Jasper’s jaw dropped with both surprise and joy when Hank approached him with a steady, manageable stride. He’d hoped that the serum he’d injected into the zombie leader would help him be more mobile, but what he saw far exceeded his expectations.
Giving himself a mental pat on the back for the strides he was making with his research, he flashed a broad, toothy smile at his friend and said, “You walk almost as good as me.”
“It’s a miracle,” Hank said with ease.
A loud gasp escaped the scientist as he practically shouted, “You talk as good as me!”
Hank smiled, nodded, and said with a joyful tone, “Like I said. It’s a miracle.”
Rushing to Hank’s side, Jasper’s voice had an excited urgency as he added, “I need to check your vitals.” Placing his hand on the zombie leader’s upper arm, he guided him to the nearest chair and said, “Sit h
It was only because the vampires despised cleaning the castle that they allowed the few humans on their housekeeping staff to remain untouched in order for them to fulfill the task they abhorred. Mirabella was one of those humans. Since Lila was kept away from all humans and made to clean her own room to insure her solitude, it was pure chance that she collided into the woman who looked to be about her age a few weeks earlier while sneaking down the hall to see what she could learn about the goings on in the castle.“I’ve heard about you,” Mirabella whispered as she nervously backed away. “You’re the king’s witch lover.”“I’m his captive sex slave, not his lover,” Lila insisted. “I despise that monster.”With eyes wide with horror, the housekeeper quickly urged Lila to lower her voice and monitor her words.“The walls have ears,” she urged. “Be careful what you say a
Lila nuzzled her nose against the cheek of the tiny creature that she cradled in her arms. It was a surreal experience to realize that this little body came out of her own not that long ago. She studied it’s fingers, toes, and ears before coaxing his mouth open. Expecting to see fangs, she was surprised to find only tender gums.“My son looks like a normal baby,” she said with awe.“He eats like one too,” Mirabella explained as she produced a bottle and handed it to Lila. “It’s mother’s milk with a hint of vampire blood mixed in. They tried several feeding types before this and almost killed the poor little tike before they settled on this.”“Mother’s milk?” Lila said with surprise. “They haven’t asked me for milk. Where are they getting it?”Scowling in thought, the maid said, “I’ve seen several strange women come and go. I’m not sure, but I believ
Jasper flattened his body against the exterior wall of his lab. With Marcus and Freya just feet away from him, his faith in the invisible cloak that Ben spelled for him was lacking. Holding his breath, he listened intently to their conversation as they slowly passed by him.“Have you any clue on the whereabouts of our scientist?” Freya asked as she slipped her hand through the crook of Marcus’ arm.“We’ve searched high and low,” Marcus mused. “I can only think that the damn fool took it upon himself to try to rescue Lila on his own.”Freya pursed her lips with disapproval as she muttered, “We cannot have him rescuing that abomination. It and the witch need to die.”“The local witch coven was raided not too long ago,” Marcus informed her. “The warlocks were killed. We think they took the witches for breeding.”“That’s not good news, Marcus,” F
Lila struggled against the guards as they presented her to Oscar. She’d had enough exposure to him during her time in the castle both with Jasper and now to realize the cruel streak he possessed. Even in her panicked state, it was impossible to miss the glint of excitement in his eyes as he listened to the guards pass on his king and maker’s instructions.After ordering them to tie her down on a nearby cot, he walked to the opposite side of the long and narrow room and disappeared through a door. Her head spun as she did her best to take in her surroundings. There were a dozen cots holding naked, handless, and legless females. Most of them sported bulging bellies from the life that grew in them. Had she not been so traumatized upon witnessing the mutilation that occurred to her fellow witches, she would have been mortified about the fact that they were afforded absolutely no modesty. It was as if they were nothing more than livestock to be handled and used in acco
Time dragged to the point of standing still as the guards continued to use her body with deliberate brutality. Whenever darkness blissfully consumed her, she was brought back around by a slap on the face or ice water tossed over her body. On the few occasions when a bone was accidentally broken, the vampire would feed her his blood to heal it before continuing with the abuse. Worried for her sanity, she focused on the memories of holding little Roger in her arms. Although the stamina of a vampire was extreme, the guards eventually tired of abusing her and sent for replacements.The reprieve she had gave her an opportunity to ponder upon her foolishness in being overly confident in her position with Samuel. Has she realized that her vile outburst would have suffered such consequences, she would have held her tongue. It was just that she’d said such things to him in the past with no repercussions. Then, she’d never said them with such abundance and vehemency. Nor ha
