Sweep of the Blade

As soon as they exited the shuttle, a young vampire knight with dark auburn hair whose name was Knight Ruin, attached himself to Arland and began rattling things off from his tablet. Arland's face took on the stony expression of a man who was either about to charge the enemy line for the fifth time in a single day, or do his taxes. He marched along the parapet toward the heavy door, with Ruin at his side. Maud took Helen's hand and followed him, and the four other retainers closed in, one next to her and three behind. She could practically feel their stares stabbing her back.

Go ahead. Get an eyeful.

The afternoon sun warmed Maud's skin. She guessed the temperature was somewhere in the mid-eighties, and the breeze was downright pleasant. She had a childish urge to climb onto one of the textured protrusions of the parapets, strip off her armor, and sunbathe for a couple of hours.

Ruin kept spitting out questions, periodically pausing for Arland to bark an answer.

"Third Regiment requests permission to enter negotiations with the architectural guilds to update their Chapel Hall."

"Granted."

"Second and third companies of Fourth Regiment request permission to settle an inter-unit dispute via champion combat."

"Denied. We don't parade our rivalries in front of wedding guests from other Houses. I want the full write-up of this dispute on my tablet within the hour."

"Knight Derit requests transfer out of Second Regiment." "On what grounds?"

"Irreconcilable differences with his commanding knight."

"Inform Knight Derit that I declined his request and that he has misconstrued the nature of his relationship with Commander Karat. They aren't married. It's not a partnership of equals. Commander Karat says, 'Do this,' and Knight Derit does it, because that's what knights do. It's not a complicated arrangement, and if he has further difficulty understanding it, he needs to hang up his blood mace and look for a different profession more in line with his delicate nature. Perhaps flower arrangement would suit."

Maud hid a smile.

The carved doors swung open at their approach. They walked through them and into the shadowy hall. The air here was cooler. Tall windows spilled narrow blades of light into the hall, drawing golden rectangles on the stone floor. Shadow, light, shadow, light...It reminded her of the north wing of Castle Ervan. The last few weeks before their exile, she'd walked that hall expecting a dagger in her back at any moment. The male retainer next to her gave her a startled look.

Maud realized she'd switched her gait. She was gliding now, silent like a wraith, each step light and smooth. Next to her Helen desperately tried to imitate her, but her legs were too short, and she ended up gliding two steps and skipping forward on the third.

The hall ended, splitting into a Y-intersection of two hallways.

Arland raised his hand. "Enough."

The auburn-haired knight clamped his mouth shut, biting a word in half.

"Dismissed."

The four retainers and Ruin did a 180 and hurried back the way they came.

Arland invited her to proceed down the right hallway with a wave of his hand. "My lady."

"My lord."

She turned right, and they walked side by side to a door at the end of the hallway. It slid aside at their approach.

"Your quarters," Arland said.

Maud glanced inside and froze. A spacious bedroom suite stretched before her. A big arched window in the opposite wall betrayed the true thickness of the walls, a full three feet of solid stone. Delicate glass ornaments, so fragile they looked like they would shatter at the first sign of a breeze, hung from the walls, glowing with gentle light.

On the far left, an enormous bed waited, big enough to lay four vampire adults comfortably, and equipped with an artfully arranged pile of pillows and a soft red comforter. Its legs were carved into tree roots, its headboard was a tree trunk, and the tree's carved branches provided the canopy. A rug spanned the length of the floor, painstakingly depicting an image of a female vampire knight fighting a murr, a massive crocodile-like reptile, in a dozen shades of red, burgundy, and white. Beyond the bed, a door stood wide open, showing her a glimpse of the bathroom with a colossal stone tub. Next to it another door, heavy and plain, waited for someone to open it.

On her right, a fire was laid out but not lit in a fireplace that was tall enough for her to walk into it. A collection of chairs was arranged before it, around a low table. A large banner of House Krahr stirred in the breeze, dripping from the wall next to the window, so if someone sat in the largest chair, the banner would serve as the backdrop. Maud squinted at the chair. A small crest was carved in its back, two stylized fangs.

