by Simon Archer
“Has the Vampire Queen come to steal back what she stole in the first place?”
She turned around, and I met the Queen’s eyes then, something I had dreaded since I first saw her in the castle. Her expression was somewhere between mild amusement and curiosity as she gestured for me to enter into my own home.
Lifting my head a fraction as bitterness and guilt twisted in my gut, I marched through the open doorway, hugging my family, and asking if they were all alright. They nodded, and a whispered observation floated over to me.
“He does not seem so special to me.” The almost guttural voice belonged to the guard at the Queen’s side.
“I heard that, Doom Bringer.” Again, my voice held more bravado than I felt. Silence met my admonition, and then a whoosh of air.
One second, I was several feet away from the Queen and her general, and the next, the Vampire Queen was right in front of me, glowering down at me. The flash of onyx, leathery skin was all I saw of wings. But how did she hide them? There was no bulge beneath her dress. They had just vanished.
“Forgive me.” The Queen’s tone held restrained anger, and I backed away a step for some distance and reached out my arms, shielding my family.
“But, if I recall correctly, you are the thief who attempted to steal from me. Do you care to explain why I am the one receiving such poor manners from you?” She cocked her head to the side, a predator eyeing her prey.
My temper flared, and I whipped my head up to look into the Queen’s silvery pools.
“Did you purchase that carving?” I asked, my tone as sharp as talons.
It clearly threw the vampire for a loop. Her eyebrows pulled down, and a little crinkle formed between them.
“I saved it in the war, like many of the pieces in my gallery. They would have been destroyed if I hadn’t collected them.” She seemed genuinely convinced that she was doing the right thing by holding onto them.
I experienced a brief moment of insanity where I thought I might attack this vampire, coming in my house and threatening me, but I knew one step towards the Queen, and either she or the Doom Bringer would kill me where I stood.
“Do you know the origins of the carving?” I asked.
“Of course.” The Queen bristled, and indignation filled her response. “It came from one of the local tribes in the area. It’s a representation of one of the gods from their creation story.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I make it a point to know where all of my pieces come from. They are invaluable relics of the history of the kingdom.”
I lifted a brow. “And it never occurred to you that the surviving members of the tribe that the carving originally belonged to would want it back?” The Queen’s indignant expression slackened, and her shoulders stiffened, but I wasn’t finished just yet. “It looks to me like you’re just as guilty of thievery as I am, Your Highness.” The last two words were filled with such mockery, such disdain, that any other Queen likely would have executed me on the spot.
But this Queen did not. Her features shifted from anger to thoughtfulness, and then she shook her head.
“This is not why we are here.” She stepped back, diffusing the growing tension plaguing the room. “I’ve already spoken to your family, and they’ve agreed.”
I looked from my mother to my brother to my little sister, and all of them wore the same hopefully expression, and then I was truly curious. “What, you’ll agree not to kill me if we all become your slaves?” I couldn’t help the vitriol that rolled off my tongue.
The Doom Bringer gave a loud snort.
“I wish to make a deal with you,” the Queen continued. “Come work for me in the castle. You will have a place to live, and your family will be well provided for.”
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. I had stolen from the Vampire Queen, and now she was offering me a job? Maybe it was some kind of trick.
“Christoff,” my mother’s soft voice broke through my defenses, “Go with them. Fulfill your destiny.” Her brown eyes bore into me. She had always spoken to me of things like fate and destiny, things I’m not sure I believed in.
But as I looked at my family, and the dingy shack we called home, I realized this could be the opportunity of a lifetime, or maybe the only way to keep my family alive.
“Okay,” I spoke in a firm voice. “We have a deal.”
6
Christoff
After agreeing to the Queen's deal, I traveled back to the castle with her and the Doom Bringer. I still had my suspicions that this was all a trick, but I felt I had no other choice than to agree with the fierce Queen. She assured me I was not a prisoner and could explore the castle as I pleased. To top it all off, her guards even escorted me to a nice guest room.
My eyes widened as I took in the giant room before me. The first thing I noticed was the giant wooden four-poster bed on the wall to my right. It was intricately carved with swirling, silver designs similar to the patterns on the Queen’s sleeves. The bed cover was that familiar midnight blue. Another door sat in the far corner behind the bed that I suspected led to a bathing room, and between the door and the bed stood a simple, wooden wardrobe.
To my left were a fireplace, a poker, and some wooden logs. The mantle held a few small sculptures, and more artwork hung on the walls. A large desk sat against the wall to my left near the fireplace and a quill, ink, and a stack of blank papers sat atop it.
While it wasn’t ridiculously fancy, it was bigger than my tiny room at home, and it certainly wasn’t a prison cell. For that, I was grateful.
Days passed, and I refused to leave my room since it was the one place I felt safe and locked away from the Queen and her secretive plans I hadn’t fully come to trust yet. A gargoyle named Adriana, and the twin gargoyles who I had so easily tricked, brought food up to my room for each meal.
One day, I decided to have a little fun with the pair. I turned toward the guard, taking her in for the first time as she placed the plate on the table in my room. Her cat-like eyes were calm and kind, unlike her sister’s wildfire personality.
