by Helen Bell
“Only male vampires can be Rulers?” I asked, finishing the sandwich.
“Only males,” she confirmed. “Even to this day. But at least today we have rights. There was a time when we didn’t.” Her expression darkened. “Anen thought us to be useless and stupid. He convinced the other Rulers to strip females of their rights. We lost our power and autonomy and were reduced to the status of slaves, including Anen’s own consort and daughter. We became property to own.”
“What a misogynistic pig,” I blurted with contempt.
She nodded. “Rape, beatings, and humiliation were the new reality for female vampires. Any rebellion was brutally crushed. Everyone feared the Rulers.”
“Were they so cruel to humans as well?”
“Very. When Anen’s father ruled as king, he enforced strict punishments for any vampire who harmed a human, but with the Rulers, it was different. Vampires were allowed to feed on humans freely, and kill them even though we don’t need to drink more than a pint of blood a day. Piles of bodies began to form everywhere, instilling panic and fear in your kind. There was chaos—until she came.” Her stare moved to the statue in the room, and admiration filled her eyes.
I followed her gaze. “Who is she?”
“Our savior, Herit. Everything seemed doomed until a woman, who no one knew or had heard of, demanded to speak with the six Rulers. They were informed of her request. They were also told that she was not a vampire, a demon, or a human.”
“She wasn’t a vampire?” I was surprised.
Alice shook her head. “She wasn’t. The Rulers’ curiosity was piqued, enough for all of them to gather together in order to see who she was before killing her. In the meeting, Herit ordered them to stop the slavery of female vampires and the slaughter of humans. They laughed, and Anen leaped at her, attempting to rip her head off. He failed. One by one, Herit fought the six Rulers off, vanquishing them and their guards.”
“Wait a second.” I raised a hand. “She defeated six Ancient vampires all by herself? What kind of supernatural creature was she? A witch with the ass-kicking abilities of a vampire?”
Alice got to her feet and stepped to the statue, her eyes on Herit’s face. “She wasn’t a witch—even though she had magical powers and was an expert in witchcraft. And having no wings, she wasn’t fae, either.” Alice eyed the statue for several moments, as if the woman in it was a mystery she was trying to solve. “The truth is no one knows what or who Herit was. She possessed enormous powers nobody had ever witnessed before. Building temples for her, some believed she was a goddess, but it was just one of the many rumors about her.”
I blew a warm breath into my hands. “After she overpowered the six Rulers, what happened?”
“They agreed to comply with her three demands: one, to give female vampires their rights back. Two, to control the killing of humans. Three, to start hiding their race’s existence from them. To live in secrecy among the humans. This she demanded from demons and witches, too. Herit expected that in a few generations, most of humankind would believe them to be fantasy creatures, made-up stories you tell before bed. Her third demand didn’t sit well with the demons and witches.
“They were outraged someone dared to dictate how they would live. She explained that it was essential for restoring the order and keeping it. Then she added that as long as their existence was not common knowledge among humans, they were free to reveal their true nature to them. The demons and witches didn’t accept it. As a result, the six Rulers broke their agreement with her. They formed a temporary alliance with the demons and witches to fight against her, so she built a large army of rebels, and the Big War broke out.
“It took the lives of many, including humans, and ended with Herit’s victory. Everything changed from then on. After her three demands were met, she created a system of justice protected by strong unbreakable magic, with laws that apply only to supernatural beings. Each race, though, was allowed to establish their own system of justice. She also constructed the Ice Prison.”
Even with the dim light in the room, I detected a flicker of fear across her face when she uttered the last two words.
“Is it like a human prison?” I asked.
“Worse, much worse,” she answered. “Whoever breaks Herit’s laws, like practicing black magic, would be sent there by the Watchers. They’re magical beings created by her. Guardians of her laws. But like everything in life, they’re not perfect. I’ve heard about supernatural beings who successfully concealed their criminal activities from them. However, it’s not easy by far.”
