Astucia watched her surroundings with the ease of the assassin and guard that she was. It had been two days since she took her power test and became a class c vampire. She hasn’t heard from her sire since her return from Provence and spoke about it. She knew he was still mad at her for giving a way the prize of a stalker.
Could he have any idea of what her plans were. She didn’t know and she really didn’t care what he knew as long as she was on the move before he got organized and had members of his own honour guard kill her. Yes she was more powerful than the honour guard but she couldn’t take on the 12 of them that were his standard. They would wear her down and eventually take her out. There was never any delays in him finding new members of his guard when one would die either via a challenge or he killed them in a for of rage.
She used her powers so rarely many forgot that if she touched any item she would get a history of what the item has been used for as well as anything that had happened when the owner was using it. It was a painful gift and she tended to not use it much same with her sire who tended to forget she even had the gift or he would have her using it frequently.
For her own needs what she did was she made her own special weapons and armour so that she wouldn’t be touch reading what others were doing and noone was allowed to touch her weapons. It was a part of her obsessive compulsive disorder and when someone touched one she never used it again and tended to hurt the person who had dare put their dirty hands on her weapons and equipment.
She was in her own personal armoury and was checking out her weapons. She had a brace of 6 throwing knives, two short knives, a dagger that was as long as her forearm, a short sword, a long sword, an axe, a bolo, as well as a staff made out of a wood so strong it was like iron.
She was in love with weaponry and even enjoying training with unique weapons. She had a great grapple hook and with her strength she can use a much heavier rope which would allow many larger people to scale walls. Not that she would allow anyone to touch her equipment. Not even her Sire was allowed to touch it. Yes he could kill her as he was a firestarter but he needed her at this time especially as she was his special bodyguard.
She saw her pells and was using the two sai style of fighting that she had learned at the hands of Mei Ling who ended up becoming the Queen of China. She had spent a lot of years with them learning how to fight the Asian methods. She had become close with and was still in correspondence with Alenna who just happened to be able to shimmer and it was a stronger version so that she could even take multiple people with her.
Their friendship had started and had quickly progressed to being as close as sisters. She had known that Alenna had a sister Luryna. For Astucia she had not really remembered her family as much since it had been so long. She couldn’t remember how many siblings she ever had and she was lucky that her Sire had no thoughts of her family. The same couldn’t be said of Mei Ling who had turned Luryna against her will as she was laying dying from being beaten so bad by one of the Vampires henchmen.
They had both talked about escaping their Sires as neither was worth a damn. It didn’t matter to her that she could escape on her own now as a class c vampire. She also knew Alenna was a class e vampire but she also felt that Alenna would get much higher in levels. Mei Ling was only a class b so it would be easier to break free.
As they had spoken about this she also had her plans. Their idea was that she would pack what she could take easily with her which was her more portable weapons and clothing. She would then make her way in secret to a place that Alenna had set up in Grenoble. The place was in the Belledonne Mountain range and it was a small villa where she would be safe before she made her trip to Queen Selene.
She went to standard armoury and as she grabbed a two handed sword she felt the most disturbing prickling sensation and she could feel something wasn’t right and then came the vision of what was to happen. Alleyne a sword wielder of some infamy in their place had been ordered to kill her. She also could see him torturing one of the humans to find out more information. Alleyne wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone. If only she had the ability to shimmer like her friend she would be safe with the Queen.
Provence was going to be hard for her to reach. She had felt a presence and turned around to see Alleyne. “What are you doing with my sword Astucia. You know that noone is allowed to touch the weapons of another.”
Astucia laughed “Didn’t stop you six months ago when I saw you playing with many of my weapons. I have never been good with a two handed sword would you reach me”. She said, and she knew it was a calculated risk as she would have to kill him and then escape.
He glared at her and grabbed the sword from her. He turned away from her and she quickly drew her special throwing knives. These were made of a hard wood known to her as iron wood. She quickly drew it she saw him start swinging his two handed sword in an arc that would cut her head off.
Her wooden throwing knife was already out and ready so she leapt in too close for the sword to be able to get to her. She used her magic and quickly drained some of his power away allowing the blood to drain from him. It was an old spell that not many knew but given enough time the curse would destroy a vampire. As his power was drained she slit the knife across his throat and then spun around and stabbed him with the ironwood throwing knife which pierced his heart.
