Dark Queen’s Army

by I. T. Lucas

  “Are you growing venom glands as well?”

  “So far, no. But who knows? They might start growing soon.”

  Alena sat on the edge of the bed and folded her arms over her chest. “I’m jealous. How come I didn’t get any? I’m the goddess’s daughter. If any female should have gotten fangs, it should have been my sisters or me. Not fair.”

  Was Alena putting on an act? If she was, it was very convincing.

  Mey tilted her head. “You really want to have fangs? Or are you saying that just to make me feel better?”

  “Of course, I want fangs. That would have ended the delicate-flower perception everyone has of me. I could have been a badass.” She smiled. “Especially if those fangs came together with venom glands. But even on their own, they are so cool.”

  Even though she sounded sincere, Alena was probably just trying to cheer her up. Surprisingly, it was working.

  “You’re weird.”

  “I am not. I’ve always fantasized about biting my lovers.” She chuckled. “Naturally, I fantasized more about them biting me. Or rather him, not them. My fated mate hasn’t shown up yet.”

  36

  Syssi

  “I’m surprised that you want to be here on a Saturday,” Syssi said as she joined Wonder and Callie at the table. “I would think that you’d had enough of this place.”

  Wonder shrugged. “As long as I don’t have to serve anyone, I don’t mind coming here on the weekend to meet my friends for coffee and gossip.” She winked.

  Amanda chuckled. “You are mated to the best gossip in the village. We are a bunch of amateurs compared to Anandur.”

  “Yeah, but you are girls. The gossip gets a different spin.”

  Callie nodded. “I went to see Mey earlier, but she was out of it.”

  Syssi gasped. “I thought she was doing okay. When did she slip into unconsciousness?”

  “I meant that she was sleeping. Sorry for giving you a fright.”

  Letting out a breath, Syssi leaned back in her chair. “I should visit Mey as well. Do you think she’ll be okay with that?”

  “Why wouldn’t she?” Amanda asked.

  “When I transitioned, I didn’t want anyone to see me. I looked bad and felt even worse.”

  Amanda lifted a brow. “I thought that you were unconscious for most of it.”

  “I was. I’m talking about when I woke up. I was a mess, and then Annani wanted to see me, and I freaked out. I asked Kian to tell her that I needed time to freshen up. Graciously, she agreed.”

  “You see,” Wonder waved a hand, “that’s the kind of thing only a woman would understand. A guy would have gotten offended by that. Annani didn’t because she is a female, and she understood that you wanted to look good for your first meeting with her.”

  “Perhaps you should text Yamanu and have him ask Mey if she is up to receiving visitors,” Callie suggested. “She seemed fine yesterday, but I think she’s gotten worse today.”

  “Why do you think so?” Amanda asked.

  “Because Yamanu looked worried. He didn’t say anything when I dropped the soup off, but I could see it on his face.”

  Syssi sighed. “I think Kian is deluding himself if he thinks that Mey will be okay to travel by Monday.”

  “Did he make the reservations already?” Wonder asked. “Because I was supposed to hear from Jackson about arrangements for next week, and I didn’t yet. I can’t just leave the café and go without having anyone fill in for me.”

  Syssi shook her head. “Turner is arranging everything. After what happened with the raid, Kian doesn’t make a move without consulting him. Which is good because the guy has connections everywhere. He is arranging a cabin and transportation for us, all from private parties he knows. There will be no record of us arriving at the resort or leaving it.”

  “That’s a good precaution,” Callie said. “If Ella’s aunt is working for the government, it’s better that we don’t leave a trace for them to follow.”

  Wonder nodded. “I don’t know much about stuff like that, but I’m all for being extra cautious.”

  “Shouldn’t we go shopping for ski attire?” Callie asked.

  As the others discussed the latest ski fashions, and whether it was better to buy online or at the resort, Syssi texted Yamanu.

  I’m in the café, and I was wondering if I can come to visit Mey. Is she in the mood for guests?

