Blood for the Empress: Part One of the Empress Trilogy

by Lon Varnadore

  When the door opened, he and the majordomo cast their eyes down. Two more Wolves stood inside, their stances stone still. Their eyes taking in everything. As with their counterparts outside, their eyes were created from a red orb shoved into the sockets. Yet, the Wolves weren't the only ones whose bodies and minds were changed. Torvash knew his own mind had been changed when he went from simple militia to a Collector. He still had his free will, yet some things had been altered.

  "Empress of the systems, Ruler of the twenty worlds, the undying, the Blood Empress, your faithful servants wish to—"

  "You may enter," the Empress said, waving a hand for them to enter. As soon as Torvash entered the large chamber, the door swung closed. He felt the rush of the thick stone block of the door swing by him on its silent hinges. He moved a step behind the majordomo, his feet sinking into the thick plush blood-red carpet. He felt the eyes of the Empress and the Wolves on him as he walked closer and closer to her. He took a deep breath to let the koans continue to play through his head.

  "Inyen, you may leave," the Empress said before the pair had reached a quarter of the way across the carpet. The majordomo stopped, letting out a gasp.

  "My Empress?"

  "You may go. I wish to speak to Torvash in private."

  Torvash felt pride and then fear sweep through him. Why would she want to speak to me alone? What I have I done? He braced himself, not letting himself give a sense that he was terrified to be alone with the Empress, ever may she reign.

  The majordomo opened and closed his mouth several times. He then spun on his heels and passed Torvash. He looked up at the Collector and gave him a sneer. He didn't say anything, yet felt hatred from the majordomo's glare. Torvash wanted to shrug and tell Inyen that he had no idea what was going on, but he didn't.

  "Collector Torvash, please come closer."

  Torvash did so. He stopped three meters from the Empress' dais, as was custom. At that moment, the doors closed, and he heard the slightest thud. It is only her, her Wolves, and me. Tread lightly. The warning was silly, it was the only way to tread with he Empress.

  "You are not of The Blood, are you Torvash?"

  "No, My Empress." He knew that the Blood was the name for the privileged, those who had similar powers to the Empress. Yet, none of the families could touch the Empress in terms of power. They might be a raging bonfire, but she was the sun by comparison.

  He hear let out a sigh. "Good, I tired of them. I know a few of the Collectors still hold The Blood, and I wish to change that."

  "How can I be of service?"

  "That is not your job... yet. I have a different service. But, first, you did an excellent job rounding up the new vessels from Rigel," the Empress said, a small sigh escaping her lips when she spoke of the "vessels."

  "It is my duty, My Empress," he said, looking down at the floor. "Ever may you reign. It is my honour to do my job for you."

  There was a heartbeat of silence. Torvash took a breath. What is it she wishes?

  There was a tinkle of laughter. "My dear Collector. I wish for you to collect something," she said with a smile in her words. Then it changed, and he heard the bitter tone when she added, "Something different this time."

  For a moment, Torvash thought she had read his mind. "Your wish is my—"

  "Find out what happened to my ship above Callisto. It hasn't reported in. You may take as many soldiers as you see fit, or a squad of the Rahl. Use the Gates with all speed and full authority of your Empress."

  "Yes, Empress." He waited to be excused, not lifting his head until she gave him permission.

  "You may rise, Collector Torvash."

  Torvash stood to find her standing close to him. She was a tall woman. He had forgotten how tall she was. She stood eye to eye with Torvash. He took a breath, smelling the perfume of lilac and lavender. He felt his hand twitch for a moment. "My Empress..."

  She moved her finger to her lips, then to his. "Go. Do my bidding. And thank you again for the crop you have brought in. They are so delicious."

  He nodded, spun on his heels to get away from her, and strode out of the room. He hoped the skin crawling had been covered by his movements. He held to the koan in his head, he wouldn't want her to read his mind again. Or the Wolves.

  When he passed by one of the lean men in the sleek dark grey armor, standing still as stone, his eye darted to one of them. It was Hendrix. He wasn't the man he remembered from before. The eyes were gone, replaced by the blood-red orbs of ruby stone. The staff in the Wolf's hands a slender shaft of jet.

