Seared by Desire

by Jennifer T. Alli

  The night stretched out before her, seemingly endless as she tried to find direction for her suddenly confusing life. Things had been simple inside the village even though she had been hated. But now she was on her own and she would have to make her way in the world by herself.

  “I don’t see what I’ve got to complain about Lance, do you? I’ve got money in my pocket, food for the journey and you to keep me company.” The horse snickered gently as she rubbed the length of its neck fondly. “It can’t be that hard to find the water elementals, all I have to do is ask someone for directions.” Her sharp eyes spotted a small farmhouse in the distance and she smiled, suddenly feeling all the more optimistic about her chances for success. “Come on Lance, that’s got to be a sign. Shelter and directions, what more could I ask for?”

  With a gentle nudge, she urged Lance into a trot, determined to reach the farmhouse and be put on the right path. It was true that no one had followed her thus far so she could only assume her fire was keeping them at bay but for how long she couldn’t know. Fire elementals weren’t known for letting targets escape them. Eventually they would find a way around her flames or the fire would die down without her there to fuel it. The sooner she was headed in the right direction rather than wandering about aimlessly, the better.

  The house was within reach when she felt Seraphina begin to stir within her again. Sara continued riding towards the house, ignoring the voice, there were more important things to deal with at the moment than a spoiled spirit.

  Hungry, Seraphina whined.

  Sara dismounted, starting to walk towards the farmhouse door. She felt a frisson of unease run up her spine, unsure if she should wake the residents so late into the night.

  Hungry.

  “I don’t have a choice,” she mumbled to herself.

  Eat. Now!

  Seraphina’s voice echoed around Sara’s mind, shocking her with just how loud the spirit could be when she wanted to be and then she felt it. The same feeling that had filled her when she had annihilated the demons was rising within her once again. Her skin was so hot the air around her began to pop as it was heated to phenomenal temperatures. Seraphina was beginning to take control. Backing away from the farmhouse door caused Sara to hit Lance in the side and when she turned round to look into his trusting dark eyes, her anxiety turned into terror. Lance would be killed.

  “Run Lance!” she screamed as she fled away from the house on the rise, determined not to injure anyone with her spirit’s destructive appetites. The horse trotted after her, never once leaving her side. “Please Lance, I don’t want anything to happen to you. Please, run away from me. I’ll come and find you soon.”

  He ignored her pleas, even moving to help her as she stumbled, her legs giving way beneath her. Her already tired limbs hadn’t taken her far and as Seraphina washed over her, Sara realised she would end up destroying everything she could see.

  Not Lance, she begged, the fire already pouring over her skin. Not Lance. I won’t let you hurt him Seraphina. Her grip on consciousness was already slipping.

  Hungry, she snarled.

  I don’t care how hungry you are. Don’t hurt Lance! I won’t let you hurt him. Those were the last words Sara spoke before the world around her burst into flames and everything went black.

  When Sara woke, it was morning. The shining sun seeming to make a mockery of her own feelings. She lay against the hard ground, tears slipping from beneath her closed eyelids, her head pounding in agony. She didn’t want to open her eyes because she knew the moment she did she would see Lance’s blackened body lying dead beside her. She had killed him, murdered her only companion on this trip and her heart was heavy with guilt. A gentle push to her stomach made her roll over slightly but she refused to move away from the source, she deserved whatever fate it had planned for her. The next push was accompanied by the soft whinnying of a horse and her eyes flew open, instantly meeting Lance’s large dark eyes. Leaping to her feet, Sara wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his body close.

  “Lance, you’re okay. I thought I’d killed you. I’m so sorry. You’re not hurt are you?” She stepped back, running her hands over his neck, his nose, his flanks. There were no burn marks, not even a patch of overly warm skin. She hadn’t hurt him.

  Her joy at leaving her horse unharmed was short lived as she looked at the damage she had managed to create. The farmhouse she had been so desperate to reach was nothing more than a burned shell, a few black wooden pillars the only sign that it had once been a house of some sort. Her hands tightened on Lance’s reins as she led him towards it, her heart feeling heavier with every step she took. She stopped at the door’s remains, unable to go any further.

  Why Seraphina? Why did you do this? Seraphina was silent. Didn’t you burn enough when I escaped? There was no need to do this. The tears that had stopped falling when she’d seen Lance returned. Her hands turned into small fists. “I’ve got to get help.” Her eyes took in the wide swath of destruction Seraphina’s flames had caused. “She’s only going to get worse. If I don’t get help then who knows how much damage she’ll do if she kills me. The fire elementals have a lot of enemies; the strength of a fire that could kill them all would be devastating. I have to stop her.” She swung into Lance’s saddle. “Seraphina only seems to burn this badly once a day. I’ve got to make this day count,” she decided looking at the rising sun. “I’ve got to know where I’m going before nightfall, before Seraphina makes another appearance and by then I have to be alone.”

  She dug her heels into Lance’s side forcing him into a neck breaking gallop. She was all too conscious of the fact that those trapped in New Kennington castle were probably free now and she had wasted valuable time unconscious. She couldn’t let them catch her, not only to save her life but also to save the lives of thousands of others.

