Blood Reign

by Harvey W. McCarthy

  "Painful isn't it?" she asked.

  Jackson couldn't respond. His body screamed at him to breathe. His entire body was shutting down. He wanted to scream.

  "You want to scream, don't you?" she asked as she continued to trace his body. "You are watching yourself die and you are completely powerless to stop it. Your lungs are begging you for air, but you can't draw a sip of precious air into those aching lungs of yours. Now, spots are filling your vision and your body is slowly failing you. Soon, that one leg that you are standing on will give out as your body begins to shut down as it struggles to keep itself alive."

  Jackson fell onto his back. The remaining air in his body was forced out of his lungs when his back hit the cavern floor. He stared straight ahead. She walked over and looked down into his eyes. He barely saw her through the spots in his vision. She smiled at him and blew him a kiss.

  "I had expected more," she said. "You honestly didn't think that I would want to get your blood all over my beautiful dress, now did you? For being his elite team, you have failed him miserably. Regardless, I have waited for him and now he's mine."

  She walked to a door at the end of the cavern. She opened the door and stepped into the next room. Slowly Jackson's life left him, but he knew that he had not failed.

  A small red light flashed on his belt.

  * * *

  David listened to the conversation on his phone. He cringed at every statement. He turned on the speaker on his cell phone. The team listened. Rowlett blessed himself as he listened to every word. When the speaking ended and it was followed by a prolonged silence, David closed his phone. He looked at the faces visible in the beams of the light.

  "Let his sacrifice not be in vain," David ordered. Everyone nodded.

  * * *

  Christopher Bloodheart stood in the middle of a large cavern. It was cool and damp. Like the tunnels that had led him here, it smelled of blood. The blood was relatively fresh but not recent. Someone or something had either died or had been sacrificed in this cavern in the past few days. He didn't see anything in the flickering torches that lined the walls. An orange hue filled the cavern. The lights danced in his eyes as he became lost in thought.

  He had many thoughts about his pending union ceremony and his new status as Prince of the Vampires. He was strikingly handsome in his period attire. He wore black leather pants with a ruffled white silk shirt that hung low to accent his muscular chest. His short purple silk suit coat, with gold accents, came to his waist. His black leather boots came to just below his knee. His hair, which he had not cut in many months, hung to the top of his neck. He was handsome, yet nervous; he hadn't expected anything like this to happen.

  Before he could deeply ponder his new title, he heard a door creak in the darkness. He could hear foot steps clicking along a stone path that led into the shadows. As the clicking grew louder, his heart began to race. It confused him. He tried to remain calm but there was something about the sound that excited him. As Mikhaeli stepped from the darkness into the flickering torch light, his heart raced. She was more beautiful than he had remembered. More so than before, the excitement had increased his confusion. She smiled at him. He felt as if he were seeing her for the very first time.

  "My dear, you are the vision of loveliness," Vladimir said.

  Christopher shook his head. Vladimir, in a long black hooded robe, had appeared to his left with a black leather bound book in his hands. He had not heard or sensed his presence. He didn't see him enter from any direction. He had suddenly appeared from the musty stale air that filled the cavern. Chris turned his attention to the elder. He gave him a puzzled glance and the hooded Vladimir nodded at him. His excitement waned. He became wary. He looked back at Mikhaeli and suddenly his excitement returned. Again, he was confused.

  She smiled at Vladimir. "Thank you, Vlady," she said as she turned her attention back to Chris, "But, I think, for once, my beauty is trumped by someone else in the room."

  "I believe that you are mistaken, My Queen," Chris said as he was transfixed on Mikhaeli. "You are gorgeous."

  Mikhaeli was truly happy. Her bright smile was genuine. "Thank you, My Prince."

  Chris bowed. "My pleasure," he replied.

  Her smile widened. "Yes, it will be," she said as she admired him.

  Vladimir cleared his throat. "I believe that we are getting ahead of ourselves," he said.

