Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
LEAH
“Your Captain was misguided, fooled by those she wishes to protect. I know how popular Captain Sloan was to all of you. You all know how much I respected her, as well. That is why I am ordering you to bring her back alive, if at all possible.”
Leah stood back inside the palace room just outside of eye range.
Her sister, the queen, gave her speech to the gathered soldiers on the balcony.
Her ears were taking in every word her sister spoke, while her eyes roamed around the room.
Her sister was everything she wasn’t, maybe that’s why they got along so well.
The room she sat in now was simple but ornate.
There were golden chandeliers, gaudy tapestries, and thick rugs, and this was only one of the many side rooms in the palace.
Leah allowed her eyes to wander to the scene outside.
The queen was going on in eloquent speech to the one hundred vampire soldiers that stood below soaking in her words like thirsty sponges.
On one side of the queen stood Fenrick Trillion.
The idiot, weasel of a man that was the queen’s treasurer.
He was a spy for The Order. Both the queen and Leah had known it for years now, but it was helpful to feed him what they wanted him to know, and likewise, it was nice knowing in advance what your enemies had planned.
On the other side of the queen was The Scar, the mercenary who had been introduced to the military as an undercover operative.
He was going by the name Logan Steel now.
Commander Steel to his men. He would have been the one leading the charge on Term, but he was in need of some upgrades.
Instead, a lower-ranking officer would lead the soldiers against Term.
One was not expected to put their more powerful pieces on the board first. The pawns would go and assess the strength of Term first, and if they managed to succeed, all the better.
The vampires that would go on the attack were second-generation experiments, after all. Commander Steel was a first-generation experiment, and was now to be Leah’s first third-generation test subject.
“You are the first to go out and spearhead what will be a major movement in the Outland,” Queen Eleanor went on.
“We will bring unity and prosperity to our neighbors. Of course, there will be those who need to be reassured. In this case, there are criminals who met our acts of kindness with violence. You have all been briefed on the slaughtering of our brothers and sisters in Term. To these we will act with swift justice. Good luck, be safe, your queen and your city thank you for your service.”
There was a familiar sound of a crowd moving at once as the queen was saluted.
She waved as the soldiers turned and made their way from the city.
Their path would take them through a city cheering them on and to Term.
They would reach the Outland city the following night, when their powers would be unhampered by the sun.
They would be at full strength when they attacked.
The queen entered the room, nodding to her sister. Fenrick was once more in her ear, talking about positioning and movements for the future. Commander Steel bowed his way from the two and approached Leah.
“I hate that guy. Even when he thought I was working for The Order, I’ve hated him.
Why the queen won’t let me tear his limbs off, I’ll never understand.
” Commander Steel was dressed in the normal city uniform of black-and-grey, a symbol of a black bat in front of two crossed swords emblazoned on his shoulders.
“Are you sure I can’t go to Term? I feel like I could use some bloodshed in my life. ”
Leah’s eyes rolled over the commander’s sharp features. Aside from the scar that ran down the side of his face, he wasn’t hard on the eyes. One thing was for certain, despite his name change, he was still the same cold-hearted killer.
“If we’re going to expect you to lead in the army, you’re going to have to curb that tongue of yours.” Leah stood and motioned for Commander Steel to follow. “More killing will come in time. So much, I promise, you’ll get your fill.”
“About my name change. What was wrong with The Scar, anyway? I thought it was fitting. I could have been Commander Scar.”
“Unlikely.” Leah led as the two maneuvered through the palace to one of the many stairwells leading down to the lower levels. “I’ve been working on a potion that will give you the upper hand in turning others to your will.”
“That sounds a bit cryptic,” Commander Steel said, following close behind. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It means Charlotte Sloan wiped the floor with you last time you two met. This will make you as strong and as fast as she is, but not only that, with a single bite, you’ll be able to turn others into vampires.”
“Interesting, and you plan on testing this theory, how?”
“The Legion has many enemies both within and outside of the New Hope walls. But let’s deal with one thing at a time, shall we?”
Leah led the former mercenary down the flight of steps and to a narrow hall.
This portion of the palace’s underbelly Leah had reserved for her own experiments.
It had thicker walls and was located under the palace’s kitchen and washroom.
There was enough noise up there to drown out any stray screams or moans that might penetrate the thick stone.
Leah produced a key from within her dark robe.
She went to a door set inside the long hall.
It was like any other and would not have stood out at all, except when she placed her hand on this door and mumbled a certain phrase, intricate lines of purple magic crossed over the thick wood and metal.
Ancient runes it had taken her a lifetime to learn allowed the door to be unlocked by the key she now inserted.
“Impressive.” Commander Steel followed Leah into her laboratory.
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Leah motioned with an outstretched hand, sending mage light dancing around the room. The power illuminated her laboratory, giving Commander Steel his first glimpse of her work area.
The room was gigantic, with steel holding cells to the right, and a large workspace that boasted a variety of tools and tables supporting even more tools. To the left were a dozen cylinder-like holding tubes filled with amber liquid and test subjects floating inside.
These macabre forms ranged anywhere from a fully grown human male, to a deformed gnome. They all appeared to be sleeping in the fluid.
Commander Steel stared open-mouthed at the scene from a nightmare. “You have issues. What have you been doing down here?”
“Well, lucky you. You’re about to see first-hand.”
Leah brushed by the commander. She made her way to the center of the room where an exam table stood upright. It was padded with brown leather cushioning. Straps for the occupants’ wrists, ankles, midsection, and forehead hung off the table like brown snakes.
“You’ll need to remove your shirt.” Leah didn’t bother gauging the commander’s level of fear; she knew his kind too well.
He realized he was in too deep to pull out and a part of his sick drive for power even wanted to be experimented on if it meant his evolution.
“The first installment of enhancers will mean a series of injections. The straps are there to ensure you don’t break any of your own bones during the spasms.”
“How reassuring.” Commander Steel obeyed, taking off his shirt to reveal a pale canvas of crisscrossed scars over his torso and arms. He stepped up into the standing bed.
Leah wasted no time securing the straps. No matter how sure she was of Commander Steel’s resolve, there was something about being tied down that even the most stalwart warrior hated. She maneuvered deft fingers through the straps on Commander Steel’s wrists, ankles, midsection, and forehead.
“Aren’t you going to buy me a drink first?” Commander Steel grinned at Leah. “What exactly are we expecting to happen from this procedure?”
Leah worked a circular crank at the base that brought the exam table to a parallel resting position.
On the table next to her was a gun-like instrument of her own making.
Instead of a barrel, four needles poked out from the front.
Each needle connected to a vial of different colored fluid—slime green, bright pink, faded yellow, and translucent blue.
“Are you going to inject me with the different shades of the rainbow?” Commander Steel asked with a hint of doubt in his voice. “Seriously, what kind of results are we anticipating here?”
Leah lifted the gun of vials and stabbed Commander Steel with the needles. The slick steel spikes ran through his pale flesh like meat skewers through a freshly slaughtered pig. Her placement was perfect, right over his heart.
Commander Steel looked at her with eyes full of pain and regret. He couldn’t move, but Leah guessed that if he could, he would strike her across the jaw.
Leah pulled the trigger on her gun with her left hand, while her right hand covered Commander Steel’s mouth.
Animal-like screams were already coming from somewhere deep inside his chest.
“I don’t really know what to expect.” Leah smiled down at her victim. “But if you do survive, you will be something to be dreaded by the rest of the world.”