Zane’s Tale
Some days, eternity was far too
long.
Zane awoke from the day-slumber to see
the queen looming over him, her sharp fingernails scratching a
pattern onto his bare shoulder. Her red eyes gleamed with interest
as his eyes met hers. Nitocris’s mind pressured his own,
overwhelming his senses with the possessive murk of it. Need and an
angry urge to possess flared through his brain. The thoughts were
not his, but hers.
“ I have decided you will
feed me again today,” Nitocris said, her voice a low, throaty hum
full of triumph.
Punishment. Again. Careful to hide any
emotion, Zane swung his legs over the side of the marble bier and
extended an arm toward her with an almost bored expression. “Eat
up.”
The queen smiled, revealing her
razor-sharp teeth. She crooked a finger at him, slowly beckoning.
“Give me your neck.”
Anger and resentment burned through
him, and were quickly drowned out by the force of her will. No
vampire could shut out the queen, or the heavy, dominating thoughts
she impressed on their minds. Zane closed his eyes as he was forced
to his knees so he wouldn’t see her triumphant look.
His thoughts were of Jackie as the
queen’s mouth descended on his skin.
*~*~*~*~*
When the queen was finished with him,
he escaped the mansion’s grounds and emerged into the cool night
air. The sun was no more than a suggestion on the horizon, and the
stars were coming out. He sucked in several deep breaths, hating
the memory of the queen’s mouth on his throat, her low growls of
pleasure, and the throaty laugh she gave when she realized he was
stiff with hatred.
For four thousand years, he’d willingly
– and gratefully – served at her feet. Took every command as if it
were his own desire, sought to anticipate her needs before she even
requested them. Her demands had been his own. He had been the
queen’s loyal and devoted prince. And somewhere in the last year…it
had all changed. Instead of looking forward to her evil tasks and
sadistic whims, he was torn. He thought of Jackie every time the
queen sent him out. His thoughts were consumed by the succubus and
how innocent she was in comparison to him, and how trusting. She’d
loved him. That love and faith in him made serving Nitocris
unbearable.
But he’d endure, because it kept Jackie
safe.
The blood craving rolled over him,
making his wings twitch and his skin crawl. The blood need was
always present, always strong. Tonight, he loathed it. Reaching for
his cigarettes, he crammed one between his lips and lit, desperate
to have the nicotine hit. Cigarettes helped dull the blood need,
but only a little. His teeth ached, as if reminding him of what he
had to seek very soon.
“ Can I bum one of those?” A
figure emerged from the shadows and grinned, all fangs and leather
jacket. One of his brothers – Caleb, freshly awakened from his
night sleep. Caleb was one of the youngest looking vampires – yet
he was just as old as Zane, and cut from the same cloth. A ringed
tattoo around one eye tried (unsuccessfully, in Zane’s opinion) to
make him look a bit older. “I’m fresh out of smokes.”
Zane tossed the pack to him. “Keep it.
I’m about to head out.”
He didn’t have to say where he was
going – everyone with wings knew. Blood had to be acquired every
night in order to survive. And he’d feed, even though he’d hate
every moment of it. He would do what he had to; he always
did.
Zane smoked in silence next to Caleb,
watching as the mansion was vacated by a flood of vampires, each
one seeking his nourishment for the evening before heading out on
whatever task that the queen had given her lackeys. The skies
filled with them for a brief minute, the sound of a hundred pairs
of rustling wings bringing a sharp bolt of nostalgia to Zane’s
chest.
What a perverted, dark existence he was
living now, he thought with a wry smirk, and dropped his cigarette
to the ground, crushing his boot heel over it. He shrugged
Similar Books
