The Vampire Queen (9 page)

The Count came out and sat with the Countess as she sobbed. Alexos went into the castle to inform Kendra she had been found out and was relieved from her duties, here. The Countess could hear Kendra’s wails all the way outside, and they just made her cry harder. Finally, Alexos returned and said Kendra was gone.

The next few evenings, the Countess would not even get out of bed. She wouldn’t drink her wine left on the bedside table, and she wouldn’t bathe. The depression of Kendra’s betrayal was too much for her to handle, and she would rather hide under the covers. Alexos and the Count tried everything to get her to come out, but she would not. Finally, very late one night, there was one thing that did the trick. Alexos and the Count brought down a telegraph that had been sent to the Countess. It was exactly what she needed to give her enough motivation to get up and fight, again. It read:

Countess:

You still have someone else I want. I want my Lizzy back, too. Give her back, and join us, or it’s your funeral pyre we’ll be ‘seeing’.

Angelina

Chapter Twenty-Three

The following evening, Alexos was walking with the Countess in the backyard. “Ok, here is the part you’ve been waiting for. The lessons.”

“Yippee!” said the Countess, jumping up and down and clapping her hands like a schoolgirl. Alexos just shook his head.

“Are you left-handed or right-handed,” he asked.

“Right-handed,” she replied.

“Ok.” He stood behind her and raised her right arm up at a 90 degree angle, with her palm pointed away from her. He did the same, but he put his palm on the back of her hand.

“Ready?” he asked.

“For anything,” she replied. A burst of energy shot from his hand, through hers, and a ball of flame shot out of her hand and hit the paper target he had previously set up.

“That was really cool!” she exclaimed.

“That’s what it’s supposed to feel like when you do it on your own. Now, try it again without my help. You have to see it in your mind,” he said. She tried for over thirty minutes, but finally, on the last try, she got the flames to shoot out.

“Cool. Now, you can practice more on your own. Let’s move on,” he said. Next, he brought out a cage with a bunny in it.

“I am
not
hurting that little bunny,” the Countess insisted.

“We are not going to hurt the bunny,” he said, mocking her. “We’ll just play with him a bit. Now, same position, but use your left hand, please.” He put his left palm over the back of her hand, the energy flowed through it, and a cold ball flew out of her hand and at the bunny. The bunny stopped moving around, and she ran over to it.

“We killed it!” she sobbed.

“It’s not dead,” Alexos sighed. “It’s frozen in time. In five minutes, it will come back and be just fine.” The Countess proceeded to sit on the ground and wait the five minutes, watching the bunny, just to make sure. Just like Alexos said, in five minutes, the bunny was back, and he was fine.

“I’m not practicing that one with you, anymore,” Alexos insisted. The Countess giggled.

“Sorry,” she said apologetically. “Now what?” Alexos walked over to the bench and picked up a giant book.

“This is
your
old book of spells. Start relearning them all, again. I will be asking you pop quizzes on them, so work fast,” he snickered as her jaw fell to the floor. “The spells will also teach you useful things like invisibility, how to create your own wine from nothing, and many other interesting facts. Now, go downstairs, start reading, but get some sleep, for tomorrow we will start sky dueling,” he said.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“You’ll see,” he said mysteriously.

The following evening, Alexos met the Countess at the top of the stairs to her bed chamber. He tossed her a sword, and they walked in silence to the backyard. When they arrived, he rose up into the air and said, “Come on up. The weather’s fine,” and snickered at his joke. The Countess rolled her eyes then rose up to his level.

“Now, draw your sword and duel with me,” he said.

“I can’t,” said the Countess. “I’m using everything I have to concentrate on flying.”

“Looks like you’re going to be falling a lot, then,” he said and took a jab at her with his sword. She went to side step it but fell to the ground.

“You did that on purpose,” she accused him.

“Countess, you need to be able to do more than just fly while flying. What if you are attacked while flying? You are a sitting duck,” he said.

“Ok, I’ll keep trying,” she said. He kept lunging at her, and she kept falling. She even tried swinging at him, but she still ended up on the ground.

“Countess, you put up an excellent fight. Let’s give it a couple days and try again,” Alexos suggested.

“No,” she said sternly. “Same time, same place tomorrow,” she said and stalked away. She was not mad at Alexos. She was mad at herself for not being able to do it.

When she returned to her room that evening, she put on a blindfold and started practicing sword fighting moves. She knew she was better than she had proven out there, tonight. She practiced until the moves became automatic, and she didn’t have to think or concentrate on them. She had done them before with Kendra, so it didn’t take long to remember them. This left her free to concentrate on her flying.

The next evening, Alexos met her in the backyard and looked uneasy.

“Countess, are you sure you want to go through with this?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” she replied confidently. They both rose up into the air, and Alexos started the assault on the Countess. To his surprise, she was fighting back and staying in the air. He knew she had been practicing, and it paid off. He descended.

“Excellent!” he exclaimed.

“Thank you,” she said modestly.

“Well...I have taught you everything I can. I think it is now time for my departure,” Alexos said.

“But...wait,” said the Countess. “Don’t you find me attractive?” she asked. “All men find me attractive,” she said, hurt.

“Very much so, but you have a man directly under your nose that is strong and loves you unconditionally. I could not betray the Count that way. Plus, I like my current lifestyle,” he chuckled. The Countess was hurt, but she had been reading his mind, and she had expected this.

“I figured; however, I have one final plan for the ‘Others’ that I am in need of your assistance, should you be interested,” she stated mysteriously.

