by Asia Marquis
Lance moved suddenly, and then the vampires screams turned to whimpers, and then silence as she turned to ash. Terra looked on, unsure of what happened. The feral vampire was just… gone. Disappeared. Dust in the wind.
She sat in the snow and stared.
“Are you okay?” Lance asked, wiping a knife pulled from his boot with his shirt.
“She never touched me. Are you okay? How did you do that?”
He showed her the knife, crooked but sharp and shining in the sun. There were runes etched into it, runes that were so old even she couldn't recognize them. They seemed to originate from before the Futhark runes. She wasn't sure how she knew that. She just did.
“That knife can kill vampires?”
Lance nodded, grinning. “My dad gave it to me, before he died. I was young, but my mom let me keep it. I didn't know what it did until a vampire tried to abduct me in high school.”
“My gods,” she whispered, stepping closer, touching the dull side of the blade and feeling magic pulsing from it. “Lance, I am begging you, let me study this knife. When this is all over, whether we find my mother or not. Just this contribution could be enough to clear your name.”
“Sure, as long as you don't destroy it. It's all I have left of my dad.” He stuck the knife back in his left boot, patting it to make sure it was secure. “Now, come sit with me, and hold my hand.”
A mile higher up the mountain, the two were nearly ready to collapse from how tired they were. Neither needed to confirm with the other when they stopped. It happened naturally, when they found a small wooded area.
“Can you do a spell to see if we're safe here?” Lance asked, grabbing branches and placing them in a pile on a small patch of ground without snow.
“Yeah, and I'll set up a protective sphere, too. It should last long enough for us both to sleep, and cancel out the smoke of the fire at the same time.”
Lance nodded, flicking his fingers to start the fire. Terra closed her eyes, sitting on the freezing ground, her butt going numb. She focused on the world around her, listening for any life. A bluejay. A rabbit, and then many rabbits. Nothing larger. Nothing sapient.
Satisfied with the surroundings and the safety the trees provided, she then set up a bubble around them that would make them impossible to notice. Feral vampires had more magic at their disposal than most modern vampires, but they couldn't break her protection spells, especially not once they burned a branch with protective runes in the fire Lance had started.
“What do you think we'll find when we get up there?” He asked. Terra shrugged, looking up through the branches of the fir trees at the sky. A few stars twinkled down on them.
“An old man, mostly. Hopefully one with answers.”
Lance thought about that, then sighed. “I hear The Great Sage is crazy, though. Will we even be able to understand what he tells us?”
“Probably not, not easily. We'll have to meditate on it, and he might make us drink awful tasting potions so we can see as he sees. The man who adopted my sister and I went to see him once, to see what he should do with us. I guess we were unruly when we were toddlers.”
Lance chuckled. “Everyone is unruly when they're toddlers. I used to babysit my cousins. They were terrors!”
“Really? Well, he told us we were little monsters, and that The Great Sage did nothing but give him the foulest tasting drink he had ever had. He didn't even have visions after drinking it. He just puked for days.”
They both laughed at that, relaxing into the safety of their bubble under the stars. Lance shuffled closer to Terra, his hand brushing against hers. It hesitated, and then held her fingers, warming them both.
“Lance,” Terra started, unsure of what she wanted to say. She just wanted to understand. She wanted to understand what he was feeling, so that she could understand what she was feeling. Her chest ached.
“Do you ever wonder about your fate?” He asked her. His eyes seemed to be searching for something in the sky, until they turned to look into hers. Then he was searching for something within her. Something she wasn't sure she had.
Terra pulled her hand away, wrapping her arms around her legs and shivering. “I don't know. I know about The Fates. I know what they expect. But I don't know what the world expects, what people want of me. I don't know what I want of me. Everything is too confusing to see the future, where I'm headed. Maybe I'll wear a crown. Maybe I'll die in a ditch.”
Unsatisfied, Lance placed his chin in his hand, hunching over. “You are very strange, Terra Neithercutt. Do you want to wear the crown one day?”
“No,” she said, needing not even one second to answer.
“No? Really? Isn't it your destiny?”
She shook her head. “It's my sister's destiny. Even if I were the oldest, I left. I avoided marriages for power. I want nothing to do with it. I want control over my life, the kind of control that I would never have in a throne.”
“You want freedom.”
“Yes. Freedom to be me. To run away if I need to. To never lie about my feelings to avoid war. To find my mother, even while my country refuses to do so.”
“The pursuit of freedom can be its own kind of leash.” Lance laid back on the ground, his arms out wide.
Terra ached to be in those arms, and so she laid on his chest, listening to the thumping in his chest. “I just want to choose for myself.”
Lance pressed his fingers against her chin, tipping her head up. He looked deep into her eyes. Neither of them understood each other, but they both desired that freedom.
His lips touched hers, and suddenly her freezing body was on fire. They kissed like that, their fingers running through each other's hair, for a long time. They tore off pieces of clothing with their lips still pressed together. They explored body parts, running their fingers over soft skin.
