The Rose Princess Page 6

  Not moving from his spot, he merely rotated his blue wrist a bit. The Blue Knight’s whole body grew hazy, and at that instant, the three missiles were easily deflected right in front of him. A mere twist of his wrist was enough to keep his lance spinning like a windmill. And that was only the beginning—the knight’s superhuman skill made the tapered projectiles shoot up for an instant, then sent them speeding back at Elena retracing the very same path they’d followed to him.

  The girl straddling the bike had no way to escape them.

  But just then, it seemed as if the roar of her engine threw the missiles into disarray. The trio of murderous projectiles hit the ground some forty feet from her at an acute angle, and then fell over as if their own weight hadn’t driven them in deep enough.

  “Fancy that,” the Blue Knight muttered.

  About six feet from her original location, Elena sat on her bike grinning.

  It was difficult to believe a machine and a mere slip of a girl were capable of a feat of such ungodly speed. As she’d slipped to one side, the Blue Knight’s eyes hadn’t even seen her change position.

  “You’ve got some tricky moves, don’t you? But you’ve had it now!” Elena cried. Her finger slid across the bike’s gauges, and its headlight disgorged a beam of crimson. Roughly a year earlier, she’d acquired this laser emitter during a shopping expedition in the northern Frontier. Although originally intended for communications, at distances of fifteen hundred feet or less it was more than capable of maiming or killing.

  A crimson flower bloomed on the left half of the Blue Knight’s chest. In a matter of seconds, however, it lost its color and the armor returned to its original hue.

  “Too bad,” said the Blue Knight, his lance whistling in his right hand. He wouldn’t allow his prey to escape a second blow.

  Elena smirked at him. “The game’s just getting started!”

  “And whatever could you—,” the Blue Knight began to say, but the rest of the sentence was lost. As he took a step forward, a beam of light struck his face.

  Though the knight didn’t cry out, he shielded his eyes and backed away. As he came to a halt, Elena and her bike flew at him and knocked his blue-armored form to the ground.

  “Now for the coup de grace,” Elena said, raising her right hand. The sharpened tip of the steel pipe she held was aimed right at the Blue Knight’s heart.

  A flash of light raced toward the end of the weapon. The electric shock not only knocked the pipe from Elena’s hand, but also left her whole body numb.

  “Knocked on your behind by a woman? Let that be a lesson to you,” the Black Knight said gravely. Blue light spilled from the tip of the finger he’d extended. Electrical discharge.

  “Goddamn . . . cheaters . . . ,” Elena groaned.

  It was amazing that she didn’t fall off the bike or topple over with it. And for all her agonized panting, the gleam in her eyes declared that the fight would go on.

  “You needn’t have interfered like that,” the Blue Knight said as he got to his feet.

  Elena wasn’t scared. Revving her bike with her numbed hand, she endeavored to maintain her battle-readiness. She was definitely tenacious.

  “Well played, missy. You can tell them in heaven that you earned the praise of the Blue Knight.”

  The knights watched with satisfaction as their compatriot hauled back mightily with his lance and launched it at Elena’s chest in a gleaming blur.

  With a mellifluous sound, the lance jolted upward. And then it completely reversed direction and headed back at the chest of the Blue Knight. Naturally, the knight was able to catch it in his bare hands, though the effort staggered him and he was once more knocked back on his ass.

  The three knights gazed in rapture at the powerful figure in a black coat who stood before Elena. Was their reaction a pure response to the young man’s good looks, or was it the joy they felt as warriors at the prospect of doing battle with such a man?

  “Are you determined to do this?” the Red Knight asked in a weary tone. “We should’ve known you could never live under the same roof as us. Before the princess awakens, we shall take matters into our own hands.”

  Not only the air, but even the flowers blooming so grandly seemed to freeze.

  The three knights spread out without making a sound.

