I woke with a start, a faint sheen on sweat on my forehead, sitting bolt upright. My head was pounding. Not only that, but I was in some sort of weird place. The walls of the room were white, as were the sheets and the dresser. It looked like a hospital. Actually, it might be. “Adriana?” I called, noticing that my arm was bandaged and didn’t hurt that much anymore, more like a dull, throbbing annoyance.
“Over here, sleeping beauty.” I turned towards the sarcastic voice to see the mirror at the foot of my bed. I picked it up to see Adriana had re-braided her hair and had made a necklace out of lilies. “You’ve been out of it for hours, Vivien.”
I shook my head slowly, my brain swarming with memories just beyond my reach. “What happened?” I asked hazily, placing a hand to my arm.
She shrugged. “Stuff.” I glared at her and she rolled her eyes. “Well, after you did a face-plant in the dirt because of blood loss, the man asked me what had happened. So I told him. I needed to get to the rebellion and you were accompanying me. He knew who I was, too. Right off. Strange. But he’s filthy rich! This place, you’re in the smallest room for recovery, it’s huge! And it has servants! The man who rescued you, he’s the owner of the estate, Mr. Barkier. He has a wife and this bratty kid who insulted me. Called me a witch lady as soon as he saw me. Remind me to kill him when I get out of here,” Adriana concluded with a sniff and a hair toss.
Okay then. “We’ve been invited to stay the night, too. Because you passed out, it’s about dusk right now and Mr. Barkier says that the demons come out more at night,” Adriana added.
And we wouldn’t want to run into more demon dogs, now would we? “Hey, do you think that this Mr. Barkier person would let me eat something? I’m famished,” I asked Adriana, my stomach growling noisily, and she shrugged.
“The worst he can do is kill you. Which would suck, because then I would need another messenger,” I glared at her again and she smirked.
I rolled out of bed and landed softly on my feet, my head swimming for a second before clearing. I walked around for a minute to make sure I wasn’t going to go light-headed and pass out or anything, but I was okay, so I walked out in search of the kitchen. Adriana was right. This place was huge. The walls were a pale blue color and there were busts of people whom I didn’t know decorating every table. There were far too many doors to count and the hallway was super long. Finally I poked my head out of the hallway to see a giant room, probably the size of my house. It had brown sofas and a pool table, along with a coffee table and a cabinet full of china. “Fancy,” I murmured and Adriana nodded her agreement, looking around.
I went through a door on the opposite end of the room to see what I had been looking for: the kitchen. There was a huge stove and a pile of dishes next to a sink, along with tons of cabinets that were probably filled with food. There was also a boy there, my age if not slightly older, with his face in a cabinet, looking for food. Adriana hissed. “It’s him. The brat boy,” she growled and I placed a hand over the mirror.
He was wearing a black tuxedo that was covered in crumbs, and when he took his face out of the cabinet, a donut in hand, I saw his face. He had pale blue eyes and blond hair that was slightly mussed up but you could see had a little gel in it. He had a soft face and wasn’t smiling. “Hey,” I told him cheerily. Just because Adriana was a witch doesn’t mean I had to be.
He nodded in response. “Hello. You must be the girl that got attacked by the demons.” I nodded sheepishly. “You have the witch lady with you?” he asked, eyeing the mirror.
“Her name is Captain Adriana. She’s not a witch, either,” I told him, crossing my arms. He raised one eyebrow. “And I’m Vivien Diaz. You are?” I asked him, not liking him very much.
“Taz. Taz Barkier,” he answered proudly.
Strange name. Apparently Adriana thought so too, because she opened her mouth to say something, until I knocked on the surface. Taz smiled. “So, I hear you guys are on some sort of journey to the rebellion.” I nodded a confirmation. “That’s pretty cool. You just dropping her off or are you staying or what?” he asked and I shrugged.
“I’m not sure. Probably just dropping her off,” I answered shortly.
Taz opened his mouth to ask another question, but just then a woman with a ridiculously long gown and her hair all done up in some fancy bun whirled around the corner, her earrings so long that they nearly whacked her in the face. “Taz Barkier!” she shrieked and Taz sighed, putting his donut down.
