4. HIS MASTERS VOICE

HIS MASTER'S VOICE

E arlier…

Balthazar watched Christian vanish beneath the sea of ghosts. They flowed over the top of Christian's head like a wave. Bitter fear filled his mouth. The urge to reach for his fledgling's mind to comfort himself that Christian was all right filled him. But that would distract Christian. Yet if he just did it for a minute , surely that wouldn't be that problematic, would it? He shifted from foot to foot. Fiona grasped his right forearm. He frowned at her.

"What? I'm just--"

"Anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"I'm not--"

"About to crawl out of your skin?" The other eyebrow lifted.

"Well, really ! I'm--"

"Going to distract your fledgling from doing what he has to do because you are a mess ?" Now it looked like both of her eyes were lifted too as well as her eyebrows.

His lips flattened and he crossed his arms over his chest. She had a point, but he didn't want to concede it. Her mouth twitched into a smile.

"It's okay to be worried, Balthazar. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be. I'm worried, too," she confessed with a one-shoulder shrug. "But Christian has to do this and the best thing we can do for him is to not be a distraction. Have confidence in him. He's meant to have this particular gift."

Balthazar's shoulders slumped. "But he's so new to all of this! I've just got him, Fiona! And here he is risking his Second Life again !"

She smiled fully at him and patted his forearm. "What can you expect? He's your fledgling."

"What's that supposed to mean? I don't get into trouble!" The moment those words left his mouth he let out a sigh. That was such a lie.

"You don't get into trouble? Only Vampire that's killed his Master in what? A millennia? Maybe more?" Fiona shook her head and the beads clacked together.

"He deserved it," Balthazar sniffed.

"Yes, he did, and you saved a lot of people by ending him. Christian is doing something just as important," she told him.

He looked at her closely. Her expression was relaxed. She was clearly concerned for Christian, but he had never seen Fiona so open about her feelings and comfortable with herself. She had certainly never stated that she appreciated what he had done for others by killing Roan. She'd always complained about how he'd destroyed Arcius' life because the Confessor had left the vampire world with him.

"What's changed?" he asked her.

She turned towards him, eyebrows up again, but this time in surprise. "Changed? What do you mean?"

He gestured towards her as he tried to find words that wouldn't offend--which for him and Fiona that was a change as well--and finally said, "You. Me. Us. There's no…"

"Rancor?" She laughed then became serious though still amused. "I don't know. I'm sure we'll be sniping at each other in no time."

"Probably." He was smiling though too.

"You trusted me to take care of Christian," she said suddenly as they both gazed at the sea of ghosts.

"Yes, and you let him release Caemorn and take one of the weapons--"

"Yes, yes, but you're not mad. Not too mad anyway," she said the last under her breath with a grin.

"I just wish that Christian hadn't been afraid to tell me his plans," Balthazar admitted.

"He doesn't want to worry you."

"He's all of 28-years-old! He's new to being a Bampire! How can I not be worried?" he demanded.

She snorted softly. "Do you remember being 28-years-old?"

"Not terribly, no. There was a lot of drinking and debauching and well, no," he admitted.

"Well, if you were not in a drunken stupor and were asked whether at 28 you knew your own mind and were an adult completely capable of making your own decisions, what do you think you would have said?" She smirked at him.

He rubbed his face. "I would have wrongly thought that I knew everything."

She touched his arm again. "He doesn't. Christian is remarkably together for someone so young. I tremble to think how wise he'll be after a few centuries. Can you imagine it?"

Balthazar found himself smiling proudly even though he had nothing to do with Christian's awesomeness. He had just chosen well. "Yes, he will be wise. Far beyond me."

"And me. I think that he's bringing out the best in Caemorn and--what's wrong with him?" Fiona's voice went from light to shocked as she turned to the Kaly Vampire.

Balthazar's head snapped towards Caemorn, who was now standing like a statue--stiff and even unblinking--with an expression on his face of almost horror.

No, not almost. Definitely horror. What is going on here?

Balthazar's mind reached out to Caemorn's faster than even his eyes did. He heard two people talking. It confused him at first. But then he realized that Caemorn was being controlled by someone. The Kaly Vampire was unable to move or speak or do anything.

What is going on here? Is there another Eyros Vampire here… AH!

Balthazar gasped and clutched his head as the person inside of Caemorn's head turned towards him and attacked . There was the sense of claws digging into his brain, raking at him, turning him into a raw nerve and nothing else.

