Dawn to Dark

by Halston James

  Thank you, my trusted friend, she mentally said to him, then left his mind.

  It took a moment to get her bearings when her eyes were once again her own, but she flew down the stairs to the hunger room. Lining the walls were young, lean, sexy males and females in chains. She ran to the nearest one and kissed him quickly. As soon as she felt his arousal, she tapped into his aura and absorbed it. His essence drained, the very life force within him dimming while she sucked him dry. His body collapsed, hanging lifelessly from the chains on the wall as she threw her head back in ecstasy.

  He wasn’t strong enough to sustain her, so she moved on to the next one. She didn’t like to do that because it was harder to arouse someone after they’d witnessed a kill, but she didn’t have any time to spare. She kissed the next and cupped his manhood, wrapping her fingers around and stroking. Arousal fueled her, and she sucked the aura out of that one, too.

  Revived, she left the room and called to the servants to gather a horse for her and clear the husks from the hunger room. She rode the beast through the tunnel that connected the castle to the valley as fast as his hooves could carry her. They traveled like the wind and were emerging into the grass a few short minutes later. The horse panted and began to sweat, but she pushed him until they were mere yards from the army.

  As she approached, the leader held up his fist and stopped the march. She pulled the reins to stop the horse and faced the leader. “What is the meaning of this?”

  He swallowed before speaking, and she noted it. He was scared. “We have come to free your people of this tyranny. You kill as you please, taking young males and females from this world without a second thought. Your village no longer thrives as it should, and we are here to right that wrong.”

  To his credit, he spoke clearly and loud enough for the surrounding men to hear. They joined him in ‘hoorahs’ and ‘ayes.’ She looked past him and spoke to the army behind him.

  “Is this what you wish to follow into battle?” She sliced out with her hidden blade and his head rolled to the ground an instant later. She held out her hand as her raven swooped down and grabbed the head by the hair, lifting it into the air and dropping it to her. “This coward leads you no more. Now is your chance to leave. What say you?”

  A few soldiers shuffled, but no one turned. They saw one woman against an army. That would be their downfall.

  “I gave you a chance. Pity,” she tsked, then threw the head in the air. All their gazes locked on it in grotesque horror. While they looked up, she called the plants in the earth up to wrap around them, trapping them to their spots. Then, she stood on the horse and ripped off her clothes. As they gawked at her, she sent her energy out, touching every one of them. Their arousal scented the air and she lifted off the back of the horse. With so many of them in one place, her power hummed beneath her skin until she levitated over the saddle. She could feel their need, got high off the auras dying for her to take them. And she did. She stole every life force in the field, one by one.

  Until a lone soldier stood in a field of corpses. He was an elderly man and shouldn’t have been in an army invading her lands. She was bloated with power, sated, and bursting at the seams. Her bronze skin glowed as she hung in the air over the man. Fear permeated the area around him like a stench no one could stand. She stared down at him and tried to decide whether to keep him alive or attempt to fit one more soul in her body.

  Making up her mind, she said, “You will deliver a message back to your General, old man. I am unstoppable. I cannot be beaten. If they send more men, I will slaughter them all, and deliver a basket of heads wrapped in the finest silk every day until there are none left. Now run.”

  He wasted no time running away, and she was secretly thankful. It’d been a while since she’d had so many souls inside of her at one time. She had to burn off some of the energy. She turned around and closed her eyes, tuning into the land around her. It wanted to claim the bodies littering the field, and so it should. The power inside her burned bright, and she sent some of it to the vines wrapped around the soldiers’ legs. The greenery grew, twisted around the bodies, and pulled them under the grassy surface. She watched in fascination as the earth swallowed them up, leaving no evidence of the gruesome scene behind. Too bad, she thought. It could’ve been a lesson to all my enemies.

  With a sigh, she turned and strode to the saree lying on the ground near her horse. She wrapped the material around her and mounted the beast, pointing him in the direction of the nearest house. The farmer there had failed to notify her an army was coming, and he would pay the price. The outcome would’ve been the same, but preparation is key to success. She rapped on the door and stepped back, waiting for the man to answer. She could have blown the wood to bits, but the anticipation excited her.

  A small girl cracked the door open and a man’s voice rumbled in low tones behind her, “Kiera, come from there. It is not your place to greet the Queen,” he chastised. The girl bowed her head and ducked from the doorway, and a big, burly man replaced her figure there. He had sun withered skin and long hair. Lowly farmers seldom kept themselves visually appealing, which didn’t matter much to her. They tended the crops and fields that resonated so deeply in her being.

  The man stood tall and proud in front of her, his broad chest puffed out in defiance. “My Lady,” he said as he bowed his head. “Have you defeated the threat upon our lands?”

  An eyebrow lifted at his tone. “Of course. I assure you, no army can ever defeat me. But that is not why I have come to call at your door, farmer.”

  His eyes darkened and his fingers on the door squeezed the wood. White knuckles stood out against his tanned skin. “Vee, take Kiera to the back. Would you like to come in, my Queen?” He stepped to the side for her to enter, his back towards his family’s retreating forms.

