Since the skirmish with the emojis we travelled without any more trouble. Strangely Lily didn't need to drink anymore – maybe she was out hunting during the nights, I have no idea. After over a week of marching we saw Warsaw's skyscrapers on the horizon. That was the moment we had to figure out how to traverse the ruined city crawling with emojis and find the Bloody Court.
"There's no way we can make it in the daylight. Too many emojis, even for you," I heard Lily say. There was a hint of admiration in her voice which I didn't understand.
"At night there will be plenty of vamps for a change," my savior responded.
"I can deal with that. I'll get us through to the Court. I'm an emissary," the vampire said calmingly.
"Sure, let us all walk into those leeches' trap," Francesco snorted.
"You want to get to the Court anyway – there will be plenty of us leeches there, you know," the redhead retorted.
"This wasn't my idea," Francesco muttered.
"But now that you have the worm you should be really interested in getting to the doc. Or you prefer to turn into an emoji?" the bald woman cut in. She was obviously right and the man didn't say anything to that. I wondered what was her motivation to want to go with me. This was pretty much a suicide mission, with Milena working for the Bloody Court.
I didn't interfere – I was in no position to make any decisions here. Without those two dangerous women I had no chance of getting to my sister. The living one sighed and agreed to the dead one's suggestion. Francesco didn't look pleased, but kept quiet.
We entered the suburbs when the night began to fall. Emojis went to sleep, strangely enough never keen on hunting in the dark. The shadows seemed to be alive though, as if something was lurking in them, watching us, ready to attack any moment. The air was crisp and cold, but I found it hard to breathe, the oppressive feeling suffocating.
We moved in a tight group, keeping close to Lily. The small suburban houses gave way to downtown blocks of flats and the streets were drowned in shadows of the tall buildings. There was a strange silence, as if everything here was dead.
One moment we were alone in an ally, the next we were surrounded by a group of young looking, pale people. Their eyes were slightly glowing in the darkness. I gasped. I heard Francesco's muffled curse, painted with fear. My savior came closer to me, her axe at the ready. Lily remained calm, her body relaxed and commanding.
"Who's coming?" a tall woman from the group asked in a cold, firm voice.
"Lilianna d'Agencourt, the emissary for the Matriarch Silvia de Molnay. I have important news for Her Majesty and I seek the audience with the Court," our vamp responded proudly. Wow, I wasn't expecting that.
There was a whisper among the bloodsuckers and their leader pointed to me, "That your bloodbag?"
I swallowed hard, when Lily nodded.
"And what's with the infected?" the inquiry continued.
"They're part of the message I have for Her Highness," vamp responded unfazed.
The bloodsucker's leader gave our little group another long look and shrugged. "Come with us, we'll take you to the court".
And so we followed them through the dark, deserted streets, from all sides surrounded by the vamp guard. I felt my skin crawl every time one of them looked at me for longer than a moment. It isn't nice feeling like somebody's next meal.
Blocks of flats got replaced by skyscrapers and after an eternity we were at the feet of the Palace of Culture and Science. Well, I guess it was grand enough to be the seat of the Bloody Court. We got escorted to a small hallway on the fifth floor. Vamps obviously didn't mind the climb, but we humans were panting by the time we got there by the stairs.
"This is as far as the infected can go. They will need to wait for you here," our guide said to Lily. She frowned, sneaking a questioning look to my savior. I expected her to protest, but she nodded slightly. I felt fear grabbing me by the throat – I was to be left alone with all the bloodsuckers. I took a deep breath to steady myself. I had to get a hold of myself if I wanted to see Milena. And if my benefactor trusted Lily, so should I. I hope.
The infected were shown to another room and I lost sight of them. I trembled, but Lily caught me by the hand. Her cool palm was astonishingly calming. She didn't look at me, but guided me gently to another flight of stairs. Oh god, how much higher are we going to climb?
By the time we reached the fifteenth floor I was completely exhausted, my breath short and rugged. Vamps didn't give a sweat – being undead had its perks. Through a wide hall we got to a vast chamber, filled with all kinds of luxurious furniture, from gold ottomans to plush armchairs. The mismatch of styles and colors was almost painful. But what was far worse, all those fancy couches and sofas were crawling with vampires and their human slaves. Some of the leeches were feeding lazily, some were busy with conversations. All of them were hauntingly beautiful.
At the end of the room opposite the entrance there was a kind of a platform, with a giant throne. Sprawled on it there was a woman in a long, floating robe the color of midnight sky. Her long platinum hair flowed down her arms in gentle waves, framing her oval face with burning grey eyes and crimson lips. She was magnificent and terrifying. Nobody needed to tell me that was the Queen. I looked down the moment I felt her gaze on me.
