Disclaimer: I do not know the BSB nor do I know their orientations. The following is a work of fiction. All under 18 are advised to not continue reading as this material contains content of an adult nature.
We stepped beyond the gates of our city--the city of vampires--and I was in complete awe. Everything was majestic and luxurious. The gates were made of gold. The buildings so ancient yet so rich with culture. I had to hold my breath to let all the thoughts sink in. So this was the land of our ancestors, where all had began. This was our history and hopefully our future.
I turned to gaze at Kevin, who smiled at me. He knew I was enjoying this. Younger vampires always were mesmerized by the view. I looked to AJ who smiled nervously. He loved it here as well! I could tell by the gleam in his eyes.
I sighed in relief, happy that we made it here. Although in my heart, there was something missing-Nick! I wish he were here to share this incredible moment with me, to share his thoughts with sweet whispers into my ears. True, we weren't lovers, but still, he would always humor me with his eccentric ideas.
We continued walking down the ancient streets of Sangria, feeling the pride in our fellow vampires. But along with the pride were the underlying currents of conflicts between the sentiri and saberi races. Many vampires looked at me and the others, shocked that two saberi and two sentiri vampires were walking together in a closely knit group without any feelings of anger or wrath towards one another.
I didn't care. Why was there a war in the first place? Besides being annoying sometimes, I didn't find anything else wrong with AJ or Howie.
"Careful!" Kevin looked at AJ, Howie and me and warned us against giving anybody snide looks. "The hostility between the sentiri and saberi species are strong here. Be wary of everything. And stay together, okay?"
I started to tremble. It was scary walking amongst a crowd who looked like they were going to start a violent battle at any moment. It was as if the city were waiting to explode with aggression and violence; and vampire would be pitted against vampire, fighting for an evil cause.
AJ, Howie and I snuggled up closer as we followed Kevin faithfully towards an Inn. Kevin asked for a table so that we could feed. Then, the waiter immediately seated us.
"Here, we do not feed on blood. This is real food, boys. You eat like you're in a restaurant back home, okay?" Kevin instructed us.
"Ew!" AJ commented.
Howie was more receptive to the idea. "If you say so," he replied.
It would have been more bearable had Nick been there to eat the stuff because he would have enjoyed it and made the food look more appetizing.
"Why is it that we're in a vampire city and we don't eat vampire food?" AJ asked.
Kevin looked sternly at him. "We are trying to mimic the mortals, to blend in with them. To the mortals, vampires are mere myths. We are trying to keep it that way rather than flaunt our existence in their eyes and force them to wage war against us!"
"Oh," AJ replied.
We quickly replenished our nutrition. To my surprise, the food was actually very good. I ate every last bit on my plate. It was nicely seasoned with blood.
Once done, Kevin ordered a room for all four of us. "We need rest, guys. We can't just barge into the castle and demand that our Goddess Mother tend to Nick. We need a plan. This hotel will provide us with a nice place to stay while we figure out how to go about doing this."
"You mean you're not that powerful?" AJ blurted out. "I mean I figured with your seniority, we would at least be heard."
Howie snorted. "Aje, you're too young to really know about this seniority stuff. The thing is, Kevin is actually a young one as well. He may not act like it, but he's considered still a 'child' in this kingdom."
"By the way," I started, "do you have that much power, Kevin?"
Kevin looked at me strangely. "Why do you ask?"
I sighed. "Just curious." I must have looked really sullen because within seconds, Howie was beside me, soothing me.
"Kevin was created by the third most powerful vampire in this kingdom, but he was not the only one. Plus, he was disowned by that vampire. Kevin's in sort of a difficult situation. We must be alert at all times, okay?" Howie explained.
AJ shook his head. "But Nicky . . . "
Kevin sighed. "We will find Nick, but we need a decent plan and some connections. I'm going to go out and scan the terrain. One of you should try to obtain lots of food for tonight. One of you can follow me. And the last person needs to go out and find out recent events or happenings. We need to get oriented."
