Blood Of Kings (Transfusion Book 3)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “Maybe you’re right…maybe waking you up in the middle of the night is a good idea.” On Lucius hearing this, I soon felt my body begin to shake with his quiet laughter. Then he placed me down, whipped his tee off my body and then used that to soak up my dripping core below, cleaning me where I clearly didn’t have the strength to. And I had to say, it felt so intimate to be cared for in this way, I couldn’t help but smile. Then I felt him get into bed behind me, and position my back to his front, wrapping me in his arms and resting my head on his bicep.

  “It’s not just a good idea…it’s the best idea, love. Now go back to sleep,” Lucius said, giving me a squeeze. This was one order I had no problem accepting as the second my eyes closed, I felt myself drifting.

  And that morning…

  I woke with Lucius cupping my sex possessively.

  Chapter 15

  Torn Hell

  The next day Lucius woke in a far better mood and I suppose it was easy to put this down to a number of reasons, the main one being he was essentially home. This became obvious when the first thing he declared that morning was the day’s plans, this being a tour of his mountain castle.

  However, before this better mood began, two things happened. The first being that after I had woken to finding Lucius’ hand resting in between my legs, I had strangely fallen back to sleep, and doing so with a knowing grin on my face. Then the next time I had woken, it was to find Lucius gone. Which lead on to the second thing to happen and that was realising how sore my eyes were.

  I sat up and tried to focus, blinking away the sleep that seemed to cling to my vision thanks to sleeping with my contact lenses in…again. Unfortunately, this also meant that by the time Lucius was walking out of the bathroom already dressed for the day, he caught me like this. And well, naturally one look at me when I started blinking rapidly and I soon found my head framed in his big hands, as he started tipping my face up to look at him.

  His growl of disapproval wasn’t a surprise.

  “Amelia.” Again, my name being said in the same disapproving way also, wasn’t a surprise.

  “It’s okay, I just need…”

  “What you need to do is remember to fucking take them out!” he snapped making me narrow my blurred and sore eyes back at him.

  “Well, I would have done but then I didn’t exactly fancy a day of feeling for the walls and walking around like Mr Magoo!” I argued back, knowing that just from his face alone, he had no clue as to who Mr Magoo was and really, was I surprised? If anything, I think I might have fainted had he said, ‘oh yeah, that’s true, honey, you do resemble that cartoon of a near sighted retiree that finds himself in comical situations’. But of course, instead of this I got a clipped,

  “Who the fuck is Mr Magoo?!”

  “Never mind, the point being I don’t have my glasses as I packed them in my bag and left them at…”

  “You mean that bag over there,” he said interrupting me and motioning to the sofa in the room where I could kind of see a dark spot.

  “Oh,” was my award winning, witty reply. After this he cut me some slack and walked over to where my bag was to retrieve my glasses for me. Then, as I got up from the bed, ready to grab his Tee, yet again to wear, he snatched me up in his arms making me squeal.

  “Hey, what are you…?!”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself…Miss Magoo,” he said making me chuckle as he walked me into the bathroom. Once there he placed me on my feet in front of the vanity.

  “Now time to get ready, sweetheart, and I will be back in a little while, as I have a bit of business to attend to,” he told me, whilst running his fingertips down the valley of my breasts to my stomach and making me shudder against him. Then when he paused, his hand splayed out against where the worst of my bruise had been and said,

  “It eases my soul once more to see you as you were.” I inhaled a quick breath and held it there, letting his words roll over me like a warm blanket.

  “I…”

  “Twenty minutes, Amelia, no more,” he said interrupting whatever it was I was about to say in response to his tender words.

  Then he placed my glasses down and put one of my hands on top of them, letting me know where they were. I pursed my lips and frowned.

  “I’m not that blind!” I shouted back as he walked from the bathroom and but of course, doing so now,

  Chuckling.

  A little time later and after what felt like trying to win a losing battle to gouge my own eyes out, I was just putting on a pair of sneakers when Lucius walked back in. He also found me wearing a pair of stonewash skinny jeans with zips up the ankles and a navy blue T shirt that was dotted with little white stars clustered at the hem. To this I’d added a navy and white striped long knitted cardigan that was soft and baggy in its design, even to the point of being called slouchy. It also had large pockets to keep my hands warm just in case as I had no idea how cold it would be when walking around inside a mountain. As let’s face it, it wasn’t exactly the type of advice TripAdvisor would be able to offer.

  I had also tied my hair up into a messy bun, and was wearing my trusty thick black rimmed glasses, that yes, I knew made me look like a geek. However, it was clear that after last night, my eyes needed the rest.

  Lucius found me kicking my feet into my shoes and I looked up, speaking as I did,

  “It’s a great view out…whoa!” This ended because I found myself in his arms and plastered to his front before he grabbed my soon to be even messier bun and kissed me as if he hadn’t seen me in days, not the twenty or so minutes ago.

  The kiss didn’t last long, but it was one that would have curled my toes had I been an evil Disney villain. On the other end of the Disney spectrum, it was also one that would have had birds singing and mice blushing, before a pixelated screen flashed up with a warning saying, ‘no longer suitable for younger audiences’.

