“Is the Chief gone?” I said, looking at Lucius as he finished locking the door and turned around to face me.
“Hmm?” said Lucius. “Oh, yes. He had just a few things to talk with me about, but nothing serious or time-consuming. You got lucky, because if he had had more important things to talk about, it’s entirely possible you would have been lost to the Shadow Way forever courtesy of Timmy.”
“Timmy …” I said. “You called him a Stranger, but I take it that doesn’t have to do with your familiarity toward him.”
Lucius folded his arms in front of his chest. “No, Timmy and I definitely aren’t strangers, though we aren’t friends, either. It’s the name of his people, the people who live in the Shadow Way and have made it their home.”
“The Strangers,” I said. “Exactly what are they? Are they vampires or sorcerers?”
“Neither,” said Lucius. “The Strangers are a very mysterious group of people. They were there when the Shadow Way was first discovered and they will probably be there long after the rest of us are gone. They’re a long-lived people with a mysterious connection to the Shadow Way that even our eldest vampire leaders do not understand.”
“What’s so dangerous about them?” I said. I put a hand on my head. “Timmy was playing with my mind, I think, but—”
“That’s what they do,” said Lucius. “They stalk the hallways of the Shadow Way, looking for any unaccompanied individuals who they can trick into following them deeper and deeper into the Shadow Way’s endless halls. What they do with such individuals, no one knows. All we know is that anyone who falls under the spell of the Strangers and follows them into the Shadow Way never returns.”
I shuddered. “Meaning I was just about to disappear forever before you saved me, right?”
“Most likely,” said Lucius, nodding. “And don’t let appearances fool you. The Strangers can shape shift and look however they want. You might have already guessed it, but Timmy isn’t actually a six-year-old human boy wearing rags and his name isn’t even Timmy. It’s just a fake name he gives people to trick them. He’s a particularly powerful and particularly old Stranger who I’ve met on more than one occasion. He’s one of the more talkative ones, however. The vast majority of Strangers don’t say a word.”
“How many are there?” I said.
“No one knows,” said Lucius. “We’re not even sure if they are one species or working together or if they’re just a bunch of individuals who happen to be similar. In any case, that’s why you should never travel the Shadow Way alone unless you know what you’re doing. Vampires and sorcerers alike have been known to be abducted by Strangers. They don’t discriminate when it comes to victims.”
I gulped. Part of me was glad that Lucius had saved me, but another part was still curious about Timmy’s claim. “Timmy told me that he could take me to see my mom. He said he could take me back to the oldest part of the Shadow Way, where death and life meet. Was he telling the truth?”
Lucius frowned. He looked like he was thinking about how to answer, which didn’t help my nerves in the least, because I had assumed that Timmy had been lying earlier and Lucius’ being slow to answer implied all sorts of things I didn’t want to think about.
Finally, Lucius said, “Strangers are liars, Tara. That’s what they specialize in. If you believe even one word of what they say to you, then you deserve whatever they do to to you.”
That was the most blatant dodge of my question that I had seen yet, but I was afraid to point that out because Lucius was stronger than me and I didn’t want to anger him. I made a mental note to ask Dad about this when I got back home. Given Dad’s status as a sorcerer, maybe he knew something about the Strangers and the Shadow Way.
“Now,” said Lucius, “why don’t we start with your first lesson? Come over here to the mat in the middle of the room.”
Lucius walked over to the mat and I followed. We stopped on the mat, Lucius at one end, me at the other. We stood an equal length from each other, about three feet, though it felt closer for some reason. Maybe it was because I was still distracted by Lucius’ good looks.
“Now,” said Lucius, putting his hands on his hips, “have you ever taken a martial arts class?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Ever boxed?”
“No.”
“Wrestled?”
“Of course not.”
“Not even a basic self-defense class?”
“Well, no,” I said, folding my hands behind my back.
Lucius looked at me as if I had just admitted I couldn’t read. “So you have no self-defense skills or experience whatsoever?”
