Blade Of The Vampire King (Book 4) (30 page)

Staggering away, Gul'Se slid from the broad-bladed battleaxe and clutched at her belly. Her eyes gleamed despite her pain and she bared her fangs at the young axewoman. “
That cursed weapon might kill a lesser vampire,
” she hissed. “
But I am Gul'Se. And even your god couldn't kill me!
”

Nysta darted forward,
A Flaw in the Glass
spinning in her hand as she sought to bury it in the Vampire Queen's chest. But Gul'Se was quick, and flew into the air as if on invisible wings.
 

She soared toward the throne and landed lightly, pulling her rags across her scarred body. Fresh blood leaking wet down her hips. “
It hates me,
” she said. “
Hates me. But it is bound to me. And it will serve even if I have to drown it in its own slime!
”
 

The raw stink of magic rose swiftly as Gul'Se spat words of horrifying power. Each syllable made the walls shake. The ground beneath their feet churned, and sent Chukshene sprawling. His spellbook skidded from his reach, and he clamoured across a mound of bones in search of it.

Hemlock held out his hand, reading from his grimoire. Snapped his own mystic words and hurled a ball of solid green light at the Vampire Queen.

Who knocked it aside with a contemptuous wave of her hand.

“
Your magic is the magic of children
,” she laughed, but it was a hollow sound. Whatever she had cast, it'd taken a lot of her energy. The ground kept shaking as something boiled and bubbled beneath their feet. “
Behold, you who would be a Deathlord. Behold what such power truly brings!
”
 

The noise was thunderous.

Like thousands of armoured men were stamping their steel boots on wooden floorboards. A torrent of sound as the bones of the dead clattered against each other. Searching. Joining.

Rising.

Skulls, their black orbs burning with green light. Skeletal ribcages glowing bright with eldritch flames. Bony fists reaching to grip ancient weapons. Mouths open in silent roar.

And Gul'Se laughed.

She laughed as the Melganaderna was pulled to her knees by an army of undead.

Laughed as Chukshene was dragged away from his grimoire.

Laughed as Hemlock desperately sent smaller orbs of green energy smashing into the skeletons trying to tear the flesh from the axewoman.

Laughed as Nysta stalked her through the savage ranks of bone warriors.

“
You will serve me!
” Gul'Se cried to the roof. “
Your plans are broken. Your hopes are destroyed. Accept your place at my feet, and grovel for forgiveness. Wounded beast, you will serve me, or you will die. I will drain the last of your blood and leave your husk to rot in the dark.
”
 

And the walls kept shaking.

Urak's body trembled, drawing the elf's attention. One arm hung loose. The other was resting against his chest. Holding something. Holding whatever it was that pinned him to the wall.

She licked her lips.

And moved fast.

Sheathed her knives and grabbed a large ork femur from the ground. Began using it as a club, howling curses as she beat and smashed skeletons from her path. Could hear Melganaderna and Hemlock as they shouted to each other.

Heard Chukshene cursing.

Heard the warlock let out a cry of pain and wondered if he'd finally lost his battle to survive.

But couldn't spare him a glance.

Skeletons surrounded her. Teeth chattering in silent language. The awful smell of decay and death. Each creak of bone against bone was like the creaking of the gates of the Shadowed Halls as they opened to embrace those who would die today.

Hemlock's voice grew more desperate. His spells more explosive. Chunks of rock, torn from the ceiling and wall, rumbled across the ground.

The elf felt a burst of pain in her shoulder and spun to find a skeleton, minus its arms, trying to tear through her jacket with its teeth. She snatched the orb of its head with one hand and twisted it free of its spine. Threw it down at her feet and shattered it with her boot.

Gul'Se was close.

The Vampire Queen hovered in the air next to the throne. Her eyes searching the chaos. The joy of rising death plain on her face. Then her malevolent gaze found the elf, and the Vampire Queen's expression grew dark.

