The Vampire Flame (Vampire Sorceress Book 3)

by T. L. Cerepaka

  “But you’re a vampire now,” I said. “How can you still control Mysterias?”

  “I don’t know,” said Lucius. “I think I must have kept the power when I was transformed, which happened not long after I escaped Abigail. I haven’t had much chance to use it until now, though, because I’ve ran into very few Mysterias since that day. I can still do it, though.”

  I thought about what Lucius said. “If there’s a witch here, do you think she has anything to do with Blake?”

  “Perhaps,” said Lucius. “It’s hard to say, because witches tend to work alone and dislike working with sorcerers. Unless Blake himself is a witch, that is.”

  “Witches can be male?” I said.

  “Yes,” said Lucius. “They can be of either gender, though most are women for some reason I haven’t yet figured out.”

  I folded my arms in front of my chest. “Well, what are we going to do about this? Should we keep going forward?”

  “Yes,” said Lucius. “We’re still looking for the Vampire Flame, remember, and we have to stop Blake before he gets to it. Even if Blake isn’t working with the witch, he is still trying to get the Vampire Flame, which we need to keep out of his hands at all cost.”

  “But what Shawn said about Hell …” I trailed off, thinking of everything he told us. “How much of it was truth and how much of it was lies?”

  Lucius smiled. “Well, I guess we’re about to find out, aren’t we?”

  We resumed our journey down the tunnel, but this time even more carefully than before. After hearing Lucius’ explanation of Mysterias and witches, I found myself worrying that Mysterias and witches were lurking around every corner, waiting for us to pass so they could jump us when we least expected it. That was probably an unrealistic fear—after all, Lucius said there was probably only one witch and there probably weren’t a whole lot of Mysterias, either—but I still feared it would happen anyway.

  Despite my fear, I could not help but think about Lucius’ story. As interesting as it was to learn more about his backstory and history, I could not help but notice that he actually didn’t explain how he became a vampire. His only explanation was that he had been ‘bitten,’ which was obvious, given how that was how vampires reproduced. Either Lucius had forgotten to actually tell his story or he had deliberately avoided telling me about it. Perhaps it wasn’t any of my business, but I still felt disappointed, because I’d been curious for a long time about how Lucius became a vampire and thought I would be learning it today.

  But there would be time for that later. Right now, we needed to find the Vampire Flame before Blake did. There was also the matter of saving Jane, who was still under the control of Blake. The idea of Blake harming my best friend in the world made me angry, but I didn’t show it or let it cloud my thinking, because I needed to keep my wits about me if I was going to avoid being jumped again.

  As we walked, I thought I heard stone shifting nearby, like someone pushing a stone block across the floor. It was a faint sound, one I probably wouldn’t have picked up if not for my enhanced hearing, but once I heard it, I could not stop hearing it.

  I looked at Lucius. “Lucius, do you hear stone scraping against stone or is it just me?”

  “I hear it,” Lucius replied without looking at me. “It’s the tunnel changing its shape.”

  I stopped in surprise. “Did you just say the tunnel is changing its shape?”

  Lucius also stopped and turned around to face me. “Yes. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

  “No, I haven’t,” I said. “I didn’t even know I was supposed to.”

  “It’s obvious,” said Lucius. He gestured at the tunnel. “When Shawn told us about how he and his friends got lost in here, I thought it was just because this place was large and dark. But I suspect that this entire tunnel network changes every now and then, making it impossible to retrace your route exactly.”

  “You mean we can’t just turn around and go back to the entrance we took to get into here?” I said.

  “Yes,” said Lucius. “If we went back now, we’d just get even more lost than we already are. It would likely take us deeper into the network, rather than closer to freedom.”

  “But I thought Shawn was just a Mysteria,” I said. “Couldn’t he have been lying about his ‘past’?”

