The Queen Maker

by Kristen Gupton

  The knife was slowly lowered away from her neck, and the man in front of her stooped down, grasping her chin in his hand. He inspected her carefully for several tense moments, turning her face one way and then the other. He gave a faint smile before moving away and ordering his men to follow.

  Thana had her hands and legs hastily bound together with rope and another length of it tied around her head and going through her mouth, making her unable to scream.

  The man she’d injured was left behind to die. His wound was fatal, and they weren’t interested in taking him. They fled to their camp with the woman. She was of particular interest, and she would soon be presented to General Ahman Danier.

  ***

  There was chaos in the Tordanian camp for nearly an hour. Reports came in from multiple sentries of black-clad men in the forest around the camp. Soldiers ran everywhere, some had even engaged these unknowns, though there weren’t reports of any of the strangers being killed. There were, however, multiple Tordanian sentries down, who had been caught unaware.

  Keiran and Jerris took to their horses and rode through the forest as they searched for the intruders. Though Keiran’s night vision had improved beyond that of his countrymen, the snow drifting through the trees stopped him from seeing much. He and Jerris were going along blindly, but the vampire assured his guard he would be able to get them back to their base camp. The redhead wasn’t so sure as he grew disoriented once the distant glow of their campfires faded from view.

  The two moved a good distance away from the camp, the forest going quiet around them. Keiran didn’t sense anyone around them for quite a while, putting him under the impression the invaders had retreated.

  Keiran stopped his horse and closed his eyes. Something was profoundly wrong, though it seemed a long way off to his senses. He wasn’t sure if he was picking up fear, anger, or both. Still, it was enough to get his attention and temporarily made him incapable of doing much else.

  Jerris halted beside him, looking over. “Keir, what is it?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, opening his eyes. “If I was feeling a little sharper, I could probably tell you.”

  The guard gave a slow nod before urging his horse forward. “Well, if it was Sadoris out scouting to see what we were up to, I think they’ve retreated.”

  “I think you’re right,” Keiran agreed before tipping his head back and taking a few long breaths.

  Instead of following Jerris, he turned sharply to the right. The scent of blood was in the air, and he wanted to see where it was coming from.

  Jerris noticed Keiran’s change of course and doubled back, going along with him wordlessly. The vampire obviously had something in mind, and he wasn’t about to question it. The guard didn’t have any idea which way would lead them back to camp, and he didn’t want to be separated from Keiran.

  After just a short distance, the source of the smell became apparent. A wide swath of red was in the snow, leading to a man pulling himself weakly along the ground. He was the only Sadori man they’d found. How he’d been hurt and by whom wasn’t readily evident. He seemed to take little notice of the two men approaching him on horseback and continued to struggle forward.

  Keiran stopped and slid out of the saddle, drawing not his sword but the knife from his belt. He walked cautiously toward the man, worried others might be nearby.

  Jerris got off his mount as well, going right along with his friend. However, he did draw his sword, in the event there were other men around and not just the injured one.

  The man’s spilled blood stirred up Keiran’s instincts badly, but he tried to ignore them for the moment. This man was the only invader they had, and he needed to see if anything could be learned from him. He reached out with his right hand and gripped the man’s shoulder, forcing him over onto his back.

  The man looked up at Keiran with pain-laced hatred. Due to the black he wore, the exact location of his wound wasn’t readily obvious, but there was reddened snow sticking to his stomach. He tried to strike out weakly at Keiran, but the act seemed to exhaust him, and his arms fell to the ground with no effect.

  Keiran looked at the man closely, realizing he was most certainly Sadori. Though he’d never faced a Sadori tribesman before, there was something familiar in the man’s coloration and general appearance. An alien scent emanated from him, the result of eating strong, unfamiliar food. Keiran found it disagreeable to his sensitive nose but refrained from pulling back.

  He leaned down close to the man’s face, pressing his knife against his throat. “What were you doing out here?”