This must be the wife. She had on way too much makeup, so that her whole face was nearly white and she had two splashes of red for cheeks. “Yes, Mother?” he asked her with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“What are you doing in the kitchen? I told you that you are not allowed in here until tomorrow! What is that you’re eating?” she demanded, but didn’t give him a chance to answer, because she had launched into another rant. Thank the lord my mom wasn’t like this. “Where is Kyran? I specifically instructed him to keep you out of the kitchen!”
I nudged Taz while his mother continued and he raised his eyebrows, a sign that he was listening. “Who’s Kyran?” I asked softly and he smirked.
“My personal servant.”
Wow. How rich did you have to be in order for your kid to have his own servant? Mrs. Barkier whirled on Taz, shoving a fan in his face. “Well? Where is Kyran?”
Taz looked like he was ready to burst into laughter. “I instructed him to go outside and catch rabbits.” I know I burst into laughter and it sounded like Adriana did too.
Mrs. Barkier’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly. “Why would you do such a thing?” she asked him, her mouth still open slightly.
Taz smiled broadly. “I wanted a pet rabbit, Mother. Plus, I also wanted food, and I knew he wouldn’t let me in here unless he wasn’t with me. So I instructed him to go and catch me some rabbits,” he laughed, unable to help but keep it inside.
As if on cue, the door to the kitchen opened and a boy walked in. He still looked my age but looked greatly annoyed. He had long snow white hair and icy brown eyes, along with skin that was extraordinarily pale. He was dressed all in white. It looked like someone had taken a brush and washed all the color out of him. I knew that this had to be Kyran, because his arms were full of about four rabbits. The sight made me laugh again. “Ah. Kyran. Perfect timing,” Taz chortled, eyeing his mom.
Kyran said nothing, just glowered and stared straight ahead. “Kyran, dear, put the rabbits back in the garden,” Mrs. Barkier sighed, fanning herself.
Kyran walked over to me, scanned me up and down, nodded, then walked over to the window and opened it with his foot, proceeding to dump all the rabbits back outside. I didn’t like his eyes. They kind of freaked me out. Mrs. Barkier curled up her fan and whacked Taz over the head with it. “How dare you take advantage of him like that?” she yelled, thumping him repeatedly. I was laughing so hard I was almost in tears now. Taz covered his face with his arms and made a sort of half-strangled yell of protest.
I slyly glanced over at Kyran, who had a small evil smirk on his face. When Mrs. Barkier was done, she swooped over to Kyran and hugged him tightly. “I’m so sorry that my horrible son made you catch rabbits.”
Kyran gave Taz a smug look and Taz gritted his teeth. “I’m assuming you don’t like each other,” I murmured to Taz, wiping away my tears.
“Nah, it’s not like I don’t like him, he’s just… Kyran. You’ll see,” he declared as Mrs. Barkier finished squeezing Kyran and folded her fan back up.
With one evil glare at her son, Mrs. Barkier flew out of the room, nearly knocking over a table in the process. “Well, Kyran, Vivien. Vivien, Kyran,” Taz said, nodding at Kyran.
“Pleasure,” I told him and he gave me a small bow.
After a minute of us just staring at each other, a loud voice came from the mirror in my hand. “Hey, kid, you talk? Say something, will ya? You’re kind of freaking me out here!” Adriana yelled and I held up the mirror.
“This is Captain Adriana,” I added lamely and Kyran snatched the mirror from me, examining the surface.
“What are you staring at?” Adriana snapped.
“I think I’m beginning to like her,” Taz mumbled and I smiled. Kyran stared at the mirror until even Adriana was forced into silence. Then he tossed it back to me with an evil grin. “Well, I haven’t seen that evil smile in a long time,” Taz said uneasily, glancing from me to the mirror to Kyran, then to the mirror again. Kyran shrugged, his smile fading into a small smirk. “Knock it off, you’re freaking me out,” Taz snapped and Kyran’s smirk faded into a stony frown.
I poked Kyran to get his attention and he snapped to attention so fast it made me jump. “Do you talk?” I repeated Adriana’s question, who had retreated into a stony silence. Silence.
“Kyran’s a Vox,” Taz said easily and shivers ran down my spine.
