Luciens Reign: A Novel (DeSai Trilogy) Spawn of Satan

by RWK Clark

  Finally, he took the blade firmly in his hand and plunged it into Phillip’s stomach, right under his rib cage, in the very center. With one fluid motion he cut a straight line all the way down to the man’s groin. Then he cut across, from left to right. He wanted to see what Phillip looked like inside.

  The smell of the blood was suddenly more than Lucien could bear. He was no longer aware of Isabella, or even the ground or the trees. All he saw was the bloodied body of the man on the ground before him, and he knew he was going to taste the aromatic red fluid that was gushing from him. He took one look at Phillip’s mangled mid-section and knew that he would not indulge his temptation from that area. He looked that man over and then his eyes rested on the most appetizing part of the body, one that he had not yet violated.

  Phillip’s throat.

  Lucien moved himself so that he was seated at the top of Phillip’s head. He lifted the unconscious man’s chin and drew the blade over his throat with a quick swipe. More blood shot out, and with that, Lucien put his lips and mouth over the source of the flow.

  Phillip’s blood filled Lucien’s mouth rapidly, so fast he had difficulty keeping up. He slurped at the blood, swallowing it and letting it fill him. He could suddenly hear the sound of his own heartbeat; it was deafening in his ears. The noise his own blood made as it coursed through his veins was suddenly audible as well, and his head was spinning pleasantly. This man’s blood was like a drug!

  He continued to drink, and when he realized that the flow had stopped he began to lick at the wound until it was clean. Lucien sat up and stared into the blue sky. He had never felt so complete, so fulfilled, in his whole life.

  Suddenly he remembered Isabella. His eyes snapped open and he looked at her, expecting her to either be gone or to be vomiting. She surprised him, though. She sat, steadfast on her rock, looking at Lucien, a smile playing on her lips. There was no repulsion on her face whatsoever.

  “What does it taste like?” Isabella asked Lucien softly.

  He glanced down at the dead man on the ground and then looked back at the wide-eyed girl before him. “It’s hard to say, exactly. Like my birthday, I think. Yes, he tastes like everything good.”

  The two sat in silence for a moment, then Lucien asked her, “Do you want to try?”

  Isabella did not answer him right away; she looked to be thinking hard. Finally she spoke. “I don’t think I’m ready yet. Something tells me it’s not my turn yet.”

  Lucien only nodded, then turned his attention back to Phillip. He would have to drag the body further into the woods. Animals would find it and eat it before anyone ever ventured out here. He just couldn’t seem to take his mind from the magnificent flavor that still filled his mouth. Oh, he never knew how good it could be!

  After about ten minutes of peace and quiet Lucien finally spoke. “Would you help me drag him further in? Then we can head inside and get cleaned up before it’s time to eat supper.”

  Isabella stood. “What’s for supper, anyway? I’m starving!”

  The two looked at each other and burst out laughing. Yes, Phillip had proved to be quite an appetizer indeed. Lucien and Isabella would consume their upcoming meals with great zeal indeed.

  ∞

  Now Lucien and Isabella sat at the table in the dining room, hefty slices of pizza steaming on their plates before them. They had come in and got cleaned up and changed without even seeing another living soul. Sitting here together and enjoying the rich food and cold soda pop was like having a celebration meal.

  “Isabella, are you okay?” Lucien asked, then took a bite of his pizza.

  She finished chewing her own mouthful, then replied, “Of course. No worries, Lucien. I had a lot of fun. I can’t wait ‘til next time.”

  They continued eating, then she added, “I might even try it next time myself.”

  She didn’t look at him, but she had said it clearly. Yes, Lucien knew then that no matter what the future held for either him or Isabella, she was the girl for him. There was no question in his mind.

  They finished their meals and then went into the family room to enjoy their video games.

  Once again they were two young children, enjoying their games and each other’s company. When it was time for Isabella to leave Lucien’s heart sank, and he gave her a heartfelt hug as her parents stood watching.

