Howl by Brieanna Boyce (chrome ebook reader txt) 📖

ME?” The queen shouted in an animalistic fury, her once beautiful composed face looking distorted and ghastly.

“No of course not my queen,” The previous guard said bowing, the other guard next to him also scrambled into a fearful bow.

The queen took a deep breath, fixing her hair and trying to go back to her original composed mask of regal indifference. However, she could never hide it from me, I had cracked her armor, I had clouded her judgment and made her façade slip, something I’m sure the queen was not too happy about.

The guards both grabbed me by an arm and dragged me through the beautiful marble hallways and over to a giant steel door, that was built like one of those safes you see in the movies. The guards struggled together to pull open a lever, as they did, I turned quickly on the heel of my foot to run, but I underestimated them, a terrible mistake. One of the guards grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled me backwards and hurled me down a long set of cement steps. My body rammed into each cement step, I had no control as I was slammed against the bottom step and the opposite wall. My neck vaulted forward and my head cracked against the wall than black again.

I woke up again, I could feel the dried blood caked down the side of my face, my head was throbbing and a gasp of pain escaped my lips. I couldn’t breathe couldn’t think, tears rolled uncontrollably down my cheeks I felt like a thousand knives were stabbing me in the back, fresh blood rolled down and moving even an inch would only expose my back to a brand new set of daggers. I was once again in a nondescript room, my head felt light, and dizzy, and my thoughts came too slow and were shattered with waves of pain. I was at a higher elevation and bound, by my wrists and ankles.


“Take this captive to the dungeon; I want her on the bleeding cross.”

That’s right, I was in the dungeon, and the guards brought me here. I lowered my head, the sharp points on my back digging deeper into my flesh, more blood flowed down my body soaking the back of my pants and dripping off my toes. A new wave of tears spilled over as I groaned loudly.

The she-wolf in my head yelped, “We need to get out of here Skylar.”

I smiled blood dripping from my mouth. She was acting as if I hadn’t been thinking it over and over again in my head and had just spent time here for a nice vacation. I asked the she-wolf mentally, “How can I find Adoni?” The werewolf did the mental equivalent of a shrug and I sighed.

Then I remembered, I had vampire-vision, which gave everything a red hue and allowed me to see the heart, arteries, and veins of the body. Everyone here was a vampire so they’re hearts would be limp dead organs in their chests however, Adoni’s heart will still be beating... if he is even here. I looked around with difficultly, for every movement brought another torrent of blood.

At first I didn’t think I’d be able to search through the walls, it was something I’d never done before, and the blood loss was really making me disoriented. However, somehow, maybe by sheer force of will I managed to see through the walls. There were alarming amount of bodies with unused, abandoned hearts in their limp chests hundreds, thousands even. I had to look through more walls and then I found it, my vision zoomed in on it. The sole beating heart that I saw, amazingly I began to see muscle, nerves, organs, until the figure had flesh, and I saw him my brother. He looked for the most part unharmed, his cheek was a bit scraped up but other than that he was fine. He was in a much better condition than I was.

His room was lushly decorated with a powder blue and gold theme, some design that I believe originates from Versailles or France. He was sitting at the edge of the bed quietly; he was wearing fresh new clothes, a loose white shirt and black pants. He looked up to see a figure; at first I just saw the non-beating heart but then as my vision focused I realized that the queen was standing in front of him. Her flawless features softened, though her blue eyes remained cold and icy.

Adoni stood slowly, sizing up the queen. In this respect he was often smarter than I was, I tended to let my pride or my emotions get in the way. However Adoni managed to remain just as cool and collected as the queen was this was especially impressive due to his current situation.

“May I see my sister?”

The queen smiled, “You are so very different than she is, you are so calm, almost like a politician, you have gifts of your own. You use your actions to sway others emotions and decisions you have a gift of the soul.” She smiled, “in some ways you are a great deal like me.”
Adoni said nothing to this and let a good deal of time passed before he responded, “What would that make Skylar?”

The queen smirked, “Hmm, I suppose that would make Skylar… like Tristan.”

Adoni’s eyebrows raised, “Tristan? What about him?”

The queen smiled, “He’s a vampire dear, and he works for me… in fact,” she smiled cruelly, “Tristan!”

Tristan walked in with almost the identical outfit except his shirt was more open and exposed more of his pristine pale skin. His features were just as perfect as I remember but his jaw was hard, his lips were pursed, and his eyes were far off and beautiful like the ocean.

