But there was one thing about Lord Taranas’ face that remained the same and that was his eyes. They were still as red and evil as ever, only this time they were consumed with complete and utter rage. I genuinely worried that he might decide that I was more trouble than I was worth and kill me here and now. He certainly could do it if he wanted. Maybe being a half-vampire meant that I was stronger than him, but Lord Taranas had more experience than me and a better grasp of vampire power. In a straight fight, I wouldn’t be able to beat him.
The Newborns parted to allow Lord Taranas to enter the circle they had created around me and then reformed the circle as soon as he entered. I stepped back, but I couldn’t go backwards more than a few steps due to the Newborns around us. Lord Taranas stopped less than a foot away from me and looked down at me to meet my eyes.
“Clever girl,” said Lord Taranas, his voice full of hatred. “I admit, I didn’t think you had that kind of last minute courage in you. I thought for sure that you were too weak to even consider rebelling against me, especially so late in the plan. You’re obviously more strong-willed than you look.”
“Maybe I am,” I said. I summoned two fireballs in my hands. “And I’m more than willing to give up my life to take you down. I’m not going to wield the Vampire Sword for you. You’ll have to kill me first.”
Lord Taranas’ hands balled into fists. I figured he was going to start beating on me, so I was ready to start throwing fireballs at him. I couldn’t be sure if the Newborns would help him or if they would just stand back and watch, but either way, I would go down fighting.
Finally, however, Lord Taranas uncurled his fists and said, “Very well. I can see that I underestimated your will. You are clearly ready to fight to the death over this issue, rather than submit as you should. An admirable attitude in some ways, but in others, quite inconvenient.”
Taken by surprise by Lord Taranas’ relatively lax attitude, I said, “Wait, are you going to let me go?”
Lord Taranas smiled. “Just because I can respect your attitude doesn’t mean I’m just going to throw out all of my plans. If I can’t make you willingly serve me, then I’ll make you serve me unwillingly.”
Lord Taranas snapped his fingers.
A sharp pain exploded in the back of my head. The fireballs in my hands immediately went out and I grabbed the back of my head, crying out in pain as I fell to my knees. It felt like someone was grabbing my brain, squeezing and twisting it into all kinds of shapes. It was the most violated I had ever felt in my life and I wanted it to just stop.
“What … what are you doing to me?” I said, my voice straining. “Killing me?”
“Killing you would be emotionally satisfying, but certainly wouldn’t help me use the Vampire Sword,” said Lord Taranas, shaking his head. “No, I’m merely breaking your will, forcing you to bow to me. You are technically one of my Hordelings, after all, and every Hordeling is subject to my leadership. It is the same reason why we have that mental connection, only this time I’m exploiting it in a way you don’t like.”
I would have said that I didn’t like talking to him mentally anyway, but the pain became so sharp that I couldn’t even speak. All I could do was groan and moan, grabbing my head as tightly as possible, gasping for air and feeling my body become drenched in sweat. I was resisting as best as I could, but I could feel my resistance breaking. Soon, perhaps in seconds, Lord Taranas would break my will and have complete and utter control over my body, mind, and soul. I would soon become just like one of his Newborns, a mindless creature that lives only to serve his twisted ends.
Despite the pain, despite how intense it felt, all I could do was pray to God. I cried out to him to save me, even if I was condemned from his sight, and, if not save me, then at least grant me relief from this horrible pain. But I knew, in my heart of hearts, that God wasn’t listening, that he would never listen to a creature like me that existed outside of his grace.
Just before my will snapped entirely, I heard a loud screeching sound. It sounded like one of the Newborns, except it was screeching in horrible, agonizing pain, as if it was being tortured to death somewhere nearby. Despite my own hatred toward the Newborns, I could not help but feel bad about the poor creature’s obvious agony.
Then, without warning, something round flew out of nowhere and struck Lord Taranas in the chest. Lord Taranas gasped in surprise and stepped backwards, his concentration shattered. Then the intense pressure on my mind lifted instantly, bringing immediate relief to not just my mind, but my body and soul as well.