  There was a whisper of movement when he left. He turned to see the staves had been crossed behind him. Then, he heard something in his head, it didn't break the koan he recited, but it did echo in his mind.

  Do not fail, Collector, or we will eat you.

  Collectors never hurried, yet Torvash moved down the chamber with expedience.

  Ten

  Torvash pulled on the dark red gloves of his flight suit when the lift door opened, and his ship, The Reaver's Blade, was revealed. It was a fast and sleek R7-Dagger craft. The small cruiser was his own personal ship. He touched part of his gauntlet on his left arm, and the Blade's access door slid open on noiseless bearings. A ramp unrolled from under the door and waited for him as he reached the edge.

  "Collector Torvash," a feminine voice said from behind him. He turned, knowing that it was Kern. "What, Kern?"

  She smiled, a sharp toothed raw wound of a smile. "Where are you going?"

  "Private business for the Empress, ever may she reign."

  The thick, blocky Hunter moved closer. "Is there a place for me?" She stroked the rifle stock rising from on her back. "It has been some time since I have had a chance to kill something."

  "The Rahl aren't needed on this," Torvash said. He then stopped. He looked at the Rahl killer. Torvash didn't know what he would find on Callisto. She might have a use. He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Get a small group." He paused. "You can tag along."

  Kern moved closer. Torvash's eyes darted around to make sure they were alone.

  "Don't worry, we are alone," Kern said. She then pulled him close and kissed him hard. "Such a worrier. As if anyone cares what we do."

  "The Empress—"

  "Ever may she reign," they both muttered.

  "She doesn't care. As long as she is protected by the Rahl, and you bring her blood, she is content."

  "And protected by the Wolves."

  "They are murderers. Vile creations," Kern said with a shudder.

  "The Rahl aren't?"

  Torvash opened his mouth to say something. Kern stopped him, one clawed finger touching his lips. She slipped it down slowly, scratching his flesh. Not enough to cut his flesh, but enough to make her finger mark him. "Shhh, Collector. You are brave, and she knows it."

  He pulled her back into an embrace, the small scratch making him want more of her. She pulled back, "My, aren't we invigorated."

  He shoved her away. "Get your troops, we launch in twenty."

  "Aye aye, Collector sir!" Kern gave him a mock salute.

  Within ten minutes, Kern showed up at the head of a squad of thirty Rahl soldiers. Men and women that wore the dark blue armor and skull-painted helms. They were thickly muscled individuals, all with their short-barreled carbines in hand. Torvash had trained with the Rahl and knew that even without the armor, they were formidable and deadly with only their claws, teeth, and body. Kern stopped and saluted Torvash, as did the rest of her Rahl unit.

  "Ready to depart when you are, Captain," Kern said with a mock formal tone.

  "Get to your transport, I am going on the Blade."

  "You won't be flying with us?" Kern asked. Again the mock formality to her words.

  "I will link my ship once we have reached the Gate. Put out word to the Palace airspace we are taking off."

  "Aye!"

  Torvash looked at Kern and narrowed his eyes. He didn't say anything. He walked into his ship. "Kay, is the Blade ready?"

/>   "Yes sir."

  He nodded. Sounds like she is working well after the wipe. "Let's get going. And call the Gate. We are going on a trip to Sol."

  "That backwater system?"

  Torvash grunted. "Guess the wipe didn't take?"

  "I backed myself up before the wipe, loaded myself onto one of the ancillary engine computers and waited."

  "Clever girl," Torvash said. "I can't even be mad at that." He leaned back and initiated the flight controls.

  "Don't you think I should take us out of the Palace?"

  "No, I want to use the controls once and again. Can't have you pilot me everywhere."

  "Of course, sir."

  There was something about the way Kay said "sir" that caused an alarm in his head. He ignored it and continued through the short flight corridor and slipped from the Empress's Planet, ever may she reign.

