Vampire Apocalypse #1 Bane

by Ward, H. M.

  Kahli was pulled away by a muttering Miriam. They strode toward the dressing area at the back of the bath hall. The back wall was a wardrobe lined with clothing. It was accessible from two sides. The other side must have been near the resting chambers. Beds were visible through the open doors. Kahli was compliant, biding her time. She waited for Miriam to dress her and when the last curl was in place, Miriam grinned.

  “I’ve never seen another creature as striking as you are right now. It almost like your hair and skin are glowing. It’s stunning.” Miriam smiled at Kahli, and admired her for a short second before crossing the room and going back to work.

  Kahli stood in the back corner. When Miriam passed Will, the round woman said something that Kahli couldn’t hear. Will looked up at her and his heart nearly burst. He couldn’t breathe. The gown was perfect. Her long red hair was piled in soft curls on top of her head, but a few strands hung down in soft ringlets around her face. Kahli’s neck was unadorned, pale and perfect. She wore no necklace, as was the tradition to showcase her purity. The pale gown accentuated her curvy figure, ample breasts, and narrow waist. He swallowed hard, his lips parted as he tried to breathe.

  You can’t have her, Will, he scolded himself, trying to tear his eyes away.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Kahli had never worn a dress. It was a frivolous piece of clothing to own. It did nothing to keep the cold out and it used more cloth than pants. And at the moment, she felt naked below the waist. Above the waist, the corseted top was crushing her ribs and forcing the swell of her cleavage into unnaturally large territory. That was when she glanced at Will and saw him staring at her. That look made something stir within her. It was cross between longing and fury. There was no explanation for it. He shouldn’t look at her that way. Miriam made him sound like a celibate monk, wandering the bathhouses. But that look said he knew lust as well as anyone else, and didn’t care that she was off limits.

  Kahli ignored his gaze and walked toward him. Miriam had given her ivory silk sling shoes with a kitten heel. Naming a heel after an animal was absurd. She’d be taller if she stood on a cat. Kahli wondered where that term came from, because it made no sense. A smirk pulled at the corners of her mouth as she wondered what a wolf heel would look like. As it was, Kahli could barely walk in these. As she approached Will, he extended his elbow toward her.

  “Shall we?”

  Kahli looked at him not understanding. An outward elbow was used to punch someone in the gut. Why was he standing like that?

  Will didn’t mean to, but he couldn’t hide his smile. The expression on her face was priceless. “Wrap your fingers around my arm. It’s proper decorum to present you to the Queen.” Kahli lifted her hand and placed it on his arm. They left the steamy room before her hair frizzed.

  Kahli took smaller steps than usual. Her heart was racing as they walked back toward the ball room. Nearly two hours had passed since the Queen’s assassination attempt. Kahli was waiting for the proper moment. Hopefully, it would come before the ballroom. Be patient, she reminded herself.

  Will walked next to her, interrupting her thoughts, “I need to tell you a few things. The Regent and Royals have certain expectations. If they aren’t met—”

  “I know,” she replied. “Death. Got it. Tell me what you think I need to know.” She tucked a curl behind her ear, wishing she didn’t have to do this.

  Will glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She walked with her shoulders back, proud like she wasn’t trapped in this Hell. The wheels in her mind were still plotting an escape, but she seemed too relaxed to be thinking of anything eminent. Clearing his throat, he said, “Speak as little as possible. Don’t correct the Regent or the Queen. And by all means possible, stay away from the King.”

  Kahli glanced over at him. Will’s expression was closed. She could no longer read his thoughts by glimpsing at his face. She nodded. Her heels echoed through the empty halls. Will was taking her through the palace by a different way than they had come. These were not the servant’s quarters. The halls were embellished with crystal, priceless art, and gold gilded moldings at the top, middle, and bottom of the wall that were thicker than her head.

  Will continued to give her instructions as they walked the corridors, slowly approaching the ball room. She nodded, listening to the asinine vampire customs. He seemed nervous for some reason, as if he didn’t want to take her back into the room. Yet, he was walking her toward the monarch to be paraded like a dog.

