by D. S. Murphy
“That was amazing,” Jazmine said, running up to me. Camina joined us and hoisted me up.
“I thought you’d get split in half for sure,” she said. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
The three of us pressed forward into the city. We heard shouts and ran forward until we saw two other chosen. They were surrounded by hundreds of robotic spiders, each as big as a dog, and fighting them off back-to-back.
“Help!” one of them screamed when she saw us.
Camina charged forward with her sword, slicing through the mechanic arachnids. Jazmine kicked one into a shower of sparks, then grabbed a round table and smashed three at once, before hurling the table into the horde and knocking out a dozen others. I looked around for a weapon, but the only thing I could find was a street sign. I wrenched the metal pole out of the ground. It was taller than I was, but I swung it low, sweeping the ground of the crawling devices. One of them jumped on my back, digging into my skin with its razor-sharp legs. Another crawled up the sign and onto my arm. I pried it off me with my other hand, just as it was about to bite—its fangs glistening with venom.
Finally, we destroyed all the bots. I looked up to see Camina leaning over the other chosen, but they were on the ground and not moving. We were too late.
“Dead?” Jazmine asked.
“I don’t think so,” Camina answered. “Just unconscious. The spiders must have injected them with something.”
Jazmine ripped a leg off one of the spiders, then stuffed two more in her belt.
“What?” she said. “They’re sharp.”
We moved forward through the city, until we reached the edge of the maze. Finally we were close enough to see the main stage of the palace. The king was dressed in a purple velvet, wearing a large golden crown. Damien was next to him, in his white suit. Then I saw Jamie and Loralie, sitting between them. The king winked at me and put his hands on their shoulders possessively. He was using them as a shield. I felt sick and bile rose in my throat. Even if I made it to the end of the trials, I wouldn’t be able to make a move without putting them in danger.
And where were Trevor and curate Marcus. The king said their fate would be in my hands—but what did that even mean? That’s when I realized, King Richard would never let them go, not really. He’d always keep me controlled, by threatening those I cared about. He’d use Damien and I against each other, manipulating our emotions. But Tobias thought I could stop it. I just had to win the trials.
“Look!” Jazmine shouted. At the center of the leafy maze was a tall pedestal, with a golden trophy on top. But that’s not where Jazmine was pointing. Jessica was halfway through the maze, fighting something we couldn’t see.
“Last one there’s a rotten egg!” Jazmine shouted, jumping towards the opening of the large hedge. Camina shrugged and followed after her. Jessica had a huge head start, and I’d never beat the others. I looked into the stands again. This time I sought out Master Svboda. She met my eye and nodded to the side, at something I couldn’t see. Instead of going into the maze, I ran back up towards the wall, then across a ledge beneath the palace. I grinned when I saw the curved bow with the barbed arrows, half hidden in a patch of ivy. I ran back up to the garden and searched for the wire I’d used to swing over the walls. It was heavy, but I tied one end around an arrow and drew back the bow.
Now I just had to find something to swing from. I shot the arrow down into the center of the maze, through the hedge just beyond the pedestal, and pulled it back to make sure it was caught. I tied the other end around a tree trunk, wrapped my jacket around the wire, and slid down towards the clearing. I zoomed over several layers of the labyrinth, and even passed Jessica, who was almost at the center. I let go of the wire just in time to land on the raised platform, right in front of the trophy. I reached out for it, but something felt wrong. I glanced up at the king. He was smiling, and learning forward eagerly. Was this his plan all along? Did he want me to win? It was all too easy. After Tobias’s warning, I expected more.
Just then, someone grabbed my ankle and flung me off the pedestal with surprising force. I hit the ground and rolled until I hit the hedge. When I lifted my eyes, Jessica was standing over me, her fists and jaw dripping with blood. One side of her head was practically shaved from her near-miss with the giant axes. On the other side, her long blond curls bounced as she snarled, baring her teeth.
“More,” she rasped, seizing my wrist and dragging me to my feet. “I need more.”
I kicked her in the stomach as she snapped at my neck like a rabid dog. Just then her bracelet beeped a warning. She’d consumed too much elixir, and the blood lust took over. My blood chilled as I realized she must have already attacked one of the other chosen. Now she was even stronger, and wouldn’t stop until she’d sucked the elixir out of my veins.
