Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer Read Free Page B

feared for her own life. Had she sought some reassurance that the terrible sacrifice she had made in bearing me might somehow be redeemed?
    “What arcane circles?” I demand. “Damn you both, speak! I will have no more mystification!”
    The two exchange a glance. Dee clears his throat and, throwing off some of his usual gravity, blurts, “Majesty, our realm is under threat from a dread enemy more terrible than any you can imagine. It can only be defeated by the most extraordinary powers, which, grace to God, we believe you now possess.”
    “Of what enemy do you speak?” I demand.
    Does he mean the Pope, who threatens to excommunicate me if I do not return my realm to the rule of Rome? The Spaniards, who, unless I agree to marry their king, my late sister’s despicable husband, will turn all their might to my destruction? The French, dedicated intriguers and worse? The Irish, intent on outdoing the French in every manner of mischief? The Scots … the Welsh … I can go on and on for truly I am beset by enemies of every stripe. Yet none are more terrible than I can imagine. What else then lurks within my realm?
    Scourge of evil.
    My mother’s words spring into my mind, bringing with thema sudden sensation of cold that sweeps over me despite the warmth of the nearby fire and the fur cloak I still wear.
    “An ancient foe,” Cecil says somberly. “Come to this kingdom in the distant past during the time of Arthur. They were very nearly defeated then but not entirely. A remnant remained, which, grown stronger down through the centuries, now threatens to overwhelm this land. You are our only hope of stopping them.”
    “What enemy?” I ask. “By what name are they called?”
    “They go by several names,” Dee says. “The Babylonians called them demons and sacrificed their children to placate them. The Hebrews warned of them, calling them beings that lived by drinking the blood of innocents. The Greeks worshipped and feared them. The Romans did the same. For centuries, they have been known in this kingdom as
revenant,
arising out of death. But they are also known by another name, one we believe they use for themselves: vampire.”
    My breath catches. He is speaking of a foe from beyond the mortal realm, creatures of the dark, vile beings capable of making the skin crawl and the mind cringe in horror.
    “How can this be?” I protest. “Surely, God would not allow—”
    “The Almighty in His infinite wisdom sends us challenges we cannot always understand,” Dee says. “But He never leaves us unequipped to meet them. Your existence is proof of that.”
    My existence? I am the child of a despised mother who died because she bore me. I have lived all my life under the shadow of death. Even now, staring out the window into the depths of night, I swear that I can still see the spectral scaffold waiting for me.
    “Arthur fell to them,” Cecil says. “But his kingdom prevailed. Your kingdom now, my lady, yours to protect.”
    My mind reels at the thought and, in so doing, snatches at what passes for reason. “Arthur fell to his bastard son, Mordred, who was a man like any other for all that he was evil—”
    “No, Majesty,” Dee says grimly. “Mordred was born a man but he chose the path of darkness, becoming a vampire in order to gain the power to defeat his royal father. He sought to rule this realm for all eternity, but he was stopped by the first of the great vampire slayers from whom you descend directly.”
    “I know my lineage. There is nothing such as you—”
    “Morgaine Le Fey, called enchantress by those who do not understand what she truly was,” Cecil says implacably. “You are of her blood, as was your mother. A thousand years have passed since Morgaine defeated Mordred, leaving him with only a withered remnant of his kind from which, unfortunately, he has rebuilt his revenant kingdom. Now it falls to you to complete her work.”
    Am I expected to battle beings from the nether reaches of