  She stopped. Will paused and looked over at her. “Why are you here? Why does it appear that you’re playing both sides and no one knows?” Will’s eyes went wide. He reached for Kahli, meaning to pull her into a room, but she stepped back. “I won’t make trouble. Just tell me.”

  He shook his head, sadly, like it pained him to talk to her. “I can’t.”

  “Then tell me something. Anything. I don’t understand. You seem cruel one moment and then friendly the next.” Her hands fisted in her satin gloves. Will’s eyes drifted to her hands and then back to her face. “Why did you tell Miriam you didn’t see the runes?”

  Will rolled his eyes. She pursed her lips, resisting the urge to punch him for the contemptuous look. He ran his fingers through his dark hair. “This isn’t the time or place, Kalahandra.” He breathed her name and it slide seductively off his tongue. It was his way of saying he knew.

  Kahli gasped, stepping away from him. She knew he saw the markings on her side, but she had no idea he could read them. Fear rushed through her veins, confusing her thoughts. He knew her name, her full name. Panic slid up her spine and made her shiver.

  Will knew what saying her name would do to her. It was something that humans guarded with their lives. Vampires grew weak from weak blood, and their ability to compel humans deteriorated with them—but if they knew your true name—the affects were not diminished. It meant Kahli could be controlled. By Will.

  Leaning close to her ear he whispered, “Do as I say and there will never be reason to use your name against you.”

  She straightened, her spine erect like she’d been bred from royalty, and stared at him with a frigid glare. “Cruel one moment and kind the next. Your actions speak clearly.” She was silent, biting her lip, collecting her thoughts and trying not to verbally assault him. Vampires knew little of human traditions and yet that boy was able to read the runes. It wasn’t possible, was it? There was no way he was just lucky. Her full name was far from common. Being birthed in the wild ensured it. Green eyes flicked to his face, “Tell me, how could you read it? They’re in my ancient tongue. You’re a vampire, and yet, you read it. You… ” She didn’t mean to, but tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Why did he have to read it? Why did he have to tell her to obey him like that? She pressed her eyes closed hard and stiffened her spine.

  He shrugged, his gaze not meeting hers. They continued to walk until he said, “I know how to do many things, many of them serve no purpose, but once in a while I get lucky. They’re wedding runes, aren’t they? You were promised to someone?”

  Kahli’s looked at him with a stony expression on her face. “Do not belittle me by asking questions that you already know the answer to.” Kahli had been promised as a child. Her parents gave her the ritual runes that bared her name down her side. The only other person that would have known her real name would have been her betrothed. It would have solidified a bond of trust between them. The rune was not meant for outsiders. That life was lost to her now. She hadn’t seen another human since her mother was taken. For years, Kahli knew she was alone. Her betrothed was probably dead or getting drained in a camp somewhere, weak. She didn’t even remember him. The children from her early years were a blur of sounds and colors, fading like ghosts when she closed her eyes. It was as if they never existed. Kahli was the last one at the safe houses. There was no one else.

  Resolve built in her shoulders, stiffening in her neck.

  Will watched her, knowing that he ignited a flame of defiance within her. It wa
s the last thing he wanted, and now he couldn’t undo it. “Fine. Then let’s not play games.” He took her shoulders and turned her toward him, careful not to hurt her wound. The salve had healed it almost completely, but the skin was still pink and tender. Mariam covered the site with make-up, so that Kahli’s skin looked perfectly smooth. The gown flowed over her shoulders, concealing any imperfection from the wolf attack that wasn’t covered in make-up.

  His sapphire eyes bored into her, “The queen is ruthless. I don’t want you to die tonight, so stop wondering if you can kill someone with the heel of your shoe. Stop counting how many turns we’ve made. Stop trying to figure out a way to escape and just trust me.”

  Kahli laughed, “Trust you? Trust the arrogant idiot who sold me? Really? That’s what you think I should do? Tell me, if you were in my position, what would you be doing right now?”