Lily entered and bowed slightly, waiting for our escort to inform the Queen of our errand. Her highness seemed intrigued and motioned for us to approach. It was strange seeing frail Lilianna in her tattered clothes walk firmly and proudly, not in the slightest concerned with the contrast she made with the fancy vamps. I understood now why she was chosen to be an emissary – with her noble bearing she was a natural.
"Your Highness. I come with a word from the Matriarch Silvia de Molnay," Lily said with a slight bow. "I believe it is not a matter we should be discussing in public though," she added.
A murmur of surprise at her boldness went through the crowd. The Queen herself raised her brows. I held my breath. For a moment the silence in the chamber felt suffocating.
"All right then. You picked my interest little one," the queen said finally. I caught some air. "Let's talk in my private rooms," she turned around and motioned for Lily to follow.
I felt panic rising within me, but my vamp caught my hand again, "He's a part of the message, My Lady." The Queen waved dismissively and we all three went through a small door behind the throne, into a simply furnished study. It was a complete opposite of the throne room.
The Queen sat behind the desk in a leather armchair, motioning Lily to sit on a small sofa. I followed her, but my vamp with her inhuman strength pulled me casually, forcing me to sit on the floor by her feet. Right, a blood bag should remember its place. She placed her hand on my head and caressed my hair absentmindedly. I shivered at that touch.
"So, what is this important message you have for me?", the Queen inquired. I was curious myself what Lily would come up with.
"We believe we hold the key to finding the cure for the parasite," the red head responded calmly.
The Queen seemed stunned for a moment but she collected herself swiftly. "And that key, would be..." the monarch left the sentence trailing.
"The key would be this human," Lily replied and I froze. Her Highness looked at me as if she noticed me for the first time, scrutinizing every inch of me. I gulped.
I backed instinctively, hitting my back on the sofa, when she stood up and approached me. Her ice cold gaze made me shudder. Lily took her hand away from my hair, leaving me to the Queen. The monarch took my chin in her slender fingers and made me stand up and face her. My heart was racing, all I wanted was to run away and hide. Instead I stood motionless, waiting for the vamp to finish her inspection.
"Your face is very familiar," the Queen said after an eternity. "What is your name, boy?" she asked.
"Tomek", I muttered, barely audible.
"I mean your full name," she inquired further.
"Tomek Kowal," I mumbled.
"Well, well, well, so Robert had a son," she mused, more to herself than to any of us. "And he's the key because of his blood, I presume?", she moved away from me and addressed Lily. I let out my breath.
"No, his blood is nothing special. I drank it, you can see my fang marks on his arm," Lily said lightly. I had to admire her for being this composed in the presence of the terrifying Queen. I was already trembling all over my body. "But he doesn't awaken the lust in the infected. I brought two of them with me," at this the Queen seemed surprised.
"So tell me boy, where's your father now?" the Queen asked all of a sudden. I wasn't expecting that.
"I've no idea. He left the day after I was born," I answered bitterly. He was an asshole.
"So, Robert didn't manage to sire a wizard. No wonder he left when he saw that you were just a human," the vamp snorted. A wizard? What the hell? I wanted to ask so many questions but I kept my mouth shut. Best not to make the bloodsucker too interested in my personal life.
"The matriarch thought doctor Affelt could take a look at this human. Him not attracting the infected may be important to finding the cure," Lily interrupted. Not mentioning Milena was my sister seemed like a smart move.
"The doctor is a bit ... indisposed," the Monarch retorted. "You can go and see her, but she may be of little use to you ... in her current state," she added seeing Lily's frown. I felt a lump form in my throat. What have those leeches done to Milena?
"We'd like to try for ourselves anyway, Your Highness," Lily pressed on. "It would be highly beneficial if we could also take the infected I brought with us", she added, before the Queen could change her mind.
The old vampire nodded. "All right, I will have somebody take you to the doc. And your pets," she said, a hint of disdain sounding in her voice.
Soon the female vamp from before came for us, bringing with her my savior and Francesco. The woman was composed and seemed weirdly at ease, while the man was fighting hard to remain calm. I suspected he was ordered to reign in his emotions. Together we were led, through winding corridors and several staircases, to a part of the palace transformed into a laboratory.
The whole place was abundantly lit with oil lamps, precious electricity being reserved for the scientific equipment I couldn't name. Among the machines and desks I noticed a familiar figure and almost cried. It took all my self-control not to show my excitement to our guide. All I wanted was to run to my big sister and hug her.
The vamp that brought us here finally left, with a suspicious smile on her face. It felt so good to finally find my sibling.
"Milena, it's me!" I called out to her.
She turned around and in a blink of an eye was right next to me, her eyes glowing in the dark. She hissed at me and was about to grab me, when Lily caught her hand.
"Doctor Affelt, he's not a snack. It's your brother, Tomek," the redhead said to the vampire, that used to be my sister.
