Fallen Ambitions

by Vann, Eric J.

  Centuries ago, she had been abducted from her home and turned into a vampire, expressly so that she could experience decades of torture in revenge for what her elder sister had done. As Head Commander of the Caelian Empire, her sister had led a successful coup against the Imperial Family. Nevani alone had survived.

  After a long time in hibernation, gathering strength, Nevani, the former Caelian Princess and now self-proclaimed Empress, had come forth to reclaim her lost throne. First, she had used the tainted blood they had collected from Valery’s long years of torture to spread the Blood Curse, but that was not enough to satisfy her appetite for vengeance.

  So Nevani had enslaved Valery to play with her.

  “You know… I can tell when you try to go against my orders, slave,” the Empress said, the amusement in her words causing Valery’s anger to rise again, only to be stayed once more. She had preferred the never-ending torture to this. At least then her actions had been her own.

  Nevani chuckled. “Sukan was right. This is far better than just having her wait around until I decide to end her.” The other vampires in the room joined their Empress’s mocking laughter.

  Valery ignored them, once again meticulously combing through Nevani’s hair to make sure it was perfect. As long as she followed her orders, her slave band would not activate. Ever since she had been pulled from her prison, Nevani had made it a point to keep her close, keep her informed of every development. It was just another way of torturing her, to let her see the devastation the Blood Curse was inflicting upon people—spread, of course, by her own blood.

  “That’s enough,” Nevani commanded, causing Valery to stop what she was doing. “Go stand by the door like the good little pet you are.” Valery instinctively tried to resist, but no matter how many times she did, the band’s grip on her was too strong. This time was no different, as she was forced to bow her head deferentially, then move to stand by the door as commanded.

  She did not know where they were, precisely, but arriving here had taken some time. They had traveled through the long, wide tunnels of the Underdark for what seemed like days. And now, Valery, Nevani, and ten other vampires were waiting in this stone-walled room, which contained nothing but the elaborate chair the Empress was reclining on.

  She did not know the others, but when she overheard them speaking to one another, Valery recognized some family names. They were all from Caelian noble houses.

  This made sense; only nobles were allowed into the Imperial Guard. If her conclusions were correct, all of them had once been Guards.

  One blonde female vampire wearing a short dark-green dress went to a window and pulled the curtain back slightly. The lack of any light outside told Valery it was night. “They are here,” she announced, and quickly re-positioned herself beside Nevani.

  “Finally,” the Empress snapped. The wooden door opened, allowing a man into the room. From his pale complexion, he also was a vampire. And from the blood smearing his white shirt, black coat, hands, and mouth, he had recently been busy.

  “Empress,” the newest addition said as he dropped to his knees.

  Nevani did not respond immediately. Instead, she examined her nails for a long moment before standing and pressing her index finger atop the vampire’s head. “You are late,” she said as her nail began to sink into the kneeling man’s head. The Empress didn’t even seem to be struggling to pierce the hard bone of his skull; her nail sank into him as if she was pushing it into a pile of fine sand.

  The vampire grimaced and then began to tremble, bright red blood bubbling from where her nail had pierced him. His already-crimson eyes began to quickly fill with blood. But even with the intense pain he must have been experiencing, he did not complain; he did not even look up. He kept kneeling to his Empress.

  Looking satisfied, Nevani drew back her hand back before asking, “Well, is it done?”

  “Yes, Empress. We have cleared the courtyard; the ritual circle is ready. All it needs are the reagents to power it. Sukan awaits you by the gate.”

  “The sacrifices?” Nevani asked.

  “They are prepared.”

  Nevani smiled. “Good. Let us have this over with, then. I have kept that thing waiting for too long. I worry it might take back what it has given, and who knows what it has been up to in my palace.”

  She strode out the door, the rest of her entourage following behind her.

  Palace? Valery thought, as her legs were forced to follow. She left the room and turned a corner before entering suddenly into an open space. Her mouth fell open.