  The man didn’t speak Tordanian, and made no attempt to reply. Not that he would have even if he’d understood Keiran’s words. Instead, he closed his eyes and tipped his head back, silently asking Keiran to kill him and end his misery.

  Jerris stood next to Keiran, keeping his attention on the forest around them. He wasn’t really sure what Keiran was going to do, but he wanted it to be taken care of quickly. His father had impressed upon him how Sadoris were nearly impossible to interrogate. They seemed to find honor in dying without being cracked.

  “I don’t think you’re going to get much from him, Keir,” Jerris said, shaking his head. “He’s probably about done for, from the looks of it.”

  Keiran didn’t let his attention divert from the man at all, though he knew Jerris was completely right. The man’s death didn’t have to be a complete waste, however. The vampire found himself waiting for the intruder to lose consciousness, so he could slit his throat and drink.

  “Jerris, do me a favor and move back a little. I know how you are about certain things,” he requested.

  The guard frowned and lowered his gaze to Keiran. “You’re going to use him?”

  “He’s dying, Jerris, and I need it. I hate it, but I do,” he admitted, eyes fixed onto his intended victim, waiting for the right moment.

  There was a struggle within the vampire, one which he knew he’d lose to. He’d needed a drink for a while, and it was the best way to ensure he’d be in top shape. His men needed him at his most capable in the upcoming days. At least, that was the justification he tried to force himself into. His animal nature just wanted the blood, circumstances be damned. The voice in the back of his head kept telling him it wasn’t any different than drinking from a deer he’d brought down with an arrow.

  Jerris immediately felt sick over the idea, but he’d promised Keiran he would always stand by him even when he needed to do something like this. He gave an unseen nod before turning and moving off several paces. He’d only witnessed Keiran carrying out the act on a human once, and that had been enough. The redhead found no trouble in looking for something else of interest among the trees while he waited.

  The injured man’s breaths quickly grew shallow and stilted. His eyes widened and then fluttered shut as he fell unconscious. Keiran gave one quick look over his shoulder to make sure Jerris wasn’t watching before pressing the knife down and cutting into the Sadori’s neck.

  The man’s blood pressure was incredibly low, and the current that sprang forth was weak. Keiran hoped it would be enough, and he leaned in to get what he could.

  There was something wrong, however. A burn started immediately in Keiran’s sinuses and throat. He sat back, overcome with the strange smell and taste of his victim.

  After a minute, Keiran hastily got onto all fours, purging the contents of his stomach. When the retching stopped, he flopped onto his back and wondered if he’d been poisoned.

  Jerris heard something behind him and turned around to see Keiran. The guard came over and stooped down, looking at the vampire. Keiran didn’t look well at all.

  “Keir?”

  “Aye?”

  “Are you all right?”

  His eyes opened, and he slowly sat up. He reached out and took a handful of snow, using it to wipe his face before cleaning the blade of his knife. Something in the Sadori’s blood wasn’t sitting well, but he was doing better since vomiting.

 
“Let’s get back,” Keiran said, struggling up to his feet. “There is something wrong with this man, his blood is no good.”

  Jerris nodded, though he wasn’t sure he understood completely. “Well, after all that went on tonight, I imagine there will be other opportunities for you.”

  Jerris’ assumption quickly proved true as they headed back to camp. Unfortunately, they found a fatally wounded Tordanian soldier.

  The vampire dismounted his horse and studied the young man briefly, seeing if he’d been tainted like the Sadori. The smell wasn’t present, however, and Keiran’s instincts again rose up, driving him to sate his thirst.

  The soldier was already comatose, and the vampire sensed death was inevitable. There was a horrible guilt within him for feeding from one of his own men, but it was an urge he couldn’t afford to deny if he was to survive the upcoming conflict.

  ***

  The stress of being captured, gagged, and carried over someone’s shoulder for an undetermined amount of time, eventually caused Thana to pass out. When she regained consciousness, she had no idea where she was.

