The Orcus Games: Blood Moon (The Orcus Games Novella Trilogy #1)

by Louise Herman

  But, before sink his teeth into my quivering neck; he was blasted into the distance by a bruised Phoenix, who raced back to my aid. The vampire was strong and flew rapidly back, like a lion cheated out of its kill.

  With one swoop of his arm, Phoenix picked up a wooden log and threw it through the air. The vampire descended and attempted to land on my shivering body.

  Frozen with fear, Phoenix whispered the automation spell.

  With a red blast, the wooden log shaved itself into the shape of a stake, leaving the unwanted shards to fall on my pallid face like snow. It arrowed through the air and wedged itself into the vampire’s chest with a crunching sound. However, we soon realised the fatal mistake we had made by killing another being, going against the laws of our land.

  CHAPTER TWO

  LOVE BITE

  ~ THE CLAN ~

  Watching my wife and daughter screaming for their lives as these packs of inhuman beasts taunted them made my blood boil.

  Lying on the floor, experiencing new realms of pain, I wondered if I would survive to extract my revenge on these blood-thirsty murderers.

  “DADDY!” my teenage daughter shrieked as one of the vampires grabbed her head, pushed her long black hair to one side and sank his teeth into her quivering neck.

  “Ki!” I managed to utter, as her petrified face blurred in and out of my view. (I often referred to my daughter as ‘Ki’ or ‘Princess’, as she was my only child and - apart from my wife - she was the only female I would give my life to). I spoiled her at every opportunity, but she was my baby and always would be. It tore me up inside when I was powerless to save her from these animals. Ki kicked and screamed as she attempted to get away but it was no use - she was gone.

  My wife tried to fight her way free, but this just added to these devils’ excitement.

  “ARDAN!” Eva screeched as the vampires surrounded her and savaged her neck.

  Paralysed and lying in an ocean of warm, sticky blood, my blonde hair retained the evidence of this attack. I fought to get to them but after hearing Eva’s cries fade, I knew I was too late.

  Knowing all I could do was watch as they slipped away from me, I bawled in frustration. The vampire clan merely laughed, proud of their recent coup, and complimented each other on their perverse attacking techniques.

  Adding insult to injury, they stole all our worldly possessions before fleeing, leaving me to watch my wife and Ki fight for their lives and convulse in pools of their own blood.

  Drifting in and out of consciousness, my visions took the form of short black and white movies; every blink showed me a new picture. I could see a blurred image of my wife’s sharp facial features and long, brown hair becoming stained by the blood gushing from her neck. Then I focused on Ki’s black locks mopping up the liquid as she thrashed around on the floor, spreading the room with the vile crimson liquid.

  Using their last ounce of energy, I could hear them gasping for breath and shrieking in torture as they clambered for any furniture to help them get to their feet.

  Midway through the horrible scene, I could see that Eva had mustered the energy to get to get over to Ki and held her fragile, struggling body in her arms. She was trying to ignore her own pain to calm our suffering daughter.

  However, the end of the movie came suddenly, as I felt someone pulling me to my feet and muffled screams surrounded my head.

  “DADDY!” one familiar voice shrieked as another shouted: “IT”S A MIRACLE. WAKE UP!”

  I slowly opened my eyes, unsure whether I had actually died. Was this my heaven?

  The lights burned my eyes, as though I was opening them for the first time. I was dazed, unable to comprehend the apparition stood smiling in front of me.

  I reached out to confirm my dream was indeed a reality as I touched Eva’s face and Ki ran into my arms.

  “H-how is this possible?” I asked as I observed the blood-stained room and my wife’s and daughter’s scarlet-tinged bodies.

  “We’ve been saved,” Eva replied as she held us so tight - scared to let go.

  Unsure of what was happening; we silently walked to the bathroom as we washed away the blood from our injuries. We were shocked at seeing no damage, apart from a few puncture wounds on our necks.

  We locked the door, tried to clear the evidence of the previous hours and slept together restlessly, waiting to see what wonders tomorrow would bring.

  ******

  Waking up to the sunlight piercing through the thin curtains, we rose and walked to the kitchen to get some much needed breakfast.

  “How about a full English? I think we deserve it…” I asked - they both nodded eagerly.

  Helping to gather the ingredients beside the stove, I couldn’t stop hugging my wife and Ki, vowing to make every second of our lives count from this moment on.

  Sitting down to enjoy the hot buttered toast, crispy bacon, fried mushrooms and eggs with runny yolks, we all tucked in straight away.

  Ki was sick first.

  “Dad, I don’t feel well,” she said as she spat the sausage into the bin immediately.

  As Eva began to clean up, she held her mouth too. She ran to the sink and also brought her breakfast back up.

  “Is something off?” she muttered as she continued to regurgitate the fried mushrooms.