  She saw tall white-stone spires and a massive marble staircase which rose into the sky. It led to a place she had visited once when she was only a child.

  The Eternal Palace. They were in Vilonia, the former Capital of the Caelian Empire.

  It was as if she had stepped into the past. How much time had passed during her torture? And yet there it stood. The palace was seated upon a colossal foundation of polished stone, reaching at least two hundred feet high. Its white walls, silver and gold embellishments, and colorful murals were perfectly preserved. Hundreds of obsidian columns lined its outer perimeter to help support the enormous palace at the top.

  The stone the Eternal Palace had been built from glowed a brilliant but warm yellow, its height making it seem like a second sun when looked at from within the city below. It was a glorious apparition, a testament to the power and wealth the Empire once controlled, and the seat of one of the most powerful dynasties to ever live.

  There was something terribly wrong, however. Valery narrowed her eyes against the glow: yes, there it was. A slight shimmer danced around the palace. The Eternal Palace was confined within a shield of light—a shield she knew had not existed in the past. It was a point of pride that the Eternal Palace had no defenses other than its guards. Who would dare attack the Caelian Imperial Family?

  No one, they believed. Until someone had.

  As they crossed the vast courtyard, Valery’s eyes flicked from one body to the next. Corpses littered the yard. Some were soldiers, but most were not. Men, women and children—all brutally murdered. The two gates she could see leading to the city beyond were sealed, and more vampires were stationed all around them.

  As they started up the long staircase, the strength of the shield became far more apparent. Valery’s skin prickled at the sheer amount of energy being emitted from it, so much that she was certain anything touching it would be instantly vaporized.

  Whatever this shield was protecting, it must be important.

  No one spoke as they drew closer to the top. Only the sound of the breeze and the flapping of flags could be heard in the distance. The flags—she gazed up at an insignia she recognized. The purple eye of the Geskian faith.

  Upon reaching the top, they were met by another vampire, one Valery was intimately acquainted with. He dropped to one knee, his black armored kneepad and two-handed blade clanging against the marble as he removed his helmet. “My Empress,” he said.

  “Sukan,” Nevani replied, focusing on him before lifting her eyes to look above him. Valery’s gaze followed… to where a massive circle had been drawn in blood directly before the black gates of the Eternal Palace. The gruesome symbols stood out starkly against the pristine nature of the preserved place.

  At the center of the bloody circle were a group of bound humans, each wearing long simple robes with the Geskian insignia on their backs.

  Sukan stood and gestured to them. “The sacrifices,” he said.

  “Let us begin then,” Nevani said, and swept forward. It was clearly a ritual of some sort, Valery thought, but for what she did not know.

  One of the humans spoke as Nevani came close. “Stop this madness now.”

  “Madness?” the Empress replied with a sly grin.

  “Geskian fury will strike you down for this. The evil held inside must never be released.” The man’s gaze was fixated on Nevani. Though he must have known his death was near, there was no fear in him—no, Valery sa
w, that was not quite true. He did look fearful, but only when his eyes flicked momentary to the black gates of the palace.

  The evil inside, Valery repeated to herself. But what could be inside the palace? She turned to gaze upon the gate herself, but all she could feel was the powerful barrier shielding it.

  Nevani cupped the man’s chin, lifting it so she could look down into his eyes. “Mmm,” she murmured before her nails slowly elongated into claws, their sharp tips sinking into the man’s neck and lower jaw. He began to choke as blood filled his mouth and dripped to the ground. “I simply want my home back,” Nevani said calmly. The man tried to move, to speak, but his hands and legs were securely tied, so only pained gurgles emerged.

  Valery felt the circle suddenly come alive from under her. The lines of dried blood glimmered dimly as the man Nevani held shrunk and withered before their eyes. He looked like he had been Siphoned, his vessel absorbed by the ritual.

  “Bhaar will come for you,” a much younger human said.

