Gloom Rising (The Book Wielder Saga 1)

by Sean Davies

  Marissa Aluniana walked out onto the stage and the lights came on, illuminating her beautiful form in front of the deep red curtaining behind her. She wore a figure-hugging long white dress that accentuated her gorgeous lithe body, and her hair was a cascade of long chestnut coloured waves that framed her immensely attractive face. Her lips were full and painted bright red, her skin was pale, and her eyes were deep shade of brown. She began serenading the crowd with her famously incredible voice.

  Marissa was one of the most breath taking, drop-dead gorgeous women that Winston had ever seen. However, she was out shadowed in Winston's eyes by the female Vampire sitting next to Lucius. She had her arm around the only vacant seat at the table. She had a cute face but with sly sexy red eyes, and her hair was long, straight, and raven black. Her curvaceous figure was shown off by an extremely tight black corset with red lining and a blood red dress with a slit in the side that revealed a lot of leg and thigh.

  “You didn’t say he was handsome, Boss,” she giggled,

  “It’s not the type of thing I’d notice, is it now, Veronica?” replied Lucius. “Come, take a seat, Winston.”

  Winston took a seat next to Veronica who didn’t move her arm, and he tried to keep his composure.

  “Introduction time then,” began Lucius. “The hungry looking Vampire to your side is Veronica, an expert at Blood Magic and Alchemy.”

  “Charmed,” she purred in her velvet voice, and shook his hand. “I’d love to give you some private lessons on potion making sometime.”

  She gave him a wink that made Winston’s face go bright red and he stammered out a quick thank you.

  Lucius deliberately coughed. “Moving on,” he gestured towards a male and female Werewolf sitting as closely together as the table would allow. “This is Lynette and Kavarne, the ferocious Werewolf couple. Lynette specialises as a Swiftpaw and Kavarne is a Brutebeast, so they bring both strength and agility to the team.”

  Lynette was a tanned skin warrior-women beauty. Her body was attractively lithe, displayed well in her tight-fitting dark brown leathers, and her features were small and sharp and framed by a light brown bob cut of neatly kept hair. Her feral yellow eyes portrayed her inner bestial nature. As a Swiftpaw, she would transform into a large wolf capable of lightning fast movements and attacks.

  Kavarne on the other hand was clearly a beast inside and out. He was a humongous muscled slab of a man, wearing black biker-style riding leathers and several chains as accessories. His face was rough and savage looking. He had long dark brown wild hair that reached just passed his shoulder blades, and he had a thick brown beard with a small plait on his chin just under his lip. As a Brutebeast Kavarne would be able to transform into the stereotypical image of a Werewolf; a huge hulking half-man half-beast, capable of feats of great strength and savagery, armed with a terrifying set of razor sharp fangs and claws.

  Lucius gestured to a smartly dressed man at the table. “This is Alexander, a Mage who’s a pro at destruction.”

  Alexander was short and slender, and had the natural appearance of scholar. He had smartly parted short white hair, and smart spectacles rested on the edge of his nose. He looked young but his purple eyes portrayed his true age and wisdom.

  Alexander shook Winston’s hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you. They call me the ‘Art’, short for Artillery. If you need anything blown up I’m your man.”

  “And this is Xavier,” Lucius pointed at the opposite end of the table. “He’s the leader of your guard and a personal friend of mine from way back before the Shadow Wars when I ran my own keep. He’s a Vampire expert in both Nightclaw and Ironfang skillsets, not to mention a vast array of ranged and close combat techniques.”

  Xavier got up from his chair and approached Winston. He was tall and toned, and deathly pale with shoulder length dark red hair neatly tied back with a black ribbon. His face was handsome, yet his expression was stern and strict, his red eyes constantly searching for possible dangers. He wore a black shirt and red tie with the thin silvery emblem of the Shadow Circle on, and over the top he wore an ankle length black leather trench coat with a blood red lining on the edges and seams. A fine sword was sheathed on his back, two ornate pistols were holstered either side of his hips, and Winston spied a few knives sheathed inside his coat and trouser pockets.

