and sadness. He cupped Ryder’s face, running his thumb along Ryder’s bearded jaw. “It is a command that you do this from our king.”

“I am like Demos in this! I will not give respect until we are given respect. And that means that Daemon must recognize you as our leader and--”

“I see that I was being foolish and that you… you are on my side.” Lawson smiled at him broadly. “I feared that this would cause a breach between us. It is a heady thing for people to wonder if you are an Immortal, and to have a king interested in you.”

“I don’t care what people believe and I have no thoughts about King Daemon in particular,” Ryder told him.

“Well then, we should celebrate your new form. A bear! You were big!” Lawson laughed as he slapped Ryder’s back and led him back towards the party. 

But Ryder hadn’t stayed long. He’d needed to clear his head. The revelations Lawson had told him were unnerving. The fact that his Master had been so quick to distrust him had darkness forming a knot in his stomach. That was not what Lawson had taught Ryder. Weryn were pack. Weryn were loyal. Weryn were family. 

What is King Daemon trying to do? Ryder thought, more comfortable blaming the Vampire King than Lawson. 

He wheeled towards the main square where gates had been anchored to bring in all of the students. He and Demos had been assigned to greet Gregory Starn. The man was a psychologist of some sort. He saw Demos’ tall, muscular form standing in the square by a glowing gate.  He was dressed in a long, black leather coat, matching pants and white feathers in his long dreads. He looked up before Ryder landed. 

Once Ryder had shifted, he handed him clothes. “I am not your valet, Ryder.”

“I’m sorry, brother,” Ryder answered a little sheepishly as he took the clothes from Demos.  “Nice choices though.”

Demos had chosen his favorite faded, ripped jeans, suede knee-high boots with buckles, and leather jacket with black fur around the collar. He pulled everything on and stamped his feet into the boots.

“Lawson apologized to me,” Demos stated suddenly.

Ryder lifted his head to look at his Blood Brother. “Did he? Good.”

“He didn’t explain to me why he was acting like a lion with a poisoned belly towards you though,” Demos stated.

Ryder grimaced. “King Daemon is the reason.”

And he told Demos everything. Demos grunted as he finished and shook his head.

“Bullshit,” Demos uttered in his deep baritone.

“What? No. He feared my head would be turned--”

“By being who you are?” Demos stared at him. 

“I’m not Weryn,” Ryder stated flatly.

Demos’ eyebrows rose. “Then let me put it this way: if you are Weryn then it is Lawson who should step aside.  There should be no fight for power. He should cede to you. And as an Immortal there can be no shame in that for him.”

“He thinks differently--”

“No, he doesn’t. What he thinks is that by telling you that you have to fight him, kill him, that you won’t do it,” Demos said with a violent shake of his head. “He knows that you value loyalty more than anything. More than even… being who you truly are.”

Ryder felt that sense of jumping off a cliff. His chest was suddenly tight. He turned towards the gate and said, “We need to get the human. Let’s go.”

“You’re going to have to deal with whatever this is, Ryder. Whatever is holding you back,” Demos muttered.

But Ryder was already stepping through the gate so he didn’t hear what else his Blood Brother had to say. There was that sickening flying sensation as he was pulled through the gate to Earth. He jerked forward on his feet as if he had abruptly stopped moving. Demos appeared behind him. They were in an abandoned church.

The doors to the church were thrust open and a young man shouldered his way in. When he saw Ryder and Demos standing there in black leather, he froze then his eyes widened. 

He was breathing hard as if he had been running full out. The scent of blood was heavy upon him though it was not his. The young man reached behind his back. Both Ryder and Demos stilled, but then the young man was thrusting out a bloody envelope towards them. It was the envelope that contained the location to this church. A location for the student Gregory Starn to come to meet them. 

“You are not Gregory Starn,” Ryder stated, not taking the envelope.

“No, he’s dead,” the young man told him, “and his killers are after me.”