Howie volunteered to find out news. AJ offered to go with Kevin. That left me to go out and fetch food. I didn't mind. That gave me some time to do some plotting and thinking of my own.
We broke up soon after that and I stepped out of the inn and observed the ancient roads of Sangria for the first time. Everyone got to their destination by walking, and so did I. I treaded slowly through the paths, savoring every smell, every sound I heard. My ears were particularly keen on trying to hear Nick's voice. I couldn't feel his presence, not since he was put under the spell. It was as if his soul dissipated. That frightened me.
I quickened my pace and found a nice charming little store at the end of the road. I didn't know what attracted me to the place. It was not fancy. It was rather small, yet comfortable. There were an old couple selling gallons of blood. The blood smelled delicious. I stepped inside cautiously.
"And what would the mister like today?" the lady vampire asked me. She looked generous.
"Ten gallons of geese's blood," I answered softly.
She paused. "That's a huge appetite for one so young and so slim."
I smiled innocently. "Naw. I can handle it," I smirked.
She suddenly eyed me suspiciously, making me fearful. "Follow me," she made a gesture for me to follow her to the back.
"Why?" I asked, suddenly really scared of her intentions.
She eyed me cockily. "The bigger containers are in the back."
"Okay," I replied, although my heart was beating faster already. I followed her to the back room, where she had the blood stocked. I was mesmerized by the aromas. It was truly very intoxicating. She led me to a big ten gallon container that smelled delicious.
"There, you carry it back out," she ordered me.
"Gladly," I muttered. I was about to kneel down and lift the barrel when something caught my eye--a portrait, one that was so real, my eyes had to strain to make sure they weren't seeing things! It was a portrait of a handsome young man with lavender eyes . . . not just any young man . . . it was Nick!
I calmed myself down and looked at the lady, feigning indifference. "That's a cute kid. Who is he?"
She looked at me suspiciously, but used her powers to enlarge the portrait to a lifesize portrait. I stared in awe. The way he stared out of the portrait was incredible, as if he could look into my soul. But just as I got closer to the portrait, the lady made it disappear. "He is not one who we should talk about." With that, the lady twisted her lips into a scornful smile. "Come, let us get back to the front."
I obediently followed her halfheartedly. However, my heart was pacing rapidly as I felt a twinge of surprise. This lady knew Nick! But then, why was she so reluctant to talk to me about him?
I finally paid my dues and left the store, immersed in even greater confusion. Was it some big secret or some crazy conspiracy that we didn't know about?
I quickly rushed back to our room to drop off the barrel of blood. By the time I was back, Howie had already returned, and he was pacing madly.
"What's wrong?" I goaded him.
He looked at me worriedly. "It appears that more and more vampires are arriving at Sangria. Thank goodness we got a room when we did! But just about 90% of the vampire population has already returned by now. There will be a mass meeting for all vampires two days from now at the Coliseum!"
I gulped. "So, what happens then?"
Howie shook his head. "It appears that there will be a change in leadership, as the Goddess Mother is relinquishing her throne to one of her children."
"Is that reason for you to be so worried?" I asked Howie.
Howie simply looked at me incredulously, but then realized how young I still really was and began explaining. "Most of her children have been known for their hostility and disrespect for both the sentiri and saberi races. Unlike us, they were born into a species that was neither saberi nor sentiri. They were the ones created by the Goddess Mother herself. They have actually been part of the reason why our two races have been fraught with conflict! They mean big trouble."
"So who's going to get the throne?" I questioned, becoming more and more confused.
Howie looked at the ground. "That's what will be decided upon in the very near future. No one had been chosen, yet." Howie's voice was soft, and it was the first time I felt the fear in him. His usual coolness was lost to an air of insecurity.
"Does the leader have that much power?" I continued questioning.
