After Carmen literally flew the coop, I made the bed appear that she was sleeping in it. I doubted it was convincing enough as humans do breathe subconsciously while they're asleep. Carmen's also a heavy snorer but they didn't need to know that. The seamstress returned to continue work on my dress and it didn't take her long to finish. If you ever seen folk dancers in costume from Eastern Europe, it's basically what the dress looked like, embroidered vests and all, except more black. Seriously, it's like some weird vampire stereotype that we're all Gothic fashion freaks. I mean it in the subculture, not the Germanic tribes who were mostly werewolves by the way.
The moment the seamstress was about to declare my dress fitting done, she realized that she didn't bring up the matching headpiece so she left to get it again. You'd think that a castle with servants she'd get one of them to bring it up to her. Anyway, with her gone I reached into my bag and pulled out a broken EMF detector used in ghost hunting. How I found this thing is another story, but it was one way I could bring him along. Even in times of dire need Draven is still of some use.
"Okay, Draven, you can come out now," I summoned him in a singsong tone.
The device made some beeping noises and within seconds he was floating in front of me. And he sported a huge grin on his face. "You look lovely in that dress. It suits you well, Mistress."
"I'd thank you under different circumstances. It's—"
"Your wedding dress. I listened into the conversation you had with Jimi and left before the other barrier was put up."
"Well, if you were watching out for me, you—"
"Barrier."
The thing with dust barriers is it traps traps anyone inside. If no one, human or not, can leave, neither could they enter. He saw Lukasz coming and he could've warned me faster than Ramsay getting James. It explained why I was stuck in this situation as anything with legs take a while. Not that Talia did something for plot convenience convincing us to take the dust.
"Well, if you were paying close attention, Remi has a working cell phone and the signal strength's good enough for a decent internet search. How are your bilocation skills?"
Draven stroked his chin. "Mara may have mentioned how to do it at some point, but I can't quite recall."
"You can appear in two locations at once. You can either be in the past and present simultaneously, or still be in the present elsewhere. You can't change the past but you can affect the future outcome."
"Oh yeah, I've done that before. Mara humiliates me every time I do that. I don't really like doing it though."
"You can try present to present, but the time difference is going to affect how fast I'll get information. It's like watching a live feed on dial-up internet."
Draven made a bleh noise and shuddered. He wanted to help me and he didn't want me to marry Lukasz. He removed his wig and floated back and forth as if he was pacing.
"Any second now, Draven. Preferably before the seamstress comes back."
He stared at me and he had a confused expression. "Sorry, Mistress. I'm not aware of the time. I'll do it, but promise not to laugh at me."
"I can't guarantee that. It's a side effect of newbies who don't have a grasp over processiong the information as it happens."
"Three years of being able to do this and I still can't do it properly," he muttered as he crossed his legs into a lotus position. "How far back, Mistress?"
I sat down and folded my hands in my lap then exhaled sharply. "Anything within the last twelve hours. If you can get anything off James or Max—or Donnie even—that'd be great. Maybe Talia and Bartender too if they're in the same room."
"Want me to start at the pub, Mistress?"
"That'll do. And hurry!"
Draven closed his eyes and within seconds he was able to connect to something. He uncrossed his legs then floated around, as if he entered a room. His voice, however, was unexpected.
"I flew here the moment I heard the news," he said in the same voice as Zenia.
Then it changed to a male, Australian accent that of Brendan. "You could've gone easy on the landing."
"I'm not used to carrying passengers, now shut up about it," his voice returned to Zenia's. He pulled some imaginary hairs away from his face. "And to think I'd be the one to marry into royalty, or become it as my clan's been after the throne for centuries."
There was a moment of silence. Then he became angry, "Ton maláka! Tha tou spáso to kefáli! Witch boy is invited, those stoneheads are invited, a boy band gets to perform at the wedding ... I'm aware you're more than just a boy band but not inviting me because of my potential plus one? Fucking ridiculous ... I guess it's best that we're not on the guest list as they won't expect us to come. We'll make sure to rally up Harant's clan and Jedward's pack to come with us. The more the merrier."
He floated in a circle again and returned to the lotus position. "Did you get anything, Mistress?"
I smiled and chuckled a little. "You do a fantastic impression of my friend Zenia. I should get you to do this more often."
Draven wasn't amused when he found out he saw events through her. He uncrossed his legs and said, "For your information, I'm not the only ghost here. You'd expect in a big castle there would be some spying on us. If you want, I can channel someone else. Maybe I can convince another to spill the beans on what's happening. Is that what you want, Mistress?"
"I'm fine, Draven. Knowing that they're coming to get me is good enough." And thus I became the damsel in distress. I can't do shit and had to be rescued. While the castle was filled with ghosts that weren't fans of Clan Zemlich, there were also many loyal to them. They may have been spying on us, but who knew if they had orders to report back to the king or carried on with their ghostly business. But I had Draven to keep me company and if he too survives this ordeal, he can go find my parents let them know what happened.
I lay down on the bed and Draven floated to lie down beside me. "I've been thinking, since I was unable to turn you, would you be okay with if I turn someone else?"
"What do you mean, Mistress?"
"One of the reasons I reluctantly decided to turn you was to further distance myself from Lukasz. Had you successfully gone through the change, I'd have to nurse you. Doing so would take a lot out of me—blood, stamina, my sanity—in order for me to share my special ability with you I'd have to be healthy."
"So that means you didn't want to turn me at all."
"Pretty much. From what I'd gather, you would've stayed for the honeymoon phase of killing everything and anyone who has harmed you. Eventually, you'd either end up dead because you can't control it, or end up dead because you don't want to be a vampire anymore."
Draven nodded his head. "I'd definitely go after my dad first had I become a vampire. Wait a sec! I can still terrorize him as a ghost! No need to drain his blood when I could scare him to death! Then again my brother's a Catholic priest intending to become an exorcist. Why are you asking me this?"
I turned onto my side to face him. "I may need to turn someone just to get out. I don't want to do this without Carmen's consent but—"
"I can find you a human you can take on," he cut in. "As much as it pains me to see someone else living out my dream."
Part of the ceremony involves killing a human for their blood and what harm could come from a little meddling? "You try to influence who should the human sacrifice be and I'll turn them instead. You know what to do, Draven?"
With a devilish smirk on his face he put his wig back on. "Anything for you, Mistress. Your will is my command. That's sound a little too cliché, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, I think no one says those things nowadays." And before he faded away, I added on, "Oh, and check up on Carmen too. She went with Remi to see some witch in the area."
"As you will it, Mistress." Once he dissipated I heard the door open. The wedding was hours away and it began to feel like seconds. At that point I hoped that time and fate were on my side.
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What Draven/Zenia said in Greek is something along the lines of "The asshole! I'll tear his head off!" Translation provided by FanyPi
And with that, I wonder if the seamstress knows what's up and that's why no one's interfering with Lena and Draven's conversation. I should know this, I'm the author!
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Song featured: "Last Train Home" by Imogen Heap