“Really?” I fell for it.
“Fuck no, I am normally in bed by ten.” I laughed at her reply and knew she was joking around just to make me feel better. Then when we were silent a moment, she released a sigh and said,
“Look, none of this is your fault, you know.” I gave her a raised brow of disbelief.
“I am serious…I mean do I look like I ask anyone for permission in my decision making?”
“It’s not the same thing,” I muttered.
“Yeah, it is. Look Fae, Faith, Amelia, or spring chicken, whatever it is you wanna be called, Princess, just as long as you listen to me. I was the one who let my heart rule my head that day you all walked into my shop. I let that cocky bastard flash his handsome smile at me and knew the second he did I would end up doing anything he asked,” she admitted, making me ignore the spring chicken part.
“You would have?”
“Shocking huh, I guess my badass act is a good one?” Her reply didn’t surprise me.
“You got it that bad, huh?” I asked making her drop her head to her bent knees, at the same time running both hands over her hair, pushing it back with her fingers combing through it.
“Hey, I am not judging here and trust me when I say I know the feeling.” At this she lifted her head and looked at me, silently prompting me to say more.
“This may seem hard to believe seeing as Lucius is just known as some tyrant king without a heart to you, but to me…oh Gods, he was always so much more.” Her eyes widened in surprise before admitting,
“Well shit, I always thought he kinda just found you one day and then stole you away to be his queen.” I laughed and admitted,
“I wish.”
“You do?” Her shocked disbelief was clear.
“Oh yeah,” I said in that dreamy way that couldn’t be taken any other way.
“Look, you think you have it bad for Vern, only ask yourself how bad would that obsession be now if it had lasted over ten years?”
“Ah, I see,” she said nodding, finally getting it.
“When I first met Lucius, it was when he saved my life and after that point, well let’s just say, he wasn’t exactly nice to me,” I told her making her laugh and say,
“Sorry, but now this is the part of the story I can see.” I flicked her arm and said,
“Oi, I am kinda bleeding my heart out here…do you mind?” She smirked and said,
“Seriously, I get it…When I first met Vern, he saved me too…well after making the trouble that got me into trouble in the first place, that was.”
“Ah, now this is the part of the story I can see,” I said throwing her words back at her and making her laugh.
“So why don’t you tell me about it.” She raised her eyes and looked around before saying,
“What here?” I laughed once and replied,
“It’s not like we don’t have time or anything.” She shrugged her shoulders obviously agreeing with me before starting her story.
“I first saw him when I was in this crappy pub near my shop, you remember, the Devil’s Cup?”
“Oh, that fine establishment, yeah I think I remember,” I said making us both laugh.
“Yeah, that shit hole. Anyway, I was doing a house call, delivering some cure for hoof fungus when I first noticed the notorious McBain brothers.” I smirked and asked,
“Notorious, huh?”
“Are you kiddin’, those three are bloody famous for the shit they get up to. In fact, they have never lost a bounty and claimed coin for every one. They are about three harrowing stories away from reaching legendary status,” she informed me making me agree,
“Oh, I can believe it,” I said because just thinking back to the way they had torn that Spider Queen apart and saved me that day, I would have said they hit legendary level with that one alone.
“Anyway, this was the first time I had seen them, not long having my shop open, before me it was a fucking florist, can you believe it? Some stupid pixie thinking she could actually sell flowers in that shit stain of a town. Anyway, after that lasted all of five minutes before making her broke, I bought the place for a steal.” I chuckled as I could literally see it being played out for myself. A naïve, blue haired Nero turning up with nothing but a bag and a mind full of hope at starting her new life, even if like she said, it was in some shit old town.
“Thank the Gods romance is dead in Hell, eh?” I said making her laugh in response to the flower shop dying a wilting death.
“Yeah, well that may be true but there were enough bloody females ready to lay down a pathway of rose petals to get one of the McBains into bed, man sluts every one of them.” This only half surprised me.
“What even Gryph?” I asked shocked, because, yeah I could totally see it from the other two.
“Especially Gryph…hello, have you seen those muscles? Besides it’s all about hot Vikings nowadays, and as long as he keeps his Scottish mouth shut, then they would be all over that Viking man candy.” I laughed at this not exactly picturing it, even though, yeah it had to be said, all three of them were hot enough to burn down parts of Hell and that’s without it coming from a fire breathing Wyvern.
“So, where was I…oh yeah, so there I was stood at the bar waiting for the barman to finish his order and not gonna lie, I was enjoying the view from my spot when suddenly I felt a flunkin hit my foot.”
“What’s a flunkin?” I asked getting her off track.
“It’s used in a pub game called Aimitin.”
“That’s a weird name for a pub game…oh, I get it, Aim. It. In.”
“And there it is…anyway a flunkin is a spiked ball that you throw at a target to gain points, a bit like Earth’s dartboard only square but there’s a hole in the middle that’s only just big enough for the ball,” she explained making it easy to picture.
“What happens if you get it in the middle?” I asked truly interested to know.
“Then you automatically win the game, despite how many points your opponent has accumulated.”