Eyros… such a long time… I cannot say I missed you, the sexless voice crashed into his mind with every word. Not quite as good at this as you once were. Shame. But I crushed you then. So I'll crush you now!

In that moment, Balthazar knew who this was though he had never spoken to Kaly--in this life anyways--he recognized them now and there was something familiar though. Something familiar from this life. But he couldn't isolate it. That thought flew away though as he realized he had one shot to send up a flare.

Just before being plunged into darkness, Balthazar sent out a shout to the Vampire King, Kaly! Daemon, Kaly is here! The Well of All Souls!

He experienced a spinning sensation. Everything blurred. Became dark. And then...

Balthazar found himself on his knees in the mud in a field. There were sparse tufts of tall grass that were splashed with blood stretching out to the horizon. The low drone of flies filled his ears. There was the rumble of a thunderstorm far in the distance. The sky was right at dusk or was it dawn?

Dawn. The sun will rise in moments.

It had been so long since he had seen sunlight filtering along the horizon that he almost forgot to fear it. But then the panic set in and he scrambled to his feet.

His bare feet.

He wasn't wearing shoes. His feet sank into the wet mud that smelled heavily of copper.

Blood. My God, how much blood would it take to get the ground this wet?

And then he saw the bodies. Lying three-feet deep in spots. Sprawled out. Flies alighting on them then flying almost drunkenly away after feeding and breeding. Wrenched limbs. Torn out throats. Twisted necks. Snapped spines. He staggered backwards, only to feel a body brush against the back of his left calf. He reeled away from that.

Where am I? Doesn't matter! Gotta get to cover! The sun is coming!

But the smell of the blood was sickening him as well as arousing him. His fangs were out. Saliva filled his mouth. But this was dead blood. Blood that was already starting to rot.

What happened here? Please tell me that this isn't real? So many dead… Christian? Is Christian among them?

But he saw no bright thatch of blond hair. He felt that even in the wash of blood, he would have been able to parse out his fledgling's.

And I would be dead if Christian were taken. Because I would not allow anyone to touch him unless I was gone…

But his eyes searched the faces of the corpses around him, looking for those he recognized. No Fiona. No Arcius. No Caemorn. He was surprisingly thankful for that.

Caemorn would fight for Christian, too. I know he would.

He shook himself. He could not just stand here and let the sun burn him to a crisp. Yet he saw no structure he could hide in. He looked at the bodies and his lips writhed back from his teeth in disgust. There was one way he could shelter himself from the ever burning light...

"You could burrow underneath the corpses, Eyros, to avoid the sun. But why bother? Why not embrace it? Because you are going to die anyway!" Kaly hissed.

Balthazar spun around. A woman with long black hair stood behind him. Her dusky skin glowed with health. She wore a black sheath dress with a slit up to her shapely thigh. She, too, was shoeless and gore stretched up from her delicate feet to her knees. Though Kaly inhabited a different form than Artemis Alucius and was a different gender, Balthazar knew them. His fangs ached with the desire to rip out that throat.

Balthazar's eyes narrowed. "If I am going to burn away then so are you , Kaly! The sun spares none of us!"

"What? This body? Yes, you're right! You're absolutely right!" Kaly laughed. It was a tinkling, almost beautiful sound. Kaly held up a delicate hand into the growing light. "But this body means nothing to me. I can watch while it burns up and just float away to another form. But you ." A cruel smile crossed those full lips. "But you have only the body you wear now. If it burns, you burn."

Balthazar swallowed. "You're not Wyvern. You couldn't have truly physically brought me here. So... this is in my head."

But how can they be doing this? This is something like an Eyros would do!

Kaly smirked. "You, of all people, Eyros, should know that what's in your mind is in your reality."

Balthazar scanned the horizon again. He was still looking for any structure he could hide in from the sun. He felt its warmth against his legs and caressing his back through the shirt he wore. Panic fluttered in his chest. Because Kaly was right. This felt real. So burning to death would also likely feel real. And if this was truly in his mind, Kaly could keep his torment going for what felt like forever. Time meant nothing in the mind. A moment could stretch out for an eternity. Roan had shown him this. How many times had he been imprisoned in some hell hole, tortured, and then released after what had seemed like years, only to find that minutes had passed?

How is Kaly doing this though?!

Kaly spread their arms. "But the body--the physical realm--is something that is so limited. Even the mind is, but the soul … oh, the soul is vast and endless."

