《Queen Of Blood》


 Prologue

    Prologue:


    Vaspier. Lykos. Ephemeral. Three races on one world, one half of a world. The Blasted Waste was not something that anyone could live on, especially not Vaspier. They got one hell of a tan whenever they were caught in the light of their star for a few minutes, let alone the hellscape on the other half. Seared by a powerful, massive sun for three days straight, whatever life was there was life designed to live on basically nothing. The planet¡¯s abnormal rotation caused extended night on one side of the world, and extended day on the other, not that the Vaspier complained about the night, that allowed them to act without worry of having their sensitive dermals ignited by the merciless touch of the star. They were creatures of the night, and the Lykos were adapted to at least survive extended night, by taking advantage of the sun when it was around, in the most efficient way ever seen in the universe. Unfortunately, the Ephemerals were a new breed, and yet to be able to live in such darkness, slowly dying as soon as they were born, giving birth to their name. But there was a small blossom of hope, as the oldest Ephemeral alive right now was 37, an age all but unheard of in the Ephemerals a century or two ago. They were adapting to the night, but until they adapted entirely, they were dependent on the Vaspier¡¯s assistance to live as long as they did. Pharmaceuticals and targeted dietaries were made to allow them to be less sick while dying, and to die slower. In return, the Ephemerals made up a servant caste, since both Pharmaceuticals and their very precise food requirements were both expensive, and no Ephemeral lasted long enough to get rich. But this delicate balance, was not to last, if recent events were anything to go off.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Like teenagers with no adult to advise or guide them, the Ephemerals raged. Feeling the state of affairs to be completely unfair, as if they should be given such life-extending assistance for nothing. With mass uprisings across the planet, the police force was overwhelmed. The most they have ever had to deal with was drunken louts and overenthusiastic Lykos. They had neither the training, the equipment, nor the numbers to deal with such a large scale upheaval. And the War of Fur and Fang was a long time ago. This gave rise to an increasing number of Bounty Hunters, and more prominence to the ones that currently existed. Justicars and special law-attached units that would hunt down more dangerous, martially minded targets. This cultural shift, was were the pair Sarasagi and Alric entered the picture. Simple hunters, they saw this as an opportunity, to get out of the scruffy clothes and shammy building that they called home and finally make something of themselves. And besides, criminal Ephemeral were fair game for being turned into dinner

 Chapter 1

    *Slurp* heralded the end of Sagi¡¯s lunch, which went down quicker than Alric¡¯s meal. He ate solids, after all. Had to actually chew it, rather than just literally gulping it down. And despite the low quality of the food and the fact they were eating out of a food van, he certainly had a touch of decorum to his breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


    ¡°Why wolf?¡± She suddenly asked, taking off the lid to lick off the remaining blood. It wasn¡¯t great, out of some swine that was bred for blood and meat alone. There were small differences between each animal¡¯s blood in taste, but nothing could beat the taste of an Ephemeral. She chased one down with a dead only order on him and made him a snack. It was a very nice snack.


    ¡°Mm? N-no, this is Swine. We got the combo, remember?¡± Alric asked, confused at the sudden question.


    ¡°I meant, why is the phrase Wolf it down. I mean, sure some of you can be messy but so can we. And I see a lot of Lykos with at least some table manners. So, why wolf? As in, wolf it down¡± she explained further.


    ¡°Ohh, right. I¡­Pass, on that one. Maybe our ancestors didn¡¯t have the same decorum as modern Lykos. Or they didn¡¯t like cutlery. It is well documented that the ancient Lykos were savage¡± Alric sat up from his meal and turned fully to Sagi.


    ¡°Mmm, documented by Vaspier, you mean. Honestly, don¡¯t think I¡¯d trust that¡± Sagi finished scrapping all she could out of the cup and threw it in the bin.


    ¡°They might have exaggerated but even Modern Lykos are prone to tearing a man to bloody gibblets if they are riled. Ancient Lykos could have less self-control than the brothers of today¡± Alric replied. A conversation was always a nice thing; he had heard of the brothers that barely got along with their partner to the point of not engaging with them at all outside of what was absolutely necessary. The Claw and Blood Pact was not something everyone engaged with, but everyone accepted it because it kept out War. Hence why the Vaspier or Lykos that did not like each other at least tolerated the other¡¯s presence when required. There were enough of the long-lifed Vaspier and Lykos to have lived in the War.


    ¡°Language is a strange thing¡± Sarasagi eventually exclaimed, nodding softly to her own words before she got a beep. New target, coming down the road behind them even.


    ¡°Trouble?¡± Alric asked as Sagi got up from her chair and walked into the middle of the road.