  “It’s a pleasure to be working with you, Winston. We will go above and beyond to protect you as we did with your predecessor, but I cannot stress to you enough the importance of looking out for yourself in The Gloom. Your predecessor was a good man and we guarded him for many years, but we are powerless to help as soon as you cross over to the other plain.”

  Lucius raised his glass. “That may be about to change, my old friend – Winston, tell us all about your recent trip.”

  Winston began a detailed account of his trip to The Gloom, answering questions from his guard as waiters and waitresses laid the table with the finest food he had ever tasted and filled their glasses with expensive wine, champagne, and spirits. By the time he was done, the food was almost gone and he was feeling slightly drunk.

  “Amazing and absolutely fascinating,” Alexander began. “An Artefact that allows stable portals to be created between the real world and The Gloom. The implications are limitless!”

  Xavier stroked his chin with his fingers. “If that thing works we’ll be able to protect you in The Gloom as effectively as we can in the real.”

  Veronica nudged Winston playfully. “He’s got a talent for stating the obvious, right?”

  “Not everything is a joke, Veronica,” Xavier retorted sternly.

  Kavarne spoke in husky voice, “Doesn’t sound like the lad needs the extra muscle in there if he can speak Freak.”

  Alexander cut in, “He may be able to converse with the Gloom’s denizens, which I might add is the first recorded instance of such an ability, but communication won’t get him very far in the ‘uncivilised’ regions of the Gloom.”

  The table was cleared quickly and replaced with lavish deserts, biscuits, and selections of cheeses, grapes, and crackers.

  Winston helped himself to a large portion of chocolate covered profiteroles and vanilla cheesecake topped with ice cream. “I still need to search my book to find out how to use the quill Artefact properly, and when I do I’d much rather have you along than face the Gloom alone.”

  Xavier nodded his head, impressed. “Wise choice. Glad you’ve got a head on your shoulders, it will make keeping you alive easier.”

  The night continued on and conversation and drink flowed smoothly. Winston learned a lot about his personal guard and their history. Alexander was a scholar who was born almost two hundred years ago, and whose studies took him into the world of the Supernaturals. Veronica was a farmer’s daughter from around the same time as Alexander, and she was going to be married off to another family until she caught a Vampire feeding on her parents one night and took his offer to join him instead. Lynette was a fairly modern-made Werewolf; she was a travelling hitchhiker who happened to get picked up by Kavarne on his bike one night, and they’d been lovers since. Winston gleaned very little from the Werewolf Brutebeast, only that he really liked Lynette, motorcycles, and big axes.

  As people started filtering off, Veronica offered to show Winston how to create Sunshield Potion from one of his Crimson Blightmoth wings, and confident from his successful day and a substantial amount of alcohol, he accepted. She led him by the hand to her room. Her touch was cool but her skin was soft, and he tried to remain focused and walk in a straight line. They took the elevator to her floor and she pressed herself against him, her cold lips touching his. He caressed his tongue against hers and tasted wine and blood.

  They entered her room. It was lightly furnished with a few ornaments here and there, everything fabric keeping a consistent theme of red and black colours, and the windows were heavily curtained by thick drapes to stop the sunlight.

  “Right then,” Veronica began, “down
to business.”

  Winston hesitated, unsure whether to undress or get out his Alchemist Kit.

  “Alchemy first, sweetie,” she giggled, and then winked. “Fun afterwards.”

  Bloodmages were said to have certain psychic abilities; Winston wondered how much of his mind was apparent to her.

  She took him into her Alchemy room. The top half of the room was covered with small cabinets, shelves, and tiny drawers for holding equipment and ingredients. Beneath was a white and black marble worktop that ran across three of the four walls, which contained several larger cabinets and ended in an impressively big sink. The ceiling had bright white lights for maximum visibility around one large extractor fan.

