Deep in the heart of the forest, the truck turns down a long driveway belonging to the crumbling ruins of an ancient castle, bringing me out of my musings. This is an odd location. Why would someone with enough money to buy the Princess for a night, bring her to a place basically disintegrating with age?
With Orian and I avoiding detection high in the skies, Lachlan, our combat master, descends to get an up-close look at our surroundings from the ground.
My brothers continue to keep watch from the sky for any additional vehicles and to scour the land for points of entry. While I descend, that nagging feeling continues to eat away at me, like I’m going to jump out of my fucking skin if I don’t get near the Princess soon. God damn, this feeling is driving me fucking crazy! What is this shit?
Patting myself, I check to make sure all my silver daggers are in place and watch as the armored truck pulls up in front of the crumbling castle. When the engine shuts off, the forest becomes eerily quiet. It’s dusk, the sun just set behind the dense trees in the forest. Squatting behind a wide elm about forty yards away, I observe as the rear door opens, and the mobile cot carrying the sedated Princess is wheeled out and down a ramp to the ground.
My breath hitches when I see her. She’s dressed in an almost sheer, shimmery robe that is tied in the front and her luscious colorful hair hangs off the cot, swaying close to the forest floor. She’s gorgeous. Even in her captivity, you would have to be blind to not see her beauty. My Phoenix stirs when I look at her. I can sense her presence, like a ball of magnetic energy, drawing me to her like a sailor lured by a siren’s call.
The male that drove the truck is busy on his phone, furiously tapping his fingers on the screen. A few moments later several cloaked figures make their way from the castle to the truck. A change in the wind wafts their scents in my direction. The smell of the Princess is overpowering, causing my blood to surge with feelings of lust, desire, and a fierce need to protect her. But I notice something else too, the smell of death.
Fucking vampires.
Words are exchanged, none of which I can understand from my position. The largest figure approaches the Princess, removes the straps securing her and picks her up, one arm behind her back and one hand under her knees. My skin crawls, and I have to suppress a growl at the sight of him touching her.
The limp Princess looks dead in his arms, and for a moment I think my heart just might stop. Rubbing at my chest, I watch the figures make their way back inside the castle, holding the most stunning female I have ever laid my eyes on.
The thought of another male using her drives my anger, fuels my rage. My heart races with adrenaline as I plan out all the ways I can murder these fucks for daring to touch her. I want to rip their fucking heads off and shove my daggers into their dead hearts.
Shaking with my agitation, I don’t know where this sudden fury and hostility stem from. Sure I want to save the Princess, she is the future of our empire. We are doomed without her presence. But now the fight to save her feels more personal, as though I myself have something major at stake in this game. Brushing those feelings aside, I focus on the task at hand.
The sneaky ways I have scouted out the castle reminds me of playing hide and seek as a kid. Always hunting and searching for a secret place where no one could find me, hoping I would remain hidden while everyone else was found, and ultimately win the game. Olly olly oxen free, bitches.
Steadfast in my mission, I wait until the truck departs, leaving me with only the sounds of the leaves rustling in the wind.
Watching from high in the sky, I see the scene clearly below. The unconscious Princess is wheeled out and carried from the truck to the ailing castle. With a nod from Keegan, I start my descent from the skies, making sure to back track about a hundred yards, so as not to be seen.
Shifting just before I touch the ground, Keegan lands beside me, and together we carefully make our way towards the castle, which looks downright creepy. The sun has set behind it, leaving elongated shadows casting darkness over the land.
“Hope that Lachlan has some useful information for us,” I say as we approach. “This already feels like an impossible feat.”
“Keegan. Orian Over here,” Lachlan whispers from my left. Glancing over, I see him crouching behind a large tree.
Squatting down next to him, Keegan asks, “Okay, Lach. How should we proceed? Did you see anything helpful from your vantage point?”