“And what might your name be, Guard-goyle?” I asked, using my new favorite nickname for the guards. Her lips turned down at the corners, not amused.
“Lorelia,” she answered before gesturing to her sister on my other side. “And this is my sister, Lauren.”
My head swung around to look at Lauren, my tone casual. “How d'you end up with the lame name? Sounds like you got the short end of the stick.” I looked up and down her large frame in distaste for emphasis.
Lauren stiffened beside me, and I could physically hear her jaw working as she ground her teeth together. I briefly thought about warning her of the dangers of teeth grinding, but I figured I had pushed my luck far enough.
During those days, the Queen did not visit me, but others did. Alchemists and doctors performed all kinds of tests, from checking my vision and heart rate to drawing blood. I had no idea what the purpose was, and nobody had answers when I asked. Still, I thought it best to go along with it aside from the occasional snarky remark, of course.
On my third day of solitude, while I sat on my bed staring at the wall, the Queen’s lead alchemist appeared in my room. She was beautiful with flawless dark chocolate skin, braided locks of hair that reached her rear, a wrapped golden headpiece that glinted with jewels, and a golden silk tunic that touched the floor.
“Hello, little thief,” the beautiful sorceress cooed, her dark eyes shining.
“Word sure gets around. To what do I owe the pleasure?” I stood from my spot on the bed, unsure of the woman’s intentions.
“My name is Sahar, head alchemist of the Queen. What is your name, little thief?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. Even the little movement was done with such unnatural grace that it startled me.
Avoiding her question altogether, I countered it with one of my own. “What are you doing here?”
Sahar grinned then, and it was a cat’s smile. “Asking you to share your name.”
Ah, a fellow smartass. Fabulous. I sighed.
“It’s Christoff. I'd say don’t ask for my family name, but you all seem to know it already,” I replied, eyeing her sideways.
To my surprise, her expression softened. “You wish to save your family from the Queen’s wrath.” I nodded, but she continued to speak. “I understand your concern, but you need not fear such things. The Queen would not punish your family for your choices.” Another cock of her head, swift and instinctually curious.
“I’m not so sure she would punish you for your own,” she tacked on cryptically.
My palms started to sweat, and my heart raced. I felt as if I was under a microscope.
Sahar sighed dramatically before crossing the room to the far wall and inspecting the mantle pieces above the fireplace. I took a moment while she was looking away to inspect her, trying to decipher her meaning.
She was the most mysteriously beautiful woman I had ever seen. She glided more than walked, and her silk tunic flowed elegantly around her, her dark braids swaying at her waist. Gold beads and rings were woven into her braids, accentuating the darkness of her hair and complexion, and more beads and rings were woven into her head wrap.
I cleared my throat, feeling a bit awkward when she didn’t leave, but instead, she moved further into the room, inspecting the items on the mantle like they were the most fascinating things she’d ever seen. Then, a thought occurred to me, and I stood up straighter.
“Did the Queen send you here?”
Sahar looked over her shoulder, an insulted look on her face like I should have known better. “I come of my own accord.”
“Then why…?” The sorceress turned around to face me again as I spoke, and my voice trailed off at the look in her eyes. Something in them had changed.
“I have come to see where the future of the kingdom is headed. I have come to witness the Light-Bearer.” Her dark eyes roamed up and down my body then, and I got the overwhelming urge to cross my arms over my chest. There was something about her eyes at that moment that made me feel entirely too vulnerable, and the way she moved, that was… unnatural. Too graceful. Too wise and all-knowing. Like she knew something or a lot of things that nobody else did. Things that were impossible to know. Like she was waiting for the punchline of a joke that was centuries away from being revealed.
“What do you mean?” I asked, not understanding her cryptic language but desperately wanting to. “What’s a light-bearer?”
Sahar blinked then, the odd look cleared from her eyes, and she gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. Sometimes my premonitions can be a bit…”
“Off-putting?” I finished the sentence for her, and she rewarded me with a brilliant smile. This one was kind. Human. It softened the tension in my body just a bit.
“Yes, precisely. I hope I haven’t scared you off. I really did want to meet you and, truth be told, the Queen did ask me to get to know you.” Then, a mischievous smile broke across her face, exposing perfectly white teeth. “You seem to have the Queen’s underpants in a twist.”
She looked so hopeful and… friendly. I couldn’t find it in myself to kick her out after her odd behavior, mere seconds prior. It had been days since I had seen a friendly face.
I shrugged. “Good.”
She licked her lips then, like a panther stalking prey as she walked around my form, eyeing me up and down.
I could not deny the sexual attraction I felt towards this mysterious woman, nor could I deny that she was gorgeous.
She seemed to sense this as she stood before me once again and looked at me with hooded eyes, “Something on your mind?”
I swallowed hard and decided to just go for it as I stepped forward, wrapped an arm around her waist, and dipped her with a searing kiss.
One that she returned as her hands dug into my scalp as she grabbed my hair.
The undeniable tension exploded as I pressed my body against hers. Every part of me now rock hard and bristling with pure lust. Being the sole provider of my family left little time for romance, and being in a castle full of vampires and other attractive supernaturals definitely had gotten me… aroused more times than I cared to admit.
