Both men turned to Larry. He smiled and cleared his throat.
* * *
Mikhaeli stretched. She had finished reading her tome for the evening and she decided that a bubble bath was in order. She had put her hair up in a bun so it would not get wet. She wasn't in the mood to have her hair styled. She lit some candles and she drew herself a bath. The lavender scented bubble bath was intoxicating. She didn't settle for any department store brand that was made for kids. She always purchased the Stress Less brand. It was a blend of lavender, chamomile, and sage. It was designed for the user to soak their troubles away.
The all-natural product had fit perfectly with her newly installed Jacuzzi. The beautiful whirlpool bath, inset in a breathtaking marble finish, massaged her feet and her back. The sixteen water jets quietly rumbled and the heated water soothed her stress away. Her original contractor wanted to install an inferior model to save her money. She laughed at him and told him to install the most expensive model that he could find. Nothing but the best, as she told him, was her motto. He had refused to install the more expensive model and he promptly became her dinner. The second contractor had found this modern marvel. Since it was absolutely perfect, she had allowed him to live in case she wanted to upgrade another room.
She inhaled the aromas and she sunk her body into the bubbles. The water bubbled over her body. The heated water made her body tingle. She began to slowly wash herself. The jets hit her body and she moaned. The bath had become her partner. She closed her eyes and continued to caress her body. Her hands slipped between her legs. She moaned. A knock at the door ruined her moment.
"What the hell is it now?" she demanded.
Evan Solis cleared his throat. "It is Evan again, My Queen," he said through the door.
"Come in," she ordered, "And this had better be good."
Evan Solis tentatively entered into her room. He swallowed hard when he saw his beautiful queen lounging in her bath. He valiantly attempted to compose himself. He looked at the ceiling.
"Are you going to just stand there and ogle me or are you here for a real purpose?" she asked impatiently as she flicked the bubbles with her toes.
"I…I…I…I have another message from Master Michaels," he said.
She rolled her eyes. "What does that asshole want now?" she sighed.
"He again wants to know why you haven't reported to him to hear his news," he said reluctantly.
"Hrrmph," she squeaked. "Did you not pass along my message?"
"Word for word, My Queen," he said quickly.
"Apparently, Master Michaels doesn't understand that I do not report to anyone but myself," she said as she slowly washed her arms.
She could feel the young vampire watching her. She giggled softly. Apparently, he likes what he sees, she thought. "Very well," she said, "I guess it is time to put Master Michaels in his place."
She stood. If he hadn't already been undead, the young vampire thought he was going to die from shock. The queen was every man's fantasy. He couldn't help but stare.
"Just don't stand there. Hand me a towel before I get cold," she scolded as the bubbles slowly crept down her body.
The vampire nodded. He grabbed a towel and handed it to her. She wrapped it around herself and she stepped out of the Jacuzzi. Despite being physically impossible, she thought that the vampire was sweating. Her powers of seduction were still growing. She absolutely loved how a wink or a smile could render a man completely within her power. In the case of the young vampire, he got to see her naked body. He was now completely overwhelmed.
She slowly walked to the young vampire. She chewed on one of her fingers. Parts of her body were still wet and sparkled in the candlelight. The young vampire staggered backwards. She grabbed him by his shirt and purposely allowed her towel to drop to the floor.
"Where are you going?" she cooed.
"N…N…Nowhere," he stammered as his eyes drifted to her naked body.
"Good," she purred. "I have a favor to ask of you."
The vampire closed his eyes and waited for the pain. Instead, she pulled the taller vampire down to her height and sucked on his ear.
"Now be a good boy and run along and tell Master Michaels to expect me shortly. After we are done with Master Michaels, I want you come back here. I require a small taste of you," she said breathily. "If you are good, I'll let you taste me too."
The young vampire took another glance at his queen and whimpered. She pulled him down and kissed him hard. She pushed him backwards and he staggered out of the room. She smiled. She picked up her towel and finished drying her body. Ten minutes later, she was dressed in one of her leather outfits. She summoned one of her most trusted minions. She had turned a beautician several years ago since she did not have a reflection. For effect, the beautician applied her make-up and left her hair up. She had told her queen many times that was her best look and thusly her most effective when she used her seduction powers. She sent the beautician away so that she could feed. She had important matters to handle. She couldn't keep Master Michaels waiting any longer.
She exited her private domain. Her guards immediately stood tall as she passed by. She paused briefly before kicking one in the ribs and slamming the others face into the wall. She relieved the stunned guards of their stakes. Before they could plead for their lives, she staked both of them through the heart. She had given strict orders not to be disturbed. Obviously, they didn't obey her orders. Their bodies slowly shriveled and died. Two other guards came running. They glanced at their queen for an explanation before realizing that one wasn't required. They removed the rapidly dissolving bodies as Mikhaeli continued towards her meeting with Master Michaels.