Adoni gaped horrified, “Tristan? What is she saying?”

“The truth,” Tristan said, “your sister is too that’s why she left, to protect you.”

The queen looked at Tristan, “It doesn’t add up… She knew you were a vampire so why did she not stay with you?”

Tristan shrugged, “She hates vampires.”

The queen narrowed her eyes, “Not all vampires apparently, if you convince Skylar to tell me whatever she is hiding I will let you go. I will never have you come back. Ever.”

Tristan’s eyes sparkled and danced, as if she had offered the world on a silver platter, He looked at Adoni frowning guiltily, “Alright I’ll go talk to her…”

My vision went back to normal and I sighed my body going limp tears streaking my face, how long had Tristan been here? Was he really planning on making me tell the queen? I felt the blood dripping and my body going numb. How could Tristan do this I know he never wanted to be forced to see the queen again but he would really give me up? I knew we were hitting a rough patch but god.

I smelled his blood, which smelled almost a sweet perfume, most likely due to the fact that I had almost no blood in my body. I struggled to lift up my head, an action that should not have taken as much effort as it did. Tristan’s eyes softened as he looked at my face, the edges of his lips turned downward in a concerned frown.

“Wow Skylar,” he walked closer and reached out a hand to my face, “What’s she done to you?”

I shrank away from his hand not wanting it to be anywhere near me, as though it held some deadly poison or illness. I felt the spikes in my back sink in deeper, one was even piercing through my back and looming dangerously close to my heart. I shrieked in agony and tried to yank desperately, yet to no avail I felt the flesh at my wrists and ankles tear and a whole wave of blood spill over me.

Tristan quickly moved away. “Lean away from the spikes Skylar! It will hurt your wrists and your ankles but you won’t bleed as much.”

Reluctantly I leaned forward, my hair spilling over my face, only one eye could witness him, the other was swollen and still could hardly open. My whole body was screeching and my head was swimming, floating, far too slowly to understand everything.
Tristan paused for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside enough for me to successfully communicate with him. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m doing here?”

I shook my head, my body feeling heavier by the moment my eyes drooping. “I don’t care,” I hissed weakly, “I don’t give a damn.”

Tristan grabbed a chair and sat in front of me, as if we were talking about the weather. I hated this fake bullshit especially right now. I was chained to a cross with thousands of spikes digging into my back and if I wasn’t dying I sure as hell felt like it, and he wanted to act as though we were having a god damned tea party.

He sighed, “Why are you mad?”

I looked at him, “Because you’re trying to get me to tell the queen what I am!!!!”

Tristan blinked, “How did you know?”

I narrowed my eyes and hissed darkly, “I thought you were my friend,” My eyes went misty, “… What happens if I tell her?”

Tristan sighed, “She’ll probably let your brother go, kill you quickly and painlessly… she might go after your pack.”

“Kale,” I muttered quietly, “no, NO!” I looked at him snapping my head up although it made me dizzy and although my neck was screaming for release. “What’s my other option?”

Tristan sighed, “She’ll torture you and execute you in public, than torture your brother, then finally kill him. I’ll convince her to give you a few more days, but you have to choose. Your pack, including that guy, Kale, or your brother either way people will die.”

“What a coward,” I hissed, “using my family and friends against me, is she afraid to take me out herself! COME ON QUEEN OF COWARDS!”

Tristan hissed, “No,” he covered my mouth and looked around fearfully. “She could kill you if she wanted, she is much more powerful than you give her credit for, but she is the queen she will do this in front of everyone so everyone knows your torture, so they talk of it. So that every time someone even thinks of stepping against her that they think of your execution and do otherwise.”

I thought about it for a moment growing silent, “Alright, What would you intend for me to do?”

Tristan sighed and cupped my face gently; I moved my chin slightly away. It was the only form of rebellion I was strong enough to make. He looked me in the eyes for a moment, as I got dragged under by those perilous blue eyes. His eyes were intent on my face, on my eyes.

He sighed, “God damn it Skylar I expect you to listen to the queen, to do as she says. There is no way of winning this, not for you. Just worry about you.”

I sighed and closed my eyes tiredly and sighed, “You just don’t get it do you… You can tell your queen,” My head slumped downward and I smiled weakly, “…you can tell your queen she can kiss my…”


Tristan

I sighed heavily and sat back down in front of Skylar. She had lost so much blood, her smell penetrated my nostrils and almost took me to the edge, but nothing was