The seductive sorceress, undeniably a master of sensuality, kissed my neck as her long, dark fingers worked at unbuttoning my shirt. I followed her lead and slipped her tunic off, one shoulder at a time, letting the gold garment fall to the floor around her feet.
I pulled away from her warm kisses, just for a second to marvel at her body, her flawless skin, and curvaceous frame. I swooped back in, wrapping my arms around her bare bottom, picking her up and kissing the space between her breasts. I carried the sorceress to my four-poster bed and gently laid her down.
“I love a strong man that knows how to treat a lady,” she whispered in my ear before nibbling on it, and that really got me going. I kissed her hard and let my hands run up and down the length of her body, feeling her soft and feminine form against me.
Her fingers now played at my pants, expertly unfastening them. I slid them off, my lips never leaving hers, and then I felt myself slide into her. Pure ecstasy wracked my body, and I felt powerful as I thrust into her, causing slight moans to escape her plump, pink lips.
Sweat dripped down me, matting my hair which Sahar's fingers were tangled in. With each thrust, her moans got louder until she screamed my name and pulled my hair, putting me on the brink of pure elation. Our bodies sped up, fitting each other so perfectly, and I let out a loud groan as my orgasm shook my whole being.
I rolled onto the bed next to the gorgeous sorceress. “Well, that was quite the welcome to the castle,” I said as seriously as I could muster.
Sahar gave me a sideways look before smacking my bare chest. Then she got up, slipped on her gold tunic, but not before giving me one last smirk.
7
Sahar
I had smirked at Christoff as I was leaving his room, but as I did, I decided to invite him to the lab. Now was as good a time as any to start our tests on him, and I had some ideas to try that might help us discover what strange powers lay hidden within him.
“How about I show you my lab,” I called over to him where he still lay naked on his bed.
“Sure,” was all he said, but he eagerly got up and dressed.
He followed me silently through the halls, still marveling at all the pictures Rozmarin kept on display. I enjoyed his silent presence, his hidden power that softly flowed from his golden skin, and I was sure he was glad to be out of his lonely room finally, and with some good company to keep him entertained and feeling safe in a castle full of vampires and other supernaturals.
For the first hour or so, Christoff quietly sat in the lab as my alchemists poked and prodded at him. In his boredom, he asked them questions about what they were doing and about the various potions they brewed, and I found he actually had some interest in alchemy. The different combinations of potions, herbs, and many strange items were fascinating to him, and he even had quite the knack for it.
“Wanting to be an alchemist?” I asked him as I came over to check on how the tests were going.
“I have nothing better to do.” He grinned at me, and I didn’t deny my attraction I felt toward him, especially after our initial greeting.
The more tests we ran, the more we learned, and I soon discovered my inclinations about his blood were correct. He definitely held some power in that glowing, muscled body of his. The alchemists continued running other tests on his blood, but I wandered over to where he sat.
“Well, Light-Bearer, it seems you hold some power in you,” I told him.
“Oh yeah? What kind of power,” he asked as he grinned up at me suggestively.
“We aren’t entirely sure yet, but I’d like to try something with you.” I reached a jeweled hand out to him and pulled him up. “What do you know about magic, Christoff?”
He scratched his head, which was both cute and funny. “Honestly, not much at all.”
“I don’t know how simi
lar your power is to my magic, or to Rozmarin’s power, but I’d like to think they all might work on the same level.” My tone had lost much of its seductiveness as I spoke, and I let Christoff see another side of me.
“I want you to try to summon up those powers, whatever it is that sleeps in your blood,” I instructed him.
“And how would I go about doing that,” he asked me, not even knowing where to begin.
I gave him a soft, friendly smile. “Have you ever spent time alone, just with your own thoughts?”
“Growing up, I never had much time to myself. My first few days here, I had plenty of it, though, but those thoughts were mostly chaotic,” he told me, which I understood.
A lot had changed for this human from the West Village. He went from being a lowly thief to a guest in the Queen’s castle, and now he sat with me, a sorceress, and had alchemists testing him because we told him he held some kind of power. That was definitely a change that would affect anyone.
“Using magic requires an understanding of yourself. You have to dig deep down into hidden parts of you and pull it up, out of your core,” I informed him.
“Hmm, sounds difficult,” he admitted.
“Just close your eyes, and steady yourself.”
He did as I asked. Well, he closed his eyes, anyway, and tried to calm all the thoughts that whizzed through his head, but I could sense all his thoughts about the potions, about me, about Rozmarin, about his future here at the castle. He shooed those images away and focused back on himself and his blood, but after a minute, he gave up.
“I don’t know, Sahar. This seems pointless,” he confessed with a resigned sigh.
“We’ll keep working at it. I have another idea.”
I grabbed both of his hands in mine and instructed him to close his eyes again. This time, I let him feel my magic. It entered him through our clasped hands, where we touched, and it flowed up his arms until it rippled through his body. Then, I pressed my soft lips against his, and I felt an explosion of light shoot through both of us. My eyes snapped open to see his handsome, smiling face inches from mine.