    ¡°Nothing I can¡¯t handle, finish lunch¡± she replied, looking up and down the road, and then hearing the roar of an overtaxed engine. Judging proper distance and direction, she smirked softly to herself.


    ¡°Dead, or Alive?¡± Sagi asked, keeping her eyes focused on the stretch of road that would soon have a car.


    ¡°Unstated¡± Alric replied, which was cause for celebration. If they didn¡¯t state, then nine times out of ten, someone was getting eaten by the end of this. Sagi¡¯s beautiful pale skin flushed red and then she was gone. A lesser creature ¨C like the Ephemeral running the stand ¨C might have thought her hit by the car that suddenly shot past at well over a hundred miles an hour. But Alric had spotted her leap upwards and land on the bonnet, to be carried away with them.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Always the show-off. Couldn¡¯t have just stopped it¡± Alric muttered to himself, finishing his meal at a slightly increased pace.


    Sagi, on the other hand, was standing on the car, one foot on the bonnet, the other on the windshield, and seemingly not bothered by the problems of such high speed. Her normally soft red ¨C almost pink - eyes were glittering a deep crimson, and a smile showed off the large fangs in her mouth. Usually, they were small and unseeming, enough to puncture the skin and take a bit of blood, but easily missable. The fangs she currently had were anything but missable, and would rip a vicious hole in the skin and drain blood at an alarming rate.


    ¡°Stop the car~¡± Sagi shouted, roaring over the noise of the wind to the Ephemerals in the car. They didn¡¯t agree with her, and through their own shouting, even shoot at her. Sagi quickly shifted herself out of the way of the bullet, and drew her own secondary. This mammoth revolver was used for anti-armour and for when the enemy was entrenched behind cover. Which, was fitting before then she stuck two rounds in the engine. Whining and spluttering, bangs and oil leaking everywhere followed, before the car slowed down to a stop, having no more engine.


    Not yet in the way of giving up, the Ephemerals tried to scurry out of the car but found the doors blocked by Sagi, who had moved faster than could be thought to head them off. Sufficently terrifying by the admittedly alarming form she was currently wearing, Sagi added fuel to fire by ripping one of the men out of the car through the shattered window and tearing into his neck to recover the blood she had lost from her Hemomancy. She spilled a surprisingly little blood as the fangs were designed to drain efficiently. A few seconds passed of screams and other mind-wrenching terror before Sagi threw the man to the floor and reverted to the pale casual form that was usually seen. Vaspier were generally not pushed to use such a form, and so for many Ephemerals, it was a sudden and unexpected sight.


    ¡°Mmm, so wish I could get a blood doll. Out of the car, lads¡± she ordered, cocking her head and gesturing with her hand. She could hear the sirens of police following the, so she¡¯d be free of them soon. Not that these guys wanted to run. They filtered out of the car and then stood stock still, as if she was an animal that was attracted to movement and wouldn¡¯t kill them so long as they didn¡¯t move. Which was partially true.


    Eventually the police arrived, and stared at the men, and then the dead man on the ground. They were older, their eyes had turned from the near-pink of young Vaspier to a clear red of middle-aged Vaspier. Two set about arresting the surviving Ephemerals, and one came to Sagi. He had the same near-pink as Sagi did.


    ¡°No wonder they don¡¯t feel valued, with people like you just eating them in the streets¡± he tossed the insult at her, clearly having no respect for someone who had just done his job for him.


    ¡°They don¡¯t send me after valued Ephemerals, darling¡± Estaria replied, grinning sadistically.


    ¡°And that name to boot. This upright was inevitable. How could nobody see that?¡± he went on a rant, and Estaria sighed, her eyes rolling from the man.


    ¡°You one of them new-age Vaspier? Just going to cripple our economy and society by giving them everything they need to survive for free? They are Ephemerals because they die, very quickly. As opposed to us, who die very slowly. One Vaspier can outlive a hundred generations of Ephemerals. Hence the name, Ephemeral. Which means to be gone very quickly¡± Sagi¡¯s words were very sarcastic, and she was half a step away from getting into a fight when Alric appeared and put a hand on the chests of the two.


    ¡°Come now, there is no need to get into a fight. These Ephemerals chose their own path, and all we can do is react to it¡± the large man spoke, and the policeman looked up with a surprised face. Clearly, he was just off his mother¡¯s teet to be so sterotypical towards Lykos and so uneducated to the intricate politics of the planet. At a word from his partner, he growled ¨C a growl returned with interest by Sagi ¨C and then left.


    ¡°Not even five minutes, huh?¡± Alric said, shaking his head and laughing softly. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get paid¡±