Blood Rider

-I don’t like it.-

Lee looked down the bridge way. Then over the edge. Then back again. She could feel the current of water. It was like feeling a ripple in an aura tugging her to the side and away from herself. It was one of the last standing bridge in the area. The Changed colony wouldn’t permit another in their territory. On their side, they were surrounded by river valley parkland, called Walterdale Park, and held by the Dale pack. The bridge was called Walterdale Hill Bridge and led straight into the colonized city of the Changed.

Hell, Charlie. I’m not arguing.

“I would sure like to know what thing vampires have with running water,” Tia said dryly. “Then I could understand what we are standing on this side instead of the other.”

“It has something to do with how they are transfixed with patterns. Running water pulls their mind with it,” Richard said.

“Interesting, but no,” Lee said. “You think cause you work for the Council you know anything about vampires? All their speculation and tests.”

“Still pissy I see.”

She thinned her lips. Her aura flexed, following her thoughts and the desire to wrap her aura around him and just squeeze. “It’s like a threshold. That’s what it feels like. Or like walking through the City shields. Except there is a physical direction and pull to it. Like I’m physically standing here but being pulled down river. Unlike the mythos though, I can and will get to the other side. Although I’m told, it is far more difficult for fledglings.”

“Today?” Tia asked, with laughter in her eyes.

Lee took a step forward and hesitated as she felt the drag beneath her feet. She steadily moved forward, breathing deeply to calm the vertigo and shifting sensation. This time she would not vomit.

As she moved she was aware of Charlie’s retreat, thinking perhaps it was because of the disconnection crossing water caused. Perhaps it was that the Nevernever didn’t mesh well with physical reality around flowing water barriers. It was a very witchy thought to have. Yet, in a way, it made sense. Justina said the threshold phenomena was because humans staked territory as to ground their homes in their reality, buffering it from the Nevernever and thus dulling vampire powers. Whatever the hell that meant it clearly meant when a human resided in a house long enough for it to become a home to them a vampire would be weakened by the threshold phenomena unless ‘welcomed’ in.

When her feet touched the other side, it was like walking off a boat. Like solid ground. She resisted the urge to fall to her knees and kiss the cobblestone road. Instead, she focused on their escort, sent by Drake to meet them. She blinked slowly at the woman at the fore of the armed escort of fifteen men. She was maybe in her mid-thirties, with a voluptuous figure, even padded as it was by her extra clothing and fur-lined cloak. Not tall or pretty or unusual, except for a skin tone that looked surprisingly blue. Even the whites of the eyes.

Lee was familiar with many of the Changed in the City, certainly to know that some mutations were fundamentally useless and others so weak that it would only be counted as an advantage compared to their own race. So blue-grey skin could be just such an unusual marking.

Aware that she was staring she shifted her gaze to the others, immediately marking one telepath and a firestarter. Both usual precautions when a vampire crossed. Richard saved her from saying anything by stepping forward and shaking the blue-skinned woman’s gloved hand.

“Laura?”

The woman bowed her head.

“I’m Richard Strone. I don’t believe we have met.”

“We have in passing,” she said with a polite smile and brief head nod. One thing that could be said about the Northern Quarter was they bred politeness from the poorest street urchin to the highest lord. It was the tendency to insist on basic education.

Richard arched one brow. Lee suspected even in passing it would be easy to remember such a woman.

Laura smirked and gestured to her face broadly in a circular motion. “This spectacular colouring is from her,” she said looking at Lee.

“Me?” Lee asked. “What, like a vampire alarm?”

“In a way. I’m a Mimic.”

“And what are you mimicking… exactly?” Lee asked slowly.

-Someone being choked?-

Lee muffled a laugh.

“A Mimic sub-group. Most Mimics are known to manifest similar or opposite mental or physical attributes of people in close proximity to them.”

“So far I’m following you.” A strongly gifted mimic could impersonate any race, which Lee has learned when she met one mimicking a vampire with disturbing accuracy.

“My body chemistry alters in response to those around me, in a defensive manner. It is one of those peculiar alterations that doesn’t precisely fit into any area. Well valued for its uniqueness.”

Lee was beginning to understand. There were some of the Changed that had developed certain traits to help them survive. Some were immune to certain poisons, to vampire manipulations and saliva. Most were born so and certainly didn’t change colour. “And so how does your chemistry change?”

“When I’m around a shape-shifter I’m flushed with toxins that cause them to lose their shape,” she said, glancing at Tia. “When around a vampire…”

“Silver,” Lee said with a hiss and an involuntary step back.

“Exactly. Not bite worthy.”

Lee grimaced. With enough silver in her to cause her colouring to change so dramatically a bite would be deadly. Even her touch would be toxic. She breathed out slowly. “That’s a damn fine defence mechanism.”

Laura gave a half-smile and shrug. “Usually not one people are aware of. It requires a little discussion when I’m exposed to the presence of a vampire.”

“You work for Drake then?” Tia asked. Lee could tell by her posture, more so the flex in her aura, that Tia was suspicious.

-Hell, Sunshine, I’m suspicious. You add a telepath, a fire starter and a walking poison maker and you get someone expecting something. Which means we should suspect something, you know what I mean?-

Yeah, I know it. But this is just a little investigative delving. We offer no threat, we should be fine, no matter what they fear or think.

“Hardly. I’m her majesty’s service. My duty is to keep this Council vampire in line.”

“That was rather uncalled for,” Lee said. “If I get snacky I will not feed on your people, as that it was Richard is for. He‘s got yummy wizard blood.”

Richard scowled. He didn’t like admitting to his guilty pleasure. “I’m an authorized donor for Lee.”

