The Dungeons

Bob POV

The putrid smell of blood was pungent down there. Settled deep under Queen Rowena’s Beverly Hills mansion, the torture chambers and cells, affectionately dubbed “The Dungeons” by our crowd and the Queen herself, housed those who dare incur her wrath, or those who disobeyed. Additionally, children that she fed on, or sold for parts were also there, in a separate wing, in slightly better circumstances. At least they were fed more often than other prisoners. After all, she liked her blood, and buyers of human parts would not pay for damaged goods. It has not always been easy to be in her service, but I was loyal to her, like my father before me, and his before me. Our bond was to Rowena, however maniacal and cruel she could be, we all believed in a word free of half-bloods or hybrids of any kind. Purity was the only thing that saved our species and that could save us; purity of blood ties.

Of course, in the past and now, there were and there are those who disagree, to this day. I thought of the times of the Great War and thought of everything that humans and the scourge that hybrids and half-bloods have caused us - have caused to this world. Forever greedy, forever entitled, always focused on their own needs, forgetting about collective good, about what needs to be done for us to all survive. They did not deserve to share this world with us, they did not deserve even the mercy of quick death. They deserved annihilation, as painful as possible, as painful as can be. My feet took me towards the cell where the smell of rich, royal vampire blood was coming from. Tied to the posts and cuffed with silver, our guest was exposed to direct sunlight coming from a few small windows for hours in the day. His system was weakened, not just by daily beatings and torture, but by lack of food. Rowena only fed him a cup of blood every second day, hardly to nourish him, but enough to sustain him within an inch of his life. She never told me who he was, and the beatings had nearly disfigured his handsome face.

I could see that he had the stature of a king or a prince at least, his built, his former strength was evident on the display of his chiseled marble like physique, glistening like dark granite covered in blood and grime. Like all high-born vampires, his blood was a darker shade of red, thicker, and rich in its smell, almost inviting. He was powerful, and I did not understand why he gave up so easily, why he allowed us to capture him when we cornered his sister and him.

We ambushed them in an alley as they were getting into a parked car, presumably his. Not only did I have Lycan warriors with me, but also a few rouge demons whom the Queen commanded now after Dajjal’s passing. They were outnumbered and they knew it. The Queen demanded we bring her one, a boy or a girl, she did not care. The other would be used as a puppet to do her bidding, while the sibling suffered here. As if he knew our plans, he stepped in front of his sister, his pride and dignity etched over his handsome face, his aura pulsating with love and fear for his sister. Ah, love. Love and Family. Family and Love. The two most dangerous things this world has ever created. I never succumbed to either, as I knew that love is a weakness. I knew that the moment you had something to care for, like family, it made you weak. Love made you weak, family made you weak. I had sired children, but it was through an arranged, well-placed match, with another pure blood like myself. My children knew that only one thing mattered – power and loyalty. Loyalty to our way – our kind. Apparently, a young royal suffering right before my eyes here, never learned such a lesson. You may have royal blood in your veins my boy, but you are weak, I thought, walking over to him to give him his drink. A mixture of silver powder, vervain and garlic was added to his water on a daily basis to further weaken him, and from what I could see it was working.

His chapped, dry lips latched onto a cup, fully knowing he was drinking poison mixed into it. However, he had no other choice. “So… How is our guest today???? Willing to talk???”, I heard my Queen’s voice behind me. Unfortunately, I did not have good news to report. The guest was not cooperating, would not give us the secrets he knew about the two humans my Queen was extremely interested in. He confirmed some basic things that we knew, but no matter what we did, we could not break him into revealing more. Queen Rowena wanted their history, she was onto something, something she did not share, but she needed to understand the story as she explained. I heard the young royal snicker, even though his head was hung now, his body growing weaker as we spoke. “I am not telling you anything you BITCH!”, he spat, right in front of her expensive purple heels. For a moment, she was quiet, but when she spoke, he suddenly paid attention. “Very well. You leave me no choice then. We shall bring your sister to join you, and enjoy some of my signature hospitality, before I ship her off to Dark Lord Khor. I hear Lady Daria has a special fondness for women, especially those who can eat pussy as well as your sister”, she said, chilling him on the spot. “But do not fret, Daria will only play with her for a while, before she is shipped off for experimentation. After all, you are both of royal blood” she said, confirming my suspicions.

The young vampire royal snarled, his long spiked teeth bearing, his eyes glowing golden red, as he yanked the chains, trying to put his strength to break off. His appearance further confirmed that not only was he a royal, but likely a prince of the pure blood of vampires, first blood in fact. I was disturbed that a pureblood like him, one of us, would be subjected to such suffering, but I had no choice. “DON’T YOU DARE!!!!!If you touch her!!!!!!..” he growled, yanking and trashing to be set free to charge Queen Rowena.

She just laughed at him. “You will what, Prince Chaka???? You think you can win – against me???? You and what army? Your own family has betrayed your line, you have no nest, you are orphaned vampires, even if you are who you are. You have no strength to match me, no power to defend your sister. So, I will ask again… for the last time… Will you tell me what I need to know?”