  She didn’t respond to him verbally, but walked into the small room. Her eyes didn’t roam over their meager belongings, or scan for threats. Nothing in their possession could kill her. Once he shut the door and crossed the room to face her, she spoke. “Your fields and home were the closest to the army that marched on us today, yet you did not notice them approaching?”

  To his credit, he didn’t swallow or break out in a sweat like most people did when she questioned them. “We were inside our home preparing to eat our midday meal. We only knew of the army when your horse’s hooves beat into the ground near us and I went outside to greet you, my Queen.”

  She knew he was lying, but why? “Are you saying that three hundred men marched so silently toward your home that they could have come in and pillaged without your knowledge?”

  If she hadn’t been staring at him, she would have missed the fire igniting in his eyes. He knew what she planned to do, and his instincts were telling him to fight. “No, my Queen. I’m merely explaining to you that we had no knowledge of the impending threat, or I would have sent word to you immediately and taken my family to safety.”

  She nodded and picked at some blood staining her silk dressing. “That, dear farmer, I do not believe. Are Zee and Kiera the only family you have here?”

  He nodded, his body going rigid at the mention of the females. “Yes, Queen. My brother helped with the fields until he was taken to your castle after last harvest. We have not seen him since,” he growled.

  Amusement bubbled inside her. She knew exactly what happened to the man he spoke of, his fate just like every other villager that graced her hunger room walls. The only reason she called on someone to come to the castle was to place them there. Or they were sent directly to her chamber to give her pleasure before feeding her. “How unfortunate. I’m sure he sends his love.”

  At her light words, the man’s face turned red. “If that is all, Queen,” he spat out.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the small girl flinch. They’d both come from the back to eavesdrop on the conversation. She crooked her finger at the girl, and she hesitantly stepped forward. She had her father’s steel spine, that was for sure. The q
ueen motioned to the table and they all looked at her questioningly. “Please, ladies, finish your meal. My apologies for interrupting.”

  They both glanced at the man of the house, waiting for his nod before obeying her not-so-genuine request. She watched them with a smirk, keeping the male in her sights. As they sat and began eating, she put her full focus back to him.

  “I do have one question before I leave,” she said with a finger in the air. She paused, as if weighing out her words before speaking. “Did you think your family would be spared for your betrayal?”

  The finger she held up swiped through the air, and a choking sound came from the table. The queen made the food in the girl’s mouth grow roots, clogging the girl’s throat until she fell to the floor. The woman screamed and ran to the side of the table where the girl’s body laid on the ground. Her wails filled the room while the man and queen stood a foot from each other, staring. Tears trekked down his face, but he didn’t avert his eyes. “She did nothing to deserve punishment. Let her go,” the man demanded.

  A snort followed by a bark of laughter came from the queen. “Release a traitor?” She held up two fingers, then sliced out again. The screams from the woman ceased, and that time the man did break eye contact. “I’d never leave an enemy to roost in my coop. I have too many hens that could be tainted.”

  “Vee,” he sobbed as he held his wife close, watching the life leave her body. The queen felt no remorse. They needed to be wiped from the world, the weak things.

  “Don’t worry, farmer. You’ll join them in the afterlife soon.”

  His bloodshot eyes shot to hers. “You may strike me down, but two more will take my place in saving this village from your evil clutches.”

  Her curiosity jumped to attention. “Oh? Do I have a rebellion on my hands?”

  The man kissed his wife and daughter’s heads, then stood up to face the queen. His shoulders squared and his fists clenched. “I may not be able to stop you, but we will.”

  Calling to the plants in the ground, they broke through the packed dirt floor of the house and wrapped around the man. He was brought to his knees with a twist of her wrist. “I’ve seen generation after generation form rebellions against me. Why is yours any different? I’ll clean them out like I always do, and they’ll be forgotten. Again.” She brought the blade she’d used to behead the captain of the army and did the same to the traitorous farmer, leaving the bodies in the house as a warning. She knew about their allegiances, or lack thereof. Every one of them would be tracked down and slaughtered like the sheep they were. Yes, the wolf would hunt.

  2

  She dismounted from the horse and a stable hand took the reins. “Wash him and give him two apples for his hard work.”

  The man bowed his head and left to do her bidding. She spun about and walked into the castle, ready to devour anyone that stepped out of line. Thoughts of the last uprising filled her mind, the sound of screams as babes lost their parents and families were torn apart. She wouldn’t hesitate to do it all again if the need arose. Humans had a way of repeating history that made her ill. She’d rather them worship at her feet and fight for the chance to be sacrificed to her. There were some who reveled in chaos and war, but she did not belong in that category.

  The queen strode through the castle and eyed everyone with suspicion. Were there rebels in her castle? Did she need to clear out the servants and loyal subjects just in case? She would have to train every one of them all over again. Teach them what she ate, how she liked her baths, what she preferred to wear. Everything about her day would be wrong until a new crowd settled into their places. And the people she would have to kill… all the new ones that would die for making mistakes made her head throb.

  “My Queen,” they whispered as she passed, bowing to the floor in reverence. She didn’t doubt they meant it. They loved her. They worshipped her. She was their devout queen. They wouldn’t let some farmers taint their love for her.