“Well, I do know one thing for certain. The cloaked figures are vampires. Fucking blood suckers have the Princess. So we can assume that, at minimum, they want her blood. Let’s just hope there aren’t more of those fuckers inside,” Lachlan responds.
“Alright, vampires,” Keegan responds, running his fingers through his blue hair. “We’ve dealt with them before. We’re stronger than them, and, with my fire power, we should have an advantage over them. Keep your silver daggers ready, and watch your necks. You know how fast and lethal vamps are, they’ll rip your throat out the first chance they get.”
“Anything else, Lach?” I ask.
“Not a fucking thing guys. Three cloaked vamps walked out of the fucking castle, one picked up the Princess, then the blood suckers headed back where they came. That’s all I’ve got.”
The information we have acquired is limited. My heart rate picks up when I prepare to inform the guys that we’re going in blind. I take a deep breath before addressing them.
“We’re going to follow the path the vamps took back inside the castle. Use the pull you feel to find the Princess if we get separated, let your instincts guide you. It worked for me in Exotique, it should work for us now. I don’t care if we have to kill every last fucking vampire in there, we’re going to rescue Trinity tonight. Lachlan, you take point since you directly saw where they entered. Orian, you follow him and I’ll take up the rear.” They both nod their understanding.
Nighttime has fully descended on the land and darkness blankets the forest. Taking a deep breath, I signal for Lachlan to start moving. Stooping, he moves out from behind the tree and quickly runs a few yards ahead, Ri fast on his heels. Turning around, I scan the forest behind us for any movement before turning back to face the castle. I follow in Orian’s wake, making my way inconspicuously through the trees. Finally, we reach the treeline just outside of the castle ruins.
“Any last thoughts before we head in?” I ask.
“Let’s kill some fucking bloodsuckers and get our Princess back!” Lachlan whisper shouts, gripping the hilt of a dagger.
“Let’s do this!” Orian says, echoing Lachlan’s excitement.
“Ready, Lach?” He nods, his eyes still scouring the castle. “Then lead the way,” I say. As a unit, we migrate towards the towering remains of what must have once been a grand castle. Loose stone and rock litter the ground in front of us. As we approach the castle, my heart starts to pump faster with a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins.
We’ve done this together hundreds of times, infiltrated dozens of places in search of the Princess. But this time? This time is different because we know she’s inside. I just hope that there’s not an entire coven waiting for us in there.
A stinging sensation greets me as I regain consciousness. I wince as piercing pain radiates from the side of my neck while someone drinks my blood. I open my eyes only to see the unending blackness from the blindfold that covers them. Testing my limbs, I find that I am lying down in an ‘X’ formation with my arms and legs spread wide. The nauseating scent of death permeates my nose, and an icy dampness sinks into my bare skin.
Vampires. Fuck me.
Shivering from the cold, I extend my senses while I adjust blindly to my surroundings. I notice the scents of many vampires, not just the usual two or three. Anxiety starts to rear its ugly head, and I pull against the restraints as trepidation spreads throughout my body. Numerous vampires means extra sets of fangs, piercing me over and over.
Noticing my movements, one of them speaks to me, his voice gravelly, deep and wet,
like he needs to clear his throat or has disease in his lungs. “Hello female, you’ve finally woken up. Might I say that you look tasty tonight.”
The vamp on my neck unlatches and licks at the puncture wounds as a second cold tongue traces along the exposed crease between my legs before shifting to bite me at the juncture of my thigh. The pinch from the bite pulls a gasp from my throat.
“Many of my coven are here with me this evening because tonight, you are ours to use. Together we will feast on your body,” he tells me as a pair of icy fingers circle my tight nipples. “Your cunt.” he says as a cold finger makes its way down to rub my slit. “And your blood.” At the last, a sharp pair of fangs pierces the skin on my left breast, and I grunt at the pain.
Despite just coming to, blackness creeps into the corners of my consciousness, the precursor to me passing out from blood loss. I take stock of all the bites wounds stinging my skin and realize they must have been feeding from me while I was still knocked out. A thought occurs to me… this could be my chance, my way out of this life at long last. The diseased vamp said many of his coven are here for me, planning to take everything I have to give.
