by Jamie Ott
“What makes you think we’ll let you leave?” he asked.
“Okay, okay,” cut in Vidar authoritatively. “Daius, shut it! Let’s show our guest respect. Let’s remember that she is a lady, not some peasant.”
Though Vidar defended her, the men seemed disturbed by her defiance. They gave her scathing looks. Only Vidar and Sestin seemed to look at her with respect.
Finally, a servant came in and told them that dinner was ready.
Lyssa, who was checking the exits, and contemplating her chances for escape, wasn’t paying attention.
Vidar, taking notice, said abruptly to her, “Why don’t you sit next to me?”
He grabbed her hand and dragged her to a place at the table. Though she tried to resist, he was too powerful for her.
Dinner was a dull affair.
Lyssa kept looking at all the exits, but it was just impossible. The stone rooms were impenetrable. She would just have to fight her way out, and these men were strong.
Inwardly, she cursed herself. The minute her mother started speaking of her initiation, she should have run.
The men asked her about her studies. They expected that she’d be learned in music and literature, and even asked her play a lyre for them.
Her father had tried to pawn her off, using these same qualities. For that, she despised them and focused on fighting.
“When you’re taken up to the hall, you’ll do chores. You’ll work side by side with the women. Just because you’re royalty, doesn’t mean you’ll be treated specially. When you’ve passed all your exams, and we see that you’re fit, you’ll be fully initiated. You can’t fail. We expect you to fulfill your obligations as a lady,” said one of the men over dessert, whose name she’d forgotten.
“For the hundredth time, I’m not going up the mountain. I only came here to see my mother,” she threw down her fork, and left the dining room.
She ran through the confusing castle walls, looking for the exit when several Prima guards ran at her from down the hall.
Lyssa tried to outrun them, but they were too fast. One picked her up, easily, carried her to her room and locked her in.
The next morning, a maid knocked on the door at sunrise. She left a simple tunic for her to wear.
Fifteen minutes later, a guard knocked on the door.
“Are you dressed, miss?”
“Yes,” she said.
He unlocked the door.
In he walked with manacles and chains, which he cuffed her with and then escorted her, forcefully, down the stairs.
He dragged her onto a wood platform, where a group of men and women were gathered.
The men and women looked to be about her age, while some were younger and some slightly older.
All the men and women suddenly gasped, as the platform was lifted, by invisible force, into the sky.
Several minutes later, they’d passed through a thick cloud layer and landed on evergreen icicled grass.
Above the clouds, the sun shone brightly. And the air was extremely moist.
Stelar who appeared to have flown on his own, suddenly landed in front of them on the grass.
He unlocked Lyssa’s manacles, and warned her to behave.
They followed him through the castle gates, which opened automatically and shut behind them.
They walked across a few yards of grass. On the right side of the city was an enormous bridge over a large koi pond.
Up the city entrance they went, and then followed cobble stone roads diagonally to the city’s center.
In the center was an even larger stone castle. The doors opened and Stelar beckoned them in.
The castle air was rent with the delicious smell of pork.
Stelar led them down a dimly lit stone corridor to a dining hall.
Up on the dais, he turned around and spoke.
“Please, sit anywhere you like. This is a breakfast feast. It is our way of welcoming you. Good luck, initiates. May your endeavors, here, lead you and us to lengthy prosperity.”
Lyssa chose a seat amidst several fair men and women. They said nothing to her, and hardly any words to each other. In fact, none of them looked overly happy about being there.
They had a grand breakfast of pork, cheese, bread and wine. They even had Mediterranean apples and figs. Lyssa had never seen such a big basket of oranges, of which she ate as many as she could.
After, Stelar led them all to their dorms.
In the back of the city, there were three large stone properties. The estate in the center, said Stelar, belonged to General Vidar. The one on the left was for the women, and the one on right was for men.
He, then, instructed them to find rooms, and meet them back in the city center for instruction.
She walked to the ladies dorm.
Inside was a plain common room, with a large Persian rug and fireplace. Pillows were strewn everywhere. In the corner, clay jugs of water sat.
Lyssa walked upstairs and picked a room at front of the hall. If she were to plan an escape, it would be the perfect spot to monitor the others movements.
But how was she going to escape? She asked herself. She couldn’t fly, like the Primas.
Lyssa set her things on the bed.
“Hi,” said a girl, who was already there.
“Hey,” she replied. Looking around the room, Lyssa asked, “What is all this stuff?”
On the mantle was a black book that had been bound with skin. On the front, etched in gold, were the words Necro-Grimoire.
“Spells for the Dead?” she looked at her in disgust.
Next to the book lay a wood cup. On both sides of the book and cup were dark grey candles that’d been burnt half way down.
“Some things from home,” the girl said.
On the wall in some sort of black ash, Lyssa recognized the symbol of an inverted pentagram.
“Are you a witch?” she asked.
“One of the very last.”
“Show me your power.”
“Leap off a cliff,” said the girl. “I’m not your personal joker.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I just heard… things.”
When the girl didn’t reply, she said, “I’m Lyssa.”