Hank nodded a greeting to Jasper as he wrestled with an extremely large vampire. Both impressed and surprised that the zombie leader was able to deal with a supernatural creature whose stature was twice his own with such calm assurance, Jasper watched as Hank used a few martial arts moves to take the vampire down just long enough to sink his teeth into his arm. After immediately jumping back as far as he could, he watched and waited the few seconds it took for the venom to attack the vampire’s system. The enormous supernatural foe was able to get on his feet and, with hate filled eyes, charge toward Hank, but he never quite reached him before his legs buckled and he fell in a heap on the castle’s stone floor. In no time at all, the creature lay lifeless.“Where did you get those moves?” Jasper asked with obvious admiration.“Before I was infected, I was a martial arts instructor,” Hank informed him. “I thought that I might have
The first thing that Lila did when she recovered from her fainting spell was to focus on her surroundings. They looked familiar. Yet, her still muddled mind couldn’t quite place them. It took several minutes of study before she realized that she was back in the wing of the vampire castle where she and Jasper had spent so many months. The room was closer to the lab than the one she’d occupied before her escape and much smaller. She’d used it to nap in a few times when she wanted a brief break from the lab but didn’t want to be too far from Jasper in case he needed her.Placing her hand on her stomach, she cradled the bump that seemed to have appeared overnight. Realizing that she was about to give birth to a baby in an environment that had never seen a vampire birth before sent a ripple of fear through her. She had no idea what to expect. She’d never had a human baby, let alone a vampire one. In fact, she didn’t even know that she’d ha
Freya propped her bare feet onto the railing of her historical home’s wrap around front porch as she slumped back into her favorite Adirondack style chair. The sun was slowly creeping below the treetops, leaving in its wake a brilliant hue of reds and yellows that almost danced along the skyline.“I love this time of day,” she said in a soft voice to Marcus who’d just pulled a chair up next to her and was mimicking her seating style.“It has a certain ambiance,” he murmured as he lit a cigar. Tipping his head back and making smoke rings, he added, “I’ll give it that.”“I am starting to feel the effects of the moon. It will be full in a few days,” she said. “Have you worked out a plan?”“I’ve got Jasper on it,” he replied.“Altering the genetics of the wolf so that we can turn at will instead of waiting for the full moon is a great long term s
Hank nodded a greeting to Jasper as he wrestled with an extremely large vampire. Both impressed and surprised that the zombie leader was able to deal with a supernatural creature whose stature was twice his own with such calm assurance, Jasper watched as Hank used a few martial arts moves to take the vampire down just long enough to sink his teeth into his arm. After immediately jumping back as far as he could, he watched and waited the few seconds it took for the venom to attack the vampire’s system. The enormous supernatural foe was able to get on his feet and, with hate filled eyes, charge toward Hank, but he never quite reached him before his legs buckled and he fell in a heap on the castle’s stone floor. In no time at all, the creature lay lifeless.“Where did you get those moves?” Jasper asked with obvious admiration.“Before I was infected, I was a martial arts instructor,” Hank informed him. “I thought that I might have
Time dragged to the point of standing still as the guards continued to use her body with deliberate brutality. Whenever darkness blissfully consumed her, she was brought back around by a slap on the face or ice water tossed over her body. On the few occasions when a bone was accidentally broken, the vampire would feed her his blood to heal it before continuing with the abuse. Worried for her sanity, she focused on the memories of holding little Roger in her arms. Although the stamina of a vampire was extreme, the guards eventually tired of abusing her and sent for replacements.The reprieve she had gave her an opportunity to ponder upon her foolishness in being overly confident in her position with Samuel. Has she realized that her vile outburst would have suffered such consequences, she would have held her tongue. It was just that she’d said such things to him in the past with no repercussions. Then, she’d never said them with such abundance and vehemency. Nor ha
Lila struggled against the guards as they presented her to Oscar. She’d had enough exposure to him during her time in the castle both with Jasper and now to realize the cruel streak he possessed. Even in her panicked state, it was impossible to miss the glint of excitement in his eyes as he listened to the guards pass on his king and maker’s instructions.After ordering them to tie her down on a nearby cot, he walked to the opposite side of the long and narrow room and disappeared through a door. Her head spun as she did her best to take in her surroundings. There were a dozen cots holding naked, handless, and legless females. Most of them sported bulging bellies from the life that grew in them. Had she not been so traumatized upon witnessing the mutilation that occurred to her fellow witches, she would have been mortified about the fact that they were afforded absolutely no modesty. It was as if they were nothing more than livestock to be handled and used in acco
