His eyes grew large and he bowed deeply. “My queen,” he whispered and scurried out of the mirror.
I turned. She was at the door. Sharra. Wearing a pair of holey black jeans and a black tee shirt with the words Love Bites scrawled in red across her chest. She wore no makeup. Her hair hung on either side of her head in braids. On her feet were red Converse, my favorite shoes. She looked young, my age. In fact, she looked a little like me. We could’ve easily been sisters.
“Oh,” I said, brushing my bangs off my face. “I’m not ready.”
“I can see that.” She smiled. It was less cruel than usual, almost innocent. Unclasping her hands, she raised them and spread them in front of her, as though she were greeting someone or offering something. Clothes and a red pair of Converse just like hers appeared on the counter next to the brush. “Put those on. I’ll wait.” She closed the door.
“Hurry,” Zenny whispered from the edge of the mirror. “The queen does not like to be kept waiting.”
“Alright. Disappear first.” I didn’t want to change in front of a tiny man lurking in the mirror. That was just creepy.
“Right away.” He bowed stiffly and vanished.
Once he was gone, I tossed the towel on the counter and put on the clothes: a red bra and matching undies, a plain red shirt, black jeans, red socks, and the red shoes. As I put on my clothes, I thought about Sharra and why she’d decided to dress like me. Was she hoping to seem less intimidating? I also found the fact that she could do magic interesting. Vampires I’d read about in fiction as well as the TV shows I’d watched portrayed us without magic. That was left for witches, but it seemed Sharra had magic and she didn’t even have to do a spell for the magic to occur. It was like she thought it and it happened.
I glanced at my reflection when I finished. Zenny might know the answers, but I knew Sharra was waiting. I hesitantly opened the door. She stood in front of a large window, staring out, seemingly lost in thought. “I’m ready,” I said softly.
She appraised me with her eyes and nodded her approval before heading out of the room. “Excellent. Let’s go.”
I followed, curious about her plans. Also, I was glad for the distraction from my heavy guilt over Gabe. The sooner she showed me whatever she wanted to show me, the sooner I could get back and grovel at the feet of Professor Pops and his sons. I longed to see them, even if they hated me. I just needed the pain and the guilt to stop.
Chapter 5
Sharra and I passed through a sunroom, down a set of steep stairs, and through a large sitting room filled with extravagant chandeliers, furniture, thick draperies, and a red grand piano. Seated in some of the chairs were… creatures. Vampires, I guessed. All of them were female, dressed in clothing from every century. Some wore dresses with tight bodices and large skirts, others were dressed like the vampire queen and me. All of them looked young—perfect skin, perfectly coifed hair, and red, red lips.
Little pixilettes fluttered around them, serving them something red—blood?—in crystal goblets. The vampires took the offered glasses and then shooed the pixilettes away like they were irritating gnats. The little things seemed worn out, their shoulders hunched, their eyes droopy. When I’d met them before, they said they were in charge of the changing seasons. Why were they serving the vampires?
If I hadn’t lost the necklace, I could fix this, change the way things were done. I cringed internally. That wasn’t possible. I couldn’t change anything.
After we walked through the sitting room, we entered the circular room I remembered from my dream or vision, only this time it was empty of anyone except Sharra and me. She went up the steps in front of two high back chairs. Had there been only one the first time I was here? I tried to go back through the dream. I couldn’t remember.
The vampire queen sat on the chair to the left. “Sit here,” she said, indicating the throne on the right.
After I sat, she waved her hand and the room vanished. We were in the middle of a grass and flower filled meadow. I heard birds chirping happily, smelled the sweet fragrance from the flowers, and felt the cool breeze against my skin.
The queen stood and walked into the meadow toward hundreds of apple trees. Heavy, fully ripened fruit hung from the branches. I listened to the stiff grass crackle under her shoes. When she reached the closest tree, she reached up and plucked a red apple.
