The End of Hatred

by Rebecca Hefner

  Crimeous brought his long fingers together, tapping the ends of his “V” shaped nails simultaneously. The noise grated on Darkrip’s nerves.

  “Excellent,” the Dark Lord replied. “I have no doubt that Miranda will kill the Vampyre once she unsheathes the Blade. She pretends to be noble but hatred always brings out one’s worst impulses when they have an insurmountable advantage. This will empower us to attack the Vampyres and finally conquer them.”

  “And the Slayers?” Darkrip asked.

  Crimeous waved a dismissive hand. “They will most likely break into civil war once Marsias realizes his daughter has killed the king, repeating the sins of her grandfather. Marsias’ supporters will attack the Slayers loyal to Miranda and they’ll all kill themselves before we have a chance to. I’m more worried about the Vampyres. Their army is mighty.”

  “The Vampyre commander travels with the princess and king. This leaves their compound open to attack now.”

  “Yes,” the Dark Lord nodded, “but I would rather attack them when they’ve lost their king. It will be so…demoralizing. And I love nothing more than when a species has lost all hope.”

  “Will that be all, my lord?” Darkrip asked pointedly.

  “Yes, my son, you have served me well. I will call on you early in the morrow. For now, rest.”

  “Thank you, my lord.” He turned to exit the room.

  “Darkrip!” Crimeous called loudly.

  “Yes,” he replied, not turning around.

  “Will you ever find it within you to call me Father?” he asked, his tone almost amused.

  Turning, Darkrip looked at the creature whom he loathed with his entire being. “No, my lord,” he replied willfully.

  Crimeous laughed hatefully, the sound filling the room. “Do you despise me, my son?”

  Darkrip swallowed, choosing not to answer.

  “Good,” the Dark Lord said firmly. “Your hate makes you strong. Do not ever forget this.”

  Darkrip remained silent, a muscle clenching in his jaw.

  “Be gone then. Your refusal to throw your hate in my face makes me sick!”

  “Yes, my lord,” Darkrip said, hoping the continued formality would anger his father one last time. Exiting the room, he closed the doors behind him with his mind.

  Angry footsteps echoed down the cavern until he came to his bedchamber. He showered in his bathing room, wishing to wash away every piece of the Evil Lord from him. And yet, how could you wash away half of yourself? Sighing with revulsion, Darkrip stepped back into his bedroom and rubbed his chest. If he’d had a heart he would guess that he was feeling something akin to loneliness. Since that was impossible for a creature such as him, he dismissed it altogether.

  Unashamed of his nakedness, he stalked down the cavern until he came to his father’s harem. Hundreds of Deamon women splashed in the large pool that sat in the center of the room. “My lord Darkrip,” one of them sighed. “Are you here to let us pleasure you? Please, my lord, it would be our honor.”

  Darkrip looked down at his cock, always engorged, always aroused. It was a curse that he’d endured for eternity and it made him question why humans created pills to sustain erections. He only coveted one moment of peace when his body was truly relaxed.

  “I wish to have only one of you tonight,” he called to the harem. “Whom shall I choose?”

  Shrieks of pleasure echoed off the walls as the naked girls raised their hands, all vying for his attention. “You,” he commanded to one of the faceless women. “Come with me.”

  He grabbed her wrist and led her down the cave to his bedroom. Pushing her face-down on the bed, he seized her wrists and secured them to the headboard with the ropes that always hung there. Circling her ankles, he did the same to them at the bottom of the bed. Wetting his fingers with his saliva, he rubbed the moisture over the woman’s vagina to ensure she was ready. Positioning the head of his cock at the opening of her sensitive tunnel, he plunged in with one hard thrust.

  The woman “ooohhhed” and “ahhhed” from the bed, unabashedly enjoying his domination of her. Darkrip pumped into her as waves of revulsion at who he was threatened to strangle him. After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled out and spurted his seed on her back, but still remained hard and turgid. Untying the woman from the bed, he sent her back to the harem.

  Placing his arm over his eyes, he willed himself to sleep, cursing his father as he sank into nightmares.

