Lord of Shadows book 2: Bloodlines Read online

  I put my hand on Hana's and squeezed gently. Her head shot around, eyes blazing wild. She tackled me to the ground and bit down on my neck. I didn't push her off, nor did I defend myself. I let her. She ripped my cotton shirt off and dug her nails into my chest, drawing more blood.

  Hana slid off me and traced her tongue across the fresh wound. Katya appeared behind her helping take her dress off. Hana twisted her head around, kissing Katya passionately, letting the other woman lick the blood of her tongue before she turned back to me and pulled my pants down to my knees.

  Vera gasped and turned around, still squeamish at the sight of blood.

  "I'll go prepare the bath real quick," she stammered and ran off just as Katya's dress slid down her slender frame. They were to die for, beautiful in their own way, marred yet perfect.

  "Can I join?" she asked weakly. Hana nodded slightly and slid down my body, kneeling to my left. Katya took that as a yes and knelt opposite Hana. Their hands moved in unison down between my legs. One took my balls in her hand while the other my shaft, stroking it and kissing the tip. Hana opened her mouth and slid down my length biting and sucking.

  Katya bent over Hana and bit down on her neck. It was a kick to take in blood from someone such as myself, and then to mix it with Strigoi blood. Let's say that alcohol couldn't hold a candle to it. She felt it immediately, but never stopped squeezing her hand and massaging me as Hana's head bobbed up and down.

  "Who wants to go first?" I asked, looking down their backs and seeing firm mounds calling my name. Not waiting for a response, I grabbed Hana who was closer and turned her around. Then I eyed the large wooden table calling for us to use it what it was intended for, holding Hana upright as I fucked her from behind.

  I stood and pulled her right leg up on the table, positioning my cock in between her dripping cleft. I didn't wait, I didn't play. No, I thrust it in as hard as I could while picking up her other leg and holding it up.

  Hana's legs were so far spread out that I thought she'd tear any moment now, but she didn't. She took it all in while biting down on her screams. All I could hear was the sound of me slamming my hips against her ass and her muffled moans. It only served to arouse me even more, so I picked up a notch, tearing into her from behind.

  "No, wait," she cried. "I'm going to cum if you-- do it so fast!" But I didn't pay it no heed until I was almost ready to burst myself as she tightened around me, squirting as I came inside her. She buried her head in her hands and sobbed. I could feel her embarrassment, but she didn't need to be like that, at least not with me. No, whatever they did, they were mine, be it good or bad.

  "Come," I whispered, pulling at her shoulder. But she didn't want to turn around, and instead buried her face into the table. I let go of her legs and turned her around. She looked away again, bloody tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "Enough. Why are you crying?" I asked.

  "Because of this!" she snapped, pointing down at my hips and legs, the floor and the table. "What do you think about how I feel right now?"

  "Like a queen, because that's what you are," I replied and put my arms around her. "Look, who says I'm not into this kind of thing? Or far worse? Maybe next time we could plan something out, something real kinky?"

  "Oh, I like that!" Katya chirped. "We'll think of something until you're back. And no worries, let me take care of this."

  Katya's hands pointed at the puddle for a second before it all turned into ice.

  "Andrej?" she called. "Andrej!"

  We waited for a good twenty seconds, but there he was. He came running like a dog chasing a cat already carrying a mop and bucket.

  "Yes, Lady Katya. What can I-- do for you," he asked when he saw us standing there, all three bare naked. "I see, I'll get right to it," he added quickly and picked up the ice and dumped it into the bucket, then disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

  "You can't help but love the kid," I said as he turned around the corner. "Anyway, let's get a bath before Tierney's here."

  The bath did wonders, especially to Hana, who seemed revitalized and in a much better mood. Katya whispered she'd be alright for now, and let Hana lead today's ritual. She cleaned me while Katya cleaned her in turn, and then Hana switched to Katya. It was a sight for sore eyes as they played and danced in the water. It almost made me want to stay home with them, but I knew I shouldn't. We needed any edge we could get.