“One time, this girl in kindergarten pulled my hair and I punched her,” I admitted. “Does that count?”
Lucius sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. “I forgot just how helpless most humans are. Some days I ask myself how such a weak species could have risen to dominance over the whole planet.”
“Well, God did give us dominion over the Earth,” I said. “And anyway, I’ve always lived in a safe community and had Dad to protect me. I’ve never needed to learn self-defense techniques.”
“Then you’re a target for everyone who is willing to use violence,” said Lucius. “Especially now that you’re a half-vampire. If Lord Taranas wants you, you will need to learn how to use your powers to defend yourself.”
I grimaced. “Like, learn how to fight? I’m not against violence or anything, but—”
“But as a woman, you generally dislike violence and fighting,” Lucius finished for me. “Yes, I am aware of the tendencies of the opposite sex. But you have no choice. Richard won’t be able to protect you from everything, especially if Lord Taranas is after you. Therefore, we’re going to do some combat practice for today.”
I rubbed my arm uncertainly. “Okay, I see your point. I guess we should get started, then.”
“Right,” said Lucius, nodding. “Do you have claws?”
“Do I have what?”
“Claws.” Lucius held up his hands, revealing sharp, dagger-like claws on each finger. “I don’t see any on your hands, but it’s possible for vampires to retract and expand our claws at will. Try to show me yours.”
I looked down at my hands. They looked more or less the same as they did prior to my transformation, but as soon as I thought about claws, my fingernails grew until they were about half an inch in length and sharper than a knife.
“Oh, come on,” I said, holding up my clawed fingers with dismay. “I spent hours getting my nails perfect yesterday and now they’re ruined.”
“Good,” said Lucius. “That means you have one of the most basic and useful weapons a vampire has: Their claws. They’re primarily designed to slit throats and make it easier to drink blood from victims, but they can be used for self-defense as well.”
I found the idea of slitting someone else’s throat, even in self-defense, disgusting, but I didn’t say that aloud. “All right, then, how am I supposed to use them?”
“That’s what I’m going to show you,” said Lucius. “Now, come at me.”
“What?”
Lucius gestured at his chest. “Run at me with your claws. Try to scratch my body in some way.”
“Are you sure about that?” I said. “What if I hurt you?”
“I promise, Tara, that you won’t hurt me,” said Lucius. “Even if you do, I’ve experienced far worse. Any blow you land on me will likely be about as painful as a paper cut, assuming I even feel it at all.”
“All right,” I said. “Here I come!”
I ran at Lucius, swinging my claws through the air wildly. Lucius didn’t move or even look particularly concerned about dodging me. He just watched me approach with his usual cool appearance, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. For a moment, I thought I was actually going to scratch him, because he didn’t seem at all likely to move and, if anything, seemed to have frozen like a statue.
But then right before my claws touched his skin, Lucius va
nished in the blink of an eye. I stumbled forward, nearly losing my balance, before I heard movement behind me and turned around to see Lucius standing behind me. I tried to stab him, but he grabbed my wrists and held them up above my head, nearly lifting me off the ground in the process.
“Nice reflexes,” said Lucius, who didn’t seem to be straining to hold me up whatsoever. “Not as fast as they could be, but at least you know you’re supposed to turn around when you hear someone come up behind you. There may be hope for you yet.”
I would have said something, but I was too distracted by how close I was to Lucius to speak. His body was even bigger and more muscular up close and I desperately wanted to touch it. I knew I probably shouldn’t feel this way toward a vampire, of all things, but my feelings were winning the argument at the moment and I couldn’t pay attention to anything else.
Then Lucius dropped me without warning and stepped back. “All right, let’s try that again. This time, I won’t disappear like that, though I can’t guarantee that I will let you hit me.”
I stepped back to the other end of the mat, rubbing my wrists, which ached from where Lucius had held them. “I don’t, uh, need your guarantees. I’ll just hit you myself without any help.”