  His answer came back momentarily. Alena is here, and they are talking, but I don’t know how long Mey is going to stay awake because she just took more meds. If you want to come, you should do it soon.

  She typed back. I’ll be there in under five minutes.

  Syssi put the phone back in her hoodie’s pocket. “Yamanu says that Mey is awake and that Alena is with her, but since she just took her medication, she might fall asleep soon.” She pushed her chair back. “Any of you want to come with me?”

  “It’s a small room, and I’ve already visited Mey,” Callie said. “Bridget won’t be happy about a crowd gathering in a patient’s room.”

  Syssi looked at the other two. “What about you?”

  Wonder stood up. “I’ll come. Worst case scenario, Bridget will kick me out.”

  Amanda pushed to her feet. “I’ll just say hello and leave.”

  “I’ll be here, internet shopping.” Callie waved them off.

  37

  Yamanu

  As Mey and Alena chatted, Yamanu watched Mey for signs of fatigue. If her eyelids started drooping, he was going to politely ask Alena to leave.

  So far, Mey seemed fine. More than that, Alena had managed what he had failed to do. She’d lifted Mey’s mood. Whether she’d been truthful about wanting fangs was beside the point, as long as Mey believed it.

  “I should be going,” Alena said. “You look tired.”

  “Stay a little longer. Syssi is on her way.”

  “Isn’t it going to be a bit crowded in here?” Alena cast a glance at Yamanu as if seeking his approval.

  “Don’t be silly.” Mey patted her hand. “One more person is not going to make a difference.”

  Except, Syssi brought Wonder and Amanda along.

  “Hi, Mey, can we come in?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll bring chairs,” Yamanu offered.

  Mey waved a hand. “I’m okay with everyone hopping on the bed with me.” She scooted back. “There is enough room.”

  Alena was already sitting next to Mey, and now Syssi joined her at the foot on one side and Wonder on the other.

  Amanda leaned against the counter and folded her arms over her chest. “I’m just going to stay for a few minutes. How are you feeling?”

  Mey cast a look at Alena and then shrugged, probably deciding that if she told one sister, she could tell the other and her friends as well.

  “I’m growing fangs.”

  “So that’s what the questions were about,” Wonder said. “I should have guessed they were about you.”

  Syssi’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?” Unlike Alena and Wonder, she sounded alarmed. “How can it be?”

  Mey stiffened, and her smile turned into a scowl. “My gums hurt, so Bridget took a look. Both of my canines are coming loose, and she says that I’m growing new teeth. The only possible explanation for that is that I’m growing fangs like the transitioning guys.”

  “So, she is not sure those are fangs?”

  “She’ll need to take an X-ray, and she doesn’t have a small one like the dentists use.” Mey chuckled nervously. “Although at the rate they are growing, there is no need.”

  Syssi started twirling a strand of hair around her finger, and her scent acquired a tinge of anxiety. “Perhaps that was what my vision was all about. Mey growing fangs.”

  “The one about the Krall?” Amanda asked.

  “Yeah, that’s the one.” She turned to Mey. “It wasn’t like my other visions.” She sighed. “To tell you about it, though, I need to backtrack a little. Kian and I own a vir
tual reality company called Perfect Match. It provides a safe and anonymous environment for people to experience their fantasies with a partner that the computer matches them with. For a hefty fee from both, of course. I helped develop a couple of those virtual environments, and one of them was about vampire-like people called the Krall. It came from my imagination, and yet it somehow got mixed up in my vision with Odus and a spaceport. The Krall from my Perfect Match scenario were loading Odus into shuttles, and their supervisor was a tall, majestic woman with fangs.”

  “Did she look like Mey?” Amanda asked.

  “She had the same coloring, and she was tall and slim, but her facial features were different. She was just as beautiful, though, and as I mentioned before, majestic. So there is the beauty queen connection.”

  Mey smiled shyly. “Thank you, I guess. How big were her fangs? Were they small like Amanda’s or big like Yamanu’s when they are fully extended?”