  * * * *

  On the other side of the realm, Arderin was about to die. Literally shrivel up and die. Of boredom. Lifting her fingers, she counted today’s activities. Frick and Frack, the Slayer soldiers, had tied her up in a musty cabin somewhere near where her brothers had come through the wall to start their journey with the Slayer bitch.

  Then the same brown haired, good-looking guy who had been there when she’d woken up at the Slayer compound had come to check on Frick and Frack. He’d told them he had three barrels of Slayer blood that he’d be depositing at the wall. That was nice.

  Then the friendly Slayer doctor had checked on her, sympathy swimming in her eyes, but had still made sure her bonds were tight. With a sigh, Arderin looked up at the cabin ceiling. Was it day? Night? She had no idea. All she knew was that if she didn’t have a conversation with someone soon she’d off herself just to have some excitement.

  “Hello?” she called out, hoping to get Sadie’s attention. “I need to use the bathroom.”

  Silence. Frick and Frack must be off in the woods grabbing firewood or having a contest to see who’s dumber. Idiots.

  “Hello?” she called again, her voice desperate.

  The nice Slayer appeared, hoodie in place. Arderin could hear her smile in her voice. “You just went twenty minutes ago. If you have to go again so soon I think I might need to examine you for a bladder issue.”

  “But this is so boring,” Arderin wined, rolling her head on her shoulders as she sat on the floor, her back propped up on the wooden wall. “I swear, Sadie, I’m going nuts here. If you won’t let me get up and walk around, at least hang out with me and chat.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the Slayer said hesitantly.

  “Oh, who’s it gonna hurt?” Arderin asked, excited that she was considering it. “Just us two girls, hangin’ and chattin’ and, you know, girl stuff. Please?” Her voice was dripping with sweetness. “Just for a few minutes?”

  “Okay,” Sadie said, and dropped down beside her. Thank the goddess. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Hmmm,” Arderin said, wracking her brain. “Who do you think is hottest on Insta right now? Like, I really like Nick Jonas and Shawn Mendes but Zac Efron will always be the hottest in my mind.”

  Sadie slowly shoved her hoodie down to her neck, revealing her face, which was a mask of puzzlement. “What is an Insta?”

  “Instagram,” Arderin said, as if she was daft. “You know, one of the greatest inventions of the humans in the last hundred years?”

  Sadie shook her head and smiled, her unburned cheek reddening a bit. “I don’t really have any use for human achievements unless they involve medicine.”

  “Wait, what?” Arderin said, sitting up straighter. “You’ve never used Instagram?”

  “Sadly, no,” the Slayer said with a chuckle. “I’m sorry to have disappointed you.”

  “Oh sister, we have a lot to cover. Wait until I teach you about Snapchat. Their filters will make you look like a supermodel.”

  Looking at the ground, she smiled softly. “Probably not me.”

  “Nope,” Arderin said firmly. “Even you. I swear, Sadie, you’ll be amazed. Go get your phone, girl.”

  The Slayer laughed softly and rose from the ground. “Okay, what can it hurt? Let me grab it from my bag.”

  As Arderin watched her she felt almost sad that she was going to use this caring creature to escape her bondage. Although she hated the Slayer princess bitch with a passion, Sadie had been nothing but kind to her. In fact, she actu
ally liked her. However, she could tell that the doctor lived in self-imposed exile which made it very easy to befriend her. Chewing on her bottom lip, Arderin’s heart squeezed at the pain Sadie would feel when she realized she had used her to escape.

  But then again, a girl had to survive and she’d had enough of this captivity. As Sadie approached and sat back down beside her, Arderin contemplated how long it would take to convince her to untie the bonds at her wrists and ankles. She gave the Slayer twenty-four hours, tops. Using this as her goal, she got down to business.

  “Okay, let’s start with Insta…”

  Excerpt from The Post-Awakening Vampyre Archives

  Archive #14 – Humans

  The Universe declared that humans would exist on Etherya’s Earth. They would evolve as they did on the Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy, their world here a mirror image of that far-off world.

  The parallel species would share the same history, successes, tribulations and technological advances.