“Good spirit,” said Lucius. “Now, come at me again.”
I nodded and held up my hands, but before I could run at him, my head suddenly started throbbing with pain, and in the next instant, I found myself standing alone in an endlessly dark place all by myself.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Lucius?” I called out, looking this way and that for him. “Lucius, where are you? Can you hear me? Lucius!”
But there was no answer from the endless shadows that surrounded me on every side. I couldn’t see anyone other than myself, either. I seemed to be all alone in a very dark and cold place that reminded me far too much of the dreams about hell I used to have as a young girl, except those nightmares usually had at least one other person in them but now I was alone. Granted, it was better than being with Satan, who used to appear in my nightmares, but it was still pretty scary.
At first, I thought I had somehow ended up in the Shadow Way again, but then I realized that this place was completely different from the Shadow Way. There were no hallways or old stone doors leading to various parts of Earth. Nor were there any creepy Strangers seeking to allure me into the Shadow Way to be forever lost in its winding and twisting hallways. It was just complete and utter blackness, sort of like outer space, but even space had stars and planets to break up the monotony.
But there was something familiar about this blackness, as if I had seen it somewhere before, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. All I could tell for sure was that I was alone and that I needed to find help as soon as possible, because I doubted I was going to be getting out of here alone.
Tara …
That whisper made me whirl around, my claws popping out of my fingers, but I stopped when I saw that I was alone.
But I did see a sword in a pedestal where the voice had come from. Its red blade and bat wing like cross guard made me realize that it was the same sword I had seen in the dream I had yesterday, after I’d been knocked out. I also remembered seeing this same black space in that same dream, making me realize that I was either having the dream again or else I was actually visiting the place I had seen in my dream somehow.
Like in my dream, I walked up to the sword and looked down at it. It was about three feet long and looked sharp enough to cut through stone. I wasn’t a big fan of swords or weaponry in general, but I had a feeling that this sword was a unique blade, that there was no other sword in the world just like it. I could also tell that it was incredibly ancient. Its pedestal was cracked and chipped in several places, though something told me that if I tried to remove the sword, it would not let me.
“How do you know that, Tara?” said a voice suddenly. “What if it is your destiny to wield the Sword?”
I looked around, but didn’t see the voice anywhere. But it was familiar. Deep and guttural, practically the polar opposite of a genuine human voice. I had heard that voice in the dream, too, but I didn’t know who the voice belonged to.
“Who’s there?” I said, looking around. “A Stranger?”
“A friend,” said voice. “Or someone who could be a friend, anyway.”
I heard footsteps in the blackness, and a second later, a vampire appeared on the other side of the sword.
This vampire definitely wasn’t Lucius. He was bigger and paler than Lucius, for one, and his hair was long and flowing, though not in a feminine way. He wore robes that reminded me of royalty, while the red hilt of a sword poked out from under his clothes. His eyes were red like Lucius’, but far crueler and more arrogant. His lips were stained with blood, like he had just finished eating, but the hunger in his eyes told me that he hadn’t been able to sate his hunger entirely on whatever he had just eaten.
I stepped back. “Who are you?”
The vampire bowed. “Lord Taranas, Lord of Blood, the one and only. A pleasure to meet you, Tara Lee.”
My eyes widened in shock. “You’re Lord Taranas? No way.”
“Believe what you will, but it is the truth,” said Lord Taranas, standing upright again. “I have chosen to meet you because I wanted to see the fruits of my offspring for myself.”
“So you did send your minion to transform me,” I said in surprise. “Dad was never the target, was he?”
“If by ‘Dad’ you mean Richard Lee, then yes, you are correct,” said Lord Taranas, nodding. “I was never interested in converting him. Even after two decades of retirement, the Hunter is too dangerous to try to convert. You were my target the whole time, though I admit it is a bit inconvenient that you killed the Bloodseeker I sent to convert you. Oh, well. I can always make more.”