  “It’s possible for Mysteria to take on some of the memories of the people they possess,” said Lucius. “That’s why Shawn seemed so convincing earlier. He was likely created by stitching Shawn and his friends’ souls together, meaning he has at least some of their memories, enough to seem realistic and fool us for a little while. His explanation of how Shawn and his friends got lost fits with the idea that this tunnel network changes itself every now and then.”

  “But why does it change?” I said. “Is it the work of the witch?”

  “I can’t say,” said Lucius with a shrug. “I haven’t yet decided if the witch is controlling the whole thing or if this is just the way these tunnels work. There are some spots on Earth which were very magical and operate on their own without any direction from a sorcerer or witch. I suspect that that is what we’ve walked into.”

  I looked over my shoulder at the hallway behind us. “It does look a little different, but are you sure that’s not just your imagination?”

  “Yes,” said Lucius. He stroked his chin. “You know, it’s possible that the Vampire Flame itself may be affecting this place. Magical objects like the Vampire Flame are known to give off auras which can affect the physical properties of the place in which they are found. The Vampire Flame, in particular, has many legends about its mere presence altering its environment, though not always for the better.”

  “Then that means that the Vampire Flame is here after all,” I said. “Right?”

  “It’s definitely an encouraging sign,” said Lucius. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure that means we’re going to have an easy time leaving this place. If it keeps changing on us like this—”

  Lucius was interrupted by a tremor in the earth. I nearly fell to the floor, but Lucius grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. Being in his iron grip calmed me down immensely, but I still clung to him fearfully as the floor shook under our feet.

  “What’s going on?” I said. “Earthquake?”

  “No,” said Lucius. He pointed ahead. “Look.”

  The hallway ahead of us was changing. Before, it had been a smooth, flat hallway that seemed to stretch on forever. Now, however, the floor was rising and the ceiling was starting to angle, until soon there was a staircase leading upwards that had not been there before. At the top of the staircase was an ancient wooden door, which had a rusted handle that made me think it had been down here for a long while.

  As soon as the door appeared, the floor stopped shaking, though I didn’t let go of Lucius just yet.

  “Did the tunnel just rearrange itself?” I said in surprise.

  “Looks like it,” said Lucius. He flashed a smile at me. “Do you still doubt me or do you need more evidence that I’m right?”

  I let go of Lucius and said, “Okay, you’re right, but I find it very suspicious that the tunnel system would rearrange itself just as we were talking about it. Seems a little too coincidental, if you ask me.”

  “I agree,” said Lucius, nodding. He pointed at the door. “There’s a very good chance that whatever lies beyond the door is a threat, but we have no choice but to move forward, unless you want to go back and get even more lost than we are now.”

  I looked over my shoulder again. The hallway behind us had also changed. Instead of being a straight line, it now curved to the right out of sight, with another hallway intersecting it at the halfway point. I knew that if we tried to go backwards, we’d just end up in the same situation as we were now, if not worse.

  “All right,” I said, turning to face the staircase. “Let’s see what’s behind Door Number 1.”

  Lucius and I walked up the staircase, which was wide enough for us to walk side by side, but
I let Lucius lead the way because he was stronger than me. As we walked the steps, I prayed to God to protect us from whatever was waiting on the other side of the door and to keep Jane safe wherever she was. Even now, two months after I became a half-vampire, I didn’t know if God listened to my prayers or not, but I decided to keep praying anyway just to be safe.

  When we reached the top step, Lucius reached out toward the doorknob, but as soon as he touched it, he jerked his hand back like he’d been burned and cursed under his breath.

  “What’s the matter?” I said. “Did you hurt your hand?”

  Lucius opened his hand, showing an ugly burn mark on his palm. “Yes. That thing is silver.”

  He was right. What I had mistaken for rust was actually dirt covering the doorknob, which was as silver as Domination.

  “Oh,” I said. “Odd. I wonder who would make a silver doorknob.”