  He would plan a surprise for her. It wouldn’t be at her next visit, but it would be better than ever. It would be just for her.

  ∞

  Rasia entered the house and met complete quiet. There was not even the sound of the television echoing through the halls. That meant that Martin had retired after returning from his own engagements. She wondered about Lucien, and found herself worried that he had murdered everyone in the entire house.

  She found him sleeping peacefully, though, and breathed a sigh of relief that was audible. It seemed that her troubled, somewhat defective son had finally come around, and it pleased her. Now, if he only kept it up.

  She showered and climbed into her own bed. There was no time for playing tonight, for her day had worn her out. One of the young politicians who was to be learning the New Way was to be initiated today as one of her personal servants. She had hand-picked him for the spot. She intended him to begin mentoring Lucien, but he had not shown up for his initiation ceremony. His name was Phillip Morgan, and she had her people searching for him even now.

  It was not like any member of the family to duck out on plans made by the Queen. To do so meant certain punishment, and it was honestly not even their nature. They were driven to obey by the spirit living inside of them. That was why she was so disturbed by the no-show.

  As she drifted off to sleep she thought, oh, well, they will track him down. It was certainly just a misunderstanding…

  Then Rasia DeSai fell fast asleep.

  Chapter 12

  “Happy birthday, Isabella,” Lucien said softly to the blossoming young girl seated next to him. He gazed at her as he spoke the words, and even reached out and stroked her long blond hair. She turned to him and smiled, her blue eyes shy.

  “Thank you, Lucien.”

  The two were seated on a comfortable oak yard swing at the Gilliams. The stars were shining in the deep evening sky, and the moon was shining on them in full. A light breeze blew through the air, tousling her long curls, and she looked beautiful to Lucien.

  At thirteen, Isabella was indeed growing into a striking young woman. She was tall and slender, with high budding breasts and a tiny waist. One knew that she would one day be drop-dead gorgeous, and no one knew this as well as Lucien. He supposed he loved her, at least, as much as he had ever ‘loved’ someone.

  Tonight he would tell her the secret he had kept inside since his own thirteenth birthday, the one that explained everything to him about what he was. He waited for her own thirteenth because he wanted her to have a wonderful day. He didn’t want her spoiled by the news, even if he had told her months before. He was sure it would have a negative effect, somehow, on their relationship.

  ∞

  On the evening of his own thirteenth birthday, just four months before, Lucien and his mother Rasia had a celebration dinner alone, just the two of them. It was not often Rasia did this with her son, but when she did, she took it seriously.

  The dinner was exceptional, her words soft and kind. She praised him for becoming such a studious, intelligent, and self-controlled young man. They talked about how trustworthy he had become, and she even stated how she looked forward to beginning to groom him as he stepped into his rightful position and heritage.

  Suddenly, Lucien had understood that his mother had too much wine, and her tongue was a little looser than she would have liked. As she continued to talk on and on it suddenly came out that he was a vampire, and not only that, he was born of a witch as well, his own mother Rasia. The information, though it knocked the wind out of him, did not completely surprise him. Yes, his mother had kept him sheltered and naïve to a point, but he was
far from stupid.

  But now she sat here and began to tell Lucien, in great detail, her own story, the tale of who she was, and by the time she related to him the night she killed his own father, Lucien was enraged.

  “You are no ordinary young man. I do not mean because you will lead the world,” Rasia had begun. “No, not just that. You are much more, as all of us are.”

  Lucien had been a bit confused at first. “Much more?”

  Rasia had lifted her wine glass to her lips and drained it, then began to pour another. “Yes, Lucien. Your father, Cyril DeSai, my husband, was a vampire, and not just any vampire. He was the beginning of all, the father of the family.”

  “A… a… vampire?” Lucien felt a bit stunned emotionally, but mentally it all made immediate sense. “Like in books?”

  Rasia nodded. He was indeed a vampire, born in France centuries ago to a winemaker who came from a family of winemakers. He himself had made wines, even then. He had a beautiful wife and beloved children. He had been wealthy and held the respect of the entire town in which he resided.