“Okay, so that sounds easy enough…so you were saying one hit your foot?” I said, steering her back now the importance of a flunkin and Aimitin were fully explained.
“Yeah it did, but not before first hitting Kellen, a big pissed off bastard who is known as a Mephistopheles.” This was a name I hadn’t heard before so naturally had to ask her what one was.
“Just think of your worst nightmare and then the guy who is your nightmare’s worst nightmare and you get the picture, but if not then think a winged demon with tusks protruding out of his cheeks, with his skin stitched together with the skin of his victims like some patchwork quilt your grandma would make…that was if your grandma was a murdering psychopath that was Godmother to Ted Bundy and Hannibal Lector’s love child.” I winced and said,
“Geez, okay, okay getting the picture, the guy is ugly and in a ‘I ate the ugly stick for breakfast’ kind of way.”
“Yeah, after first beating other people to death with it and making a coat out of them…anyway, the flunkin bounced off Kellen, before rolling into my foot. Meaning that when I picked it up, I was left holding the bloody thing when Kellen turned around and saw the cause of his now bloody face held in my hand,” she said making my eyes grow wide before whispering,
“Oh shit.”
“Yeah, oh shit indeed,” she agreed with a shake of her head as if she were seeing it all play out in front of her.
“So, what happened next?”
“You mean after the bastard lifted me up by the throat and started strangling me?”
“Okay, so that’s another oh shit moment,” I added with a nod of my head, asking myself now how she had survived as long as she had in that town. Oh, right…magic.
“It was, but then let’s just say it was worth the pain when a hand landed on the arm that held me and a sexy Scottish voice ordered to let the pretty girl go.” I couldn’t help it, I actually girly sighed making her say,
“I know right…anyway, when
Kellen refused, that same hand became inflamed and the scent of burning skin kinda ruined the moment for a while there. But after punching a flaming fist into Kellen’s face and knocking him out cold, he bought me a drink and led me over to where his brothers were still playing. No doubt still having their brother’s back from a distance…they are cool like that,” she added with a chuckle.
“And then what happened?” This was when Nero frowned and started to look uncomfortable. I soon knew why.
“Oh, that was when he spent about five minutes with me, before snagging one of the waitresses around the waist, whispering something in her ear before disappearing with her upstairs into the room he was staying in for the night.” I winced at that, put a comforting hand on her shoulder and said,
“That’s sucks, I am sorry, Nero…Gods, but what an asshole,” I said because I knew it would make her feel better. She shrugged and said,
“Ah, but it is what it is, Vern just sees me as a friend and that’s it, once he told me he thought of me as a little sister or something, which was after I questioned why he broke some demon’s hand for touching me.” I frowned at this wondering if there wasn’t more to it than she was obviously seeing. I had a feeling Vern was hiding how he truly felt and let’s face it, I knew what that felt like too. But I didn’t say any of this, as I didn’t think it fair to get her hopes up when that might not be true.
“So that’s why you give him a hard time, to hide how you truly feel?” She tensed her shoulders a little and said,
“What can I say, defence mechanism 101, baby.” Yep, I knew all about that one too. After all, it was a game Lucius played with me for years. I went on to tell her a little about my own experience with Lucius, explaining how he treated me in his nightclub the first time I sneaked in.
Of course, she did the classic girls stick together mate thing, which was basically call him a bastard and dub him an asshole for treating me like that. But then I went on to tell her a little of why, and how mainly it was to protect me. That in the end none of it really mattered anymore because he loved me and I loved him, which was all that really counted.
Naturally, she was also curious to know what it was like, dating the Tyrant King of blood and death, ending my explanation with her stunned reply,
“You’re shitting me?!” This was of course, after I told her how sweet he was and how he even watched geeky programs with me. That he was romantic and caring, protective and even at times, a gentleman. Nero’s reaction ended up getting us some attention when one of the Harpy guards hit her mace type weapon against the bars, snarling at us to be quiet.
I would have said something equally as threatening as it was funny in return had my attention not been rooted elsewhere. This was because the Queen was now on the ground and barking orders at her minions to have something covered in a deep red material brought forward, for their master was coming to claim his prize.
Meaning that when the object was being placed on a plinth at the centre of the open space and the material was pulled back to reveal the Eye of Crimson, I had to question,
What prize was that exactly?
The Eye or…
A Vampire King’s Chosen One?
Chapter Fourteen
A Harpy’s Revenge
“Okay, so I take back all previous oh shits and reserve the right to use it now…oh shit,” Nero said at the sight of the Eye being displayed like some crown jewel. Another bang on the front of the cage made us both jump this time and again I would have reacted differently. That was if I wasn’t doing a guppy impression whilst watching the show unfold in front of us.
The Harpies were crowded around a black plinth that held the Eye of Crimson at its centre like a jewel on an ostentatious crown. It had long fingers of gold that were steepled up like the decorative parts on a cathedral's roof. But it wasn't the site of the Eye that struck me silent and without a witty comeback, it was the Harpies strange reaction to it.