  "Boss! Boss!" Andrej called as he ran up the stairs. "Lady Tierney is here! She's waiting down in the main hall."

  "Good," I replied as a tingling sensation slithered up and down my spine. Tierney was finally done. "Tell her I'll be there shortly."

  "Yes, boss," Andrej replied and skittered off again.

  "How long will you be gone?" Katya asked as she sat up beside me. Hana sat to my other side and leaned her head against my shoulder. It felt like everything that happened during the Dvorak time, happened ages ago. This connection wouldn't break, no matter how much pressure we were under.

  "A couple of days. Maybe a week. We're checking the castle ruins out where Dracul might have been buried. Afterward, we're gonna be searching for a lady that can imbue magic into things. Or at least that's what she should be able to do."

  "Will you bring us souvenirs?" Hana asked as she looked up at me.

  "Do you prefer dead or alive ones?"

  "Whatever. As long as they're useful," she snickered. I couldn't help but laugh along. She had one dirty mind that woman.

  "Come here," I said, leaning in and planting a kiss on her lips, after which it was Katya's turn. She didn't protest either and instead kissed me back furiously.

  "Hey!" Hana scowled. "Enough of that, you two."

  "Very well, very well. Anyway, if that brute shows up, run," I said, looking right at Katya. "You know how dangerous he is, so don't even try to fight him. Run and come find me at Bran castle in the East."

  "We will, Ivan. Let's pray he doesn't," Katya replied, but I could see she wasn't sure of following through.

  "Katya, I command you. That's not a request. Fuck Humans and the others. As long as you two are alive-- alright. I need to go."

  I left my sentence half unfinished leaving the bathing area. It couldn't be helped. But a sense of loss and guilt were quickly replaced by the thought of adventure and anticipation. Having Tierney and my goddess for myself was more than I could handle, or not if they played nice.

  "There he is," Freya said seductively. "Don't be angry with him, he just plowed some meat."

  "Huh?" I asked, caught off guard by her brazen attitude.

  "Nothing," she snickered and got up from the pile of animal furs. "It's time to go and see what lady Tierney here has picked out for us."

  Chapter Sixteen

  We flew around deep into the night, free as birds in the cool breeze. Tierney's long, black and red wings carried her like a falcon soaring through the skies while Freya's black mist kept her afloat and ahead of us, no matter how hard we tried to catch up. At one point we just gave up and enjoyed hunting each other.

  Following the road leading east from Zharevo, we came across more than one caravan, though they were quite small in size. No more than eight horses pulled three large carts with goods and a small cabin. The horses neighed and protested, but the elderly man in charge kept hitting them with a wicked-looking whip.

  After the fourth hit, Tierney descended ahead of the caravan and hid inside a thick bush, waiting for them to draw in closer. I wanted to protest, to tell her not to get involved with mere mortals, but decided against it. Who was I to deny her some fun?

  Her whip sang, catching the lead man off guard and throwing him against the ground. The rest followed him in a flourish of whip attacks that left them wounded and dying, one by one.

  A young boy exit out the back of the cabin-like cart along with two women. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Tierney get up from her last victim and stride toward the three. But before I could intervene, she was already there and held the old woman by the throat for a lo
ng moment, as if savoring the deed before she snapped her neck.

  "Tierney!" I bellowed and lunged at her. But Freya stopped me.

  "Look," she said. "Look closer at the woman and the child. They have marks on their wrists from wearing chains."

  My rage and anger evaporated when I laid eyes on their wrists. Ashamed, I looked away and spat a mouthful of bile. Did I think so low of my own woman? Of Tierney, the one who made me partially into who I was?

  "It's alright. You couldn't have known after all. Look over there, on the wagon's sides. There's the symbol of a serpent."

  "This? It almost looked like a scratch to me. The hell is that Serpent? What does it stand for?"

  "A rival faction dealing mostly in slavery. They must have started from somewhere nearby and thought of making their rounds along the road. See, there are dozens of small villages all the way up to Bran. And if different members of the Serpents pass by each month or two, they never know who to look for."

