Page 4 of Cruel Vampire King

A line of scantily dressed humans marched into the arena, carrying with them heavy rucksacks. They silently deposited the sacks into our arms and filed out as the vampire explained that this was the food and water we were assigned for the first leg of the trial. In the sacks were blindfolds, and we were instructed to put them on.

I didn’t like the idea of this, but shrugged my heavy sack onto my back and, holding my staff with one hand, tugged the blindfold on. We were marched from the colosseum and loaded up into vehicles; vans, most likely.

“Seems like we haven’t been introduced,” a masculine voice said next to me. “We couldn’t find you last night. Busy partying?”

Was he talking to me? I waited to see if anyone else would answer.

The man chuckled. “Ah, I see. Not the talkative type.”

The van smelled of ambergris and cherries, scents that were popular among the vampires. I listened to the breathing around me, mapping out the space. By the time we stopped some hours later, I knew exactly where everyone else in the van was, and I had a good idea as to where we were. When we were permitted to remove our blindfolds, I found I was right.

“Welcome to Wickham Forest,” the silver-eyed vampire said. “You may call me Marissa. I will be your guide.”

My teammates murmured to each other. Excitement coursed through my blood as I looked on the towering trees. I’d heard so many stories of Wickham Forest, a place that was said to be the headwaters of the magic in Taimarah. I had no magic but could feel it sparking in the air like electricity. It was meant to be filled to the brim with dangerous beasts like griffins and redcaps. But what few people knew, what I only learned through the nunnery I lived at while recovering from my burns, was that it was protected by the gods. Ordinary folk couldn’t step inside unless the gods gave their direct permission.

It was the perfect place to have the sacrifice that was the first leg of the Blood Trials. The survivors of the forest would betaken back to the colosseum to fight to the death, bringing the Trials full circle.

“We’re the only ones here,” the girl said in surprise, looking around.

Marissa smiled indulgently. “The others are being taken to other locations to start the Trials. We have magical attachments on each of you, to see what you do and where you go. You are not to set foot in the forest tonight. You will make your camp here and get to know each other. Tomorrow morning, you will receive further instruction.”

“Tomorrow?” the orc, Kael, frowned at the vampire. “What was the point of waiting all last night if we have to wait another full day?”

Not the most patient one. I made a note of that—he was likely to get us all killed if he was this reckless in the forest. The vampire didn’t answer his question, merely smiled and went back into the van. They drove off. I moved to a flattish space on the ground and knelt, opening my rucksack.

“Well, now that we only have time…” the man who had spoken in the van crouched close to me, checking the contents of his rucksack, too. “You’re Elara, yeah? I’m Greyson. That was quite the party last night. Smart to keep yourself separate.”

The others had joined us as well, and now that we were here, I was forced to take note of them. Greyson was an elf. He was tall and conventionally handsome with a strong jaw, high cheekbones, and dark, glittering eyes. His long, dark hair was pulled into a series of three braids that had then been braided with each other, keeping it out of the way. He was armed with a bow and arrows and dueling knives.

“I consider myself lucky to be on the same team as you,” he said, grinning at me. “I hoped I would be the moment I saw you snap that dummy in half. That was beautiful work.”

He winked at me. My hands paused as I sorted out my supplies. Was that flirting? Of course, I’d been flirted with before, but in this situation? Greyson must be trying to throw me off guard. Heat crept into my cheeks all the same. I did enjoy being praised for my abilities. Gods knew I’d never trust anything anyone said about my looks.

The girl sniffed, fresh tears tracking down her face. Greyson’s eyes softened as he reached over to lay a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t give up, Thessa. You never know what twist of fate the gods have planned for us.”

His gentleness with the girl changed my mind. He wasn’t trying me off guard at all, but rather hoping to ease the tension in our group. They might all be destined for death, but the vampires had a point. With so many others in the forest, I needed these people to watch my back until we got out again.

“Lots of meat. That’s good,” the third woman in our group said. She crouched over her rucksack with a lean, hungry look. Her skin was pale, and her sharp yellow eyes indicated she was a wolf shapeshifter. She was around the same age as me, maybe just a little older.

Ysara Bend. That’s what her name was.

“The forest will provide plenty. We’ll need to gather and hunt as much as we can, to make our preserved stores last as long as possible,” the orc, Kael, said. He sat back on his haunches and glanced around at us, a furrow in his brow. His grey-green skin seemed sickly in the bright sunlight. “Suppose we might as well talk about what brought us here.”

“I’m being punished,” Thessa volunteered without prompting.

She appeared to be human with curly black hair, dark brown eyes, and olive-brown skin. For half a second, I was reminded of the dark eyes and beaming smile of the sister I hadn’t seen in four years. I quickly averted my eyes.

“What could you have done?” Greyson asked, sounding shocked.

“I did something unforgivable in the gods’ eyes.”

Kael glanced askance at her. “For me, it was tax evasion. Not paying a measly few thousand is worthy of death, it seems. If I win this damn thing, I’m going to make it so nobody in my entire family ever has to pay taxes again.”

Ysara laughed. “I appreciate the pettiness, Kael. No taxes. Some of us have grander ideas than that. I’ve trained for two years for the Trials. I’m going to found my own kingdom. Wolves aren’t meant to bow to vampires.”

She spat on the ground and grinned. Thessa stared at her in disbelief. “if you do that, the vampires will just wipe you all out.”

Ysara’s smile faded. She toyed with the sword at her hip. It was short and broad, well suited for someone with her upper body musculature. “I’ve got it all worked out. Not that I need to explain it all to you.”

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