  Mikhaeli bowed to her elder. "Proceed," she said before she turned her attention back to her soon-to-be prince.

  Vladimir smiled wickedly. He turned to Chris. He opened the ancient tattered book. "Bow to your queen," he commanded, "But your eyes, they should wander not, if your commitment is true."

  As commanded, Chris bowed to Mikhaeli. His eyes immediately locked with hers. Her bright blue eyes lustfully followed him as he bowed. His eyes were truly focused on her gaze. If he had wanted to look away, he could not. His body and his mind inexplicably belonged to her. He stood but their mutual stare remained.

  "Now turn and face the representative of darkness and bow. Let your body do my bidding, but do not let your mind wander from the path for which it has been foretold," Vladimir read.

  Chris turned and bowed to Vladimir, but his mind was fixated on the beautiful vampire queen who stood to his right. After Chris stood, Vladimir broadened his wicked smile. Vladimir returned the bow.

  "As per custom," he read after he straightened his body, "I have acknowledged the preferred one's acceptance of the queen and his servitude during the initiation. Are you willing to proceed with the union ritual?"

  "Yes," Chris answered.

  Vladimir turned to Mikhaeli. "My Queen, are you willing to proceed?"

  "Mmmmm hmmmm," she cooed as she continued to lustfully admire Chris.

  Vladimir stared at his queen. "My Queen, the ritual requires you to be clear with your answer."

  She rolled her eyes. "Yes, goddamn it."

  Vladimir held the book in his right hand. "The ritual has been accepted. The queen and her prince are ready. The selection of a mate makes a ruler powerful. A strong mate makes the kingdom stronger," he said as he removed two small vials of blood from his robe pocket and he placed them on his book. "Their blood, which is to be united in the earth, returns from where all powerful vampires must…RISE!"

  He placed the open book on the loose soil in front of him. He picked up each vial of blood from the open book. He held them aloft. He removed the stoppers with his thumbs. He threw his head backwards. The hood remained in place. He stared at the dark ceiling.

  "Maker," he commanded, "Empower this blood."

  He turned his wrists and poured the blood out of the vials. The blood appeared to intertwine as it poured to the ground. It splattered in the loose soil at his feet. The ground darkened as it absorbed the moisture. A small pool of blood formed. Chris and Mikhaeli watched the pool disappear beneath the surface. Vladimir did not look at the cavern floor. Instead, his head remained tilted backwards.

  "Maker," he commanded, "Come forth and empower this union with their blood. The exchange of blood shall commence and your power will rise! RISE! I COMMAND THEE!"

  Mikhaeli placed her finger in her mouth. She sucked on her finger. She pulled it slowly out of her mouth. She dragged her sharp fingernail across her cleavage. Her fingernail pierced her skin. A line of blood formed. Chris, transfixed by the scene, dashed to her. He placed his mouth on her chest and he drank her blood. She held his head and she threw her head back. She moaned loudly.

  "RISE!" Vladimir yelled. His voice shook the walls of the cavern.

  Mikhaeli pulled Chris' face away from her body. Blood dripped from his chin. She forced him backwards. She wanted to push him to a wall and take him right then and there. However, she stopped near Vladimir. She placed her hands inside his shirt and she pulled. His silk shirt was shredded. She drew a line on his chest with her fingernail. He moaned at the sensation. She pressed her face into his body and she drank.

  "RISE!" Vladimir said again. The wal
ls shook again. "FULFILL YOUR DESTINY!"

  Mikhaeli stopped. Chris became weak. He fell to his knees. A pain had overcome him. He looked up at Mikhaeli. She had taken a step backwards. Her hands were held out to her sides. Her head, like Vladimir's, was tilted backwards. Tears formed in her eyes but it was blood. The blood streaked down her face and ran off of her chin.

  "RISE, I COMMAND THEE," she said. "RISE WITH THIS BLOOD!"