  But his family, all of them, had fallen victim to an unseen murderer. The killer had not shown him the same mercy. No, instead he had bitten they young vintner and cursed him to an eternity of walking the Earth, lonely and craving blood. He had started to build a family of his own again on several occasions, but living humans had always discovered who he was, and he always ended up running. Running and hiding.

  He told me of his refuge in the side of the cliff on the ocean, where he would hide from the hunters until it was safe to begin again. The cycle had been started and ended countless times, and each time he had been left lonely, angry, and dreaming of a time when he would not only have a family, but find his one true mate, his queen.

  No other before me had ever been considered. To him I was the perfect woman to be his eternal mate: we were the same, mind, body, and spirit. My evil darkness complimented his to a tee, and he wanted to possess me. He wanted to provide me with eternal life.

  There it was. Everything I needed to hear he had just revealed to me. Inside I was ecstatic. I had found him, the ever-elusive vampire of my ancestors’ theories and dreams.

  “He began the Family by changing Isabella’s own father, Patrick Gilliam and three of his friends as they enjoyed a SCUBA diving trip in Honduras. They in turn began to change others, and now the world is ours.”

  “Don’t you mean ‘mine’?” Lucien asked her darkly.

  Rasia laughed. “Yes, I suppose I do. But there is more.”

  “More?”

  Now she simply nodded. “Yes. I was, am, a witch. You are the first of your kind, both vampire and witch, and this is why you have struggled so,” she told him with a smile on her face. “Don’t be angry with me, Lucien. No one could know what you would be or what you would become. You were an experiment, so to speak.”

  “How could you keep me in the dark?” Lucien screamed, standing from the table and throwing his napkin at her. His eyes blazed, and Rasia saw in him his father, bold, dark, and dangerous. She realized then that she had approached the topic quite wrong, and the buzz she felt from the wine began to dissipate.

  “Lucien, you need to understand that we did not know what you would be,” Rasia was fumbling at her words, repeating things. “You were the first vampire and witch offspring ever to take breath. You had to be watched until I was able to determine the truth about you.”

  Lucien listened, but he did not truly hear her. He was visualizing wrapping his hands around her skinny neck and ripping her head from her body, as she had said she had done to his father. Then he would drink her blood, just as a proper vampire would.

  “Obviously it was for the best that I did this,” she continued, “Look at how you had to live until you turned ten. You were out of control, and you were dangerous.

  Little do you know, Lucien thought. Then he slowly walked around the long dining room table. Rasia kept her eyes locked on his; even now she didn’t trust him.

  When he reached the end of the table furthest from her he charged at her with all his might. Rasia stood, feeling panic for only an instant. He was as fast as lightning, and she hardly had time to think. She closed her fist and swung her arm at her thirteen-year old son and hit with great force. She lifted him off his feet and sent him flying backward. He crashed into the table, slid down the length of it, and hit the wall. His body had smashed through the paneling, and Lucien lay in a crumpled heap among the rubble.

  “I know it was hard news, but you are thirteen, you are a man now,” Rasia said, her voice as calm as if nothing had happened. “You will grow in stature, and yes, in power, until one day, when you may even be able to defeat me. But that day is not today.”

  Rasia turned on her heel and left the dining room, leaving her son crumpled on the floor, his pride injured and his mind racing. Yes, it explained it all, and to be honest, it made him feel even more secure in who and what he was. Yes, he would certainly someday end her life as if he were doing nothing more than blowing out a candle on one of his birthday cakes.

  ∞

  Now, months later, he sat here on the swing with Isabella remembering that night, and he felt it his full responsibility to tell Isabella what he really was, and he was deeply concerned that it would spurn her to reject him. How did he broach the subject with her? What could he say to make it alright? After all, he was a hybrid, not even human. He was a vampire, and he was a witch.

  “Isabella, I need to tell you something,” Lucien began. “It’s something my mother told me on my past birthday, something I think you should know.”