Terra rubbed her fingers along Lance's neck. He shivered, then bit her bottom lip. The way his lips felt against hers, the passion between them, made Terra fully aware of her feelings for him. Though they only barely knew each other, she burned for him, and she knew that whatever they might share, it was their destiny.
She felt overwhelmed by anxiety. Her arms pulled him closer to her, clinging to him as she panted for him. “I don't want to let go of you.”
“You don't have to.”
“I'm scared I might,” she said, pressing her face into his neck. “I'm scared of what we'll find at the top.”
Lance kissed her neck, then her cheek, then her nose. “We'll figure it out. Be strong.”
With their little section of the mountain growing warmer with their fire and their bodies generating heat as well, they pressed their naked bodies together, and Lance entered her. He was so hard, and she was so wet.
Her anxiety faded as he started to pump in and out of her. Her mind could only focus on the heat that he made her feel. The sensation of his lips on her skin. How hard his cock was.
He tongued her nipple as she wrapped her legs around his torso. He drilled into her, and with each movement she begged for more. Her lips were parted, her breathing fast. Terra's nails dug into Lance's back, leaving bright red marks in his flesh.
“You feel so good,” he groaned with his mouth around her nipple. She moaned in reply, until finally he came inside of her. He continued to pump within her until she orgasmed, as well, and then they stayed on the ground, their legs and arms wrapped around one another.
They made love multiple times that night, sometimes with naps in between orgasms. They kissed, and spoke to each other of secret desires. Lance revealed that he liked to be rough, which pleased sexually submissive Terra to no end. At one point, he wrapped his hands around her neck as they fucked, which gave her the most explosive orgasm she had ever had.
They fucked again and again, and only barely got enough sleep to carry on with their climb the next morning thanks to the help of a caffeine spell that Lance knew.
“I think we're being followed.”
Lance pointed up at the sky, wh
ere four black birds circled them silently. Terra watched them as they continued to climb the trail to the top of the mountain. They really were following them.
One of the birds left the circle, flying out of sight. Terra noticed too late that when the bird returned, much closer to them. With its sharp beak readied as a weapon, the raven dived towards Terra, slashing her arm.
The bird's long talons grabbed at her skin, tearing her clothes and pulling her hat away. “Hey!” She screamed. “Stop!” Lance ran at her to try and slap the raven away.
Another raven dived, and with the help of the first, opened her pocket and grabbed the amulet from within.
Terra gasped, patting her pocket when she saw the blue gem flying away in the talons of the huge raven. She was attacked again by the other three ravens. Lance smacked two of them away, stabbing the third. The wounded bird fell to the ground, but then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“We have to get that necklace back!” Terra started running in the same direction the bird went, Lance following close behind her. She couldn't believe she let the birds take the necklace away. She berated herself, cursed herself.
They were out of breath, their legs aching, when they spotted the bird again. It flew out of the woods and into a clearing. They were at the top of the mountain, and there was the cabin where The Great Sage lived.
A man was standing in front of the cabin. He wasn't an old, frail man. He was tall, and though there was gray in his hair he still looked young and strong. His hair went down past his waist, and shined black as night in the sun.
It was Terra's father. Orussus Neithercutt.
The raven dropped the necklace in his open hand while he watched Terra and Lance approach. Lance's eyes flicked from Orussus to Terra. She wondered if Lance knew this was her father.
Relief swelled in her body. She was so worried she would find something horrible at the top of the mountain, or that The Great Sage would confirm her mother's death.
But if her father was alive, then Queen Anai must have been alive as well.
“Father!” Terra said, closing the distance between them with a sprint. He opened his arms, and she jumped into them. He hugged her close, then put her down.
“Terra. I've been watching you for so long, ever since you were a child. I knew you'd do great things, and you have. You brought me a piece of the puzzle, one more thing I need to fulfill the prophecy.”
Terra pulled back and gave him a strange look. “What prophecy?”
Orussus looked past her, at Lance, and raised his eyebrows. His lip twitched into an ironic smile, then he looked sadly down at his daughter.
“Father… can I have that necklace back? It's important-”
“Unfortunately, you can't have it back. You know, I knew that Helina was a lost cause, that she would take after her mother. I thought you, my daughter, would take after me. But I see your mother's genes poisoned your soul, too.”
She was confused. What was he talking about? Was he disappointed with her over something? She couldn't think of a reason for him to be disappointed. “I'm looking for my mother. Do you know where she is?”
“No.” He continued to glare at Lance, who kept his distance.
“Is she dead?”
Orussus shook his head. “She isn't. Not yet.”
“Terra, I think you should step away,” Lance called, backing up towards the woods again.
She looked back at him and saw the fear on his face. “Why?”
“Because I recognize his voice. I would recognize his voice anywhere.”
Orussus grabbed Terra's arm and pulled her closer, grinning like a madman. His other hand put the necklace in the pocket of his huge fur coat, and pulls out a small dagger, its blade straight, the color of blood.
The blade went through her chest easily. It came out easily, as well, and her blood began to fall.
Lance was upon him in an instant, pulling Terra away from his grip and punching Orussus in the face. Her father fell back into the snow, but was up again too quickly. He had magic, but Terra couldn't figure out how. Her vision was going dark as she bled into the white snow.
