The Meridian Gamble (41 page)

“Will he be all right?”

“He will live,” Pharaoh says. “I
usually don’t bite into the men. It causes them to have an unhealthy
fascination for me. But this one will serve me very well for the rest of his
life.”

Pharaoh smiles, as he lovingly pats
the man’s head. It excites me just a bit, to see such intimacy between them.
And even though he has told me to stop, I want nothing more than to drink every
last drop of his blood. It takes all of my strength to stop myself.

“If I kill them, will it be as you
said? That they will walk with me forever?”

“You will carry him with you
everywhere you go, until the spirit leaves or fades away. And if they are
hostile, they will taunt you and do everything they can to annoy you, and there
is little you can do to dissuade them. Imagine what it would be like to have
two or three such creatures following you around? Or twenty? It can lead to
madness.”

And though the idea of the soldier
following me about is not entirely unappealing, I try to listen to what Pharaoh
says. It is not everyone that I would want as a permanent guest in my mind.

But looking at the man, I also
realize that a fire still burns in my stomach.

“I’m hungry. May I have another? I
promise I’ll be good this time.”

Pharaoh looks
at me and sighs, though he quickly follows it with a smile. And he calls out to
his guards once more.

Marion takes me through the bowels
of the temple, to a dark place where prisoners are kept, who are left to be
forgotten. We carry torches, and it is a frightening place, though less so with
my vampire powers developing. I feel stronger than I normally would, and my
senses are sharper. I can smell the fetid stink of the prisoners, which is
mixed with the foul odor of their sweat. It sickens me, yet it is intoxicating
at the same time, when mixed with the scent of their blood.

I have spent days drinking of
slaves who are brought to me, and even some of the guards, to the point that
they look to me warily. And I have tasted Pharaoh’s blood for the second time.
He tells me that when my body has processed this latest infusion, I will drink
for a third time, and the transformation will be complete.

And today, Marion came to collect
me.

“Let me help the little one,” she
said to Pharaoh. “I know exactly what she needs.”

And he smiled, generously letting
me go off on my adventure.

We are led to a cell which a guard
opens, and though there is little light, I can still see inside. There is a man
in it, a very tall man who is all muscles, with skin so dark it is almost black.
But he is wildly handsome, with enormous lips.

He is chained up to a wall, with
shackles around his arms and legs, so that he cannot attack us. But the fights
against the restraints anyway, and looks to me with rage.

I can tell that the cell has been
freshly washed, as it lacks the rancid stench of the other stone chambers. And
the smell of the man’s skin is delicious. He seems frightening and fragile at
the same time, chained up and stripped of his clothes.

“We captured this Luminos recently,
and he is still in excellent shape,” Marion whispers to me. “Go ahead.”

And I slowly approach the man. I
put my hand to his chest and he lunges at me, even though he can do no harm.
But the restraints cut into his wrists in a way that draws blood, and I’m ready
to pounce on him. Even though I can barely control myself, I decide to play
with him anyway.

“You are Luminos? Do you know of
the General?”

“Yes.”

“I am Saga, his daughter. Did you
know I was in the temple?”

“Yes, I had heard that. We were
sent to try to determine if you were safe.”

“And you can see that I am. In
fact, I’m here to rescue you now.”

“You’re lying,” he says. “You’ve
become one of them. That’s the Queen with you.”

“No,” I purr, with false innocence.
“This is my friend, Lilia. She has come to help me. Now hurry, bend down so I
can unchain you.”

I put my hand on his private self,
and despite his fury toward me, he cannot help himself, and it has become
engorged with blood. It has a certain masculine scent about it which thrills
me, and I put my hand on his shoulder, urging him to drop to his knees. And in
this position, I can better reach his neck. The man bends, and I cannot help
myself, my excitement is too great. And for the first time, the fangs pop from
my mouth.

I plunge them into his neck.

I can sense that my venom is
flowing into his system, because the man shudders in ecstasy. And I drink of my
beautiful new lover, who tastes like the nectar of the gods.