  Humans on the other Earth eventually destroyed themselves with their mistakes and inability to control their less-than-noble impulses. But they were also creatures of great love and compassion.

  Therefore, the Universe wished to give them an opportunity to try again.

  Their world is separated from us by the Ether created by Etherya. It surrounds the world of immortals and is invisible to the human eye. Moving through its density is difficult and due to its thickness, one can only bring through what they carry on their body.

  Immortals are able to enter different periods in the human world, as the space-time continuum flows unorthodoxly there. This has allowed us to learn much from them over the centuries.

  We travel to their world to learn of their advancements and implement them in our world, but they never travel to ours as they do not know of its existence.

  Thanks be to the Goddess.

  Chapter 10

  As soon as the sun set the three travelers set about to traverse the Portal of Mithos. The Portal, which connected the Strok Mountains to the woods of the Cave of the Sacred Prophecy, was quite treacherous. Miranda tried her best to focus on the music coming out of her earbuds as Sathan drove through the various dirt roads and small streams.

  Large oak trees with gnarled branches seemed to pop up in the middle of their path every hundred feet. Sathan would swerve, causing Miranda’s stomach to lurch, and she cursed herself for eating the waxy granola bar earlier. Pretty soon she was going to hurl it right into Latimus’ slick hair.

  Green bushes dotted with red flowers lined the edge of the dirt road. Large yellow bees buzzed back and forth under the moonlight as they fought for position to suck the life-giving nectar from the pretty buds. Since it was dark, she searched the tall, thin-stalked grass for nocturnal vermin. A pair of beady eyes shined at her in the moonlight as the car sunk down into a large hole. Sathan cursed, revved the gas, and the Hummer groaned as it was extricated from the indention.

  The Portal of Mithos was an undeveloped part of Etherya’s Earth. Past it there was only the Cave of the Sacred Prophecy and the Purges of Methesda. After that, the land of Vampyres and Slayers ended and the human world began.

  Traveling into the land of humans was something that immortals rarely did. Miranda had never been and doubted she ever would. Traversing to the Cave would most likely be her most adventurous journey.

  Several hours later they made it to the edge of the woods. This was where their journey in the Hummer ended. They all packed the gear they needed, locked up the vehicle and started into the woods on foot.

  About ten miles in Miranda started to get tired. The trail was narrow and filled with stones she kept needing to navigate around or over. No less than four blisters had formed on her feet and she cursed the new hiking boots that she’d changed into.

  Not that she’d tell either of the Vampyre bastards who were hiking in front of her any of this information. She would rather cut off her own foot than let them know she was in serious pain. She remained mute until Latimus came to a stop around the eighteen-mile mark.

  “Let’s camp here for the day. I think the Slayer might pass out if we continue any further and the sun is about to rise.”

  “I’m absolutely fine,” Miranda said, her chin lifting in defiance. “In fact, I could hike the entire fifty miles if you all aren’t too tired to keep going.”

  “No thanks,” Sathan said, removing his pack and lifting one arm to massage his shoulder. Miranda absolutely did not notice his bulging bicep as he worked his hand into his flesh. “I’m good to camp here. There’s a clearing over there.” He motioned his head to the nearby patch of soft grass. “Looks as good as any to me.”

  Nodding, Latimus went to scope out the clearing and beckoned them over with his hand.

  After the tents were set up, Miranda sat down inside hers and removed her boots. The four blisters, two on each foot, were bleeding and swollen. Pulling out her first-aid kit, she began to methodically clean them, hissing each time the alcohol-laced swab touched the battered skin.

  “How’s it looking?” Sathan asked from the door of her tent, which she had stupidly left unzipped.

  “Fine,” she snapped, shooting him a scathing glare. “And I would ask you not to invade the privacy of my tent.”

  As if she hadn’t uttered a damn word, the Vampyre stalked in and sat down across from her. “Your blisters look bad, Miranda. I don’t want them to slow us down. I can help you heal them if you want.”

  “I’d rather ask for help from a snake,” she hissed, sounding much like the creature she referenced. “Get out of my tent.”

