Myths & Magic: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection

by Kerry Adrienne

  Her heart ached as she pondered it, but she hoped he was wise enough to listen this time. The demon was just too powerful to be defied and she would rather remain Percy’s prisoner than lose Beon to death, so she kept silent about all of it.

  Since that night, Sir Percy had visited her regularly from Alnwick. Each time arriving unexpectedly during the day to make sure she hadn’t tried to escape or told anyone his secret. And each time, the evil magic lurking within him remained completely undetectable, which helped her understand why no one would ever suspect Sir Percy was a creature capable of murdering that peasant. No one would ever know, which begged Sophia to question: Who else around her was a vampire? Sophia became untrusting and fearful of anyone she rarely saw at night. Of course, she was doubly sure that Percy kept even closer watch over her at night, when his powers were at their height.

  She would study Sir Percy whenever he joined them for the noonday meal and conversed with her Father. For all to see, he appeared like any other human, as long as the sun was visible in the sky. His conversation with her father was always civil outwardly, but she could feel the tension between the men and knew there must be secrets involving this arrangement she might never know.

  Sophia had also noted that when the sun was setting, Sir Percy would become bashful about looking anyone in the eye and would quickly find any excuse to leave. Again, she was the only one who knew the real reason why he behaved this way.

  Knowing she was powerless against the monster lurking beneath the surface, Sophia couldn’t help but fear him. But when he’d requested moments alone with her, he’d never been cruel, and so she believed he didn’t mean to drain the blood from her body once she became his bride. What then did he have planned for her? This was something Sophia found herself wondering about often.

  On the day before the wedding, Sir Percy had requested to speak with her in private, as he’d done a few times prior. Sophia boldly decided to ask the question most on her mind. “What will happen to me after we’re married?”

  “I shall to turn you into a vampire as well,” he said casually, as though he’d simply been suggesting they take a leisurely stroll along the shoreline to collect pretty seashells.

  When she gaped at him in horror, he said, “As a vampire by my side, I’ll be able to spoil you with jewels for all of eternity.”

  To Sophia, an eternity sounded like a very long time to be married to a monster. She honestly didn’t want jewels either, so the offer did not appeal to her and never would. Although, the thought did cross her mind that if Beon had been the one to make this proposal, Sophia knew she just might say yes.

  “How will you do that?” she next asked, unsure if she wanted to know, but an odd curiosity she would probably regret later had made her ask anyway. When he explained, it was indeed a query she regretted.

  Henry brushed his fingers along the column of her neck and said softly, “I’ll simply bite you without draining the life from you.” He kissed her neck and then added, “That alone will be enough.”

  “A vampire’s kiss then?”

  Amusement danced across his face at that. “Kissed by a vampire. Well put, my lady, I think I will adopt that phrase from now on.”

  “Why didn’t you attack Beon and me when you...um, do I want to know what happened to that peasant?”

  He ignored the second part of her question, which she supposed was her answer. “So bold and so lovely you were when you tried to save Beon with your bare hands. I was intrigued and enraptured.”

  “It wasn’t because of the silver cross?”

  At that question, he simply chuckled.

  “How did you become a vampire?” It was another query she could later regret knowing the answer to, but, as before, Sophia was too curious not to ask.

  Henry’s glanced at the door. Moving toward it, he tipped his head to the side and listened for a time. Did he think Father was listening in on their conversations? Sophia wondered. Turning back to her he smiled, invited her to sit with him, which she did reluctantly, knowing she truly had no choice in the matter. “My sister, Lilith, was a sorceress.”

  “A what?”

  “A magical being—born that way.”

  “Then you’re a sorcerer too?”

  He sighed. “No, I didn’t inherit the gift. A few of my sisters did, though.”

  “Like Lilith.”

  Nodding at that, Sir Percy continued, “Ardat and Irdu are very powerful sorceresses. Lillu is a sorceress also, but not quite as gifted as the other two. I have not seen Lilith or Lillu for quite some time now.”