Marion comes to my side, and gently
rubs his bald head, as the man groans with joy.

“Take him, Saga. He is yours.”

It is wrong, but I lower myself
onto him, allowing him inside me. And the man is enormous, to the point that he
almost causes me pain. Yet it is not the same as when I am with Pharaoh, it
feels more animal. I kiss his full and sensual lips, and his entire demeanor
has changed toward me. The man whispers sweets words into my ears, as he
explodes with pleasure.

“I love you,” he says. “I love you
so much.”

“I love you, too,” I say.

And I drink
from him once more.

Later, we walk back down the
hallways. We’ve left the man alive, and I very much hope to return to drink
from him again.

“You’ve found the perfect solution
for your Luminos problem,” I tell Marion

“Howso?” she says.

“To keep them in chambers, and
slowly drain them of their blood.”

“This was a special situation, that
we captured him alive. We usually kill them in battle.”

“But why? It just gives them the
chance to come back again, all the more quickly. Better to keep them in a
dungeon where they can’t learn new tricks, where their bodies can nourish you.
But you’ll have to reconstruct these chambers,” I say, looking around. “They’re
too close together. You don’t want them to pass information back and forth that
they can take into the next lifetime.”

And slowly, Marion smiles.

“You are a
very wicked girl, Saga. And I am very glad to have you at my side, rather than
against me,” she says, with a cruel laugh. “I will think on your most excellent
plan.”

I return to Pharaoh’s chamber,
after Marion and I have had our fun. And he lies in his bed, staring at me in
amusement.

“You have been most wicked,” he
says.

“I must go wash away the filth of
my adventure.”

“No, come to me. I like you this
way, full of sin.”

And as I get to his bed, he reaches
out in an instant, and pulls me toward him. I laugh, as Pharaoh gathers me in
his arms, and kisses me.

I look up at him, filled with
adoration.

“When will I be complete?”

“Soon, very soon,” he says.

“Good, because
we have much to do,” I say. “I want to go find my family.”

Amongst Pharaoh’s guards are
vampires who are skilled hunters. It is their sole duty to track the Luminos,
and he sets them to look for the General and Uncle, my mother and sisters.
Although I am truly one of them now, I am not completely trusted, because I was
Luminos once. They are afraid I am setting a trap. But the hunters take what
clues I can give them as to my family’s whereabouts, and they set off in the
direction where I feel they have gone, to scout ahead first.

After many days, word comes back
that their trail has been discovered, and Pharaoh takes me with him, to travel
to another city in a distant part of his realm to find them.

It is a difficult journey, one we
make mostly at night, because I am weak during the day. I must be covered up,
or my skin will burn in the sun. Only those who have been vampire for many
years are strong enough to survive its rays, like Pharaoh and the guards he
brings with us. And even they are weaker during the day. But my love holds me
as we ride, treating me as if I am the most precious of cargos.

We finally reach the distant city,
and investigate a section of the slums, where we think the General has lived.
And though I know they are close, somehow I feel it in my heart that they have
fled this place.

We find a small abode with sandy
walls, and I can already tell it is empty. It shows signs of having been
hastily packed, and we’ve probably missed them by hours. And a knowing sinks
into my stomach.

“They’ve gone to Adam’s realm,” I
say.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. The Luminos are gathering
their forces there, to attack us. They know we are after the General, and it
would be the safest place for them to hide.”

Though the home is empty, I hear a
soft noise coming from one of the back rooms, a cough. And I push my way past
Pharaoh and his men before they can stop me.

I go to find its source, and
Pharaoh comes with me. My heart sinks, when I find a low bed in one of the
rooms, and realize that Lina is lying in it. She has been abandoned by them.
The General lied when he told me he would care for her. He was quick to leave
her behind to make his escape.

But fortunately, I am here now to
protect my sister.