My heart began beating fast. In the story of Snow White, the wicked witch gave the girl an apple. The girl took a bite and fell under a spell. Only true love’s first kiss could wake her. Was that the vampire queen’s plan? Did she intend to offer me the apple? Poison me and hope my true love would find me and kiss me? I snorted at the thought. Love didn’t work that way and life wasn’t a fairy tale. It was real, complicated, messy, and took effort.
Not to mention the fallacy behind true love’s kiss. Gabe and I had kissed, and I was still a vampire. Either Professor Pops had been wrong, or Gabe wasn’t my true love. I’d kissed Christopher too. Something else occurred to me. Was that why Christopher left? He’d accomplished his goal and I’d become a vampire.
The vampire queen rotated, studying me.
I’d messed up so badly there was no way the Seal of Gabriel, the beautiful pendant Christopher gave me, would work any longer. I ruined any chance of restoring balance when I became a monster. It was too late for me. Maybe I should eat the apple. Then I wouldn’t be able to harm anyone.
“Snow,” the queen barked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Yes,” I said, moving from the throne and over to her. The landscape was beautiful, peaceful. I ran my hands over the tops of the tall grass and the white daisies that grew in clumps as I made my way to the tree. The vampire queen was impatient, and I hurried. When I was near her, I held out my hand. I would eat the apple. I would sleep eternally and no longer be a detriment to those I loved.
But she batted at my hand. “Get your own,” she said, taking a large bite.
I inhaled, surprised. “I will,” I said after I recovered. Reaching up, I plucked a large apple from one of the branches. The sweetly-scented blossoms filled my lungs. Rubbing the apple skin on my sleeve out of habit, I scanned it for bruises or wormholes and, seeing it was unspoiled, took a bite. I chewed slowly, expecting there to be no flavor. All food tasted like ash since Christopher had bitten me. But the fruit was delicious, the flavors a mixture of sweetness, and… I dropped it. Blood. It tasted just like blood. What the hell?
I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable poisonous toxin to send me into a blissful oblivion. Several seconds passed and I still felt the same. When I opened my eyes, I noticed the queen watched me with an amused expression.
“It won’t be long now,” she said, taking another bite.
I knew it. “You did poison me.” Relief and fear filled my veins.
She laughed. “I’m teasing.” She took another bite. Some of the juices dribbled down her chin. “These apples are some of the best in Sharra. I wanted you to try them. Didn’t you like it?” She indicated the apple I dropped.
The truth was the flavor had been beyond exceptional. The combination actually made my mouth water. “Yes, it was fine,” I lied.
She shook her head, amused. “This is your home as much as it is mine. Let me show you around.”
I hesitated. What harm could it do? Shrugging, I followed her back to the thrones. When she sat, so did I.
“This is the entrance to the orchards. Beyond the apple trees are peaches, plums, and pears. All of them are grown and cultivated to our specific tastes.” She nodded, and I knew she referred to the blood. Somehow it was fused within the fruit. “Sometimes it’s nice to eat solid food. A liquid diet can get boring after a few hundred years.” She snapped her fingers and we were in a forest. Giant trees shaded the fern- and moss-covered floor. A babbling brook rushed along next to us. Three deer drank from its edge, unaware of us. She put a finger to her lips. I bobbed my head, indicating I understood, and watched her move without sound toward them.
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br /> I fought down the knot forming in my stomach. What did she intend to do? When she snapped the neck of the largest deer, I shuddered. “Why?” I asked, stunned.
The other two deer bolted.
The queen pulled a knife from a sheath I hadn’t noticed before. Laying the deer on its side, she sliced open its belly.
“Stop!” I turned away so I wouldn’t have to see its guts. Tears threatened, but I pushed them back. I had the feeling my weakness would only irritate her. I sensed her move next to me, smelled the blood on her hands. It was heady, an aroma similar to that of a human. I turned and saw she held something—a piece of meat, or an organ—in her hands. “Try it. Like the fruit, the animals in Sharra are cultivated for our needs.”
I shook my head, but the scent had my canines threatening to burst forth and my mouth watered. “No thank you. I’m a vegan.” The words sounded hollow. It was a lie and she knew it. I hadn’t been vegan in weeks.