  “Let him come,” Nevani replied, with mirth. “I look forward to meeting one of the treasonous divinities who helped murder poor Vala.” She then systematically began to tear open each and every throat of the bound humans, the power in the bloody circle growing with each death.

  The ritual circle began to boil, the freshly spilled blood of the sacrificed humans coalescing in the center to form a shallow bowl.

  “The reagents?” Nevani asked, and Sukan brought her a box. Quickly, he unlatched it and drew back the lid for her to examine its contents.

  Valery watched from the edge of the circle as Nevani’s brow rose, before she looked back up at Sukan. “This is not all that I ordered,” she said, a hint of anger in her tone. “Where are the Dryad seeds? The Grove Heart?”

  Sukan shook his head. “Some items were not found, or were difficult to secure in time, but I have been assured we have enough for the ritual to succeed.”

  “It will be your head if it does not, Sukan. Not even your service will save you if this fails,” Nevani said as she pulled a silver feather from the box and dropped it into the bowl of blood.

  “I swore to never disappoint you, I don’t intend to begin now,” Sukan said.

  Nevani smiled as she plucked another item from the box—something like the scale of a beast’s hide. She continued to drop various unknown ingredients into the roiling blood, until Sukan finally closed the lid.

  “Once the ritual is unleashed, the whole city will know of our presence,” Sukan said as he donned his helmet. “We have enough to secure Vilonia, as long as Bhaar doesn’t interfere—he is the only divinity within the city at this time. If he does decide to help, we will need to escape quickly.”

  Nevani traced a finger around the lip of the blood bowl. “Let that treasonous Ascended come. Bhaar is just one of many who need to be punished.” She glanced up at the palace gates. “If we can secure its aid, then these Ascended will be like toys to me.”

  Valery was surprised to see Sukan look nervous, for once. “Are you certain of this, Empress?”

  Nevani laughed. “Who can be certain when dealing with that thing of the Abyss? It did help us survive the coup, however.”

  “By turning us into vampires,” Sukan replied bitterly, but then took a step back and bowed his head. “My apologies, I did not mean to speak out of turn.”

  Valery glanced uneasily at the Eternal Palace. She had always wondered how and why the princess of Cael had become a vampire. It appeared the answer lay inside the palace; the very place they were trying to enter.

  Nevani waved Sukan’s apology away. “Keep them from interrupting us for as long as you can. Retreat back to me if things become too dangerous.”

  “As you command, my Empress,” Sukan said. He accepted three mana crystals—fire, dark, and necrotic—from the other vampires and handed them ceremoniously to Nevani. He then pulled out his two-handed sword, its serrated edge gleaming in the light of the Palace and the glow of the ritual circle. “Forward,” he commanded, and all but three of the other vampires ran down the stairs, their incredible speed making them appear as mere blurs to Valery.

  Nevani remained still, staring at the black gates. For the first time, Valery saw a hint of worry, even fear, in her eyes. It lasted for just a moment, however, before her expression hardened and she began to drop the crystals into the bowl of blood. With each addition, a massive bolt of the equivalent color shot into the sky: first red, then purple and finally, black.

  The three bolts danced around the palace before merging directly overhead. They swirled together, reforming into what Valery could only describe as a monstrous creature of pure magical energy.

  The creature roared, and a blast of air shot out in all directions.

  Crouching, Valery planted her feet and her hands on the ground to steady herself. One of the three vampire escorts didn’t react fast enough and was blown off the platform and over the edge, a long fall awaiting him.

  Nevani simply stood where she was. Her red eyes were fixed on the palace gates as the magical creature began to smash at the shield with its fists. Each blow rang like a bell, its toll waking the City of Vilonia to the danger it was in.

  Valery grimaced as the shield flared, the heat it emitted intensifying. Just as it became unbearable, the creature roared once more and flew higher into the air, disappearing into the clouds. It remained hidden for a few moments, before it dived straight down atop the shield and exploded on contact. The shield screamed in protest, a spiderweb of cracks forming across its surface.