  He looked up at her and then back to his hands as he twisted a ring around his finger before he continued, “Lilith created vampires as a way to punish Benjamin. They were in love...and happy it seemed...until she told him she was a sorceress. Benjamin was rather dejected by this news because he was human. In anger, he turned his back on her and called her a ‘curse to humanity.’ So she took her revenge by cursing him for all eternity.”

  Sophia swallowed hard. “You’re going to curse me?”

  Her eyes widened when he laughed at her. How could he possibly think this was funny? Having lived so many years at a convent, Sophia was sure becoming cursed would doom her to Hell.

  At her horrified look, he laughed even harder, and she frowned at him. “I believe it’s a gift and not the punishment Lilith meant it to be,” he finally said.

  “How can you possibly think that?” Sophia asked unable to believe he didn’t see himself as cursed. In her mind, he was horrifying.

  “We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Lilith had meant for Benjamin to live his life alone and isolated because he was now this vicious and bloodthirsty creature. I don’t know the details, but he learned by accident that he could turn other mortals into vampires by biting them without draining them to the point of death. With this discovery, one by one he surprised all of Lilith’s siblings, including me, by turning us into vampires. Can you imagine what poetic justice that was for him? She’d unwittingly given him the power to punish her own family just as she had tried to punish him.”

  “How did he manage to do that if two of her sisters are sorceresses like her? Couldn’t they have stopped him with magic?”

  Again, Lord Percy chuckled. “Little did Lilith know, but she’d made him too powerful, and he was able to overcome all of them, even the ones gifted magically. This is why all sorcerers hate vampires. They actually fear them, knowing they could be turned into vampires too.”

  “Cursed you mean.”

  “No, not cursed,” he repeated. “That was yet another troubling thing for Lilith. We all decided we liked being vampires.”

  Sophia blinked at him, thinking he was insane.

  Lord Percy tapped her lightly on the end of her nose and said, “Don’t look at me like that. It truly is an improvement. Sorcerers who are born with magical gifts live a very long time, centuries even. Because of that, they seem immortal, but they’re not. They will eventually die or could be killed, although, not easily. Since I did not have the gift of magic, I never would have lived as long as Lilith or the others, but now that I’m a vampire, I can live even longer than her.”

  “And how long have you been alive...thus far?”

  “Only one hundred and eighty-seven years...thus far. And just getting started.”

  When she continued to stare at him like he was a devil born from the bowels of some dark abyss, he took her hand into his. Sophia allowed it, again. Her lack of choices in life was something she’d grown accustomed to even though she hated it. She thought about fighting back, but she couldn’t get past the futility of it when she was always being oppressed by people stronger than her. With her teeth clenched together, she vowed to manage it one day. If she could not overpower those who stole her freedom, then she would learn how to outwit them.

  When his thumb glided over her knuckles, she shuddered in annoyance, making him smirk. The arrogant expression made Sophia hate him even more than she did already. Could she live w
ith such a man? Forever? Or could she talk him into draining her rather than turning her into an immortal monster like him?

  Since Sophia had come to know Henry well enough to understand he would not likely agree to kill her, she next wondered if he could be killed, noticing he’d skipped over that point in his story. Sophia didn’t want this information so she could attempt to kill him, of course. Attempting something like that was too lofty a goal for her at this point. But really, so she could end herself when the time came.

  Sophia paced the floor of her chamber the night before her wedding day...the night before her wedding to a creature that turned her stomach. As the hours dragged on it became plain to Sophia that she would not be sleeping at all tonight. She found some comfort knowing that at least Eva would be by her side come noon tomorrow for this dreaded wedding.

  However, Eva was suffering too, and Sophia would not forget that. And conversely, while weddings were typically a day of celebration, it was not for her. How could it be? Eva knew this also. Sophia was grateful for her moral support, even if grief subdued it.