“I’m Gwynna,” said the girl.
“What’s it like?”
“Why does everyone ask me that?” She looked annoyed. “I’m human, just like everyone else.”
“That’s not what my governess says. She says witches can call the rain, and the spirits; that they can even curse people. Is it true?”
They walked back to the city center, together.
Gwynna was a nice girl, though she had a strange way of speaking and thinking. When Lyssa told her she couldn’t wait to leave Valhol, she told her that her time hadn’t come yet.
Lyssa responded by asking how she knew what her times was? Gwynna said the wind told her.
The other girls seemed to want to keep as much space between them and Gwynna as possible. Lyssa couldn’t figure out why, but she liked being with Gwynna because she wasn’t pressured to interact with the others. She didn’t want to get more involved with the Primas than she already was. Being Gwynna’s friend helped her keep her distance, while not being completely alone.
That day, Lyssa went to several lessons before being introduced to the Elder she’d be serving. His name was Meilic.
“Everyday, you will start with bringing me my breakfast,” he said. “After, you may breakfast, yourself, then you will clean my lodges, and feed my wolf.”
In the corner of the room, an animal that was larger than a dog, with the thickest coat of white hair she’d ever seen, laid.
Their teacher was a lady named Rass. She taught most of the lessons, though Stelar taught them sacred rites.
Over the next few months, Lyssa learned Prima traditions and folklore: How the first Prima rose from the water. How they were once sea creatures who’d evolved. How they, themselves, were gods and worshipped no one.
&nb
sp; They even wrote extensive papers on the subject of Primas, and were verbally quizzed in front of each other.
The only day off they got was every tenth day, when they were expected to scrub the castle from floor to floor.
As the months went by, occasionally, they’d get to go down the mountain; all except for Lyssa. Stelar was an excellent mind reader. He knew she wanted, desperately, to escape.
“Lyssa,” he said to her one day. “You are more valuable than anyone here. Soon, you will be one of us, forever. I hope you’ll sincerely join us, be on our side. We need you. You don’t realize how much power you could have with us, Prima, if only you’d work with us.”
She heard him, and even felt soft for his argument. But she wouldn’t join any group that intended to marry her off, like a foreign gift exchange. Not even her father forced that upon her.
Lyssa didn’t see her mother again until Yuletide. Though several times, she thought she felt her presence near.
She stood in a red tunic across the way.
“Lyssa, how are things on the hall?”
“Great.”
She kissed her on the cheek, and gave her a gold goblet.
“I hear you’ll be going through initiation soon.”
When Lyssa didn’t reply, she continued, “Lyssa, don’t you want to join us? To be with us? We may be desperate, but most humans would love to have the power that we have. Think of the good you could do.”
In the corner, she saw Lucenzus. He smiled and came up to say hi.
Lyssa still felt rejected, but decided to let it go. She couldn’t be angry when he smiled so genuinely at her.
Her mother smiled at them, and allowed him to take her to dance.
Later that night, they retired to their dorms.
When she heard footsteps in her room, she assumed it was Gwynna. But then the person pulled her from under her covers, and bound her.
She was dragged into the cold night air, and pushed down onto her knees in grass.
Sensing there were several others there, too, she realized that it was her initiation.
Stelar’s voice came over them.
“On this night, we welcome you to our clan. You are, now, one of us. You will bow before no gods, because you are gods. With each day, you’ll work for the Prima cause, which is the preservation and prosperity of our people.”
Then all went silent. She heard steps moving across the grass.
The footsteps moved in front of her. Someone pushed a cup into her hand.
She drank, deeply, and fell over.
The others moaned and screamed, as the blood worked its way through their system, changing them.
Lyssa, being half Prima, seemed to have more of a tolerance for the blood. There was a pain in her gut, but mostly she hallucinated. She saw rainbows dance across her lids, and imagined that she was floating in the ocean; gold cups floated around her.
When she woke, she was in her bed again. She was hot and sweaty, and her blankets and pillows were on the floor.
Gwynna was in bed, looking like she’d had a tough night as well.
Lyssa needed to feel the cool air. It was just so warm in her room.
When she stepped out into the light, her eyes recoiled.
Everything looked clearer. There were cracks in the cobble stones that she couldn’t see before. The sound of clouds moving around her was deafening.
She walked through the city, examining and listening to everything. The touch of the stone was different, too. It felt rougher than before.
At the koi pond, she walked up on the bridge and looked into the water. The way it moved was fluid but solid. She’d never noticed how water had mass, like a plant or an animal.
“Hi, Lyssa.”
She turned.
Her mother stood there, looking at her with a smile.
“I’ve been waiting for you to wake,” she said.
She walked closer and said, “I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. You are every bit the lady I’d hoped to have.”
Even her mother looked different. Her skin, which looked so resilient and bright before, now looked even brighter.
Lyssa smiled, and turned back to the pond. Little fish spawn floated in the water. It was also something she’d never have seen before.
“Lyssa, look at me.”