  Something had been put over her head, leaving her in complete darkness and making it difficult to breathe. Though she wasn’t sure, it felt like she was lying on the ground. She tried to move, only to discover she was still bound.

  There were men around her, and they noticed her return to consciousness. They spoke to one another in the foreign tongue. Again, she couldn’t understand any of it. Her terror returned, and she froze, hoping that they’d go quiet again, but it wasn’t to be. There was something mocking in their tone even if she didn’t know what they were saying.

  Someone neared her, and the hood was jerked from her head. Though the room she was in was only lit with oil lamps, she couldn’t see anything until her eyes adjusted.

  As she’d suspected, she was on the ground, inside a tent of some sort. She didn’t dare lift her head or move, her eyes only seeing the boots of a few men as they moved around her.

  Another entered the room, and the men parted quickly to let him by. They all fell silent, giving a sign the man approaching had authority.

  General Danier knelt down and canted his head to the side, looking at Thana for a few moments. His eyes narrowed in thought. He pulled out a knife and held it toward her.

  Thana closed her eyes and braced for the pain of being stabbed or cut. There was a cold touch to her cheek as the blade was slipped beneath the rope gagging her. It was quickly cut through and pulled away. She drew in a sharp breath through her mouth, grateful for the air. She opened her eyes again and looked at the man still next to her.

  He spoke to her quietly, but she couldn’t understand what he said.

  “I can’t understand you,” she replied, her voice wavering in fear.

  His jaw tensed, and he stood up before motioning to his men to pick her up from the ground.

  Thana gave a yelp of pain as she was hauled from the floor and set forcibly into a chair. She whimpered for a moment before getting control of herself. “What do you want from me? What have I done?”

  Danier looked almost amused. He pulled over a chair for himself and sat directly before her. If she was going to refuse to speak Sadori, he would indulge her for the time being.

  He hadn’t spoken in Tordanian in a long time, and his accent was thick, words being clipped in the efficient Sadori way. “Your accent is most convincing, woman. If it wasn’t for looking at you, I would honestly believe you to be one of them.”

  Thana was utterly confused. “One of them?”

  Danier shook his head sadly before lifting up a hand, the gold necklace Keiran had given her hanging from his fingers. “You are a spy for the king? You have his surname on this pendant. This is not right, not right at all.”

  Her eyes widened, fixing on the gold pendant as it swung between them. “A spy? I’m just a servant.”

  The idea of a servant woman having a jewelry piece like he held was absurd. She’d also been carrying a large amount of gold, inconsistent with her claimed station in life. Perhaps she was merely a thief lingering on the outskirts of the Tordanian camp, but that notion didn’t seem right to him, either.

  The simple fact of the matter was she just didn’t look Tordanian. The general switched back into Sadori and gave his nearby men an order.

  Thana screamed as she was dragged from the chair. The men started pulling at her dress, tearing it away from her body. She tried to fight, but being tied made her attempts limited at best. The sudden cold of the winter cut through her as the fabric was ripped away. She was abandoned on the ground, only a few tatters of her dress hanging around her arms. Tears streaked down her face as she dreaded what was about to happen.

  Danier rose from his seat and stared down at her momentarily before striding from the room. He soon returned, another man at his side. They spoke together briefly, the general motioning toward Thana as she continued to lie on the ground.

  The other man, older, slowly approached her and knelt down. Thana locked up with shame as the stranger looked over her exposed body. He studied her carefully, making her feel like an animal being evaluated at market.

  The older man gave a slow nod, saying something to General Danier in Sadori, but he didn’t take his eyes from the girl. He reached into a small pouch tied to the waist of his robe, pulling out a metallic disk.

  Thana watched with wide eyes as he slowly moved the disk over her stomach before gently setting it down on her skin above her navel. She winced at the cold of the object but felt a strange sensation beneath it.

  The man gently pulled on the disk for a second before smiling and looking back at Danier. The general quickly knelt at the other man’s side, and the disk was pulled away, both men drawing in sharp breaths of surprise.