  She looked into many faces as she made her way to the throne room, every one of them reflecting pure adoration. Content for the time being, the doors opened as she approached and her gaze fell on the delicious male specimen waiting for her beside the throne. Her abdomen clenched and her arousal slammed into him, knocking him back to the cushions lined behind him. Her throne room was unlike any could imagine.

  In the center of the room was a wide, deep chair with plush pillows and sheets lining the sides and back. The back wasn’t tall, but the same height all around, and curved to make it easier to lean back. She tossed her torn saree to the side as she approached, and the male leaned forward onto his hands and knees, his expression filled with need. She passed him and sat on the throne, pushing to the back of the chair. The man crawled over and kissed her feet, licking and nibbling his way up her legs. She watched him, her body still pulsing with unused power.

  Her head fell back as he pleasured her, knowing everything she liked and wanted. Another male stepped behind her and ran his hands over her body. Her senses were threatening to overload, her skin too tight, and her climax just beyond her reach. A softer set of hands belonging to a female rubbed where she needed them to, then everything blurred. All the bodies moved in sync, pleasure rippling out that everyone in the vicinity of the room felt. She didn’t just take, she could give too. When she climaxed, everyone surrounding her would as well. They all collapsed, the servants on the cushions around her, and the queen snuggled on the throne.

  Sometime later, the doors to the room burst open. “My Queen! I hate to disturb you, but there is a fire in the fields. Three crops are ablaze, and the farmers cannot get the flames under control. We will lose a great deal of food,” he said between deep breaths.

  She stood from the chair and a robe was placed onto her shoulders as she sped through the hallways to the overlook above her castle. As she broke through the last door, the smell of burning plants filled her every breath. Black smoke barreled into the sky from crops in the middle of the fields. It could easily spread and take out most of the plants for the season. It had already consumed three crops and five more were burned more than halfway. It was spreading rapidly. How long had it been ablaze before she was notified? Farmers from all over were doing their best to stanch the flames, but others were evacuating the families in the line of fire.

  Chaos.

  She sucked in a breath and coughed at the smoke lacing the clean air. She closed her eyes and immediately felt the earth screaming. Her knees almost gave way beneath her, but she clenched her teeth and stayed upright. The power inside her swelled, causing her to scream in pain. She was already stretched to her limits, and the agony of being pushed even further threatened to pull her under. A second lasted a lifetime, then the energy inside her burst forth. The plants in flames were sucked into the ground, the soil swallowing the damage whole. Everyone below stopped and looked around, confused yet relieved.

  She didn’t stop there. All the charred plants were absorbed into the earth. Fire made the ground fertile, but only a controlled burn was acceptable. What transpired was planned, she knew it in her bones. But she couldn’t let her loyal followers starve over the few tainted souls hiding in their midst. She pushed the thoughts of treachery aside and focused on the lost crops. Every blackened ash that wasn’t whisked away by the wind was recycled into fertile, brown soil. She spent countless minutes taking stock of all the crops around the area and noting what plants needed to be grown in the empty plots.

  Hours later, the ruined fields were once again filled with thriving plants close to harvest. She’d spent every ounce of power she’d taken from the army on rebuilding the crops. Her people had once sung songs of her grace and beauty, power and fairness. She’d demand such gestures be returned. They’d taken advantage of her relaxed rule.

  The queen’s legs shook with exhaustion, and her head felt light. Dizzy, she stepped toward the door leading back inside the castle, but her path was blocked. A tall man stood in front of her with a hard face and stern brows. His blue eyes w
ere rare in their part of the world, but not unseen. Images of old lovers with eyes the same shade filled her mind, but the most recent dimmed the rest in comparison.

  “Lesham, is that you?” Her feet dragged as she moved toward him, but hands grabbed her upper arms. “Unhand me. I am your queen!” The hands squeezed tighter, and she tried to use the last bit of glamour she could muster inside her to break their hold on her, but nothing happened.

  “Your trickery won’t work on us, Queen,” the man spat, pulling her attention back to him.

  Her confusion combined with exhaustion from her lack of power wouldn’t let her mind pull any coherent thoughts together. “What is the meaning of this, Lesham?”

  The fingers holding her right arm dug into her flesh, causing her to cry out. “Do not call me by my father’s name again, witch. You stole him from us twenty years ago and left us with nothing, like so many other families unfortunate enough to be born here. But we found something to help us,” he said, gloating in her face. He stepped back and motioned with his head toward the door. The men holding her dragged her down the steps and through the hallways of her castle.

  She struggled and fought, but it was futile against the burly captors. As they paraded through her castle, she was astounded at the familiar faces they passed. None of her servants lifted a hand to stop them, only stared with stone faces and hate filled eyes. The hate was directed at her. “Help me, you fools! I’m the only reason you’re alive and not rolling in filth. Where is your loyalty? Was I not kind to you? Didn’t I give you everything you needed? And you repay me by watching these heathens capture me?”

  Most of them averted their eyes when she screamed and pleaded as they passed. “Cowards,” she yelled.