  I checked the use-by dates on the packaging but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

  “Maybe it’s the stress from last night catching up with you both?” I suggested, taking a large bite of the bacon, and delighted in the taste of the crispy and salty meat. The sensation was short-lived; I tried to swallow it and it too came back up and joined the churned-up mushrooms in the sink. Glancing around at the pale and drawn, perplexed faces looking back at me; I could offer them no answers. We went into the lounge and tried to soothe our dehydrated throats by the roaring fire.

  Huddling together in a large, red woollen blanket, we tried to distract ourselves from our hunger by playing a variety of games.

  “Dad, when are we going to eat again?” Ki asked - I had refused to let her try to eat again after she tried to get through a bowl of porridge.

  I was about to get some juice from the kitchen when someone knocked at the door.

  “Hello?!” I shouted but no one replied, so I ignored it.

  The knocks started again, but this time they drummed on the door harder and with more purpose.

  “Who’s there?” I shouted again but again no response.

  I slowly crept to the door and opened it vigilantly. There stood a tall, imposing man, approximately, 6”5” in height.

  Dressed in a black three-quarter-length coat, a black shirt, red tie, black leather gloves, black tailored trousers and shiny black dress shoes (the perfect exponent of the smart, chic gentleman look), this man looked quite high up in the area’s hierarchy. He stood there staring straight through me with an emotionless glare, as he tried to assess the contents of the house for more information.

  With a glint in his red eyes, which were shooting golden sparks, it was clear he had a deadly side to his debonair appearance.

  A woman accompanied him; her outfit was equally elegant but her scarlet stare showed determination and intent. After admiring her flaming red hair, sexy fitted leather double-breasted coat, ruby catsuit and black over-knee-length leather boots, Eva moved behind me as this mysterious lady observed her with distaste.

  I was hypnotised by her beauty as she smiled and flirted with my mind. Eva could see my attraction and immediately made her presence felt.

  “Can we help you?” she asked coolly as the man chuckled at her obvious jealousy.

  He took his female friend’s arm and moved her behind him as he replied:

  “Yes. We do not mean to disturb you but we thought we’d introduce ourselves. My name is Cathal and this is Victoria.”

  “Hi there…” she purred from behind Cathal with her gaze firmly fixed on me.

  I blushed with embarrassment as Eva nudged me harshly o
ut of annoyance. I composed myself quickly.

  “We heard what happened to you last night and we wanted to check you were okay. We’d like to invite you to our quarters to welcome you properly,” Cathal continued as I looked at him, perplexed, “You are aware what happened to you, don’t you?” I shook my head in confusion and looked at Eva for any input.

  Victoria emerged from behind Cathal with a large smile and took my hand.

  “You’re one of us now - creatures of the night, vampires, bloodsuckers… We want to welcome our newest members to our little family,” she gushed as she stroked my hand.

  Cathal rolled his eyes at her luring act, as though he had seen it many times before.

  “Couldn’t you ease them into it?” he growled. She ignored his question and continued to shower me with her attention. She was fixated on me and her intoxicating beauty had me drugged.

  Before I knew it, Eva forced her way in front of me.

  “You’ve been watching too many episodes of Buffy if you think we’re supposed to believe that we’re suddenly vampires! Honestly, what are you selling? Whatever it is, you’ve certainly grabbed our attention, but we have everything we need here - thank you for your time but we’re really busy now,” Eva retorted as she grabbed my hand away from an aggravated Victoria and slammed the door shut.

  She looked at me in fury and I knew if I opened that door again, I may not be having any more children.

  “Weren’t you curious to find out what they knew about last night?” I asked. She busied herself by constantly checking to see if Ki was fit and well, with the television blazing away in the background.

  “Of course, and I could waste more time with Dracula and his female bride talking about how we’re vampires and we can fly in the night… Don’t be ridiculous!” she snapped sarcastically.

  Just as I was going to respond, an envelope flew under the door and took our attention from our heated discussion. The black A5 letter shimmered in the sunlight as the burgundy border danced with the rays of sunlight streaming through the window.

  “Shall I open it?” I asked as Eva gave a huff and walked out of the room.

  “Open it dad!” Ki encouraged as I eagerly ripped open the flap and revealed the black and red invitation. It read:

  Lamia Hall

  We would like to invite you to our Welcoming Event at midnight on

  Friday 13th October

  Place a droplet of blood on this invitation and you will be at Lamia Hall within seconds

  Attendance is not optional

  Cathal

  I didn’t hear Eva re-enter the room as she snatched the invitation from me, giving me a paper cut. Examining the information, she threw it in the fire.

  “What a load of rubbish…” she stated as she stopped mid-sentence and scrutinized my cut.

  She grabbed my finger and gazed at the blood trickling down my finger.

  Overwhelmed by her strong grasp, I didn’t see Ki beneath me, holding her head under my finger waiting for the blood to drop.

  I struggled to wriggle my hand free. I tried to back away from the possessed pair as they descended onto me. But soon enough, pinning me down, Eva put my finger in her mouth and clamped down on my graze, sucking the blood. Ki fought to get to it herself.