  “It’s a common sorcerer security tactic,” said Lucius. “Making a doorknob out of silver and then disguising it as a way to trick unwary vampires. It’s one of the reasons I usually inspect doorknobs before I use them, at least in magical places like this, because you never know if it will burn your skin or not.”

  I bit my lower lip. “Well, we can still open the door, can’t we? I’ll use a spell.”

  Lucius stepped aside and I stepped in front of the door. Remembering the unlock spell Dad taught me, I got down eye level to the lock and held my hand before it. My hand glowed white for a moment, as did the lock, and a second later I heard a small click that told me that the door was unlocked. Even better, the door popped open on its own, allowing me to grab its edge and pull it open myself.

  “See?” I said, looking at Lucius. “Isn’t magic useful?”

  “It is,” said Lucius, “though I never said it wasn’t.”

  “I know,” I said. “I just wanted to say that because I actually feel useful for once.”

  Lucius shrugged. “Whatever. I’m still going in first, just in case it’s a trap.”

  Lucius grabbed the door and pulled it all the way open before stepping inside. I followed him inside as quickly as I could and soon the two of us found ourselves standing in a strange room that seemed out of place in this tunnel network which Shawn called Hell.

  A small waterfall stood off to the left, pouring water into a fountain that oddly never overflowed. It was pure, clear water that would have made me thirsty if I was still a normal human, while to the right stood an empty table, though I didn’t understand why the table was there. Another door stood on the opposite end of the room, well away from us.

  “What is this?” I said, looking from the waterfall to the plates and back again. “A waterfall?”

  “I don’t know,” said Lucius, “but we should keep our guard up. There’s no way to know for sure whether we’re on our own or not. I don’t want to be ambushed by another Mysteria or something even worse.”

  I didn’t see anyone else in this room aside from us, but I agreed with Lucius about not letting our guard down. I drew Domination from its sheath, just to be safe.

  But just as I unsheathed Domination, the water in the fountain suddenly started to bubble. Before either Lucius or I could react, something rose from the water like a spirit and stepped out of the fountain dripping wet.

  The creature that had emerged from the water was short and stout, with large muscles bulging on its arms and chest. It had a frog-like face, with a strange pig snout that made it look way creepier than it should have. It was humanoid in its general shape and wore long, ragged robes that dripped water onto the floor around it, forming a small puddle even though it had only been standing on the floor for a couple of seconds.

  “What is that?” I said, looking at Lucius. “Have you ever seen something like that before?”

  Lucius shook his head. “No, I never have. But whatever it is, it is probably not friendly.”

  The pig frog creature (whatever it was) stared at us uncomprehendingly for a few seconds before it suddenly spoke. “Go away.”

  Its voice was surprisingly clear, despite how inhuman it looked. I almost thought that Lucius or me had spoken, but then I realized that the pig frog creature had been the one to speak.

  “Go away?” I repeated. I shook my head. “Sorry, but you’re going to have to do more than that to make us leave.”

  The creature tilted its head to the side. “You are not welcomed here. Go.”

  “Tell us who you are,” said Lucius. “Do you work for the Mistress?”

  The creature growled. “Leave. Now.”

  “No,” I said. “Now either tell us what you are and whether you work for the Mistress or—”

  I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence, because at that moment, the creature roared, an earsplitting sound which made Lucius and I cringe. As the creature roared, the water behind it rose like a pillar, going higher and higher until it towered over the creature itself.

  Then, without warning, the water pillar flew toward us like a spear.

  Lucius and I separated, running in opposite directions to avoid being hit by the water. The water struck the floor where we had been standing just moments before, splashing loudly into the air and sending water flying everywhere. Luckily, Lucius and I were quick enough to avoid getting doused and we stopped on opposite sides of the room, looking at the spot where the water had just crashed into the floor, which left the floor wet and slippery.

  “What was that?” I said, looking over at the frog-like creature. “Can it control water?”