Balthazar swallowed. Maybe this wasn't just in his head. Maybe Kaly had somehow yanked his soul out of his body or something.

No, they haven't done that. They couldn't have done that!

"You already died here once." Kaly cocked their head to the side with another sly smile. "Do you remember?"

Balthazar remembered then how Elgar had spoken about finding his head then clutching it to his chest as he burrowed into the corpses. It had been on the battlefield where Eyros had died. That had happened here . That was here .

Oh, dear God…

Kaly was smiling and nodding as they saw that Balthazar understood what was going to happen. "I'm going to remind you, Eyros. I'm going to make you live it over and over again."

"Hell, no!" Balthazar tensed and reached for Kaly's mind. "You're going to let me go!"

He touched Kaly's mind, ready to make the other Immortal into his puppet. Or, at least, make Kaly return him to the Well of All Souls. Kaly's eyes widened for a moment, but then a hand fastened around Balthazar's ankle and his concentration was lost. Kaly's mind ghosted away from his control.

DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL?!

Balthazar looked down as one of the dead Vampires dug his long fingernails into his flesh. Pain erupted in his leg.

Oh, Hell no!

Rage-filled, Balthazar shook that grasping hand from his ankle before kicking the vampire's head with his other foot. The head snapped back, the skull caving in, the neck letting out a crack as the spine broke. But it didn't stop moving. Those empty, cataract-covered eyes looked up at him. The corpse smiled.

Balthazar brought his foot down on that skull with all his strength. It crushed under his foot. He grimaced as the Vampire's dead brain gushed around his bare foot and between his toes. He went to reach for Kaly's mind again.

But then another hand grabbed his other leg.

And another hand grasped his thigh, but not in a nice way.

And another.

And another.

And another.

They were all around him. Dozens. No, hundreds .

The dead Vampires dragged him down into the mud. The weight of them were shoving him knee deep in the stinking foul mass. Fingernails ripped at his skin. He felt them tearing his flesh. Some of them slid into his mouth. He bit down on them. Dead blood burst over his tongue. He spat out those digits only to have more reach inside of him and stretch his mouth wide. His cheeks began to rip open. His own blood flooded his mouth and poured down his throat. A terrible thirst immediately assailed him even as it seemed he was drinking endlessly.

He tried to reach their minds. But there was nothing there. The dead had no minds. And Kaly's seemed like the faintest pinprick of light in the far distance. But he had to get to it.

But hands plunged into his body, breaking the skin, and worming their way inside of him. He felt fingers wiggling against his organs, sliding beneath his ribs. They were pulling out his organs. His guts were like streamers being passed from hand to hand. He screamed but only a gurgle came out. Pain like nothing he'd ever felt corkscrewed through him. Then they gouged out his eyes. He felt them pop and fingers wriggle inside. Complete darkness fell.

Must get to Kaly's mind! This isn't happening! This isn't happening! I make my reality!

He collapsed onto his back and they were ripping his limbs off. First, his right leg. Then his left. Both arms were wrenched from his body. His head would be neck. That was how Elgar got it to hold and caress and love. They'd literally ripped his head from his body. As he felt his skin break and the tendons stretch, he reached out for Kaly's mind desperately.

That faint flicker in the darkness.

He reached.

It felt like his fingertips were just barely scraping along a wall. He hooked Kaly's mind. Just the smallest bit. He immediately heard Kaly's outside most thoughts, which were ones of absolute glee . They were enjoying his agony. Practically orgasming with it.

It was just like Roan.

No, it wasn't just like him.

It was him.

Kaly was Roan. Roan was Kaly.

House Wynter had revealed that Kaly could inhabit other bodies, other Vampires, other Bloodline Vampires. And Kaly had been in Roan. Using him like a puppet. Torturing Balthazar and all of his House.

So you finally figured it out, Kaly giggled. Did you ever wonder why Roan was so different at times? So loving and then so cold and then so--

NO! That can't be! Not you! NOT YOU!

Balthazar was screaming, but only inside his head. His vocal chords were broken. He was nearly out of blood. He was reduced to a single point of pain in an endless sea of blackness.

I admit that I didn't see you killing Roan's body, Kaly sounded amused. You did surprise me. I suppose I should have looked into you then. Known at that time that you were more than you seemed. Understood why I enjoyed hurting you so much more than the others.