Howie nodded. "More so that you will ever think. The leader holds the secrets to the existence of vampires. He has the power to make or break us. He has the power to determine our destinies."
I swallowed hard, feeling the fear seep in slowly. The sudden creak of the door made me jump a foot into the air.
I turned around to face Kevin and AJ. "You guys scared the heck out of me!" I cried out.
Kevin looked at me disapprovingly while AJ motioned for me to not say anything brash to Kevin at that moment. That was when I realized that Kevin looked very stern.
"What's wrong, guys?" Howie interrupted.
AJ looked at us tiredly. "Security was tight. But we managed to get some info. We weren't able to see the Goddess Mother."
Kevin interrupted AJ. "But we found something that is very interesting. We felt Nick's presence inside the palace. Nick is in there, somewhere! His scent was weak, but it was there nevertheless."
I looked at Kevin like I was mad. "But that guy in the woods said that he would take Nick to a place that no one would know about!" I stammered.
"Maybe his idea of a hideout is some hidden chamber in the palace," AJ suggested.
I couldn't help but feel relieved by this news. "So we can go inside the palace and save Nick, right?" My voice was urgent as I looked at Kevin pleadingly.
Kevin shook his head. "It's not that simple, Brian. We need to wait until security is lax. We can't just bombard the palace or else we'll suffer the consequences."
Howie jumped in excitedly. "How about two days from now, when all the vampires are summoned to the Coliseum to elect our new leader?"
Kevin's eyes widened. "Is that why security is so tight?"
Howie nodded. "I don't know exactly what is being planned, but it's going to be BIG!"
AJ sighed. "If it's that big, then a few of us should attend it, just so we know what's going on in the vampire politics."
"I want to save Nick," I willingly offered. I didn't give a hoot about who controls our vampire world. That fact dulled in comparison to finding Nick.
I turned to face a very disapproving look from Kevin. "Brian, that is very wrong. You shouldn't be so fanatic. You are downright crazy about him! Could you be any less obvious? You're a saberi. Act like one."
AJ and Howie actually looked like they were sorry for me.
I glared at Kevin. "So? That doesn't mean I can't worry over Nick. Whatever. I'm going to find Nick, and you guys can wait for me at the Coliseum once I've rescued him." I gritted my teeth and sat roughly on my chair.
Howie tried to soften the ambience. "Well, why don't we eat. We've all had a rough day. Thanks for the food, Bri."
I looked away, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall.
AJ patted his tummy with his hands. "I'm hungry. Why don't we all just chill and fill ourselves up before we continue, shall we?" With that, he neared the barrel of blood I brought back with me and tried to pry it open.
Howie sniffed the air. "Smells good, Bri!"
I smiled half-heartedly. Kevin sat next to me and sighed. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to fall in too deep. My guess is that Nick is hiding a big secret from us. I don't want you to get hurt."
I looked at Kevin pleadingly and my eyes told him my story. He quickly averted my gaze and went to grab some dinner. My thoughts drifted back to Nick. His eyes were so amazing. I couldn't get his image out of my mind. Whatever his secrets, I had already forgiven him.
That night, I had really bad dreams. Dreams of Nick being whipped until his fair skin wreaked of blood. Yet, he did not cry out for help. He simply watched as his torturer hurt every inch of his body. He stared at the perpetrator calmly until he slowly sunk into a coma and died. I woke up, sweating buckets.
The next day, I woke up to a lot of commotion as the fanfare outside deafened my ears. "What's going on?" I mumbled as Kevin shoved me.
"Guys, wake up! The Goddess Mother is taking the streets with one of her children."
I quickly sobered up and jumped to the window to see for myself what royalty looked like, if the Goddess Mother's son actually looked similar to Nick. I quickly pushed Howie out of the way as he was the only one I could size up. Finally, I ducked my head out of the window. "Where is her son?" I demanded to know.