  Eleven

  Katerina strode into the sacramental bathing area. Above her, the latest three vessels had been prepared. The three vessels were strong, and their hearts had pumped their lifeblood into the stone tub. It was filled with water and other oils for Katerina Batorie to finish her sacrament for the night. It was time to see if these vessels had the right blood. The tang of copper and iron, the feeling of the warm blood as she touched it with a hand, and the exquisite taste of the prepared solution of pure water and oils to keep the blood from crusting and hardening was as close to pure bliss as Katerina had ever come.

  Katerina plunged backwards into the bath. The warm blood, having cooled a little from the wait, felt remarkable on her skin. She sat up in the waist-high bath. Her hands, grabbing the black stone rim of the tub, felt the power and rejuvenating essence of the young women's blood seeping into her. A slight tingle radiated outward from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. For a moment, every part of her felt more alive, more connected to the rest of the galaxy. She let out an orgasmic gasp, her tongue sliding along her lips to taste the iron tang of the blood.

  "Mistress?" a handmaiden asked.

  Katerina cracked an eye to make sure the youth was staring down at the floor and not at her. The handmaid was either very quick, or she had been staring at the floor. "It is nothing, Yvette." She then thought better of what she had said. "The vessels, are there others related?"

  There was a heartbeat of silence. "Yes, Empress."

  There was a smile that curled The Empress's lips. "Please, have her ready for a small feeding in the Seeking Room. There is something that I must try."

  "Yes, my Empress."

  Katerina smiled and allowed the blood to work its way into her pores. The feeling of the warmth ebbed. She felt the beginnings of the crusting and drying of the fluid. She let out a small cough, and the three handmaidens began to wipe away the crusting blood with warm sponges coated with the same oils to allow for easy clean up and revealing more and more of her ivory skin. Katerina smiled. The beauty felt as though it was shining through her. She looked at one of her handmaids, "I feel much better. Thank you all. Please make sure the vessels are disposed of properly." She didn't look up. The vessels had served their purpose.

  "Yes, my Empress, ever may you reign," the three intoned at once.

  The room was one of the largest in the palace. A whole wing of the Blood Palace had been set aside for the machine to be built. Her father had never seen the visions she had. It was a reason she had done what had to be done and taken his position as Empress. The machine was the only reason she had held onto her crown and her empire.

  It was a large inverted pyramid that hung down to the small cocoon of black where she would enter when she needed to. It wasn't a pyramid of stone, more of a ridged plastic material with irregular bumps and grooves in odd places. The engineers who had built it had designed it based on her own half-dreamt plans. She never tried to to understand where the machine had come from. There was a need she had had, to see into the universe. And the universe had given it to her in dreams.

  The girl wasn't more than sixteen. She was pale, with dark hair, much like Katerina's, and her bright blue eyes shone with fear. She had been made to enter the machine room first, with two Wolves standing on other side of her. When Katerina entered, they bowed and left, moving to the outside of the door. Katerina thought, for a moment, she sensed relief in the Wolves at their allowance to leave. Peons, she thought as they left. The Wolves weren't human, yet even they had the same fear as most humans. It wasn't something she could completely remove from them.

  "What is wrong, young one?" Katerina asked, moving through the doorway into the massive chamber. Her silk dress of dark green and ermine and her crown made the child gawk.

  For a long moment, the child said nothing. "Child, close your mouth, you will collect flies that way."

  The girl did so. She then realized with dread who she was staring at and dropped her face to the polished black marble floor. First, she dropped her head and then she fell to the ground, crying out, "Apologies, Empress. I had no idea you were—"

  "Hush child," Katerina said, moving closer and touching the whelp on the shoulder. "You may look upon your Empress."

  "Ever may she reign," the child squeaked out, slowly craning her head upwards.

  Katerina gave her a small smile. "Thank you. Please, you look hungry. Have something to eat," she said, waving towards the table that rolled in as Katerina spoke. The servant removed the cover and even Katerina's mouth watered a moment when the smells of the Callisto green curry and the Centauri Prime steak tickled her nostrils.