And as Balthazar settled into his icy, unbelievable rage, he realized that he and Caemorn had always had something in common. He could recognize it now. Even as they fought against one another. They'd both been Kaly's fledglings. And he felt a burst of sympathy for Caemorn.

I should have saved him, too. Balthazar laughed dryly as he realized something else. So this is in my head. Kaly is using the Eyros gift now. They are using another Eyros Vampire to do it… that's a mistake. There's no one stronger than me… not in this…

Because this is all in my head…

And I rule my mind…

Along with everyone else's…

Balthazar had no body. No vocal chords. No eyes. No limbs. No heart. All of it had been ripped apart by the dead. But he had his mind. So he could see as the dead moved away so that Kaly could gaze down upon the ruin of him. He could feel the dead drift off.

Because he wasn't truly ripped apart.

He hadn't been given his Second Death.

He was right there and ready to go.

"Eyros, you truly disappoint me. I thought this would be harder somehow," Kaly sighed.

Balthazar spoke, "I haven't gotten started yet."

Kaly spun around to see Balthazar behind them. And then he shoved himself through all of their defenses and nestled deep into their mind. Kaly's mouth parted and their eyes went huge. Balthazar smiled at them.

The corpses, who had swung around to deal with him, fell to pieces all around them. Like sacks of meat that turned to ash in seconds as Kaly's control was totally lost. The sun disappeared beyond the horizon. Full night fell. They were standing on a black plane, completely empty of anything. Even the smell of blood was gone. He wanted a fresh slate to work with.

"I didn't recognize this form, but I do now," Balthazar said as he started to circle Kaly, arms crossed at the wrists behind his back. "Her name is Moira. She's an impressive Eyros. But she's nothing compared to me. You might be able to use other Bloodline's gifts, but you're not as powerful as the Immortal who granted them. Seems you forgot that, Kaly."

Kaly's eyes tracked him. They lost him as he went around their back and he felt Kaly's fear swell. The Immortal had few fears, but not being in control was one of the largest of them. Being in his control was especially huge.

"What should I do to you first ?" Balthazar murmured. "Ah, let's start with this."

Dozens of spears of glass, razor sharp, and thick as two fingers, thrust through Kaly's body. Blood, rich and thick, streamed down the glass and pattered on the ground. Those eyes went huge with pain.

"You can't leave, Kaly. You can't get away. I have you here and I can keep you here forever ," Balthazar whispered in the other Immortal's ear. "Think on that. Forever. In my power. Forever. In my control. Forever. A victim, not a victor. I can and will make you pay for everything you've done!"

His voice had risen up to a scream at the end. He was shaking with rage. He felt Kaly wanting to speak so he let them.

"Don't you want to know if it was me or Roan that made you?" Kaly smiled as blood gushed out of their mouth and down their chin in a torrent.

Balthazar's fingernails dug into his palms, drawing blood, but his voice was cool as he said, truthfully, "It doesn't matter."

"Oh, surely--"

"It would have once," Balthazar cut him off. "But not anymore."

"Truly--"

"Because I have Daemon again," Balthazar said and the silence that fell was so wonderful to hear. "You pathetic little worm. You've wanted his love and friendship, but you're incapable of having it. You're so pathetic." He grinned mercilessly. "Daemon is back and he's back with me . Not you. I sit by his side. I will help him rule over everything. I will get his smiles and make him laugh. He trusts me with his beloved fledgling."

With every word, Kaly grew more still and grayness coated their skin. Balthazar wrenched the spears out and restored them to full health in their mind. Kaly might be able to slip away if they thought they died. He speared them again, starting the process all over again.

"And here's another thing for you to know. Caemorn? You know, the other fledgling that you've abused for who knows how long, he's got Daemon more than you do," Balthazar said with a sour laugh. "I really do think after he learns about all of this… well, I think that even Caemorn will find some forgiveness. Because having you as a Master is as bad as it gets."

Again, he wrenched the spears from Kaly, restored them, and slammed them home again.

"Feels as terrible as the first time, doesn't it?" Balthazar was shaking fully now with such poisonous rage he felt he almost couldn't contain it. "Don't worry, it'll change. It'll feel worse ."

Again and again and again, he speared Kaly.

"Eyros," a familiar voice rose up all around them.

Balthazar saw that the blackness had become the Ever Dark sky. Kaly's pained expression had become one of panic .

"Eyros, my beloved friend," Daemon said, his voice warm and gentle. The trembling in Balthazar eased. "Come back. Bring Kaly with you. I must end this."