  "I see. So what do we do about these two?" I asked. "I refuse to kill children."

  Tierney shrugged.

  "Sorry, I didn't think so far ahead," she laughed. "I mean, we could kill them, or let them go free."

  I sighed, annoyed by the prospect of having control over their lives. I had enough to deal with, so involving myself with ordinary humans was out of the question.

  "Tell them to go back where they were taken from. We don't have the time to deal with this now."

  "You heard the man," Tierney said after cutting the rope around their legs and arms. "Go, run!" she yelled, shooing them. "What about their goods?"

  "We leave them here. Freya, can you contact any of my friends to tell them about these carts and horses?"

  "Sure can. I'll tell Katya. She seems more reasonable than the rest. And friends? Aren't they your subordinates? "

  I chuckled. She sure was right in that regard.

  "Depends on how you look at it, my dearest Freya," I replied with a wink. "Anyway, where is their base? I mean, where do they operate from, these serpents?"

  "Bran."

  I groaned.

  "You sure planned all of this out nicely, no? Maybe even had it set up so we could come across them."

  "Y-you! How dare you accuse me of such-- yeah, I did. So what? They're my rivals, so they're automatically your rivals as well then. And speaking of which, I don't deal with human lives. Alcohol, weapons, jewelry, money in general, yeah, but people, no. A branch of my men holds the black sea, while three others hold a good part of Eastern Wallachia."

  "So, what do we have to look forward to, my dearest Tierney? And please, be so kind and tell me if you've planned anything else as well. I hate to run into surprises."

  "Nothing really. I planned to take over Bran, then go up to Bran castle and see if your, umm, if Dracul was buried there. Maybe find some artifacts, or hints at what can awaken you to stage three."

  "Heh," I scoffed. "I'm not quite sure if I want to go as far. I'm fighting Dracul and the urge to kill every day, but if I went so far and awakened, I think that I'd lose it pretty quickly."

  "Hmm, maybe. But don't you want to protect me? And the other girls?"

  "I do, but not at the price of becoming evil. I'm chaotic as is already, Tierney. Any more and I'd be just like those monsters who I wanted to punish in the first place."

  "What the fuck are you talking about?" she hissed. "You kill people indiscriminately when you feel like it, as you do with soldiers, their families, and the clergy in general. Are their husbands and wives at fault?"

  "No, they're not. But if you imagine I let them live, wouldn't they lead a miserable life without anyone to take care of and provide for them? They would live with his hatred and regret deep inside, so isn't it better I take all of that on myself? Let them hate and despise me."

  Tierney sighed and shrugged.

  "Whatever. So, how about we get a move on. There will be more of these as we get closer to Bran. I even know of a few outposts there. Do we raise hell?"

  "No," I replied. "I got a better idea. But first, I need to know what we're getting into. If there's someone as strong as the Captain back at the keep, I'm not doing this. I value my life too much over some smuggling activities."

  "From what I know, there's three that rival me. That's why I never moved against them. I was hoping that in time Katya would become strong enough to rival at least one, and that way I could try to take on the other two and hope for the best."

  "Yeah, but now that you have Freya and me here, you don't even need to dirty your hands anymore. And why just Katya? Don't tell me you don't have any Vampyres in your-- organization."

  She sighed.

  "Yeah, yeah. Joke all you want. But you have no idea how long I've been building this 'empire' of mine," she said accenting the word empire heavily. "You wouldn't let anyone intrude on Zharevo, no? And regarding my subordinates, Katya is the only one I turned in all this time beside you. Now, are we doing this?"

  "It all depends on what the three are. Tell me what I need to know about them."

  "Well, the annoying thing is that they're not even from this area. They came from the far east and what not. I know that one of them is a Djinn. He's a fire-elemental, and really powerful. Another one is a Rakshasa. Far-far eastern demon or something. They feed on flesh and become more powerful the longer they live. Their skin hardens as time passes, and becomes tough as steel. They can become invisible, and their bodies are their main weapons. Claws, rending teeth, and a nearly indestructible body."