It was a beautiful room, elegant in its simplicity, and timeless, every line and every angle a perfect blend of function and aesthetics. She couldn't have made a better room for herself back at Dina's inn, if she tried for a week. "No."

"Are the quarters not to your liking?" Arland asked.

"What are you doing?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"I'm showing you your room."

"This is the room of a Marshal's spouse."

Arland looked into the room, his expression puzzled. "You think so?"

She resisted the urge to punch him. "Yes, I think so. It has the House Krahr banner positioned behind a chair with a Marshal's insignia on it."

Arland blinked and rubbed his chin. "So it does. How peculiar."

"My Lord Marshal."

"My Lady Maud?"

"I'm not your wife. I'm not even your betrothed."

"Where would you like me to put you?"

"Not here."

"I don't know a room suitable to a woman I asked to marry me and who replied with 'maybe.""

"That wasn't what I said."

"You said, 'Arland, I'm sorry, I can't marry you right now. I need time to decide.""

It was an exact quote.

"I assure you my recollection is accurate. Your words are branded in my memory. Did I misinterpret?"

She opened her mouth. He had her there. "No." It was a maybe.

"Aside from my mother's quarters, this is the most secure place in the castle. The door is keyed to your harbinger. By assigning these quarters to you, I send a clear signal to everyone within my House. I think of you as my betrothed and I expect you to be treated accordingly."

"It's not an honor I deserve."

"Last time I checked, I was the Marshal of House Krahr," he said, his voice gentle. "Assigning honors to my guests is my prerogative."

And he just reminded her that she was stomping on the most basic rule of vampire hospitality: one abided by the laws of the host's House. It would be a mortal offense to refuse the rooms given to her by the Marshal. From his point of view, no other quarters could be assigned to her either. If he sent her down to the guest rooms, it would look like a dismissal. Here is the woman who rejected me, I brought her here, and now I don't want anything to do with her...It made him look bad. It made her look bad. There were no winners in that scenario.

"Would you prefer some other woman takes these quarters?"

There was no point in lying. "No."

"Very well, then."

"This will make things harder," she said.

"Are you unfit for the challenge?"

She glared at him.

Arland grinned and handed her a key. It was a real key; heavy, metal, and cold. "That door next to the bathroom opens into a passageway leading to my quarters. There is a second door there. I left it unlocked. There is only one key, my lady, and you have it. If you have any need to see me in private, all you have to do is unlock your door and walk down the passageway." He bowed his head. "My lady."

She pictured herself smacking him on the head with that damn key.

"Thank you, my lord," she said. She'd loaded enough steel into the words that even the densest vampire wouldn't miss it.

"Make yourself comfortable," he said and went back down the hallway.

Helen slipped into the room, dropped her bag, took a running start, and leaped onto the bed. She bounced straight up, waving her tiny arms.

"Wheeee!"

Wheee. That was about right. She'd remembered Dina saying Arland had the subtlety of an enraged rhino. Her sister didn't know him at all. Neither did she. Which was why she told him maybe.

Maud stepped into the room, listened to the barely audible click of the electronic lock, and slid the heavy metal bar in place, barricading herself in the Marshal's quarters.

She wasn't unfit for the challenge. This was going to be one hell of a visit. Either way, it was time to unpack and settle in.

Maud made it four feet from the door before a knock stopped her. Maybe Arland forgot something...She unbarred the door and swung it open. A female vampire knight stood in the hallway. Broad-shouldered, sturdy, with a lustrous mane of chocolate-brown hair, she wore the full syn-armor. Her dark eyes stared at Maud, and she felt herself weighed, measured, and judged in a split second.