She looked at the blood of Alleyne and knew that he was dying and his Sire would be the only one to save him. He was already in Torpor and his Sire was nowhere near France as he came from the Middle East and was currently stationed away from Alexandre and his stronghold.
While this wasn’t her first time killing another vampire it was definitely her first time without orders and it wasn’t in a challenge. She had also used a spell that was the biggest insult to use. Stealing on blood to weaken an opponent was just not done in standard etiquette. She could be killed for what she had done but she didn’t care she would now be able to escape. She turned to mist and slid back into her own space.
She grabbed her travel bag and her weapons bag this would be her only chance. She put on the charm necklace which would hide her source of power and where she was. It would be two weeks she could easily make it to Provence by then. She broke the window quickly which destroyed the wards and shielding of the area. She jumped out the window but before she hit the ground she used her mist power and let the wind blow her miles away. By the time that Alexandre found what happened she would be far away.
She had made it to the mountain area around Grenoble and the home of Alenna. It was like nothing she had seen before. It was similar to the castle she had lived in for years. It was a magical place were scrying didn’t work and you couldn’t use tracking spells here. She would be safe for a few days while she recovered her energies. She wanted to take her time and try and get to class b vampire but that might be too hard for her. She only just made class c but she felt she had the power.
Class b vampires could hide their presence from anyone and your mist form could carry much more with you than in the previous level. You also didn’t need to feed near as much so that would be good. Powers like her touch reading were different but she also knew that if she could reach her top pinnacle of power she could enhance her visions and even use it by not having to touch the object. That was a scary thought.
She set everything down and Owly for our her knife and started to use the knife slicing open her tender skin on the inner arms. The pain was to shock her system and let her feel she had some sort of control to the craziness of her after death. The wounds healed almost instantly and for that she was thankful as there would not be any ugly scars on the olive skin. She had never cut herself in this way when she was human and had used it plenty of times with Alexandre as a way to relieve her stress and fear of what he would one day attempt to do.
Cutting was not something she ever cared to do but it was her only way of taking control over her life. Her life after her death had been very rough as she was forced to become a sex slave to her sire and then become his body guard. She was only glad that she could never have children as a vampire since she wanted nothing of Alexandre to tie them together. She was going to break her bond but first was to get to Provence where Selene would help her break the bonds without her using all of her power.
She was shivering with the aftereffects of cutting and knew that she could easily keep going but the release of the stress was over so she wiped the knife and put it away. Why did she feel the need for this now when she has escaped and was on her way to true freedom.
She began to focus using her energy to bring up each of her class abilities until she reached the class c stage which was to turn her form into mist. She then attempted to bring up the class b ability and she felt it start to take affect and then the energy snapped back into her. She had failed and wouldn’t get to class b yet.
Oh well the power just wasn’t for her at this point but she knew it wouldn’t be long before she would succeed.
After a week of hiding she knew that she couldn’t be tracked and she began to want to get to Provence and to that spot with Queen Selene. She also wanted to learn the martial art of savate that was part of the deal. She was hooked on the martial arts and knew that it was one of the things that kept her same all those years with Alexandre.
——–
It had been a long and harrowing flight from her Sire to Provence. There had been stops along the way all of which was to keep her out of the grasp of Alexandre. The fact that she had killed Alleyne would ensure she would have a death mark from his Sire and one from her own. Bounty would be quite high for her.
She was in Provence and while she was given a guest room her guide had said that the Queen had a large mansion just inside the Castle gates just for her. It had an indoor riding facility as well as a weapons arena. She was shocked at that as she expected a smaller room in the castle until she proved just how much she was worth. She was to get 1000 dollars a month which would allow her to buy whatever she needed with a lot of money to spare.
“Mistress Astucia, our liege is waiting for you in the lesser council chambers. There is no court today but she wants to speak to you with no nosy members of her court. Please follow me”
Astucia did a quick bow and made sure she was presentable in the dark blue gown that had been left for her. She cast a quick spell that would make her eyes go from the red of blood back to her normal colour of hazel. She had fed recently and one didn’t go into the presence of the Queen looking like you just had dinner.