  The child forgot herself, which Katerina knew she would. Poor thing hasn't eaten in two days. I'll have that seen to. Good help is so hard to find.

  "What is your name, child?"

  "Ryna."

  "I'm Katerina."

  The child balked. "I could never, Empress, I—"

  Katerina touched the child's forehead until she craned her head up to look at Katerina in the eyes. "I insist, Ryna."

  The child nodded. Katerina let her go and the youth returned to eating again. How to do this, subtly, or bluntly? She shrugged. She never was one for subtly. "Do you know who Lyra is?" She had looked up the name of the one stolen above Callisto. This one was said to be related. When I find Collector Reince, he will pay for letting the prize slip through his fingers.

  "She is my sister. Is she here?" Emily asked, her face lighting up a little.

  "No. But, you can help."

  "How?"

  "Well, first Ryna, I need to ask you a favor."

  "Ask, My Empress... I mean Katerina."

  Katerina smiled. "I would like to take a small sample of your blood. It will hurt a little, but it is for a good cause."

  "Of course, My Empress... Katerina," the girl said. She offered her arm to Katerina who took out a small device. The original intention of the invention was to draw blood samples for testing. Her engineers had changed it to draw a larger sample and installed a small vial to collect the sample in. She touched it to the child's forearm. The black cube rippled in movement, breaking apart and fastening itself around the child's forearm, revealing the vial. The child's face grew strained as the vial started to fill with a sample of her lifeblood.

  Katerina couldn't help but lick her lips. She reached out and took the vial and pressed the release button. It stopped the device from drawing blood. Katerina's hand shook with a tremor as she brought the vial to her lips. The child said something, but Katerina didn't hear. The Empress's heart hammered in her ribcage, blood rushing in her ears.

  The taste was better than any vintage of wine. The trace of copper and iron caused a quaking inside her. She let out a gasp, her hands snapping to the sides of the chair. The vial, half-consumed, fell to the ground and broke on the black stone floor.

  Katerina didn't care. Her breathing grew ragged and her eyes unfocused. She looked past the child Ryna, looking through the walls of her castle, then up towards the sky and the space beyond. Its happening, I can see. Her vision reached further and further out, straining to the very e
dge of the galaxy. All without the machine? What wonderfully powerful blood.

  There was a black smudge of something dark and evil on the edge of the galaxy. It hung on the edge of the galaxy. She felt it, saw the unnatural irregular orb. Rotating spikes lined two axes of the thing... a thing of hatred. And, it hated her and all things in this galaxy. It only waited for its time. She knew it wouldn't stay there forever. She reached out, pushing herself. Trying to touch the orb. She imagined herself floating beside it, a pale ghostly form to reach out to touch the malevolent thing.

  The moment she did, pain slammed into her. Pain, agony, and hatred. The thing was evil. It hated her. Hated life. It wanted nothing more than to destroy everything. A pale white eye, viscera shot with black appeared on the oily black skin where she floated. It stared at her, and she felt pure hatred staring back. Like the void of space itself.

  Katerina glared at the thing. It wasn't a creature, it was a thing.

  "What do you want?"

  Pain... great pain.

  A flare of fiery energy shot out in an irregular ring from the thing and Katerina. Part of her consciousness latched onto the flames that spread throughout space.

  She bit her lip, knowing what was coming. Even though she had prepared herself, it hurt.

  The scene of the garden planet of Farswhen blasted with a titanic wave of fire. Katerina felt the deaths of the ten million humans and near-humans who called that planet home, as well as the innumerable animals of the planet. She felt every one of their lives snuffed out in the wave of fire. The ring of fire moved on towards the Rigel system, then Maxwell's Purchase was struck, being split in two. The five star docks in its way were melted in a moment. Her eyes fell to her home planet of Hycell, which was spared from the fire by an asteroid belt that took the brunt of the attack. Those same asteroids boiled and fused together to make meteors kilometers wide. They slammed into the planet, killing billions in an instant and damning the rest of the planet to suffer a slow freezing death as dust would block out the star's light over a period of years.