If I can taunt this group of blood suckers enough, fuel their rage, maybe they will inflict irreversible damage to my body that even my fast healing abilities can not overcome.
Welcoming my fate, I taunt the vampire that spoke, “Fuck you and your fucking coven. Your touch disgusts me, churns my fucking stomach. You don’t deserve my body or my pussy. You're a god damned corpse, not even close to being worthy of my blood.”
I screech when searing pain explodes across my cheek as one of the vamps slaps my face, causing me to bite my tongue. My chest heaves from the adrenaline rush fueled by my anger.
I spit out the blood pooling in my mouth. “Is that all you’ve got, blood sucker?” I sneer at him.
My head whips to the side when something smacks into my other cheek, and I grunt in my discomfort. “You hit like a little bitch!” I taunt.
Smack! Another blow connects, this time taking the snark right out of my mouth. “Did you enjoy my back hand, little whore? You think you can speak to us like that and get away with it?” Smack! His hand smashes into the side of my face. My lip splits open with the last hit, the taste of my blood swirling around in my mouth. It’s working… they’re taking the bait.
“Fuck…. you,” I grit out, encouraging their anger, wanting their wrath.
“That dirty mouth is going to get you in trouble, whore.” He cups my pussy and squeezes roughly. “Because I plan on fucking you into submission, right here, while my coven watches. Would you like that? Does the thought of me impaling your pussy on my hard cock in front of all these vampires wet that greedy cunt of yours?” He spanks between my spread legs. “Lift her up! Now!” he yells, his voice gurgles from the strain.
The vampires drinking my blood release me when a cranking noise sounds. The structure I’m lying on starts to rise up at my head. My wrists begin to ache from the new upright position with all of my weight hanging on my outstretched hands.
“Little fucking whore. You want it rough, do you? Allow us to demonstrate how rough we can be. Would you like that?” He pauses, his footsteps echo as he circles me. “Let’s see where to start. There’s so many delicious places I want to taste.”
I spit a mouthful of blood at him. “I don’t think you have it in you, blood sucker.” He growls before landing another smack on my pussy. I hold my lips shut, keeping the grunt of pain inside. I don’t want to give them the benefit of my cries, wanting him to hurt me more, to work harder for it.
In my madness, hysteria takes root and I start to laugh. I can’t imagine how manic I must look in my predicament, hanging from this fucking X with blood dripping from my mouth, all the bite wounds seeping, laughing like I’ve lost my damned mind.
“Is that all you’ve got, vampire? A pussy spank? There are things I’ve endured that your simple mind can’t even begin to comprehend.” I mock, putting as much disgust and condescension in my voice as I possibly can.
A pressure on my throat quickly demands my attention. Icy fingers squeeze me like a vice, constricting my airway. When I start to struggle from lack of air he releases my throat but immediately pinches my nose. I open my mouth to gasp for a breath, and as I do, someone shoves a ball gag between my lips, fastening it behind my head.
Fuck!
I hate these things as it is, but without the use of my voice, how can I continue to incite their anger?
He grabs my chin in a punishing grip. “Ahh, beautiful silence. What do you have to say now, whore? I own your dirty fucking mouth, and right now I don’t want to hear it.” He pinches my nipple and chuckles when I squirm.
“Everyone… drink.” His command is followed by what feels like dozens of knives stabbing all over my body. The vampires swarm around me, sinking their sharp fangs into my naked flesh as their putrid smell invades my nostrils.
I scream against the ball gag, but the device muffles my cries. A viscous mixture of drool and blood collects on my tits from my inability to swallow. I suck in rapid breaths as the extreme lack of blood causes my heart to pump faster. The darkness in the corners of my warped mind encroaches further as my body shuts down. I beg to whatever gods that might be listening, praying for them to hear my plea.
