Blood and Snow 5: Prey and Magic (3 page)

Little pixilettes fluttered around them, serving them something red (blood
?
) in crystal goblets. The vampires
took
the
offered
glass
es
and then shoo
ed
the pixilettes away
like
they were irritating gnats. The
little things seemed worn out, their shoulders hunched, their eyes droopy.

If you hadn’
t lost the
necklace you could fix this, change the way things are done, my inner voice scolded. I cringed internally. That wasn’t possible. I couldn’t change anything.

After we walked through the sitting room, we
entered the circular room I remembered from my dream, or vision. Only this time it was empty of anyone except her and I.

She
went up
the
steps in front of two high back chairs. Had there been only one the first time I was here? I tried to go back through the dream. I couldn’t remember. The
second
throne looked like it belonged there.

The Vampire Queen sat on the chair to the left. “Sit here,” she said, indicating the throne on the right.

After I sat, she waved her hand and the room vanished. We were in the middle of a grass and flower filled meadow. I heard birds chirping happily, smelled the sweet fragrance from the
flowers, and felt the cool breeze
against my skin.

The Queen stood and walked into the meadow. I listened to the stiff grass crackle under her shoes. When she reached the edge of the meadow, she reached up and plucked a red apple from an apple tree on the fringe.

My heart began beating fast.
In the story of Snow White, t
he wicked witch ga
ve the girl
an apple.
She
took a bite, and
fell
under a spell. Only true love’s first kiss could wake her.

Was that the Vampire Queen’s
plan? Did she intend to offer me the apple? Poison me? And hope my true love would find me and kiss me.

That’s stupid, my inner voice quipped.

I snorted. Love didn’t work that way. It was complicated, messy, and took effort. A kiss in real life didn’t have the same power.

That’s because you haven’t kissed
your true love yet
,
my inner voice
huffed
.

Maybe. I co
uldn’t help but think of Gabe and of Christopher
.
I’d kissed them both. Nothing happened.

Another thought occurred to me.
Ha
d Christopher left because he
accomplished his
goal?
I’d become a vampire. Wasn’t that all he w
as required to do. And now
I was a vampire, could a kiss return me to human?
Probably not.

I
messed up so badly there was no way the Seal of Gabriel, the beautiful pendant Christopher
gave
me, would work any longer
. I
ruined any chance of restoring balance when I became a monster. It was too late for me. 

Maybe I should eat the apple, I thought. Then I wouldn’t be able to harm anyone.

“Snow,” the Queen barked, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes,” I said, moving from the throne and
into the meadow. The
landscape
was
beautiful, peaceful.
I ran my hands over the tops of the tall grass and the white daisies that grew in clumps.

The Vampire Queen
waved me over.

Determined, I went
moved closer
. When I was
near her
, I held out my hand. I would eat the apple. I would sleep eternally and no longer be a detriment to those I loved.

The Vampire Queen bat
ted my hand. “Get your own
,” she said, taking a large bite.

I inhaled, surprised. “I will,” I said after I recovered. Reaching up, I plucked a large apple from one of the branches. The
sweet scented blossoms
filled my lungs. Rubbing the apple skin on my sleeve out of habit, I scanned it for bruises or wormholes, and seeing it was unspoiled, took a bite. I chewed
slowly, expecting there to be no flavor. All food tasted like ash since Christopher
bit
me. It was delicious though. The flavors a mixture of
sugariness
, and… I dropped it. Blood.

Closing my eyes, I waited for the inevitable
toxin
to send me into blissful oblivion. Several seconds passed, and I still felt the same. When I opened my eyes, I
noticed the Queen watched me with an amused expression.

When I swallowed, she said, “It won’t be long now.”

I gasped. “You did poison me.” A fusion of relief and fear filled my veins.

She laughed. “I’m
teasing.” She took another bite. S
ome of the
juices dribble
down her chin. “These apples are some of the best in Sh
arra. I wanted you to try them. Didn’t you like it?” She indicated the apple I dropped.

Truth was the flavor was exceptional. The combination actu
ally
made my mouth water
. “Y
es, it was fine.”

She shook her head. “This is your home as much as it is mine. Let me show you around.”

I hesitated. What harm could it do? Shrugging, I followed her back to the thrones.

Once we were seated, she said, “This is the entrance to the orchards.
Beyond the apple trees are peaches, plums, and pears. All of them are grown and cultivated to our specific tastes.” She nodded
, and I knew she referred to the blood. Somehow it was fused within the fruit.
“Sometimes it’s nice to eat solid food. A liquid diet can get boring after a few hundred years.”

She snapped
her fingers, and we were in a
forest. Giant trees shaded the fern and moss-covered floor. A babbling brook rushed along next to us. Three deer drank from its edge, unaware of us. She put a finger to her lips. I
bobbed my head, indicating I understood
, and watched her move without sound toward them.