Kevin pointed to a wild stallion in the middle of the streets that was beside the carriage that the Goddess Mother sat in. I squinted my eyes to see properly although my vision was immaculate. There, on the stallion, sat a guy probably about Kevin's age. He was quite attractive, but nothing like the elegance abnd beauty in Nick's features. I stared disappointedly at him. His eyes were a dark shade of blue. His build rather bulky and sturdy. His face was arrogant, cold. His nose too pointed. His chin to long. His hair was wildly blond, but not the bright blond of Nick's hair.
"Is that all?" I asked bluntly.
AJ chuckled. "Were you expecting a lot more? I mean, he's just royalty. Doesn't mean that he's astoundingly handsome or anything. I'm starting to doubt whether Nick is as 'good-looking' as you claim he is, with the lavender eyes and all." AJ botched his eyes at me. I snorted.
Howie ribbed AJ. I ignored AJ's comment.
The carriage that carried the Goddess Mother had stopped suddenly. All four of us looked at each other nervously. Suddenly, the Goddess Mother's body floated into the air swiftly. We all looked in awe at her. She had a dark halo around her. Her hair was dark black, her eyes closed. I was rather curious.
The Goddess Mother silenced all vampires with a wave of her hand. "To my children!" Her beautiful voice echoed into the winds. "These past centuries, we have seen much strife and sorrow. I am devastated to know that the saberi and sentiri races have not resolved, but rather deepened their wounds and conflicts. We live in a dangerous time, when our discontent and squabbles render us weak to the outside world. We must know that we have enemies outside of our realm and that we must strive to unite against our enemies. I am calling all vampires back to Sangria because that war against our enemies is imminent. And therefore, we must set our conflicts aside and begin to plan our defenses. I wish to invite you all to the Coliseum tomorrow where a new leader shall be born from our kind, one who will guide you through the next few centuries, one who will aptly prepare you for a new problem that has arisen: the 'soul-snatchers'. In the meantime, our people should know that our government have taken drastic measures to protect our people. At the moment, we have a weapon against them, one which we will reveal tomorrow. Please join us tomorrow!"
With that, the Goddess Mother gently flew back to her carriage.
I looked to Kevin confusedly. "Who are the soul-snatchers?" I asked. Before Kevin could reply, we heard a big thud. Immediately, AJ and Howie fell back as did Kevin and me. One of the Queen's guards had flown to our window surprisingly. The guard simply gazed at us intently before he held out his hands to reveal a scrolled up cloth.
"The Goddess Mother wishes to see all of you at the palace tonight. She has an urgent message for you. Please be on time!"
AJ, Howie, Kevin and I looked at each other in disbelief. With that, the guard flew back down to the Goddess Mother's carriage and escorted her through the rest of the street. Now, all vampires' eyes were on us. I bent down to grab the cloth the guard had left us. In beautiful writing, it read, 'you are our hope to destroy the soul-snatchers'.
AJ was the first to comment. "Did you guys just feel the tension wreaking in this room?"
Howie was dumbstruck and simply nodded.
"Who are the soul-snatchers?" I asked Kevin once again.
Kevin paced around madly before staring at me. "Soul-snatchers is a degrading term that we use to call the 'alma' race. They are a very evasive race that are known for killing vampires by destroying our souls. They do it mercilessly, and they do it intentionally. Apparently, they are very hard to catch, as their bodies are fleeting. They nearly destroyed our race in the past. The Goddess Mother was the only survivor of that era and she managed to rekindle our numbers."
I gulped. "So this is more complicated than we thought," I whispered.
Howie nodded. "You are still young, Brian. There are forces out there that we are still defenseless against. We are still a very fragile race."
I nodded nervously. "If we see the Goddess Mother tonight, maybe we can tell her about Nick, that he had been captured and locked away by that disgusting vampire."
Kevin nodded. "Now would be as good a time as any. If we are to win this war against a new enemy, we shouldn't be hurting our own kind."
"I still don't get one thing, though," I commented.