  It had been pure torture to hear of Eva’s reaction to the passing of Sir Lyndon. Sophia’s heart broke for her dear friend.

  She hadn’t known until now that some solace had come to Eva in the form of more garden sculptures.

  Sophia had thought it very kind of Beon to travel to the Priory alone, just to comfort Eva over the loss of a man who’d meant so much to the both of them. Beon had carved a likeness of Sir Lyndon into one of the tallest hedges and stood beside it looking up at Eva’s window.

  Tears had rolled done Eva’s cheeks as she described how Beon’s face was like stone as he placed his fist over his heart.

  Thinking of Beon reminded her that his gaze felt like fire when it fell upon her. And though it had been some weeks since Sophia had seen him, it was as if she and Beon’s souls were communicating even while forced to remain at a distance. For years it had been that way. For years it would probably continue.

  “Beon turned the grounds into a masterpiece of topiary garden art at the Priory,” said Eva, drawing Sophia from her thoughts. “It helped soothe some of the pain.”

  Sophia’s heart broke once again when she realized the sculptures he’d done might be the only legacy of their love to remain on this earth.

  Eva was to be Sophia’s bridesmaid for the ceremony, but she was so bereft after hearing about Sir Lyndon that Sophia felt guilty for enlisting her.

  Sophia wrung her hands, biting her lip as she tried to think of a way out of this marriage. Outwit, she reminded herself, but how? She could run. Escape through the passageways and hide somewhere. But where? Where would she go? She could find Beon again...surely he would know what to do, but then she would be putting him in danger. Sophia had no doubt Henry would follow through with his promise to kill Beon. No, she must go and speak to her father one more time. Outwit, she thought once more. Could she outsmart Father?

  Sophia left her solar resolutely and made her way through the cold and dark corridors to her father’s wing of the castle and found him at his papers.

  “Father, I beg a word, if you please,” she said, curtsying.

  He was startled by her presence, as if he were off in another world.

  “What on earth are you doing about at this hour? You should be in bed or preparing for the wedding.”

  “I’ve come to speak with you.”

  “We have nothing to say to each other.”

  “Respectfully, Father, I disagree. If you will please hear me—”

  “You have nothing to say that I could possibly want to hear, now leave.”

  “I am no longer a little girl, and you cannot control me.”

  “Can’t I?” he asked coldly. “You are my daughter, and that is all either of us need know.”

  “Why do you treat me with such loathing?”

  “How I treat you is my right!”

  “I refuse to marry Sir Percy!” she shouted.

  The room fell silent. The look on Father’s face told her that he was equally surprised by the outburst. While she was proud of herself for speaking up, she knew she hadn’t come close to outsmarting him.

  Lord Gall rose from his desk and walked around the table to stand in front of Sophia. She didn’t back down. She didn’t care anymore.

  “You will do as you are told or there will be consequences, girl.”

  “How could Mother have ever loved you?”

  Shock and fury registered on her father’s face. “How dare you! Your mother was a saint who understood me completely.”

  “You are so cruel and uncaring!”

  “Silence yourself or I will make you regret this show of insolence.”

  “I’m glad she’s not alive to witness your dishonorable and cowardly treatment of me. She’s better off dead, and so am I!”

  The back of Lord Gall’s hand flew to Sophia’s cheek, and she was knocked to the floor with the force. Once the stunning realization of what had just occurred thundered through her mind, Sophia’s face began to throb and burn. Doing her best to ignore it, she slowly got to her feet and faced her father once again, standing as tall as she could, her legs shaking slightly.

  The look in her father’s eyes was that of fear, shame, and disbelief. But in an instant, the anger returned.

  “Listen to me and listen well. You will marry Henry de Percy. There is no choice in the matter.”

  Retreating, Sophia was quite aware of the fact that she’d failed to outwit her father...but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try it again while better prepared.