  Against them stood D, alone. Basking in the moonlight, with the blade that’d deflected the lance in one hand, he was adorned with roses of blue, red, black, and white. The sight of him not only left his three opponents spellbound, but also captivated the agonized Elena.

  The Red Knight had all his weight balanced on the tip of his foot. One way or another, life and death were clearly a heartbeat away from colliding in a shower of sparks.

  And at just that moment, a voice as distinct as a rose flowed out into the still night it suited so well, crying, “Hold!”

  A WISH CLOAKED IN DARKNESS

  CHAPTER 3

  —

  I

  —

  The reaction of the three knights was almost comical to see. At the sound of the chiming voice, each had fallen to one knee right where he was. Since the voice had come from behind the trio, only D and Elena could actually see the speaker. As the girl remained slumped against her bike’s handlebars, a gasp of surprise slipped from her.

  Moonlight rained down on the woman, melting into her white dress when it struck the shoulders, the bust, the skirt. For an instant, each spot glistened like a collection of tiny jewels, but this sight couldn’t be enjoyed for more than a heartbeat before ripples spread across the surface of the dress and the gleam faded away. Her brow and eyes, nose and lips—each beautiful part had been so delicately arranged they would leave any poet incapable of ever setting his pen down again. With her crystal-clear gaze trained on D all the while, the young lady brought the rose she held up to her mouth. Her lips were so red that it seemed they’d stain the petals.

  “So we finally meet in my world, D and whoever-you-are,” she said.

  The moonlight gave a pearly luster to the lips of the woman—although given her youthful visage, it would’ve been more accurate to call her a girl. It was night now.

  “Since you’ve taken all the trouble to come up here, would you join me for a spot of tea? If you don’t mind the company, that is.”

  “Princess!” both the Red Knight and Blue Knight cried.

  “Silence!” the princess snapped at them as if they were a pair of high-spirited children. The rose whipped around, painting a streak of white in the air. “The prospect of that filthy moppet coming along doesn’t thrill me, but I’m sure you won’t agree to anything unless she can accompany you. Both of you, follow me,” she said as if she were giving orders to her retainers, rolling the flower between her fingertips all the while. But the young lady stopped immediately. Her expression tightened, but she quickly formed a smile and said, “Don’t be that way. Are you all business? You may be eminently trusting, but I’m sure you’re equally stubborn.” Here the young woman tilted her head a bit to one side. “Say, I have an idea. Would you join me in a little competition?”

  It was not D, but rather the trio of knights who froze where they were. Still, it was remarkable how the warriors never took their eyes off of the Hunter for a second.

  “Oh,” she laughed, “you should be accustomed to my whims by now. Don’t make such a scene in front of your foe. You know, I said a little competition, but I’m loath to engage in anything as unseemly as a drawn-out sword fight. Let’s do something light and refreshing. I’ll stand right in front of you, and you come at me any way you wish. But only once,” she said. “If you cut me, I lose. And if by some chance I’m unscathed, you lose. In which case the two of you will have to join me for tea. What do you think?”

  Everyone’s eyes were riveted to D. Oddly enough, the look the three knights gave him didn’t carry as much anger or menace as it did a powerful tinge of dependence—and that included the eyes of the Black Knight.

  “Let’s
do it,” said D.

  The princess, incredibly enough, snapped her fingers. “Fantastic! I just adore decisive men.”

  Her body seemed to float through the air, and she came to stand before D with just the faintest ruffling of the hem of her dress.

  “Princess!” the Blue Knight shouted as he prepared to dash to her aid.

  “I believe I told you to be silent, didn’t I?” she said, her voice flying like a spear of ice to nail her guardian in blue firmly in place. “There will be no interruptions now,” the princess told the Hunter. “So, shall we get started?” she asked, her tone incredibly innocent even as she invited a blow from his blade.