She followed the gentleman who took her down corridors that were winding around the outside of the castle and as it went around it got closer to the middle. The chamber was teeming with energy when she got there. This was an amplification chamber she had only heard of them and never seen one as her sire was too cheap to ever pay a strong enough mage to put one in his homes.
Selene was regal in a white gown that had puffy sleeves and beaded frills all over the place. It wasn’t a style that Astucia would ever wear however it did look very attractive on Selene. “Welcome my combat rose. You have arrived much sooner than anticipated. What has happened?”
Astucia tookan graceful curtsey “I am sorry for arrived 2.5 months earlier than I thought. I had to flee from Alexandre he sent Alleyne to kill me.”
The Queen looked shocked “How did you escape Alleyne is so strong and he was more than equal the any combatants I have seen.”
She nodded “I was a bit lucky. He didn’t understand that I knew he was going to attack me. I ended up having to use a wooden knife. I slit his throat and then stabbed him through the heart. He wasn’t expecting me to be resourceful or be able to fight back. He has never had much love of women and thought they were weak. My power gave me an advantage or I would have been dead.”
Looking please the Queen smiled and she could see a tinge of red in her teeth. ‘Power now this I need to know how does your power assist you and made sure you survived.”
It seems that her Sire never told his Queen about her unique gift. “Your majesty, I have a unique talent that allows me to understand many things. I am what you call a touch reader. I see things when I touch an object or person. Sometimes it’s very painful but can be very useful as well especially when you potentially know that your master wants you dead. I have been using it often, that and I ended up doing the advancement and am now Class C. I know that I could leave him now however I know that he will be after me to kill me. He believes I know were the bodies are all hidden. Can you help me?”
The Queen licked her lips. It was as if she was the proverbial cat who got into the cream. A touch reader was a once in a lifetime find and that idiot Alexandre had hid it from her. How had this gone unnoticed for all these years. She would find a way to end the line of Alexandre if it was the last thing she did. Astucia a class c vampire was all hers and she would help her with whatever she needed.
Selene just smiled trying to smile sweetly now. “Yes I can put a spell that will protect you from being detected. Or if you really want you can break your bond you are strong enough. You could then either bond to me or you can remain unbonded. There are benefits to both. If you are bound to me then you could be years or you may never be able to reach the level to remove the bond. If you remain unbonded you can have your own court and your own family who will have to grow in power as you did. You will be responsible for your family and expected to take care of their needs. What do wish?”
Astucia thought long and hard about this. Since she fled from Cannes she wasn’t sure it was smart to break the bond right now but it was perfect timing as well as it may show that she died. She did want freedom but would she want to bind herself to Selene. It could be good to be linked with the Queen as almost noone would dare try and take her from there. If she kept herself free it would also be good as she would be looking for a place of her own where she could start her family.
Astucia responded thoughtfully “While I appreciate the offer of you taking my bond over I think at this time I just would want my freedom. I won’t be leaving and I just want a relaxation time. I will need help with understanding the breaking of the bond. Can I change my mind later and be bound to you?”
The Queen nodded “Yes at anytime you can request a bond with a person who is the higher class vampire. If you want me to adopt you at a later time I will.”. The term adopted was common enough now especially with so many vampires going without a master.
She started to concentrate and then opened her eyes to look she had the power and the desire but this wouldn’t be easy for her. “To break a bond is not a hard spell to complete but it does mean you need to put all your will and power into it. It is difficult to master that. The main reason is because you deplete your energy reserves to almost nothing. I will tell you it feels as though your heart has died when someone breaks the bonds. I should know I have had 4 of my 72 vampires break away including that idiot Alexandre “
Astucia was shocked she had never know who her Sires Sire was before. It was hard to believe that the evil demonic Alexandre had ever had a mother perse. He treated women like they were second class citizens the Queen would definitely not put up with that. That must be why he didn’t have many other women in his employ who actually had a brain.
“So first open your mind to what you really want. Feel the pressure were the bond is. You will feel the thickness as you start to focus you will be thinning or wearing out that barrier. It will start to thin and as you are doing that you will start to feel pressure release. This is when it is most dangerous as he will start to feel that your bond is wavering but he won’t be able to track it. Once you can see through the bond you can wear it away like water which is the gentle way or you can force the bone to snap. You will basically use all the blood magic you have now and you will burn it away. It is painful to him and he will likely think you have died. It is not chosen often to break the bond in that way. I suggest it since you will be hidden from his sight.”