Orussus plunged the dagger into Lance's chest, too, but didn't manage to pull it out before he was hit with a ball of white light. The last thing that Terra saw before she passed out was the absence of her father. He was gone. Disappeared.
Soft humming woke Terra up from the blackness. Her body was warm, though it should have been freezing from the cold mountaintop.
She couldn't move her body, no matter how much she tried. She couldn't even wiggle her toes. Struggling for a few moments, she finally managed to open her eyes, just a crack.
The light was intense until she adjusted to it. There was a figure over her, though its back was to Terra. It looked like a woman, with long and wild hair. Her hands were out, hovering over another figure. Lance?
Terra's arm finally moved. She felt dirt beneath her, and smooth stones. The figure turned towards Terra, and finally she saw. She saw, but she didn't understand.
It was her mother.
“My sweet child.” A hand was placed on Terra's forehead.
Terra coughed, and swallowed, trying to make her horribly draw mouth work. She croaked out, “Am I dead?”
Her mother smiled, sweetly. “No, Terra. Not yet. You must live.”
“Mother, are you back? Will you retake the throne?”
Her eyes were sad, gentle. “No. I am not meant for that throne. I am meant to lead an army, with your help. I have things I must finish, and I cannot finish them without you, or your friend here.”
“There's a war coming! We need a queen! You can lead an army from at home, can't you?”
“I can't. Not the kind of army we need. It can't just be witches anymore, because something bigger than vampires is looming over us. I need you to get strong. This apparition only has so much strength, and I focused on healing your wounds. If you want your friend to live, you must heal him.”
“Lance is going to be okay?”
“I healed him as much as I could, but I'm limited when I am so far away. You need to heal him, because he is as important as you are for our future.”
Anai stood and stepped away from her daughter. She seemed to be growing more pale by the second. Terra sat up, trying to grab her mother's hand.
Her mother was gone before she could stand. Terra's head was spinning. Crawling over to Lance's side, she placed her hands over the blood spot on his shirt. The wound was closed, but there was infection growing within him.
She couldn't heal him while they were outside. She had to get him inside. She looked around. The cabin was still intact.
She hoped The Great Sage wouldn't mind her using it.
Dragging Lance by his shoulders, she pulled him into the cabin, which was warm with a fire still burning in the stove. A stew was cooking. Once Lance was in the bed, covered by furs, she looked and finally saw it.
The Great Sage was dead, his hands charred. A sign of fire magic. No doubt he was burned from the inside out.
She touches him, trying to decide what to do with the body. She wasn't strong enough to dig through the frozen ground and bury him. Maybe once Lance was healed, he would help her.
There was something in his hand. Pulling his fingers away from the object, she found a key. Was he trying to hide something?
Looking around the room, she tried the key on whatever she could find with a lock. The closet door didn't fit. The trunk where he kept poisons was unlocked, but it didn't fit there either. She sat on the floor, but below her she felt something strange.
Pulling away the rug, there was a lock on the wooden floor. She sucked in a breath of air and undid it, pulling the floorboards up to reveal a book in the ground. It was The Great Sage's written prophecies and predictions.
A few had notes on whether or not they came to pass. Most seemed like gibberish.
The last one, in red ink, was written as if The Great Sage were in a hurry.
The Demon will
return, and will destroy all mortal life
The Vampires shall drink the blood spilled by his darkness
Only in the Great North, Sharptide, will light shine
Terra read the words over and over again. They didn't make much sense to her, but she knew where she needed to go next: Sharptide, the hidden country between the borders of Finland and Russia.
Chapter Four
It was a cold day in August. All of the women in the East Manor on the castle grounds were wearing sweaters over their shirts, except for the staff who had to remain in their uniform. Servants wore simple black clothes with the royal crest stitched with a rose pink thread.
Helina-Catherine Neithercutt sat at a tea table next to the large south-facing window that overlooked the rose gardens. Her two closest friends were with her.
The princess fidgeted with the ribbon of her corset, poking out from below her sweater. Very few women wore corsets, as it had gone out of fashion decades ago in Mindren, but Helina continued to train her waist. She preferred feeling that her core was solid to the freedom that most women enjoyed.
She was also something of a traditionalist among the Mindren elite. She observed all of the holidays, and spent much time at her personal altar to the gods and goddesses she was promised to when she turned eight.
“Can you believe that Edward thinks he can woo me?” Anais asked, covering her mouth from revealing a pleased smile. “A cook! A French one at that! I should think the future queen's cousin and best friend would deserve better than that.”
Helina smirked, rolling her eyes to look out the window. “Are you sure he's flirting with you? You can rarely tell the difference between mockery and love, you know.” Edward was all her friend would talk about lately, much to Helina's great annoyance. She didn't like thinking that Anais might be in love with the cook, but not because of his station.
Anais scoffed, pushing a bit of turquoise hair from her face and behind her ear. She often dyed her hair strange colors, as an act of rebellion. She made sure there was a portrait painted every year, when her hair was at its strangest, and had it sent back to her parents. Her mother was King Orussus's sister, though he ran away from home at a very young age to become a soldier.