  Veronica opened one of the worktop cabinet doors and pulled out a mortar and pestle, cutting board, magefire stone, stand, beakers, vials, and other alchemical equipment. She talked Winston through each step. Luckily the in-depth tutorial seemed to sober him up, and soon he was actively helping her slice, dice, and crush the required reagents that were both native to the real world and the Gloom. They added water to a boiling flask and Veronica tapped the magefire stone, a small pewter grey conical stone that burst in and out of intense magical blue fire on command. Soon it was boiling away, and Winston was shown the correct order in which to add the baser ingredients.

  He opened his kit and Veronica delicately lifted out one wing. “Sell the other and kit yourself out a quality lab. It will be well worth it,” she advised.

  She laid the wing on the cutting board and scored a few cuts across it as gently as she could with a scalpel so it still retained its form. She then brought the cutting board to the boiling flask, and by sliding the scalpel underneath, she added the Crimson Blightmoth wing to the bubbling concoction.

  “That should be enough to make three high quality vials,” Veronica said proudly. “We could’ve stretched it to five or six but they would’ve lacked the same potency. Quality over quantity is more my style. They’ll fetch a good price on the Underworld Market too.”

  “They’re all yours,” Winston began. “I mean, as a Vampire you’d get the best use out of them…”

  Veronica cut off his flustered gesture by putting her arms around his waist and pressing her impressive chest against him. “I’m flattered, sweetie, but that’s a lot of money’s worth of potion you’re offering me. You don’t need to impress me. I read you when I first saw you and I know you’re a good man…” She slid one hand down to his groin and grabbed him hard. “But still bad enough to be interesting.”

  “Then take them as a thank you for the Alchemy lesson,” he said, his cock growing rock hard in Veronica’s strong grip.

  “Well if you insist, sweetie,” she said, getting onto her knees. She flopped her large firm breasts out over the top of her corset. “But you’re getting an extra treat for them.”

  Veronica tugged forcefully on her big light-pink nipples and it made Winston’s cock throb at the sight. She quickly removed his trousers and boxer shorts and slowly, deliberately to build the anticipation, moved her mouth towards the end of his manhood. Winston had never felt anything so intense before. He ran his fingers through her silky soft hair as her head bobbed back and forth, watching her impressively large tits rock back and forth. It wasn’t long before he finished in her mouth, his legs shaking with the immense pleasure as she sucked out every last drop of cum. She swallowed it all without a second thought.

  “Sorry.” He wiped the perspiration from his face. “It’s embarrassing but I haven’t actually had much experience with this kind of stuff.”

  The only experience he did have was an awkward encounter with a girl he’d been to school with. They’d lost their virginity together after their school graduation party, and it wasn’t very exciting for either of them. That and a few failed relationships with some local girls who he had nothing in common with, but not one of them even came close to Veronica’s overwhelming beauty and sexual allure.

  “Don’t worry.” She got back on her feet and drew him close. “I’ve got just the thing.”

  She placed her hand next to his head, leaving it just a few inches away from his temple, and created a short burst of red wispy Blood Magic. The wisps flittered from Veronica’s hand like translucent red fireflies and straight into Winston’s head. The magic surged into his skull and sent flashes of pure erotic thoughts coursing through his mind, his heart pumping so hard he could feel his pulse pounding throughout his body.

  His animal instincts took over. He kissed her hard and passionately, his hands fondling her breasts greedily. She led him back to the bedroom and he threw her down onto her soft red sheets. Winston removed his clothes with lightning fast dexterity, and Veronica put her legs together and gracefully removed what little underwear she had on. Winston aggressively parted her legs and slammed himself inside her. He relentlessly thrust in and out of her like a battering ram as she moaned, groaned, and screamed with pleasure. She dug her nails into his back, raking them down his shoulder blades and biting into his neck, sampling his blood. He could feel the warmth flowing through her body, and her cold dripping wet vagina heating up like an oven.

  The night became a timeless mad rush of passion and they both lost count of how many times they had finished. He had fucked her in every hole, in every position he could think of, cum inside and onto her body, and been drenched in her own fluids over and over. The bed was a complete mess.