  Another debilitating pain shot through Chris' body. As the pain increased, the blood leaking from the wound in his chest flowed freely. It flowed freely from his chest and onto the loose soil. With each drop, he became increasingly weaker. He clutched his ribs. The pain was overwhelming. He vomited. Stars filled his vision. The pain had consumed him.

  The blood slipped through the loose soil. It soaked the black dirt. As the walls and ground shook from the power of Mikhaeli's commanding voice, the blood seeped faster and faster through the soil. As the commands continued, the blood raced faster and faster through the loosened soil until it pooled beneath the surface. Moments later, it was absorbed. The soil shifted.

  "RISE!" Mikhaeli screamed in agony.

  She collapsed. Vladimir laughed evilly. Chris rose to his knees and he crawled away. His pain had subsided but he was still weak. He glanced at Mikhaeli who did not move. He watched intently as the dirt shifted.

  "RISE!" a demonic voice stated.

  The dirt shifted again. The blood soaked soil turned. The cavern floor shook. A crack formed in the soil. A pale hand broke the surface. It pushed the soil away. Another hand broke the surface. The hands began to move faster and faster to push the blood soaked soil away. Soon a demonic vampire head appeared. Vladimir laughed loudly.

  "RISE!" he commanded through his hideous laugh.

  "Viktor," Chris whispered.

  "Rise Viktor Rise!" Vladimir commanded.

  Lord Viktor, who had been preserved by soaking the soil with fresh blood for centuries, crawled out of his grave. His body was covered in bloody, wet soil. His hair, which had grown very long after centuries beneath the earth, was matted to his head. Large clumps of dirt clung to the long strands of hair. He spat the dirt out of his mouth. He pushed himself out of the hole that his body had created. He staggered to his feet. He straightened his soiled, naked body. He turned his attention to Vladimir and he blinked several times.

  "Goooood," Vladimir said as he reached inside of one of his oversized sleeves.

  "W…Where…" Viktor stammered as he tried to speak.

  Vladimir removed a robe from his sleeve. He handed the robe to Viktor. The confused, re-born vampire took it. He was hunched over as he tried to place the robe over his head. He put it on without thinking. He pulled the robe over his body. His body continued to rebuild itself. Chris noticed that his muscles continued to rebuild as his body repaired its injuries. As the robe dropped over his body, the ancient vampire straightened. He tilted his head and his neck cracked loudly. He tilted it to the opposite side and it cracked again. He straightened his shoulders and smiled.

  "Welcome back, Viktor," Vladimir said.

  "Thank you, Master," he said.

  "M…Master?" a confused Mikhaeli asked as she began to stir.

  "Blackraven," Chris said as he staggered to his feet.

  He smiled evilly. "Alas, my cover, after centuries, has been blown," Lord Blackraven said.

  Mikhaeli struggled to her feet. Chris crept over to her. He helped her to her feet. Like him, she was weak. Her eyes looked at him longingly.

  "No," she whispered to him.

  Chris did not respond. He straightened his tired shoulders. He stared at the vampires. His face changed. His vampire face appeared. He smiled wickedly. He walked cautiously towards Blackraven and Viktor. Mikhaeli watched.

  "She's mine," he hissed.

  "Gooood," Lord Blackraven stated. "As per custom, the selected one must protect the kingdom if the vanquished predecessor returns."

  Chris seethed as he embraced his anger to rebuild his waning strength. "I believe this was your plan all along. I knew I shouldn't have believed the rumors of your demise."

  Blackraven smiled. "Viktor, I've grown tired of this…unworthy one. Kill him."

  "NO!" Mikhaeli screamed.

  She ran to Chris' side.

  "STOP!" Viktor commanded.

  Mikhaeli froze in place. Like she had done to Jackson, her body was under his command. She stared blankly ahead. Her heart longed for Chris. He stopped and ran towards her. He stopped too. However, he was not frozen in place. As if an invisible hand had grabbed him, he flew backwards into the cavern wall. Stars filled his vision.

  "I shall enjoy this," Viktor said as he stomped forward.

