Emerald Keep

by Edmund Hughes

  “We don’t have time,” said Jack. “We need to run. They can’t catch us here.”

  “The door,” said Pierce. “We can make it through the door. I have the keystone. They won’t be able to open it without it.”

  Jack nodded. He helped support Mira’s weight and Katie did the same for Pierce as they hurried out of Vyara’s workshop. Angry shouts came as they entered the hallway, followed by heavy footsteps. The vampires were gaining on them, but it was only a short distance to the hallway leading to the vaults.

  The chained ghouls Jack had seen on his first visit had all been dispatched. He frowned, wondering if Pierce and Katie were aware of how careless it was to leave so many obvious clues in their wake. It didn’t matter now, of course, but if they’d managed to get further into their plan without drawing attention, it would have been clear evidence of their presence.

  The first door at the end of the ghoul room had been opened, and Jack helped Mira through it alongside Katie and Pierce. Two vampires slid to a stop in front of the connecting hallway. Pierce hurried to grab the edge of the door and slide it back into place. It shut with a satisfying, definitive click, and he pulled a large, spherical ruby out of his pocket.

  “The ruby keystone,” said Pierce. “I stole it from Volandar’s room. They won’t be able to follow after us without it, unless they can tear this door down. Which I sincerely doubt they’ll be capable of, or even attempt.”

  “Glad to see you’re feeling better,” said Jack. The comment earned a look from Pierce that had death and hatred written all over it.

  “I will never forget what you did to me,” said Pierce. “What you both did to me.”

  “Oh, of that I’m sure,” said Mira. “I could feel the way you were moving, Pierce. It must have been confusing, enjoying the sensation of my fangs like that. And you did enjoy it, more than most do.”

  Jack set a hand on Mira’s shoulder. Pierce looked as though he’d try to kill her if she kept talking.

  “Are you feeling alright now?” asked Jack. “I know how effective vampiric healing can be, but still… You were basically skewered.”

  Mira shuddered.

  “Don’t remind me,” she said. “I’m still weakened, but I’ll manage.”

  Jack leaned in a little closer to her, not wanting Katie and Pierce to overhear.

  “What about the Sacrificial Gift?” he asked. “Would me giving you your life essence back help you recover?”

  Mira frowned slightly and shook her head.

  “No,” she said. “It would only weaken you.”

  “I can manage,” said Jack. “I have the strength to spare, at the moment.”

  “The effects of the Sacrificial Gift, as you’ve probably realized, are subtle rather than obvious,” said Mira. “It takes a large toll on the person on the giving end, and the effects bestowed on the receiver have diminishing returns. It would only leave both of us at half strength if you were to return the favor, at the moment.”

  Jack shook his head.

  “Why did you give it to me in the first place if the effects are so subtle compared to how much it drained out of you?” he asked.

  Mira interlaced her fingers through his and smiled at him.

  “Because it was all I could do, my sweet,” she said. “And it did help you, did it not?”

  “Absolutely,” said Jack.

  “I’m so very glad.” Mira slid in closer to him, smirking as she let her lips draw near to his. As much as Jack wanted nothing more than what she was offering, he knew that they were both getting distracted. He gave her a single quick kiss and leaned his forehead against hers.

  “We have to stay focused on the task at hand,” said Jack. “We’re in the Emerald Keep’s vault, now. But, we’re going to have to leave at some point. What’s to stop them from guarding the door and attacking us as soon as we come out?”

  Pierce exhaled through his nose.

  “There’s another way in,” he said. “These vaults are more extensive than they look. This may have once been a regular section of the castle. Given how it’s situated underground compared to the surrounding terrain, I have no doubt that there’s another door leading outside.”

  “Alright,” said Jack. “That makes sense. “So now what?”

  “Now,” said Katie in a stiff voice, “you do your best to make up for the stupid shit you pulled.”

  She pointed down to the other end of the rectangular room they were in. Intricate etchings adorned most of the walls, depicting ancient battles and historical scenes. Luminescent crystal dust had been painted onto some of them, which gave the room an ethereal, bluish glow.