  "I see. And the third?"

  "It's a-- well, I don't know the name, but there's this woman, their leader. She turns into a stone-- something and can fly and has long claws and things. I tried fighting her once, and she nearly ripped off my wings."

  "Great," I sighed. "Very well. We'll take care of them. How about you start being honest with me from now on?"

  "I-- Yes, I will. I mean--"

  "No. Just listen. Shit like this could get us into a world of pain if it went wrong. So from now on, you trust your dearest Ivan and tell him everything."

  "Alright, my love. I'll be sure to do that."

  "Good! Now, where were we?" I asked after kissing her quickly and looking back up at Freya.

  "Done? We've got places to be, things to do, and people to kill."

  "Sure thing, goddess. You two really bring out the best in me," I joked. But it was true. The two really brought out a good side in me, along with the worst, but you can't have the good without the bad.

  The nearest outpost was about an hour further in. From high up, it was clear that Bran was encircled by them. Every mile stood another one, reaching just barely above the tree-tops. Torches blazed in the dark of the night, illuminating the poor souls who would become our first victims.

  "So, what about your plan?" Tierney asked. "You never said anything back there."

  "No, I didn't. What we're going to do, is kill the guards on one of these outposts, and then stroll into the headquarters. I want to take over, not destroy them."

  "Wait, what? You haven't been listening to me! They deal in trafficking!"

  "What's it to you? You're a Vampyre and an incredibly strong one at that. Why does it bother you so much?"

  "Because I-- I used to be a slave! I was sold off for a fistful of copper!"

  I remained silent for a moment, studying her. If she really did harbor that much hatred and anger for them, who was I to stop her? In fact, wasn't I supposed to be her lover, or her man if you will? Then my job was to make her problems go away, so she didn't have to deal with them.

  "Very well, Tierney. Do you want to do it yourself, or do you want to let me do it in one fell swoop?"

  "Hmm, how about a free for all? I'm hungry, so I could use some blood. Maybe you too could refill, just in case something goes wrong with the three in charge of the Serpents."

  "Wait, let me fly a circle real fast," I said. "I want to see the layout of the land."

  "We'll come with. Easier than
you having to explain it to us," Freya said before she shot past me. I chuckled and turned to follow her. The woman was right. I could feel Tierney hesitate for a moment before following after me. She probably knew the layout of the land already and didn't need to check it out again, but I did.

  There it was in the distance, a run-down castle that sat high atop a hill. It was surrounded by dense forest that reached up to the walls, hiding it in plain sight. The white walls had turned to a dirty, smudgy grey-brownish in spots with big holes all over the walls.

  Some eight rooftops protruded past the forest tops, covered by an orange layer of tiles. Once I had reached down far enough, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. This felt more like a glorified mansion or a fortified home. This was no castle that could withstand a siege.

  "What do you think?" Tierney asked. "Isn't it quite a beauty?" she asked as we dropped down to the battlements.

  "With a little bit of work here and there, yeah. But really, this could only hold us 'royals' so to say, and some servants. I wouldn't want Boris and his smelly pack anywhere near here in such tight quarters."

  "What? You're crazy! It can hold a couple of hundred people with ease!" She sighed and waved me over. Freya followed. It has over sixty bedrooms and other rooms where the servants could sleep and live. They don't need a room each, no? Just give them enough free time and invest some money to improve their living accommodations."

  "I sure will. I may be chaotic, but I like when the place is clean, the water is hot, and there are candles everywhere."

  "Oh? Well, won't you look at this! He likes candles?" Tierney teased. I shrugged.

  "Why not? It adds to the atmosphere. And from what I've heard, there are a lot of things one can add to them. Hallucinogens, opiates, and other stuff. Things can quickly get out of hand."

  "You wish! But jokes aside, all you have to do is ask, or order."

  "I know. That's what I like about you. Your willingness to satisfy my whims is over the top. Speaking of which, shouldn't we scout the rest really quickly? We can come back once they're taken care off."