by T. S. Ryder
Talon had been her companion for almost a hundred years. She had adopted him after finding him in the crumbled ruins of a town destroyed by one of the many warlords she had been hired to fight against. He had been just a kitten, and after so many years of exposure to magic he had not only gained immortality but a place at her side as a familiar. He was her dearest companion and, for the longest time, had been her only friend.
“I found a fantastic little flower patch just past that stream we came across the other day, and I was finally able to locate that feverfew that I need for the shield spell I wanted to enchant my talismans with,” she continued, separating out the flowers before moving over to the stove to start warming up water for her tea.
“I remember it. You let me fall into the stream when I went after that mouse, wicked woman,” Talon huffed, glancing up at her with a glare when she snorted and sat beside him at her desk with her cup of tea.
“You wouldn’t have fallen in if you had listened to me and left the poor thing alone,” she hummed, flipping open one of her journals and starting to scribble down the directions to the feverfew. She tended to be a bit forgetful with so much information in her head. She wasn’t 140 any longer. “Anything interesting happen in town while I was out? I assume you were spying on the locals.” She smiled when the cat glared at her.
“I was not spying, I was merely observing, but, yes, I did notice something strange,” he said, stretching with a yawn before continuing. “I saw a group of newcomers, a rather suspicious group. They were lurking around the inn. Pale, red eyes, I’m sure you understand my intrigue at their arrival.” Alice’s silver eyes flashed with interest.
“Oh? Vampires this far north? Now, that is strange.” She frowned, spinning around in her chair to snag a book off the shelf. “I didn’t think they ever left their territory in the west, not since they lost territory to the shifters twenty years ago,” she mumbled, opening her book and examining the map in front of her. “Ostende mihi,” she ordered, swearing when the page slowly started to light up before it went dark once again.
“New moon, dearest. You won’t be able to use divination until at least tomorrow,” Talon reminded her with a knowing little hum.
Glaring up at the cat with an irritated look on her face, Alice closed the book and leaned back in her chair. The last thing that she wanted to hear about was vampires lurking anywhere near her town. The sweet townspeople had been under her protection since the end of the last Great War that had pitted humanity, the shifters, and the Fairy creatures of the forest against the creatures who ruled the night.
“Do you suppose I have enough juice to put up some warding spells around town?” she grumbled, rubbing at her round, sun-kissed cheeks with a slender hand.
“I suppose that depends on whether you took my advice and actually stored away some of those spells or not,” Talon grumbled, glancing over at his mistress and letting out what she could only assume to be a mocking laugh when she groaned and shook her head.
“Guess we’re doing this the hard way then,” she huffed, moving to her feet and changing quickly into the uniform she had not worn in years: a pair of magic-infused breeches and a matching tunic that hugged her full form a bit too snugly. “I’ve put on a bit of weight since my fighting days. I need to let these out,” she complained.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Talon hummed, sliding down onto the floor beside her as she strapped a nasty looking knife to her hip. “Are you really going to fight these things? That seems ill-advised.”
“Fight them? I hope not. I just want to gently remind them that this a protected territory, and they aren’t allowed to be here without proper documentation,” she insisted, pulling back her unruly hair into a tail before pulling on her cloak once again and moving out of the door into the misty night.
Glancing up at the sound of a soft little grunt of exertion, she sighed when a sudden weight formed on her shoulder and Talon wrapped himself around the back of her neck lazily.
“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” she pointed out. “And if you are, I think you can walk.” Yet, he just shook his head and rubbed his nose against her cheek.
“Can’t let you face a bunch of vampires alone. You’re out of shape and out of practice.” His voice was teasing, but also held a hint of seriousness. Vampires were dangerous alone, let alone in a group. He knew as well as she did what they were capable of. “And I could walk, but the ground is muddy. I don’t want to get my feet dirty.”
“You’re such a spoiled brat.” She rolled her eyes, feeling a surge of comfort at the knowledge that her best friend would be beside her. Facing a group of vampires when her powers were at their weakest could mean that she might not make it home tonight. Still, she had a duty to the townsfolk who had taken her in and made her part of their family. She wasn’t going to let them down.
Chapter Two
Vampires were one of the most lethal species on the planet. Stronger and faster than any man, they thought themselves to be gods in the face of mortals. She had dealt with them in the past—in fact, one of the worst scars on her body was a bite from a vampire that had managed to hook its fangs into her side. She’d managed to get it off, but not without losing a good chunk of her hip.
“There,” Talon rumbled, his white-tipped tail flicking anxiously as they approached the inn and a small group came into focus. Nodding, Alice rested her hand on the hilt of her weapon.
Forged of pure silver and engraved with sigils of protection, the blade had been blessed during the summer equinox with the blood of a high priest and set into a hilt made from the fang of a dragon. It was one of the few things that could truly kill a vampire, and she had trained for years in how to use it.
Moving up to the group with a frown on her full lips, she glared when they turned towards her and started to immediately eye her like a piece of meat hanging from a butcher’s window.
“Evening. Sorry to bother you, but I need to ask what a group of vampires like yourselves is doing hanging around my little village.” She frowned at them, immediately taking in the group as she did so.