  At the very back of the room stood the next door blocking their way. It was circular in shape, with iron handholds constructed in a way to allow for a strong enough person to roll it to the side. There was a statue of a woman built into it, jutting forward at an angle that made her seem like she was halfway leaned into a bow. She was carved of jet black stone, except for her neck, which was the color and texture of pale human flesh.

  “This is why we couldn’t make any progress,” muttered Pierce. “As far as we can tell, only a vampire can open this door.”

  “Only a vampire…?” asked Jack. “How do you figure?”

  “Her neck,” said Katie. “Obviously. A vampire needs to bite it to release the mechanism.”

  “Uh, alright,” said Jack. He walked across the room and examined the statue a little more closely. There were no bite marks or indentations on its neck. In fact, the skin was flawless, so much so that it left Jack wondering if his fangs would even be able to pierce into it.

  “This could be dangerous,” said Mira. “There is no telling what will happen when you do this. There could be a mechanism built in to punish anyone other than a specified person.”

  “Let’s hope there isn’t,” said Pierce. “Get on with it. We’re wasting time.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” muttered Jack.

  He stepped in closer to the statue and set his hand on its neck. It felt warm to the touch, and supple, no different from his own skin. The woman was beautiful, despite being almost completely made of onyx. She wore a single, long piece of silken cloth wrapped around her upper body, which hung in a manner that let the edge of one of her nipples peek through.

  “Here goes nothing,” said Jack. He bared his fangs and brought them in close to the statue’s neck. He caught the slightest hint of a smell, feminine and graceful, with an edge of perfume. Jack licked his lips, and then gently sank his fangs into the statue’s fleshy neck.

  The statue flashed with white light and let out an audible gasp. And just like that, she was alive, embodied in living flesh. She was a woman with dark, curly red hair, dazzling green eyes, and a voluptuous figure. She raised an arm to caress Jack’s cheek, and then kissed him deeply, hugging him tight enough to mash her naked breasts against his chest. Jack kissed her back on reflex, only pulling back when the bizarreness of the situation caught up with him.

  They were somewhere else, too. Jack and the woman stood on a rooftop, clad in an open white silk robe with nothing underneath. There was a cloth hammock just behind her, and as she held his gaze, she ran one of her hands across the fabric’s surface.

  The woman moved her lips in a wordless whisper and then sat back on the hammock. Her robe fell open, exposing her large, naked breasts. Her nipples matched the color of her hair, and her chest had strange, diagonal tan lines across it.

  “Where are we?” asked Jack. “What is this?”

  She reached her hands up to his chest and let them slide down the front of his body, which brought Jack’s attention to the fact that he was completely naked. He let out a small gasp of pleasure as her fingers grazed over his crotch, finding something to grab onto and drowning him in sensation.

  “This isn’t real,” said Jack. “This isn’t really happening.”

  It felt like a dream. Like a hazy, early morning sex dream, to be specific. The beautiful red-haired woman
smiled at him, revealing a gorgeous set of dimples. Her hands kept stroking back and forth. Jack tried to take a step back, but she held him in place with her grip on his shaft, and it felt so good that he couldn’t make himself fight against it.

  He knew it was a trick, of one sort or another. Volandar would not use the statue to guard his vaults if there wasn’t some kind of second, utilitarian purpose to it. Personal enjoyment didn’t seem to fit with the statue’s placement.

  The woman shifted herself entirely onto the hammock, letting her robe fall completely open and revealing a small patch of blondish red hair along her crotch. She pursed her lips and opened her thighs slightly, sending out a clear invitation.

  “No,” he said. “This doesn’t feel…”

  He trailed off as the woman leaned her face forward, letting the tip of his tool slide against her cheeks and lips. He was painfully hard, and as much as the situation was setting off alarm bells in his head, the sensation of her soft face, and then her lips, and then her hot, wet, tongue was overwhelming.