  The girl looked at him, calmly and expectantly, a light smile on her lips. “Yes, Lucien?”

  He cleared his throat and began to fidget with his t-shirt. Looking down, he began. “Isabella, I know why I am the way I am, why I do the things I do.”

  She said nothing in response, only waited for him to continue.

  “I only waited this long to tell you so I knew you would be ready, or at least, I think you are,” he said. “My mother told me I am… not really a human.”

  “So what are you, Lucien?” Isabella asked quietly, the light smile fading from her lips.

  He was still for a moment. “I am a cross between a witch and a vampire.”

  Isabella smiled once again and looked back at the sky.

  Lucien continued. “She only waited so long to tell me because she said I am the first and only one of my kind. She said she had to watch me, because no one knew what to expect.”

  “I guess that tells you a lot, huh?” Isabella continued to gaze at the stars.

  She nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  The two teenagers were quiet for a moment, then Isabella began to speak. “I have a confession to make, Lucien.”

  The boy only looked at her, waiting patiently for her to continue. “I am not human either. At least, not fully.”

  Now she had his full attention, and he even turned his body in her direction, waiting anxiously. “What do you mean?”

  “My parents told me last week. They said I am a vampire also, at least half. My mother was human when she had me, but she is a vampire now, too. I am part human.” She turned and looked at him. “Lucien, everyone in the world is a vampire, and we are all part of the same Family, they said. It is important that we come to see this and accept it. That is the only way you can ever be the Master your father would have wanted.”

  At first he was tempted to get angry with Isabella for keeping all of this to herself. If her parents had talked to her last week why had she not brought that information to him? Then he reasoned with himself; he had hidden similar information from her for months. They both held on to the secret for their own time. He had no room to be angry with her.

  “They also told me about you, and they told me you knew,” she said. “I was just waiting for you to be ready to talk to me about it. I hope you see the greatness you have been destined for, because I see it. This is why you must control you
r… our… urges, Lucien.”

  Isabella paused for a bit before continuing. “My parents also told me that the gods created me to be your wife. I am destined for you, the perfect bride for a perfect Master. I am not afraid because I know the Family needs a strong Master, and I know you need a strong wife, Lucien.”

  Now the two looked at each other in silence. There was a stillness in both of their eyes that brought peace to each of them. The acceptance they felt for each other was tangible, and both Lucien and Isabella knew that all of this was meant to be. All of it, from their individual species to their future together. It was intentional, orchestrated by whoever was really in charge of this planet and everyone on it.

  As they looked into each other’s eyes Lucien was overcome with the desire to kiss Isabella, softly, but with passion. He had never felt such love and belonging as he was experiencing that moment, and he wanted it to last. He leaned forward slowly, afraid of making her nervous or scaring her off, but she simply sat still and smiled. Yes, they had kissed before, but it had been childish experimentation. Now Lucien’s heart was pounding, and he felt longings that were very adult in nature.

  His lips met hers as lightly as if a feather was brushing her mouth. The two simply held their lips together, not moving at all. Then Lucien opened his mouth slightly, and Isabella responded in kind. Soon he had his hand tangled in her hair, and his kisses became more passionate. Their tongues touched, and they tasted each other’s lips. Lucien could feel his penis growing as hard as a rock inside of his jeans, and it was becoming quite uncomfortable.

  “Isabella, I…” he began, but she pulled away and put her forefinger to his lips to quiet him. She turned and looked at the house behind her. It was all lit up, but there was no sign of Patrick or Rose.

  She turned back to him. “Let’s go to my treehouse,” she said with a whisper.

  Lucien nodded as Isabella took his hand. They stood and began walking to the backyard, where her treehouse was snuggly perched in a massive oak a good distance from the house. They climbed the ladder that ran up the tree trunk, and once they were inside Isabella turned on an electric lantern which served as a wonderful source of soft light. She then opened a pink trunk that sat next to a little table, and out of it she pulled a teal sleeping bag. How many times the two of them had used that sleeping bag to keep warm while looking at the stars could not be counted.