  Chris shook his head. He rose up onto all fours. He could sense Viktor closing in on him. Viktor kicked at his exposed ribs. Chris, however, expected the move and rolled out of the way. He responded with a sweep kick to Viktor's knee. The ancient vampire collapsed. He hissed as he slammed into the cavern wall.

  Chris flipped up to a standing position. His strength, while not fully restored, was returning. As Viktor rose to a knee, Chris kicked him in the face. Blood sprayed from the wound. The vampire's head snapped to one side. Chris didn't wait for Viktor to recover. He spun through his kick and swung his fist into Viktor's stomach. The vampire doubled over. Chris continued his assault. He swung fist after fist into Victor's head. The sounds echoed throughout the cavern, but not as loudly as Viktor's laugh.

  The newly re-born vampire pulled himself up to his full height. Chris hit him again and his fist cracked against Viktor's jaw. The knuckles on his left hand split open and blood smeared across the vampire's face. Viktor smiled. He turned his neck and it cracked. He tilted his head from side to side again. His smiled broadened. Chris was flabbergasted. He knew that he wasn't at full strength, but the force of his blows should have rendered the vampire unconscious. Instead, he glared at Chris and smiled. Viktor laughed.

  "As I said," he hissed, "I shall enjoy this."

  He swung and Chris swung his arm to block the blow. The blow knocked Chris off balance. Viktor, whose speed and agility were greater than Chris recalled, followed the punch with another blow. Unlike the first, it connected with the stumbling vampire hunter and stars returned to his vision. Several teeth flew along with bloodied spittle from his mouth. Chris, who had fought vampires for centuries, had never been struck so hard in all of his life. Viktor's fist felt harder than the wall that he had struck only moments ago. He fell to his knees.

  Viktor didn't pause to gloat. He kicked Chris in the ribs and a loud cracking sound filled the cavern. The vampire hunter screamed. Acidic bile rushed up his throat. He vomited again. The pain was incredible. Blood poured from his mouth. He tried to crawl up to his hands and knees, but his strength had failed him. Bleeding, he collapsed face first onto the cold, damp cavern floor. His vampire face disappeared.

  Viktor laughed. He paced around his fallen foe. When Chris would attempt to get up to his hands and knees, he would kick him in the ribs. More ribs cracked. The vampire laughed louder with each blow. Several times Chris would rise up onto his hands and knees and Viktor would push him back to the ground with his foot. He'd place his soiled foot on the side of his head and push. The tired and battered warrior would repeatedly slump to the ground. Each time Viktor would laugh louder as would his ancient master.

  "Viktor," Lord Blackraven said.

  "Yes, Master?" Viktor asked.

  "Kill him," Lord Blackraven ordered.

  Viktor smiled. "As you wish."

  A knife flew from the darkness. It whistled past Mikhaeli's ear missing her only by centimeters. It struck Lord Viktor in the shoulder. The vampire grunted from the pain. Tiny crossbow bolts quickly followed. Viktor and Blackraven dropped to the ground. A primal scream filled the cavern. Everyone, except Mikhaeli, turned their attention to the sound. From the darkness, Rowlett, with swords drawn, charged. David and Larry followed with their pistol crossbows drawn.

  "IN HIS
NAME," Rowlett screamed.

  Viktor leapt to his feet and he charged. He pulled the knife from his shoulder and he tossed it aside. Rowlett crossed his swords. Viktor paused as the makeshift holy symbol held enough power to affect the powerful vampire. Rowlett didn't pause. As the vampire staggered, he slashed him across the chest. Viktor grunted as the blades opened wounds on his chest. He staggered backwards.

  David locked in on Blackraven. He fired but the vampire dodged the tiny bolt.

  "Cover me," he said to Larry who nodded as he fired at Blackraven.

  The ancient vampire slipped into the darkness. Larry watched as David turned his attention to Mikhaeli. He raised his crossbow to fire at the frozen vampire queen, but she suddenly fell. Chris, who had crawled to her, had pulled her to the ground.