Disclaimer: Jager and the other characters from In the Forests of the Night are owned by Ameila Atwater-Rhodes. Crystal is a friend of mine.
My heart is calm,
My heart is pure,
But make no mistake
It's pure evil.
~I have no idea who quoted that
~*~*~
Story 1: Queen of the Underworld
There was no mistake. Jager could sense another vampire or other worldly creature in his territory.
A strong one.
Not Risika.
Not Ather.
Certainly not Aubrey.
This one that a ring of mystery around its aura. A power that he had sensed only once before.
Only about five thousand years ago.
Jager moved towards the aura.
He felt his shoulders tense up much to his surprise. There were only a few vampires in the world that surpassed his power.
But five thousand years ago, he had bitten a girl.
A girl that had yet to see her adult ages.
But a wrong girl.
Now that girl had come back to haunt him.
~*~
Ancient Egypt during the rule of Queen Cleopatra.
He had made himself one of the higher servants in the royal court.
It was only his first year of being a vampire. A newbie. A beginner. Yet, his power was amazing, surpassing everyone's expectations.
He had learned how to alter the minds of mortals. They were simple, only dwelling on what to eat next, or what clothes to wear.
So he had a nice lifeafterlife. No one suspected of anything wrong from him. Of course, he kept away from mirrors. But when he did near one, all he had to do was cast an illusion of his reflection.
Simple.
He was an indoor servant so the sun didn't matter.
Very simple.
Life.
After life.
That was, until she came.
She was a traveler from Greece named Willow.
That is, as she told it.
From the look in her eyes, Jager knew that she had lied about herself. She did not come from Greece. And her name was not Willow.
However, he played along.
Willow was a messanger from her queen.
She never said what queen, just said "Queen".
That was when Jager knew that she wasn't human.
She looked fairly human. Her blond hair reflected off of the sunlight like pure gold. She had clear blue eyes with a tint of gold and hazel.
It all looked real.
She wore what a warrior would wear. Leather and weapons. When she talked, a sweet sounding voice filled the air, as when she laughed too.
It sounded real.
But Jager was a vampire. He could see what no mortal could see. He could see the strange aura sounding her, powerful, dark. It was deeply rooted to the ground as if the Earth itself was providing her energy. Such power gave him chills up his spine.
He had to get her blood.
He would wait for his chance.
Then it came.
Queen Cleopatra had accepted whatever offer Willow had made. She had the strange girl dress in garments fit for the palace.
A white dress and some jewels.
Willow had walked into one of the rooms dedicated to a goddess, one of the many goddesses. She didn't seem to notice Jager standing in the shadows, watching her every move.
"Do you like the statue?"
Willow turned around, not too fast. The look on her face expressed nothing. "Yes, is it Hathor?"
"Yes." Jager stepped out of the darkness and next to Willow. "It's funny. Hathor's the goddess of heaven, yet also the queen of the underworld."
"Queen of the underworld" For a moment, Jager thought he could see a small smirk play on Willow's face.
But that was soon gone.
"I suppose one goddess could be both. But in Greece, we have separate goddesses for Heaven and Hell." Willow replied, relaxed.
Too relaxed.
Jager couldn't take it anymore. The smell of her power was making him go crazy.
He swung his fist and was surpised how easily Willow went down. A greek warrior should have put up a fight.
Oh yeah.
She wasn't Greek.
Willow appeared to be unconsious.
Taking a quick look around, Jager bent down and felt her neck. It was smooth and lightly tanned. Her aura lessened as he bit down into her blood.
Jager expected rich, creamy, powerful liquid but instead
there was something wrong.
Jager removed his fangs and got up quickly, leaving Willow's body on the floor.
He got blood alright.
But blood wasn't its name.
It tasted metallic, and way too bitter.
Dizziness overwhelmed him and he felt for something to hold on to. When he did find something, he looked to see what it was.
It was a sacrificing altar to Hathor.
He looked up to see the statue of the goddess. Even with her serene face, it looked like the goddess of the skies was glaring down at him.