I wanted to run, but because I wasn’t sure where I was or if it was even possible to escape Lord Taranas, I said, “I knew it. But I don’t know why you did it.”
Lord Taranas smirked. “You mean you haven’t figured it out yet? I know humans tend to be less intelligent than us vampires, but I would think you would have figured this out already, at least.”
“Well, it’s not like your Bloodseeker left a manual behind detailing your plans or anything,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “And anyway, your plan didn’t even work. I’m half-vampire, not full vampire.”
“Funny you should say that,” said Lord Taranas. “You see, I wanted you to become a half-vampire. That was the whole point.”
“It was?” I said. “No way. You have to be lying.”
“I never lie, young girl,” said Lord Taranas, shaking his head. “I knew that you would become a half-vampire if I had you converted. That’s why I’m not upset about the death of my other servant. Bloodseekers are weak in comparison to half-vampires, especially half-vampires who are the granddaughters of the Supreme Sorcerer.”
“The Supreme what?” I said.
But Lord Taranas apparently did not hear what I said, because he kept talking, saying, “Truthfully, I got lucky, because there was no way I could know if you would be transformed or not. There is a reason half-vampires are rare, and it is because most vampires try to kill rather than convert sorcerers. It was entirely possible that my Bloodseeker could have lost control and killed you on the basis of your heritage, but luckily he did not.”
“Luckily for you, maybe, but not for me,” I said. “So why did you have me transformed? What’s your end game? Are you hoping to manipulate me into doing your bidding?”
“’Manipulate’ is such a harsh word,” said Lord Taranas, shaking his head. “I prefer ‘control.’ I would like to control you.”
“Control me for what?” I said. “Do you want to use my power to take over the world or something? Because if so, then you’re out of luck, because I don’t know anything about my powers and I’m pretty sure I don’t have any special abilities that would help you take over anything.”
“What I want you t
o do is right in front of you,” said Lord Taranas. He gestured at the sword in the stone between us. “The Vampire Sword.”
I looked down at the sword and frowned. “The Vampire Sword? What is it?”
“A powerful weapon,” said Lord Taranas. “Possibly the most powerful magical artifact in the world. Certainly the most powerful magical artifact created by vampires. In the right hands, it could make its wielder the king of the world.”
“Then why don’t you use it yourself?” I said. “It’s right there.”
“No, it’s not,” said Lord Taranas, shaking his head. He gestured at the surrounding darkness. “We are not actually in the realm into which the Vampire Sword was locked away ages ago. This is all in your head, images I am projecting into your mind so you will know what I’m talking about. I’m not even physically present. I’m far away, so don’t think about having your Pure boyfriend try to hunt me down.”
“He’s not my …” I shook my head, trying not to let myself be distracted, and said, “Okay, so this is all in my head. Where is the actual Vampire Sword, then?”
“In another realm,” said Lord Taranas, “that is, a realm separate from Earth. At the moment, it is inaccessible to everyone, but I am working on opening a portal to it and have nearly succeeded. Once I open the portal, I will need you to come and join me.”
“Join you?” I said. “Yeah, right. I’m not going to join the guy who ruined my life and possibly damned my soul to eternal punishment. You can get the Vampire Sword yourself.”
Lord Taranas’ eyes narrowed. “Don’t be so quick to reject my offer, Tara. After all, you haven’t heard what will happen if you keep refusing to help me.”
“And what will happen if I keep rejecting your offer to join you?” I said. “Are you going to pout and call me names?”
“Much worse than that, I’m afraid,” said Lord Taranas. “I will kill your father, as well as anyone else you love.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Again, I do not lie,” said Lord Taranas. “If you keep rejecting my offers to join me, then I will have your father executed. I might do it anyway, because the Hunter has been a thorn in my side for too long and it would do much to raise my standing in the vampire world if I slew the Hunter himself.”
The Vampire Sword (Vampire Sorceress Book 1) Page 7