There were three men in the group, each of them standing a head taller than her and wearing ornate dressings under their cloaks. They were as beautiful as the marble statues she had seen adorning the palaces of the warlords. The only thing that made them look the slightest bit dangerous were their crimson irises. The blood red color bored into her soul. They didn’t seem impressed with her little show of assertion, instead seeming more inclined to eye her full bosom.
“Pigs,” Talon growled in her ear, making sure his voice didn’t rise high enough for the vampires to detect.
“I apologize for intruding,” a soft voice sounded from between the men, and a woman who had previously gone unnoticed slid into view. She was beautiful, with golden hair and skin as pale as alabaster, and she carried herself with grace and importance as she slowly moved to stand in front of her men. “And I apologize for my men, they have learned bad manners away from court. My name is Lady Jennifer Lindgern, the mate of the dearly departed Lord Alexander Lindgern and the mother of the current clan leader Matheus Lindgern.” She glared up at the men, her ruby-stained lips curling into a smile when they lowered their gazes.
“You haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?” Alice asked, her eyes stern as she regarded the woman in front of her. She recognized the woman, but she didn’t know from where.
“I’m on a little mission, actually. Looking for a gift for my darling little boy,” Jennifer explained, lifting up a locket and holding it up for Alice to examine. “Children are so picky, but you know us mothers, always attempting to make sure our sons have what they need.”
Inside the locket was a worn picture of a little vampire boy, no older than two or three. The picture was ancient, the paper long since faded and worn.
“What is it that your son needs?” Alice asked, her eyes flickering up to meet the other woman’s gaze. When Jennifer let out
a breathy laugh, a frown creased Alice’s forehead, the hand on her knife twitching as she readied herself to attack.
“What he needs is a mate, and unfortunately the boy has no idea what he wants, so I just keep throwing women his way hoping he’ll select one that he wants to settle down with,” Jennifer elaborated, her eyes wandering curiously over the witch in front of her. “The others will just reside in his harem so that he can play with them as he desires.”
Alice’s eyes flashed at this. She had dealt with many vampires in the past and learned early on that coven leaders and other high-ranking nobles of the vampire clans kept harems as a display of wealth and power. She’d never agreed with it, but she had never been given the opportunity to protest the practice. Now that they were poking their noses around her land, though, she wasn’t going to let them take a single one of the young ladies under her protection.
“You’ll have to look elsewhere for your son’s potential mate. This area is under my protection. I will ask you once, and only once, to leave. Otherwise, I am going to have to escort you off the premises myself.” She glared at the vampires, a magical blue glow shimmering in her silver irises. That was about all that she could muster without the strength of the moon, but it would hopefully be enough to frighten the vampires away.
That didn’t seem to be the case.
Instead of backing down as she hoped they would, the vampires laughed. Their eyes were locked onto her as the men fanned out, their female leader standing between them regarding the witch slowly. She didn’t like the hungry look in their eyes.
“There seems to have been some misunderstanding,” Jennifer sighed, her tongue flicking over her lips, a victorious look on her face. “We aren’t after the humans. We’ve tried that plenty of times with no result.” She chuckled, eyeing Alice slowly. “We’re after you, my dear. Why else would we wait until tonight to make our move?”
Alice didn’t have much time to respond as the men suddenly lurched forward. Yelping, she slashed out with her knife and caught one of them on the forearm, sending him reeling back as steam rose out from the wound with a hiss. Feeling strong arms around her waist, she growled, and Talon leaped onto the face of her attacker with a furious hiss, sinking his claws in.
“Idiots!” Jennifer groaned when Alice managed to stab one of the men through the heart, dropping him like a stone before whirling onto the next attacker with ease.
She had been trained to fight for years, and she wasn’t going to let the blood-suckers get the upper hand. She might not have her magic, but that didn’t mean that they should underestimate her. Swirling around with a growl, she swore when one of the men managed to knock her blade away, sending her spiraling back to the ground.
“Damn cat!” the man struggling with Talon roared, swearing as he stumbled back and sent Talon slamming into the wall of the Inn.
Talon let out a squeak at this, falling still as his form hit the wall. Panic flashing through her body, Alice lurched forward to try to reach the cat. By letting her guard down, she allowed one of the men to get his arms around her, his claws digging into her shoulders in an attempt to keep her in place.
Fear filled her head as she was forced to remain still, swearing and cursing as the man clamped something around her throat. It took her a moment to realize what it was, but when she felt the thing start to glow against her throat, she felt horror flood through her.
It was a collar.
Not just any collar, but one specifically designed for keeping witches in captivity. Its whole purpose was to keep them from using magic to their full capabilities. She had only ever heard of them, but now that she had one around her neck, she could feel the power in her system dim down to almost nothing. Groaning softly, she felt herself falling to her knees as weakness pulled at her limbs. Looking up to glare at Jennifer, she glowered as the woman moved up to her while her wrists were bound.
“Do you really think that I’ll just let your son have his way with me?” Alice spat. “I am no whore.” She growled, struggling against her bindings. Cursing, she was dragged to her feet, her entire form shaking with rage.
