by Aja James
But the child in her belly had survived, the Pure blood in his veins protecting him.
In that moment, when the Dark One’s essence had taken root in the unborn child, Cloud’s soul was unleashed from the ethereal realm and sent into the infant’s body, which was pushed out of his mother’s womb just as she breathed her last.
All this, Cloud witnessed from the heavens as the events were happening.
He had no attachments to the Pure One, the human or the Dark One who ended them. They merely contributed the necessary ingredients for the body his soul would inhabit.
The baby had miraculously stayed alive in the time it took for him to be found by a kind human who delivered him to a Buddhist monastery in Hunchun, Jilin province, China, near the border to North Korea and Russia.
In fact, it had been no miracle. It was simply “Fate.”
With both Pure and Dark powers flowing through the infant’s veins, he was far stronger than any human. Stronger, in fact, than any Pure or Dark One as well.
Cloud knew that some of his comrades thought he was a Pure One, potentially a human whose Pure soul had been Awakened and subsequently immortalized.
They were wrong.
He was much more than that.
The journey they were on now, through the Zagros Mountains, would lead him to the final ingredients that would make him what he was meant to be.
170 A.D. Celestial Palace of the Jade Emperor.
“This is the year that you will be sent forth to the mortal realm, Xiao Yun,” Cloud’s Master said to him after he completed his morning qi exercises.
“Little Cloud” was his Master’s nickname for him, because a cloud followed above his head wherever he went.
Sometimes, the cloud was white and fluffy, letting shots of sunshine filter through. Sometimes, it was drenched with moisture, but only enough to create a drizzle, so that a rainbow arched through it, making all of the palace xian nǚ giggle with delight.
Other times, the cloud wasn’t so “little.” It grew and grew with Cloud’s darkening mood, until it blanketed dark, gray and ominous overhead, blocking out all light. And blinding flashes of lightning followed by deafening thunder chased each other through it, making all onlookers dive for cover whenever Cloud walked by.
Thankfully, Cloud didn’t have those black moods very often, but his Master still chided him that one temper tantrum was one too many.
Cloud hated to disappoint his Master.
“Why must I be sent down to the mortal realm at all, Master?” Cloud asked, slightly belligerent.
He had lived all of his spiritual life in the Celestial Palace, protecting the heavens and the Jade Emperor himself, who was said to have fragments of the Pure Goddess in him, after the Age of the Gods had passed and the deities’ qi had dispersed throughout the universe.
Cloud liked his existence the way it was. He had an important, noble purpose, and he always fulfilled it well.
When he wasn’t on duty and training, he visited his siblings in the Four Seas, lakes and rivers. They’d frolic and play where no mortals could see.
Once in a while, their activities produced unintended consequences, like floods, earthquakes and volcano eruptions. That was usually when Master prohibited him from leaving the Celestial Palace for dozens of human years. Sometimes longer.
“You need to learn what it means to be human, little one,” Master said. “You must learn friendship, empathy, and all of the struggles mortals suffer as well.”
It always chafed Cloud that Master called him “little” something.
Little one. Little Cloud. Even though he’d existed for tens of thousands of years already.
“Ah, but an existence without living does not count,” Master explained, reading his mind, as usual.
“Though you have existed untold lifetimes here in heaven, you have not lived even one lifetime down on earth. You have not grown and matured as a man. In so many ways, you are still an infant.”
“But I am not a man, Master,” Cloud argued. “Why can’t I help the mortals when I’m needed without having to live as one of them?”
“Because of choice,” Master answered patiently.
“If you only help them because you are told to do so, you will not truly understand why. There will come a time when you must make choices for yourself.”
Cloud begged to differ silently.
He made plenty of choices everyday. He chose what to do in his free time. He chose what to eat. When he got bored, the xian nǚ always entertained him and kept him company. He never tired of listening to their tinkling laughter, though he could do without the copious sharing of palace gossip.
“Light and Dark, Good and Evil, Right and Wrong… they are not black and white,” Master continued to explain. “If you do not understand the nuances to be able to decide on a path for yourself, you risk calamitous results because of the power you wield.”
“Can’t you just teach me everything from here, Master?” Cloud wheedled.
And yes, in that moment, he did sound like a petulant child.
Master smiled and shook his white-haired head.
“You must learn how to be human on your own, little one. You must live a full mortal lifespan to truly understand.”
Understand what? Cloud wondered and wrinkled his nose.
After all, humans were such simple creatures. Like insects really.
They were born. They ran around in circles. They fought. They died. And their lifespan was so brief compared to his immortality that they were gone within a blink.
Some humans were like ants, industrious and orderly. But so rule-bound and restricted.
Other humans were like cockroaches, invading and ruining everything they touched, a plague on earth.
To Cloud, they were all similar. Easily crushed.
“You will learn the fragility of the mortal body; you will no longer be invincible,” Master went on. “You must learn how to control the senses and emotions you will have, because even though you will be human, you will still be much more powerful, and therefore capable of much more damage, than any other.”