“Is Ice Prison inhabited solely by those who broke Herit’s laws?” I asked.
“No. Demons, witches, and vampires send many of their criminals there too through the Watchers.”
“Where is this Ice Prison?”
“It’s in a pocket dimension attached to ours. The entrance is located in the Devil's Triangle.” At my look, she said, “Yes, the same infamous Bermuda Triangle where ships and planes disappeared in the past. The magic in the triangle area is very strong. On rare occasions, its energy sucks things inside the pocket dimension.”
A cold breeze blew through the window. The candle flickered, and its light cast swinging shadows across the stony walls.
I rubbed my arms. “So all the people who vanished in the Bermuda Triangle ended up in the Ice Prison?”
“Yes, but it’s a price Herit was willing to pay to have order in the Hidden World,” she replied.
Note to self: no more vacations near the Bermuda Triangle.
“What about the Memphis law you mentioned earlier? Are they the vampires’ laws?” I asked.
“No, they’re the laws of the Memphis warriors,” she said. “We are an Outsider organization of vampire warriors, consisting of females only. Our Founding Mothers fought alongside Herit in the Big War. When it ended, they settled in Memphis in ancient Egypt, swearing to never let the Rulers enslave us ever again. With time, more and more vampires joined them and were trained to fight. We grew bigger, having our own Ruler and a queen, and established our own laws.”
My gaze slid from the candle flame to Alice. “Did you grow up here? Does your father live with you and your mother?”
“I grew up here, yes, and I’ve never met my father. All warriors are forbidden to have romantic relationships with anyone, but we’re allowed to have sex. If a warrior is a Daywalker, and she conceived, her child would be adopted by a vampire couple who want children, unless the baby is a girl. In that case, she’ll grow up here and be trained to become a warrior after her Change.”
When she finished talking, a question struck me. “You said that the sick vampire I killed broke your laws by contacting her son. What’s her son’s name?”
“James.”
“James? Not Lucas?”
“Lucas was his roommate and friend.”
“Why did she come to his apartment tonight?”
“The first time she met James, a year ago, she revealed to him she was his biological mother and gave him her phone number,” Alice told me. “About a week ago, she received a call from him. He sounded scared. His human friend, Lucas, was in trouble, and so was he. Demons were following him, and he asked for her help. She drove to his home as soon as she could, but a human named Natalie refused to open the door. Tonight she went over there again. Her mother Trudy and her friends joined her.”
“Did James say anything about a thumb drive?”
“A thumb drive? No, not that I recall.”
I rose and moved toward her. At my nearness, she recoiled, and I remembered I had bleeding cuts.
“Oh, sorry,” I said.
“It’s okay, but it’s better if you don’t come closer.”
I stepped away and looked at the statue. “Where is Herit today? You used the past tense when talking about her. Is she dead?”
“No one knows,” she replied. “After the Big War, she vanished. The last time she was seen was in the New World. Two Ancient vampires recognized her. They said
she looked very ill. Rumor has it she was poisoned with her known weakness—black magic—and now she’s no longer with us.” Alice suddenly became alert. “Oh no, Karen and the guards. They’re coming. I can hear them.” With a blur of movement, she was at the door.
“Wait,” I said. “Who’s Karen?”
“A strong witch who works for the Memphis warriors. She’s mean; be careful with her. I’ll come back as soon as it’s possible for me, and help you even if you don’t kill me,” she promised and disappeared before I could thank her.
A minute later, the door opened, and two vampires in uniform entered the room. A woman followed them inside, carrying a lantern with a frame of wrought iron that held four glass panes. They closed the door behind them, the lantern’s gleam brightening the room.
“Show me the black magic,” she instructed the vampires.
The leech on her right stepped up to me. Her face wore a stony expression, her platinum-blonde hair tied up in a tight ponytail. She grabbed my left hand, turning my palm up. The woman, whom I presumed was the witch, came closer. A black dress, the same color as her hair, was draped over her body, the hem reaching mid-calf. She had several gray hairs and a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and mouth. She stared down at the number on my palm, awe on her face.
