The long, sharp spear nudged me repeatedly, causing the golden liquid to start trickling down my back again. The ruff, sharp voices of the guards talked simultaneously to each other about some nonsense that I did not even attempt to understand.
My awakening had been not nearly as pleasant as this though. My shoulders had been shaken so fiercely that it is a miracle that they are still intact. My head was still spinning and my neck had received a terrible cramp. The guards seem to think that, in order to follow instructions, they had to violently awaken me and get me going.
The hard, cold, dark walls echoed with the sound of my dragging feet and my escort’s constant chatter. I shivered and ground my teeth together in an attempt silence the whimpers of pain I could feel rising up my throat.
They led me through a series of similar hallways. I was filled with dread with what might happen to me when I reached the end of this lengthy maze. As we approached a golden door the dread over came me, and the whimper I had been holding back arose.
The guard in front of me grabbed the handle of the door, and turned to smirk at me before opening it.
Gold glistened off every surface, and light filled the room through a five layered chandelier that was dripping with real diamonds. Three chairs that were made of pure gold and padded with the finest silk imaginable, were placed in the farthest point away from the entry. The carpet floor was a deep red, and the parts of the walls that weren’t covered in gold, was decked out in mirrors. The mirrors main purpose was that the people sitting in chairs could admire themselves from every possible angle, at any possible time.
The vampire in the middle and highest seat was very familiar to me, and yet I had never spoken to her before. She had long, blonde hair that almost matched the gold of the rest of the room. She had perfectly shaped, but thin lips, her nose came to a sharp point at the end, her eyes could have been big and beautiful, but you could tell that she had spent too much time narrowing her eyes in distaste. Her jaw was strong and powerful looking, while her perfectly trimmed eyebrows gave her the appearance of femininity. The effect was chilling and a nervous shiver raced down my body.
On her left sat another vampire. He was as ordinary as they come. He had a normal face, not beautiful, but not ugly. His body was slumped in the chair, as if he was bored to be there. As I entered he sat up straight as if something was wrong.
The seat on her right was empty.
A sharp tingling sensation started in that new strange part of my mind, but I dismissed it for a reaction to the sudden, bright light.
“Welcome,” said the lady in the middle, “I am Cyrena.”
I said nothing, afraid that if I said something wrong I would be thoroughly punished. Cyrena’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. “And your name is…?” she inquired, while raising her hand and making a circle in the air as a gesture to keep going.
“Zoe,” I mumbled. The tingling sensation was still there and I glanced over to see the male on the left stare at me with confusion and fear. Cyrena noticed none of this; she was too deep in thought.
“Life,” she stated, and I looked at her quizzically. “Your name means life. It is not very original.” She looked sad, then happy as if I would be the object of one of her favorite games. The thought of her playing games with me was unnerving, who knows how violent her games could get. I just hoped that the game she had in mind wouldn’t be harmful to me.
“Can I give you a different name?” she asked, but I had the feeling it wasn’t a request…it was more like an order. I was confused, but when I realized that this was the game she wanted to play I was relieved. There would be no pain involved, and my name wasn’t that important to me, so why not change it?
I nodded in response. She brought the ends of her mouth up to try for a smile, but it just didn’t look real on her. Her brows furrowed in concentration. After a long minute of a very uncomfortable silence, her hands flew up in a “aha” moment. She looked at me in satisfaction.
“Your new name is to be Keeva, meaning beauty in Gaelic, for I do love your hair, I have never seen its equal.”
“Keeva,” I repeated, trying out the new name on my mouth. I liked it and repeated it to myself many times.
The tingling sensation just wasn’t going away. I looked over to her left and saw that the male was focusing very hard on something. Sweat was pouring down his face, and his ordinary eyes were practically penetrating my skull. I was now aware that he was trying to get into my head, but he wasn’t getting the results he wanted. Turning my eyes back to Cyrena, I noticed that she had finally observed her companion’s discomfort. She looked at him with an expression that showed she was baffled, and she suddenly looked very vulnerable. She whipped her head back to converse with me again, but her confused look was completely gone, and she once more looked fearsome.
“I have heard that you had escaped us,” she seemed intrigued by the idea, “but now you are back to pay your dues,” she said turning bored very rapidly. I knew that I should be scared, for she was about to say the words that would put me back into torture forever, but all I could think about was the weird sensation in my head and the knowledge that the male on her left was trying to get into my head. The vampire on her left was now portraying a madman. He was clutching his beautiful chair so hard that his already pale knuckles were turning even whiter. He was rocking back and forth in his chair while mumbling something that sounded like a nursery rhyme.
Something foreign was in my head was fighting back. It seemed to overcome the part the other man had tried to put in me, and I immediately felt relief in my head. In order to escape the rest of the discomfort, I completely gave myself up to this new and unfamiliar army. My eyes closed and I focused on this new power. By an unknown instinct alone, I snapped open my eyes, and let my gaze bore into my enemy’s mind.
I saw a middle aged man around the age of twenty-eight, walking alone in a dark alley. All of the sudden, a beautiful women showed up beside him. I felt as if I slightly knew her even though I had never seen her before in my life.
“Zaria,” I heard him whisper in disbelief. She shook her head and spoke with a voice that was strong and sure.
“Not anymore Ollie,” she said, using his childhood nickname with a smile. She grabbed his shoulders roughly and bit his neck. It was disgusting to watch her feed, but I saw in her eyes that same brilliant happiness that I had experienced. I could feel that he thought he was going to die, but I knew that he would live.
The wail of sirens filled my sensitive ears. Zaria’s head popped up with alarm. She was obviously torn between running for her life and getting to finish her delicious meal. She hesitated for a second, and then let him fall to the ground. She ran into the network of alleyways, but not before shooting him a look of regret. I felt all of his pain as he lay in that dark alley…changing, unable to scream because of all the pain.
I was then transported to a later time in his life. He was standing in the very room that I knew I was still in. He was standing exactly where I was, except he was on his knees…begging not to be tortured to death. Cyrena had the same dull, bored look on her face. She wasn’t going to grant him his wish…that much was certain. He started blubbering on about how he had a power. She was then slightly interested then and she let him stay alive. As I traveled through his life, I saw him grow more confident in his skill, and then I saw the day when he earned a place next to Cyrena.
I was tossed back into the real world with a loud gasp.
Oliver was out of his chair, rolling around on the floor, screaming in agony. I moved my muscles, testing their strength. I was surprised to find that they were very stiff. I must have been still for a very long time, I thought. Finally I tore my gaze away from the screaming man, and looked up to Cyrena. She was moving her eyes between Oliver and me swiftly. When she saw me looking at her, she stared at me in awe. I heard someone clapping behind me, and I turned to find the person.
The first thing I noticed was that he reminded me a lot of Hiram. He had the same full lips, the same dark black hair, but his was cropped a little shorter, and the same strong jaw line. The eyes were the same color as Hiram’s, but where Hiram’s eyes were always gleaming with mischief; this male’s eyes were brimming with power.
He chuckled out loud and almost pranced the last couple paces to sit in the chair on Cyrena’s right.
“Nice show,” he said appreciatively, settling into his chair.
Cyrena had almost recovered completely at the sight of this new vampire with whom it was clear she found comfort in approached, but she still looked at me with some admiration. She cleared her throat.
“Rajaka, meet Keeva…Keeva meet Rajaka, my son.” She turned back to Rajaka. “She is going to be the newest member of our court.”
I saw a smile play on the lips that were so much like Hiram’s.