She chuckled. “Really? That isn’t the impression I got from the way you handled those humans.” She stuck the thing in her hand in front of my face. “Try it. You’ll like it.”
The vampire queen was right, of course. I certainly didn’t act very vegan. Stepping slightly to the right, I turned my nose away from her hand. “I thought we only drank from humans,” I finally said, trying to buy myself some time.
She took a bite from whatever it was she held. Disgusted, I looked down, studying the red shoes on my feet.
“Humans are trite creatures. Their presence on this planet has been useful. I’ve recycled them to benefit our race, but they will die out long before we do.” She took another bite.
“Recycled?” I kicked at a chunk of moss in the dirt at my feet. “I’m human. You…” I paused. I’d almost said she was human too. That wasn’t true, but I now got what she meant by recycled. “What about the other vampires? They started out human. They are as human as I am.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “You may look human. Even I look human, but after your first drop of human blood the genetic code within your body changed. You are no more human than the deer, or these trees. You are now a vampire. Accept it. Embrace it.” She threw the remainder of whatever she held in her hand into the stream. “I thought you already had.” She wiped the blood from her hands on the moss near her feet.
At her words my heart sank. “Is this what you wanted?” I couldn’t meet her gaze. Professor Pops told me Christopher’s job was to turn me into a vampire, so I figured the vampire queen was happy.
“Of course it’s what I wanted. You have such potential. And Sharra is a wonderful place to live, to learn, and to become what you are meant to be.”
“Which is a vessel for you,” I spat out, curious about why she was going to such trouble to talk to me when she could just do whatever she needed to do and my soul would vanish, leaving my body for her.
She shook her head, making a tsk-tsk sound. “I don’t know what you’ve been told, but you’ll be more than a mere vessel. You’ll become the most powerful creature in the Universe. Everything you desire, anything you wish, will be at your fingertips.”
“For my body only; but I’ll be gone.”
“You’ve been talking to Adam Henry, perhaps even Kenmei. Those two are such drama queens.”
“I have.” A part of me hoped Professor Pops and Kenmei weren’t telling the truth, but I doubted it. What reasons would they have to lie?
“I’m sure they even told you the story of Silindra and me. About the war?” She raised an eyebrow. “And maybe even about a necklace?” She eyed me, searching my face for answers.
She was leading me.
Deny, deny, deny, I thought. “Maybe.” I shrugged.
“Well, of course they did. Those are their weapons. The way they get the marked to do their bidding. That’s why I brought you here. I wanted you to see I am not some power-hungry maniac as they led you to believe. I am not a monster, Snow. I’m merely a leader. My people chose me. They need me. I love all of my subjects equally. You may have seen some of them as we passed through the sitting room of the castle. They are given freedom and more power than they could ever need, everything they could ever want. All I ask in return is their allegiance. That’s all I’m asking of you.”
I took a step back. “Why would Profess—Adam lie? He has no reason.” I’d seen proof what she was saying was true.
She sighed. Her shoulders sagged slightly, as though she carried the weight of the world on them. “They told you about the war, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Well, did they happen to mention it was Kenmei I fought against? Did they tell you he led those who battled against me for power? For the throne that was rightfully mine?” She started breathing heavily. “Did they tell you he turned my own sister against me?”
Chapter 6
“They told me you had her tortured and murdered,” I said, equally angry.
The vampire queen gasped and pressed a hand to her chest in mock sarcasm. “They what? I could never murder my sister.”
She was a big fat liar. I knew it. Sensed it. Pushing down my fears, I changed the subject. “Are you saying you were in the right? You deserve the power?” I didn’t add that Kenmei and Professor Pops both told me they were her hunters at one time, and that I knew they left her. Immediately a small flutter danced in my belly. Was that where Christopher went? Professor Pops and Kenmei never told me what they did to break free of her. Was it just a matter of walking away, or was more required? I thought about the bear Christopher carved and how excited he was when I gave it to him.
