The Vampire & Her Witch

”You said a survivor of your caravan described this armored demon,” Owain said, snatching the parchment from Loman with enough force that he nearly tore a corner off the sketch. ”Was he a soldier or a knight who understands armor well? Was the man who sketched this an armorer?”

There were several details about the sketch that seemed odd to Owain’s trained eyes. From the way the plates fit together to the strange gaps that looked like they were either covered by overlapping metal scales or were exposing the scales of the demon itself. It was difficult to say, leaving him to wonder if this was a real thing or a fanciful imagining by a drunken farmer who fell off his wagon.

”The survivors were farmers guiding the wagon and carts,” Bastian admitted. ”Our soldiers fought bravely to the last man to buy time for the common people to escape or we wouldn’t even know this much,” he said, his words coming out in a breathless rush as he tried to defend the value of the intelligence he brought.

”And the artist? Is he the man who paints your castle walls?” Owain asked with a dismissive sneer as he tossed the sketch to the table.

”He, he’s the man who painted my father’s portrait and the portraits of many of our knights,” Bastian said, nervously smoothing his tunic over his thick midsection as he fought the urge to retreat from Owain’s questioning.

”He, he sketched many copies, revising them each time until the witness agreed that it was correct,” Bastian insisted, thumping the table with a meaty fist as he spoke. ”These, these are the best documents we have of the strange demons who attacked our march!”

”But these ’witnesses’ don’t know what to look for and they’ve likely never even seen a demon much less fought one,” Owain said, scowling at the young lord and wondering if all of the Hanrahans were as cowardly and useless as Hugo had proven to be. ”Are these really the demons who attacked us? Or an exaggeration intended to cover your losses?”

”It might not be entirely fanciful,” Diarmuid said with a heavy sigh as he stood from his seat, walking around the table to retrieve the sketch from Owain and frowning as he inspected it. Much like Loman, he turned to High Priest Aubin, waiting for a nod before he continued.

”There was a famous High Inquisitor during the War of Four Brothers,” Diarmuid said with a defeated look as he realized that there was no point in holding back secrets as long as Loman was more interested in proving himself worthy of his father’s throne than protecting the knowledge the Church deemed too dangerous to spread among the masses.

But since the Highest ranking priest in Lothian March had decided to take the young lord’s side in this, there was little Diarmuid could do other than to continue, providing what information he had in the hopes that the people attending this meeting would understand how precious the information they were hearing truly was.

”His name was Ignatious, and he succeeded in capturing several Undying Demons,” the Inquisitor said.

”Impossible!” Liam said, nearly dropping his cup of steaming, mulled wine when he heard the Inquisitor’s claim. ”I’ve tried capturing demons before to earn the bounty from the Church. I lost three good men just trying to corner one horned demon and capture it without killing it! To capture an Undying demon... How?”

”We will likely never know,” Diarmuid admitted. ”He died before the end of the war. According to some records, the Demon Lady of the Vale feared his growing knowledge so much that she moved personally against him. Whether that’s true or not, he left behind a treasure trove of journals and discoveries about vampires and the Undying Demons.”

”Did he learn ways to kill them other than Holy Light or Fire?” Owain asked impatiently. ”If we have to depend on reinforcements from the Church to face this threat then I’m afraid a good many more people will die,” he said with a pointed look at both the Inquisitor and Sir Tommin. ”The forces of the Church are already spread thin to protect our villages and towns after all.”

It was difficult for Owain to see this as anything other than an excuse to prop up his scheming younger brother’s bid for the throne. Ancient demons unseen in a hundred years and only his brother knew about them? Foes that were impossible to kill without the aid of the Church?

And all of it happened right as Loman made his bid for the throne, transforming the man without allies or a retinue into the man who possessed the only allies who could save them. It was all too convenient as far as Owain was concerned.

”I brought four Templars with me from the temples of Blackwell County,” Jocelynn said helpfully from her seat next to Owain as she noticed his darkening mood. The invisible scales between the brothers were tipping further and further toward Loman the longer the meeting went on and she needed to find a way to tip it back before things could turn out any worse for Owain... and by extension, worse for her.

”Under your command, my lord,” Jocelynn said sweetly. ”I’m sure you could use them to hunt down these demons, just the way you hunted down the demons who killed Sir Broll,” she added, placing a barb within her bait.

After all, she knew very well that the flat tailed demons he killed before visiting Blackwell County had nothing to do with the attack on the summer villa or the death of Sir Broll. They’d been conveniently nearby and their reputation as trap setters and masters of ambushes made them a convenient scapegoat.

She knew that, and Owain knew that, but the stories that had been told of his crushing victory were a different matter entirely and she was certain that Owain wouldn’t allow his inflated reputation to suffer from something as inconvenient as the truth.

”My lady,” Confessor Eleanor said, leaning forward to speak to Jocelynn in hushed tones. ”Those men were sent to safeguard you during your stay in Lothian. You shouldn’t give up your protection lightly.”

”I know,” Jocelynn said, giving her distant cousin a knowing look before she continued to speak. ”But I am safe here within the walls of Lothian Manor, protected from demons by the High Priest Aubin and his entire temple,” she said, gesturing to the table where the High Priest sat. ”But if giving up my personal protectors can save the lives of villagers or our brave soldiers, then I cannot be selfish when I’m not personally in danger.”

Of course, there was more that she couldn’t say during the public meeting. The chance to hunt one of the most dangerous types of demons was certain to appeal to Owain’s vanity and by placing the Templars under his command to go hunting, she could get him out of Lothian City, at least for a few days while she waited for Master Isabell to return in order to plan their next moves.

It was a gamble to be sure. If Owain returned with high honors from killing Undying Demons then he would become an even more unstoppable force within Lothian March. But if he met his end in the attempt... It might afford her a chance to escape the jaws of the trap that were slowly springing shut on her.