  She opened her mouth and took his length in slowly. Torturously slowly. Jack had to focus to remain standing as he watched her slowly began to bob her head back and forth, holding eye contact with him every second of the way. Jack could feel the blood pounding through his heart, among other places. His breath quickened, and he felt suddenly off guard at how close she’d already brought him to his limit. And then, it was too late for him to do much of anything to stop it.

  The woman changed in his moment of climax. Pale skin became mottled, demonic black, with pulsing stripes of yellow color. Her curling red hair suddenly became blacker than night, each lock a hanging tendril almost like Jack’s own magic. And her eyes seemed to burn with hatred.

  Jack flinched backward, but the tendrils were already reaching for him, trying to lock him in place to give the now monstrous-looking woman a chance to do whatever it was she intended. He flailed out with his hand, pushing her back and turning his face away.

  “Jack?” said Mira. “Are you okay?”

  Jack blinked. He was sitting on the ground, back in the vaults, amongst the others. The door was already open, and the statue of the woman was made of onyx again, except for that one section of neck.

  “Uh, fine,” he said. “What just happened?”

  “You bit the statue, let out a melodramatic moan, and then fell on your ass,” said Katie. “Why?”

  “No reason,” said Jack. “We should keep moving.”

  CHAPTER 32

  The four of them entered the next chamber as a group, coming to a stop as they took in what lay ahead of them. The room was illuminated in the same way as the last one, with luminescent carvings on the walls providing a meager amount of ghostly blue light. In the room’s center was an ornate, full-body mirror, oval in shape and set into a gold frame encrusted with jewels.

  “A mirror,” said Jack. “Interesting.”

  There was an opening leading to another hallway just beyond it, with no door blocking their way this time. Jack frowned and glanced at his companions.

  “Maybe we get a free pass on this room?” asked Katie. “It looks like we can just walk straight by.”

  “This isn’t as straightforward as it looks,” said Pierce. “I would assume that the mirror is cursed in some way.”

  “A cursed mirror?” asked Jack. “Seriously?”

  “It is a fairly common enchantment,” said Mira. “Though it has fallen heavily out of fashion in modern times. There are many different ways in which a mirror can be ensorcelled to serve as an obstacle in a situation such as this.”

  None of them said anything for a minute. The mirror was at a slight angle, which kept them from being able to look directly into it from where they stood at the room’s entrance.

  “We won’t make it any further if we just stand here,” said Jack. “I’m going to try to head by it.”

  “What?” snapped Katie. “No. You’re not going first.”

  “No, he’s right,” said Pierce. “As much as I loathe to say those words. If there are any enemies in the room beyond, he’ll stand the best chance out of any of us at facing them. It’s possible his vampiric condition might help him resist the mirror’s effects, whatever they might be.”

  Mira set a hand on Jack’s shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. He put his arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze, feeling an echo of the relief he’d felt when he’d managed to save her. It made such a difference to have her there with him. He noticed Katie giving them a lingering glance with an odd expression on her face, but he pretended to ignore it.

  “Alright,” said Jack. “Here I go.”

  He took measured steps, cautiously drawing near to the mirror. It was tilted back on its stand, which meant that he didn’t see his full reflection until he was within a few feet of it. And as soon as he did, he knew that something was wrong.

  The Jack staring back at him in the mirror was smiling and moving out of sync. Mirror Jack lifted a hand and gestured for him to come closer. Jack felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he felt his legs moving automatically, bringing him in closer.

  “Hey,” said Mirror Jack. “I know what you’re thinking. And you’re right. It isn’t fair.”

  “What?” Jack shook his head, frowning as he stared into the eyes of his doppelganger.

  “This situation, these last few weeks,” said Mirror Jack. “It’s all fucked up. It’s okay, you can admit it. We both know it.”

  “You aren’t real,” said Jack. “You aren’t me. I’m not interested in whatever it is you’re selling.”

  He tried to step around the mirror, but his doppelganger held his gaze, and it made him feel like he couldn’t look away.