When she finally looked up, a smile formed on her lips. “I’m Karen and I’m a witch, not a vampire.”
“Yeah, I figured that part out already; the bad skin texture on your face kinda gave it away,” I insulted her.
She chuckled. “Pam warned me you had a mouth on you. It makes it more fun to crush your spirit.” She bent down and set the lantern on the floor, the shadows jumping and shifting with each swing.
She straightened and reached out to take my left hand from blondie. “Let me have a better look at it.”
Her fingers ran over the number. She shook her head slowly in disbelief. “Marvelous. Absolutely marvelous. Pure dark.” Her voice was low, her tone reverent. Then, her gaze moved up to my face. “How are you still alive and healthy with it inside you?”
“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I’m special.” If she thought I’d spill all the details about how this damn thing had wreaked havoc on my body and made it sick with cancer, she was wrong.
“The human is not healthy, Karen. She reeks; her soul’s sick, but it’s from demons, not magic,” blondie said.
“Who is the witch who branded you with the black spell? Give me a name,” Karen demanded.
“Wish I had one not to give you, but sorry, the man who kidnapped me and poisoned my body wasn’t in a chatty mood,” I said.
“A man with dark magic skills? Could be an illusionist,” she murmured to herself and then looked at the tattoo, touching it again. Her eyes closed. After a short moment, she whispered, “Eternal gods.”
Hearing those words, I jerked my hand back.
Blondie snatched my left palm. She took out a switchblade from her pocket, flipped the blade open, and looked at Karen. “Our Ruler said you must check the dark magic in your lab. To make it easier for you, I’ll cut the tattoo out.”
“What! No!” I panicked, trying to pull my hand away unsuccessfully.
Karen’s eyes widened, seeming alarmed as well. “No! Don’t!” she exclaimed when the point of the knife touched the tattoo.
As the vampire pressed the tip of the blade into my skin, I swiftly screwed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the pain, then waited. And waited. And waited, but there was no pain.
“What have you done?” Karen’s voice trembled with fear.
I snapped my eyes open. My jaw slackened at the sight in front of me. “What. The. Hell?” I whispered.
Chapter 15
Everyone in the room fell silent. The brunette was standing next to Karen, whose face drained of blood. Their attention was on the hand of the vampire holding the knife. Her fingers began to crumble into pieces as blackness slowly spread up from the tip of the blade. The small bits of her flesh floated around the room like dandelion fluff. Her mouth was opened as if she had tried to scream in horror, but no sound made it out. Crimson tears rolled down her cheeks. Her hand was gone, then her arm. It disappeared into pieces.
Starting to turn black, the knife stood straight up by itself in the center of the number on my palm. When it was completely black, it exploded into a million small fragments falling to the floor.
My left arm became numb, and I lost control over it. I watched in terror as black, sand-like grains streamed from the tattoo and gradually assumed the shape of a giant snake—a pissed cobra with its mouth open. My heart pounded against my ribs. Sweat dampened my brow and the back of my neck while my stomach threatened to up-chuck its contents. What was that thing?
Karen started to mumble something that sounded like Latin, her voice unsteady, her body quivering. Blondie was long gone. The pieces of her body vanished from the room as the giant cobra’s head dipped toward Karen. The other vampire hurried in front of her. The swaying snake studied the guard. Karen went on with her chanting even though her magic did nothing to harm it.
The vampire slid her sword out of the leather harness down her back. Two red dots, acting as eyes, examined her weapon. Then black fog poured out of the cobra’s mouth, coiling around her body. Her sword clattered to the ground while her lips opened in a silent scream, however, like her dead friend, nothing came out. When the color of her skin turned gray and she went motionless, the black fog moved back to the snake’s mouth. She collapsed to the ground, dead.