  She caught their expressions and followed their gaze to her stomach. There, the outline of a small dragon had been blanched out on her skin.

  The old man gently touched the spot before locking eyes with the general. “Aroothi.”

  Danier put a hand over his mouth for a second before dismissing the other man from the tent. He barked several quick orders to the guards standing around. They came over and removed the ropes binding her. Thana was then helped up from the ground and given a robe and a pair of loose-fitting leggings to put on. After she was dressed, she was guided to a cot on the perimeter of the tent, a hot cup of tea soon placed into her hands.

  Thana stared down at the drink, bewildered by the sudden change in her treatment. Danier stood nearby for a while before bringing his chair toward her and landing again. He watched her, motioning for Thana to drink her tea.

  Thana drank slowly from the cup, finding the tea much stronger and full of spice than what she was accustomed to. It was warm, though, and offered some relief from the cold.

  After several minutes he spoke. Though his tone had softened, there was still a measure of authority behind every word. “I must ask you some questions now, and you need to have the utmost honesty in your answers.”

  She met Danier’s eyes and gave a non-committal tip of her head. The tea’s spices had left a pleasant warmth and numbness on her lips and tongue.

  “You said you were a servant, but you wore a piece of royal gold. You must know that is odd,” he said.

  Thana responded without consciously thinking about it. “It was just a gift given to me.”

  “Why were you camped alone?” he asked, leaning forward.

  “I was trying to reach the king, so I could work in the camp,” she admitted, a strange and distracting dizziness washing over her.

  He saw a hint of color come to her cheeks, and he smiled, knowing the drugged tea would make her talk freely. “But alone?”

  Thana leaned forward to set the cup down at her feet, nearly falling off the cot in the process. Danier placed a hand on her shoulder to help her get righted again.

  She realized she’d been given something to make her nearly drunk, and her mind seemed to be running away without her consent. �
�I had to leave the castle on short notice. I was threatened, and I knew Keiran would protect me.”

  “I see,” he sighed back, steepling his hands together.

  The fact she’d speak her king’s name so casually struck a chord with him. He knew it wasn’t traditionally how Tordanians spoke of their leaders. It made him wonder about the nature of her relationship with her king, but there were other matters to discuss first.

  “Now, are there others who look like you being held in the castle?” he asked.

  She laughed and responded, despite her best efforts to go silent. “No, not really.”

  Danier frowned and dropped his hands to his lap. He’d hoped to hear she wasn’t the only one. “So you alone have been held in servitude? No other Sadoris kept as slaves?”

  Thana gave a lax scowl. “I’m Tordanian. My mother was given to King Turis Lee in payment for a debt. It wasn’t enough to cover the entire debt, though, so once I was born, I belonged to the castle, too. But Keiran, no, he set us all free, and it was my intent to find him.”

  “Your mother was Sadori?” he asked quietly.

  Thana huffed and nearly fell over again. “No! Long line of people in her family! Tordanians, all of them! I’m Tordanian.”

  Danier shook his head and motioned toward the guards standing in the tent and then at himself. “Girl, don’t you see we Sadoris look like you? Can you not see the difference between all of us, and these Tordanians you think you hail from?”

  Drugged or not, she saw his point easily enough. She looked away and frowned to herself. It had been her belief all of her life that she must have looked like her father, but she didn’t honestly remember him.

  “Maybe.”

  “The dragon on your stomach is proof. All Sadori women have an emblem placed into them at birth. It is how we track tribal lineages. Yours says you are Aroothi. They are the tribe that made the last invasion into Tordania all those years ago,” he said, leaning back and awaiting her reaction.

  Thana reached down and touched the area on her stomach where the dragon mark had briefly appeared. There was a small scar above her navel she’d always had but never questioned. Whatever it was under her skin that reacted to the disk wasn’t something she could feel, and it seemed like magic to her.