The Vox were people who had either stood up to the sorcerers and gotten severely injured or disabled, or that they were horrible criminals, usually murderers, who had been hunted down by the king and had paid for their crimes. I edged away from Kyran slowly and he blinked. Then, with startling speed, he jumped at me, landing an inch away from me, making me shriek. He smirked and Taz socked him over the head, hard. “Stop it. You’re scaring her.”
Kyran bristled, then frowned and put a hand to the back of his head. It came away with chocolate frosting on it. I smiled at him cruelly and his icy eyes flashed. “So… What’s his issue?” I asked Taz slowly as Kyran slyly wiped the frosting on Taz’s sleeve. Taz socked him again and examined his sleeve in disgust.
“He can’t talk,” Taz sneered as Kyran rubbed the back of his head sulkily. Ah. Explains his silence. I rubbed my arms. I had never met a Vox before. Kyran didn’t live up to my expectations, but he was still pretty scary, even if he was only about an inch taller than me. “Pretty spooky, right? Having a Vox as a servant?” Taz said with a grin, creeping towards me with his hands out. I shoved him lightly and he laughed. I think I actually liked Taz. He was fun and pretty carefree, not at all like the rare rich brats where I lived.
“So how do you guys communicate?” I asked Taz, swinging my gaze back to Kyran, who was cleaning up Taz’s crummy mess.
“I talk to him. He glares at me. I punch him. He punches me back. He gets in trouble with the butler for ‘physically assaulting his master’,” Taz said with a shrug. “You learn his looks and glares after a while.” As if on cue, Kyran swung his gaze to Taz, a scowl on his face. “That’s his ‘don’t talk about me like I’m not here’ glare. I get that a lot.” Kyran smirked and turned back to his work, swiping wrappers into the trash can. I couldn’t help but smile. “He’ll do anything I tell him to. He owes us.”
I looked at Taz quizzically and Kyran whirled around. I got that glare. It was the death glare. “Oh, shut up,” Taz snapped and Kyran pulled the ends of his mouth down in an unnaturally large frown before turning back around. “Yeah. Probably right after he became a Vox. Turned up in the fields where you were. Totally beaten up. Totally mangled. Maimed, he was,” Taz reminisced and Kyran turned around slowly, giving him a look that clearly said, ‘another subject, please’. Taz smirked and continued. “My dad took him in. The kid could read and write. Wrote out what happened to him,” Taz said with a shrug.
“What did happen to him?” Kyran gave me the glare and I corrected myself. “What happened to you?” I offered and Kyran gave me an approving nod, even when Taz answered for him.
“Got attacked by the king.”
I shivered. “That means he’s a criminal?” I mumbled, edging closer to Taz and away from Kyran.
“Nah. It means he was framed,” Taz said with another shrug. I raised an eyebrow and Taz looked at me exasperatedly. “Can you see this guy killing anyone?” he said, slugging Kyran in the arm lightly. Kyran took no notice. I shook my head. I couldn’t match up killer with the guy who had rabbits in his arms a couple minutes ago. “So he started working here. Like I said, he’ll do anything anyone asks him to. Isn’t that right?” Taz crooned, mocking, and Kyran stole the opportunity to whack him upside the head. “OUCH!” Taz yelled, ending it with a curse.
I stifled a giggle and Kyran gave Taz a look which I interpreted as ‘karma’. “Kyran, did you hit Master Taz again?” A loud voice came from up the stairs. Taz grinned smugly at Kyran, who tensed and pounded on the table with a tightly clenched fist. “Kyran, in my room, please.” Kyran took no notice. “Get in here.” Kyran sighed and trudged up the stairs, getting ready to be chewed out.
“Serves him right,” Taz muttered satisfactorily, rubbing his jaw. “Anyway, let me show you around the house,” he said, grinning at me and I nodded.