Laura nodded her expression astonishingly polite. “That is good, although I’m authorized to arrange a donor for your stay. Her Majesty and Lord Ross wish your stay to be comfortable.”

“Mighty considerate,” Lee said. Although she doubted she would ever take an offer of a donor from someone she didn’t trust again.

-With the Clans, we can feed as we please. We can hunt again freely.-

Singing the Clan’s praises now, are we? Not that I disagree on that point.

-Ha! We’re making their telepath squint.-

Lee stared the man down. He was indeed scowling fiercely like he was going to pop a vein trying to glean her thoughts.

As if he could read us anyway. It is this static thing we have going on that is confusing the poor human.

“We have a carriage waiting,” Laura said, gesturing to the road behind them.

Lee raised a brow at the large carriage and four horses to pull it. The one reason vampires had no trouble with the Changed was that they had adapted and so they created a city from the rubble, rode horses and drove carriages like the old days. What was ancient history to Lee were fond memories to some. What Lee liked was their adaptability. Smoothly taking what could be salvaged from their ancestors’ and making everything else suit their new world and needs. A lesson their southern counterparts could learn.

-What comes and ends, will come again. The endless return of the same.-

Yeah, and this stage will not last. Humans will be crawling all over the place before we know it. Like rats.

-So? That is fine by me. We are higher up the food chain.-

Lee smirked and followed the woman.

Tia made her excuses, having no intention of staying with Drake, but investigating. Laura likely didn’t believe her story of going on a binger down the lane, but it was a big attraction on the Northside.

Lee rode with Laura in the carriage, as was proper for women in these parts. In Town women were treated like trash, on the Northside Quarter, women were treated like treasures. Valued for marriages of convenience and thus their virtue and their father’s status and money. Yet their authority wasn’t completely subsumed, they had rights and privileges. They also had a certain amount of pride in continuing bloodlines and raising families. Laura likely had some title and obviously served a purpose to the queen. This gave her authority and autonomy, but even she was treated as any woman in some respects.

Lee spent most of the time looking out the window. At the dramatic changes, they had made to the city. It had been demolished and rebuilt to be functional to their means now and not merely holding onto a past way of life. Looking at the stone buildings with carved doorways, windows and even the little cherubs and gargoyles decorating the structures she knew someone like Lucien would feel at home here. It looked like a true community, with local pubs, small stone homes with tiled roofs, narrow streets with lantern posts. They had no depended on anyone for anything. They designed their own windmills. Basic electricity. Old ways mixed with new ways. Creating small, functional and sustainable societies.

Lee knew the whole Northside didn’t look so, but their queen was slowly making her mark on it. Putting care and attention into the layout and design. Remaking town by town with her designs. And it was working.

She flicked her eyes to Laura. She was uncomfortable with the woman. The smell of silver on her.

“You are wondering perhaps why I’m with your escort when I work for the queen?”

“Not really.”

“It’s simple really. Drake Ross is a powerful wizard in the queen’s service. He’s an asset that needs to be protected. He has done a great deal for us. Including preventing our young wizards from leaving us for your United Council. He has helped start a university for them, encouraging training outside of all influences.”

“Yeah. I imagine he’s an asset.”

“What I cannot imagine is why you wish to visit him or why he would have accepted.”

Lee smiled tightly. “Me and him go way back. Back to your grandpappy's day.”

“When he worked for United?”

“Yeah, back in those days. He was my assigned Handler.”

“It’s unnatural.”

“What? To have a human instruct a vampire?”

“In a way. It is unnatural of United to take vampires away from their kind, isolate them and then instruct them on how they should be.”

“It is.”

“You agree?”

“You were expecting me to spout out Council dogma to you? I couldn’t care less. I am what I am. You want to know what I want with Drake? I want him to mask me from my Handler, so I can finish what I need to do without his interference. A sad state of affairs seeking aid from one wizard to inhibit the influence of another. Almost beneath my pride.”

“Ah, I see. Yet there are many, especially this side of the border, who could do just that.”

“Yeah, well, maybe. If I had a whack load of money. But him and I need to have a chat anyway. Been a while and all that. Besides I would rather go to someone I know.”

“I see.”

Lee doubted that. “You say Drake is a valued member of the queen’s court? Why exactly is that? Statistically your population has more wizard talent than anywhere else. This settlement in particular has the greatest potential compared to the rest of the region.”

“Lord Ross is exceptionally talented. Perhaps not with ley line magic, but with application of magic. He thinks not only along the lines of his own abilities, but how to mesh them to other wizards’ methods.”

Lee pondered that for a moment. Any talent Drake had was geared to a goal. An obsessively sought out goal. Certainly though the man had a passion for the workings of magic. She couldn’t deny he was an intelligent man. One so intelligent he sometimes forgot about things like morality and drawing the line from ability to do and ‘should’ do. “And your queen sees a benefit to his skills.”

Laura narrowed her eyes, but then inclined her head slightly.

Lee let silence fall, there was little she wanted to discuss with someone serving in the court of the northern queen; in a monarchy that was more youthful than she was. How absurd it was to think that. Already the Chosen were set in their ways, establishing a culture and way of life. Yet Lee saw the whole development and to her it seemed so flimsy and transitory.

She had great respect for their queen though. How she rose to power and kept it was alone pretty amazing in itself and Lee had been old enough to appreciate this fact. Like Lee had played nice with the Council when she was younger, so had Queen Linora. While at the same time creating a vast network of spies, consolidating power and making powerful alliances, until she was ready to pull away from their control. She had also made herself more than human in the eyes of her people, but such an image would fail eventually as her beauty faded. Still, Lee wanted that; to gain control of her destiny and hold it.