“What in the world was that?” said Lord Taranas, looking down at the round object which had been thrown at him. “Who threw that at me?”
I also looked at the round object which lay on the ground between us and immediately wished I hadn’t, because I found myself staring at the decapitated head of a Newborn vampire. Its face was frozen in an expression of pure agony and fear, black blood leaking out of its neck. As I stared at it, the head slowly started to decompose, until soon it was just a pile of gray ash in the grass that smelled like death.
Then I heard my screeching behind me and looked over my shoulder to see someone fly over the surrounding Newborns and land next to me. As the figure stood up, I got a good look at his handsome face in the light of the Pillar and gasped, unable to believe my eyes.
“Lucius?” I said, staring at him in utter disbelief. “Is that you?”
Lucius looked down at me and smiled. “Of course. And I’m here to help you stop Lord Taranas’ plans once and for all.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Lucius?” said Lord Taranas, before I could say anything else. “Lucius Red? The famous Order spy himself?”
Lucius looked at Lord Taranas, showing not even a hint of fear before the Vampire Lord. “I didn’t know I was famous. Maybe I’m not as good a spy as I think I am.”
“I know who you are because you were the one who stopped Lady Hisara from getting the Vampire Sword twenty-four years ago,” said Lord Taranas. “You and the Hunter worked together to do that.”
“What can I say?” said Lucius with a shrug. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
I pretty much ignored Lord Taranas in order to focus on Lucius. I rose to my feet as quickly as I could, saying at the same time, “Lucius, why are you here? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me anymore after the attack on Dad’s house.”
“If it helps, I didn’t come here to save you specifically,” said Lucius. “I was always planning to take down Lord Taranas. When I found out that you were going to meet him tonight, I simply followed you to the meeting place and then through the Shadow Way to where Lord Taranas’ base is. I’ve been hiding on the margins of the yard ever since, watching and waiting for the right time to strike.”
“You mean you were following me without me knowing?” I should have been offended by that, but I was too grateful for Lucius’ appearance here to care.
Lucius shrugged. “I don’t see what’s so bad about that. After all, now that I’m here, you and I can put an end to Lord Taranas.”
Lord Taranas sneered. “What arrogant foolishness, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You Pures always act like you’re superior to the rest of us. An unearned sense of superiority is the defining feature of the ‘Pure’ vampire.”
“I think you’re projecting a bit there, Lord Taranas,” said Lucius, folding his arms in front of his chest. “I am but a humble servant of the Vampire Council. You, on the other hand, are planning to overthrow the Vampire Council and establish your dominion over the whole world. Tell me which one is more arrogant.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Lord Taranas. “I am above humility and arrogance, or soon will be, once I have the Vampire Sword under my control. And besides, you are just one vampire. Your presence here does make things a little bit trickier, but my Hordelings and I still outnumber you and Tara overwhelmingly. It will take us only seconds to overwhelm both of you through sheer numbers alone.”
/>
Unfortunately, Lord Taranas wasn’t bragging. Everywhere I looked, Newborns, Bloodseekers, and even Nosfers were crawling out of the shadows in surprising numbers. Lucius was a strong guy, maybe even strong enough to take on Lord Taranas in a one-on-one fight, but if all of Lord Taranas’ Horde joined in, I wasn’t sure that even Lucius would stand much of a chance against them. And I didn’t think my help would be especially, well, helpful, given my inexperience. If anything, it might just make things harder for Lucius, which once again reminded me of my failure to be useful.
“Lucius, I think he’s got a point,” I said, glancing nervously around at Lord Taranas’ Horde. “You and I can’t possibly defeat all of these vampires on our own. There’s too many of them and they’re too strong for me to stop.”
Lucius chuckled. “Forgive me, but I don’t remember the part where I said that I came alone.”