  “Looks like it,” said Lucius. He held up his claws. “I’ll try to kill it. You cover me with your spells. Whoever it works for and whatever it is, it’s obviously a threat, one that should be dealt with accordingly.”

  Before I could ask Lucius about the wisdom of that plan, Lucius rushed toward the creature. The amphibian creature raised its hands again and thrust them forward, sending several water balls flying at Lucius. I immediately fired an equal number of fireballs, which struck the water balls head on and exploded, creating a small cloud of steam that Lucius briefly disappeared inside before bursting out again and slashing the amphibian.

  But before Lucius’ claws could land, the amphibian fell over backwards into the waterfall and disappeared, causing Lucius’ claws to slash through empty air. Lucius staggered forward, almost losing his balance, but caught himself at the last second and looked around in bewilderment.

  “Where did he go?” said Lucius.

  “He fell into the water,” I said. “He—”

  All of a sudden, the amphibian burst out of the water again, screeching loudly, and grabbed Lucius. Before Lucius could react, the amphibian pulled him into the water with him and the two of them disappeared under the surface of the pool with a splash.

  “Lucius!” I said in shock. “No!”

  I rushed toward the waterfall and reached the edge of the pool. Looking down into the water, I couldn’t see through it. It was like someone had dumped an entire barrel of oil just beneath the surface of the water, because I couldn’t see either Lucius or the amphibian creature. The surface of the water was disturbingly still, even though Lucius and the amphibian had to be wrestling just beneath the surface for dominance. The pool must have been deeper than I originally thought.

  I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to jump in and help Lucius, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to go underwater and face the amphibian creature in its obvious natural environment. But if Lucius died here, I would be on my own, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to survive in this place by myself, which was assuming that the amphibian wouldn’t just come back up to finish me off.

  I would have to go in and help Lucius. I sheathed Domination and took off my jacket, but before I could strip further, someone behind me said, “Hello, Tara. Long time, no see.”

  I turned around to see a tall black man in sorcerer robes standing on the other side of the room, his arms folded in front of his chest, a smirk on his lips. I didn’t need to see his pentagram
necklace to recognize him, because I had just seen him earlier that day, though I didn’t expect to see him again so soon.

  “Harry Blake,” I said. “As smug as ever, I see.”

  “Call me what you like, little girl,” said Blake with a chuckle. “I know exactly what you and your vampire boyfriend are trying to do here, and trust me, it won’t work. The Mistress is too powerful for either of you to take on.”

  “That’s why we’re going to take her on together,” I said. “Not that you understand that, given how selfish you are.”

  “I’m not selfish,” said Blake. “You don’t understand me or why I do what I do.”

  “You kidnapped my friend,” I said, pointing an accusing finger at Blake. “Give me back Jane. Now.”

  “No,” said Blake, shaking his head. “Besides, even if I wanted, I couldn’t. Jane isn’t with me right now. She’s … elsewhere.”

  “Elsewhere,” I repeated. “Somewhere in this place?”

  “Maybe,” said Blake, “maybe not. Want to find out?”

  Something about Blake’s attitude pissed me off, so I summoned a fireball and threw it at him. But to my astonishment, my fireball passed safely through Blake’s grinning face and hit the wall just behind him, leaving a smoking crater where the fireball had struck.

  “You look surprised,” said Blake. “You didn’t really think I would actually appear before you in the flesh, knowing that you might do that if you saw me? I was never the brightest student my teacher ever had, but even I know that you don’t confront your enemies like this.”

  “You’re an illusion, then,” I said, lowering my hands. “You’re not really here.”

  “Exactly,” said Blake, nodding. He patted his chest. “I look as real as you, but I’m projecting this image of myself from another part of the Maze entirely.”

  “The Maze?” I said. “This place has a name? I thought it was called Hell.”

  “Some people call it that,” said Blake, “but it’s actual name is the Mirage Maze. Want to know why?”

  “Because it’s not real?”