The Royal Hunting Lodge
Sophie Reese
Luc and Mia's twins had been removed from the lodge and taken to the safety of the main palace in Port Cressida. Casper had escorted them back to the city a few nights ago when Mia's recovery had seemed entirely hopeless. The upper floor of the lodge, where Luc and Mia usually resided, had been closed off to the servants. Laminated signs lined the stairs, warning staff and guests that the upper floor was ultimately out of bounds. I held onto Casper's hand as we ascended the grand staircase. My stomach twisted and tied into knots as we passed each warning sign, which grew increasingly aggressive the closer we got to the top.
Casper felt my uneasiness and lifted my hand to his lips to kiss me briefly against my knuckles. I smiled back at him, thankful I wasn't approaching Luc alone. I still have bad memories of when we first met. His arrogance and need for control wrapped up in a black Italian suit. Mia must be a saint to put up with someone so demanding and bossy., frankly, terrifying.
The vases of dead flowers I'd seen several nights ago had been taken away, along with all the expensive valuable antiques that had decorated the staircase and halls. There was no living thing for Luc to bleed away. However, I did not see a strange grey mould growing on the walls that hadn't been there before.
"That's new," I whispered, nodding towards the discolouration on the walls.
"Yes, it started growing yesterday. It's worse on the top floor," Casper said, then paused. "Luc is dangerous, but I've never seen his power decay a building itself."
He was right. As I slid my hand along the solid wood bannister, I noticed its smooth varnished surface become rough and splintered. The staircase creaked and groaned louder with each step taken. My grip tightened around Casper's hand as we finally reached the top of the stairs. A large sign had been placed on the top step, and it read 'STRICTLY NO ADMITTANCE BEYOND THIS POINT.
"You should turn back, Your Majesties," a silkie voice purred from the shadows. "The Mad Prince is on top form tonight."
Rayne stepped out of the dark with a cruel smile across his face. He straightened his grey suit and walked to the window to check his reflection.
Casper stepped infant of me and spat, "What the Hell do you want, demon?"
"I heard Sophie killed another demon last night. I wanted to offer her my most heartfelt congratulations," Rayne replied innocently.
"Leave now," Casper ordered.
"That's no way to treat a friend and ally," Rayne countered.
"You are no friend or ally to my Kingdom. On the contrary, you are an unwanted turd that refuses to flush away," Casper replied.
Rayne reacted viciously. He moved from the window to the stairs at supernatural speed and grabbed Casper by the throat.
"You should be careful how you speak to me. Demons run on misery and sadness, and your brother is like a demon supercharger. I feel like I have enough power to obliterate your Kingdom with the snap of my fingers," he growled.
I rolled my eyes at both the men and snapped, "Okay, boys. That's enough willy waggling. Put your dicks away. This isn't helping."
Rayne released Casper and said disapprovingly, "Dicks, turds and willies - the great vampire court has really gone to the dogs."
Casper rubbed at his throat and made a funny snarling noise in response.
These two really hated each other.
"So, what brings you here?" I asked Rayne.
"News of your latest kill has reached Hell, so naturally, I wanted to come and congratulate you," Rayne explained. "It seems your powers are awakening."
"I wouldn't say that. I spent the last hour trying to get my powers to awaken by letting Nico chase me with a sword. Nothing happened. No great power manifested itself," I replied, unable to hide my frustration.
"You're not like other vampires, Sophie. You're not basic," Rayne said, shooting Casper a filthy stare.
"I know. That's why we are going to talk to Luc. His power is different, like mine. He might be able to help," I said.
A glimmer of something flickered across Rayne's eyes. It was there for a moment and then gone.
"I think it might be best for me to come with you to visit Luc," Rayne said.
"Absolutely not," Casper said.
"Why not? I could protect you both," Rayne suggested.
"Like I said, you are an unwanted turd," Casper replied.
I threw my hands up in exasperation and sighed, "Rayne can come. I'm sure he will be helpful."
Casper's mouth tightened into a thin line as he grumbled, "Fine, but you better stick to the shadows. Luc would destroy you if he knew a demon was in the same room as his wife."
"I shall be like a fly on the wall," Rayne replied.
We walked down a dark corridor that stank of dame and decay. I could feel Luc's darkness filling the atmosphere, making breathing the air heavy and thick. I walked closer to Casper - not because I was scared of Luc, but because I wanted to feel Casper's sunshine, easy breezy energy surrounding me and lifting me up with love.
We came to the room where Mia lay unconscious. Casper opened the door, and we saw Luc lying on the bed next to Mia with his body protectively cradling hers. He didn't acknowledge our entrance into the room. Instead, he lay with his eyes shut, touching his forehead against Mia's.
"Luc," Casper said softly.
Luv did not stir.
"I need to talk to you about something. Could you please listen?" Casper asked.
Still nothing.
I dropped Casper's hand and walked up to the bed. Mia was laid out like Sleeping Beauty, while Luc was lying next to her like the mad prince who couldn't get her to wake up. His
"I know how to save Mia," I said.
Luc lifted his head and looked at me with dead eyes filled with hopelessness and despair.