  While she was a full-grown woman and a beautiful one at that, the gap between the way she looked and the way she sounded wasn’t so much strange as it was bewitching, and even another female like Elena found herself swallowing hard. When faced with such charm, a Hunter of even the firmest resolve would’ve found himself suddenly unable to attack her, stripped of not only malice but of all hostility. Anyone but D, that is.

  A flash of white light came straight down at the top of the princess’s head—a merciless blow from D’s sword. However, Elena forgot all about the numbness that had spread through her entire body.

  The enchanting princess had clearly been split in two from the crown of her head to her crotch, but she was smiling.

  “Which of us won?” she asked. But who would’ve imagined anyone who’d felt the edge of D’s sword would live to frame such a question? The princess was twirling the white rose right in front of her nose.

  “You did,” D said, sheathing his blade without another word.

  “Oh, I’m so glad you’ve put your sword away. I take it you trust me when I say those three won’t lay a hand on you. I like you better with each passing minute. And I have some really delicious tea to offer you.”

  The Hunter and the biker followed the princess through a doorway into the main building. The knights didn’t come with them, for the princess had ordered them to remain there. What’s more, she’d told them they weren’t to do anything to the girl’s motorcycle, and the trio acquiesced.

  The interior of the manor had every imaginable luxury. Seeing how generous the Nobility had been in their use of crystal and gemstones, gold and the legendary precious metals their kind had synthesized, Elena could only stare in amazement. Her paralysis passed when D’s left hand touched her.

  “Unbelievable . . . So this is what Nobles’ houses look like?” she muttered in amazement as they passed the base of a crystal statue that looked to be over sixty feet tall. She meant every word.

  Fog coursed around the three of them incessantly, and as it writhed around their bodies, it took the shape of gorgeous men and women. When Elena waved her hand through them, they faded away, leaving only a smile that wasn’t really a smile.

  “As you can see, nothing has changed in my manor. By day, it may not be much to look at, but it returns to its glory when my time comes. Like it?” the princess inquired innocently.

  D replied, “The Nobility dreamed of the daytime. Do they dream of the nights now, too?”

  “Dear me, that’s a terrible thing to say! I’ll have you know I’m as alive as can be. No different from yourself, my good dhampir.”

  Elena thought her heart was about to fly out of her mouth.

  “Oh, does that surprise you, child? You’ve known him even longer than I have—how could you not notice? I guess you humans really are terribly stupid after all, aren’t you?”

  “How do you know that’s what he is?” Elena asked, having worked up her courage once more. The fear the Nobility inspired in humans was overwhelming both mentally and emotionally. Her voice was hoarse, and its volume a whisper.

  With faux sympathy, the princess said, “Do you think any human male could be so beautiful? Five minutes in his presence should be enough to tell you he’s from an entirely different world. And that’s why he’s a Vampire Hunter.”

  Pondering the ghastly implications of the words the princess had uttered with such weight, Elena began to feel dizzy. How could the person who was going to dispose of the Nobility so easily be half vampire himself?

  “We’re here,” the princess exclaimed, the doors before her opening at the sound of her voice.

  The trio stepped into a lavishly appointed room. Once they’d taken their seats around a marble table, semitransparent stewards came over without a sound and poured wine into goblets wrought of pure silver.

  “I had been thinking about tea,” the princess said, “but this is a more grown-up taste. It may be a bit too mature for our young miss, though.”

  “What, this crap?!” Elena sneered, and she was about to drain the cup when D put his hand across the top of it.

  “Let’s hear what you have to say. Before anyone drinks anything.”

  “Are you trying to tell me the battle will be on as soon as we’re done drinking? Well, don’t worry on that account. I’ll gladly indulge you. Are you incapable of taking a simple invitation to tea at face value?”

  “Yes.”

  “How unfortunate that you’ve had such a poor upbringing,” the princess remarked with a wink at Elena, but the biker turned away in disgust. Nonchalantly taking a sip from her cup, the enchanting princess let out a sad sigh and said, “There’s something I’d like you to do for me.” Her words were directed at D. “It’s about my four guardians—although you’ve only seen three of them so far. I don’t suppose you’d be so kind as to dispose of them?”

