by Nick Freo
“So, what is this?” I smirked. “Are you the new vampire queen?”
She laughed. “After a fashion, I suppose. We decided not to have royalty, but I was elected leader by popular decision. It turns out many of the others had the same issues I did with the old king. So when I had a hand in his fall, I made some major points.” She pointed at the training vampires near the middle of the gym. “As you can see, I’ve made adjustments. We no longer skulk around doing nothing but thinking about our next meal. We still hunt as needed, but all blood is brought back here, stored, and rationed out appropriately. Everyone gets their fair share, but no one gets more than they need. Maintaining a steady, moderate dose also reduces their withdrawal symptoms and side effects.” She beamed. “We’re becoming more like the army you deserve every day, my lord. I’m building an army for you.”
“A small army,” Pride noted but then shrugged and relented when Lust tossed her a hurt look. “But an army just the same, which is much more than we previously had.” She peered down at the vampires grappling on the mats. “They do not appear to be terrible, either, although perhaps they could certainly use a few pointers.”
“Any time you wish to train them, you will be my guest,” Lust smiled. “We would benefit greatly from your vast experience.”
“Are you calling me old?” the elf challenged.
“Of course not!” the former vampire replied, surprise high in her voice. “I would never be so cruel and dishonest. You’re obviously quite youthful.”
“We are old, Pride,” I said before the conversation could devolve further, “older than either of us or anyone else truly knows. When we stepped through that portal we aged more than I could have imagined. But with age comes experience, and we will benefit well from ours.”
“Do you have any other news?” Pride asked Lust, clearly wanting to change the subject.
“I do,” the former vampire replied slowly, walking her fingers up the arm of her chair. “I looked in on the mob boss, Krish, as you commanded, my lord. According to his servants, a new pair of bullet priests came and took him away. I did a little more research, pushed some buttons and pulled some strings. It turns out the Overseers interrogated and killed him. I don’t know what they might have learned, but obviously he won’t be providing us with much help anymore.”
I shrugged. “We shall survive,” I said. “At least we had already procured a decent stock of guns and ammunition.”
“Oh, there’s always more where that came from,” Lust assured me. “If there’s one thing humans love, it’s making and buying guns. They’re pretty easy to get around here if you know some of the right people, and I know all the right people. Or if I don’t, Cyborg does.”
I nodded. The mysterious man I had still only met once in the covered structure had provided us with much of what we needed to establish our base. We had certainly paid him well, but even so, his assistance had been invaluable.
“Do you know anything else about the Overseers?” Pride pressed Lust, stepping closer to her fellow Viceguard. “What they learned, or what they planned?” Her right hand had drifted, perhaps subconsciously, to the hilt of one of her daggers.
Lust shrugged expressively and kicked her feet one by one. “I only know that they believe Cain is a serious threat now. Whatever the mob boss told them, it will have confirmed what they suspected after you killed one of their best enforcers.”
“A serious threat?” I chuckled mirthlessly. “Is that all? Good, let them continue to underestimate me. Soon we will take this nation, and then this world, by storm. And they label me a serious threat—ha! I am their annihilation and the extinction of their rule.”
The sound of the gym’s main doors swinging open interrupted my tirade, and I turned to see who had entered. A young looking male vampire with greasy hair and a leather jacket raced up to the stage and skidded to a halt in front of Lust, kneeling and eyeing me and Pride from his peripheral vision.
“My queen,” he said. “I have critical news for you. It should be for your ears alone.”
“Don’t be silly, Jake,” Lust waved an airy hand. “These are them. The two I have spoken of so much.”
The vampire’s jaw dropped, displaying his pointed fangs. “This is Cain? The Master?” he asked, voice shaking. “And his Pride?” His gaze slithered up and down my Viceguard’s slender frame. He bowed his head toward us. “Forgive me, I should have known. Alia speaks of you often. Everything we do here is in your service, my lord.”
So. She was still using her vampire name among them. I supposed that was acceptable. At least she had trained them to know us.
“What was your news?” Lust asked, snapping her fingers. “You said it was important, so spit it out!”
“Of course, my queen.” The vampire stood up and leaned in furtively, speaking quietly so only the four of us on the stage would hear. “I paid off some of the mob boss’s guards like you said. You were right. Some of them are having trouble finding work now that he’s gone and were happy to take the money in exchange for a little easy information. The Overseers put out a message just recently. They’re calling for a Hero’s Quest to vanquish Cain the Cursed, as they call him.”
“Cain the Cursed,” Pride said, stifling a smirk.
Lust sucked in a deep breath, and she and the messenger both glanced at me in concern, as though expecting an outburst.
“Heroes?” Oh, how I hated heroes, the annoying gnats. I had suffered enough of them in the past. I exchanged a look with Pride, then shrugged.
“We will be ready. Let the heroes come.”
END OF BOOK 1
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About the Author
I enjoy dark fantasy, mashups, and fun tales of derring-do. I am teaming up with several other new authors to create HaremLitFic.com in order to bring you the best HaremLit stories we can. I take care of many of the administrative details on the site.