Dozens of other vampires leaped out of the shadows suddenly, vampires that were bigger and stronger-looking than Lord Taranas’ Horde. The vampires looked closer to Lucius than to Lord Taranas and they moved fast, cutting down Newborns, Bloodseekers, and Nosfers with deadly speed and accuracy. The entire Horde suddenly dispersed, with some of the Hordelings trying to fight back against the sudden newcomers, while others fled into the shadows, though those ones didn’t get far because they kept getting killed by the deadly newcomers who showed no mercy to any of Lord Taranas’ Hordelings.
“What is this?” said Lord Taranas, looking around in astonishment. “You don’t have a Horde of your own, do you?”
“Not my Horde,” said Lucius, shaking his head. “Something better: The entirety of the Order of Vampires, the deadliest and most dangerous spies and assassins in the world. And right now, your precious Horde is starting to find out the hard way why we have that reputation.”
With the Order fighting the Horde, it was hard to tell what was going on, except that Lord Taranas’ Hordelings kept falling to the ground with their heads off. I even saw one Order member—a particularly large vampire wielding a golden sword—behead two Newborns with one swing of his blade, while another—a petite female who looked more like a feral cat than a bat—tore off the head of a Bloodseeker and tossed it at an approaching Nosfer, knocking it off its feet, which the female took advantage of by jumping on it and clawing at its face. It was both terrifying, a real example of vampire brutality, but also satisfying, because the Order really was turning the tide of the battle, which just moments ago had looked totally hopeless for us.
“Oh, and before I forget, you dropped this,” said Lucius.
He pulled back his coat and pulled Domination, still in its sheath, out and handed it to me. I took the sheathed blade and looked at it with a mixture of surprise and happiness.
“Is this really Domination?” I said, looking at Lucius in disbelief. “Where did you get it? And how did you touch it without hurting yourself”
“From the mansion,” said Lucius, nodding at the mansion behind the yard not far away. “I noticed it when the Order and I first entered. I recognized it because your father used it back when we stopped Lady Hisara and I figured that you would need it if we were going to put an end to Lord Taranas’ plans. As for how I touched it, its only the silver that hurts, not the leather sheath.”
I attached Domination’s sheath to my belt and then drew the sword itself, which reflected the red light from the Pillar. “Thanks! I don’t know how I will ever be able to repay you.”
“You can repay me by standing by my side as we take down Lord Taranas,” said Lucius.
I smiled at him, not even bothering to hide it. It was official: I was in love with Lucius and I didn’t care. I didn’t know if he felt that way about me, but at the moment I couldn’t care about that. I was just happy to be standing by his side, supporting him, and I could tell he was happy to have me with him, whether he would admit it or not.
But our little moment was broken by a deep growl from Lord Taranas. Lucius and I looked at Lord Taranas, who was surveying the battle between the Order and his Horde with increasing anger on his face.
“No,” said Lord Taranas, his voice full of rage. “This is not the end. This is not possible. I cannot allow this to happen.”
“Too bad, Taranas,” I said. I pointed Domination at him. “Your time is up and your plan has failed. Time to be a good sport and give up.”
Lord Taranas’ hands balled into fists, but instead of fighting us like I expected, he turned and flew up toward the portal in the sky where the Vampire Sword was.
“Hey, get back here!” I shouted at him as he flew on his wings.
“Never!” Lord Taranas shouted back. “If you want to get me, then come after me in the realm of the Vampire Sword!”
With that, Lord Taranas passed through the portal and disappeared, though the portal itself stayed open. I wasn’t sure when or if the portal would ever close, but one thing I did know was that we couldn’t let Lord Taranas get away.
I looked at Lucius. “Ready to go after him?”
“Of course,” said Lucius. He raised an eyebrow. “Are you?”
I nodded. “Yes. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Like all of the other vampires I’d seen, Lucius also had wings that allowed him to fly. He grabbed the center of my body and sent us both soaring into the air, leaving behind the raging battle between the Order and Taranas’ Horde. Flying was exhilarating. I loved the feel of the wind in my face and hair, but unfortunately it didn’t last, because soon we reached the portal and passed its borders.