Maniacal laughter filled the room.
Jager turned to Willow was on the floor shaking in laughter.
But he could not see her face.
"Whatwhat are you?" Jager whispered.
Willow had to pause to take a breath before resuming to laugh.
"Tell me."
Willow just keeped on laughing. She was lowering her dampers on her aura.
Jager nearly fell back when he felt part of her true power. It felt like he was alive again and couldn't breath.
"Jager, you have no idea," Willow said between giggles.
The vampire's eyes widened at the sound of his name. How did Willow know? Queen Cleopatra rarely mentioned any servants name. Jager backed out of the room and ran.
Willow said her last words to him.
"I will forever haunt you Jager!"
~*~
That was then, this is now. He was far more powerful. But then again, he really had no idea what Willow wasis.
He stopped in front of one of the caverns. Beside the carvern was an alley.
He could hear giggling.
Willow's voice.
He turned and walked inside of the alley, displaying most of his power.
Enough power to make most of the vampires on Earth cower and run.
But Willow continued to laugh.
Crystalline blue eyes reflected from the pale moonlight. Willow appeared. She stopped laughing, but still had a smile on her face.
"What are you doing here Willow?"
Willow shook her head as she moved closer to Jager. "More than five thousand years Jageryou still don't know whoWHAT I am. tis a shame."
"Why don't you tell me." It was more of a statement then a question.
"I, Crystal [insert last name here], am the best kept secret from dead. I am the Queen of Death."
With that, she displayed her real power.
Jager backed away.
He had promised himself to never show fear, but Crystal was different.
"I rule over all that is dead, Jager. That includes you." A silver chain with a sickle on the end appeared in her right hand.
Jager backed into a wall and was about to go through when he found his neck pressed against the sickle.
"This blade was dipped in my blood, the very same blood you tried to take. It can kill you before you even try to go through that wall."
"And what blood is that?" Jager stared at the blade.
Crystal smiled, with a cruel twist. "Magick blood Jager. It's poisonous to those who take it by force. However, if I let you by my will to drink it, it will grant you power far beyond anything you have seen. But I haven't, have I?"
Jager didn't say anything.
"You made a mistake, vampire. I was on a mission sent by my Queen and you ruined it. For that, you should endure the tortures of Hell." Crystal's face showed the fury only Hell could release.
"I'm"
"I smell your fear Jager. Aren't you the big, strong vampire everyone thinks you are?" Crystal mocked.
Jager felt a blade press deeper into his skin.
"If this blade touches your vampire blood, it will hurt. Pain beyond anything you imagined. And your wound will never heal. Never."
"Well, aren't you going to kill me?"
Risika prowled the night, in search of Jager. She smelled fear in the night.
Jager's fear.
Whatever, whoever, was threatening Jager was going to pay. In the vampire world, there was no such thing as friendship. However, Jager was probably the closest thing to a friend that she had.
And she wasn't going to lose him.
"Yeah, I'm still trying to decide whether to kill you or not."
Jager saw this as a chance to escape. He kicked Crystal in the gut and rolled out of the way.
That part worked.
But he misjudged Crystal's reflexes and skills.
By far too much.
And the price would be great.
Before he could even get up, a shearing pain came from his chest. He looked down to see the sickle stuck in this chest.
With a move as fast as lightning, Crystal had thrown the sickle to a direct target.
And hit.
The pain was unbearable. It felt like he hadn't fed for days, even though he had just fed an hour ago.
"You shouldn't have done that," Crystal said coldly. "I was actually considering to spare your life." She looked at the sickle which she had detached from her chain whip. She could always get another one later.
With that, the Queen of Death jumped up onto a rooftop and disappeared in the darkness.
Risika nearly flew into the alley and saw Jager's body still on the ground, moonlight shining on it.
He was sleeping
My heart is calm,
My heart is pure,
or maybe
But make no mistake,
he's acutally
It's pure evil.
Dead.
~*~*~
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