"What is that?" Howie asked gently.
"How is it that we the hope to destroy these soul-snatchers? I mean, I don't think we have any special powers, do we?" I asked.
"No," Kevin said definitively.
"Are we of the royal family?" I asked hopefully, thinking that if Nick was of the royal family, then I need to be in order to have a relationship with him. It was selfish, but I couldn't care less.
"No." Kevin replied firmly, crushing my hope.
"Then why us?" AJ mirrored my curiosity.
"To be honest," Kevin answered, "I don't know."
With that said, Kevin went back to wash his face. I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. "Great! We're designated as defenders of the vampire kindgom and we have no inkling what our roles are!"
Howie smiled. "You're very perceptive today, Brian."
I threw him a nasty stare before going to the restroom to wash my face up.
Me, Howie, AJ and Kevin stepped into the palace in complete awe. It was devastatingly magnificent! I had never seen so many diamonds line the pillars as I did now. I had to catch my breath before we moved on.
"Wow!" was all Howie could muster. AJ stifled a laugh. Kevin continued to stare at us disapprovingly.
We continued strolling down the hallways until we finally reached the dining area, where the Goddess Mother waited patiently for us. She was regal, yes. I looked at her form, poised and quiet. She was very still. However, she didn't fit the picture of a Goddess. She was much too mortal-looking. Actually, she looked rather fragile at the moment.
"Please, sit down," she beckoned us. Her voice was beautiful, yes. But still, it was very mortal-like. Why was I having these doubts?
"Please, enjoy," she called to us, offering the servings of fresh blood. "These are freshly done for you."
"Thank you, your majesty," Kevin began. "However, we have quite a few questions and favors to ask of you."
The Goddess Mother smiled knowingly. She turned to beckon two guys to sit down. I assume they are her children. They actually looked better up close than from far away. They looked down at her and each took a seat on either side of her. Finally, one of her sons spoke. "We believe that all your questions and your favors will be resolved today. Please let us have one peaceful meal before we tell you the real story. Especially, why we summoned you."
Kevin nodded and quietly hinted at me, AJ and Howie to start eating. We sipped our blood gratefully, in silence. When done, the sons of the Goddess Mother began. "Before we begin our story, there is something we would like to show you." The two guys quickly stood up. Their expressions were so stern!
Kevin, too stood up. With that, we followed the royal family like a herd of cattle down quite a few winding and dark stairways. AJ and Howie looked pale as ever, despite the good sample of blood that they had just eaten. I was starting to get nervous. This looked to be quite serious. It appeared that we were walking for hours before we finally reached a small room very deep into the ground. It was freezing cold. I shivered. Everything was so dark, except for the small candles that lit the dark, dirty stairways. Finally, we stopped in front of the room.
Someone stepped out of the room. I had to squint this time to see who it was. To my horror, it was that blond guy, the one that put Nick into a Trance of Acquiescence, the one that kidnapped Nick!
What the heck was he doing here? The guy bowed to the royal family, who actually smiled at him! The nerve of that thing! Before anyone knew what was going on, I grabbed Kevin's arm. "That's him. That's the one that kidnapped Nick!" Kevin immediately snapped wide awake, as did Howie and AJ. The royal family looked at us calmly before stepping into the room.
Kevin hinted for us to follow. As we walked past the blond guy, I gave the guy my coldest stare. He simply ignored me and followed us into the room. I gasped at what I saw.
There, on a huge bed, lay Nick's sleeping form. The hair was as blond as ever. His skin had become fairer. He was dressed in some see-through silk pajamas, but his body was unconscious. If it were possible, he looked even more attractive than ever. Even Howie, AJ and Kevin were awestruck by the sight of Nick.
"He's beautiful!" AJ blurted out.
One of the Goddess Mother's sons walked up to Nick's sleeping form and threw off the blanket that was covering Nick's body from the waist down. "Beautiful . . . and dangerous. He is the enemy."