Karen abandoned her spell and twirled around, rushing to the door. “Let me out! Let me out!” She banged on the wood with the side of her fists. The snake moved toward her and magically forced her to turn and face it. She seemed to try to move, but it looked like she was going paralyzed in all her extremities. The snake’s face was a few inches away from hers, her chest rising and falling in a rapid rhythm. The cobra’s tongue whipped out, and when it touched her skin, the color of her eyes and hair gradually became white, skin wrinkling and shriveling. She dropped to the floor, lifeless, her body mummified.
And then that thing turned to look at me.
My heart almost leaped out of my chest. I swallowed hard and froze with fear. Its red eyes held mine. A chill rolled down my spine, and goosebumps erupted on my skin. At that moment, I knew it was pure evil. I felt its malevolence. The snake looked at me for a few long moments. I was certain I was about to meet my maker. To my surprise, however, it didn’t kill me. The shape of the cobra started to fade and soon it returned to the black sand-like substance, streaming back into my palm. The number 650 reappeared on my skin, and I started to regain control over my arm until I felt it completely, as if nothing had happened.
I was still in shock when the door swung open a short while later. Pam waltzed into the room with four warriors. She stared at the bodies of Karen and the vampire.
“Jesus, they’re dead,” one warrior whispered.
“It was the black magic. I sense its power in the room,” Pam said, sounding a bit scared. “We ought to destroy it.”
“I doubt you can.” I gestured with my head to the corpses on the floor. “They wanted to cut it out with a knife and look at how they ended up.”
“Of course it’ll kill them. One must never remove black magic from its host this way. It makes no sense the witch would do something so reckless,” Pam told me.
“Then how do you plan to destroy it?” I asked.
“Although black magic physically strengthens its host, it only protects itself—not the host,” she replied. “Which means that you, mortal, can be killed. After you’re dead, the new witch will seek a spell that can eliminate it.” She looked at the vampire on her left. “Clean the room, contact the witch’s cousin, and prepare the back courtyard for the mortal’s execution. Our queen will be present too. Let your sisters know about her arrival.”
She left the room, and I stared at the closed door. Oh my God, I was going to be executed. I had to figure a way out of here, with
Alice’s help or without. My head spun with thoughts of how to break free while the vampires dragged the bodies out. Before they left, they replaced the candle in the center of the room with a new one, lit it, and took the lantern with them.
Alone in the room, I paced nervously back and forth. I stabbed my fingers through my hair and felt a slight pain in my left palm. I glanced down at the number, and my fear mounted. If I made it out of here alive, what would happen when it reached zero? That thing was sinister. Diabolical. Its eyes had looked at me, and it was there—the evilness. I drew in a deep breath and rubbed my hands over my face to clear my mind. The door opened then, and Alice slipped inside.
“We don’t have much time,” she said. “In ten minutes, you’re gonna be taken outside to the courtyard where we conduct our ceremonies and executions. Karen’s cousin, a powerful witch too, is on her way here. When she arrives, they’ll behead you.”
“And what’s the good news? Please tell me there is good news.” My tone was pleading.
“There is good news. The protection spell Karen cast on our premises is not an illusion spell, so now that she’s dead, it’s down, at least until her replacement fixes it. Anyone can come in and out. Also, since Pam’s afraid something will go wrong with the black magic, she requested the attendance of almost all warriors at your execution. The gates will be less guarded.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think it’ll help me as I’ll be a bit too busy being beheaded to escape,” I reminded her.
“Not if I issue official challenge to the throne. All eyes would be on me. The last time a Memphis warrior challenged Lucilla, our queen, for the throne was many centuries ago. Everyone would be shocked and they won’t pay attention to you while I combat my queen. It’ll give you enough time to sneak out. Outside you—”
“No,” I cut her off. “You won’t do it, Alice. I don’t know how good your fighting skills are, but no offense, I doubt a Newborn vampire can take out a …” My voice withered in my throat when realization dawned on me; winning was never part of her plan. “No, forget it. I’m not agreeing to this. I’m not letting you die.”