Queen of Swords (The Vampire Swords Book 3)

by Arabella Kingsley

  ‘There is nothing you can do but give yourself to me, Juliet. Your powers are vast but you try to spread yourself too thin. They are waning. You will lose everything if you do not agree to my terms. Give yourself to me and I assure you I will let the passengers and the children go free and take their chance at survival,’ Galen called out to her

  Juliet turned her head towards me. Her vacant eyes searching in vain to see me, calling out my name, clearly distressed for my safety.

  ‘I have no choice, Nathan. I could not live knowing what I had done to those innocent children. I could not think of them spending an eternity in hell at the mercy of such a vile monster.’

  ‘No, Juliet. Sink the ship. I won’t let you have her, if it is the last thing I do with my life.’

  My sword clashed against Galen’s and I pushed back hard with all of the strength I possessed until he was knocked to the floor. He pulled at my coat taking me down with him. We fought trying to gain supremacy over the other. We rolled down the gentle slope of sand towards where the water met the shore. neither of us would give. We struggled until we reached the water, splashing down in foaming breakwater. The devil beneath me I pushed down as hard as I could hoping to gain ground and slice at Galen’s throat with both swords just as he did to my sweet Juliet. I gritted my teeth with anger, hissing with venom through my incisors as I forced his head down under the water. Around us the waves broke. I held the devil down in the water but he would not drown nor was my strength enough to defeat him.

  Galen suddenly sat up and I felt him propel formidable energy at me with a loud roar of anger. I found myself flying backwards, upwards into the air without the comfort of my sword. I landed backwards in the sandy water with a loud splash. I stood up quickly peeling off my sodden frock coat, glancing quickly at Juliet but my attention was diverted with speed when Galen knocked me back down in the water, his blade at my throat. I barely had enough time to call to Juliet when the blade begin to cut into the surface of my skin.

  ‘You are not the first head I have taken,’ Galen growled down at me as I hissed back at him. I couldn’t move. He was using his energy to keep me bound down in the water. I could not move my arms. Still I thrashed as best I could. His sword pressed down on my larynx and I could not call to Juliet. Inside my mind I begged her to let the ship go. My death would come now but she must save herself and our people. There was no answer yet I prayed she could hear me.

  ‘The first was too quick, too clean. I want you to suffer, Knight of Swords. I want you to feel the pain of knowing that when you die I will rape your queen and make her my own in hell for an eternity. I will take your head slowly . . . .’

  I stared up at him, my eyes the colour of dark coal with uncontrollable anger hissing with the venom of a cobra. A shadow blotted out the aspect of the sun. For a moment I wondered if it were a bird. The Devil sank his blade deeper into my throat. Then he was bending sideways, his head reeling from the blow of the heavy jewelled end of a Taleian sword. He fell face down in the water, dazed and unable to recover his sense quick enough to maintain his energy hold over me in the water. I scrambled to my feet holding Galen’s sword to behold my Queen standing over Galen, free of her bonds. She held the sword in both of her hands pointing its tip downwards towards Galen’s chest as he floated dazed in the sea water. Her eyes were black with anger and fight. She could see again. She still wore the mock crown of Talus on her head as she raised the sword high above him.

  ‘You will not take what is rightfully mine, Devil. Nor will you part me from whom I belong to,’ she told him fiercely before plunging the sword deep into his chest.

  Galen’s body jumped upwards in a contorted spasm of pain. He groaned and grunted but did not speak any words of anguish. Juliet stepped away from the monster that lay in the water at her feet and outstretched her arms. I sat up on my arms in the water and stared as she began to rise into the air above me. The clouds darkened and gathered above her.

  For the first time I saw Juliet in the raw beauty of her power. Her eyes returned to their striking emerald green and seemed to blaze with fire itself. Her red golden curls were free around hr shoulders, streaming outwards in the air. Her beauty was breathtaking. Juliet was more than a simple Queen, she was a goddess.

