Chapter 15

The first vampire ever?

Ezekiel was the first?

I hadn’t thought in terms of there being a first or how vampires came to be. I’d just assumed they’d always existed in some capacity, in some form. Or like humans, evolved into what they were today, but I was obviously wrong.

“So he’s responsible for all the vampires? And how? How did he just come to be?”

“No one knows,” Merry said. “But, yeah, he spawned the race, either by blood or by bite, and then they carried it forward, I guess.”

Ezekiel had children…a bloodline of his own? I made a note to ask him about it. It could be one of our bonding topics, unless it was a sore topic with him, in which case I’d need to tread carefully. The whole sleep for ninety-nine years out of a hundred was also super weird. Another topic of conversation or probing, depending on how he received it.

The timbre of the clatter of wheels altered as we entered the heart of Old Town. The street widened slightly, bordered by tall three-story houses squished together as if the architect had been desperate to fit as many dwellings into one space as possible. I couldn’t imagine living in such cramped quarters. The doors looked too low and the windows too small.

“How do people live here?”

“The insides are quite spacious,” Merry said. “The houses go back quite far.”

It looked confined and dismal to me. We clip-clopped past iron lampposts and women and men dressed in long double-breasted coats and ankle boots, and the hats, so many hats that left ears uncovered. I tugged my woolly hat down over mine, grateful I didn’t have to dress like them.

The houses were soon replaced by store fronts with pretty letter work on the glass. Milliner, tailor, dressmaker, and a butcher next to a fishmonger. I spotted a bakery and a couple of smaller stores, the entrances clustered together, dark and dingy.

Edwin finally brought the carriage to a halt outside a glass window with gold lettering that said Agatha’s Emporium.

“I have a few errands to run,” Padma said. “Edwin will drive me. We’ll be back to pick you up in an hour.”

“It won’t take me an hour to pick out a dress.”

Merry giggled. “I doubt she’ll have something appropriate ready. You’ll have to pick out fabric and discuss a design. Agatha will have to make the dress.”

“In three days?” I stared at her in shock.

“She’s a genius.”

We clambered out of the carriage and across the street, weaving between eager shoppers to get to the dressmaker’s doors.

It was blissfully quiet inside after the hubbub of the street. Rolls of fabric leaned against one wall, and lace and ribbon were arranged neatly on shelves along another. A woman stood behind a counter lit by an electric overhead light. I guessed the parade was connected to the grid.

She looked up from her sketching with a welcoming smile that broadened at the site of Merry. “Merry! It’s so good to see you.”

“I’m sorry it’s been so long,” Merry said. “I’ve not been myself.”

Something crossed Agatha’s features, a flicker of understanding, that told me that she probably knew about Merry’s memory issues.

“You don’t need to apologize to me, sweets. I’m just happy to see you and your friend.” She looked me over, and I understood what being sized up felt like now. But it wasn’t in an unpleasant way. She was probably trying to decide if I was a customer or not, and if I was, then what she could sell me. Exactly what a good businesswoman and salesperson would do.

I decided to make her job easier. “I need a dress for the Exciatio. Nothing too showy, but good enough to be seen on Tepes’s arm.”

Her brows shot up. “Well…wow. You must be the new watcher, then.”

“Yep. Can you help me?”

She grinned. “I most certainly can.”

The next halfhour was taken up looking at fabrics and taking my measurements. I had no clue on design, so Agatha offered to come up with something suitable and surprise me. I wasn’t keen on surprises, but in this case it would have to do.

“I assume he’s footing the bill?” Agatha said, tucking a tendril of dark hair behind her ear.

“That’s what he said.”

“I’ll open a tab in his name, then.” She pressed back a smile. “And add a few extra flourishes to bump up the cost. If he takes you to any more events, then I might get to New Town sooner than expected.”

“You’re leaving Old Town?” Merry asked.

Agatha blushed. “I plan to. You remember I met someone? Henry?”

Merry nodded. “Yes, of course…But you only just met him and…”

We waited as realization hit. It was obvious that Agatha had met this Henry guy before the fire.

