‘Danton brimmed with contempt as his eyes flickered over me. I mustn’t have looked much – haggard and muddy, eyes pouched in shadows.
‘“A black coat and a lungful of cur’s blood does not a silversaint make,” he said.
‘I drew the blade at my belt, the silver music of its voice in my head.
‘I was … having the strangest d-dream …
‘“Time to wake up, Ash. We’ve work to do.”
‘Oh? … Oh, ohhhh yesss yesyes …
‘The wretched pulling the coach stirred. Their mouths slack, their fangs sharp. Danton’s pale lip curled. And with a blink, he released them from his hold.
‘They dropped the crossguards and came on in a rolling flood, vicious and soulless and quick. There were almost as many as the day before, when I lost poor Justice and ran for my miserable life. But today, I wasn’t just a man unhorsed and a meal uneaten. Today, the sanctus was pounding in my veins and my swordarm was iron. And as Ashdrinker began humming an old broken nursery rhyme inside my head, I was running at them, their empty eyes filling with surprise as my blade began to dance.
‘It’s a strange thing, to fight in the grip of the bloodhymn. Each moment feels a decade long, and yet, the whole world moves in a blood-red blur. I cut through those dozen coldbloods like a straight razor through silk, and in her wake, the air was filled with the ashes my blade was named for. Sweet release was the only gift I could give those poor girls, and so I did, to every one. And when I was done, I stood there in the muddy road, my coat, my skin, my blade, all slicked with gore and streaked with grey, and for a terrible moment, I wondered how on earth I could’ve left all this behind.
‘“Almighty God,” I heard someone whisper on the walls above.
‘“Magnificent …” the capitaine murmured.
‘My senses were as sharp as the sword in my hand, my pulse athunder. I flicked a sluice of blood off Ashdrinker’s blade and into the cold mud at my boots. And brushing a speck of soot off my lapel, I looked the Beast of Vellene in the eye.
‘“What do you want with the boy, Danton?”
‘The vampire gave no reply, his gaze flickering briefly to the carnage at my feet, the bloody sword in my hand. I searched those dark eyes, looking for a scrap, a crumb.
‘“I heard some nonsense about the Redeemer’s cup?”
‘The female sneered. “You know nothing, mortal.”
‘“I know you made a mistake, leech, coming here with the sun still up.”
‘I saw that blow land at least. A tiny flicker of it in Danton’s dusk-dark eyes as he threw a glance to the watercolour sky above. The Beast of Vellene was a child of the most powerful vampire under heaven. He’d obviously ridden up to these walls thinking he’d roll right through them and the peasants atop them. But instead, he’d found me.
‘The fledgling’s eyes narrowed, fangs glinting. “Who are you?”
‘“You mustn’t be much, chérie,” I sniffed, “if you don’t even know who I am.”
‘Show them, G-gabriel, came a silver whisper.
‘I reached up, unlacing my collar so they could look upon my face. The female didn’t blink, but Danton surely did, recognition splintering the black ice of his eyes. He glanced again at the broken blade in my hand. The place on my coat where the sevenstar had once been stitched. The tip of his tongue pressed to the edge of one sharp canine.
‘“De León. Ye live.”
‘“Sadly.”
‘“How?” he hissed.
‘“God didn’t want me. And the devil was afraid to open the door.” I took one step forward, eyes narrowing. “You look frightened too, Danton.”
‘“I fear no man,” he sneered. “I am a Prince of Forever.”
‘I laughed at that. High as heaven was wide. “There’s no one more afraid to die than those who believe they’re undying. Your big sister taught me that.”
‘Fury flashed in his eyes. “Ye meddle in affairs ye cannot possibly comprehend.”
‘I shrugged. “Other people’s business was always my favourite kind.”
‘They moved then. A stuttering flash of black cloth and marble skin. My wheellock was in my hand in a blink, tracking the female as she charged. She was swift, no doubt. But a pistol shot moves faster than a fledgling, hits ten times harder than any arrow. And with a fresh dose of sanctus in my veins, I wasn’t one to miss at that range.
‘The silvershot struck her in the face, right in the tiny crack at her cheek where the arrow had already hit, sending her reeling backwards with a bubbling shriek.
‘Danton moved faster, and I was on my back foot in an instant. He came on like a cannon blast – older, stronger, just a blur of dead eyes and flashing teeth. His sabre glinted like lightning in his hand. His strikes were a hurricane. A slash from his blade almost took the jaw off my face, blood running red and hot down my neck. His boot landed in my belly, and I felt my insides rupture as I flew thirty yards back into the freezing mud.
‘All coldbloods are tough as nails. Like palebloods, they ignore wounds that would orphan most men’s children. But the flesh of the Voss bloodline can turn silver aside. Their eldest can even resist the kiss of flame. For all my taunts, this bastard was deadly, and I knew if I slipped just once, he’d slice my arse up like fresh spudloaf.
‘I rolled back to my feet, wove aside from his blows, the bloodhymn ringing in my veins. Like I said, the batch I’d smoked wasn’t top-shelf. But just because you coldbloods can prance about in the day now, doesn’t mean you still aren’t ten times more fearsome in the dead of night. Feeble as it was, the dark sunlight made Danton weaker than if it had been pitch black. And in the end, that was the edge I grabbed hold of.
‘I reached to my bandolier, flinging a glass phial at the vampire’s face. It exploded with a flash, a cloud of black ignis and silver caustic bursting in the air. The silverbomb was barely enough to singe him, but some of the dust did reach his eyes, and Danton reeled backwards, flailing. And hard as I could, I brought my blade down.
‘Ashdrinker sheared the air, still humming off-key in my head as she took Danton’s swordarm off at the elbow. His flesh was iron, but in daylight, the blade was its match, all my hate and rage behind the blow. Danton’s severed hand exploded into ashes, years of denied decay turning in a heartbeat. He snarled, claws hissing past my chin as I smashed a phial of holy water into his face. His snarl became a scream, eyes wide with agony and running red with blood.
‘“Ye dare …”
‘I reached for his throat then, desperate to clutch him. One handful would be all I needed. But my fingers caught only air. The Beast of Vellene stood forty feet away now, back in the tumbling sleet, clutching his severed arm. The stump was smoking, his sabre lying in the mud. I reached inside my greatcoat, unslung my silvered chain and flail. Gasping and bleeding. Broken ribs stabbing with every breath.
‘“Not staying for the funeral?” I wheezed.
‘I took another step forward, but the vampire flashed twenty feet back in the blink of an eye. The Beast of Vellene had weighed the scales, and though he’d kicked the shite out of me, he still plainly found the balance wanting. The sun was up. The foe he faced was one he wasn’t prepared for. You don’t live for centuries by being impatient.