“I’m sorry if I’m off. It’s the blood, it’s changing me. Everything looks different, and smells different.”
“I’ve come to say goodbye.”
“What?” she burst.
She turned to face her.
“I’m going to rest.”
“Why?” she asked incredulously.
“I’m old, Lyssa. It’s something I’ve planned for a while, now.”
“I don’t get it. You talk about saving your race, and here you are, dropping out of the fight.”
“I’m tired. There’s nothing else I can say. I’ve been aware three times longer than the average Prima. When I was young, we owned the Earth; that was seven thousand years ago. I’ve never taken a rest, ever. Not even for a decade because I’ve been fighting to save our race.”
“What do the Elders say?”
“They’re alright with it, though some are disappointed.”
“So how does this work?”
“Vidar gave me a designation. It’s a secret; I won’t tell you where. I’m going there, and I’ll go to sleep. But I’ll be aware for years to come. You’ll feel me, and maybe even talk to me, as my consciousness may roam the Earth, occasionally.”
“What do you mean by you’ll be aware for years to come? Are you saying that you’re going to die, eventually?”
“No, we don’t die, Primas. We just go into unconsciousness, some never to return.”
Lyssa’s eyes became moist; her face hot.
“Mother, how could you? You’re selfish! We haven’t even had a conversation since I arrived. We haven’t had time…” but she cut her off.
“Lyssa, you’re not the only one in the world to lose someone prematurely. You’ll survive. You’re a Prima now. The Elders want you to move into the castle. You’ll be taken care of.”
Lyssa’s throat tightened. She opened her mouth to speak, but choked instead.
Her mother pulled her into a tight hug, and kissed her on the cheek.
“Please, don’t go. Not yet!”
But she ascended into the clouds.
“Wait!” she yelled, but she’d gone.
Unfinished Business
Chapter 5
That night was to be the second night of initiation. Stelar was to pass around the concoction that corrected the effects of the Prima blood.
Lyssa just couldn’t do it. She was too consumed with the idea that, once more, she faced a life alone.
But she didn’t know that for sure, she told herself. What if her brother still lived?
She didn’t leave her room that day, though Gwynna tried to urge her. She brought her food, but it remained untouched.
Finally, Stelar came to visit.
“Starr,” he said timidly.
“Go away.”
“I can’t. You need to take your serum. It’s a three step process, and I can’t administer it here.”
“I don’t want the serum. I want you to go away.”
“I can’t,” he said urgently. “You’re not supposed to be here. The Elders want you down in the castle below, in Valhala. And we’re gonna need this room for new initiates, who are due to arrive any day now.”
When she said nothing, he added, “Plus, if you don’t take the serum soon, the Prima blood might make you crazy. We’ll, then, have to destroy you.”
Lyssa wasn’t paying attention. Ever since she’d turned, she’d been hearing voices from below, but also in faraway lands. It was almost as if the blood awakened dormant powers she never knew she’d had.
Stelar, reading her mind, said,” Lyssa, come with me. You need your serum, now. The blood is making you crazy. You mus
t shut out the voices.”
But Lyssa ran out of the room, and took off into the twilight air.
~~~
She landed in front of a statue, sometime that evening. It was her father.
The vision she’d had while Stelar spoke to her was of the King slashing his throat.
Hunger tore at her insides, but she ignored it.
Voices echoed around her. Some were even talking about her father. Somehow, she knew that his body was in a tomb on the other side of the city.
She took off into the air again.
This time when she landed, a man was laying a wreath on the tomb. The smell was so fragrant unlike anything she’d smelled before. Of course, Lyssa realized that it was the Prima blood heightening her senses.
The man turned and looked at her in surprise.
“Oh, I didn’t hear you come up,” he said, putting his hand on his chest.
The man said something else to her, but she couldn’t hear because the beat of his heart was so loud.
His skin gave off a scent that reminded her of a roast her father had, some years ago. Only the man smelled different, better, luscious and sweet, yet with the salt from his glands.
Suddenly, the man screamed and ran off. Something he saw while looking at her face scared him.
As he ran, his scent trailed fragrantly behind him. He was afraid, and his fear was invigorating to her.
Curiously, she followed that scent, wondering how it could be so wonderful. How could a filthy human be capable of such sweetness?
Her footsteps were fast, for although the man ran, she still managed to catch up to him as she walked slowly.
They stopped in front of a clay hut with a straw roof.
Lyssa heard his thoughts. They were at his home.
“Please,” she heard the man plead.
She leaned into him, putting one of her hands around his neck, and pulled him into her.
Lyssa ran her nose and lips up and down his neck, and even licked his face. She wanted more of the taste that fear put off from the man.
Her new instinct controlled her. She put her mouth on his neck, feeling her teeth pierce his skin.
She dragged her fangs down his neck, ripping a jagged line through his skin so the blood could run freely.
Sucking the man made every cell in her body come to life. A tingling sensation traveled up and down her back; it was almost an erotic feeling.
She heard a woman walking toward them, but Lyssa drank and drank. She couldn’t put him down until the woman screamed blood curdling.