  Silence fell.

  Still in the process of bringing the cup to her lips, Elena had her eyes open as wide as they would go. She looked extremely uncomfortable. Born and raised in the village, she was all too familiar with the four knights and their relationship with the princess. If the princess was the moon, then the four knights were the darkness that allowed her radiance to reach the earth. At her bidding, the knights would gallop out like thunder on their chargers, racing off to trample all those who would oppose her.

  Ironically enough, it also meant that at times the knights defended the village of Sacri. Elena herself knew of more than a dozen times when various monsters or bands of well-armed brigands had attacked, trying to get at their rich supply of grain. And it was said there’d been countless other attempts in the past. Burn, pillage, and kill—this was the standard under which their villainous attackers gathered, but they’d always been repelled by a hair’s breadth and then made the victims of their very own motto by the four knights acting on the princess’s orders.

  And it was the four knights who boldly thundered out across the plains to challenge the gigantic “earth devourer” that could swallow a whole hill in the course of a night, eventually slaying the beast after a fierce and bloody conflict.

  And when the land tsunami that unavoidably crushed everything in its path and churned the debris high into the air was bearing down on the village, it was the knights who arrived like a four-colored wind and used the Nobility’s civil engineering equipment and advanced technology to temporarily hide the entire community deep in the earth to keep it safe.

  The skillful Hunters who’d come to dispose of the lovely princess residing in this lonely outpost had never managed to breach the doors to her fortress before being cut down amid the whistling blows of her guardians’ swords and lances.

  The strange thing was, Elena had never actually seen the princess in the flesh before—nor had the mayor or any of the other village elders. When they’d been born, the lady of the manor was already the stuff of legend. The only reason she remained painfully carved into the hearts of the people was because when the knights occasionally called on the village, they often mentioned the princess and delivered her edicts.

  Just how old was this woman they called their princess? What were these knights who could walk in the light of the sun? These questions were always on the tips of the people’s tongues, but ultimately sank back into the dark recesses of their brains unanswered. Living as she did in a man
or far older than the village, there was no point in asking her age. Most likely, several generations of knights had fought from beneath that immutable armor. After all, it only stood to reason the Noblewoman would need someone of human blood to guard her coffin by day. Needless to say, the Nobility were objects of fear and hatred, and the princess was no exception. At one time, young people and even children had vanished from the village every night, irrespective of sex. They returned with teeth marks on their necks; pale and less than human. Every last one of them had the aroma of roses on their breath, and rose petals filled their pockets. Thus, the lady of the manor became known as “the rose princess.”

  And yet, incredibly few people had ever offered her any resistance. Aside from the fact she was shielded by her knights, the human populace of this region had a more deeply rooted fear of the Nobility than people in other Frontier sectors. Mothers could only weep as their children were locked up on the edge of town, and husbands drowned their anger in liquor after driving stakes through the hearts of wives who’d bared their fangs. Once in a very great while, a brave rebel would take the road up to the manor, but many of them were never seen again—as if swallowed by the darkness—while even more had been left as brutalized corpses decorating the sides of the road out of town.

  It was a few years earlier that the first symptoms of change had manifested. Young people had been born without the innate fear of the Nobility many believed had been fused into their very genetic code. And once grown, they made little secret of their plans to resist the princess and her guardians. Elena was one such person; the dangerous nucleus of her biker group.

  “Just what the hell are you up to?” she asked the princess, her voice a mix of tension and trepidation—and expectation.

  “They’re a hindrance, the lot of them,” the lovely princess replied, but her words were directed to D, as always. “The fact of the matter is, I’ve finally grown tired of these lands. Although I look young, I’ve actually been here for a fairly long time. And recently, I’ve yearned to see something of the world at long last. But when I go, I’d like to spread my wings and fly solo. And that’s where they become a problem.”