“Without doubt, I deserve the power. I’ve ruled for thousands of years. That isn’t going to change anytime soon.” She walked back over to the thrones and sat. I did the same. She twirled her index finger and we were back at the castle. Standing, she moved to the center of the circular room. “Have you seen the so-called Seal of Gabriel?”
I gulped and tried to calm my racing heart. My hearing got better after I turned, so I had no doubt she heard my increased heartbeat and already knew the answer. “I-I don’t know,” I stammered, trying to pretend I wasn’t sure.
She spun around. It was apparent she knew I wasn’t telling the truth either. “Where is it? Do you have it?”
Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. “No. I don’t know where it is anymore.”
“You had it in your possession?” Anger burned her features. “Stupid girl. It must be destroyed. That thing could ruin everything.” Her voice softened. “If you find it again, bring it to me.” She brushed her fingers along my jaw. “That pendant will be the death of all vampires, the whole race, including you. And him.” While she spoke, she moved her hand in a whimsical S. A glass case, like those my stepmother used to hold her porcelain dolls, appeared atop a white stand. It was much larger and reminded me of a coffin.
Someone was inside.
I took a step toward the coffin, trying to ignore the ball of fear growing in my chest. “Who is that?” I asked, giving the queen a sideways glance as I walked past her.
“You’ll see, my dear Snow.” The evil smile was back.
The ball of fear in my stomach grew into full-blown anxiety. Inside the glass coffin was a guy, his dirty blond hair flawlessly combed. His eyes were closed, but I knew they were hazel. “Christopher,” I whispered.
Around his neck hung the carved bear, the one he made right before he was changed into a vampire. He wore brown leather pants and a white shirt with a leather vest. Dark chocolate brown boots were on his feet and stopped just under his knees. His hands rested on his stomach. “Is he…” I stopped, unable to finish.
“Dead? No. But if you don’t bring me that necklace, he will be.” She came to stand next to me. “You don’t want that, do you?” She touched my shoulder, and it took all my courage not to shrink away.
“I don’t know where it is. I swear.” I clasped her hand, begging her to believe me.
“If you think really hard, I’ll bet you can figure out where
to start looking for it.” She squeezed my hand back, and I thought the bones in my fingers might break.
“There—” I began but stopped.
“You’re not ready, Snow,” the vampire queen’s words echoed through my mind. I was no longer in Sharra.
Chapter 7
A sound escaped my throat, and I clamped the hand the vampire queen crushed only moments ago over my mouth. I was happy and scared all at once. Maybe I wasn’t ready, but I was home, standing in the middle of my room. Purple walls filled with baby animal posters. Purple curtains. Purple towels in the bathroom. I was glad to see all of it. Wistfulness swept through my veins. At the same time, there was terror. How would I confront Professor Pops and the brothers? Cindy? Gatsby? And my stepmom and dad—were they here?
Using my newfound stealth, I crept over to their bedroom and peeked inside. They weren’t in bed. My heart fell. I’d been gone two weeks. Maybe no one bothered to tell them what happened. I’d lost my cell phone at some point during my time away. They could’ve called. What about poor Gatsby?
“Here, kitty, kitty,” I called, not turning on the lights. I didn’t need light to see and I didn’t want the brothers or Pops to know I was home. I listened, taking in the familiar smells and sounds of the house. I didn’t hear any soft padding of kitty feet, so I tromped down the stairs. In the kitchen I sat at the counter and pulled over the envelope filled with the invitation to my birthday party. A tear fell onto my cheek. The idea of the party was awful, but the person who planned it meant the world to me.
How could Professor Pops ever forgive me for what I’d done?
“Gabe,” I whispered.
“Hello, Snowflake.”
The voice came from behind me. It was a voice I thought I’d never hear again. I didn’t want to move, afraid if I turned around, I would realize it wasn’t real or a figment of my overactive imagination. But I sensed movement. My body began to tremble. Could it be? Was it possible? I was too afraid to find out.
Fate and Magic: Snow White Reimagined with Vampires and Werewolves (Seven Magics Academy Book 2) Page 2