  Needless to say, my glasses were slightly steamed, and I was panting by the time his lips left mine. Then he tipped my head back and said,

  “There’s my beautiful girl.”

  After this he took my hand and started to walk me to the door, but I pulled back slightly and asked,

  “Where are we going?” as I didn’t know why, but I found myself nervous.

  “We are going to have breakfast in my private living space.”

  “Erm, but I thought this was your room?” I asked, looking back behind me now and if I was honest, even thinking to myself that it seemed a little tame for Lucius’ taste. That and smaller than I would have imagined. He laughed once and said,

  “No, Amelia, this is just one of the guest rooms, my space is…well, let’s say it’s a lot more…spacious.” He said this as if it was an inside joke, one I would no doubt get once I had actually seen it for myself.

  I had to say I was surprised by Lucius’ behaviour as he seemed almost excited for me to see it, grinning a lot more than usual. But then, this could have been down to seeing the trepidation in my eyes and he was enjoying making me squirm. Something that was fast becoming his new favorite hobby, I was sure. Well, other than making me come a lot, I thought with a hidden smirk and a silent Hail Mary for that one!

  I had to say that his home was a strange mix of castle meets manor home, meets a large network of tunnels inside a cave. Some parts were long large hallways, with smooth walls and hanging tapestries made to depict what I imagined was Hell in its different beliefs. For example, there was one that was clearly Ancient Mesopotamia, as the Sumerian afterlife was a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, one which was shown on the tapestry.

  It also showed where Hell’s inhabitants were believed to continue a shadowy version of life on Earth, a bleak domain known as Kur. It was also believed to be ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal, if memory served me right. Which was why I asked to be sure,

  “Is Kur ruled by the goddess, Ereshkigal?” Lucius paused, with my hand still in his and looked up to see what had triggered that question. Then his e
yes came back to me and they crinkled at the sides with the smile he gave me.

  “You know of Sumerian history?” He looked impressed, which in turn made me blush.

  “Yeah, a little,” I said lying. He raised a brow in a way that told me he didn’t believe me.

  “Sumerians believed that all souls ended up in the same afterlife, and that a person's actions during their life had no effect on how that person would be treated in the next world to come,” Lucius said in a way that made this belief sound utterly foolish to him.

  “A bit contradictory then when it was also believed that the souls in Kur were thought to eat nothing but dry dust and was the reason why family members of the deceased would ritually pour drinks into the dead person's grave through a clay pipe, thereby allowing the dead to drink,” I said thinking out loud and Lucius gave me a look before commenting drily,

  “Oh yes, a little, indeed.”

  This was in reference to my earlier comment about knowing only a bit about the history we spoke of. But then I was often used to downplaying my knowledge, as I always feared that I came over as a know it all and also, well…boring. In fact, Wendy flatly refused to watch any more quiz shows on TV with me, as I would just spend the entire time blurting out the answers and moaning when they got them wrong.

  So, naturally I ignored his comment and went back to focusing on the dark and gloomy scene in front of me.

  “Mmm, I wonder which other cultures you will recognise?” Lucius wondered aloud, now setting a challenge for me.

  “Well, back there was somewhere in Asia, as I noticed a red dragon, but I confess I don’t know too much about that one.” He smirked at this but didn’t comment, instead nodding for me to continue.

  “And you also had, Africa, with the Hell of Swahili mythology that I believe is called Kuzimu, and it is thought that this developed under the influence of Muslim merchants at the east African coast,” I told him no longer holding back. He folded his arms and lent his body against the wall next to the Sumerian Hell and said,

  “And I am curious, what in the art gave that one away?”

  “Well, it’s believed to be a very cold place, unlike most depictions of Hell and well, the scene of people all looking like they are freezing their asses off, kinda gave it away.” At this he threw his head back and laughed before pulling me to him, holding me close and rubbing his chin on the top of my head.

  “Mmm, rightly so, my smart little scholar.”

  After this sweet endearment we carried on, with me pointing out those I knew, which was almost all of them. Of course, I got so excited when I saw my favorite subject,

  “Ancient Egypt!” I shouted, quickly pulling him back. I then stared at the tapestry and it was so beautiful I actually reached out to touch it, stopping myself just in time. I then looked to Lucius and blushed, mumbling a quick,

  “Sorry, I couldn’t help…”

  “Amelia.” He said my name again in that soft reprimanding way of his before explaining why,

  “You’re my Chosen One.” Erm…or should I say, more like just adding to the confusion with that statement.

  “I don’t understand, what has that got to do with…”

  “It means if you want to touch it, then touch it… fuck, make a dress out of it if you want to, I don’t care so long as you treat this place like your own,” he said in his usual forceful manner.

  “Erm…” This was when he got closer and said,

  “Which means you are free to touch whatever the Hell you want, for if it belongs to me, then it belongs to you…now do you understand?”

  “I, erm…well, I’m not sure…” I started to say when he decided for himself,

  “She understands,” he muttered to no one, as if this was final. So, I went back to the art on the wall and to prove a point and (to basically make Lucius happy) I reached out and started to trace one of the forty two divine judges it was believed a dead person faced at a tribunal. This was to determine if they had led a life in conformance with the principles of the goddess Maat. A deity who represented truth and right living, who would welcome the person into the Heavenly reed fields.