“I never said you were, dear, but I have a feeling that you will grow to enjoy my son’s company. After all, freedom under marriage is better than servitude, is it not?” Jennifer suggested, patting Alice’s cheek lightly and jerking her hand back when Alice attempted to bite at her fingers.
“A marriage to your son will be little more than servitude. You will live to regret stripping me of my freedom,” Alice snarled, fury bubbling up in her chest when Jennifer simply smiled and waved at her guards.
“Let’s go, boys. We’ll let this feisty little minx wear herself out on the trip back to the coven,” she ordered, moving up to a carriage waiting for them outside of the inn.
Despite her defiant claims, Alice could feel panic roll through her body. She didn’t know how she was going to be able to get herself out of this, but she was going to have to think fast. Vampire covens were many things, but easy to escape from was not one of them.
Chapter Three
The vampire manor was a three-day drive for a human, but because the vampires had no need to rest, they were able to complete the journey in a day and a half. While they traveled, Alice was able to get enough of her powers back to sense Talon. The cat was alive, and judging by the strength of his presence, he was following along behind them.
At least she would have her companion with her.
The manor was immense and beautiful. Everything that Alice saw around her was a tribute to the wealth of the coven. Intricate designs were carved into the side of the rare and imported stone that made up the manor. A lush, ornate garden complete with exotic flowers and trees spread across the grounds, and just in front of the house, a fountain depicting one of the greatest victories in vampire history stood proudly.
“What do you think of your new home? That shack of yours is nothing compared to the luxuries you will enjoy here, even if my son does not select you as his mate,” Jennifer hummed in Alice’s ear as she forced the witch out of the carriage.
The sun had long since set over the coven grounds, making it the perfect time for the vampires to move around the grounds. Already, she could make out various shapes looming in the darkness. It was all very dramatic and gaudy. She had never liked the way that the vampires flaunted themselves as if they were better than those around them.
“Yes, it’s quite impressive, but not really to my tastes,” she quipped back, grimacing when Jennifer’s razor-like nails dug into her shoulder painfully. “I mean, I suppose under all the glitz and glamour it has a rather rustic appeal,” she continued, hissing when the woman shoved her forward.
“You’ll learn to adore it, I’m sure,” Jennifer huffed, not pleased with the lack of awe on Alice’s face. “You’ll live in the lap of luxury even if my son decides not to select you as his mate. You’ll just have to learn to play nice, because if you don’t, I promise, your life is going to be a lot more difficult.”
“You know, I wouldn’t have to play nice if you hadn’t kidnapped me,” Alice growled, grunting as she was led through an ornate entryway, her eyes locking with a few human servants as they scrambled to get out of the way of their mistress.
Clicking her tongue against her teeth in irritation at being manhandled so roughly, she promised herself she would figure out a way to get back at Jennifer. Stumbling up the stairs and down a hallway, she grumbled as they pulled to a stop in front of a large, oaken door.
“Try to look a little less like you’ve just caught a whiff of spoiled milk, would you? Most girls would kill for the opportunity to mate with the head of a coven as powerful as this one,” Jennifer ordered, glancing up at Alice and frowning as she looked her over.
“I will gladly switch places with those girls. Shall we go, then?” Alice demanded, cursing when the door opened and she was shoved inside.
The room was huge, scattered with couches and pillows that were occupied by a collection of women ran
ging in age, size, race, and even species. From where she was standing she could see humans, vampires and even Fae, who were all scattered across the room chatting softly with each other. She assumed that these were the concubines that Jennifer had mentioned before. She would have to do her best to help these girls escape when she left. She hated to think of so many young ladies acting as sex slaves for a vampire lord.
“You there!” Jennifer snapped at a particularly small human girl with huge blue eyes and short dirty blond hair. She was cute, with a boyish figure and a slender form. “Go fetch Matheus!” Jennifer ordered, earning a nod from the girl as she scrambled to do as she had been told.
“You know, a please never hurts,” Alice grumbled, swearing when she was smacked on the head. She didn’t have time to protest, though, because before she could turn on the woman, the girl who had disappeared returned with a man in tow.
What a man he was. Alice found herself a bit startled at just how attractive the vampire king actually was. His soft, short, golden hair waved lightly around his alabaster face. His eyes were the color of the ivy that curled up the side of her house. He was built like a warrior but carried himself like a lord. Power and grace seemed to emanate from the man with each step he took, and as he approached, a charming smile curled over his full, pale lips.
“Mother, I didn’t realize you’d be back so soon.” The man, who she assumed was Matheus Lindgern, smiled, his voice rumbling through the air warmly, a deep tenor that offset the sopranos and altos chirping around the room. “Who is this?” he asked, moving up to Alice slowly.
“This lovely woman is the witch that I spoke to you about. She’s lovely, isn’t she?” Jennifer hummed, her hands on Alice’s shoulders as her son studied the woman his mother had brought before him.
“Yes, she is,” Matheus chuckled, eyeing the woman in front of him, his eyes lingering a bit too long on her full curves for Alice’s liking.
