The Vampire's Mate (Tales of Vampires Book 3)

by Zara Novak

  “Yes!” She cried while cumming. “Cum for me baby, cum for me! Fill me!”

  His cock hardened like fired steel, and a moment later he was bursting inside of her, holding her tight against him, squeezing with every inch of his passion. She held herself back just as tight, smiling and panting breathlessly as wave after wave of orgasms roared across her core.

  It was definitely more than enough. She rolled herself off his body, collapsed onto her back beside the slave, and they both lay there on the bed, breathless and silent. It might have been work, but Rubago would certainly enjoy doing that again some time.

  When they’d both composed themselves, they re-dressed and she walked the slave across the short space to the door. “We have an affinity you and I,” she said while stroking a hand down his face. “A simpatico. Physically… we are very compatible. What is your name?”

  “Darius.”

  “Where do you live when you are not on this train Darius?”

  “At the Castle.” He said, before adding: “Belmont.”

  “Good. Perhaps I will see you again at some point.”

  Without another word or touch, he left. She closed the door, smiled, and made her way back to the bed. The air was alive with the latent throb of their sexual energy, and it pulsed inside of her body too, threatening to burst out like an atom bomb.

  “This will be more than enough,” she said to herself, not expecting that her sexual encounter would have been so… terrific.

  She sat up straight and span her cards into the air. The vision of her three hooded queens appeared once more.

  “What is it you want child?”

  “The hallways of prophecy. Let me go there.”

  “What do you have?”

  “I have much energy for you my Queens.” She stuck a hand through the circle of cards and it disappeared on the other side. One elder rose from the platform and walked through the shadow to take her hand. The terrifying power inside of the being buzzed on her fingertips as it held her hand in its grasp.

  “Impressive.” The queen spoke in a slow voice. “Why do you seek the hallways?”

  “To understand the prophecy of the three. To read it. To realize what is at stake.”

  The cloaked woman retreated to the podium and confided with her two sisters. After a short moment, they seemed to reach an agreement.

  “Very well. You have one hour there. Use it wisely.”

  “Thank you my Queens.” An hour would be more than enough. She only needed to read one thing. The prophecy itself.

  Rubago took a deep breath as the surrounding train cabin faded into nothingness. Darkness came, and she soared up at a great speed. She opened her eyes and saw the hallways of prophecy.

  Tall marble shelves surrounded her, stretching up into the darkness forever. Long aisles of marble faded into darkness all around her, swallowed by the black horizon in the far distance.

  A fool would try to walk. There was no telling how far away the relevant section would be. Years? Light years? Instead she closed her eyes and thought of the prophecy she wanted, the prophecy of the three. Movement took her body at once, and she was soaring across the infinite marble floor into the black.

  It stopped just as quickly as it started, and when she opened her eyes again, she floated high in the air in front of one of the tall marble shelves. Thousands of rows of parchment stretched above and below on the face in front of her. One scroll jutted forward from the rest, she moved through the air, clutched the old paper and opened it.

  The Prophecy of the Three

  Three sisters separated at birth. Each baring the mark of the spiral. Each sister a breeder to the Vrakos bloodline. After the first, the prophecy has begun—vampire will begin to see the effects of the ‘new dawn’. Should the second not be found in time, then ailments will come upon the kind. Plague, famine, disease. Should either the third or second die—should the prophecy fail to resolve, the vampire kind will die. Should it pass, the vampire will thrive, and they will reach a new eternity.

  Rubago rolled the scroll up again and held it tight. Now she was here, the scroll was hers to take if she wished. She held onto it tight and closed her eyes.

  I’m done, she thought.

  A heartbeat later, she was back on the train, sitting in her cabin once more. The room was the same, except for the parchment clutched in her hand. The prophecy. It was the first time she had seen the thing in its entirety, and now she had, she understood the full ramification of its words. The plague in Sanguis was the first sign she’d seen. The prophecy wasn’t happy, it wanted the second daughter.

