When I came to, the first thing I realized was that I couldn't move
my hands. They were bound together and held above me. That's when I
realized I was also dangling in the air, my feet falling a few inches short
of the old stone floor. Where was I?
A felt a sharp sting on my back, which from the sound I guessed it was a bullwhip.
"Wake up, boy!" Andrea's voice, no longer sweet and sexy like I first remembered it, but full of bitterness and anger, shouted at me from behind.
"Uhhhh..." I made an effort to let her know I was awake, and was given another whip slash across my back.
"How dare you!" She said, coming around to the front of me. This was the first time I had seen her without her cape on, and I must say that she was scary looking. Her hair was fiery red, and her skin was pale as chalk. She was wearing all leather, which would have under any normal circumstances been considered sexy, but I was in no mood to think with my hormones.
"How dare I what?" I asked innocently.
"How dare you go to that traitorous bitch Tatiana, and agree to work with her to kill me!" She whipped me again, this time across the face. I felt blood coming out of the thin wound and drip down my cheek.
"Who are you?" I asked. "Why would Tatiana want to kill you."
"You can't tell? Then I will show you." Andrea opened her mouth wide, and the first thing I noticed was the fangs. She had long fangs. Oh shit, this woman was a vampire!
"I am a Vampire, yes." She said. Was she reading my mind? "I'm also a wizard. I'm also...a woman." She said. Why did she add that last bit? I could tell she was a woman.
"So?" I asked.
"I trusted you. I wanted you to think that I was a real woman, someone who just needed help. But no, you go to the most cruel, evil bitch this side of the world, and work with her to kill me, all so you can impress some ugly human slut!"
"Don't you dare talk about Mai like that!" I shouted. She came up close to me, an although I struggled a little, she came up so close that I could feel the ice in her breath.
"I suppose you know what will happen if I...leave my mark on you." She moved in close to my neck. I struggle and yelped in fear, but all she did was lick the side of my throat. It was a chill like the one I got in Hell, and it still made me shiver.
"But no, I will restrain myself from biting your very handsome throat. I first will ask you, why did you side with Tatiana?"
"I...I killed Tatiana!" I shouted.
"You didn't, you only drove her away. But that doesn't answer my question." I briefly considered lying, but she was reading my mind probably anyway.
"You already know that. Tatiana gave me a gift."
"So it takes bribes for you to want to kill women?" She asked.
"Tatiana scared the lying piss out of me. I also thought she'd blast me if I said no." I responded. Please don't let her be probing my thoughts.
"I suppose that will have to do." She said, stepping back away from me. I couldn't help but sigh a bit of relief. I couldn't stand having her so close to me. The only person I wanted that close to me was someone I cared about. Someone like Mai.
"Why don't you tell me what's going on? Why do you want this pendant? I sacrificed for it, so I'm keeping it." I said.
"Idiot! Don't you know anything about it." She shouted. The pendant was, thankfully, still around my neck, Andrea hadn't taken it.
"So tell me then." I ordered her.
She took a step back. "The pendant is actually the spirit of the previous Faerie Queene, Alana. Tatiana wanted it to destroy Alana's spirit and take it's power for herself."
"Then I did the right thing in keeping it."
"Yes. But now, I want it. I will use the power to cast a spell of darkness about the world. This way, I'll never have to lie alone in my coffin, vulnerable to all those who will to drive a stake through my heart. Now, give it to me!" She ordered.
"No way! Mai gave her life for this pendant, and it belongs to me, not you. You'll have to kill me if you want it." I was really in no position to be saying this things, she could easily drain me in the positions we were in. But it sounded like she needed me, needed me alive, so I had to brave my chances.
"Don't tempt me." She ordered, stepping up close and licking my neck again. I could never get used to that chill. She then started talking again.
"Joey, now, I'll tell you something. You may be safe from me, but your sister and friends are not. Either you will help me, or I will kill them. It is quite simple." I was safe? The pendant was probably protecting me. Dammit, she had me by the balls. I couldn't risk Serenity, Tristan, or any of them.
"No! Don't...don't hurt them. I'll do what you want as long as you don't hurt them."
"I knew you'd see reason, you humans are all the same with your inability to watch others suffer. You will meet me in the garden tomorrow night, with the pendant. You will help me unleash the spell of darkness that will consume this land. Meet me at the dark of midnight, or your friends will die."
"Alright." I agreed. "As long as they're safe, I'll do what you want. But you hurt them at all, even if you bump into them accidentally, and the deal is off. I'll kill you myself." Andrea waved her hands, and I felt slightly dizzy for a second. When my senses cleared, I found that I was back in the glade where she kidnapped me.
I went to the garden first, to see if Mai was still there. She was sitting on the ground, looking the water at her silver hair. When she saw me. She stood up and looked immediately worried.
"You're bleeding." She said. Her calmness in a crisis had returned, and I was glad. I would have run around screaming if she had been hurt. I took off my shirt and she dressed the wounds with some bandages. She must've anticipated that I'd run into trouble, and brought it with her.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. The Faerie bitch won't bother us anymore."
