Page 34 of The Night Firm

But I won’t be baited. Not by him. I don’t give him the satisfaction of asking what he means. He laid the trap, but I won’t walk into it. I long ago learned the value of silence.

I keep my mouth shut and I wait.

After several moments during which I have to frequently give a gentle shake of a head to warn one of the brothers away from breaking the silence first, Dracula raises an eyebrow and continues. “You’re quite a treasure,” he says with a gleam in his eye that makes me uncomfortable.

“An often underestimated one,” I say, deliberately catching the gaze of each of the brothers.

“Quite so,” Dracula says. “Very well, then. The Night brothers are not just ordinary vampires. No. There is nothing about this clan that is ordinary.”

Liam growls low in his throat, his muscles contracting and his stance shifting to attack mode. Elijah lays a hand on his brother’s shoulder and leans to whisper something in his ear. This seems to take Liam’s rage down a notch or two, which eases some of the tension for everyone. But it’s clear that the brothers do not want Dracula to tell me whatever he’s going to tell me.

It’s equally clear Dracula doesn’t give a shit and is going to tell me anyway.

So I wait.

“The Night brothers,” he continues, his long, elegant finger raised to rest contemplatively against his chin, “were once Sacred Druids of the Holy Order, a secret sect devoted to the higher calling of the gods of nature. But they were banished from the Order and cursed with the Unforgivable Curse. They were each branded with the darkest, most evil aspects of the elements they held in such reverence—earth, air, fire and water—dooming them to a life of pain and hurting all those they had sworn soul vows to help. The inner conflict of their new demons drove them mad!”

Sebastian flinches at his words, his hands clenched to his sides.

“They made a suicide pact and did what they could to end their lives. I found them just before the last vestiges of life had left their bodies. I saved them. Turned them. Made them practically immortal, though they could still be killed under the right circumstances. I didn’t want them falling to their basest instincts and attempting self-destruction again, so I compelled them to never attempt anything that could lead to suicide or imminent and foreseeable death. I compelled them to live.”

Derek glances away, his shoulders slumped. Liam refuses to make eye contact with anyone. Elijah is studying a book in his lap, though I suspect he isn't actually reading it.

Only Sebastian looks me in the eyes, with a small nod of the head. He wants me to know the truth. He doesn’t want to hide from me anymore.

The implications of what he’s said settle into me in layers. The first is that they are under constant compulsion, which to my understanding is a drain on everyone. I can’t imagine having a compulsion running 24/7 for like, ever. That’s gotta create some serious baggage.

Second, that the brothers are magical ancient Druids. So they have magic. Maybe not all they possessed before, but something.

And Dracula collected them like dolls and ordered them to stay alive even when their lives had turned into their worst nightmares day in and day out.

What pain must they be in? And how long have they endured this?

In a flash, their personalities come into focus, and I can see the wounds hidden beneath the anger in Liam, the stubbornness in Sebastian, the stoic intellectualism in Elijah, and the flirtatious charisma of Derek.

They each carry their sorrows in their own way.

And I wonder if part of my job is to help lighten those sorrows.

If only I understood how.

Chapter 9: The Impaler

Lookat how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness. ~ Anne Frank

The atmosphere isuncomfortable in the dining room as Dracula finishes outing the brothers and their secret past.

I'm wrapping my mind around the Druid part. If they each represent an element, then Liam is obviously fire. I study the other three, wondering what they are. My eyes land on Sebastian and I flash to the drawing I did of him when we first met, with a mountain range behind him. He must be earth, with his stubbornness and inflexibility. And Elijah is the thinker, the intellectual, full of ideas…that would make him air. Which leaves water for Derek. I wonder how those all manifest negatively. With fire and earth it's easy enough to see, but water and air? I'll have to pay more attention to the four of them. As if my thoughts aren't entirely consumed by them already.

Derek clears his throat and walks to the entrance of the dining room. "Shall we all retire to the library where we can discuss the case and get started? The trial will be starting soon. We need to be ready."

We all quietly shuffle out the door and follow Derek to the library. That's when Moon wakes up and begins meowing in my pocket. Everyone turns to stare at me.

"Are you aware that your sweater is meowing?" Elijah asks.

"Yes, uh, about that." I pull out the kitten, who hisses at the brothers fiercely. "I rescued him yesterday from the Moonweed bush. I'm keeping him."

I stare at each of them, daring them to challenge me.