Please, take my life and end my suffering. I can’t do this any longer.
We creep towards the castle ruins, keeping to the shadows and trying to avoid detection. Who knows how many fucking blood suckers could be in there with the Princess right now, doing God knows what to her.
I’ll kill them all, every last fucking one.
Entering through an archway into what used to be a grand foyer, I get a better idea of the condition of this place. A set of double staircases ahead of us eerily lead up to nowhere. Most of the walls are crumbling, the roof long gone, and vegetation from the surrounding forest has infiltrated the ruins. I’m worried just the vibrations from our carefully placed steps could bring this whole fucking place to the ground.
“You guys see or smell anything?” I ask my team.
“Nothing.” Orian replies.
“Me either. It’s like they just vanished when they walked in here.” Keegan says. “Let’s split up and look for evidence, anything that could indicate where they might have taken her. Meet back here in ten minutes.”
I nod in understanding and take off to the right, withdrawing my dagger from the sheath on my belt. Creeping down the deserted hallway with arched stone entryways dotted along its walls, I open up my senses trying to detect even the slightest disturbance in the environment. The doors that once offered privacy to these rooms are long gone, rotted away as nature reclaims the castle for its own.
Brown vines crawl along the walls like giant snakes, giving the castle a spooky feel. I scour the dozens of rooms, move every piece of fallen rock or abandoned furniture, but can’t find anything helpful. I grumble to myself, frustrated that I’ve come up with nothing. The hallway dead ends into an avalanche of fallen stones, and I have no choice but to turn back.
From this new perspective, I notice sconces line the stone that once lit these halls. The smell of oil still leeches from them, even after all these years. Making my way back to meet the team, keeping my eyes open and my ears peeled, I see a section of wall to my left that looks out of place.
This has me curious. The doorways appear evenly spaced down the hall but this section is missing its entrance. My face screws up in concentration while I take a closer look. Covered in vines, the wall seems to taunt me, daring me to come near it. I walk over to the abnormality and start pulling on the vines. Some crash to the floor on their own, and some need a little persuasion.
Using my dagger, I cut through the vines in no time, exposing the stone wall behind it. With the wall now bare, it’s evident that extra stone has been laid in what was once a doorway. Silently, I celebrate my discovery and test their strength, pushing on some of the higher stones. One of them
gives way, falling into the space behind it, the thud echoes loudly as it lands, and the potent smell of death infiltrates my nose. I wave my hand in front of my face, trying to disperse the smell to no avail.
Ugh! Fucking disgusting.
My stomach churns from the rotten odor, and I pause for a moment to wonder what horrors lie beyond. Never one to shy away from danger, I grip the bottom edge of the opening and pull. I jump out of the way when half of the makeshift repair collapses into the hall.
Where the hell is Keegan when you need him? I could use his fiery fingers right about now.
Peeking through the opening, all I can see is black. The roof is still intact here, allowing no light from the outside to illuminate its dark walls.
Well this is just great. I can’t see a fucking thing in there.
Deciding that I need Keegan to explore this space any further, I head back to the foyer to wait for my team.
Leaving the foyer behind, I walk straight ahead between the forgotten staircases to the rooms beyond. Past the stairs I spy a large arched entryway and through that sits a massive rectangular room. It must be fifty yards long with giant pillars running along the sides, that now only serve to hold up the starlit sky above me. At some point in time this space may have been a grand ballroom, or a great hall.
It’s so creepy in here. The echo of my footsteps bouncing off the walls makes me feel like I’m being followed. Striding through the center of the room, I glance down and see a dark design in the center of the floor but am unable to make out what it is. Shrugging it off as insignificant, I look deep inside myself and attempt to latch onto that pull from the Princess but find that it’s not there. Trying to think through the rising panic, I wonder what that could mean.
Is she in trouble? Is she so hurt that her spirit can no longer call to mine?
Bound For Blood (Feathers & Fire Book 1) Page 11