She marched through her castle. Vampires ducked out of sight. She heard several cell phones receiving text messages. In the ancient world, she could have killed half of the vampires in the building but in today's world of instant forms of communication, they had already warned each other that they were to make themselves disappear. The queen was on a rampage. She wondered if Master Michaels knew to heed their warnings.
The hallways were quiet as she made her way into the depths of the castle. She didn't know whether or not to be upset with her minions for not being at their stations or be impressed by the fear that she exuded. Instead, she continued onward. She would make up her mind later. She was focused on reaching her underground garage.
When the castle was built at the turn of the twentieth century, the world was shifting towards a new modern form of transportation: The automobile. Mikhaeli, whose wealth rivaled any monarch, had an underground garage built for the numerous automobiles that she had planned to purchase. As automobiles became more prevalent around the world, she had decided to travel. She visited the owners of the modern gold rush: Petroleum. She had invested her wealth in several oil companies and her net worth continued to skyrocket. In turn, she continually upgraded her castles including the garage underneath her Colorado home.
As she entered the garage, she walked into a modern marvel. The bright, white garage was absolutely flawless. Over the years, she had her minions find some of the best mechanics in the region and turn them into her own personal staff. She had a fleet of antique cars ranging from the first Model-T created by Henry Ford, to the classic Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, to the legendary 1956 Chevrolet Corvette. Her current favorite was her 1969 Corvette Stingray Convertible because it was a metallic purple. Despite having a car collection that would make Jay Leno envious, her garage was even more impressive: It was spotless.
As she walked across the polished white floors of her garage, her mechanics bowed in reverence. Several trembled because they had received notices that she was angry. Several others were absolutely terrified because they were still human. Because of their expertise, they were the forbidden fruit of her Colorado kingdom. For their service, they were allowed to live. She had to keep up appearances. If something were to happen to her precious vehicles, they were dispatched to find the parts for repairs. If she found a
ny of them with bite marks from a vampire who did not heed her orders, she had the vampire killed.
She approached the self-proclaimed Master Michaels. He was a physically impressive vampire who she had personally sired only a few months ago. However, unlike the biker that she had sired, he had recently transformed himself into a lord from the mid-eighteenth century. He wore a dark waistcoat with a white silk shirt. The period identifying ruffled cuffs protruded from his sleeves. He accented the outfit with dark breeches, leather shoes and knee high silk stockings. To complete his periodic look, he wore a white wig and he carried a walking stick.
He smiled as his queen approached. She thought that she was going to burst out laughing. He believed that his attire made him look important. She, on the other hand, thought he looked absolutely ridiculous.
"My Queen," he said as he bowed, "It is my honor…"
"To look like a fucking civil war re-enactment loser?" she scoffed.
"Since I am a master…"
"A master of what? I did not bestow any title on you," she scolded.
He bowed again. "My Queen, I believe that you bestowed the title on me when you made me your second…"
"As I said," she said coldly and sternly, "I bestowed nothing on you." She took a step forward and stood toe-to-toe with the much larger vampire. "Furthermore, you do not summon me ever. If you ever forget your place again, I will stake you to the front lawn and watch the birds pick apart the remainder of your charred body. Am I understood?"
The vampire tried not to be intimidated. He remained calm. He stepped backwards and bowed dramatically to match his periodic attire. "My life is to serve, My Queen."
She smiled coyly. "Now what is so fucking important that you dragged me all the way down here?"
"Follow and I will show you," he said as he turned.
She cleared her throat. "I will be escorted," she corrected.
The vampire smiled. "Yes, of course, please let me escort you to our findings."
"Please lead on Michaels," she said.
The vampire nodded and smiled. He kept his anger to himself. He was offended that she refused to call him by his proper title of Master Michaels. He believed that he had earned his title. However, he kept his thoughts to himself and he escorted his queen to the limousine that was feverishly being repaired by her many mechanics. As they approached the vehicle, two of her mechanics stood back-to-back as they were surrounded by several others. Unlike the mechanics that surrounded them, they were terrified. They were also alive.
Michaels laughed, but Mikhaeli strutted forward into the throng of the undead mechanics. She heard a couple whistles and several catcalls from her crew. She stared at each and every vampire. Several vampires checked out her shapely frame. Normally, she wouldn't be offended and actually quite pleased to have caught someone's eye. However, she knew the value of her human mechanics and she had given orders that they were to be left alone. Obviously, someone didn't heed her warnings.
"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.
"Just having some fun," a vampire mechanic stated.
"I have issued direct orders to leave them alone," she scolded. "You have made me very angry."
"You wouldn't be angry if you'd let me pound that tight ass," a blond vampire stated.