  Rubago rose, walked over to the mirror to meet her reflection, staring back at herself in angst.

  If they didn’t act fast, the vampire would meet their end.

  5

  “What’s this?” Kat asked as Edmund joined the group at the table, holding a giant leather bound book. The small dining cart was alive with chatter. Tables of vampires filled the cozy carriage, settling down to their evening meals and drinking blood. Chatter bubbled through the air, with the long train ride almost at its end, spirits were high.

  “You wanted to learn more about vampires didn’t you?” Edmund pulled a small pair of round glasses from his pocket, set them on his nose and opened the huge leather bound book in front of him.

  Kat, Ansel and Rubago all looked at each other as if they were mad.

  “Hang on a minute.” Ansel laughed. “Since when do you wear glasses… and since when do you read books?”

  The rest of the table broke into laughter, apart from Edmund, who was looking up at them slightly confused. “Come now Draco, we’ve only been buddies a short while. You couldn’t possibly expect to learn everything there is to know about me in that time. Could you?”

  Rubago put an arm around Edmund’s shoulder. “It’s not that honey, it’s just—you don’t really appear the bookish type. You’re more… drinking in a sports bar and chopping down trees with your bare hands.”

  Edmund laughed. “I have to admit to doing both of those things, but I can also be bookish too. Surely?”

  “Of course Edmund.” Kat said with a grin while shaking her head. “So what’s in this book then, and where did you get it?”

  He held up the book, closing it temporarily so everyone could see the title. “This is ‘THE HISTORY OF THE VAMPIRE’—it’s a famous book. They have a library cart further down the train. If I’d known earlier, I would have grabbed this for you.”

  “Sounds interesting.” Kat said while eyeing up the mammoth tome. As Edmund searched through the index and flicked to a specific point in the book, she looked at it, wondering what secrets lay within its pages.

  “You’re not starting with the origin story are you?” Ansel groaned, while shifting beside her.

  “She’s not heard it Draco,” Rubago said, “So let Edmund speak.”

  “Yeah.” Edmund looked up, having found what he was looking for in the book. “Let me speak Draco!” Turning to Kat, he cleared his throat gently. It was odd to see him wearing glasses, but he did suit them in a strange way.

  “It all started with a guy called Vladimir Vrakos.” Edmund said.

  “Vladimir Vrakos?”

  “Yes. Let me explain, I’ll take questions at the end. The story begins 10,000 years ago with a General in an ancient army, named Vladimir Vrakos. Vrakos started off with nothing, but by the time he was thirty he was a powerful commander with a following in the tens of thousands. Everywhere he led his armies, victory was sure to follow. Vrakos wanted to conquer the earth, but his biggest weakness was his men. None of them could fight like him, none of them had his discipline. The soldiers were good, but if he wanted to take the earth, he needed a thousand soldiers like himself.

  His search for ultimate power led him to a witch who claimed she could draw infinite strength from the gates of hell itself. An army of demons known only as the Nephilim guarded Lucifer's dark kingdom. Humanoid, with black thorny skin like stone—the Nephilim are hell
ish looking creatures, with blue eyes of fire that can make a man go insane.

  On her advice, Vrakos led his armies into the belly of the under-earth, but when they were there, they found that the witch had deceived them. Her promise was a deadly trap as she was an agent of Lucifer. The witch had drawn Vrakos and his men into the under-earth as a sacrifice to her Lord Lucifer. With the gates still open behind Vrakos’ army, Lucifer and his army of Nephilim would be free to break forth from hell and take over the earth.

  Vrakos and his army fought as valiantly as they could to escape, but they were no match for the Nephilim. He watched his army die before his eyes, but in that final moment of defeat, Vrakos noticed something. In their fight, his men hadn’t been able to kill a single Nephilim soldier, but with his superior skill, Vrakos had made one chance blow, and sent a demon into a ball of blue hellfire.