The way they circled it, whilst clicking their tongues on the roof of their mouths before hissing out words I couldn't understand. Even their wings spread out and shuddered as if they couldn't contain themselves at the sight of the power presented to them. From what I could gather from Nero's reaction back down in the temple and before we were attacked, was that before this point in time the Eye had been little more than just a myth. And now, watching the way the Harpies reacted to it, I had to question just how far that myth had travelled down in Hell. Because to watch them now and you would have thought the God Janus himself had been sat upon a throne in the centre of their world. Not just a representation of his bleeding heart for mankind.
“I don't know about you, but I've got a bad feeling about this,” Nero said, without taking her enamoured gaze from the Eye of Crimson. But with this comment I couldn't help but turn to ask her,
“And you're only now getting this bad feeling? Because unless kidnapping is a regular occurrence for you, then I think time for bad feelings was when you were knocked unconscious and presumed dead…which was not fun for me by the way.” My sarcastic response got me a raised brow in return before she admitted,
“Okay, so I see your point because being knocked out and bleeding on the floor wasn't fun for me either.”
“It never is,” I commented dryly, and her look said it all.
“Seriously, girl, do you have a normal life or anything because I live in Hell and even I don't go through this much shit on a regular basis?” Nero said making me laugh before telling her,
“Would you believe me if I told you my life was pretty boring before I met Lucius.” She started nodding and agreed,
“Actually yeah, I would…damn men, eh?” It was my turn to nod.
“You got that right. Although it does have to be said that since meeting him, I equally get myself in this much shit without his help,” I admitted, feeling guilty daily for what Lucius had to deal with. Hell, but trying to keep me safe was almost a pointless endeavour these days. Because you could lead a horse to water but making it drink was another thing or in my case making it stay in its bloody stable until it was ready to be ridden was another thing. And well, Lucius was one hell of a rider!
“No, Princess, that really does not surprise me.” I gave her a coy look and questioned,
“No?”
“No offence, but I smelled trouble on you the second you walked in my shop…well, after the walking, talking, troublemaking, sex on a red Scottish stick, Wyvern…that was, oh but damn that hot blooded male sent from the Gods to ravish…” I swear I started choking before holding up my hands and saying,
“Okay, okay, getting a pretty clear yet steamy, overly hot picture here.” She laughed before shrugging her shoulders unapologetically and despite what was happening all around us, every time either of us did laugh, it only managed to ease the tension of our unknown fate.
“What do you think they're going to do with it?” Nero asked after a few moments of silence.
“Well, whatever it is, I don't think they're going to play dodgeball with it. Look, here comes the Queen,” I said whispering this last part as she walked across the bailey dragging behind her the long silk tail of her dress. Now doing so as if she had been born into royalty. But strangely this thought led into one that had no reasoning behind it and for purposes I couldn't explain, I knew that she had been granted or gifted the life she now possessed.
Not only did she not look like the others, now that she had the body of a beautiful woman, with only her legs resembling that of a bird like creature. But it was also her wings and although not as full and glorious as the feathers of an Angel, they were there nevertheless, if not lacking in lustre and magnificence the Gods readily provided.
Now, as for the rest of her body, there were no protruding bones or paper-thin sickly grey skin over her feminine frame. Even her breasts looked voluptuous and held high in the bodice of her tight dress. Seeing such beauty made me question the origins of the larger Harpies. I also wondered if this was how she’d looked before falling
from Zeus’ good grace and plummeting straight to Hell? But out of all my questions what I wanted to know the most was what little left of her soul did she bargain with? What did she offer to gain back this beauty and more importantly, who was the one that had the power to grant it to her?
These thoughts brought me back to what the Eye had shown me before this bitch had turned up and knocked me to the ground. Could this really be the work of the one she called Master? A master that Lucius didn't yet know was in fact his brother.
The broken pieces of both past and future the Eye had shown me was like trying to make sense of a picture on a broken vase. I didn't know what had happened or what was still yet to come, but I knew one thing and that was Lucius had a brother and that brother utterly…
Hated him.
“So, what's the plan, just sit here and wait for the cavalry, ‘cause, I'm sure that boyfriend of yours is gonna be tearing the place apart and no doubt cursing me to damnation?” Nero asked looking around the cage as if to look for weaknesses, although I have to confess our chances of getting out of here surrounded by half crazed Harpies wasn't looking good. In fact, it was looking the opposite of good and little did I know, it was about to get a whole lot worse.
Which prompted my change of subject.
“Tell me about the Harpies,” I said, trying to get both of our minds off the situation unfolding in front of us.
“Why, you planning on writing a book?” she asked in a sceptical tone.
“No, but I am a firm believer that knowledge is power and the more I know about these bitches, the better prepared I'll be.” At this she shrugged her shoulders and said,
“Why the hell not, it's not like I have anything better to do and no doubt singing kumbaya will just get little miss stick bang happy over there too excited.” I had to laugh at this.
“Tell me about the three, starting with the Queen,” I suggested, for what I knew of Harpies was very little, other than being damned and punished by Zeus. Most of which I had read in Greek mythology books.
Roots Of Rage: A Vampire King Paranormal Romance (Transfusion Saga Book 9) Page 10