  When the magical spell had worn off, Veronica got onto her knees and tugged him off all over her face and chest. She used her fingers to sexily scoop it into her mouth and kissed him on his sore overspent dick.

  Winston sat on the floor completely exhausted. Veronica tossed him a towel, and he hastily dabbed away the sweat and other fluids as Veronica quickly swapped the ruined bed sheets with a spare set from one of her wardrobes.

  “That was fun.” She put out a hand and helped him to his feet. “Very well done, sweetie.”

  He kissed her romantically, tasting both of them on her tongue. “That was incredible.”

  “Glad you enjoyed it. There’s plenty more where that came from.” She hesitated for a moment. “…if you fancy sticking with me?” she asked sincerely.

  He nodded sleepily. “Definitely, you’re amazing!

  She smiled happily and kissed him. “Now, I think its shower time.”

  Struggling to remain conscious, Winston showered with Veronica in her fancy spacious bathroom. He watched as the soapy water ran down her gorgeous hourglass form and he wondered how he got so lucky.

  After he was dry he checked his neck in the bathroom mirror. The bite marks had faded which was no surprise to him; he had heard Vampire saliva had healing properties on humans. It was a natural built-in survival mechanism, a way to enable them to feed and slink away, leaving a scared, confused, or aroused human with no real evidence of what had happened.

  The myth that a Vampire or Werewolf bite would turn you into one of them was false; transforming into a Supernatural actually required drinking a fair quantity of their blood. It was said to be a very uncomfortable and painful process, but obviously well worth it if a life above the mundane was what you craved.

  Winston hadn’t put much thought into what Supernatural he wanted to become. Many Book Wielders became either Vampires, Werewolves, or Mages, for the immortality and increased survivability, and of course extra spells and abilities. He would definitely have to put some thought into it. He wondered if Veronica would mind if he became something other than a Vampire.

  He climbed into bed next Veronica, who had slipped into a short black negligee that was mostly see through and was casually flicking through a book, and got comfy next to her.

  She leaned over and kissed him. “Sweet dreams honey.”

  “Just one question,” he began as he closed his eyes. “Why pick me? You’re so hot and I haven’t really done anything interesting. My life’s always been quite dull. Well, until I found my book.”

  Veronica
paused as if in deep thought, and then sighed. “Even as a human I could sense things. It’s hard to put into words but I could always tell what course of action I was supposed to take. When my parents told me that I was going to be married off, I knew it was wrong. I knew I was waiting for someone else. It sounds cheesy but when I first saw you I knew you were the one I’d been waiting for all this time. You can probably tell I haven’t been an angel over the years but I’ve always been saving my heart for you.” She gently ran her fingers through his hair. “And I’m not interested in you for the things that you have done – I’m interested in you for the things that you’re going to do.”

  Winston dozed off into dreams of purple clouds and fading stars before he had a chance to ask her what she meant.

  Chapter 3:

  Woodsholme Road Trip

  Winston awoke feeling highly content. With what little sunlight that did make it through Veronica's thick blinds painting the room in a calming shade of red, he rolled over to find that his lover was gone.

  He felt a surge of disappointment and feared that the night had been a one-off, until he saw that a note had been left on her pillow. It read;

  Morning sweetie,

  Thanks again for the wild night! Hope it was the first of many!

  Meet us in the underground garage (I'll be napping in the back of the van)

  Lots of love and naughtiness,

  Veronica,

  X x X x X x X x X x X

  With a sigh of relief he took another shower for good measure. He got his suit on and double checked that his book and quill were still in his inner jacket pocket, and then headed downstairs for some breakfast.

  The kitchen staff had been informed about him so they offered him a seat in the communal dining room without any fuss and got him a menu. He ordered a large plate of scrambled eggs and toast with coffee to drink, free of charge, and scoffed it all down quickly to the disapproving looks of other hotel customers. After he was done he asked for directions to the private underground garage and headed there.