Cloud thought of the “natural” disasters he sometimes inadvertently unleashed with his siblings and grimaced.
Master never punished him physically, even though he could. But the look of disappointment when Master shook his head at Cloud after doing something reprehensible always made Cloud feel as small as a silkworm.
“You are also capable of doing tremendous good,” Master reminded him gently, hearing his thoughts.
“Will I be allowed to return to Heaven when I have finished this assignment?” Cloud asked with some unease.
He would not have access to the giant magic peaches that grew in the Jade Emperor’s orchard if he were on earth. Mortal food was bland at best, disgusting at worst.
At least, that’s what Cloud imagined, having never tasted it.
“How do you know you will want to come back after living as a human?” Master asked in turn, stroking a hand through his long, white beard thoughtfully.
“Perhaps you will find the deepest love with a human woman and never want to leave her, even in death.”
Cloud couldn’t control his facial expressions at that bit of absurdity, rolling his eyes and scrunching his brow.
Master did like to tease him.
“Never going to happen,” he stated with absolute certainty.
He’d seen countless human women in the Mirror Pond that showed the residents of the Celestial Palace what the ant-like humans were up to in their daily lives. The Mirror chose what, where and when to show its viewer, and everything Cloud had seen had been far from appealing.
Master merely smiled.
“If that is the case, then of course there will always be a place for you in Heaven. Home is wherever your heart chooses to be.”
Cloud scowled with some confusion.
“But the heart does not choose, Master. It is the brain that decides.”
Master patted Cloud
on the shoulder as he walked away, leaving his young charge by the Mirror Pond.
His parting words were:
“That is why you must learn how to be human. And how the heart will ultimately decide.”
Cloud mulled on this for a while, but he just couldn’t make sense of it.
Fortunately, a playful little dragonfly distracted him by flitting to and fro right above his nose. Cloud smiled at his little cousin and chased it merrily around the Mirror Pond.
Finally, it danced directly above the pond, hovering out of reach. For, no one was allowed to wade into the pond, or even to touch its surface. The xian nǚ whispered that the Mirror was a gateway to the mortal realm. Anyone who dived through it would fall from the heavens to earth.
Cloud shuddered. He did not want to go to earth any sooner than was absolutely necessary.
Reflexively, he touched the giant pearl embedded in his forehead. At least, if he accidentally tumbled into the water and plummeted to earth he could use his amulet to return to Heaven. But he didn’t want to put that theory to the test.
“No, little cousin!” he warned as the dragonfly hovered ever closer to the surface of the completely serene water, reflecting everything above it with crystal clarity.
But the dragonfly didn’t listen and landed gingerly on the smooth veil, setting off a gentle disturbance in the pond in concentric circles that radiated from its small body.
Cloud held his breath on behalf of the dragonfly, hoping that it wouldn’t disappear into the dreaded mortal realm.
But it remained gracefully poised on the pond and fluttered its fragile, kaleidoscopic wings, as if to say, “Look, big cousin. Look into the water. Tell me what you see.”
Cloud looked.
The images he saw were startlingly clear, as if he was right there on earth instead of safely ensconced in the Celestial Palace gardens.
He saw the beautiful slopes of a mountain range, meandering across lush, grassy terrain dotted by trees, lakes and rivers. The longer he looked, the closer and larger the images became, until he saw a band of wild horses racing across the steppes.
Ever closer the Mirror zoomed, homing in on a particular group of humans, all women. Most of them were racing on horseback as if they were born to it, cutting through the wild herd.
Except one small human, bouncing on the back of particularly fat pony.
Cloud looked closer.
She had the brightest golden hair he’d ever seen. The immortals in the Celestial Palace had either black hair or white hair, but no other colors in between.
She was chubby and round and making happy, gurgling noises, clapping her hands with excitement as she watched the grown women chase the wild horses, herding a couple from their group.
Suddenly, she looked up, her gaze caught on a dragonfly that hovered over her head…
A dragonfly?!
Cloud reared back and looked all around for his little cousin, but the small fairy being was nowhere to be found. Surely his cousin hadn’t done the unthinkable and plummeted to earth!
Cloud looked at the Mirror again.
The dragonfly had landed on the girl’s golden curls, decorating it like a pretty ornament.
The small human laughed with delight and gently patted her head, mindful not to flatten her new friend.
Such a nice sound, her laughter, loud and unrestrained, unlike the tinkling of the xian nǚ’s giggles. Cloud wanted her to look up so that he could see her face better, maybe even determine the color of her eyes.
Unaware that he’d done so, the tip of one fore-claw touched the surface of the pond ever so lightly—
Causing a big fat raindrop to splatter on top of the human girl’s head.
She squealed and looked up, jostling the dragonfly from its perch, before it resettled on her shoulder.
And Cloud sank into the bluest pair of eyes he’d ever seen.
Almost a violet blue they were so dark. More brilliant than the blue gems that the Empress wore in her evening cloak.
Strangely, he felt that the girl saw him too, for she stared deeply into his eyes, not blinking once, as if mesmerized.