It was a strange sensation. One moment, we were flying up toward the sky, but after we passed the portal’s threshold, we found ourselves flying forward. The disorienting change in perspective must have gotten to Lucius, because he immediately fell down like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. But he managed to land us neatly anyway on the empty blackness that was the realm of the Vampire Sword and let go of me as soon as we landed. I wish he hadn’t, however, because I liked the sensation of his hands on my body.
But I put such thoughts out of my mind in order to focus on my surroundings. Just like in my dreams, we stood in a deep black void that seemed to stretch on forever in every direction. There were no landmarks, no distinguishing features, nothing to differentiate anything from anything else. It was truly a void, a place of despair if I ever saw one, and maybe the closest thing to hell I would ever experience, God willing.
But there was one thing that stood out in the void: The Vampire Sword. It stood several feet away from us in its plinth, its red blade reflecting the light from the portal behind us. Up close, the Vampire Sword was even more beautiful than in my dreams. I could see the details of its craftsmanship much better, the beautiful wavy markings on the blade and the detailed hilt which looked too much like real bat wings than it had any right to. The Vampire Sword was just as much a work of art as it was a weapon of war, maybe even more so.
Like back on Earth, I felt powerfully compelled to grab it. I even took a step toward it, but then Lucius grabbed my arm and said, “Wait.”
“Huh?” I said, snapping out of my reverie and looking at Lucius in confusion. “Wait for what?”
“Lord Taranas,” said Lucius, his eyes darting back and forth. “Where is he? There’s nowhere for him to hide in here, unless he’s somehow hiding behind the Vampire Sword, that is.”
“Who said I was hiding?” said a voice behind us.
A hand burst through Lucius’ stomach. Lucius gasped, but shoved me forward, causing me to stagger forward several feet until I tripped and landed on the ground in front of the Vampire Sword. Shaking my head, I looked over my shoulder and was horrified by what I saw.
Lord Taranas stood behind Lucius, his hand shoved through Lucius’ stomach. Lord Taranas then ripped his hand out of Lucius’ stomach, who immediately collapsed onto the ground. Lucius’ black blood leaked out all around him, distinct from the black floor thanks to the light from the portal behind us.
�
�Lucius!” I screamed, struggling to my feet and turning to face him. “Lucius, no!”
I took a step toward them, but then Lord Taranas drew his sword and, putting it against Lucius’ neck, said, “Don’t move, girl. Take one step closer and I’ll cut his head clean off. Pures are like any other vampire in that they don’t function very well—or at all—without their heads.”
I stopped in place, but I desperately wanted to rush to Lucius’ aid. I didn’t know how lethal such an injury was to a vampire, but I knew that Lucius would be out of the fight for a while, at least.
“Let go of him,” I said. “Let go of him now.”
Lord Taranas’ smile became creepier. “I’ll be happy to spare him, but only if you draw the Vampire Sword and use it for my will. Otherwise, I will end his pathetic life here and now.”
My hands shook. I had no way to save Lucius. I couldn’t move fast enough to stop Lord Taranas, either by stabbing him with Domination or shooting him with a fireball. But I didn’t want to take the Vampire Sword, either. I could feel it calling to me, feel it demanding that I take it and use it, but I had to resist. I didn’t want to use the Vampire Sword, but I didn’t want Lucius to die, either. I felt like I was trapped between a rock and a hard place.
“Well?” said Lord Taranas. “What are you going to do? Will you do the smart thing and serve me or will you try to play the hero and get both you and Lucius killed?”
I didn’t want to do either, but Lord Taranas had me trapped. I looked at Lucius’ unmoving body on the ground and felt tears start to appear in the corners of my eyes, but I didn’t cry. I just looked at Lord Taranas again and said, “All right. If you will spare Lucius, I’ll draw the Vampire Sword for you.”
The Vampire Sword (Vampire Sorceress Book 1) Page 15