  Valery uncovered her eyes as silence fell once more.

  The shield still stood, barely.

  She glanced over at Nevani, hoping to see disappointment on her face. Instead, she caught the Empress just as she disappeared in a burst of forward speed and smashed her hand into the shield, her claws piercing right through it.

  From that one point of failure, the cracks spread outward… and then, as Valery watched, the entire shield shattered. Streams of glowing yellow shards floated away from it in all directions to illuminate the sky above the city.

  The two vampire escorts immediately stepped forward and began pulling open the black gates of the Eternal Palace. Just as they began to part, a massive repeated whomp sounded from behind and overhead as a rolling wave of green and blue light blanketed the sky.

  It was stunning in its beauty, but any notion of appreciating it disappeared when the light began to crackle, and hundreds of wispy fingers formed to reach for the ground.

  Valery watched as the first stretched to the courtyard below, illuminating the tiny figures of the Caelian vampires dashing about in the night, no doubt preparing to defend the walls and gates after that massive display of power needed to break the barrier. The moment a wispy finger reached the ground, a blazing circle of bright light erupted, and the tiny figures caught up in it were no more.

  Nevani did not appear concerned by this development. Instead, she turned to Valery as she shook the hand that had connected with the shield. Smoke was still rising from it.

  “Come, slave,” the Empress smiled. “Bear witness to where your treacherous sister committed her crimes.”

  * * *

  The whole palace rumbled as the gates were forced closed behind them. Valery rubbed her arm, trying to beat off the frigid chill which had engulfed her the moment they had crossed the threshold of this place. The light-emitting crystals which would normally have illuminated this area with a brilliant gold were dark, only a few flickering on and off weakly. Thankfully, Valery didn’t need light to see. The cursed race she had become part of was perfectly adapted to the dark.

  As expected, the palace was overwhelming in its display of wealth. Whole statues made of gold stood in the alcoves. Jewels of many types and sizes lined the walls and were socketed into the furniture. Wide black carpets embroidered with delicate designs in silver thread covered the floors. But it wasn’t the grandeur which gripped Valery’s attention.

  It was the bodies.
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  At the end of the receiving hall, just before another sealed doorway, were four corpses. Two were wearing the armor of the Imperial Guard, arrows embedded deeply in them. The other pair wore servant garb with the Caelian insignia and seemed to have suffered from gruesome stab wounds.

  Like the whole palace, they were perfectly preserved, their wounds fresh, the blood which pooled around them still bright and flowing. The smell of it made Valery swallow involuntarily.

  How was this possible? If the bodies were still here, then the shield around the palace must have been erected shortly after it was attacked. But that was hundreds of years ago. Instead of sporting fresh blood, these bodies should be nothing but bones by now.

  One of the other vampires, a blond female, bent down by the body of an Imperial Guard. She pulled off the helmet then yelped and jumped back, her vampiric strength pushing her several feet in the air before landing beside the other vampire escort.

  The other vampire, a long-faced man, laughed. He stopped immediately when Nevani, who had remained quiet since entering the palace, shot him a disapproving look.

  “My sincerest apologies, Empress,” he said with a bow.

  Nevani glared at him for a moment longer before shifting her gaze to the female vampire, who was now loading her crossbow. “What is it, Sophia?” she asked. “What did you see?”

  Sophia raised the loaded crossbow and aimed it at the corpse she had been examining. “Its eyes are red,” she said. “And it looked right at me.”

  Valery froze. It was alive?

  Nevani frowned at this, then nodded her head minutely. Sophie pulled the trigger and the bolt flew true, piercing the Imperial Guard’s skull with a wet crack, the force of the blow pushing the corpse over to lay on his side.

  The male vampire carefully closed the distance, pulling his saber out of its scabbard. “Are you sure you weren’t simply frightened by the ambiance, Sophia?” he mocked as he poked the body with his blade.