"My name is Alvina, Lady Renadra, daughter of Soren," she said. "You may call me Karat. That's my battle name. I'm Arland's cousin. His favorite cousin. And you are the human gold digger who rejected his proposal. I think we should talk."

***

Maud leaned against the doorway and studied her nails. "If I were a gold digger, I would've married him already and come here as his wife. There would be nothing you or your whole House could've done about it."

Lady Karat narrowed her eyes. "You seem so sure that you have my cousin on a leash, ready to do your bidding."

"Nobody in this universe, man or woman, could put Arland on a leash."

"You know what I think?"

"I have no doubt you'll enlighten me."

"I think he wanted to play hero. He found you, an exile living in squalor with your daughter, and he decided to rescue you. You preyed on his noble instincts, manipulated him, and now you're toying with him. It appeals to your pride to have the Marshal of House Krahr pining for you like some lovesick puppy."

And that was exactly the welcome she'd expected. "It's refreshing, Lady Karat."

"What?"

"Your honesty. I'd prepared myself for murmured insults behind my back and ugly glances. I thought perhaps it would take your House a couple of days to build up enough outrage to throw their derision in my face, but you laid it all out in my first hour on the planet. Why, I haven't even had a chance to wash my face after the journey. Truly, you're a credit to your bloodline."

Lady Karat's dark eyes sparked. In that moment, she looked remarkably like her father. "Did you just call me a poor host and insult my family?"

Maud gave her a narrow smile. "Well, clearly."

"And now you call me stupid."

"No. Only slow-witted. Are you going to do something about it, or can I start unpacking?"

Lady Karat stared at her for a long moment and grinned. "My father was right. I do like you."

Apparently, it was a test and she'd passed. Vampires and their games. Nothing was ever simple. Maud sighed and stepped aside. "Come in."

Karat strode into the quarters and saw Helen on the bed. "Cute kid."

Helen bounced off the mattress, flipping in the air, and landed on the pillows. "Are you going to try to kill Mommy?"

"No," Karat told her.

"Good." Helen went back to jumping.

"Does she expect you to be killed by random strangers?" Karat asked.

"That's the way things were on Karhari."

Karat eyed Helen.

Helen gave her a cherubic smile.

"She would attack me if I tried, wouldn't she? She's building up enough bounce to jump across the room."

Maud nodded.

Karat wiggled her fingers at Helen.

"Why do you have so many names?" Helen asked.

"Alvina is the formal given name," Maud explained. "It's used on formal occasions like special dinners or if she gets in trouble with family. Renadra is the title name. It means all of the people and lands she is responsible for and it's used during government functions when people vote on laws. Karat is her knight name, the one she earned in battle and the one she prefers."

Karat wrinkled her nose at Helen. "My friends call me Karat. You can call me Karat, too. For now."

"You can call me Helen," Helen told her.

"Well met, Lady Helen."

It was customary to offer refreshments when someone visited a room. Where would they have put them? Ah. A faint outline in the wall betrayed a niche. She stepped to it, deliberately turning her back to Karat, and ran her fingers along the crack. A square section of the wall slid forward, revealing a shelf supporting a bowl filled with small pieces of jerky twisted into knots and a big bottle of blue wine. Six heavy tulip-shaped glasses cut from sparkling crystal waited next to the wine.

Maud took the wine and two glasses and offered one to Karat. Soren's daughter landed in the nearest oversized chair. Maud twisted the round stopper out of the wine bottle, breaking the seal, poured them both a glass, and sat in another chair.

Karat sipped the wine. "My father asked me to assist you. He's invested in this pairing. I don't know what you said or did, but that crusty old bastard is singing your praises."

"In the words of your cousin, Lord Soren's 'grizzled exterior hides a gentle heart.""

Karat chuckled. "Sure it does. He is suffused with warmth and sunshine."

Maud toyed with the wine in her glass.

"Wondering whether to trust me?" Karat asked.

"Yes."

"I'll make it simple for you: you have no choice. You could go it alone, but it will be much harder. Our House is old and complicated."