“Cloud!” she suddenly shouted and pointed to the skies, right at him.
He lurched back away from the Mirror and hid behind a giant peach tree.
How could she possibly see him? The Mirror only looked in one direction. No human could see into the heavens.
His confidence renewed after that little pep talk, Cloud slowly approached the Mirror and looked inside.
But all was reflection again.
The girl was gone.
“How disgusting, this birthing process. Bloody, messy, painful. Dark Goddess willing, I will never have to endure another one. But if this thing that came out of me doesn’t have the right ingredients, I will have to start all over again. So far, it shows Dark tendencies, opting for blood over milk. But will it display the traits of a Beast as well? Only time can tell…”
—From the secret journal of the Vampire Sorceress Circe
Chapter Six
“Come.”
As Jade paused just outside the heavy ornate doors of what used to be her throne room, she wondered how exactly she should interpret that roughly uttered command.
Because inside the throne room, King Ramses was vigorously fucking a lithe little vamp, both of them still fully clothed—she in a slinky long dress shoved above her waist; he in a fitted robe completely open in the front.
She was kneeling on all fours on a low settee, and he was taking her from behind, one large hand holding her by the hip, one hand wrapped in her long, golden hair, pulling it taut like a leash as he banged her with enough force to jolt her forward with every thrust. His tight hold on her hair kept her from being fucked off the furniture, however.
It must have been painful, the way he yanked on her hair, but the bitch’s loud moans of pleasure expressed the opposite.
“Are you certain this is a convenient time?” Jade asked sardonically, arching a brow at her ex-Chosen just as he spared her a glance.
“A moment,” he bit out.
Then, instead of speeding up, he slowed the rhythmic movements of his powerful hips and buttocks, lunging deeper and longer with each thrust and adding a delicious swivel whenever he sank to the hilt, making the female vampire sob and keen with the intensity of her euphoria.
Jade stepped inside the room, walked unobtrusively to the nearest wall and leaned against it with her arms crossed.
After several moments, when the female was still climaxing on Ramses’ enormous cock, her juices making his member glisten, dripping down his scrotum to his thighs, Jade raised one hand to her mouth and delicately yawned into it.
She shook her head. Looked like the female vamp was a squirter.
Tsk, Tsk. So messy.
Ramses looked at Jade sideways and flashed his teeth in a feral grin at her audacity. He pounded into the female one last time and held there as she shuddered violently with her whole body, her orgasm seemingly endless.
Finally, he pulled out of her, his staff still erect and glistening with her fluids. He pulled her to her feet by the hair and gripped her jaw so that their faces were mere centimeters away.
“Remember our agreement,” he purred low, “or the next time we meet will not be about pleasure.”
Her eyes widened not with fear but anticipation, her body shivering as she softened against him.
He read clearly where her thoughts had strayed.
“Not that kind of pain,” he said as he kept her away from his body so that they were not touching anywhere except where he chose to hold her.
“You won’t like what I do to you if you ever cross me,” he promised silkily.
A different kind of shiver went through her this time. The fearful kind. Message received.
He released her chin abruptly and stepped back, not bothering to close the robe he was wearing over his naked cock.
The female vampire eyed his proud member with avarice and longing,
obviously hoping for another round, but he tilted his head toward the door, indicating wordlessly that it was time for her to leave.
They were done here.
As the female obediently left without a parting word, the guards outside closed the heavy doors, leaving Jade alone with Ramses.
“You don’t mix pleasure with business? That’s got to hurt,” Jade remarked, staring pointedly at Ramses’ stone-hard erection.
He stalked gracefully to her like a large predator.
When he was mere inches away, his maleness jutting between them like an invitation and a taunt, he answered, “The pleasure is for her obedience. My own is irrelevant and unnecessary.”
She looked deeply into his eyes for a moment and said softly, “Why do you refuse yourself pleasure, Ramses? Pleasure has wonderful healing abilities. I should know.”
He took her wrist and brought her hand to his heated chest, splaying her palm flat over his heart.
“Then heal me, Jade,” he murmured, “Show me pleasure.”
She stared at him a while longer and sighed.
Gently, she tugged at her hand, and he released her.
“Do you conduct all of your business in this fashion?” she asked, changing the subject as she walked around him to a section of deep-seated chairs.
Knowing that what little intimacy she allowed him was over, Ramses drew his robe closed, shielding his nakedness from view.
He gestured for her to take a seat, then took the one opposite her. Casually, he laid his arms on the rests of the chair, his long legs sprawled apart before him. His groin still ached from the lack of release, so he didn’t cross his legs in a more polite position. He cared more for comfort at the moment, since satisfaction eluded him.
“Surely how I conduct my business is not what you came here to discuss,” he replied to her earlier question. “And it is not unlike how you yourself used to manage your affairs.”
She scrunched her nose, half in disdain, half in chagrin.
“We couldn’t be more different. My Gift requires me to gorge on sexual energy,” she reminded him. “You, on the other hand, simply wield it like a weapon. Barter it like coin. What does that make you, I wonder?”
