The Vampire King’s Captive

MARIA

She fought against the men as they dragged her away, determined to make the task as stressful as it could be for them.

“Stay still,” one of them growled and yanked her arm, forcing her to move faster down the hall.

“Fuck you,” she retorted, jostling herself just to piss him off even more.

Her legs skidded across the tiled floor as they pulled her along without care, and she tried to force her hands out of theirs so that she could walk on her own, but they tightened their grip, their hands like steel bands on hers, unbending.

They dragged her up the stairs and her legs bumped against each step, the bone in her toes aching her. She gritted her teeth as she tried to block out the pain.

She just needed to endure. That was all.

She would endure for the time being and strike again. She was not going to let the vampire win. It might take her days, weeks, months, but she was going to escape eventually.

She would not rest until she did.

A loud crash rang out through the air, causing the men holding her to stumble-which meant that she did too-and they barely righted themselves in time before she could face-plant on the floor.

She would have bitched at them if she herself wasn’t curious about the source of the sound. It had to have come from outside because it would have sounded louder if it had come from inside the house.

There were three men leading her up to her room and, needing to go down to investigate, two of them stepped back and shoved her into the arms of the last one.

“Take her up to her room,” one of the men said, his attention already diverted as he turned to walk back down the stairs. “Ron and I will go down and check where that came from.”

The second man sprang into action, following the man down the stairs and the man holding Maria stared after them for a short time before he tugged on her arms. “Come on then.”

She complied, throwing him a glare, although her mind was already working, the wheels already turning.

Two of the men that had been assigned to her were already distracted and she was left with just one. All she needed to do was distract that one and she was good to go.

But how would she distract the last one?

A cold smile crept up her lips as she remembered vividly how she’d easily ‘distracted’ the vampire’s guard back at the castle when she’d wanted to escape too.

The method was efficient and swift. The best when dealing with particularly handy men that thought they had all the power just because they were of the other sex-such as this one-and it was going to work well on him too.

She wrenched her arm out of his hand when they reached the landing upstairs and he was so surprised by the sudden movement that it took him a while before he cursed and lunged for her.

Before his hand could reach her, she whirled around brought her knee up, driving it into his balls so hard, there was no way his tailbone wouldn’t suffer damages after that hard hit.

“Fucking bitch,” He groaned as his hands fell to cup his injured organs, his face crumpling in sheer pain as he doubled over.

He fell to his knees, eyes pressed tightly closed and Maria was so mesmerised at how such a single move could cause a man great pain that she didn’t run right away. It was when his hand shot out weakly and he made to grab her that she jumped back and ran around him, stopping only to slam her foot into his back which caused him to fly forward and fall, before she ran downstairs.

Her heart jackhammered in her chest as she took the stairs two at a time, the only thing running through her mind being how she could escape the two other men outside and leave the compound.

The sight that welcomed her when she ran out of the house, however, sent ice spearing through her veins.

She froze when she saw a head flying through the air and her mouth dropped when it landed in front of her, missing her feet by mere inches.

Lifeless, open eyes looked up at her, terror and fear woven into the expression on the dead man’s face. The man whom had just been forcing her up the stairs a few minutes ago.

She looked away, unable to bear the sight of the blood pooling on the ground from the man’s severed head. Her feet were suddenly planted to the ground, unable to move for some reason.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“There she is,” she heard a feminine voice say and Maria looked up quickly, searching for it.

A woman floated a few feet away from Maria, with energy crackling around her. She had long, flowing white hair that reached the back of her knees, a face so cold and beautiful with an odd smile that unnerved her, and she was wearing a long black gown that covered her from her neck to her toes.

Her hands were extended in front of her in what would have been a defensive pose on any other person, but on her, it was definitely a pose for striking.

This woman wasn’t prey; she was the predator.

And she had to be a sorceress. Maria could perceive it.

A sharp cry rent the air and when Maria’s eyes followed the sound, she saw that it was the second man soaring through the air, the sound stopping abruptly when the man hit the wall-the one that was still standing-with a thud and collapsed to the ground.

Maria’s wide eyes took in the people spread around the compound, her heart rate doubling.