I fought down the knot
forming
in my stomach. What did she intend to do?
When she snapped the neck of the largest deer
,
I shuddered. “Why?” I asked, stunned.

The other two deer bolted.

The Queen
pulled a knife from a sheath I hadn’t noticed before. Laying the deer on its side, she sliced open its belly.

“Stop,” I shouted, turning away so I wouldn’t have to see its guts. Tears threatened, but I pushed them back. I had the feeling weakness would only irritate her.

I sensed her move next to me. Smelled the blood on her hands. It was heady.
An aroma similar to that of a human.
I turned, and saw she held
something—a piece of
meat, or an organ—in her hands. “Try it. Like the fruit, the animals in Sharra are cultivated for our needs.” 

I shook my head, but the scent
had
my canines threatening to burst forth, and my mouth watered. “No, thank you. I’m a vegetarian.” The words sounded hollow.

She chuckled. “Really? That isn’t the impression I got from the way you handled those humans.” She stuck the thing in her hand in front of my face. “Try it. You’ll like it.”

The Vampire Queen was rig
ht, of course.
I certainly didn’t act very vegetarian. Stepping slightly to the right, I turned my nose away from her hand.
“I thought we only drank from humans,” I finally said, trying to buy myself some time.

She took
a bite from whatever it was she held. Disgusted, I looked down, studying the red Converse on my feet.

When she
finished,
she said, “Humans are trite creatures. Their presence on this planet has been useful. I’ve
recycled
them to benefit our race, but they will die out long before we do.”

“Recycled?” I kicked at a chunk of moss in the dirt at my feet. “I’m human. You…” I paused. I’d almost said she was human too. That wasn’t true, but I
now
got
what she meant b
y recycled. “What about the other vampires? They started out human. They are as human as I am.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “You may look human
. Even I look human
, but after your first drop of human blood, the genetic code within your body changed. You are no more human than the deer, or these
trees. You are now a vampire. Ac
cept it.
Embrace it.” She threw the
remainder
of whatever she held in her hand
into
the stream. “I thought you already had.” She wiped the blo
od on
her hands on the moss near
her feet.

At her words my heart sank. “Is this what you wanted?” I couldn’t meet her gaze. Professor Pops told me Christopher’s job
was
to turn me into a vampire, so I figured the Vampire Queen was happy.

“Of course it’s what I wanted. You have such potential. And Sharra is a wonderful place to live, to learn, and to become what you are meant to be.

“Which is a vessel for you,” I spat out.

She shook her head, making
a
tsk-tsk sound. “I don’t know what you’ve been told, but you’ll be more than a mere vessel. You’ll become the most powerful creature on Earth. Everything you desire, anything you wish, will be at your fingertips.”

“
For my body only
, bu
t I’ll be gone.”

“You’ve been talking to Adam Henry? Perhaps even Kenmei? Th
ose two are such drama queens.”

“I have.”
A part of me hoped Professor Pops and Kenmei weren’t telling the truth, but I doubted it. What reas
ons would they have to lie?

The Vampire Queen continued, “I’m sure they even told you the story of Silindra and me. About the war?” She raised an eyebrow. “A
nd maybe even about a
necklace?”

She was leading me.

Deny. Deny. Deny, my inner voice shouted.

“Maybe.” I shrugged.

“Well, of course they did. Those are their weapons. The way the
y
get the Marked and Chosen to do their bidding. That’s why I brought yo
u here. I wanted you to see
I am not som
e power hungry maniac as they
led you to believe. I am not a monster, Snow. I’m merely a leader. My people chose me. They need me. I love all of my subjects equally. You may have seen some of
them
as we passed through the sitting room of the castle. They are given freedom and more power
than they could ever need
. Everything
they
could ever want. All I ask in return is their allegiance. That’s all I’m asking of you.”

I took a step back. “
Why would Profess—Adam lie?
He has no reason.”

She sighed. H
er shoulders sagged slightly, as though she
carried the weight of the world
. “They told you about the war, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Well did they happen to ment
ion that it was Adam and Kenmei
I fought against? Did t
hey tell you
they led those
who battled against me for
power?
For the throne that was rightfully mine.” She started breathing h
eavily. “Did they tell you
they turned my own sister against me?”

Equally angry, I shouted, “They told me you had her
tortured and
murdered.”

Chapter 6

The Vampire Queen gasped, and pressed a hand to her chest
in mock sarcasm
. “They what? I could never murder my sister.”

She’s a big, fat liar, my inner voice hollered.

Pushing down my fears, I changed the subject.
“Are you
saying you were in the right? You deserve the power?” I didn’t add that Kenmei and Professor Pops told me they were her hunters at one time, and that
I knew
they left her. Immediately a small flutter danced in my belly. Is that where Christopher went? Professor Pops and Kenmei never told me
what they
did
to break free of her. Was it just a matter of
wal
king away, or was more required?
I thought about the bear Christopher carved, and how excited
he was
when I gave it to him.