She rushed in, slashing at me with her fingers wide like claws. I blocked and rolled to the side, but she kicked my legs, then grabbed me around the waist and hurled me into the stone pedestal. I reached for my bow but she stepped on my wrist. I reached with my other hand, straining towards the trophy. If I could just reach it, this would all be over. But she was too strong.
I pushed down hard with my free arms and kicked my legs hard into Jessica’s chin. She stepped off my arm and the momentum carried me upward, high enough to stick my foot through the handle of the golden trophy and bring it crashing down on her forehead. A stream of blood ran down her brow. She blinked the blood out of her eye and stumbled backwards in confusion. I picked up the trophy warily. Was it over? I expected cheers from the crowd, but instead there was only a chilling silence, then a screeching noise of a heavy door opening. The audience rose to their feet, shouting at us and pointing.
Leaves crunched behind me and I heard heavy footsteps and panting. I raised my bow as Jazmine and Camina came running to the center plaza, and fired at the slagpaw just behind them. My arrow buried itself in his chest, but didn’t slow it down. I rolled to the side as it reached for me with its massive paws. Jazmine hacked at it from the side with twin blades, but then it turned around and cornered her against the hedge.
“Look out!” Camina yelled. The slagpaw dragged its claws, tearing through the hedge, but Camina jumped in front of Jazmine and took the brunt of the blow. She collapsed, bleeding from the deep cuts in her arm and side. Jazmine leaned over her protectively as the beast closed in. Jessica whistled at me, then nodded to the wire I’d used earlier. Her eyes were clear and focused again. Then she dove just under the creature’s jaw, grabbed the end of the wire, and rolled over its back. I grabbed the wire as the slagpaw snapped after her, and pulled it in the opposite direction. I gripped the wire so tightly I could feel my fingers bleeding. The slagpaw roared in pain, but we didn’t let go until the wire cut through the beast’s neck and it stopped moving.
Jessica gave me a slight smile and a nod, but then her eyes went wide and I felt hot breath on the back of my neck. The second slagpaw knocked me over with its paw before I could turn around.
“Here!” Jazmine shouted, tossing me the long blades she’d pulled from the mechanical spiders. I grabbed them in mid-air, then slashed at the beast. It snarled at me, coming close, but didn’t attack. There was something curious in its eyes. Something I recognized. It whimpered, like it was trying to say something. Then I remembered a passage from the book in Damien’s office. About men who could turn into wolves. And my heart stopped, as I realized that somehow, this great beast was Trevor. And I was about to kill him.
I stared the beast down, weapons raised, but neither of us moved to attack.
I wondered how much of Trev was still in there, and if he even recognized me.
“Finish this!” The king yelled from the balcony.
I looked up at him, frowning. I could feel him pushing his way inside my brain. The tingling on my scalp, the tendrils of his will wrapping around my wrists, dragging my arms towards the slagpaw’s throat. This was his big plan, and he’d already told me about it. He wanted to use me as a symbol.
His son’s chosen single-handedly defeating the rebel leaders. He wanted it to be me. He wanted me to kill Trevor, my friend, just as he’d made Damien do it years before. Their fate is in your hands.
“No,” I said quietly. I’d already lost too much. I wouldn’t let him take Trevor too, even if it meant losing the trials. I dropped my swords and they clattered to the ground in the sudden silence.
The audience gasped collectively, and then I heard shouting as I held my bare palms up towards the creature. It leaned forward, sniffing my palms until its wet snout brushed against my bare skin. I must be crazy. King Richard looked at me in confusion, and I saw something like panic on his face for a split second. Our eyes met, and I knew he knew what I was. That I was different. That he couldn’t control me. I only had one chance to surprise him, and I’d just lost it.
“Seize her!” he shouted. Royal guards descended towards us. Soon we’d be surrounded. I picked up my blades and turned my back on the slagpaw, determined to protect Trevor. But just then an explosion rocked the platform and one of the side doors was blast open. I saw a woman with dark hair jump down into the arena and stab one of the royal guards. Several others followed her lead.
Master Svboda’s speech rang in my ears, and I could hear her voice in my head.
When the door opens, go through it…
Without thinking, I gripped my fingers around the dark gray fur and jumped onto the slagpaw. I raced through the maze, cutting down royal guards. I grabbed the street sign I used earlier and rode straight towards the king, wielding it like a javelin. But he held up Jamie and Loralie and smiled. I couldn’t help them. Not right now.