  A storm of electricity charged the air above and around us filling the sky with white light. Afraid for Juliet’s safety I called up to her but she did not hear me. She stared up at the heavens as I continued to call confused by what was occurring around us. The lightening continued to charge the air and large balls of energy and light began to swirl around Juliet and the beach. One passed close by making me spin to avoid it. For a moment I could have sworn that these oval balls of yellow light contained tiny human like beings formed only of yellow flame. Another passing before my eyes confirmed my suspicions.

  They raced upwards to join Juliet. The air was charged with electricity. I turned sharply hearing a groan from Galen. He was attempting to pull the sword from his chest. I prepared myself for battle once more. Galen stood and threw the bloodied sword across into the water. He clutched at his bleeding chest, the blood escaping out between his fingers and staggered towards Juliet. It seemed even the Devil could be wounded in human form. He shouted up to Juliet.

  ‘You will not win, Queen of Talus. Your ship is sinking and the human lives are mine. Surrender if you wish them to be saved.’

  Juliet did not answer him. Her fiery eyes were glazed in some sort of rapture as the electricity danced around her.

  ‘The power you take is mine, rightfully mine. You belong to me. I have waited so long-I will be free of this pain. You won’t get away.’

  Galen raised his hand. I watched fire spring forth from his palm. It curved into a large ball. I started towards him as he aimed it with an ugly temper at my Queen but a hand on my arm quickly halted me.

  ‘Stop, Nathan. He cannot harm her now.’

  Cadell.

  I frowned at him, disbelieving his words.

  ‘Look.’

  He pointed towards Juliet as the fireball charged towards her entranced form. But mercifully, it was not to reach her. A million tiny beings emerged from their yellow lightening balls to gather themselves into a large circle. A shield of sorts to protect my Queen. Their small hands outstretched they caught the ball of fire together and pushed it forward, back towards Galen with force. I could of sworn I heard childish laughter echo on the air of this strange place.

  Galen’s face become contorted and twisted with his pain and something else when the light beings caught his weapon, fear. I watched transfixed as he moved awkwardly in a hurry to avoid the ball of fire. The water slowing his sluggish process.

  ‘No, no I won’t go back. I won’t,’ he screamed with hysteria. Where was the mighty demon now? He was nothing more than a fearful wretched coward. But the ball of fire was to find its destination. It struck him boldly in the back.

  The fire spread like a disease over his back. Out of the air a ethereal human silhouette compiled from the fires of hell itself materialised. Galen’s fury and fear fought a duel as he battled the flames engulfing him and tried to flee the being. He screamed in horror at the strange creature.

  ‘No, no this cannot be. I defeated you. I defeated you. No, I won’t go back,’ he shouted at the fiery human silhouette. But still it approached and now with speed as the flames spread down Galen’s back. The being wrapped itself around Galen’s body in a fluid motion like a fish swimming though the air. It began around his head area, then down his chest. Galen’s screams were terrifying as his body was consumed in flames I have never seen the like of before or wish to see again. They bore an intensity and heat that began to burn at my clothes.

  The stench was unbearable. Galen’s flesh rippled and melted. Still, he lived as his skin was taken from him. The atmosphere beat with electricity and light but the demon’s screams could not be drowned out. The fire being seemed to hold him in position with his frightening movement. The salty ocean water had no dowsin
g effect upon the fire.

  When Galen’s flesh had been stripped, his muscle fibre was next. Yet his life was prolonged. My stomach protested at the vile nature of the fire being’s act even upon Galen. Then his fleshy organs were to be next. I could see his heart beating as the creature spread fire over the other organs and it was the last to shrivel and burn. When Galen was but a mere skeleton of a man, the creature desisted it’s tormenting movement. Smoke rose like thick fog from Galen’s burnt shell of a body. I heard him whimper and drop to his bony knees in the water.

  The creature hovered in the air, waiting patiently as another shriek of pain and anguish erupted from Galen’s skeletal mouth. Two black feathered wings began to birth from his spine. Galen arched his body backwards in agony until they opened into their full wide span. Slowly he rose from the water, defeated. The fire creature charged towards him and surrounded him once more. With another cry Galen was propelled up into the air, through the lightening charged sky and into the heavens, disappearing behind the large black rumbling clouds.

