25.14

Zyrdicia knew that Dirk had every reason to hate her. She had not only put him in a coma, but she had also given his enemies the magic to breach Castle Blackpool's walls. And worst of all, she had opened a gate to allow Hell to invade his world, and then lost the spawn whose soul might have allowed her to prevent Azriok from bringing about the destruction of humanity. Staying in Karteia to hold together his kingdom was precious little to weigh against all that.

Her heart ached in a way that it had not in a century. She remembered this acute pain from the day she had slain Azriok.

She wished for the thousandth time that she could release the sadness that had come to dwell inside her by shedding tears, but her eyes were incapable of it. So she opted for the only thing she knew to do to let the misery out: blood-letting. And she knew just the two vampires to accomplish it.

She lay back on Sindra's bed, waiting for the release she craved. He and Sindra stood at the foot of the bed, staring at her silently. She knew they wanted her blood. They could not refuse it. Whatever strength human blood gave them was nothing compared to the power in hers. They sometimes drank from each other just to taste the remnants of a past feeding on her.

Magnus moved around the bed and sat next to her. He turned and lifted her torso gently to cradle her in his arms.

She commanded, "Don't leave a single drop."

He kissed Zyrdicia gently on the forehead, then the lips.

Sindra crawled across the bed and sat on the other side of Zyrdicia. She leaned forward, encircling both Zyrdicia and Magnus with slender white arms. Her kiss replaced Magnus's on Zyrdicia's lips.

Caged by the icy limbs and torsos of these undead predators, Zyrdicia felt safe and adored. They showered her in waves of telepathic affection. Their fangs sliced into each side of her throat in unison, and their arms tightened reflexively around her as they began to gulp down the precious elixir flowing from her neck.

She moaned softly at the familiarity of the sensation. Her reaction only caused them to suck harder at the wounds. They heard her heard pound faster as it tried harder to send blood through empty arteries to her organs.

When she had bled out, their grip on her softened. She sighed as she drifted into a peaceful emptiness. The satiated vampires slowly fell into a deep sleep next to her. Grateful for the numbness she felt, Zyrdicia finally surrendered to sleep's embrace herself.

On the far side of the room, one of Sindra's human slave lay silently. He wore a thick metal collar, and a heavy chain secured it to a bolt in the floor. Like all of Sindra's human slaves, his eyes and tongue and been removed. Normally she used these slaves as her private pantry to avoid having to hunt. Tonight, however, this one's only purpose here was to fill the room with a mortal soul to help keep Zyrdicia's dreams away.