Chapter 196: 196-The mother is back (2)
Vaki remained by the window for a long time, his fingers absently tracing the braids that hung down his back. His smile widened.
"Oh, Z, what am I going to do with you?" He asked in a friendly but playful tone.
There was a familiar gleam in his eyes now, one that had been absent for a thousand years. The mischief that had once made even the oldest beings of the Night Realm wary of him was slowly returning, though this time it was accompanied by an unmistakable warmth.
"After making me wait for so long, you dare to return without even saying hello?" He tilted his head, looking almost offended. "How cruel."
He paused, then chuckled to himself. "Never mind. I’ll forgive you."
He would forgive her for anything. That had always been his greatest weakness, and perhaps the only one he had never wished to overcome.
A knock sounded at the door. Vaki did not turn around. "Come in," he ordered.
The door opened, and a tall, dark-haired man entered. He wore the formal black robes of a high-ranking official of the Night Castle, his expression composed until his eyes landed on Vaki.
He stopped and for several seconds, he simply stared at his master without a word.
The man had served the Night Castle for nearly three centuries. He had witnessed Vaki’s many moods, endured his unpredictable whims, and survived enough of his master’s peculiar jokes to develop an almost supernatural ability to recognize danger. Yet he had never seen this expression on Vaki’s face.
"Your Highness," he began cautiously.
Vaki hummed.
The man hesitated before continuing. "There has been an unusual disturbance in the realm. Several ancient bloodline records have reacted simultaneously, and the royal observatory has detected an energy fluctuation that hasn’t appeared in its records for thousands of years."
"Mm."
"The elders are requesting your presence."
"Tell them I’m busy," he said without giving it a thought.
The official’s mouth twitched. Busy?
Vaki had spent the past several decades ignoring invitations, dismissing meetings, and occasionally vanishing for months without informing anyone. The elders had practically given up trying to secure his attendance at anything but today, something was different.
"Your Highness, this disturbance may concern the Mother. Some predict a vampire might have found a way to practised magic like she used to."
The room fell silent. Vaki’s fingers stopped moving. Slowly, he turned his head.
The official immediately regretted his choice of words. Not because Vaki looked angry, but because his smile had become even brighter.
"Oh?" Vaki asked pleasantly. "What did you say?"
The man swallowed. "The mother of vampires. The ancient presence that disappeared a millennium ago. The records..."
"Yes, yes. I heard you the first time," Vaki turned back toward the window. "How wonderful. It seems the old fossils have finally noticed and showed a reaction."
The official stared at his back, uncertain whether he should be relieved or alarmed.
"Should I inform the elders that you will attend the meeting?"
"No."
"Your Highness..."
"Tell them the Mother has returned," he let out.
The official’s face drained of color. Vaki glanced over his shoulder, his smile almost affectionate. "And tell them something else for me."
"What would that be?" The official asked hesitantly.
"Anyone who dares to approach her with malicious intentions will answer to me!"
His tone remained light, almost playful but the temperature in the room dropped.
The official felt a chill creep down his spine as an ancient pressure descended upon him. For one terrifying instant, he caught a glimpse of the creature Vaki had been before the Night Castle existed in its present form, before the current royal bloodlines had risen to power, and before the elders had learned to fear the name he carried.
Then the pressure disappeared. Vaki waved his hand dismissively. "Off you go."
The official bowed hurriedly and retreated, closing the door behind him. The moment he was alone, Vaki’s smile faded into something more thoughtful.
"Malicious intentions, huh?" He tapped his chin. "Actually, that won’t be enough."
His gaze drifted toward the distant mortal realm. Zissa had never been someone who needed protecting in the ordinary sense. If anything, she was the sort of person who made protecting her a rather dangerous undertaking for everyone involved.
Still, that had never stopped him from wanting to do it and if she had truly returned in a weakened state, inhabiting a vampire’s body or borrowing someone else’s existence, then the situation was considerably more complicated.
Vaki’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Taratoya..."
He recalled the name from the disturbance that had reached even the depths of the Night Realm. A vampire whose body had become the vessel for someone far older and more powerful than herself.
Then there was Maisa, the girl who had remained after the white-haired presence vanished and who got her to show herself.
Vaki tapped his fingers against the windowsill, his thoughts moving faster than they had in centuries.
If Z had returned, why had she appeared in that particular place? Why had she chosen that body? And, most importantly, why had she disappeared immediately after restoring the stolen lifespans? Was she unable to remain? Or had something forced her to leave?
The smile disappeared from his face entirely and for the first time since sensing her return, Vaki felt a faint trace of unease.
He had waited a thousand years. He could wait another day, another month, perhaps even another century if he had to but the thought of discovering that she had returned only to disappear again, his fingers tightened against the windowsill.
"No," he bellowed. "I don’t give you permission to vanish from my life again."
The word was quiet, but the ancient castle seemed to respond to it. Shadows stirred in the corners of the room, and the air trembled with a power that had remained dormant for far too long.
"Not this time, Z."
He would find her even if he had to turn the entire realm upside down or if he had to dig through the ruins of forgotten civilizations and interrogate every ancient being who had ever heard her name. He would find her.
And when he did, he would make certain she understood just how thoroughly she had inconvenienced him by disappearing for a thousand years.
Perhaps he would even demand compensation from her, a thousand years’ worth of it.
Vaki considered the idea for a moment before nodding to himself. "Yes. That sounds fair."
His smile returned and then, with a casual flick of his wrist, a black feather appeared between his fingers. It was unlike an ordinary feather, its edges shifting between darkness and a faint silver light.
He whispered a name and the feather trembled. Far beyond the Night Castle, beyond the territories ruled by the vampire clans, a dormant ancient seal stirred for the first time in a thousand years.
Vaki watched the feather dissolve into black mist. "Let’s see where you’ve gone, little runaway."
His voice was soft and full of fondness yet as the last trace of mist disappeared, the entire Night Castle shuddered.
Somewhere in its deepest chamber, a sealed door gave a faint, echoing creak and behind that door, something that had slept since the ancient age opened its eyes.
Vaki prepared to teleport there when a whisper entered his ear. "I want the rights to your first child in exchange for my help."
He paused, that was Zissa’s voice and it was a bargain with Maisa. His eyes darkened, the first born child? His darkened eyes widened.
"Zissa plans to..." He caught himself before he said it and his smile deepened. "I can’t believe it. You’ve only just returned and already your building up the world for chaos!" He seemed most pleased.