Jasper flattened his body against the exterior wall of his lab. With Marcus and Freya just feet away from him, his faith in the invisible cloak that Ben spelled for him was lacking. Holding his breath, he listened intently to their conversation as they slowly passed by him.“Have you any clue on the whereabouts of our scientist?” Freya asked as she slipped her hand through the crook of Marcus’ arm.“We’ve searched high and low,” Marcus mused. “I can only think that the damn fool took it upon himself to try to rescue Lila on his own.”Freya pursed her lips with disapproval as she muttered, “We cannot have him rescuing that abomination. It and the witch need to die.”“The local witch coven was raided not too long ago,” Marcus informed her. “The warlocks were killed. We think they took the witches for breeding.”“That’s not good news, Marcus,” F
Lila nuzzled her nose against the cheek of the tiny creature that she cradled in her arms. It was a surreal experience to realize that this little body came out of her own not that long ago. She studied it’s fingers, toes, and ears before coaxing his mouth open. Expecting to see fangs, she was surprised to find only tender gums.“My son looks like a normal baby,” she said with awe.“He eats like one too,” Mirabella explained as she produced a bottle and handed it to Lila. “It’s mother’s milk with a hint of vampire blood mixed in. They tried several feeding types before this and almost killed the poor little tike before they settled on this.”“Mother’s milk?” Lila said with surprise. “They haven’t asked me for milk. Where are they getting it?”Scowling in thought, the maid said, “I’ve seen several strange women come and go. I’m not sure, but I believ
It was only because the vampires despised cleaning the castle that they allowed the few humans on their housekeeping staff to remain untouched in order for them to fulfill the task they abhorred. Mirabella was one of those humans. Since Lila was kept away from all humans and made to clean her own room to insure her solitude, it was pure chance that she collided into the woman who looked to be about her age a few weeks earlier while sneaking down the hall to see what she could learn about the goings on in the castle.“I’ve heard about you,” Mirabella whispered as she nervously backed away. “You’re the king’s witch lover.”“I’m his captive sex slave, not his lover,” Lila insisted. “I despise that monster.”With eyes wide with horror, the housekeeper quickly urged Lila to lower her voice and monitor her words.“The walls have ears,” she urged. “Be careful what you say a
Jasper’s jaw dropped with both surprise and joy when Hank approached him with a steady, manageable stride. He’d hoped that the serum he’d injected into the zombie leader would help him be more mobile, but what he saw far exceeded his expectations.Giving himself a mental pat on the back for the strides he was making with his research, he flashed a broad, toothy smile at his friend and said, “You walk almost as good as me.”“It’s a miracle,” Hank said with ease.A loud gasp escaped the scientist as he practically shouted, “You talk as good as me!”Hank smiled, nodded, and said with a joyful tone, “Like I said. It’s a miracle.”Rushing to Hank’s side, Jasper’s voice had an excited urgency as he added, “I need to check your vitals.” Placing his hand on the zombie leader’s upper arm, he guided him to the nearest chair and said, “Sit h
She was pregnant again. Lila didn’t need any werewolf to tell her this time. The symptoms that she’d explained away as stress from the events in her life before her first pregnancy was identified to her were back and unmistakable.The hate that she felt for Samuel was so intense that it practically consumed her.Her mind raced over what to do. She hadn’t carried the first vampire child inside of her long enough to bond with it. It might have happened after she’d delivered had the infant not been ripped from her arms almost immediately after his birth and was not seen since. As it was, that motherly instinct that she’d heard so much about simply wasn’t there. What was there was panic and an extreme desire not to have to go through it again.She lamented for the hundredth time over the weakness of her magic. Had she more if it intact, she’d be able to abort the child on her own. Instead, if she couldn’t get the aid o
Whether it was because he’d already been battling the zombism in himself, or he’d simply had a stroke of luck, Jasper wasn’t sure, but when he peered into the microscope at the blood sample he’d treated with the vaccine he’d been able to develop after a mere six hours, he sat back and smiled. He hadn’t killed the virus, but he’d definitely retarded it. He wouldn’t know its full impact until he’d administered the vaccine to an actual zombie.Night had fallen, making the windows act like a mirror as he passed by them. Seeing his reflection, he realized that his research had taken just a bit too long. The cloaking spell had worn off.Wishing that he had a bit of magic in him so that he could communicate with Ben and tell him that he needed help getting away from the lab, he closed his eyes and tried sending a telepathic message on the off chance Ben would be meditating and pick up on it. When five minutes passed with n