Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Mina, Elvric, Paris, Caine, and Alizabeth.

Iniquity

Chapter Six: Discoveries

As soon as Paris left the room I stood on wobbly legs and made my way to the writing desk a few yards to my right. It was not that I did not trust his words and that he would keep his promise, but it was unrealistic to think that I could take on a whole werewolf pack alone. The odds had been ghastly even when I had Elvric by my side; without him, I did not even stand a chance. I needed back-up-and not the angry villagers armed with pitchforks kind-I needed professional help that only the Holy Order could give. So I wrote a letter containing the details of my four-days in Vaseria and requesting any type of help that the Order could possibly spare. It was short, but certainly meaningful in more ways than one.

I had just sealed the envelope when one of the servants came in with a tray of food consisting of a bowl of soup, a piece of bread, and a glass of milk. She had caramel-colored hair like Caine that was bound in tight, happy little curls and pulled back out of her face by a headband, and she shared his green-eyes and ageless looks. She stopped short when she saw me at the desk with the letter in my hand.

"Hello," I greeted, standing slowly, careful not to fall over. My muscles were not quite as awake as I was as of that moment, and it felt more like standing on noodles rather than a pair of legs. "Are you Caine's sister?"

She nodded, her curls bounding. "We're twins." She smiled at me, but I could tell that it was forced. "You must be Mina. I've heard an awful lot about you. Come, sit down on your bed and have something to eat. You must be starving."

"Yes, thank you." And I wobbled back to the four-poster, crawling up and under the covers. "I'm Mina," I said, and then immediately felt stupid for saying it. She had just told me she knew who I was after all. "Sorry. I guess I've not gotten myself put back together quite yet…"

But she smiled again. "Two days of being unconscious will do that to you. I'm Alizabeth, with an 'A'." She set the tray on my lap before pointing to the letter I still had clenched in my hand. "Would you like me to give that to the master for you? He's going into town to send his own mail; I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking that for you, too."

I stared at her questioningly. "Paris does that kind of thing for himself? I mean, no offense, but what about you and your brother? Isn't that what you are here for?"

Alizabeth (with an 'A') smiled away. I was beginning to think that it was permanently stuck that way. "Oh, the master doesn't like to rely completely on us. Sometimes he does a chore or two on his own. He says that it keeps him from going mad with nothing to do." She giggled and took the letter from me as she said this, and there was a glow about her that made me realize that she was as much in love with the man as I was. "I'll make sure he gets this to the post for you."

Doing my best not to let my jealousy and competitiveness show on my face, I replied, "Thank you. I very much appreciate it."

She practically left the room at a skip, no doubt excited to see her precious master again. It probably would have sickened me if I did not feel the same way about him. With drooping shoulders, I ate my meal half-heartedly, my mind awash with confusion, love, and heart-ache.

By the next day, I was feeling well enough to explore the castle, which I had yet to do. It was a large enough place, but it did not take all day to see its sights. It was filled with many unused rooms (all of which were in pristine condition, of course), an armory, a library, and of course the basics such as the bed chambers, lavatories, the kitchen, the dining hall, and the like.

The last place I stumbled upon was Paris's private study. I knew it was his own personal space because he had left his white and crimson coat hanging on the back of the chair behind the desk. The room also had a scent to it-cologne, his cologne-that confirmed my suspicions. However, he was no where to be found. He must have stepped out for a moment, I assumed, to catch a bit of fresh air. It was, after all, awfully stuffy.

I moved towards the window to open it and air out the room only to have a gust of wind blow in and scatter the papers on the desk and the ashes in the fireplace. With a curse, I slammed the window shut and went about cleaning up the mess I had made. Scooping up the documents that littered the floor and doing my best to stack them in a nice, neat pile, I went to place them on the desk when something slipped out from between the papers and onto the floor. Upon further inspection, I found that it was an envelope; my envelope, addressed to the cardinal.

It was open, and it was empty.

A lump formed in my throat and my heart felt like it had been ripped right from my chest. "Why that good-fer-nothin' eejit!" She had read my letter! That little snot had opened up my letter! I knew we were both falling for the same man, but to stoop to something so low…!

Then my eye caught something crumpled and white in the ashes scattered upon the floor. The stack of papers forgotten, I dropped to all fours, snatching up the crumpled and burnt parchment as my soul filled with dread. The words were smudged a little bit, but I could read it well enough.

"to be quite frank. We cannot do this alone-I cannot do this alone. Without Elvric there is no chance of"

My letter. It was my letter! Alizabeth with an 'A'must have come in here to deliver the letter the day prior, saw that Paris was no where in sight, and then let her jealousy overcome her. She had thrown my letter into the fire after reading it! But then I stopped in my anger; it made no sense for her to feed my note to the flames. If she had really read it, which she probably did, she would have put it back because she would have wanted me out of her life and away from Paris as soon as possible. And if that was truly the case, then who else could have…?