  ‘Balance is restored. Satan has returned to his throne. We will not be troubled by Galen and his men again,’ Cadell said calmly.

  I could not think. I did not want to think about what I had just witnessed. I turned my attention back to my Queen.

  A strong wind began to blow and the sea churned underneath my feet. I fought to stand still with Cadell.

  ‘It is time,’ he told me watching Juliet with a protective eye.

  Chapter Seven

  The lightening streaking across the dark tempestuous skies above us began to centre into one large swirling ball of yellow sitting just below the heavy cloud. The light was so bright I had cause to shield my eyes. The thunder was so loud it shook the ground and water beneath my feet. The waves crashed against the rocks, spraying high into the air causing the water to dampen the skin on my face. I stood in the shallow water with Cadell fascinated and fearful for Juliet who did not answer my mental call. The small golden light beings began to swirl faster and faster around my Queen who remained deathly still floating on the air, awaiting her fate. The lines of light filling the sky fed directly into the yellow ball nourishing it’s strength until it grew larger.

  ‘What will happen to Juliet,’ I demanded, angered by Cadell’s silence. He would tell me nothing.

  ‘Be patient, Knight. Watch.’

  As he spoke a large wide ray of light erupted from the middle of the yellow ball and directly penetrated Juliet in the centre of her body, just below her breasts. My Queen contorted in a spasm with pain, a fierce cry leaving her lips in anguish. Instinctively, I started forward to rescue my Queen but Cadell was to block my way.

  ‘Wait. Juliet is safe. I will allow nothing to happen to her. This must be allowed. Your Queen must receive the Ancient power bestowed upon your race.’

  ‘But Juliet already has her power,’ I insisted watching Juliet continue to wrestle with the pain of the light feeding into her body.

  ‘Yes, she has received her Taleian power.’

  Cadell looked up at Juliet and then turned to smile widely at me. I stared at him a mixture of anger and confusion. He would not allow me to go to Juliet. Did he see pleasure in Juliet’s suffering?

  ‘Don’t you see it, Knight?’ he beamed. ‘Juliet is more than your Queen. Juliet is an Empress. The Taleian race was not purely human with gifts of mind and strength before the curse. They were already a hybrid race of both human and Faery. An enigmatic joining between the humans and the Faery Realms. Juliet is the Gate Keeper between the Realms, the personification and strength of this joining.’

  ‘What? You are telling me, Juliet is a Faery Queen? That I, my Knights and the hybrids are Faery?’ I demanded confused and somewhat bewildered, perhaps even disbelieving.

  Yes. Juliet is more than your Queen. She is an Empress of both Human and Faery as you are Knight of Swords of both these realms. It is they who bestow her with power now. When the joining has been restored, deep ancient connections between the Faery and human world will be reunited. Humans will no longer be forced to live alone in pain in this world. They will be able to call on the fey for healing. Don’t you see, how this will change humankind forever?’

  I did not reply. I simply stared up at my Queen in awe, marvelling at her strength and beauty. I just wanted her safely back in my arms. I would not care where she Queen, Empress or match girl, I would love her for herself alone. She was all that mattered to me.

  The Angel Cadell smiled gently at me and I realised he had read my thoughts.

  ‘You love her very much, don’t you? Your love runs deeper than any Taleian bond. I envy you.’

  I wondered at why an Angel would envy the love I had for a woman.

  ‘Times will be hard, Nathan. You must stand by Juliet for her task will be great. She must facilitate the joining between the humans and the Realm of Faery. Many disputes exist within the Faery world, just as there are in the human one. Distrust between both peoples and your own runs deep. Many will come for your Queen to possess her for themselves or to destroy her power and end her life. Your own task to protect her will be just as great. Are you up to the challenge, Knight?’

  ‘I have no doubts. I never have done. I will lay my life down for her, should the need arise,’ I answered with firm conviction.

  He questioned me no further.

  ‘Your joining must be soon, Nathan. Juliet is very young and needs a steadying hand to help her balance the power or it will consume her from the inside out.’

