The Queen of Wolves Read Free Page A

thinking of all the things that had been passed down through the generations in her bloodline, secrets kept, promises held, oaths sworn. “Theft. It is what began my tribe of vampyres, for the priests of Myrryd stole immortality and more from Medhya. She in turn had stolen these secrets from the Great Serpent.”
    “All power begins with a theft,” she said. “Prometheus stole fire from Heaven to bring to mankind.”
    “By legend, he is punished eternally for it,” I said. “As we are, here, cursed by our Dark Mother to drink blood and never to cross the threshold of Death. Power itself is cursed. We must exist alongside such punishment.”

    4

    “You are not safe here anymore,” I said as we walked down the road that led to the gates of the city. “There is a place even these vampyres will not go. Within the city. A bedchamber fit for a mortal queen, untouched for hundreds of years.”
    “It must be very dusty,” Natalia said, and I smiled at this show of good humor.
    “We have protectors who take care of it,” I said.  
    “The human cattle,” she said.
    “Protectors. They have their benefactors among our tribe.”  
    “And lovers,” she said. “So does the key fit the lock of this room?”  
    “No, not this bedchamber. But you will have your own key to it, and lock it from within so that no one may enter unless you wish it.”
    The torches had been lit along the fields of bones—and among these dead, the flower of the Flesh of Medhya twisted and turned, grown over the years into a bramble of thick vine and blossom. The statues of the old gods seemed to shine gold and onyx in the wavering fires. The great statues of the bulls of the Mithrades had been brought long ago to the walls of the city, and stood as enormous guardians of the Dal-Bas Gate, the main entry to the Temple of Lemesharra.
    Alkemara, abandoned after dusk, seemed new and fresh. I enjoyed the city like this, emptied.
    I led her along the streets, through a vaulted doorway, beyond which was a courtyard with a marble floor. Slender columns rose to a terrace, and we climbed the stairs. Several apartments led from the terrace to an interior house of sorts, which was empty of feature and furnishing.
    At the end of a hall, there was the silver door with designs of the second kingdom of Alkemara upon it. Beside it, two middle-aged women slept upon cushioned benches. “Inside, there are no windows, yet air enters through a system of slender pipes. The door is silver so that no vampyre may breach it.”
    I called out to one of the women by name, and she awoke. When she saw me, she reached into the pockets of her shirt and brought me the key. I passed it to Natalia. “You must open it. None but you and these protectors may do so.”
    I followed her to the door, feeling that vibrating pain of the silver aura as I drew close to the door. She unlocked it and pushed it open.
    I heard her gasp as she glanced inside.
    “Go on,” I said. “It’s for you. This way, you may come and go as you please. You won’t have to bribe a guard with your blood.”

    5

    Within, a great bedchamber meant for a noblewoman. It had exquisitely carved posts along the bed, and its light source was several candles in sconces. She went in and lit each one. Though it was kept clean and well attended, no one had slept in it for nearly a thousand years.
    A toilet of an old kind as well as a rectangular bath—the size of a small swimming pool—was cut into the marble floor, and steam rose from its waters.
    “You may bathe here, if you like. Rest. I will guard you tonight. I can entrust your care to no one but myself. My tribe is not good with matters of temptation.”
    “It was my fault.” She looked about the sumptuous room, avoiding my gaze. “I wanted to explore. I couldn’t rest. I told him he could drink from me if I would be allowed the freedom to wander.”
    “That is what you wish?”
    “Yes. When you sleep, I...want to see Alkemara in the daylight. I want