Queen of the Vampires: Snow White Reimagined with Vampires and Dragons (Seven Magics Academy Book 3)

by RaShelle Workman

  As one, we stepped into the ring of light. I closed my eyes. Gritted my teeth. The smell of daffodils filled the air. My mother was squeezing my hand like her life depended on it.

  The light vanished and I glanced over. Her features were scrunched in pain. I opened my mouth to tease her. By her expression it was obvious the method hurt—even though it hadn’t really hurt me, just felt weird, like I was pulled apart and put back together again. But my gaze fell to her other hand, the one not squeezing mine. It was wrapped around the handle of a knife protruding from her chest. Blue blood obscured her fingers and dripped down her wetsuit-like clothing.

  “Mom!” I cried, hanging onto her as her knees buckled and she fell into me. My heart was racing, but I gritted my teeth, lowering her to the ground. Frantic, I looked to see if anyone was around, but we were alone.

  “Snow.” Blood gurgled from her mouth. “You must find the—”

  “The what?” I asked, kneeling next to her. I just got her back. No way would I be losing her. The power of the Seal would heal her the way it healed Christopher. I just needed to do like Kenmei said and focus on using the power with love in my heart.

  “You’ve got to…” She coughed, sending a spray of her blood over my face. I flinched, debating whether to pull the knife from her, or leave it in.

  “It’s okay, Mom. I can fix this.” I grabbed the handle of the knife in my hands and yanked it out, ignoring the disgusting sounds it made when it released. Her blood smelled of honeysuckle.

  The knife was thin but sharp. I tossed it away. My hands were covered in her blue blood. They were shaking. So was my voice. “I just found you, Mom. I can’t lose you again.” I put both hands over her wound. The power of the Seal surged through my hands. “It’ll take a minute,” I said, blinking back the tears distorting my vision.

  Her eyes closed and my heart lurched. When I healed Christopher, I hadn’t realized that’s what I was doing. It was the same experience when I hurt the vampire queen. I hadn’t wielded the power with intent, but the Seal responded anyway. This time I would focus.

  “Stop!” A voice shouted.

  I looked up. Devoran was standing a few feet away. Two guards had Gabe and Cindy by the throat, and the elf king held Dorian in the same position. I hesitated. Behind them a rectangle of light twinkled and evaporated.

  “Remove your hands from my daughter. That freak of nature doesn’t deserve to be saved by your power. She’s fulfilled her obligation. The sole reason I allowed her to live was so that one day I would be able to meet you, my granddaughter.” His face contorted in a malevolent grin.

  My blood boiled in rage at his words. How could he speak about his own daughter that way?

  “Do as I say, or I’ll kill these three where they stand. It won’t be hard. Believe me, I know.”

  He looked exactly as he did when I was with Silindra. Had I not known it was Devoran, I would’ve thought he was just another guard. He wasn’t wearing anything special: white trousers and a matching shirt. Both elven guards wore red. My hands twitched, but I wasn’t too worried. Gabe was a chayot, and Cindy was a witch. It would take a lot to kill them. I snorted, compelling more of the Seal’s power into my mother. Devoran nodded toward the guard on his right, the one holding Gabe. He twisted Gabe’s neck. There was a snap. Gabe’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he dropped.

  I screamed at the same time Cindy did, but my hands remained right where they were. My mother would not die today.

  “Gabe!” Cindy let out a howl and electricity pulsed between her fingers, but she couldn’t use it. Her hands, her body seemed tied up by an unseen force.

  “Do you want the girl to die next?” Devoran asked. He glanced at the guard holding her. “Well?”

  “No,” I whispered, and pulled my hands from my mother. “I’m sorry, Mom. Hopefully that was enough,” I whispered.

  I thought her lashes fluttered. “Mom,” I said, shaking her shoulder. She didn’t move or respond. She looked dead.

  “Get over here,” Devoran yelled.