"Why are you helping me? After all, I manipulated Arland and preyed on his heroic instincts."

Karat swirled the glittering blue liquid in her glass, making the crystal throw a filigree of highlights onto the table. "Arland appears to lack in subtlety and seems easy to influence. In truth he's anything but."

"He very carefully cultivates that image."

Karat nodded. "You noticed?"

"Yes. He told me he was no poet, but a simple soldier, and then delivered a declaration of love that could've come straight from Of Blood and Honor." In fact, it could've been included in any vampire saga. It was elegant and beautiful, and she'd memorized every word of it.

Karat raised her eyebrows. "You read."

"I do."

"Oh good. To answer your question, better people than you have tried to manipulate my cousin and failed. He has never proposed to anyone before. He had dalliances, but nothing serious. If he asked you to marry him, he must love you. And you must feel something for him, because you came here without the protection that would've been afforded to you had you accepted his proposal. Right now, you're not his bride. You're not betrothed. You're nothing. I can see you're not naïve and you're familiar with our customs. You knew how you would be received, but you came anyway. There is something here that the two of you have to figure out, and you can't do that if you are expelled out of our territory or killed. I want Arland to be happy."

"That's it?"

Karat nodded. "Yes. And if he marries, my father will start nagging him about children instead of reminding me to get married and deliver a host of grandchildren to 'brighten his old age.' A break from his concerned inquiries about my progress in this matter would be most welcome."

"That bad, huh?" Maud asked.

A shadow of defeat passed across Karat's face. "You have no idea. Do we have a deal?"

Maud drank her wine. She could trust Soren's daughter, or she could go it alone. She'd known a number of knights who would've come to her room just like that, with sincere offers of help-and would've proudly stabbed her in the back at the first opportunity. Afterward, they would've boasted about their own cleverness.

Karat didn't seem to be one of them. Maud's instincts told her she could be trusted. Her gut had never failed her before.

Karat sat up straighter. "Good. I'd like to know what we're working with here. What's your status with House Ervan?"

"Yes, Lady Karat. We have a deal."

"I was married to Melizard Ervan."

"Yes, Father told me. Marshal's son?"

"Second son." She'd sunk a lot of meaning into that first word.

Karat toyed with her glass. "House Ervan is a young House. Some younger Houses tend to overcompensate by holding fast to the ancient traditions even when they no longer make sense. The times when the heirs were always warriors, no matter their skill."

"My husband was a superb warrior. In personal combat, he knew no equal. But he wasn't as good of a commander as his older brother. Melizard liked to play games. His brother didn't. The knights of Ervan trusted him over my husband." The troops had sensed something in Melizard that she didn't see until the very end. He didn't value them. They were a means to obtain victory and then serve as adornments when his success was celebrated.

"My brother-in-law was groomed for the position of Marshal, and my husband was to become Maven," she said.

Mavens handled negotiations for the Houses. They served as ambassadors and dealmakers. The position would've conveniently kept Melizard busy and, considering Ervan's trade agreements, it would've frequently taken him and his schemes away from the House. "Mavens are respected and feared," Karat said.

"He wanted to be the Marshal."

There was so much more she could say. About Melizard's night rages, when he stalked back and forth across their quarters like a caged tiger, ranting about his family, about his brother being handed everything while his talents went unrecognized. About schemes, and petitions, and endless plans to prove he was the better of the two. About the time he marched into his parents' quarters and demanded to be made Marshal only to return like a beaten dog with his tail between his legs. So much more.

"My husband was the youngest son. Admired, babied, and spoiled. Denied nothing except what he wanted most of all. To become Marshal. No," Maud corrected herself, "to be made Marshal. To have the title handed to him." "What did he do?" Karat asked.

Maud glanced at Helen and lowered her voice. "He tried to murder his brother."

Karat sipped her wine. "Personal combat is a perfectly acceptable way to settle grievances between competing siblings."