The sorceress floating in air had an army of ten men behind her-not that she really needed them-and a dog sitting next to her on the ground, it’s eyes a striking blue. Next to her was an active portal, but Maria wasn’t sure where it lead.

The dog stared at Maria the same way the sorceress did-with an intense watchful gaze-and Maria was almost scared to move a muscle. She liked animals, but dogs were another thing entirely. Not to mention the dog of a sorceress with great powers.

“Come to me.” The sorceress commanded, her voice sounding like smoke, almost intangible, while at the same time, it commanded Maria’s attention, had her eyes sharpening and trying to think her way out of the situation.

Who was this woman?

“Get back in here, you little shit,” Maria heard someone say and she turned around in time to see the man she’d injured limping towards her with frantic eyes. But apparently, she didn’t have to bother about him because no sooner had he stepped out when the sorceress killed him by smashing him head first into the wall.

Bile rose up Maria’s throat and she fought the urge to throw up right there in front of all of them. She silently willed Olivia to stay upstairs in her room and not come out because if she did, the woman would end up just like the men.

“Come to me, girl.” The sorceress ordered again, her eyes flashing silver in anger, and Maria knew then that she really was a sorceress.

“Who are you?” Maria asked, her confusion and apprehension obvious in that question.

Seeing that the woman was a sorceress, Maria’s instincts told her that she’d come from the realm of Sorceri, but the men standing behind her were massively built and the Sorceri men were usually tall and lean, so Maria couldn’t be so sure.

Plus, even if she did come from the realm of Sorceri, Maria wouldn’t just follow her without knowing why she was here for her. For all she knew, she could be an enemy of Ariti wanting to take revenge on him by torturing the daughter they all believed he loved so much so she had to be cautious.

The woman blinked, but the terrifying smile never left her face. “Why, I am a lot hurt that you don’t know me, which is a huge surprise considering how very popular I am when you think about it actually, and I should kill you for that alone, but as luck would have it, your father wants me to present you to him,”-she paused dramatically-“Alive. So kill you, I shan’t. But what I shall do if you ask me any more annoying questions, is make your knees bend backwards and have you wobble like a child over to me while the entire time, your mind struggles to make sense of what’s happening.”

Maria blinked.

“However,” the woman continued, creepy smile in tact. “I am Elaine, the Queen of Evil and, of course, the pleasure is all yours.”

Maria was positive that her head was spinning from all the talking the woman had just done. As her mind struggled to process the words, the woman spoke again.

“Now, I really do not like repeating myself, but-again, for your father’s sake and because I have so much to gain-I will make an exception. Come here.” When Maria still stood there motionless, the woman threw a confused look at one of her men. “Do you think she might be daft? Her father didn’t say, but I’m starting to think that bit of information might have slipped his mind.”

Her father?

Maria’s father had sent this woman to get her?

The Queen of Evil didn’t even wait for the man she’d spoken to, to give her a reply before she turned around with a shrug and said, “Well, then. If she won’t come, then I’ll bring her.”

Maria yelped when her feet suddenly left the ground and, as though she was lying on air, she floated over to the woman. She struggled, but no matter how hard she fought against the woman’s hold on her, she couldn’t free it.

Was this how it felt when Maria had people within the grips of her powers?

Maria landed on the ground next to the woman’s dog and she was just about to freak the hell out when a figure walked through the portal and her breath caught as she looked up at an all-too-familiar face. Good-looking and defying his old age, the benefits of immortality.

“I wasn’t going to show my face, but you guys were taking too long,” he said conversationally as his eyes swept the yard before landing on her. “Ah, Maria. It’s so good to see you.”

“Father?” Maria asked in disbelief, something odd lodging in her chest at the knowledge that she was going back with him.

But wasn’t that what she wanted?

Wasn’t that why she’d been escaping?

Suddenly, she found herself wishing that the vampire would appear suddenly and fight them. When the thought passed, she asked herself what the hell that was.

Before she could ask Ariti how he’d somehow managed to find her, a black bag was pulled over her head and she screamed into the darkness.

Her scream was cut off abruptly when somebody hit her head hard and she passed out.