  Mustering all of my energy, I threw her off and she hit her head against the fireplace.

  “What are you doing?!” I shrieked as I restrained a frantic Ki with her extraordinary newfound strength.

  Eva clawed her way back to her feet revealing a large gash on her head.

  “I need it…” she growled as she pounced back onto me, trying to find the paper cut on my hand.

  “It’s gone!” she yelled as she slumped to the floor, cheated from her meal.

  Her blood glistened in the light and I could not hold myself back any longer.

  “What are you doing? Get off me! NOW!” she shouted as I pinned her down and licked the addictive, metallic tasting fluid from her head.

  After licking all of the blood away, I inspected her brow for the cut. Again, there was nothing.

  I managed to catch myself in time before I did any real damage and dragged myself away from her.

  “I… I don’t know what’s happened to me…” I stuttered as I looked at Ki in shock. She merely gave me an emotionless look in return; her eyes were dead and lacked substance. She sat there with a blank icy stare, ignorant of what just happened.

  I looked at Eva’s and they were exactly the same.

  “What is wrong with us?” Eva asked as we all sat in individual corners of the room, afraid to be near each other.

  I walked to the window and put my hand to the light. Nothing happened.

  “I thought vampires are supposed to combust when they are in direct light?” I replied as they both came closer for a better look.

  “We’ll figure this out together - but all I know is that after I tasted your blood, my hunger was satisfied. Didn’t you feel the same way?” Eva asked, to which I nodded with a heavy heart.

  I grabbed them both and held them tight; they reciprocated my unsaid apology.

  “It’s my fault. I didn’t protect you from those monsters and now they’ve turned us into them!” I cried. I apologised over and over again, promising not to bring up the invitation again.

  ******

  Uninvited visits came and went as we refused to answer the endless banging at the door. Letters, with subjects ranging from concern for our health to threats on our lives, were slid under the door hourly but we managed to remain sane; we packed up our belongings for an extended holiday, leaving immediately.

  “Dad, I can’t find my bracelet!” Ki cried as Eva grabbed her and tried to push her into the car.

  But it was too late. As I reversed out of the driveway, the car came to an abrupt halt.

  I looked in the rear-view mirror to see Cathal holding the end of the car in the air.

  “Going anywhere special?” he mocked sardonically, as Victoria ripped the passenger side rear door straight off its hinges and grabbed Eva by the neck, throwing her out into the bushes.

  “STOP!” I screamed as she took Ki from her seat and started to hypnotise her.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t hurt you. I’m your new mummy,” she whispered as she stroked Ki’s hair and left Cathal to deal with me.

 

  He pulled me through the open driver’s side window and held me in the air against a tree.

  “I feel insulted by your lack of interest in my invitation. However, I’m willing to give you one last chance,” he said as he bundled me into a black Mercedes, then went to get Eva. Victoria meanwhile got into the car, escorting a now obedient Ki into the back seat as she issued her with promises of riches and pampering.

  Binding our hands and feet together, a burly blonde man ‘helped’ us into the six-seater minivan, taping our mouths shut.

  Ki was the only one who was free to enjoy the blood wine gums and a diamond necklace, which Victoria had bought to calm her throughout the tense trip.

  Sitting next to me, with Eva sat watching her every move, the seductive vampiress proceeded to stroke my leg and kiss my neck. Eva groaned with anger as Victoria continued her torment.

  Just as she was about to unbutton my shirt, Cathal growled,

  “Enough.” She sat back like a sulking child and proceeded to look out the window, deliberating her next plan of action.

  After an hour of driving up the M1, we exited the motorway and joined a dirt track, leading us further into the dense forest. After negotiating the uneven road surface, the large vehicle slowed to a stop and we were confronted by two large men standing at an impressive, black, Gothic-style gate.

  “We’re here,” the blonde man announced as he untied us and led us, one by one, from the van.

  Glimpsing through the tinted car window, I inspected our new surroundings.

  In front of us stood a grand Victorian mansion, with elegant grounds concealed be
hind a high, bushy wall of thorns and a soaring metal fence.

  “Open it!” Cathal ordered as the man tried to open the gate - with difficulty.

  “The remote won’t work!” the man replied. Cathal was getting more frustrated by the second and went to investigate the problem.

  Using this opportunity, I began my plan to help Eva escape with Ki. I sauntered over to Victoria and put my face near her cold, smooth cheeks.

  Looking around to see if anyone was watching, she took the tape off my mouth.

  “Why don’t you give Ki to Eva, so I can show you how much you turn me on,” I whispered. She hesitated for a moment before untying Eva’s arms. She threw Ki towards her.

  Holding me by the shoulders, she grabbed my head and began kissing me passionately.

  Slowly walking backwards, I could see Eva quietly dragging Ki into the back of the car, jumping into the driver’s seat and speeding off.