  *****

  When Lucian rose it was dark and he was hungry. The darkness was natural for a vampire and embraced him like a lover but the hunger was gnawing at him, making his fangs ache with the need to be buried in warm human flesh, was distinctly unappreciated. It made him dangerous and a threat to others around him. He couldn’t put off the need to feed any longer; he had been without sustenance for too long. Sitting up, he ran a pale hand over his face, weary though the night had yet to begin in earnest. The task that lay before him was a daunting one, almost as daunting as it had been when he had first started it over a century ago. Though he was nearing the end of his quest, he couldn’t rest.

  “Those ungrateful whelps don’t even appreciate what I’m doing for them,” he cursed, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. His rise to power meant that he and those that followed his lead were in a perpetual state of war. A war he hoped would end any night now. There was only one faction left, one faction that hadn’t submitted to his will and acknowledged him as the leader of their kind and once they did, his slumbers would be peaceful, his nights his own once again.

  Vampires were a notoriously lawless bunch, split into factions that before Lucian, had done as they pleased with no regard to a higher power. Their ways had made them one of the most reviled peoples in the world. For while others accepted that they needed blood to survive, it was the killing that had often followed the act that had made them hated. There was no need to kill their prey after feeding but with no single leader of the vampires to impose rules, it was not a crime either.

  That was when people had decided to start hunting vampires, seeking them out during the day when they were most vulnerable. And that was when Lucian had decided to step in. He was strong, having lived longer than most of his kind, and prepared to take action. He had fought tirelessly forcing the various factions to submit to him and unifying them beneath his leadership but the process had been a long one.

  Now, so close to the end, he was neglecting his health. He simply didn’t care anymore. His task was nearly complete, the way the world viewed vampires had changed. No longer did they kill as they fed, most times the prey didn’t even kno
w that they had been used as a vampire’s dinner and that was how it should be.

  Immortality was both a blessing and a curse when your enemies had it as well. Battles that should have been over quickly dragged on for years, decades even. Time gave enemies the opportunity to plan and adapt, create new strategies to get under his skin. It was infuriating and Lucian was beginning to tire of the whole thing.

  His people were now almost completely unified. If he decided to walk into the sun, they would take care of themselves. Even as he thought it, he realised that though tempting, the idea was a bad one. His people would fall into anarchy if he died; he was the only thing that unified the often quarrelling factions. There was no point in putting the inevitable off any further. He stood, dressing himself in his signature black clothing, black trousers, a dark shirt and a dark overcoat. He had often been called a dark angel, his features so striking others thought him heavenly though his attire and attitude were as cold as ice and as dark as night. He saw no need to change habits that had been centuries in the making simply because of idle gossip and so the dark clothes remained. It was with a heavy heart that Lucian stepped out into the hustle and bustle of his manor. With the coming of night, the castle was coming to life.

  “My Lord.”

  Lucian groaned at the sound of Russell’s voice, knowing that his words would only serve to increase the already heavy burden on his shoulders. He turned dark eyes on the shorter man, hoping the frustration banked in their depths would serve to scare him off without any need to compel him away. Unaware of his Lord’s displeasure, Russell continued to speak. Russell was the most cautious commander in his army. His short cut blonde hair and sharp grey eyes reflecting the strict order he imposed on his life. It was an order he would see imposed on Lucian's as well.

  “Lord Lucian, the Malachites are causing trouble again.”

  “When are they not causing trouble? They refuse to accept the inevitable and so problems arise.”

  “They’re trying to convince other factions to join them.”

  “They will not.”

  “How can you be so sure?” he pressed, pulling worriedly at the tie around his neck, his grey eyes wide with expectation.

  “Because they don’t want me to come after them. They know what I will do to them if they turn traitor.”

  “But Lord Lucian, I have word that the Malachites will be having a meeting tonight. We must go.”

  Lucian watched as Gareth, another commander in his army, approached, rolling his emerald green eyes in dismay at Russell’s words. The two could not have been more different in terms of personality with the dark haired Gareth being far more out going and impulsive than the fair and level headed Russell. “Enough Russell,” Gareth ordered, coming to stand beside him and clapping a large hand hard against his shoulder making his knees wobble beneath him. “Can’t you see that Lord Lucian hasn’t fed? He needs to feed and regain his strength before he can deal with all your demands. My Lord…pleasant hunting.” He bowed low, forcing Russell into a similar posture before dragging him out of sight.

  “Thank you Gareth,” Lucian whispered, casting his long time friend a final look before sweeping out into the night.

  Russell and Gareth were both right. He needed to feed and once he was at full strength, he needed to deal with the Malachites. They had been a problem for far too long. There were not that many of them and he knew he had been too lenient with them in the past, hoping against all odds that they would see reason and submit to him. Time had only served to reinforce their weaknesses and it was obvious they could not be reasoned with. They had to be exterminated. Once he found their lair, he would do exactly that.

  With a single leap, Lucian was airborne, flying high in the night sky. The ability to fly came late to vampires, only the most aged of their kind could do it with any sort of grace but Lucian was more than accustomed to the wind whipping his long hair and the far cooler temperatures of the high skies.

