Chapter 16

He told me we were going to the Lazarus Hotel where the defenders had organized a ball. I sat in his limo fidgeting the entire time. He smiled at me when we were being escorted to a hanger. A man with crazy tattoos waved his hand and opened a door. The other side looked like the desert. All we had to was walk right through. When we got through the portal to our destination I spent a few minutes looking for the hotel and thought it was camouflaged. Dracula chuckled and waited till I was done playing explorer. He escorted me to the mountain. He pointed to a spot and it took me a moment to figure it out. He was pointing at one of the fissures. When we got in we were greeted by a tall thin wood nymph wearing raw hide skirt, a black corset and white t-shirt. She smiled and gave him a polite courtesy "Prince. Welcome to the Lazarus Hotel" I looked around the tiny five by twelve space and the only space that looked suspicious was behind her. It was a wall with a really weird crack on it. I tried to press my hand against the wall in case it gave but it didn't. I turned to see an amused Drake. He was enjoying my curiosity with a lot more merriment than he should. He took my hand and walked towards his right. He pointed at the hole on the floor. He jumped and so did I. He escorted me to the real entrance. Up close I saw that the entrance was a huge hole with spiral stairway that lead to a series of elaborate tunnels. It had gold veins spider webbed here and there on the walls that leads to the main hall. The ceiling was cut into facets like those you see on precious stones. Except these were carved so the inside was hollowed and the border of the facet was the only part not carved. The sound of each step I took bounced off them. That proved that escaping here wouldn't get me very far. I would be caught and jailed and tortured for all eternity. I was greeted by a cutest little gnome the size of my palm sitting on a round table decorated with orchids and tiger lilies. He gave us a once over and allowed us to enter. Drake and I walked through a curtain of Emerald beads. The room was dome shaped and was illuminated by a huge chandelier in the centre of the room. It was made up of tear drop shaped rubies and diamonds. What held it together was white gold that was roughly hammered into the shape of a tree. I saw fairies sitting on each gemstone and their bodies were giving a faint glow. I slipped and hit a chair I looked up to see it was a throne. There were different types thrones littered here and there. Each one was meticulously carved and studded with jewels. The floor took my breath away. It was decorated with Opals, Rose Quarters and mother of pearl. It looked like a stained glass windows that I see in old aristocratic estates. The walls were hand carved to perfection. The light danced around the room and when the light hit the gold vein it glittered like an exotic necklace. The place looked exquisite. I had to force myself to close my mouth as I looked around to see the place was filled with people from both sides. They were there to collect the keys for their respective rooms. The receptionist was a dwarf who hurried to get them their keys. Each side had their own reception counter and one that match the side that they were catering to. They each stayed on their corner and stared at each other with deepest apprehension and purest loathing. You can tell where their allegiance lie from their appearance. The defenders looked beautiful like vogue model wearing a range outfits from plain clothes to tuxedos and party dresses. The helm of darkness on the other hand looked mostly like your worst nightmare multiplied by a thousand. They were dressed in either black or red silk, leather or crocodile skin. Their leaders were seriously blinged out. Some had scary tattoos and other were fire branded or had scars like the tribal markings of African tribal villages or had weird body modifications done to their bodies. I realized then that this was a neutral zone which means even the slightest incident is a declaration of war. When I saw the defenders' council I rather wish that I was with facing great white sharks on Tiamat's island. When I saw James I felt a pang of betrayal. His sad face made me wish I said hello to the Kraken or strayed away in the city of gold and had the merpeople chase me screeching with pitchforks and torches. I only did it because I had no choice. I wanted him to know that he mattered to me. Dracula growled his displeasure at my thoughts. He can't sever the connection I have with James but he doesn't like what I have to think either. So he did the next best thing. He forbade me to talk to him. I just wanted to bury the hatchet. He allowed me five minutes.

As I walked towards James his face gave some signs of life. William was particularly distant but you can tell he wanted to give me a piece of his mind. I apologized and explained what had happened and the council seemed calm. It turns out Dracula had decided to switch sides. My marriage to him cemented his return. James gave me a meek smile and wished me well. The redhead was missing so I asked she had expired because of the dark woods. They nod their head solemnly. I took a moment of silence to honor her as well. But before I could say anymore Drake came to say time up. I waved bye and walked with his arm tightly around mine.

We were escorted to the empire room which is one of the most spacious room in the hotel. Its walls were studded with mother of pearl and large veins of gold. More fairies dancing around the ceiling. But these were really tiny ones so they resemble stars in the night sky. There was a four poster bed. There was a Jacuzzi and much more. I thought this is how the other half lives. Dracula chuckled, "Get use to it my lady. This is the rest of your life" I blushed as he walked out of the room to use the study for a short conference. There was a sharp knock on the door and gypsy asked us to come downstairs for an emergency.

We came downstairs and saw that one from either side was killed. They wanted to smoke out the killer. The head of the hotel was a elderly dwarf. He was bald and his beard was white. He wore an eye patch and had a prosthetic leg well. He walked us all to the interrogation area and called the cute dwarf to come in. He wasn't cute for very long as he transformed into the most hideous beast I had ever seen. I screamed and passed immediately. When I woke up I was tied to a chair and a nasty looking creature was an inch away from my face. I screamed and it ran away really fast. The nymph standing by my right undid my bounds and allowed me to leave she said I had passed the test. Whatever I had done to pass it I thanked God as I walked back to my room. I was surrounded by tiny fairies as I walked back to my room. According to William it was a sign that I had never harmed an innocent or broke any rules of the covenant. It took the hotel staff six hours to find that scary looking beast to resume the interrogations. When I came back after I refreshed myself I was received by the host himself with polite humility and grace. He apologized profusely and escorted me to the best table where my husband was waiting for me Fire Roses. I hate fire roses. So I waved my hand to say no. Immediately they turned into sterling silver roses. I hugged them with love. He smiled as I hugged him too. We sat down and enjoyed a few veal steaks extra rare and washed it down with blood bags. We had finished dinner and I decided we should dance. He happily obliged my request. We danced till I felt awkward. He felt my discomfort and asked me if I wanted to learn what other gifts vampires can do. I asked him if he was yanking my chain. He laughed, "Mind maze, flying, hypnosis and turning into bats aren't all we can do. We can control animals too. Also there are other gifts that take aptitude and discipline. It is going to be fun" I chuckled, "You are the strictest teacher in the world so fun is the last thing I will have learning." He nod in agreement, "Some develop these skills with the help of a tutor. You managed it mostly from observation and just intuition. That is special" I got bored so he took me to the theatre. We sat down to watch an airshow where nymphs, mermaids and faeries did all sorts of things. I spent the entire show with my eyes glued to the performance.