***
Taz showed me his parent’s room first, where the bed was about the size of my room. Then the living room again and he showed me where everything was in the kitchen and informed me that I could take whatever I wanted. They had some good stuff in there, too. Taz’s room was pretty cool, with all sorts of books and games, along with a bell that had ‘Ring to Call Kyran’ written messily below it. I privately wondered how Kyran was supposed to hear the bell, but decided not to ask. He showed me the gardens, which had every color and every flower imaginable, along with gigantic trees that we both climbed, much to his mom’s chagrin. He showed me the servant’s quarters, and the rooms were fairly big, a bit smaller than my room back at home but still having a bed and a dresser. Kyran had his own room near Taz’s, but Taz didn’t even acknowledge it, probably because it had a big sign nailed to it that said ‘Kyran’s Room. Come in and I will slice your stomach open and stir your innards with an iron stick’. I got the feeling that Kyran was waiting for Taz to come in his room just so he could fill out his threat. I think Taz felt the same way. Finally both of us ended up back in Taz’s room, sitting on his bed and him questioning me about my life back at home.
Taz wasn’t anything like I had expected. We have a rich family like Taz’s back at home, and they have a kid too, only that kid is so incredibly snotty and I hate him. He was always snooty and thought he was better than everyone else, a total stiff-collar. Taz wasn’t like that. He was more fun, more carefree, and didn’t care that I was so much less wealthy than him. He seemed genuinely interested in the way that we ran our little town and the Day and Night market. He said he occasionally saw some creatures going in the direction of the town and probably on the way to the Night market. He seemed amused by Raine’s skittish attitude and was fascinated by the way my mom didn’t flare up and whack me with fans. “Hey, Taz, can I have some food?” I asked him finally after a moment of silence, because I had never actually gotten the food that I had come for in the kitchen.
He gave me a quick grin and nodded, swinging his hand out and hitting the bell for Kyran. It gave a small little chime that didn’t seem nearly loud enough. “You sure that’ll be loud-” I began, but stopped short when Kyran entered the room, head bowed. He looked up sulkily, hands clasped behind his back. Hm. Good hearing, perhaps? Taz looked at me and nodded. I felt so incredibly awkward. I had never given an order to someone before. “Um, could you bring me some food?” I asked him delicately, then looked away because his eyes were freaking me out again.
“Be more specific. He’ll bring you scraps from the garbage can if you’re not careful,” Taz murmured.
I had to smile at that. I could honestly see Kyran coming in Taz’s room with a smile and arms full of trash. “Um, edible food?” Taz shook his head slightly. “A cupcake,” I tried and Taz nodded. “Could you bring me a cupcake?” I asked Kyran uncertainly and Taz shook his head in mock exasperation.
“His answer to that question would be no. Orders, Vivien.” But apparently he could sense my discomfort and shrugged before turning to Kyran, who had a small amused smirk on his face. “Kyran. Bring her a cupcake,” Taz told Kyran and he trotted out of the room obediently. “You’ve gotta be specific. If you ask him to give you a cupcake, he’ll throw it at your face. I know that from experience. He’s mastered the art of twisting orders around.” Once again, I could see Taz covered in cupcake and Kyran smirking evilly in the background. “But he’ll do it, one way or another. Unless you give him a ridiculous order,” Taz continued and I listened carefully. I didn’t want to give Kyran a weird order and have him do something bad. “I was pushing it with the rabbits earlier. When I was younger and Kyran had just been assigned to me, I was abusing my power and told him to go outside and get crickets to dip in chocolate for the pleasure of seeing him chase after them.” I smacked him in disgust and he rubbed his arm with a mischievous smile . “He did it without a word, as usual, but also shoved several down my throat.” If Kyran had been there I would’ve smacked him too.
Just then Kyran came back inside, a chocolate cupcake with sprinkles on a small dish in his hand. “Hand it to her,” Taz said immediately, probably not wanting a repeat incident of the throwing cupcake. Kyran smirked and bowed, holding out the cupcake dish. I looked at Taz, who shrugged. I gently took the plate from Kyran, and our fingers brushed. No, we didn’t feel static like in the books, but his hands were icy cold. I quickly pulled back and set the plate on my lap, looking down. “That is all. You may go back to your room now,” Taz said coldly, not even looking at him. He was staring at me, concerned.
Kyran frowned his unnaturally large frown again and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. “He’s cold,” I mumbled, aware that I had goosebumps. “Why? That’s really not normal.”
Taz grinned easily and leaned back against his pillow. “He has no soul,” he told me with a smile.
I couldn’t tell if he was joking.