“I suppose it’s been a while now, hasn’t it?” Merry said finally.

Agatha reached out to cup her shoulder, her stormy gaze filled with compassion. “Yes, several months.”

Merry fixed a bright smile on her face. “So it’s serious, then.”

Agatha’s face lit up. “He lives in New Town, and we’ve applied for a transfer for me. But you know how long those can take. But if you pay…” She shrugged. “It’s expensive, but Henry and I have been saving. We’re going to be married.” Her eyes glittered with joy. “He’s even found me a venue for my new store. Agatha’s Fashion.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Merry said.

It was impossible not to be infected by her enthusiasm. “You know what, I think I might need a pair of gloves to go with the dress, and a hat.”

“Really?” Agatha clasped her hands together under her chin.

“Yep. Show me your most expensive items.”

She let out a squeak of excitement. “I have just the things.”

The bell above the door tinkled before we could retreat into the back of the shop. The man who entered looked familiar, but it took a moment for me to place him.

Matthew. Ezekiel’s man.

“What are you doing here? Did Ezekiel send you to follow me?”

He blinked in surprise. “I…um. No. I’m…um…delivering invites.”

“Invites to what?”

“A ball.”

“The Exciatio?”

“No…um…a ball for the humans to pay homage to…um, their liege.”

I rolled my eyes. “Homage? Seriously?”

He frowned. “Yes. Seriously.”

“Why are you working for him? I mean, of all the jobs you could have taken, why be his lackey?”

His shoulders rounded. “I’m a Renfield,” he said.

A renfield was a vampire’s human puppet. I’d come across a few in the Fringe. “Yeah, I know you are. But why are you his renfield?”

He blinked rapidly. “No…um…I am a Renfield. Matthew Renfield. My family is bound to the Tepes bloodline and has served him for centuries.”

Shit…wait…so that’s where the term had come from? Renfield was an actual bloodline?

He reached into his satchel and pulled out a crisp white envelope, which he held out to Agatha. “You are cordially invited to attend the Midnight Ball, which will be hosted at Branwood Castle.”

Agatha shook her head. “No, thank you.”

Matthew cleared his throat. “I’m afraid attendance is mandatory.”

Of course it was, and Agatha didn’t look too happy about it.

I took the envelope from Matthew and passed it to Agatha. “It’s all right, I’ll be there. You’ll be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Agatha sighed and took it.

“You can go now,” Merry said to Renfield.

He hesitated for a beat, shuffling from foot to foot. He obviously had something more he wanted to say.

I exhaled heavily. “What? Just spit it out.”

“Master has never taken a companion to the Exciatio before.”

“So?”

“He doesn’t like to share.” He swallowed hard. “Unless it is on his terms and there are certain rules…etiquette to the event.” He looked nervously at the door. “I shouldn’t…If he finds out.”

I took a step closer to him. “He won’t. Just tell me what to expect.”

“The nobles will bring veins with them. Veins to be shared with their peers…”

“Like a fucking bottle of wine,” Merry said bitterly.

“And you’ll be Tepes’s escort,” Agatha said, putting two and two together.

“I’m no vein.”

Matthew nodded. “Of course not, but…be wary.” He hurried out of the store, leaving me with the fresh weight of another problem to solve.

“No one is getting their fangs in me.”

“We’re Order,” Merry said. “We’re off-limits.”

She was right. Of course she was right. But what if there was a loophole I didn’t know about? Either way, I needed to be prepared. “Agatha, do you think you can add a couple of hidden pockets to that dress?”

She smirked confidently. “You bet your ass I can.”

We walked out into the sunlight fifteen minutes later to find Padma waiting outside, leaning casually against a lamppost, while Edwin tended to the horses.

“All done?” She pushed off the lamppost as a dark shape dropped out of the sky to land at her feet with a hearty caw.

The Raven was huge, its head almost at her knee. It waited patiently for her to retrieve the message hidden in the capsule around its neck.

Padma’s mouth turned down, chest rising and falling in a sigh.

“What is it?” Edwin asked.

“A case. Missing persons. Looks like we’re headed to New Town.”