  He swallowed hard. That was how he knew what she was thinking. He’d be doing the same thing, plotting his escape, but there was no way out. He’d tried. “How do you think I’ve gotten stuck between Regent Reggie and the Queen? It was a stupid mistake, like the ones running through your mind right now. Don’t believe me if you don’t want to, but I’m telling you the truth. If you piss off the queen, she’ll give you a fate worse than death. Believe me. I know.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall.

  Kahli said nothing, staring at the side of his face as he tugged on her arm. When he stopped in front of the ballroom doors, she could see the muscle in his jaw tighten. She rested her small hand on his elbow. A doorman nodded and walked away to tell the Queen her new toy was ready. While Will waited for his message to reach the queen, Kahli decided that she didn’t trust him. Maybe he was speaking the truth—to some extent—but he would do what he had to do to save himself. He proved that once already in recent days. For some reason, she didn’t hold his childhood acts against him. Although he was the one to stop her mother, she felt like he had no choice then. Now, he did. And he chose wrong.

  Leaning closer to his ear, she said, “I’ll do as you ask, as long as they don’t grope me. And if they try to bleed me, I don’t care what you say—I’d rather die than feed them.”

  Will turned an extra frigid gaze on her and she flinched, “Then you’ll die.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  The ballroom was as beautiful as it was before it got covered in blood. The Queen made no mention of her ruined gown or her wayward brother, if you could call him that. Assassin was another word, but Sophia chose not to use it. Reginald sat at the Queen’s right side, beside an empty chair. He wore a sleek black suit with a black collared shirt that make his eyes appear to be two pieces of obsidian. Reginald glared at Kahli when she entered the room.

  He couldn’t look away. That creature was supposed to be his, and now his sister had her. He leaned back in his thickly carved chair, smiling like Kahli was a gift, all the while plotting ways to steal her back. And hopefully soon. Her neck was as Will stated—untouched—and that gown made her desirable in more ways than one. No doubt his idiot brother-in-law would notice the girl dressed like that. Bare neck. Ample curves. If only it were easier to bait the King. Then he could ensnare the majestic couple into a battle and steal the crown when no one was looking.

  Queen Sophia rose from her dais and the crowd parted. She smiled with matriarch pride as she floated across the room in another exquisite dress. Kahli’s eyes rested on the bodice. It looked to be covered in rubies. The queen’s blood red gown was much larger than her previous white dress. Her skirts billowed at her ankles as she walked. Or flew. Kahli wasn’t sure if they could do that anymore. Vampires had grown weak over the years. Sophia wasn’t as weak as the others. That’s why she was the Queen.

  Will bowed, lowering his head, staring at the floor before bending a knee and bowing deeper. It marked his status to bend so low. Regent vampires only bowed slightly to the queen, servants more so, and humans were supposed to bow the lowest. Kahli stood straight, looking the ruthless queen in the eye. Will realized that she didn’t bow, but he couldn’t rise until the queen addressed him. He pressed his eyes closed and stifled a curse beneath his breath.

  Sophia circled Kahli once, her false smile looked more like a snake than a pleasantry. “Do you have a death-wish child? Or are you physically deformed, more so than you already appear?”

  Kahli stared straight ahead, not blinking, not bowing, “There is nothing wrong with me. I will not bow to demons.”

  Sophia laughed. The ballroom was utterly silent. “Demon? Is that what you think I am? How naïve. Do you really think I’ll pardon your insolence because you just fell off a farm and happened to cross paths with a Trader?”

  Kahli eyed the queen, “I’d rather hoped not. And I didn’t fall off a farm. I was free, roaming the icy countryside, stalking your Trackers and slaughtering them. Did you never wonder why they didn’t come back? Or were they forgotten like the boy at your feet?”

  Damn. She didn’t listen to a thing he’d said. Will wanted to punch Kahli in the leg and force her to bow, but it was too late. Her words were poison. She was a dead woman walking. And she dragged him down with her.

  Sophia touched the crown of Will’s head. “Rise, young William and tell your charge how to behave.”

  Before Will could speak, Kahli stepped closer to the Queen and retorted, “I already know how to behave. Honor is given where it is deserved. I do not bow to murderers.”