“
You, Child of Veil. We were once the same blood. But she twisted you. Perverted you. Now look at you. You are corrupted by her. It calls to you, doesn't it? It would.
”
 

The elf brought the thick bone shaft down, crushing another skull. Again and again. Spitting words between blows. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”

“
You can't have it,
” the Vampire Queen's voice dropped to the childish voice of earlier. Then she began to wail. “
You can't. It's mine. He gave it to me. It's all I have left of him! Urak! Speak to me, my love!
”
 

And the elf nearly died right there, frozen by the sound of Gul'Se's grief as it pierced her heart. A grief which mirrored her own.

As it was, the rust-spotted sword which had been searching for her guts, bounced off the wyrmskin jacket, but managed to find a gap between two hastily-repaired patches and jammed into her skin. Drove deep through the meat just under her shoulder.

It clipped bone, wrenching a scream from the elf's lungs which made the Vampire Queen shriek in echo. Gul'se's face lit with insanity. “
That's right, Child of Veil! Scream for me! Scream!
”

Gul'Se pushed through the skeletons, shoving them out of her way as she drove toward the elf.

Drunk on the smell of fresh-spilled blood.

Drunk on the elf's agony and fear.

Nysta reeled, wrenching the broken blade free of her body and dropping it with a metallic clang to the ground. Gasping, she swung awkwardly with the ork bone, trying to keep the skeletal warriors back, but feeling her strength ebb even as the worms rushed toward the source of her pain.

She felt them gnawing at the flesh.

No.

Not gnawing.

Knitting it. Joining with it.

She let out a moan of horror as she realised if she could live through the next few seconds, she might actually survive.

And, given what was now inside her body, wasn't sure if she wanted to.

Gul'Se burst from the ranks, clawed hands raking the elf's face and neck. Drawing sprays of blood which made the Vampire Queen laugh.

The elf smashed the bone club across Gul'Se's brow, splitting it open. But she couldn't stop the madness from powering into her.

The Vampire Queen snatched at the elf's jacket, pulling her closer into her demented grip. The strength of insanity keeping Nysta from pulling free. The elf drooped in Gul'Se's manic grip, one arm limp at her side.

Lapping Nysta's blood like a dog, the craving forced excited snarls from deep within the Vampire Queen's throat. The sharp tongue curled back into her smiling mouth as she tasted the elf's vitality and liked it.

“Fuck.” The elf kicked out blindly, her foot finding the softness of Gul'Se's already torn belly.

But it didn't stop her.

Instead, it just made her grip tighter.

The fanged mouth opened.

Wide. Impossibly wide.

And clamped down hard. The Vampire Queen was like a shark, worrying at the elf's neck, just above her shoulder. Within the undead grip, the elf felt like a doll. Helpless.

The feeling of those fangs, burrowing deeper into her veins in search of blood. Tearing at flesh and ripping through vein and artery alike.

The claws, digging into her back.

The agony flowering outward, riding on wings of terror.

And then the surge.

Like a tide emptying itself on the beach in the dead of night.

From somewhere so deep in her core, they came. They moved up her spine. Slow. Sluggish. Gripping her heart. Winding around ribs.

Turning her flesh as black as obsidian.

Rising up toward her throat. To where the Vampire Queen gorged on her blood.

She thrashed in Gul'Se's grip, letting loose ragged scream after ragged scream. Unable to bring the heavy ork bone high enough to strike hard. Unable to lash out.

Then the darkness reached her neck.

And the Vampire Queen twitched.

Shuddered.

And threw herself away from the elf, arms outstretched as if to defend herself, black inky blood spewing from her mouth.

She spat the elf's blood to the ground, scrubbing at her mouth with her fingers trying to get the fluid from her lips. Gagged. Wretched. Doubled over, clutching at her mouth.

While Nysta staggered to one side, momentarily ignored by the skeleton warriors. She felt her blood streaming down her neck. Hot and wet, sliding down her chest and soaking her undershirt.

“Fuck you,” the elf growled, feeling the worms pushing at the wound. Closing it. Her throat still felt raw. Her nostrils filled with the smell of blood.

Could taste it on her tongue.

She advanced on the stricken Vampire Queen.

“
Curse you! Her blood swims in your veins.
”

And then Melganaderna launched herself through a wave of skeletons,
Torment
held high. “I haven't finished with you, yet,” she shouted. The enchanted axe was ablaze with purple light.