"Joey, what aren't you telling me?" She asked. How did she know that I was hiding something? I couldn't lie to her, so I told her everything, about Andrea. Her face stayed calm as she heard the entire story.
"I'd tell you you're foolish if you go along with her, but she had your number. Be careful, then. This magic shit will be the death of us all if we're not careful. You know what Hell is like, so don't go there again."
"I'll be careful, but if it comes down to me or you..."
"Finish that sentence and I'll never be able to respect you again. I don't want someone who'll sacrifice themselves for me, I want someone who did what you did, damn everything for love. That's what it's all about, and that's what we need to do."
"You're...you're right Mai. I'll..." But no more words needed to be said.
We woke up the next night. Nothing happened with me and Mai, nothing much, just something very, very solidifying in our relationship, but it wasn't sex or anything, I was still not ready for that. It was just...letting out tensions. I went to Tristan's desperate to get some advice. When I saw him, he looked spooked.
"I had a terrible dream last night, and now that you're here, I'll consult the cards. When I tried to do readings for you before, I always got the dark card, but now, perhaps with this dream, I can shed light on this mystery."
Tristan shuffled the cards. He drew first the Fool, then the inverted High Priestess. I told him about Andrea.
"I see. Now, in my dream, I saw some symbols." He held up the symbol of a heart, but a pumping heart in the body, not a Valentine's day one. It was gross, but Tristan drew several cards. He drew the Queen of Swords, the Queen of Cups, and the Six of Swords.
"I think this means something about..." He trailed off, and drew another card, the dark one.
"These three are pawns in the bringing forth of darkness. Everyone is being used or deceived."
"Tristan?"
"The Queen of Swords, I believe, represents Mai, scarred by her past. The Queen of Cups is the spirit of that pendant, loving and giving. The meaning of the Six of Swords eludes me, but it means something about travel...or a person of travel perhaps."
"Tristan." Serenity said. "The Six of Swords is a card of the gypsy. Somehow, you are being deceived by the dark spell."
"If I'm being deceived, then perhaps that means that my Sight is being blocked somehow, and that was when I could only draw the Dark cards."
I had heard enough about being used, so I left the room to let Tristan and Serenity figure it out
"Hey, spirit." I called to the pendant.
"I know, I heard. There's nothing we can do, right. I'll stand by you till the end. We've got no choice. Remember, that everyone is being deceived, even Andrea. If we can trick her, then maybe we can stop this from happening."
"It sounds good." I said. I had to think of a plan, and think of one quickly. The fact that Andrea would be able to create vampires freely at any time was a prospect that didn't thrill me.
A felt a sharp sting on my back, which from the sound I guessed it was a bullwhip.
"Wake up, boy!" Andrea's voice, no longer sweet and sexy like I first remembered it, but full of bitterness and anger, shouted at me from behind.
"Uhhhh..." I made an effort to let her know I was awake, and was given another whip slash across my back.
"How dare you!" She said, coming around to the front of me. This was the first time I had seen her without her cape on, and I must say that she was scary looking. Her hair was fiery red, and her skin was pale as chalk. She was wearing all leather, which would have under any normal circumstances been considered sexy, but I was in no mood to think with my hormones.
"How dare I what?" I asked innocently.
"How dare you go to that traitorous bitch Tatiana, and agree to work with her to kill me!" She whipped me again, this time across the face. I felt blood coming out of the thin wound and drip down my cheek.
"Who are you?" I asked. "Why would Tatiana want to kill you."
"You can't tell? Then I will show you." Andrea opened her mouth wide, and the first thing I noticed was the fangs. She had long fangs. Oh shit, this woman was a vampire!
"I am a Vampire, yes." She said. Was she reading my mind? "I'm also a wizard. I'm also...a woman." She said. Why did she add that last bit? I could tell she was a woman.
"So?" I asked.
"I trusted you. I wanted you to think that I was a real woman, someone who just needed help. But no, you go to the most cruel, evil bitch this side of the world, and work with her to kill me, all so you can impress some ugly human slut!"
"Don't you dare talk about Mai like that!" I shouted. She came up close to me, an although I struggled a little, she came up so close that I could feel the ice in her breath.
"I suppose you know what will happen if I...leave my mark on you." She moved in close to my neck. I struggle and yelped in fear, but all she did was lick the side of my throat. It was a chill like the one I got in Hell, and it still made me shiver.
"But no, I will restrain myself from biting your very handsome throat. I first will ask you, why did you side with Tatiana?"
"I...I killed Tatiana!" I shouted.
"You didn't, you only drove her away. But that doesn't answer my question." I briefly considered lying, but she was reading my mind probably anyway.
"You already know that. Tatiana gave me a gift."
"So it takes bribes for you to want to kill women?" She asked.
"Tatiana scared the lying piss out of me. I also thought she'd blast me if I said no." I responded. Please don't let her be probing my thoughts.
"I suppose that will have to do." She said, stepping back away from me. I couldn't help but sigh a bit of relief. I couldn't stand having her so close to me. The only person I wanted that close to me was someone I cared about. Someone like Mai.