Mikhaeli snapped an angry glance at the vampire. He laughed and elbowed his friend in the ribs. She walked up to him and he continued to laugh. He winked at her and she placed her hand over her chest. She batted her eyes at him. He looked at his friend and winked again. She promptly kicked him in the groin. He screamed in agony and doubled over in pain. Before he fell to the ground, she ripped his head from his shoulders. The body began to die. She casually tossed his head to his friend.
"Any questions?" she asked.
The mechanics scattered. They all began to find something to do. Two of the wiser vampires picked up the dissolving corpse and disposed of it. Two other vampires cleaned any residue off of the pristine garage floor. Mikhaeli turned to the frightened human mechanics.
"They won't bother you again," she said.
"T…T…Thank you," one of them said.
"Leave," she ordered.
"W…What?" the other mechanic asked.
"Get out of here. Leave the state. If you mention one word of me to anyone, I will hunt you down and rip out your throats," she said sternly.
The two mechanics looked at each other and ran. They ran to the main doors and pressed the open button. They hopped up and down and looked from side to side. The vampires could sense their fear. Several growled as the urge to feed called to them. When the door had raised a foot from the floor, they dove underneath it. Seconds later, they were on their feet and they ran. Before long, they were completely out of sight.
Michaels had moved next to Mikhaeli. "When do we hunt them down and kill them?" he asked.
"We don't," she said sternly.
"But My Queen?" he protested.
She slowly turned to face her second-in-command. "Are we having trouble understanding my wishes today?" she asked icily.
"Of course not, My Queen," he said as he snapped his fingers. "Let us discuss our findings."
"Yes," she said coldly, "Let's discuss what is so important."
A vampire had responded to the snap of Michaels' fingers. He pushed a cart that contained the dropped contents of Larry's backpack. He bowed to his queen and he stood at attention. She rolled her eyes as she saw their great find. There were vials of holy water; both empty and full. An empty blood bottle was in the center of the table. Two wooden stakes, one of a very light wood and the other a darker wood, were placed below it. She turned to Michaels and frowned.
"You disturbed my bath to show me this?" she scolded.
"I believe that it is a very important find, My Queen," he stated honestly.
"Okay, humor me with your explanation considering our enemies are religious vampire hunters," she stated as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Yes, My Queen, the holy water is easily explained. However, when we examined the bottles," he said as he picked up one of vials, "As you can see, there is blood around the top of this empty one. Considering the empty blood bottle, it appears that someone drank the holy water after drinking the blood. I find that very unusual for humans."
"That's because our vampire hunter isn't human," she stated tersely.
"Then what is he?" Michaels asked.
"You pompous fool," she scolded, "He's fucking vampire."
"My Queen," he said, "You must be mistaken. One of our own wouldn't…"
"He is and he does," she stated.
"But why would he drink holy water?" Michaels asked.
All eyes turned to their queen. She didn't have an answer to that particular question. "I don't know," she said honestly.
Michaels scoffed. "And you call yourself a queen?" he said.
All eyes widened. Michaels had a smug look on his face. Enraged, Mikhaeli grabbed the darker stake from the tray and slammed it into Michaels' chest. He turned enough to avoid the blow from hitting him in the heart. He staggered back and laughed.
"You missed, My Q…" he said before his voice was cut off by a gag as green blood oozed from his nose and mouth.
He fell to the garage floor. Green lines began to trace his body. His body shook wildly. Mikhaeli watched intently as the vampire died before her eyes. A mechanic reached to remove the stake from Michaels' chest. She grabbed him by his collar and yanked him backwards. She snapped his neck and tossed him aside. Michaels reached out to his queen. She ignored his plea for help. She watched a scene that she hadn't seen for almost three centuries. Moments later, his body had shriveled and Michaels was no more.
"M…My Queen," Eric asked as he approached. "Why didn't you…"
"Save him? I needed to see the effects of the stake. I have seen this effect before but it was centuries ago," she said as she ripped the stake from Michaels' decaying body. Green blood dripped onto the polished, white floor.
She
stood and grabbed the other stake from the tray. Before Eric could say another word, she stabbed him in the chest. She purposely missed his heart. The vampire staggered back. He grabbed the stake in his chest and pulled it out. His blood, red blood, dripped from the light colored wood. He stared at his queen as the wound in his chest slowly healed.
"W…W…Why?" he asked as he held the bloody stake in his hand.
She handed him the other stake with the green, decaying vampire blood. "I had to see why this particular stake has such a different effect. If I wanted you dead, I would have never missed your heart."
"But why…" he stammered as he accepted the stake.
"Why you? Because you were the closest. Nothing personal."
The young vampire was still stunned. "I…I…"
Blood Reign Page 18