  However, on the opposing end of this, if a person was found guilty, they were thrown to Ammit, the "devourer of the dead", and would be condemned to the lake of fire, which showed on the image below the divine court. It was also believed that the person taken by the devourer was subjected first to terrifying punishments and then annihilated. So not really a very happy ending I thought wryly.

  I felt Lucius watching me with great interest, which meant I felt the need to fill the silence.

  “It does make me wonder…”

  “Um, about what, Pet?” he asked in a knowing tone as if what I was going to say next was a sure way of amusing him. This being one of the reasons I chose not to look at him, as I could see even from the corner of my eye the way he was tapping two fingers over his mouth as if to hide his grin.

  “I wonder if these depictions of punishment may have influenced the medieval perceptions of the inferno in Hell found in early Christian and Coptic texts?” He made a ‘humming’ sound and said,

  “That’s a coincidence, as I was wondering the exact same thing.” At Lucius’ comment I totally fell for it when asking in an excitable tone,

  “You were?!” At this his gaze softened and he ran the back of his finger down my cheek before saying,

  “No sweetheart, I was wondering how soon I can make it so as I am fucking you again, only this time on my bed.” At this my eyes widened before I smacked his arm and said,

  “No, you weren’t!”

  “Oh, I can assure you, I fucking was, and despite how adorably cute I find your intelligence and passion for giving me a history lesson, I also find it a fucking turn on of the likes you wouldn’t believe.” Okay, so now my eyes really widened, and I uttered a breathy,

  “Seriously?”

  “I swear to all these Hells and back,” he said getting closer and whispering it only an few inches from my face. Then he straightened and said,

  “So, if you are finished with your studies, or should I say, finished with mine, I have something far more interesting for you to focus on.” This sentence ended with a wink and I groaned before commenting,

  “You mean your cock, don’t you?” He turned with a smirk, took my hand and said in a confident tone,

  “Yes, yes I do.” I laughed at this and let him pull me along, but then at the very last tapestry I couldn’t help but notice the major difference in this one.

  First, it was from the classic Greek mythology. The image of what I could make out, was a deep, gloomy place, like a pit or abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering of those that resided within Hades’ domain. But then below this, was something far worse and the moment I saw the fiery mountain in the middle of a vast wasteland, I knew exactly what it was.

  Tartarus.

  Of course, nothing about this version of Hell depicted on this tapestry would have screamed out of place, for it was just another belief. Another civilization’s version of Hell and where the sinful ended up. And this should have been it. This should have been like all the rest.

  But it wasn’t.

  Because this one wasn’t like the rest.

  No, this one had met a destructive end. This one had met the force of someone’s temper.

  Someone’s claws.

  Had met…

  Lucius’ rage.

  Chapter 16

  Sigil of Lucius

  Tartarus

  This was what my thoughts were stuck on and it didn’t take long before Lucius started to notice my mind was elsewhere. However, on this occasion he must have chosen to give me this time, no doubt putting it down to how strange my surroundings were. I mean, just trying to get your head around the fact that you were inside a castle, cocooned inside a hollowed out mountain, was enough for more than just a few deeper thoughts.

  But then this was me we were referring to, so naturally my thoughts were still rooted in
Hell. I just wished that I knew all the details surrounding the past. Or should I say, his past, as I just knew it was something big. It had to be if it was purposely being kept from me. In that moment I couldn’t help but look to his gloved hand and ask myself if that had something to do with it?

  Of course, I knew that Tartarus was real, as Hell and Heaven were not as a single person would have believed them to be. No, it in fact consisted of everyone’s beliefs. Just like the Gods, whose greater power came from the strength of that mortal’s belief in them. And this was no different in Hell. Each of the tapestries do, in some way, actually exist in Hell and the ferrymen simply get you to your final destination depending on factors that surround how you live your life.

  This was similar to Heaven in a sense, but then again, each of the two were worlds just as complex as the Earth was in between. Factors, consequences and rules were everywhere to be found, just as there were species, deities, fates and angels, who all ruled their own pieces and ran these sectors with their own set of rules. It was literally a minefield and Hell was no different, if somewhat more brutal in its punishments.

  But Hell wasn’t exactly all fire and brimstone like most depictions would have you believe. There was order, there were rules and with these the rulers that enforced them. There were palaces, realms and kingdoms that were fought for and conquered by the strongest. There were rivers and mountains, deserts and fortresses, strongholds and castles and more. Jeez, but even my father had his own palace in Hell!

  Of course, I was solely mortal, so I had naturally never been there as unless you croaked it, then it was impossible. I had heard it slip out once that my mother had been there a few times, even encountering my grandfather on one occasion. A high ranking Demon who was actually the Prince of Lust and part of the guild of the nine circles. But then, the nine circles of Hell did make up for seventy percent of Hell, so it meant he was kind of a big deal down there.

  My mother, of course, hadn’t actually been completely human, hence being granted access without needing to die first. Which made me now wonder, did Lucius have a place there?