The King's Vampire by Brenda Stinnett Read Free Book Online Page A

became.
    What must she do to control her fear so it wouldn’t become the barrier to her freedom? She pondered this puzzle until exhaustion set in and she could no longer think in a logical fashion. She fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of freedom from her prison. She jerked awake to discover the cell had vanished. Had it been that easy, simply allowing the power of the universe to unleash her from her fears? Did the strands of her dreams hold the essence of reality, or were the dreams an illusion of reality?
    Had the fear created the cell, or had the cell created the fear? She struggled to readjust her thinking now that the paralyzing terror of the unexpected no longer controlled her. It was a start, although she knew she had a long way to go in vanquishing her fears permanently. She saw that, even though the cell had vanished, she was still imprisoned. Her wrists were bound to the arms of a stone death skeleton, which decorated a sarcophagus.
    The stench of putrefaction she’d come to associate with the psychic vampire demons nearly overwhelmed her. She commanded herself not to panic again, and she spoke aloud to the head demon. “Julian, release me.” With a quick glance around, she realized he’d brought her back to St. Paul’s.
    The demon appeared at her feet, and gazed up at her. “How did you know my name?”
    She forced back a shudder at the sight of the demon’s rotting skin and the sound of his voice, trying hard to ignore the bloody gurgle. “I know your name because it is legion.”
    Four other demons crept from crumbling tombs, but they kept at a respectable distance. They stood at attention, appearing alert for the command of their leader. The purple light emitted from their wings created a strange glow in the church’s fire-charred ruins, causing their bodies to blur around the edges.
    She rattled the chains that held her wrists above her head. “My arms are tired. Please unchain me.”
    “Only if you promise not to escape like you did last time.”
    “What is it you want from me?” She forced herself to stare into those horrifying eye sockets, which glowed bright crimson.
    It was Julian who looked away. “I’m a reasonable creature.”
    He loosened the chains and her arms dropped to her sides.
    “All I ask is that you and your other immortal vampires leave us to our plans, and then we promise to leave you alone. Collecting souls is our task. Don’t interfere with our efforts at court.”
    “What harm can we do?” she asked, shaking her arms to release the stiffness.
    “I suspect you might do much harm. It’s come to my attention you plan to take up residence at the king’s court.”
    “Where did you hear such a rumor? I couldn’t reside in the king’s palace without his permission.”
    “Rumor has informed me your meddlesome friends, the Duke and Duchess of Denham, are trying to get permission for you to have access to apartments at Whitehall.”
    The four demons hanging about the tombs crept closer, until Elizabeth stopped them with a thralling look. She froze them in their path, even though moss grew rapidly along the stones and the cement crumbled faster than before, allowing the abyss to form.
    Her thralling his demons angered Julian, because he created the fog-like cell around her again. This time she felt thankful her will was strong enough to prevent him from pulling her into the abyss, and she’d dissolve the cell again once she conquered the fear that bound her.
    “You must learn humility, Elizabeth,” were Julian’s last words before the fog surrounded her.
    Alone in the cell, that dreadful demon cell, she heard the preternatural sounds of demons moaning in their damnation, bats flying across the ruins, and rats skittering over the cracked stone floor. The rotting stench of the demons burned her eyes and nostrils, while the fog wrapped around her as solidly as a moth’s cocoon. Don’t panic, she thought. She had to use her mind to control this fear. She’d done it once,