  I stood. The world was hazy, as though it shifted, and everything was sideways. I had a hard time focusing. With great effort I stepped closer to Devoran and Dorian. “Let me make sure Gabe is okay. You know he’s a chayot.” The words sounded far away, like they came from someone else.

  “Of course,” Devoran said, but a bewildered surprise flickered across his face. He hadn’t known. He intended for his guard to kill Gabe. I would remember that.

  The guard who twisted Gabe’s neck picked Gabe up.

  “Take him to the infirmary and keep him under close watch. I’ve plans for the little chayot,” Devoran said.

  I caught Cindy’s eyes. They were filled with tears. I tried to nod, to convince her everything was okay, but I just lost my mother and watched Gabe’s neck get broken. Nothing felt okay.

  “I’m sorry,” Dorian mouthed. Dorian. Handsome Dorian. He didn’t have anything to be sorry for.

  I reached out to take his hand. It looked like he wanted to grab hold but couldn’t. And I finally realized that was why my friends weren’t fighting back. Something had them restrained.

  “Dorian,” I said. The edges of my vision faded, and I tasted blood in my mouth. Was it mine? It had to be. The darkness around my vision got thicker and thicker and my body seemed to get heavier and heavier. I glanced back at my mom. She was still on her back, unresponsive.

  Chapter 16

  “Snow.”

  “Snow White.”

  “We are waiting for you.”

  “It is urgent we speak with you.”

  I opened my eyes and noticed a tiny blue light shining above my head. It flitted around like a pixilette but was much smaller. I was in what looked like a black box. No windows. No doors. Just four sparkling black walls, a ceiling, and a floor.

  “Snow, please hurry.”

  “This is urgent.”

  I reached out a finger to touch the light. The voices seemed to come from it, but it darted away.

  “I can’t get out. There’s no door,” I whispered, standing. As I spoke, a door appeared and I gasped, hoping for escape. But my hope was short-lived, for on the other side of the door was more darkness. As my heart fell, the dark became a tunnel. I took a tentative step and as I did, more of the tunnel appeared. “Where am I?” The blue lights flicked down the tunnel, making it obvious they wanted me to follow. After a few moments, I stopped and looked back the way I came, but there was nothing to see.

  One of the blue lights returned, flicking in front of my face. “You want me to follow?”

  In response, it headed down the tunnel toward the other blue light. Desperate to escape, I followed until finally the two lights led me to another room before disappearing. With my vampire vision, I was still able to see. A quick peek inside revealed it was exactly the same as the room I came from. Except for one thing. In the center of the room was an altar. It was white and stood out against all of the black.

  Something inside me told me to run away, but I couldn’t. An intangible pull emanated from the altar and I had no choice but to move toward it. When I was near enough to touch it, two strands of smoke rushed through the walls and hovered in front of me.

  They moved like water, their features indiscernible at first, before they shifted into something vaguely animalistic. Like clouds, they changed into a girl who looked like me, then a werewolf, a dragon, and a skeleton.

  The Unknowns, I thought, trying to look away, but unable to.

  “You are Snow White.”

  “Daughter of Ariel.”

  “Born of Silindra.”

  “Our daughter.”

  I didn’t respond, unsure whether they wanted me to.

  “You are the Seal.”

  “The restoration bringer.”

  “And your time has come.”

  “Okayyyyy,” I said slowly, wondering why they were talking. They weren’t asking questions. Their words didn’t make sense. Plus, it was hard to focus on their
changing faces. It wasn’t like their voices came from mouths. Their lips didn’t move. Sometimes they didn’t even have lips.

  But as I heard the words, they circled around me, ever closer, though they never touched me.

  “What do you want?” I asked, my voice quivering.

  At that question, their bodies took shape. Their color stayed the same—one was silver and the other gold. Each possessed a face, arms, legs, and a body, but I couldn’t tell what kind of creature they were. Everything and nothing.

  “Close your eyes.”

  “Let us show you.”

  I did as they said because whatever force held me made my eyes close. This can’t be real, I thought. It must be a dream. Like those ones where you try to run, but your body seems to be stuck in quicksand.