I go to her, and she looks worse
than she ever has before. It sickens me, because even though I love her dearly,
I cannot control my vampire hunger. It’s difficult for me to be near her in
such a small space. I can smell the precious fluid running through her veins,
and I want to pounce on Lina in her frail state. It is my animal reaction. But
as I inhale more deeply, something about the smell of her blood makes me
nauseous. Somehow, my vampire senses tell me I cannot drink of her, that she
bears sickness.

Lina can barely open her eyes, but
when she does, she smiles, weakly.

“Oh, Saga. Is that really you?
Father told us you were dead.”

“Father tells lies,” I say, coldly.
“But luckily, I have managed to survive his twisted games.”

“I knew they could not kill you.
You are too clever for that. I knew I would see you again, before I die. It was
the only thing that made it worth living.”

And my sister is not lying about
her state. She struggles to hold onto her consciousness, and after taking a
long look at me, Lina passes out again. I worry that she is moments away from
death.

I look up to my lover, the Pharaoh,
with hopeful eyes.

“Can we save her?”

“Save her how, Saga?”

“I cannot let her pass,” I say.
“Will the blood cure her?”

“Only for a short while. Her
condition will revert if you do not complete the transformation,” he says.

“Is that allowed? Can I change
her?”

“I will allow it. We each take our
turn, and this can be yours. But we usually only change our lovers. Vampires
are known for taking their time, and it may be a long while before your chance
to choose will come again.”

“I will take my chances,” I say. “I
doubt very much I will ever need another lover.”

“Then do it.”

I pause, ever so briefly. Time is
of the essence.

“Is it wrong of me? To not give
Lina the choice?”

“She is not in a condition to
choose,” he says. “Let her destroy herself afterwards if she is unhappy with
your decision, which I doubt very much will happen.”

And I bite my wrist as he once did,
putting the wound to her mouth. Lina stirs, and when she gets a taste, it seems
to rouse her. And despite the darkness of the gift that I bestow upon her, I am
thrilled to see the color return to my sister’s skin.

I am thrilled
to know I will never have to be without her again.

Months later, on a battlefield.
Pharaoh and the Queen have gathered their forces, and we’ve invaded Adam’s
lands, in part to search for the General, but also to strike first, while they
think we are lulled into complacency by their false promises of peace. And
though I have embraced my new vampire life, I cannot help but to feel
conflicted. I love Pharaoh, but I cannot forget about Adam completely, and I
worry for him. I feel as though I have betrayed him, though it is ridiculous,
as there was never really anything to betray. The feelings were all one-sided,
on my part. But that does not mean I will enjoy seeing him hurt.

And I must take small comfort in
the fact that his Luminos nature makes him immortal, and he cannot truly die.
Adam will be back, while I am surely damned for my sins.

We fight at night, as always.
Though there are humans in our armies, we wage war when our vampire soldiers
are at their strongest. And in another part of the country, Lina attacks with
the prince, to divide their troops. It turns out my sister is the one who is a
natural born warrior.

This is the land where the Luminos
are their strongest, unless you count continents across the seas. And I only
wish I could still detect the glow about their bodies, so that I could be of
more use. Apparently, that gift leaves you when you are made vampire. But it
does not matter. Despite their preparations over lifetimes, our battles with
the Luminos have decimated their forces, and they are falling under the strong
arm of Pharaoh.

The smell of the blood flowing from
their corpses fills the battlefield, and smelling it is a heady sensation. I
get a small thrill over the smoke rising from their burning lands. Today is a good
day, our greatest victory. I half-expect to find my father and Uncle lying
amongst the fallen. And in the case of my uncle, it will kill me to see his
lifeless body.

Pharaoh rides off, to confer with
one of his lieutenants, leaving the Queen and myself behind. And I look to one
of the enemy’s tents, lying abandoned. And I sense that there’s something
inside it.

When I enter, my worst nightmare is
realized. I find Adam lying on a cot, dying. And I don’t have to examine his
body to know there is a gaping wound to his side. I can smell the blood,
everywhere.