"Why don't you tell me what's going on? Why do you want this pendant? I sacrificed for it, so I'm keeping it." I said.
"Idiot! Don't you know anything about it." She shouted. The pendant was, thankfully, still around my neck, Andrea hadn't taken it.
"So tell me then." I ordered her.
She took a step back. "The pendant is actually the spirit of the previous Faerie Queene, Alana. Tatiana wanted it to destroy Alana's spirit and take it's power for herself."
"Then I did the right thing in keeping it."
"Yes. But now, I want it. I will use the power to cast a spell of darkness about the world. This way, I'll never have to lie alone in my coffin, vulnerable to all those who will to drive a stake through my heart. Now, give it to me!" She ordered.
"No way! Mai gave her life for this pendant, and it belongs to me, not you. You'll have to kill me if you want it." I was really in no position to be saying this things, she could easily drain me in the positions we were in. But it sounded like she needed me, needed me alive, so I had to brave my chances.
"Don't tempt me." She ordered, stepping up close and licking my neck again. I could never get used to that chill. She then started talking again.
"Joey, now, I'll tell you something. You may be safe from me, but your sister and friends are not. Either you will help me, or I will kill them. It is quite simple." I was safe? The pendant was probably protecting me. Dammit, she had me by the balls. I couldn't risk Serenity, Tristan, or any of them.
"No! Don't...don't hurt them. I'll do what you want as long as you don't hurt them."
"I knew you'd see reason, you humans are all the same with your inability to watch others suffer. You will meet me in the garden tomorrow night, with the pendant. You will help me unleash the spell of darkness that will consume this land. Meet me at the dark of midnight, or your friends will die."
"Alright." I agreed. "As long as they're safe, I'll do what you want. But you hurt them at all, even if you bump into them accidentally, and the deal is off. I'll kill you myself." Andrea waved her hands, and I felt slightly dizzy for a second. When my senses cleared, I found that I was back in the glade where she kidnapped me.
I went to the garden first, to see if Mai was still there. She was sitting on the ground, looking the water at her silver hair. When she saw me. She stood up and looked immediately worried.
"You're bleeding." She said. Her calmness in a crisis had returned, and I was glad. I would have run around screaming if she had been hurt. I took off my shirt and she dressed the wounds with some bandages. She must've anticipated that I'd run into trouble, and brought it with her.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. The Faerie bitch won't bother us anymore."
"Joey, what aren't you telling me?" She asked. How did she know that I was hiding something? I couldn't lie to her, so I told her everything, about Andrea. Her face stayed calm as she heard the entire story.
"I'd tell you you're foolish if you go along with her, but she had your number. Be careful, then. This magic shit will be the death of us all if we're not careful. You know what Hell is like, so don't go there again."
"I'll be careful, but if it comes down to me or you..."
"Finish that sentence and I'll never be able to respect you again. I don't want someone who'll sacrifice themselves for me, I want someone who did what you did, damn everything for love. That's what it's all about, and that's what we need to do."
"You're...you're right Mai. I'll..." But no more words needed to be said.
We woke up the next night. Nothing happened with me and Mai, nothing much, just something very, very solidifying in our relationship, but it wasn't sex or anything, I was still not ready for that. It was just...letting out tensions. I went to Tristan's desperate to get some advice. When I saw him, he looked spooked.
"I had a terrible dream last night, and now that you're here, I'll consult the cards. When I tried to do readings for you before, I always got the dark card, but now, perhaps with this dream, I can shed light on this mystery."
Tristan shuffled the cards. He drew first the Fool, then the inverted High Priestess. I told him about Andrea.
"I see. Now, in my dream, I saw some symbols." He held up the symbol of a heart, but a pumping heart in the body, not a Valentine's day one. It was gross, but Tristan drew several cards. He drew the Queen of Swords, the Queen of Cups, and the Six of Swords.
"I think this means something about..." He trailed off, and drew another card, the dark one.
"These three are pawns in the bringing forth of darkness. Everyone is being used or deceived."
"Tristan?"
"The Queen of Swords, I believe, represents Mai, scarred by her past. The Queen of Cups is the spirit of that pendant, loving and giving. The meaning of the Six of Swords eludes me, but it means something about travel...or a person of travel perhaps."
"Tristan." Serenity said. "The Six of Swords is a card of the gypsy. Somehow, you are being deceived by the dark spell."
"If I'm being deceived, then perhaps that means that my Sight is being blocked somehow, and that was when I could only draw the Dark cards."
I had heard enough about being used, so I left the room to let Tristan and Serenity figure it out
"Hey, spirit." I called to the pendant.
"I know, I heard. There's nothing we can do, right. I'll stand by you till the end. We've got no choice. Remember, that everyone is being deceived, even Andrea. If we can trick her, then maybe we can stop this from happening."
"It sounds good." I said. I had to think of a plan, and think of one quickly. The fact that Andrea would be able to create vampires freely at any time was a prospect that didn't thrill me.