If only. Maud leaned back in her chair. "It wasn't personal."

"What?"

"My husband arranged an ambush for his brother."

Karat blinked. "I don't understand. You did say your husband was the better combatant."

"My husband also was told in no uncertain terms that his brother would become the Marshal, and any attempt to sabotage that rise would be unacceptable to his parents and his House. He knew if he challenged his brother, it would enrage the family and House leadership. So, he convinced a group of his knights to jump his brother as he was coming back from an errand. Meanwhile, he and I attended a celebration at his cousin's house. The cousin's older son was granted knighthood. During the celebration, my husband made it a point to overtly flirt with a woman. He must've hoped I would make a scene. I left instead, but that was enough. Everyone had noticed our presence and my exit. He was establishing his alibi."

Karat had forgotten about her wine. "That's highly dishonorable."

"That's what I told him, when he explained all of that to me that night."

"What was his justification?"

Maud sighed. "That he did it for us, for me and our child. That this way we would be more secure, and Helen's future would be assured."

"Did you believe him?"

Talking about it hurt, like ripping off a scab before new skin had a chance to form underneath. "No. A part of me wanted to, very much. I loved him. He was my husband and the father of my child. But even then, I had realized that we were all in service to his ambition. I warned him then it would be the end of everything."

"Was it?"

Maud nodded. "Yes. His brother survived. One of the assailants lived as well. He was interrogated. They came for us that night. We were exiled to Karhari. All three of us."

Karat's expression turned sharp. "Who would exile a child? Especially to Karhari. It's a wasteland. The anus of the galaxy."

"Someone who is desperate to defend their family name." Maud set her glass on the table. "As you've said, House Ervan is young. They are desperate for the respectability that comes with age and history."

"You can't falsify that currency. It must be bought with generations."

"Well, they tried. They would kill you for this castle, if they could. Everything had to be just so. Every tradition followed. Propriety of every detail examined. Appearances kept. They overcompensated. Do you know who doesn't fit into traditions? A human and her daughter."

"She is a child of House Ervan," Karat said. "They had a responsibility to her no matter what her father did."

"They didn't see it that way. We have a saying on Earth: three strikes and you're out. I was strike one, Helen was strike two, and the attempted assassination of my brother-in-law was strike three. I realized this as I begged for my daughter's life on my knees."

Karat winced.

"They wanted to be rid of us, all of us. They struck us from the roster and dumped us on Karhari. It was as if we never existed."

"What happened on Karhari?" Karat asked.

"The planet devoured my husband's soul. It drove him mad. Eventually he betrayed the wrong people and they killed him."

Karat stared at her.

Maud finished her wine. "I know why you came here. You wanted to know what kind of baggage we bring to your House. We have no ties to House Ervan. We are strangers to them. We have settled the blood debt on Karhari. My husband's killers are dead. No one alive has a claim on my life or the life of my daughter. No one is owed. We bring no debts and no allies. We are what we appear to be."

"Oh, I doubt that," Karat said. "You are much more than you appear to be."

You have no idea. "Have I answered your questions, my lady?"

"Yes."

"Then it's my turn. How angry is Lady Ilemina?" "How angry is a rabid krahr?" Karat slumped against the back of her chair with a sigh. "Arland is brilliant, when he is here. He's almost never here. First, he developed a fascination with Earth and Earth women. Did he tell you we have a cousin

whose stepbrother is married to one?"

"My sister mentioned it."

"They live on the other side of the planet. She is some sort of scientist that studies insects."

"An entomologist?"

"Yes, that. The other day she was late to her own daughter's birthday because she'd found some new beetle nobody had ever seen before. What good are beetles? They are neither food nor pets. I would've squashed it. You never know when one of them will turn out to be poisonous."

Vampire worldview, condensed into three sentences: If it's not food or a pet, kill it, because it might be poisonous.