  Will rose next to Kahli. She stood perfectly still, her eyes relaxed like she wanted the fate she was so wildly taunting. All those things he told her in the hall, she ignored. It was a brilliant display of defiance. He wanted to strangle her. There was no way to protect her if the Queen decided to rip open her throat. Yet, Kahli stood there, openly daring the queen to do so.

  A new voice joined the conversation and his heart fell further.

  “Prideful, isn’t she?” the King stated, walking up behind Will. Will tried not to react, but his stomach clenched. From the way things were going, he expected Kahli to piss off both monarchs before the evening was even started.

  Kahli glanced at the King, the man Will told her to avoid. He was stunning. Tall and built with thick dark hair and eyes the color of sunlight. His smile melted into her, making her lips smile in return.

  “To a fault,” replied the Queen.

  “So, then end it, unless you’d like to gift her to someone.” The King spoke flippantly, but Kahli caught his meaning. His gaze lingered on the swell of bare flesh below her throat. The Queen also noticed. Her jealous nature changed her normal action. It threw off the King and Will alike.

  “Gift her? Who would want such a worthless, defiant breed?” The Queen circled Kahli, her hackles raised. Her heels clicked on the cold floor with every step she took. The court watched the exchange on baited breath. “Just look at her. The only slender thing on her entire body is her neck. Her breast are grossly enlarged, her hips are far too wide to be considered becoming, and her waist—” she laughed pointing at Kahli’s figure, “it’s so tiny you could crack her in half. She looks nothing like the girls we breed here at the palace. Who would possible want her?”

  Reginald perked up. For a moment he thought that his meal ticket was going to be slaughtered, but his sister seemed to have something else up her sleeve. Thinking fast he stood, and in two long strides, he was standing next to his sister. His long lean body stood before Kahli, his fingers scratching his chin. “I have a fun little idea. Why don’t we make a little wager? I bet she can be tamed, trained to be the most elegant of the humans at court.” Reginald’s eyes narrowed on her throat as he spoke.

  Sophia laughed, “No, she cannot. She’s wild through and through. Defiant to her core. I can see it in her eyes. She won’t bend to anyone’s will, but her own.”

  The king had been openly ogling Kahli’s curves. Distracted, he turned back to the Queen, “Then it sounds like you two have a wager. Give her to William. If he can tame her, then the girl goes to Reggie. If he can’t, then you w
in. Kill her then. In the meantime it should be rather humorous to watch poor William try to manage her.” With that the monarch turned and walked away. He plucked a champagne glass off a server’s tray and disappeared behind the crowd.

  Sophia watched him leave, anger burning through her. This wasn’t what she wanted at all. The girl was hers, to do this as she pleased, but the King’s idiotic words put her in a bad place. She couldn’t refuse and save face. She arched a dark brow at her brother and smiled. “Very well. William trains her. If he succeeds, she’s yours. If he fails, she dies.”

  They shook hands and a burst of excitement erupted around them. Kahli stood there waiting for the right moment. While they were deciding her fate, she had removed her shoes, hiding then beneath the long hem of her dress. No one noticed the difference in height. Even Will was distracted as he got sucked into their bet. Idiots. Kahli had no desire to enrage a room filled with vampires, but it was the only way out. Before they could utter another word, she turned on her heel and sprinted toward the door. Will turned to grab her, but she slipped through his grip.

  There was no way she could outrun him. Even if the rest of the vampires were weak, Will wasn’t. Damn Bane. She rounded a corner and saw the gold gilded molding on the wall. She dug her nails under the piece of wood and yanked it off. The wood splintered in two, and cracked in her hands. Shards of wood embedded themselves into her palms, but she didn’t care. Just as the molding ripped off the wall, Will rounded the corner out of breath, his eyes huge.

  “You couldn’t listen? Then you do this. What’s your plan there Kahli? Beat me over the head with a stick?” he shook his head like she was an idiot, but Kahli knew better.

  She inched back toward the door. The Regent had flooded out of the ballroom and watched them from a safe distance. Vampires mumbled about Sophia losing control over her consort and her blood bank in the same night.