DARK QUEST (Sample)

Chapter Eight

Jason glowered at Nigel beneath his brows drawn together. "...And you staked him, pursued her to her place of refuge in the woods and killed her!"

Nigel leered, bearing his shiny fangs and the blood smudging his mouth made him look more appalling. "No one messes with us, especially not a mere witch!"

"That mere witch was our salvation!" Jason growled.

Nigel ignored him and continued. "We should be grateful that before she chose to abandon what she was meant to do, few of us were lucky before her allegiance died with her." He raised his hand in front of his face to admire the ancient ring on his left index finger.

Jason had his on ring too on the same finger like few of the other lucky vampires and the elders. The ring was made potent by an imprisoned witch more than a decade ago, she had conjured up spirits from the underworld and performed black magic from an ancient book.

The ring was to enable the vampires whose immortal enemy was the sun which easily set them ablaze and then to flakes of embers reducing them to nothing but ashes to move during day time like humans so their time and movement were not limited only to dusk.

The witch had luckily provided some of the rings with the help of a vampire blacksmith who must be careful while wielding and forging the rings but due to the time spent together, they fell in love and he freed her from her prison when they were coming to make her finish the rites in order to seal the evil she conjured into the rings forever, making the ring forever potent against daylight.

After her months of hunting her, Nigel found and killed her, he testified to the council of elders that she was however heavy with child and he had slaughtered both.

Since the witch's death, nothing could be done to give the vampires protection against the sun and the ring was just a cold metal hugging their fingers now with no form of life and warmth in it but the elders had been stopping at nothing to find another means since the last kin of the Zodiac witches had been killed by their overzealous kind.

"Ya go or Doblin bites..." the midget threatened Nigel, interrupting his thoughts.

Nigel snarled at him. "Dracula alone possesses the power to grant us what we so desire, freedom to enjoy the warmth of sunlight on our faces and pale skins." He briefly raised his face to the night sky, closed his eyes and inhaled as if really imagining he was feeling the warmth of the sun.

"but for centuries, we have searched for his lair-tomb even before we were lucky to get a zodiac witch decades ago. We have failed so far but have only succeeded in finding the tombs of one of his brides, Merishka...She alone is the key to our vain puzzle and quest, Jason and it is in your place as a lord to make that happen."

"What the elders ask of me is impossible." Jason calmly protested.

"Your weak assumption." Nigel said coldly. "Just agree that you're an incompetent and worthless lord so your title can be bestowed on me who truly deserves it. I smell weakness in your blood and when your duties are passed on to me, I shall gladly oblige."

"You seek my downfall, Nigel but isn't it a disappointment that the elders find me trustworthy and that I possess the required jurisdiction instead of you?"

Nigel snorted in disgust. "We shall see about that when the time comes." A sly smile tugged at the corner of his lip. "I heard you now prefer the blood banks to..." he licked his lip as if remembering the leftover smudged blood of his recent victim. "...fresh blood Jason. You are growing weak and the earlier the elders notice it, the better for all of us." He said in distaste.

They both turned at the approaching footsteps before a tall slender woman in permed hair and dressed in a fitted short black gown and black heels approached Jason from the rear where the door connecting to the balcony was.

"Hello Nigel!" she said indifferently as she stopped at Jason's side, her arm resting on his shoulder.

"Hello Charlotte!" Nigel replied tersely.

"What a surprise, rather impromptu visit, you didn't tell us you will be stopping by..." She said sarcastically, her terse gaze fixed on him.

"Can see you took up quickly, shortly after my cousin's unfortunate death."

"It's already a decade and six years..." she shrugged nonchalantly. "...and besides, every lord, as tradition requires, needs a royal born lady in his life and since Davina is gone, I thought it over to replace her." She finished quite coldly.

Nigel stood up on the banister, the wind ruffling his hair, jacket and pants. He leered at Jason. Claire was supposed to be his intended and because of the unfortunate death of his cousin, Davina, Charlotte had chosen Jason and that was quite another insult to him which he despised Jason for and hoped to revenge in due time.

He couldn't wait to wipe the smirk off Charlotte's face after he killed Jason and she was passed down to him like it was supposed to be if he were a lord. The bitch was as fiery as the sun in bed and almost as insatiable like him in both sex and blood.

"It's a beautiful night, and there are lots of young bloods out there, don't want to miss the fun." With his last words, he spread his arms and fell backwards, laughing and was gone.

"Him gone...Doblin calm." The midget announced in relief.

"Leave us!" Charlotte ordered the midget as she leaned away from Jason to place her hand on her hip. She knew he wouldn't have let her lean on him if not to let her spite Nigel because he didn't fancy the annoying cousin of his late wife.

Besides, she was still taking her chance, she was striving to make Jason love her but it seemed the man was locked up inside and immune to all her advances.

Even though she knew the midget didn't like her much, he reluctantly obeyed her command and wobbled away on his slightly bowed leg, grumbling under his breathe.

Once he was out of sight, she fully turned to face him. Her face was so close to his and she slightly brushed his lower lip with hers, her voice husky with desire. "Let's go hunting, Jason..."

"I've got better things to do." He gently pushed her aside and walked away, the tail of his coat flowing after him.

She smiled slyly as she watched him disappear from sight. "Soon...just soon enough and your defenses shall crumble." She muttered to herself with the smile lingering on her face.