  Squinting his face, he looked toward the top of the tent and rubbed his chin with his fingers. “And here I thought we called a truce and said we would be cordial with each other on this journey.”

  “Oh, for god’s sake! I’m trying to be cordial but it’s hard when you’re invading every inch of my privacy, creepy stalker. Get out of my tent and let me clean my blisters. I promise I won’t slow us down. I’m tough and will keep up with the pace tomorrow.”

  “That I absolutely believe,” he said in his calm baritone and she felt her defenses lessen a bit. “But why should you suffer in pain if I can help you?”

  Sighing in annoyance she asked, “Okay, and how exactly can you help?”

  “A Vampyre’s saliva carries healing properties.”

  “So you want to lick my feet?” she asked, her voice ending in a squeak. “That’s super-weird—”

  “I’m glad you find my attempt to help you so funny,” he said, exasperated. “I was suggesting that I wet one of your cloths with my saliva and you can rub it on your blisters.” He shifted to stand. “But if you would rather suffer…”

  “Wait,” she said, grabbing his forearm so that he remained seated. “Okay, I get it. It’s really nice of you to offer. Here.” She thrust a clean cloth in his face. “Maybe you could spit on there?” She began to chuckle and then broke out into a full-on laugh. Sathan watched her as she sat rocking back and forth, hugging her waist, gasping as she walloped with laughter.

  “What the hell is so funny?” he asked. He looked so ridiculous holding the white cloth, his expression baffled, that she broke into another round of laughter.

  “Okay, forget it.” Standing, he threw the cloth at her. “That’s the last time I try to help you.”

  “I’m sorry,” she gasped, attempting to stand up but still gasping air between lingering laughs. “I swear, I…ouch!” Losing her footing, she fell back to the floor. “Those little suckers hurt!” Looking up at him, she held up the cloth. “I want to try. Please, put your spit on the cloth. I promise I didn’t mean to laugh at you. It’s just been such a long day and I break into fits like that sometimes. It drives Ken crazy.”

  Sathan raised an eyebrow and reluctantly sat down in front of her again. Lifting the cloth to his mouth he spit into it several times and rubbed the moisture in.

  “This is so gross,” Miranda said.

  “Here,�
� he said, thrusting the cloth toward her. Grasping it, she began to rub it on her feet. And what do you know? It actually made her blisters feel better. “Geez, we need to bottle this shit. It’s good stuff.”

  “Once it dries the healing properties expire. That’s why it’s always most effective to lick a wound directly to close and heal it quickly.”

  With those words an image flashed in Miranda’s mind of this Vampyre thrusting his fangs into the vein at her neck, sucking her blood as his hands wandered her body. Then, upon finishing, this massive creature, with black eyes and full lips would begin to lick her wound with his wet tongue. He, her greatest enemy, giving her pleasure unlike anything she’d ever known or even tried to imagine.

  Miranda shook her head to clear her thoughts. What the fuck? She must be in desperate need for sleep, that was for damn sure. Did blisters affect one’s mental health? She’d have to look into that.

  “Thank you,” she said softly, not trusting herself to look him in the eyes lest he catch a glimpse of the madness that had overtaken her brain. “This was really helpful. I think it’s time I turned in.”

  Acknowledging her, he stood and left the tent. “Good day, Miranda.”

  “Good day,” she said softly, rising to zip the tent behind him.

  Later, as she was attempting to fall asleep, she berated herself in the darkness. He was the leader of the species who abducted and murdered her people for blood. She’d do well to remember that. She continued to scold herself until she fell into a restless slumber.

  * * * *

  Sathan noticed that Miranda was packed and ready to go before he and his brother had bundled their tent the next evening. If she was trying to send a message that she wasn’t holding them up, she had succeeded. Reluctant admiration coursed through him as he finished packing up camp.

  Several hours later she was leading the group, trudging along the winding path at a pace that even he found hard to navigate. She certainly wasn’t weak, that was for sure. He and his brother had underestimated how quickly she could move. He found himself wishing that half of his soldiers could be armed with her steely determination.