My heart sank. No. No, I would not believe what the facts were telling me. He would never have done such a thing, not to me, not to anybody! Paris was a kind man, a gentle soul. And the danger was so great; he would never have put the entire village at risk. So that theory made no sense, either. Calming down, I let my heart settle back within my chest. Someone else had done it. I did not know who, but it had been someone else.

But that did not make anything less dangerous. Someone knew that I needed help with this mission, and they did not want me to get it. The whole village was in danger as well as myself. It was then that I realized that the werewolves had never been what I had been sent to fight. The true enemy lay behind these very walls.

This was bad. Very, very bad.

Okay, Mina, I told myself silently. Clean everything up and act like nothing happened, and we'll take it from there… Right, okay…

Slowly standing, I obeyed my own orders, sweeping the ashes and the fragmented parchment back into the fireplace as if nothing had changed and slipping the empty envelope into the middle of the stack of papers. It was just in time too, for my ears caught the sound of approaching footfalls. My heart was beating away like a drum and I could hardly think as I busied myself with looking at the pictures on the north wall, looking as innocent and relaxed as I could manage.

Paris's surprised mumble of, "Oh!" made me jump regardless of how prepared I was, and I returned his exclamation with one of my own. I whirled to face him and we stared at each other silently for a long while, wide-eyed and stony-faced, before he broke out that crooked smile of his.

"Exploring?" he asked casually.

I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks in a blush. "Yes… I'm sorry-I thought-well, I didn't know that this was-"

"It's quite alright, quite alright," he chuckled as he seated himself in his chair, leaning with his elbows on the desk. Then his expression darkened suddenly, becoming drawn and tired. "I was meaning to send for you anyway…"

I felt my mouth go dry. My plans of telling him of my discovery would have to wait. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes," he replied, his voice grave. "I just returned from the village center. I am afraid we have another crisis on our hands. There was a girl found at Vaseria's gates, dead. Poor soul had been sucked dry."

My eyes widened. "By a vampire?"

"What else?" he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We think it happened sometime last night or early this morning, before the sun had risen. Her body was cold, but had yet to begin to smell."

"How old was she?"

"My guess is fifteen or sixteen. She couldn't have been older than you."

"Her parents must be devastated!"

"I am afraid they don't know. No one in the village recognizes the girl; she must have come from the next nearest village… But that is still very far away, and I have no idea how she could have come all this way on her own."

"Perhaps she took a horse or a carriage? Or maybe she came with an escort and he was carried off by the vampire," I suggested. "And they wouldn't have feared traveling at night because there hasn't been a vampire in the area in just about ten years. And, according to what you told us in your letter five weeks ago, you made sure that word didn't get around about your werewolf problem, so…"

"Gods," he groaned. "They were sitting ducks… They would have only brought protection for other beasts… They weren't prepared for this."

"It's not your fault-don't blame yourself," I soothed upon seeing his shoulders sag. "We'll take care of things one small step at a time." Perhaps it was best not to say anything about the letter. If Paris were to try to confront the villain responsible, things could spiral out of control and jeopardize everything and everyone involved. "Let's think of something we can do."

He put a thoughtful hand to his chin, his fingers resting gently on his perfect lips. "I shall have one of my servants ride to the nearest village to deliver word of the girl's death. Here we will burn the body and-"

"Send me instead," I interrupted a little too quickly.

The look he gave me made it clear that he had not taken my suggestion seriously and I had to resist the urge to bite my lower lip in my nervousness. "Mina, you've only just started to recover. The man that attacked you could still be out there in that forest somewhere! And the wolves-"

"I hunt wolves," I interrupted again. "I'm feeling much better now, and I'll be prepared for anything that comes at me. I know what's out there; I won't end up like that girl. I can take care of myself."

"I'm not going to let you throw yourself into danger like that, Mina, not again. I just can't do that."

"Danger is my job," I said through a scowl. "It's what you hired me for."

He chuckled, but it was the sad sort of laughter-the kind of laughter made when one has given in even when they sorely do not wish to-and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Point taken."

"Besides, what am I asking you for? I'm a big girl; I can make decisions myself. I don't need your approval."

"True enough, true enough… Just… be careful. And don't go out after dark. If you get there and you don't have time to get back here before the sun sets, get a room at an inn there and stay the night. I don't want to have to come looking for you like last time."

I smiled softly. "It's nice to know that someone cares."

"Yes, well," he replied somewhat grouchily. "Obviously I don't care enough, or you wouldn't be going at all."

I laughed. "I'll see you in a couple of days."

As grumpy as he was he flashed me that heavenly, crooked smile of his. "Be sure that you do, love."

A/N: "Eejit" is the Irish way of saying "idiot". At least, it is according to the internet. :O Also, there will be some action in the next chapter (finally)! I look forward to posting again soon!