  Their fingers touched my eyes. I tried not to wince at the chill that ran through my body.

  Immediately images shot through my mind.

  And I was on the altar. My blood flowed from my body, spilling over the sides and dripping to the floor. Something round and red and pulsating hovered in the air above my chest. It beat in a slow rhythm. Sparkling red flowed from it, and I immediately knew it was the power of the Seal. A swirling vortex of power and blood, like pieces of tangled yarn. They lit up the room, dipped and twirled.

  It was beautiful.

  Magical.

  And horrifying.

  After a time, the combination of the Seal and my blood produced seven large gems. Within my line of sight, they pulsated like living things.

  One gold: The magic of the dragon.

  One blue: The magic of the elf.

  One green: The magic of the fairy.

  One brown: The magic of the troll.

  One indigo: The magic of the unicorn.

  One silver: The magic of the vampire.

  And one red: The magic of… what?

  To complete the Seal, the blood of the hunter was required. Gabriel’s blood.

  “What does this mean?” I asked, a little terrified at seeing myself bleed out.

  “In order to restore the balance of the seven magics, you must sacrifice yourself.”

  “It’s the only way to regenerate the cycle.”

  “Allow the seven magics to return to the beginning.”

  “The way magic was before Sharra disrupted it.”

  “But—” I didn’t want to die. “What about Sharra? If I’m gone, who will stop her? The Seal has made me more powerful. I can stop her. But not if I’m dead.”

  “Once the Seal is broken, the seven magics will be reborn. When that happens, Sharra will be destroyed.”

  “She’ll become nothing.”

  “We know what she’s done.”

  “And her power will be stripped.”

  “How,” I asked, watching the gems throb steadily as they grew. I realized the gems were a similitude of the magics being reborn. Each possessed a heartbeat. Each thumped in time with the others.

  “The Seal is connected to Sharra—to all touched by her blood. Once the Seal is shattered, those who’ve been tainted by Sharra, including Sharra herself, will cease to live. And a new breed of magical creatures will be born.”

  “What are you saying?” I didn’t want to be in this dream any longer. I wanted to escape.

  “Your death will bring forth new life, Snow White.”

  “You are the purest of the pure.”

  “The best of the best.”

  “The fairest in the land.”

  “That’s unacceptable. You can’t kill everyone. It’s—it’s…” I stammered, frantic. “Ludicrous.”

  “Death begets life.”

  “The cycle of the living is to die.”

  “No! What about all we’ve learned?” I opened my eyes and the beings shifted and floated away, their forms once again smoke and light.

  “It’s how it must be.”

  “It will be.”

  “You said it yourself.”

  “If a creature lives long enough, it becomes evil.”

  “That includes you!” I yelled, desperate to get away or wake up.

  A tornado of energy surrounded me, holding my body firmly. I was lifted in the air and placed on the altar as though everything started over again. The beings hovered over me. I wasn’t able to move or speak. A wicked knife, the blade twisted like a unicorn horn, appeared above my chest.

  The wispy individuals started chanting words I didn’t understand. My skin changed from a too-white-white to the colors of the seven magics.

  I tried to struggle, to get away, but I couldn’t even scream. I thought of Christopher and decided I should’ve said yes. If I had, I wouldn’t be here. Instead I would be in his arms.

  “We aren’t wicked.”

  “We aren’t good.”

  “We are beyond the living and the dying, no longer like those who dwell on Earth.”

  “We are the creators.”

  Deep down, I knew the Seal would do what I wanted. I thought of anger, hate, fear, anything to break the bands that held me, but I couldn’t access its power. It was as though my brain and my body were separated.

  Chapter 17

  This is it, I thought. And a profound gloom curled its way around my heart. Never in a million years did I imagine my life would end this way. If I pictured anything, it was that I disappeared into nothingness as the vampire queen took over my body. Dying like this? No one would know.

  And I thought of Silindra on an altar, her blood drained from her body. Sacrificed for Sharra’s whims. I never would’ve guessed my fate would be so entwined with hers.