  ‘I have no other urgent wish than to join with Juliet but I haven’t defeated all of the challengers. The rules of our people forbid me from doing so until I have satisfied the mating ritual. I must defeat Sebastian. He must pay for his treachery and rape of my Queen or she will never be free of him.’

  ‘You must wait no longer. There will be challengers to your Queen both human, hybrid and Faery with or without a Taleian bond. The Taleian and Hybrid men no longer obey the rules. They place no value on the traditions of your people. They are so desperate to possess a mate after the slavers have stolen so many of your women. The men of your race have turned hard and cruel in their pursuit of a mate. I fear greatly for the Hybrid and Taleian women and girls at their mercy without a mate to protect them. Now the only cruel fate of joining with the Faery Realms once more is that the amount of challengers will increase.

  Some of the Faery males have endured their own troubles concerning mates and this rejoining allows them to seek elsewhere. They too can be brutal.’

  Cadell became impassioned in his speech. ‘You must consummate the bond. Juliet endures pain in waiting for your joining just as you do and she must be protected. I refuse to see both of you suffer any more. A love that endures so much should not denied in every sense of the word.’

  ‘You have been watching us?’ I enquired, although I already knew the answer.

  He gave a small laugh.

  ‘Of course. I have been watching you both since your births. I am the Guardian Angel of your bond.’

  He spoke no more. The vast white feathered wings he had been hiding sprouted quickly but painlessly from his back through his morning coat. Within seconds he was rising into the air to catch Juliet who was now tumbling in a faint from the sky, suddenly free from the torment of the yellow lightening. With ease and skill, Cadell caught her limp body effortlessly in his arms.

  I rushed towards him as he lowered himself and Juliet to the ground. Cadell held Juliet out to me. I took hold of my queen carefully, gently. I closed my eyes, cradling her close to my chest, inhaling her intoxicating scent, taking a moment to kiss the top of her hair and savour her delicate presence in my arms. It had been too long since I had held her and I couldn’t bear to be parted from her again. I would not stand it. The next man who dared to part us again would die a violent death at my hand.

  The the water and the sand beneath us began to shake and move. I fought to keep my balance. The effort appeared an easier task for Cadell to perform. J
uliet began to stir back to consciousness. The light beings that had surrounded Juliet in the air followed, swirling around us, sparking my vision.

  ‘Hurry, hurry, you must hurry,’ they seemed to breathe in transparent ghostly voices. Once more the ground shook and this time did not stop. Cadell frowned.

  ‘The ship is sinking. We must leave. Time is running out.’

  Cadell moved behind me and splayed out his large white wings. He took hold of my arms from behind in a firm grip. Yet he did no exert any pain. I held Juliet tighter in my arms as all three of us rose into the air. Our yellow fire companions were to follow. We travelled higher and higher through the grey cloud still being lit by momentary bursts of lightening.

  Above the clouds everything was blue, crystalline and serene. A blackness loomed above this brilliant blue. We passed through it and I suddenly found myself skimming across the ocean’s surface. Cadell held my arms as I cradled Juliet close to me, afraid she would fall from hold into the water as we skimmed it’s surface.

  The cries of the remaining living passengers echoed across the water towards us. The sinking ship that was beginning to tilt upwards in the water in its final death throes. The fog surrounding the ship had disappeared, only a dull grey cloudy sky remained. In the distance I could see Captain Bell’s small vessel churning the waves towards the ship. It appeared to be our destination.

  Cadell swooped over the small boat causing Captain Bell to fall to his knees with his cap off in fearful awe as we landed. I stepped lightly on to the deck of the boat and heard Juliet stir, now more awake and recovered from her ordeal. She bade me to let her down.

  Cadell made to rise into the air again.

  ‘I must help,’ he informed us. ‘Juliet, you know what you must do.’

  Juliet gave him a fearful look.

  ‘You must believe in your ability, Juliet. You have let no one down. Exercise your power as you were always meant to. You are supported and loved. Have faith in who you are and your role here. You are needed. Act now,’ he instructed with gentleness. Juliet gave him a slow nod and lifted the skirt of her dress to walk quickly to the bough of the tiny boat as it rushed towards the ship in rescue.