“This way!” I heard Jazmine shout. I glanced back and saw her exit the maze, with Camina draped over her shoulder. She was pointing towards the hole in the wall. Rebels with rifles were fighting off guards and elite. I helped Jazmine pull Camina onto the slagpaw, then we raced together towards the opening. Trevor bit into one of the guards with his powerful jaws, then flung him to the side. I held on tight as he barreled through a dozen others. We ducked through the hole in the wall, but stopped when we reached the main gates. The rebels were trapped, with their backs to the portcullis. Something must have gone wrong.
“We’re locked in,” Jazmine shouted, pointing at the latticed iron grille blocking the exit.
“There are two levers,” she said. “You grab that one.”
We climbed the twin guard towers to reach the giant wheels. They were almost as big as I was. I clenched my teeth, trying to turn the mechanism, but it wouldn’t budge. Then I remembered I still had one more dose of elixir. I bit into my sleeve, feeling a rush of energy as the elixir hit my blood, and cranked the wheel. It still wouldn’t move. I looked over at Jasmine, but she’d stopped trying and was just standing by a figure dressed in white. Damien and I locked eyes, and for a second I thought it was all over. Then he nodded, and began turning the wheel on the other side. I cranked mine, forcing the gate open inch by inch, my arms burning like fire. When it was all the way up, I watched Jazmine jump behind Camina on top of the slagpaw, then waited until they were through the gates.
I released my lever and darted over the side, just as a large group of royal guards turned the corner. Still charged with elixir, I cut through them, stabbing one with the other’s sword, then ducking between two others. I rolled past another, severing an artery near his groin, and sprinted forward. But the iron grille was falling too fast. I wasn’t going to make it.
Just then a white blur flew past me. Damien caught the iron gate with his shoulder, then sank to his knees, groaning under the weight.
“Get out of here!” he yelled. “My father, he knows what you are, what you can do. You aren’t safe here. It’s the only way you’ll be free.”
I rolled under the gate just as Damien let it fall. It crashed to the ground, so hard the floor shook.
“Come with us,” I said, turning back to Damien.
“I can’t,” he said. “He’s my father.”
I leaned in and kissed him through the bars. His eyebrows widened in surprise.
“Arrest the traitor,” a voice yelled. Rough hands tore Damien out of my grasp, and I saw the flash of silver manacles just before a line of archers appeared on the citadel walls. I licked my lips and tasted blood. Damien’s blood. There was a flash of memory—a buried trunk, an unmarked grave. I felt it on my tongue, savoring the flavor as the extra elixir renewed my energy. Then I jumped onto Trevor’s back behind Camina, and rode the giant slagpaw towards the woods, under a thick torrent of arrows and poisonous ash.
THE END
Thanks so much for reading Taste! I really hope you enjoyed it. I’m already working on book two, so make sure you sign up on my list to get notified when it’s ready!
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Author’s Note
I’ve been wanting to write a vampire fantasy novel for awhile, something similar in mood to the more traditional examples like Van Helsing or Dracula—where the forests are dark and dangerous and wolf-shifter rebels rage against an elite vampire kingdom. I wanted a vampire-slaying heroine as kickass as Buffy, with a star-crossed romance full of angst and tension… like Twilight with higher stakes and more plot.
I started planning this book in 2012, when “choosing ceremony” books like The Selection and dystopian survival tales like Pure were en vogue. At the same time, I was finishing my PhD in Literature and applying for a Fulbright scholarship to study vampire literature in Romania. I didn’t get the
scholarship, but my wife and I toured Romania a few years ago anyway and stopped by “Dracula’s Castle”—where the most authentic item was a prop used in the actual Dracula movie.
What I loved most about Eastern Europe are the tall, dark pine trees, the misty mountains, the herbal teas and the esoteric folklore explored by writers such as Mircea Eliade (who wrote one of the first vampire stories in 1936, Miss Kristina.) As research for this book, I also spent time living in several castles, including a 12th century Austrian fortress for Nanowrimo.
However the deeper I got into the world of Taste, the more I realized it was going to be a challenge to write. As I finish book one, there are still things to resolve and a few epic twists that will have to wait until book two. I’m really excited about continuing this story, so please leave a review if you enjoyed it! I have lots of projects so the reviews let me know what to work on next. And don’t forget to follow me on Amazon to get notified of new releases.
Happy reading!
D.S. Murphy
www.UrbanEpics.com
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