  I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want those I loved to die. I wanted to live!

  The knife hovering above me abruptly descended and sank deep into my chest. If I could have, I would have cried out in pain. I felt every rip, every tear, every shredded vein and vessel.

  But I was unable to move. The knife retreated as quickly as it dropped and once again hung above my chest. Blood slid from the blade and on to my shirt. The scent of copper stung my nose. I wanted to cry at the injustice of it all.

  And, in a way, the knife did that for me.

  Drip.

  Drip.

  Drip.

  Red tears of mourning.

  A glittering red mist appeared above my wound, hovering and swirling into my blood.

  It was happening.

  The Seal was breaking.

  Soon everyone I loved would vanish.

  No!

  Chapter 18

  I don’t know if I was unconscious for a second or a day, but when I came to, it was to the sound of someone shouting.

  “I don’t care. Let her go. I’ll take her place.”

  The Unknowns responded.

  “That isn’t part of the plan.”

  “We can’t allow it.”

  I opened my eyes. “Dorian?” I asked wearily, surprised I could hear his voice and the sound of my own. I had to be dreaming.

  “Snow!” he cried. His voice broke as his face appeared next to mine, but he turned in the direction of the Unknowns. “You can’t stop me. It isn’t her time to die.”

  I blinked several times, unable to believe. “What are you doing? How did you find me?”

  He climbed on the altar, placing his body between the dagger and me. It already stabbed me a hundred or a thousand times. I didn’t understand why it kept going, kept stabbing, but it did.

  The Unknowns spoke and they didn’t sound happy.

  “We can’t control him.”

  “He is too strong.”

  “What is this?”

  “Madness!”

  I didn’t know what they meant. Dorian was human, perhaps the weakest of all creatures. How could they not control him? How was he too strong for them?

  Dorian’s eyes found mine.

  “How?” I asked again, relieved to see him.

  He kissed the tip of my nose. “I followed my heart,” he said. The last word came out in a rush, and I knew the sharp blade drov
e into his back.

  I couldn’t let this happen. “Dorian, you need to leave. Go. I don’t know how you did it, but…” A sob caught in my throat as the blade sank and withdrew from his flesh again and tears filled his eyes from the pain. “Go. Please.”

  He held my gaze. “No. Don’t cry. Shhh-hh.” The knife went into his back again. I noticed the dazzling red of the Seal winding around the room. It was still glowing but didn’t seem as strong. Its potency lessened as it spun and dipped into Dorian’s blood instead of mine.

  “You can’t be here.” Even though I was so happy to see him. So relieved I wasn’t alone. Did that make me weak?

  “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.” His words caught as the blade went in and out again.

  “No,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

  He touched my face, his fingers pressing against my jaw slightly when the blade buried itself in his back before it retreated. “Do you remember what Abernathy said? That I would know what I needed to do when the time was right?”

  “Y-Yes.” Tears stung my eyes and burned a path into my ears and hair.

  “Tonight, I was pacing in a room without a door when one suddenly appeared.”

  Had these beings—the Unknowns—brought Dorian here as well? “Was there a blue light?”

  He gave me a strange look. “Not blue, but a bright gold. I tried the door handle. It opened into a golden hallway. I followed it. On, and on, and on. Until I found you. I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner.” The knife tore into his flesh again. He closed his eyes and his fist at the same time. “As soon as I saw you lying on the altar, I knew. My purpose, the whole reason I was born is to save you.”

  “You can’t…”

  He stopped me, covering my mouth with his fingers.

  “I’ve always known. From the moment you tripped up the stairs to Professor Pops’ front door. I looked into your beautiful eyes and thought, this girl is meant for me.”

  “We were eight the first time we met. You were into cars and video games. Girls were the last thing on your mind.” I smiled, remembering the look on his face that day. I finally understood all those moments in my past when I was curious about Dorian and what he wanted or was thinking. He was there, regardless. No matter what. “Please don’t do this for me.” My sadness turned to anger. “If you love me, you won’t do this. You’ll go.”