  It was at that moment he noticed something had happened. A strange strength entered inside of him as if he’d absorbed the demon’s strength itself. Using this new found strength, he fought his way back to the gates of hell, where a young girl greeted him. Historians think that the small child was Lucifer himself in disguise. Lucifer rewarded Vrakos for his strength, with a gift that was also a curse.

  ‘For your victory over my armies, I grant you this power: Never ending strength and never ending life. Take the darkness inside of you and use it to reign the world in your vision. You can make soldiers in your image, passing a trace of your power down to them, but know this—you will never walk in the sun again, and will always thirst. Only death will satiate this thirst. You must drink blood to live, you will live forever, and you will never know the peace of death.’

  Vrakos left that dark place, emerging back on earth as a half human, half Nephilim. The demon source inside him granted powers unmatched by any other. He was the first of the vampires.”

  Edmund snapped the book shut, brushed his hand over the cover and sat back.

  “Is that it?” Kat said, sitting forward in her chair. “What happened after that?”

  “No one knows.” Edmund said. “After Vrakos returned from the under-earth he spent a few years traveling around, turning his first vampires, whom we now refer to as the ancients. As for Vrakos himself, he disappeared without a trace after a few years. Possibly betrayed by one of his children… possibly confined in a space somewhere to this day, lying in a dark cell far underground, praying for death.”

  “But vampires can die.” Kat said.

  “We can, as we are all his descendent's.” Ansel pointed out. “Every vampire underneath Vrakos is mortal. He is the only immortal.”

  “So he could still be alive?”

  “He is still alive.” Edmund stressed. “He can never die. The account written here was by Vrakos himself. It is said that copies of his diary still exist, but there are very few, to read one… it would be rather illuminating.”

  “You’re well read Edmund.” Rubago said. “You know that? How did a brute like you get so smart?”

  Edmund chuckled and removed his glasses. “I used to love a girl who loved history. I’ll admit before that, I wasn’t one for books. She had a passion for the subject though, and by keeping that passion alive, it’s like I have a living memory of her.”

  They all grew quiet at this admission. It was the first time Edmund mentioned anything about losing a loved one. Sensing it was as sore subject, no one asked questions, although Kat was dying to find out more. It was Ansel who spoke next, dragging them on to a different topic entirely.

  “Say… what do you guys think of the other Super who’s traveling on the train with us?”

  Kat leaned sideways into Ansel’s chest to peer around Edmund. Behind him, a few rows back was the mysterious hooded vampire sat at the other end of the carriage, facing in the direction of their table.

  “He’s strong.” Rubago whispered. “And he’s probably listening too.”

  Ansel nodded. “I get that, I just want to know if he’s trust worthy.”

  Edmund glanced back quickly. “I heard a rumor from the train staff that he’s not even an official passenger. He got on at a Sanguis a few days back and no one had the guts to say anything.”

  “He’s feral.” Rubago said.

  “Feral?” Kat asked.

  “Wild.” Ansel and Edmund said together.

  “Feral vampires are creatures that have forgotten all aspects of their humanity. They give themselves into the vampire completely, and they go mad. He smells insane, and he smells powerful. He seems to have a grasp on himself though, he might be recovering.”

  “A feral can’t recover.” Edmund said. “I’ve had good friends go that way, and none of them took back control again. Once you’re gone, you’re gone.”

  “True,” Rubago said. “Let’s keep an eye on it for now and see what happens.”

  Milo Prince wandered over to their table at this point.

  “Good evening all, a guest will be joining you shortly. Mr. Will York, one of the hosting vampires at the castle Belmont has shown an interest in giving you an early welcome.”

  Milo wandered off back down the carriage, attending to tables of hungry travelers.

  “A guest.” Edmund said. “Wonder what he wants?”

  Will York did appear a few minutes later, but it was not in the way that any of them expected. They group sat at their table playing cards when a thick cloud of black smoke formed in the middle of the train.