"She doesn't get involved in politics, she isn't interested in combat, and if you talk to her for five minutes, your eyes will glaze over, but she is a pretty woman and he loves her, Hierophant bless him."

Maud hid a smile.

"Then Arland starts disappearing. 'Where is Arland?' 'He is off on some adventure at some inn on Earth.' Everything is Earth. Broker a peace treaty? Earth. Go shopping for a unique present for his favorite cousin? Earth." "What did he get you?" Maud asked.

"Coffee. It's of an excellent quality, but when would I ever need ten pounds of it? It's enough to get the entire regiment roaring drunk. The next thing we know, he skips out on the wedding preparations, because someone on Earth needs his help. Because the needs of his House are clearly fisur's kidneys. He goes to Karhari and then there is this footage of him tearing out of some armored hovel with vampires in shabby armor clinging to him and him roaring like he is some hero in

a period drama." Maud lost it and laughed. "You don't understand." Karat waved her hands. "The damn thing was everywhere. He brained seven vampires singlehandedly. So the Karhari Houses are screaming bloody murder, our relatives twelve generations removed are forwarding the recording to us, our allies are asking why our Marshal is involved in a brawl on some backwater planet and if we sent him there as a plan for some sort of secret offensive and if so, why haven't we told them about it, and we keep getting marriage proposals because half the galaxy decided he is good breeding stock. I saw my father's and aunt's faces when they watched it. They turned a color not found in nature. It's not funny!"

Maud tried to stop laughing, but it was like trying to hold back a flood. It's nerves, she told herself.

"Go ahead." Karat rolled her eyes. "Get it all out. Not only did he make us the focal point of the entire Anocracy for two solid weeks, he then refused to return because he needed a sojourn. He threw this bomb into our House and went on vacation! Then he sent a message: I'm coming home with a human bride. Oh wait, she said no, but I'm bringing her anyway. Prepare the castle!"

Maud made a heroic effort to stop laughing.

"I thought my aunt's head would explode. I honestly did. So no, you won't get a warm reception."

"That's okay," Maud managed. "I didn't expect one."

"I realize it's through no fault of your own, but my aunt will test you at every turn. She made it bloody obvious she is displeased, and we are pack animals."

"When the leader snarls, everyone will jump in to help."

"In essence, yes." Karat gave her a sour smile. "I was going to jump in too, but my father convinced me to keep an open mind. I actually like you now, so my position is complicated. It will be an uphill battle." The vampire woman leaned forward. "Do you want to do this? I mean, do you really?"

"Yes. I'm here. I showed up."

Karat sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. Well, the first step is dinner. It will be held tonight, in about three hours."

"Armor on?"

"Armor on," Karat confirmed. "You have a little time to make yourself presentable, although in your case there's not really enough hair to do anything with. Why short hair?"

Explaining that it was a period at the end of her old life and her bribe to the universe to keep Helen alive would be too complicated, so she said the same thing she'd told her sister. "Very little water on Karhari. It was too hard to keep clean." "Too bad," Karat said. "Do you need anything?"

"What happens to the children?" Maud asked.

"Helen can stay with the other children or she can remain here in your quarters."

"Helen?" Maud called. "I have to go to a grown-up dinner, and you can't come, my flower. Do you want to play with other children or stay here by yourself?"

"I want to play," Helen said.

Maud swallowed a sigh. Helen would have to integrate into vampire society sooner or later. Maud had hoped to be there. She wanted with every ounce of her being to smooth the way, to make sure nothing bad happened, to help, but she couldn't. She had to let her daughter go. Some lessons Helen had to learn on her own.

"Very well," she said.

"I'll either come myself or send someone by half an hour before the dinner," Karat said. "I would guess Arland will want to escort you, but knowing my aunt, she will make sure he's busy with something vital instead."

And that was exactly what she'd expected. "I'll make do," Maud said.

Karat narrowed her eyes. "I think you will. If I don't see you until the meal, best of luck."