  He enjoyed flying, it gave him a few moments of peace in his chaotic life. With so few vampires able to take to the air, he was never harassed by the over eagerness of his inner circle. He could pretend for a few moments that he was just a normal vampire, searching for prey before he would go on his way and enjoy the rest of the night. He could pretend that all was as it had been before he had decided to unify his people. He dropped suddenly, his balance momentarily lost before he caught himself. He mentally cursed himself for his careless behaviour. He was weak. He hadn’t fed for three nights, so preoccupied had he been with the Malachites and their continued disobedience. Flying was a skill that a vampire needed to be at nearly full strength to do. If he continued to remain airborne, he would fall.

  Sending out an imperious mental command for healthy humans to gather, Lucian let himself glide to earth, his shoes touching the hard cobbles with a soft clack. He had to wait for a few minutes for the humans to arrive, drawn to his location by the power of his mind alone. Only four humans arrived in response to his call but as he looked around the dirt and squalor of the area of the city he had landed in he was surprised that even that many had shown up. He looked into their dazed eyes, reinforcing the feeling of confusion that had overcome them as soon as his seductive voice had wormed its way into their minds; there was no need for them to fear what he was about to do.

  In the morning there would be no trace of him on either their bodies or in their minds. He beckoned the first to him, sinking his fangs into his neck and drawing deep. The ache in his fangs gradually eased, the gnawing of a stomach that wouldn’t accept food as sustenance subsided. But when he withdrew his fangs, he knew he needed more. He couldn’t take any more blood from the man without endangering his life but he hadn’t taken enough sustenance after days of hunger to be satisfied with what a single human could offer. He summoned the second, the third and the fourth, drinking his fill from each until he felt true relief.

  His hunger now satiated, Lucian began to walk, leaving the poverty of the poorer districts behind to head towards the wealth of the richer ones. My hunger makes my mind play tricks on me. How could I not have listened to what Russell had to say? The sooner I find the Malachites, the sooner I can be free to rule my people in peace. Walk into the sun? He scoffed; astounded at the path his thoughts had taken in his moment of weakness. When I get back, I’m going to order Gareth to bring new donors to the manor, if I have blood at the ready, then this won’t happen again.

  “Help me! Someone help me!”

  The frantic cry for help drew Lucian out of his mental reverie and in an act that was completely out of character for him, he walked towards it, towards her. There was an irresistible need within him to be closer to the voice and his steps quickened, his strides lengthening until he saw her.

  The voice belonged to a woman, that he’d known the instant she’d called to him, what he hadn’t expected was for the woman to be a fire elemental. Flames were melded with her already red curls and her skin had a reddish hue telling him of the fire that ran though her veins.

  He was intrigued. Fire elementals never called for help.

  He moved closer, examining the freckles that covered her cheeks, her plump red lips and the curve of her nose. She fell to her knees and the smell of her blood exploded into the air. He was close now, so close he could feel her heat and the smell of her blood hit him like a drug. Rich. Exotic. His.

  The warm blood running through his veins froze. He stepped back as though he’d been punched in the gut; he felt as though he had been. The woman in front of him was his bride, the woman fate had put aside solely for him. In all the centuries he’d been alive he’d never expected to find her but here she was, presented to him like a gift. His fangs ached. He took another step back despite the fact he wanted to get closer to her.

  He had just fed but he wanted nothing more than to sink his fangs into her soft skin, drink her until she was boneless then take her body until she couldn’t move. Or both at the same time. The thought appealed to him while at the same time
scaring him beyond all reason. To drink his bride’s blood would be to tie his strength to her. No other’s blood would invigorate him like hers; he would be at his most powerful while being at his most vulnerable. She would give him power like no other but the blood of everyone else would leave his stomach full but his body weak. She was a liability he couldn’t afford to have right now. He was in the middle of a war. He hadn’t even realised he’d moved to her side.

  Her hand gripped his tightly forcing him to stare into her burning blue eyes. “You have to run. Please. You have to run, I can’t control her. Everything will burn. Warn everyone on your way out. Run.” Her soft voice was desperate, her words slurring as she suddenly lost consciousness.

  Lucian looked down at their joined hands; her tanned skin was hot against his, her warmth seeping into him, heating his blood. His body was stirring to life at the sight of her, the smell of her, the feel of her. He knew in that instant that she would drive him to distraction and distraction was the one thing he couldn’t afford, not now, not when the end was so close. He pulled his hand loose and she slid boneless to the ground. Squashing down any traces of sympathy he felt towards his unconscious bride, he took a step back.

  “My Lord?” The voice was quiet, hesitant as he asked the question.

  Spinning round to stare at Russell, Lucian snapped, “What?”

  “You have fed?”

  “Yes,” he responded abruptly.

  “Then should we move on? The Malachites?”

  Dark eyes turned to glance at the woman laying prone against the ground, an urge to help her rising within him. She’s a fire elemental. She’ll be fine. She’ll survive until my war is over and then…then I’ll come for her. The words meant to reassure him did little to that effect. “Fine, I’ll deal with the Malachites but I want you to stay here.”