  Syssi twirled the strand again. “Bigger than Amanda’s, but not as big as an immortal male’s at full size. They were pretty big. Let’s put it this way. If she were real, she couldn’t open her mouth around humans without causing panic. Those were definitely vampire-sized fangs.”

  “Great.” Mey groaned. “I just hope mine are not going to be bigger than Amanda’s, or I can never leave the village.”

  “What’s the deal with the Odus?” Wonder asked. “How are they connected to this?”

  Yamanu remembered Mey telling him about the strange dream she’d had about the Odus, and he wondered whether she remembered it. Should he mention it?

  It might have some significance.

  “You dreamt about the Odus, remember?”

  Mey’s eyes widened. “That’s right. I dreamt of thousands of Odus marching in formation like soldiers. What does it mean?”

  For several long moments, no one said anything. Syssi looked as pale as a ghost, Alena played with the end of her braid, and Amanda tapped her finger over her pursed lips.

  The only one who didn’t seem perturbed was Wonder. Looking from one serious face to the next, she chuckled. “I think all of you are ascribing too much importance to dreams. The mind collects stuff all day long, storing it for later things we are not even aware of, and then makes a mashup of it at night.” She turned to Mey. “You saw Alena’s Odu and noticed that something was odd about him. You might have even thought that he looked like a cyborg but pushed that thought away. At night, your brain used that observation to create a scary army of cyborgs.” She laughed. “Let me give you a visual that will make it less scary the next time you dream about the Odus. Imagine them all wearing suits with white aprons over them and holding a duster in one hand and furniture polish in the other.”

  That got everyone smiling except for Syssi, who shook her head. “What about my vision?”

  Wonder shrugged. “No one doubts your foresight. But as you have said yourself, the Krall people were a product of your imagination. You might have had a premonition about Mey getting fangs with her transition, and your mind superimposed it on your Krall fantasy.”

  Syssi nodded. “That actually makes sense.”

  “What about the Odus, though?” Mey asked. “How can you explain them showing up in Syssi’s vision? She has one living with her in her home, so it’s not like they weird her out or scare her.”

  “I might have the answer for that,” Syssi said. “Since his drowning accident, Okidu has been acting strangely, and I’ve noticed some peculiarities about Onidu as well.”

  “Like what?” Amanda asked.

  Syssi shrugged. “It’s subtle, but they seem more sentient, a little more human in their behavior.”

  Amanda pursed her lips. “I think that Onidu is and always was sentient. His imitation of human behavior is so good that sometimes I forget that he is not who he looks like.” She glanced at Alena. “What about you? Do you get that feeling with Ovidu?”

  “Don’t forget that we grew up with them. To us, they are part of the family.” Alena turned to Syssi. “That’s probably what’s happening to you now. It took a while, but you are finally starting to feel that Okidu is a member of your family and not just a servant.”

  Syssi let out a breath. “You might be right. I missed him when he was gone, and his accident gave me a scare.”

  38

  Mey

  “Ninety-nine,” Bridget read from the thermometer’s display.

  “At least the fever is down,” Mey said. “I’m toothless, but I’m not feverish.”

  Her canines fell out without much preamble when she bit down on a popsicle that wasn’t even that hard.

  “Let me check your glands.” Bridget started patting her neck. “Nothing unusual on this side. Open up for me?” The doctor used a tongue depressor and turned on her flashlight. “I see no swelling. Not even redness. Everything looks normal.” She turned the flashlight off.

  “That’s good news, right? Do the guys develop venom glands at the same time as the fangs?”

  “They do, but it takes much longer for the glands to be fully operational.”

  “How long until their fangs are fully grown?”

  Bridget patted her arm. “Don’t worry. You are not going to have huge fangs like the guys.”

  Mey had a feeling that the doctor was saying that to ease her fears, and not based on any scientific knowledge. She hadn’t taken X-rays, so she had no way of knowing how big they were going to be.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because even Annani’s fangs are small, and she is the original.”