Astucia nodded this was going to take all of her concentration and all of her energy. It would not be pleasant as well. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea of the burning of the bond but if it was to protect her more. Alexandre never came to court as he was always avoiding Selene. He would likely never see her again. If he did she knew he would try and use the fire on her and anyone who she was with. No Mage in their right minds would ever allow a vampire to have a charm that would protect them from fire. It just wasn’t done as it was one of the best ways to kill one of the vampires. Fire, wood through the heart like a stake or the power of all that is holy.
She knew what would help and dove into the blood pool. She came up covered in blood this would increase her power. She began to thin the walls of the bond. She could feel the pleasure of her bond weakening. She could feel him reaching out to her trying to find out what was happening. She thought of fire and quickly put her power to it and force the link to burn. She felt the scream tear out of her throat as the pain in her head exploded. Selene was correct this was painful to her how much more so for Alexandre.
For her it was over, especially as she had broke the bond in a way that would mean he would think she was dead. She had found out that mages were able to weaken the bonds between vampires but one can never break it.
She got out of the pool her clothing was covered in the dark blood. She enjoyed the feeling of the blood seeping into her skin as it replenished the power she had used to break free. She was free and she could choose to do as she wanted and that might mean taking on another master such as Selene which she was seriously considering.
Selene motioned for her to leave knowing how much energy she just burnt through. Walking out of the room the others could feel she was different she was a class c free vampire who broke away from a high class b vampire. She could do what she needed and she was tempted to go back to Portugal eventually. She hadn’t seen what was left of her family in felt like forever. She knew that Alexandre would never go there as it would mean he didn’t believe what he felt. He probably thought one of his bounty hunters got to her.
She slinked into the mansion that was to be hers. She got cleaned up and put on the silk enchanted pants and shirt that were as powerful as steel. She wore the black one as she felt dark inside. As she moved through the house she saw that it had a heated indoor pool and a jacuzzi as well as a sauna. It had a gym that was state of the art for the time. It also has a horse arena just outside the one door.
She went and fed on one of the servants who was hired for this type of thing. She didn’t drain much just enough to get some strength back so that she wouldn’t fall asleep when she was having some fighting time.
It was hard to think but this was the first time in her life were she felt that she had the decision making ability. She has never been able to choose in her life and this made everything more sweeter. Selene wanted her but wasn’t pressuring her to join her anymore then a bodyguard.
She heard the mind call that she was needed. They had a telepath on staff and she never had liked feeling anyone in her mind. But she was needed so she walked out and to the castle. She came in and saw an Indian lady with long black hair braided down both sides.
She bowed gently as she came close. Selene was not talking any of the Indian languages she knew. “Good Afternoon. I want to thank you Queen Selene for seeing me. My name is Summerfawn. I am a shamanic vampire from the North American bands and we have been seeing some alarming things in the past few days. We have been dealing with a host of demonic beings who have been preying on the magical community. I was asked to speak to you as you may have someone who could assist with conquering these demons”
Selene was uneasy about this but it was a chance to get Astucia away from the court for now as she needed to be able to be a normal person. “I just don’t have anyone I can really send at this time. We are on skeleton staff at this point and most of my guards would be no good against demonics. However Astucia is one of the best fighters I have ever seen. She can go with you to see what is needed and she can then determine what is needed to help defend your people. We will be able to help little as you know most of us are not able to deal with north american magical community as your people have informed us we are not to approach.”
The native nodded “I am sorry I have heard from a few people that you are honourable and we would be very willing to host Astucia and would be greatful for any help you can give.”
Astucia stepped forward. “Come with me we will go get my stuff and see how long the trip will take”. As they walked out and to the mansion “I can travel in less than an hour but it may be hard for us to reach there quickly. I do have a friend who can transport us.”
She nodded “Your friends help would be appreciated. I also can use my abilities to help get us there. Let us to and find her”
A black female with hair that was a bit longer than normal for her people entered. “Do not worry I am here as I came to make sure my friend was safe and sound. It won’t be an easy to make the jump but if we share strength I can get there.”
She reached out and grabbed each of there hands then shimmered out with both them.
The end.
Crazy Canadian Writing 