Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
“That ain’t happening.” Reeve continues walking.
I study my surroundings as Cara leads me into what looks like a small marketplace. There are stalls with vendors hawking their wares in odd languages. I’ve calmed down from initial rage and terror. Now I can concentrate on my surroundings.
The gnome mentioned that I don’t speak Gaelic. I’m almost certain this is the language spoken all around me now. It makes sense, in a weird way. The creatures around me appear to be straight out of Northern European lore. Gaelic was an ancient language of both Ireland and Scotland. I took courses in lore in college, and I’ve been thinking about what Beck could be. It’s obvious he doesn’t think of himself as human. After watching the way the gnomes treat him, I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s a faery of some kind. From the looks of him, he’s more than likely a sidhe. They’re the human-looking faeries and the ruling class. If my lore is correct, he will belong to one of two tribes, the Seelie and the Unseelie. The Seelie are the blessed, shining ones, while the Unseelie hold all the monsters the Fae have to offer. I would bet he’s a Seelie, though I haven’t gotten a look at his ears. According to some lore, they should be slightly pointed. Of course, not all myths prove true in this strange place. The vampire more than makes that case since he’s walking around in the daylight.
“Hey, vampire guy, shouldn’t you be all crispy and fried by now?” I ask bluntly because he seems like a blunt kind of man. Vampire. Dude. I don’t know.
Dellacourt stops in his tracks and laughs. “Damn, she really is from the Earth plane. Darling, the vampires there are idiots who got lost and can’t find their way back. I read all the DLs on the subject. Horrifying stuff, really. You see, your sun is different. It has a bad effect on my kind. It puts us into a weird fugue state during the daylight hours, and if we get caught in it, we sort of explode.”
Reeve presses on, ignoring Dante’s explanation. “Don’t go filling her head with nonsense. Don’t believe a word he says. Vampires like to make themselves seem more important than they really are. The Earth plane is one of the inner planes. It’s why it’s protected the way it is. Everyone knows we all came from there originally. There was a heavenly plane and the place where the demons come from, and there was Earth.”
See, this is information I’m interested in. Also, vampires are real on Earth, but they’re not like the vamp in front of me?
Dante shakes his head. “We’ll have to agree to disagree, but I for one am thrilled I’m not an earthbound vamp.” A shudder goes through him. “Apparently, the animals there aren’t fit for consumption, so they end up eating a diet made up entirely of human blood. Though I’ve heard your kind tastes spectacular, sweetheart. I’ve often thought that if I could get a trade route onto the human plane, I could make a ton of money selling human blood.”
Reeve frowns at the vampire. “Don’t go scaring the poor girl.”
“Mr. Dellacourt doesn’t scare me, exactly, though I find him slightly repugnant,” I admit, eliciting a snort of agreement from Cara. “I do want to know more about these planes thingees. Like how does one travel between them?”
The vampire utterly ignores my very reasonable question. “Oh, no, that won’t do. The name’s Dante, sweetheart. Please, all the beautiful women call me Dante. And I’ll have you know I am considered extremely good-looking.”
I shrug and walk on. I suppose he’s attractive. He’s tall and lanky but seems strong. His hair is a thick reddish gold and cut in a stylish fashion. It’s long and spiky and probably requires a lot of upkeep to look that messy. I noted his eyes are green before they were covered by his sunglasses. “You sound like a used car salesman.”
“His sister runs one of the biggest corporations on the vamp plane, but Dellacourt here is only allowed to oversee the family’s computer chain. They rebuild old machines,” Reeve pipes up, seemingly eager to pile on to Dante.
“Yep,” I say with a satisfied smile. “Used car salesman.”
We’re getting close to what appears to be a massive arena. It’s circular and constructed from a combination of wood and stone. There are several arches that appear to be entryways. A roar of approval rings from the arena, nearly shaking the ground around me.
Dante pulls on Reeve’s arm, getting down to one knee. All previous sarcasm has fled, and in its place is an earnest desperation. “I am begging you. Give me half an hour. You can delay half an hour. Look, Beckett Finn is in the woods somewhere hunting. I’ll pay his fee to enter the tournament. His brother is dying. He needs her. Don’t you owe your king something?”