"You need to get up and help me," I told him.
"How?" he asked.
"Her body is here, but her spirit is being held prisoner somewhere in these mountains," I replied.
"Tell me where she is, and I will lay her captors to ash and bone," he said, sitting up with black fire in his eyes. The walls around us cried out in pain as he got to his feet and staggered towards me, "I will bathe our enemies in fire and despair. I will-,"
"You will stay here and look after your wife while I free her spirit...and maybe practice some meditation or yoga."
He quirked an eyebrow at my suggestion, "Yoga and meditation are not going to damn thing," he growled.
"It will spare the house from your mood swings and hopefully lessen the repair bills when this is all done. Listen to me, Luc. I need you to tell me how you do this," I said, gesturing to all of him.
"What do you mean?" he replied.
"Your darkness, how do you harness it? I need to understand because my secret ability is killing demons, but I have no idea how to switch those demon-killing powers on," I explained.
Luc raked a hand through his dark hair and shrugged, "I don't know how it happens. It just happens when I'm upset or angry."
"Kind of like the Hulk?" I replied.
"Yes, but I do not turn bright green. Instead, destruction and ruin radiate from me," he said while gazing at the blackened bedroom walls. "I don't mean to do it. It just happens. It's always been like that since I was a child. I inherited the darkness from my mother, who inherited it from her mother. The darkness is a curse that is passed down through the generations."
His eyes drifted back to Mia, and he reached out and brushed a strand of golden hair from her face. "When she came along and brought light to my darkness. With her, life isn't lonely anymore. I refuse to go back to the way it was before she came. I'd rather follow her to the grave than spend a minute in a world without her."
"You need to stay strong, for your children's sake," I said, reminding him of Christian and Ariana.
He half-smiled and replied, "Even my own children gaze upon my fear. All through my life, people have looked at me with that fear in their eyes. My parents, the court, and even the servants were afraid to be near me. It was only Mia who wasn't frightened."
I stepped forward to reach out and place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Casper stopped me. Instead, he grabbed onto my wrist and nodded towards the bedroom wall nearest Luc. The wallpaper started peeling off the wall as Luc lost control of his power.
Rayne must have been gorging himself on the misery and darkness Luc was pumping out. If demons were powered themselves on woe, then Luc must have been like a nuclear reactor.
I wondered if the demons in the surrounding countryside were feeding off the dark energy. Was Luc inadvertently powering them up too?
Perhaps that's why the Lady in Green trapped Mia's spirit. Maybe she wanted Luc to become her very own demon charger.
The hypothesis was interesting, but none of it helped me understand my power.
"Maybe, I inherited my demon-killing power from my father," I mused loudly.
"Vampires do not inherit their gifts from their parents or sire. Instead, they are random," Luc said.
"But you inherited your power from your Mother," I countered.
"My power isn't a power. It is a curse," Luc said.
"Why do you think it's a curse," I asked.
"I can't control it, and neither could my mother, Grandmother, or great-grandfather. Did you know that my great-grandfather destroyed the great vampire empire? He lost control when his wife was murdered, and in his misery, he destroyed an entire city. A whole people were wiped out just like that," he said, clicking his fingers.
The imagery of a city in flames burned in my mind. But there was something that Luc had said that made me think of what Rayne had said earlier. Demons powered themselves up with fear and misery, similar to Luc's darkness. His darkness grew more powerful when he was upset, just like my power seemed to grow stronger when I was upset. This made our powers more demonic than vampiric...
"Rayne, meet me outside in the corridor," I muttered under my breath.
I excused myself and left Casper to try and console his brother. I stepped out into the corridor and found Rayne waiting for me. He was leaning against a wall, examining his fingernails.
"What's the matter?" he asked, feigning concern.
"Did you know about Luc and me? Is that why you are helping us?" I demanded.
"What are you talking about?"
"Powers like ours don't come from being a vampire. They come from being a demon or part demon," I replied.
The corner of Rayne's mouth tugged upward, and he asked, "Do you know what a pug is?"
"As in, the little flat-faced bug-eyed dogs," I replied, wondering what pugs had to do with anything.
"Yes, that's right. Those little bug-eyed dogs have been subjected to years of irresponsible breeding and, as a result, are riddled with health problems," Rayne explained. "Centuries ago, we wanted to create a line of powerful vampire-demon hybrids that would be strong enough to help stop an uprising in Hell. So, my older brother gave up his throne in Hell to become the consort to a great vampire queen. They had many children, but only a few survived. Unfortunately, his descendants were not what we expected. To put it bluntly, Luc ended up being the pug of our breeding program. He was a failed experiment, riddled with problems."
Rayne pushed himself off the wall and walked towards me. He reached out his hands and gently framed my face.
"A century ago, we decided to try again. This time my younger brother was sent to do the deed. He travelled to the mortal realm and met your grandmother, a young vampire noble. He gave her a son, who would then have a daughter called Sophie, and this little girl would grow up to be the demon-vampire hybrid we all wanted. The perfect demon-killing machine," he smiled.
The next update will be on Friday 2nd December...