Moonspawn by Bruce McLachlan Read Free Book Online Page B

semblance of a snout pushed from their face to complete the transformation.
    The hounds were completely silent, so Kira guessed that the masks were probably also elaborate and effective gags. Then she realised that the muzzles offered no breathing holes. Without the means to steal air, the captives could not spend such currency of words on cries.
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    Was each of these hounds actually a debased vampiress?
    Turning her eyes up from this bizarre display, she returned them to the sovereign of this vast domain.
    ‘Your majesty,’ stated the seneschal, and bowed deeply until she had dropped to one knee. With the creak of latex the guards followed the motion. Unwilling to cause offence, Kira copied them all, waiting there until she knew whether or not she should rise.
    ‘Arise, my most trusted seneschal,’ she announced, her voice rolling through the air as an irresistible wave, her very voice a force of utmost influence. ‘Come and join me.’
    Cassandra straightened and strode up the steps to stand at the right hand of the woman, pivoting on a heel and fixing her stare down at Kira.
    ‘Guards, you may stand at ease,’ attested the woman, leaving Kira the only one still humbled.
    ‘Welcome, Kira, I trust you have found my hospitality to your liking,’ said the vampire ruler.
    ‘Yes, your majesty,’ replied Kira.
    ‘Then stand up and show us the results,’ requested the queen.
    Kira looked up with a start to find the woman grinning with wicked intent. Her eyes flitted to the seneschal, the pet, and then the man nearby. The thought of standing nude, on such display, was more than daunting.
    ‘If you wish to insult me with your refusal, I shall have my guards do it and then have you thrown back out on the street,’ warned the woman, her tone light but deadly serious. She was no longer the lover who had come to her that night, not the saviour who had rescued her on the rooftop. Here she was empress of the city, and here she could not be questioned.
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    Standing erect, Kira locked her eyes to those of her queen and opened the belt, staring at nothing but the captivating eyes of the woman. Opening the folds she let the smooth curtain slip down her arms and puddle about her feet. She stood defiant of the stares, refusing to try and cower or conceal herself.
    The queen smiled, her eyes winking with satisfaction before she too joined the rest of the throng in assessing Kira’s new appearance. A faint and deep growl reached the outermost extent of Kira’s hearing, a sound of longing that slipped the throat of the beast.
    ‘Steady, Thanos, you’ll frighten her,’ stated the queen, petting his head while the incarnadine eyes of the creature widened as they bored into Kira’s revealed frame.
    Cassandra shifted uneasily as she examined Kira, something about her appearance setting the woman on edge, her hands furling into fists.
    ‘And what do you think, Duke Khardekk?’ she asked the man in the expensive suit. ‘Is she not a fine addition to my house?’
    ‘Indeed she is, my queen,’ he replied. ‘I take it the Malefic Kiss has been given to her?’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘What is your intention for her?’ he asked, an edge of lascivious thirst slipping through his words.
    ‘You want her for yourself? Is that the truth of it, my dear duke?’
    ‘Who could resist such a temptation? I have not seen Maleficence bring out such a beauty in at least a century.’
    ‘Maybe some day, duke. I have plans for this nubile young vampire.’ She arose from her throne, stepping forward and letting the two males shift forward, clipping the wide shouldered cloak to her, the voluminous folds 51

    trailing behind as she descended the steps, the rubber trickling down like molten coal.
    ‘Of course, that all depends on her decision, doesn’t it?’ she stated.
    ‘You are giving her a choice, your majesty?’ quizzed Cassandra with a start, taken aback by what Kira assumed was an unprecedented offer.
    ‘Yes, though I think I am