  “Fire!” Ansel said startled. “Smoke, there’s a fire somewhere!”

  “It’s not fire.” Rubago said calmly. “It’s York.”

  Edmund, Ansel and Kat all watched in amazement as the cloud of black smoke in front of them took the form of a man. One second there was smoky haze, the next, there was a full grown man standing before them. Will York was a well kept man. Neat blond hair, blazing green eyes, pale skin and a handsome face. He wore a vintage looking olive suit, which had long tails on the back of the blazer, making him look like a Victorian business man.

  “York is the name,” he said with a smile while extending his hand out. The group greeted him and Will took the last remaining seat at the table. Milo came with a fresh round of blood for the vampires, and offered dessert for Kat and Rubago, which they both gladly took.

  York’s smoke-filled entrance stunned everyone but Rubago. The vampire sipped at his blood innocuously before noticing he was the center of attention.

  “Mind explaining how you did that?” Edmund asked.

  “Merely one trait of my people Mr. Edmund Volks.” Will said in his refined accent. “Vampires have been in this world for a long time, and since then our people have grown to become a wide variety.”

  “That may be so,” Edmund conceded. “But I ain’t ever heard of a vampire who could appear out of thin air.”

  “And I ain’t ever seen one with green eyes either.” Ansel added.

  “The York family are a rarity.” Rubago said. “But what Will said is true. There are different vampires all across the world. To my knowledge, the Yorks are the only ones who can materialize in this way.”

  Will nodded, finished his drink and gave a brassy smile. “But we don’t like to brag about it. We have our skills, but we also have our disadvantages. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get to the bottom line. I believe Rubago brought you here to help us with our fight. I’d like to tell you what’s been going on here lately.”

  Ansel and Edmund pushed their glasses to the side, leaning forward with their elbows on the table. Kat even ignored her own dessert, she was much more interested in hearing what Will had to say.

  “There are two vampire families in this region, Belmonts and Yorks. I am the head of the York coven, but recently a group of vampire hunters and shifters attacked our castle.”

  “Shifters?” Ansel asked. He looked at Edmund, who seemed just as confused.

  Will blinked and looked at Rubago. “You mean to tell me you’ve brought vampires to help our fight, and they don’t even know what shifters are?”r />
  “The prophecy brought them here for a reason.” Rubago said calmly. “Continue.”

  Will continued, but the revelation seemed to have bothered him. “Anyway, there is a vampire hunting group around these parts called the White Order. They’ve always been a nuisance to us, but with the help of a few Supers, we always pushed them back. Problem is, they’ve teamed up with a shifter pack recently and a small group of men in the White Order have grown inexplicably strong. Their latest attack forced me to flee the castle with a few men, and we now reside at the Castle Belmont. It’s only a matter of time, before the group attacks again. We need to fight back, but the Order… they have grown too strong.”

  “They’re just men right?” Ansel asked. “How much of a match can they be for vampires like us?”

  “I have no doubt that you are strong Mr. Draco, dark magic controls these men, however. They are not fully human anymore. I watched them rip through a Super like he was a bed ridden child.”

  “Ansel is strong.” Edmund said. “Stronger than most I know. I’m sure with his help, we can help you with your problem.”

  “I can only hope. Eric is determined to find the other daughters in this prophecy. I’ll do whatever I can to help, but mostly I just want to rescue the prisoners from my castle.”

  “Prisoners?”

  “A pack of wolves attacked my castle with the Order. Half of them went into hiding and took prisoners from my family. They have blood servants, vampires and my brother, Eli.”

  “Have these groups tried to attack the Belmonts yet?”

  “No.” Will shook his head. “The Castle Belmont is a fortress, though a traitor in the family did betray them this time last year. Eric’s mad brother, Wraith Belmont, ended up saving the family by sacrificing himself.”

  “He died?”

  “It’s uncertain, but it’s most likely he is dead. No one has seen him since that night.”