Hissing venomously, the Vampire Queen flew into the air again to escape, rags streaming behind like the wings of a bat. Her face upturned once more to the roof of the room. “
Serve me now. Serve me. I command you!
”

A green ball of light fizzed upward, smashing into an invisible barrier which surrounded the Vampire Queen. She shot a look of pure venom at the necromancer.

And was slammed sideways as a black shadow hit her from behind.

The heavy thing wrapped hulking arms around her and its bestial roar shook the skeletons as it brought the Vampire Queen screaming down to the ground. Then took hold of her arm and flung her like a weightless doll to send her careening into the wall.

She hit with a loud crack of bone and rock.

Dropped without a sound, leaving a thick smear of gore.

The elf eyed the demon with caution, but managed a cruel smile as Gul'Se's body shivered in pain. “Puny Vampire Queen,” she murmured.

The heavy creature's breath came in ragged wet gasps and it spun around to look on the gathered skeletons. Eyes burning red with flickering fire, the demon took a step toward them.

It was huge. Towering above them all. Standing naked and proud, it shivered in excitement like a young horse. Wide mouth beneath a long crooked nose opened to reveal spade-like teeth. Heavy and thick.

Curved horns of polished grey bone jutted from its forehead. The stink of sulphur rose from its steaming body and curled like an acidic mist around its muscular form. It champed its heavy jaws and looked at the warlock for instruction. Drooling saliva as it anticipated bringing more death.

“Destroy them,” Chukshene commanded, limping into view. A deep red gash down his face sent ribbons of crimson down his cheek beside his ear. He waved his arm toward the remaining skeleton warriors. “Destroy them all.”

And it obeyed, ploughing into the skeletons in a frenzied rush.

Their screams, though silent, trembled in the air.

Melganaderna moved toward the crumpled and bleeding Vampire Queen. Hemlock, on her heels, hands glowing green with magic.

While Chukshene watched with no expression as Nysta inched closer to the body of the Vampire King hung from his place on the wall. She passed the massive throne, feeling a shiver of cold down her spine.

She looked first at the children.

What skin she could see through their torn clothes was striped with the same scars as Gul'Se. Their bones were bent awkwardly, showing how they'd been mangled long before being nailed to the wall on long steel spikes.

Staring at their tortured corpses, the elf was struck by the thought that even if they were the monsters the stories proclaimed, they'd died too hard. Proving the supposed righteousness of the gods to be a lie. If this was how they dealt with their enemies, then the gods were worse than the Vampire Lords. Because they hid their cruel nature behind a veil of hypocrisy.

Standing in front of the dead children, she felt suddenly nervous. As though she'd discovered something she wasn't meant to know. As though she'd uncovered a vast and terrible secret the world would now work to prevent from being shared.

A ripple of fear slid down her spine.

Touched the ball of ice in her belly.

And was consumed by anger as she decided she didn't care.

Let the world come. She would face it as she'd face anything else. With a knife in her hand and a snarl on her lips.

Jaw clenched, she turned to the Vampire King.

Urak had been handsome, she thought. His finely-chiselled face. Dark hair. A mouth which, even in death, looked like it begged to laugh.

A strong, almost athletic build. Calloused hands. A man who could fight.

And fight well.

These things spoke to her of an attractiveness which went beyond mere good looks and was made of something more primal. The fact he was the last of his kind only made his bowed head even more heroic.

She looked up at his bowed head, his expression devoid of any signs of the suffering he must have endured, and found her vision blurring.

Blurring, because all she could hear was the Vampire Queen's grief-stricken sobs.

And all she could think of was Talek.

His cold body in her arms. The smell of old blood.

And the loss of something so meaningful she couldn't find the words.

“
Urak
,” Gul'Se whimpered, curled up on her side. Unable to move toward her husband's body. “
Urak, my love
.
Help me. Save me. Please, just open your eyes. Tell me what to do.
”

For a moment, the elf thought such a thing might happen.

She tensed, preparing to move.

But the Vampire King had been dead too long. The blade which had taken his life had been made for just that purpose, and it'd fulfilled its purpose with grim finality.