  “You want to be free,” said Mirror Jack. “And you can be! It would be so simple…”

  Mirror Jack stepped aside, revealing another scene within the reflection playing out in the background. Another version of Jack was holding Mira by the wrist. She barely struggled, looking more confused than afraid, as this version of Jack began sliding his Spectral Sword through the partially healed wound in her abdomen.

  “No…” muttered Jack, shaking his head even as he continued staring into the mirror.

  “You’d be a free man,” said Mirror Jack. “Human again. Able to live your life however and with whoever you wanted. You’re a millionaire, in case you forgot.”

  Mirror Jack quirked an eyebrow, reacting to the way one of his words had triggered the real Jack’s emotions.

  “Or maybe it’s her you want,” said Mirror Jack. “The girl next door. Your childhood crush. Are you alright with how your relationship has evolved? Or devolved, rather? Don’t you wish it could be something more?”

  Mirror Jack stepped to the side again, revealing a new scene. It was Katie, waiting outside the airport, back on that fateful day when Jack had first returned to the island. He watched as a version of himself walked quickly down the stairs and pulled her into a tight hug. She kissed his cheek, and then pressed her head against his shoulder.

  There was an engagement ring on her finger, which Jack noticed as she intertwined her fingers through the version of him in the mirror. She looked so happy, and he couldn’t stop himself from remembering that promise from so long ago, and all the time he’d spent imagining a potential future for them in their time apart.

  “Katie is her own person,” muttered the real Jack. “She makes her own decisions. She can choose to be with me, or Bruce, or whoever she wants. It’s none of my business what she decides to do in the end, even if maybe I do sometimes think about what could have been.”

  Mirror Jack frowned and slowly shook his head.

  “You…” Mirror Jack waggled a finger at him. “You’re stronger than you initially seemed. Oh, but there is something you desire. I was reaching in the wrong direction, it seems. Volandar had the right idea.”

  “Enough,” muttered Jack. “I’m not going to give in to whatever it is you’re trying to get me to do.”

/>   “You don’t have to give in,” said Mirror Jack. “That’s the beauty of this particular desire of yours. You wanted Volandar to tell you about your father. But it just so happens, Jack, that you already have the answer you’re seeking.”

  The mirror rippled, shifting scenes. Jack saw the aftermath of the accident that had changed his life twelve years earlier. His mother lay in the road, dead, surrounded by chunks of broken glass that glittered like jagged diamonds. He was in the front seat. It was that detail which had made Volandar’s insistence that his father was still alive seem just barely plausible. His father hadn’t been in the car with him, as he’d once been led to believe.

  But more of the memory came back to him this time. He could feel the blood oozing out of him in spurts from an awful gash in his neck. He could feel the pain in his skull, which had repeatedly struck the window and anything else it could come into contact with as the car had rolled over. He could feel where a piece of metal had impaled through the flesh of his stomach, nearly bisecting his tiny body.

  And moreover, Jack could feel himself slipping away. He stayed with the memory, and felt his vision fading. A cold certainty took hold in him as he realized that the darkness he saw through his childhood eyes wasn’t a product of the vagueness of his remembrance.

  “No, this can’t be right,” he muttered. “If my injuries had been that bad, I wouldn’t have survived the crash.”

  “Who says you survived the crash?” asked Mirror Jack.

  The grin on his doppelganger’s face was both unnerving and infuriating. How could it even be possible? It made no sense, but at the same time, it fit perfectly. His memories of the period after the accident were hazy and unreliable. It wasn’t until he’d been sent off to his aunt and uncle that Jack had really started to feel aware again.

  “No,” said Jack. “You’re lying. Trying to take advantage of my emotions and desires.”

  “Am I?” asked Mirror Jack. “Just touch the mirror, and you’ll find out. You’ll know the truth.”

  Laughter echoed through Jack’s skull. He shook his head, and then forced himself to turn around completely. It took all the willpower he had, but he managed it.