  “What if I am a mutation?”

  Bridget chuckled. “Nature doesn’t work in leaps. Things change gradually. Worst case, your fangs are going to be a little bigger than mine.” She smiled, showing her pointy canines. “And if they end up too big for your taste, you can always have them filed down.”

  “Can I have them extracted and have implants instead?”

  Bridget shook her head. “One of the advantages of being immortal is that we can regrow things that humans cannot. They will just grow back and push the implants out.”

  “If that’s so, the filing down might not work either. They will grow back.”

  Bridget nodded. “There is a high likelihood of that. You might have to visit the dentist often. Just not the same one.”

  “Great.” Mey slumped against the cushions. “What about the so-called ski vacation? Do you think I can go? I’m still weak.”

  “First, we need to do the famous cut test to determine that you are done with the first stage of your transition.”

  “Do we really need to?” Mey pulled the blanket up to her chin. “I think the fangs are proof enough of that.”

  Yamanu had told her about the test, and she wasn’t looking forward to having a cut made in the palm of her hand. It wasn’t a big deal, but she would rather avoid it if it wasn’t necessary.

  “The new teeth are not as conclusive as the cut test. But since it is usually a momentous event in a Dormant’s life as well as her or his partner, I think we should wait for Yamanu to come back.”

  He’d spent the night with her and had only gone home to shower and change clothes. That had been nearly an hour ago, so he should be back soon.

  “If you must.”

  He could hold her hand while the doctor cut into her other one.

  Ouch.

  Bridget smiled. “I can numb the area if you want, but it’s really a tiny cut. It will barely sting.”

  “Right.” Mey snorted. “When a doctor says a mild discomfort, I brace for intense pain.”

  “So, what do you do when the doctor says it’s going to hurt?”

  “I run the other away.”

  Bridget laughed. “At least you are honest.”

  “Did I miss a joke?” Yamanu walked in, his long hair still wet from the shower, and pulled back from his gorgeous face.

  “Mey is scared of the cut.”

  He grimaced. “Do we really need to do that? Mey is growing fangs, isn
’t that proof enough?”

  Mey nodded enthusiastically. “That’s what I said.”

  Ignoring their concerns, Bridget started assembling her surgical tray. “I need to give Kian indisputable proof before he allows you out of the village, and what’s happening with your teeth is not it. But a cut that heals in front of our eyes is.” She cast Mey a stern look. “After getting bitten with fangs, are you afraid of a small pain that will last only seconds?”

  “You have a point.” Mey sighed and offered Bridget her hand. “Just do it quickly.”

  “I will.”

  The doctor cleaned the area with a small swab, then whipped out her tiny surgical knife so fast that Mey didn’t have time to jerk her hand away.

  It stung, but it wasn’t as bad as she expected, and the amount of blood that welled on top of it wasn’t much either.

  “Are you okay?” Yamanu asked.

  “I’m fine, it wasn’t so bad.”

  Hovering over her hand from both sides of the bed, Yamanu and Bridget seemed to be holding their breath.

  For some reason, Mey wasn’t as anxious as they were. The freaking fangs were all the proof she needed for her impending immortality. It would have been really mean of the Fates to give her fangs but not that.

  Why wasn’t she more excited, though?

  After all, she was turning immortal. It was a big deal. Especially after the weeks of worry that it wouldn’t happen. Perhaps it was because of how lousy and weak she felt. Once that was over, the full implications of what was happening to her would no doubt sink in.

  “Look.” Bridget wiped the blood away. “The cut is healing.”

  Even though Mey had been expecting to see just that, she stared at her palm, feeling awed and amazed. It wasn’t going as fast as she’d anticipated, but it was a hundred times faster than human healing for sure.

  When the skin was finally knitted back, and only a slight discoloration remained, Mey glanced up at Yamanu. “How long did it take?”

  He seemed lost for words, and Bridget answered for him. “A little over five minutes.”