“Any plan to knock them down, and you can count me in for the adventure,” Alexos smiled, those beautifully perfect, white teeth of his showing.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Absolutely not!” shouted the Count as he pounded his fist onto his desk. The three of them were in his study, and the Countess had just revealed her plan to them. “I will not have those people in my castle, or even on my grounds, with the Countess as bait for the ‘Others’, just so we can ‘cleanse the race’,” he yelled. Whose harebrained idea was this, anyway?” he bellowed.

“It was mine!” the Countess shouted back. “It’s the only way it will work. Alexos can create devices to cuff their ankles as soon as they touch the ground, so they can’t get away. We can use Lizzy as the messenger, telling them that I’m coming to join them, and we’re having a ball in my castle to celebrate,” she said.

“It will never work,” the Count said flatly. “They won’t believe you.”

“They
will
believe me, because it’s what they want and what they want to believe. Plus, I’m going to send a letter with Lizzy,” she said sadly. She hated to use Lizzy, but she
was
one of the “Others”, after all.

“Are you sure you can come up with a device to keep them here no matter where they land?” the Count asked Alexos.

“Yes, actually it’s already in use. I just need to mass produce it,” Alexos replied. “It’s a really neat idea, actually. It’s like the skeleton reaching out of the grave to grab the ankle of the person standing on it.” Alexos laughed, but the Count ignored him.

“Countess, what if this goes wrong? All these years of protection will be wasted,” the Count said.

“Count, I have the panic room, and if I would have been evil in this life, it would have been much worse. Please, just trust me,” she pleaded. “I’ll go write the letter, and I want to be the one to free Lizzy, so it looks like I’m sneaking her out. Ok?” she asked. The guys nodded.

The Countess went down into her bed chamber and sat at her desk staring into space for a long time, thinking of what to say in the letter. The guys were right that it would be a giant risk, but it was one that needed to be taken. She took out a pen and paper and started to write:

Dear Others,

I know this has been a long time coming, but Alexos (whom I have chosen as my King) and I wish to join forces with you. We wish to rule the world with the strong fist it needs, and stop those humans and others who get in our way. It is only through evil planning and destruction that this can be accomplished. My previous Count has been disposed of, so please join Alexos and Your Queen in welcoming us to your side in a ball at my castle on 31 July.

Evilly Yours,

Ancient One

The Count took the Countess down to where the chamber was located. He showed her how to open the door and disappeared. They agreed he and Alexos would stay in the study until the Countess came to tell them Lizzy had gone. She waited for the coast to be clear and opened the chamber door. The door creaked slowly open as it was heavy and made of steel. Luckily, vampire eyes don’t need to adjust to the darkness, and the Countess spotted Lizzy immediately, huddled in a corner.

“Lizzy. Oh, my precious Lizzy. What have they done to you?” the Countess asked. Lizzy just shook her head like she didn’t believe what she was seeing. “I have been scouring the castle, looking for you, Sweetie, and I finally found you,” the Countess said.

“My Queen?” Lizzy asked timidly.

“Yes, Sweetie. It’s me. You are not imagining me,” the Countess said. Lizzy jumped up and hugged the Countess and just sobbed and sobbed.

“They just took me away,” she said between sobs. “I wanted to see you.”

“I know. I was devastated when they took you from me, Lizzy. That mean old Count,” the Countess added.

“Don’t you love him?” Lizzy looked up at the Countess, surprised.

“No, Lizzy. You were right about so many things. He is weak, and I can’t stand him, so I’m getting rid of him. I found a strong man to be my King. His name is Alexos,” the Countess said. “Together, we can join the ‘Others’ and rule the world the way it should be,” the Countess finished.

“Wow! I can’t wait to tell the ‘Others’!” she squealed.

“Shhhh. Keep your voice down. I still have to get rid of the Count, and the servants don’t know yet, but my King is here! I wrote the ‘Others’ a letter explaining all this. I need you to deliver it to them. Do you think you can do that?” asked the Countess.

“Sure. Just get me out of here,” said Lizzy.

“Ok. Quiet as a mouse, take my hand and follow me,” the Countess said. She led Lizzy through the castle undetected and to the backyard.

“I will get this to them right away. Thank you for rescuing me,” Lizzy said before hugging the Countess and flying off into the night air. The Countess went back into the house and opened the study door, and the two guys inside jumped.

“It is done. There’s no turning back, now,” the Countess declared and closed the door.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The next evening, the Countess found the guys in the study, looking at some mechanical shackle devices.

“I need to taste the blood from each of you,” she said flatly.

“Countess,” said the Count. “You made me, so you know I am pure.”

“After Kendra’s betrayal, I know nothing. You too, Alexos,” she said. Both men looked at each other, bit their index fingers, and held them out to the Countess. She tasted each one, and after she was satisfied, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

“Guess Kendra’s betrayal hit her harder than we guessed,” Alexos suggested and went back to messing with the shackles. The Count knew the Countess. If Kendra survived this plan by some miracle, the Countess would torture her. She could be a very cold person when she wanted to be. She had proven this in the past.

“The shackles are ready,” Alexos was saying, and that pulled the Count back to the present. “Now, they just need the spell from the Countess,” he said, looking nervous. “I hope she’s been studying her spell book.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” consoled the Count, but he was not so sure himself.

Two days to the party, and the Countess and Alexos flew to the dress shop to find something new for the occasion. The shop was buzzing about her new King, and as they surrounded him to question him, the Countess slipped behind the curtain.

“So, ye go evil, anyway,” the Jamaican woman said sadly.

“Well...I’d like you to be at the ball to see,” the Countess invited.

“No way me want to be with dem nasty tings,” said the woman.

“There’ll be a surprise,” said the Countess.