  Chapter 16

  From Hero to Legend

  Even though Sophia had sent him a letter explaining that Sir Percy was, in fact, the devil they’d seen attacking the peasant, Beon could not and would not let this end. He understood Sophia was terrified for his life, but he was determined to destroy the demon and get her back.

  Beon walked along the parapet of the north curtain wall looking for the best place to lower a rope. If he and Sophia were to escape Bamborough without being noticed then the north wall was the only option as it was the least guarded and the lowest to the ground. The conventional wisdom was that if an attack were to occur, it would most likely come inland from the west or from the sea to the east. The main gate was to the south toward the heart of England and always heavily guarded, but the marshy plain directly to the north was a natural deterrent to any living thing unless you were a flock of birds.

  With the castle full of guests for the wedding, including the impending arrival of Sir Percy and his brood, the trick would be keeping themselves undiscovered. But if they waited until late enough when the guards changed, Beon believed they could pull it off.

  Beon had spent the past week devising an escape plan for Sophia ever since the kidnapping hadn’t worked. Beon knew he was lucky to still be alive and while he prided himself on his skill with stratagems, he felt the odds were stacked against a successful getaway. But he had to try. He simply could not allow Sophia to marry Sir Percy—a vampire. Beon felt his life would be over if he failed.

  Perhaps he should try and expose Percy to Lord Gall. Perhaps Gall knew Percy was the demon and was helpless to disobey his wishes for that reason. Perhaps Gall was a vampire himself. It would certainly match his cheery disposition. Whichever it was, Beon wanted to get Sophia as far as from her father and Percy as possible.

  Another problem was that he hadn’t been able to speak with Sophia to discuss the plan, which was imperative for the scheme to work. Knowing her as he did, Beon thought it was likely that by now Sophia had given up hope completely. For his sake, she would. But he hadn’t given up yet, despite the nature of the beast he was up against.

  Suddenly, he noticed movement below him, just outside the castle wall. Beon studied the darkness more carefully. The moon created some illumination on the grounds below, but mainly shadow. He held perfectly still and peered down into the dappled light of the thin tree line and the craggy rocks, the constant crash
of the waves to his right.

  The hair on the back of his neck stood up as a cloaked figure emerged from the shadows and slowly made its way to the middle of the grassy knoll that separated the castle from the marsh beyond. The intruder’s face was concealed with a hood, and Beon felt in an instant it was the same demon he had seen on the south road. But how could it be Sir Percy? Beon had thought for certain the man was hiding in his chamber due to some fabricated ailment, as was his pattern. The figure looked up and Beon swallowed, unsure if he should call for the other guards. He was certainly safe where he was, high on the battlement, some thirty feet above the creature, but still, he wished he was armed with his garlic, silver crucifix, holy water, and stakes just to be sure.

  It had been a long time since he and Sir Lyndon hunted the blood-sucking devil and the memory caused an ache in Beon’s chest over the loss of his friend. Talk of the blood-suckers was much more prevalent over in Europe. The locals in France spoke as if they’d been around for ages and referred to them as ‘vampyres,’ which was the term Sophia had used also.

  The demon below him suddenly removed his hood and Beon nearly fell off the parapet when he saw the man’s face. Sir Lyndon? It couldn’t be. Beon blinked and attempted to call out…to call Sir Lyndon’s name, but no voice came forth.

  The ghost said nothing, just stared at him. He began to feel unsteady from shock and…something about Sir Lyndon’s eyes made Beon feel drowsy. He must be dreaming. It was all too unbelievable to be real. As a fog of confusion filled his mind, Beon lost his balance and slipped over the edge. The deadly consequence of this never crossed his mind until he felt himself being caught by Sir Lyndon and settled back onto his feet. Beon instantly sank to the ground since his legs just wouldn’t support him any longer.

  “I like this dream,” Beon said, smiling up at his friend. “It’s so good to see you, Sir Lyndon.”

  “It’s good to see you too, old friend. But you mustn’t look at me. And you mustn’t call me Sir Lyndon anymore…you may call me Seth.”