Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
All of this is directed at Kael, not me. And Kael responds. “All right,” he says, a little bit breathless. Like the few moments he took to study the woman were spent in fantasy. “Yeah, she’ll do.” Then he turns to me. “And you. You’re not gettin’ out of this, Paul. I want the blood.”
I place a hand on his cheek, much like the one I placed on Joshua’s, but without the care or concern. “It’s yours, blood lover.” I point to Rachel. “Would you like to join us?”
She smiles, knowingly, then does a little curtsey and bows her head. “Of course, my lord.”
When she meets my gaze again, I point to Kael. “Make him happy for me.”
She curtsies again and then comes over and hooks her arm into his. Kael smiles, despite his misgivings. He knows something’s going on here, but the promise of blood and sex with me and a pretty woman seems to have alleviated his initial suspicions.
“Let’s go.” Then I nod my head in the direction of a large A-frame building that is used as a gathering house.
This building is where all the rituals are done. Inside it’s dark because there are no windows, but it’s not inhospitable. In fact, it’s quite the opposite of inhospitable. It’s inviting.
On the far end is where all the business is done. There is a depression in the center of this space with four stone steps leading down to the grand altar made of Nero Marquina marble quarried in Spain that has been so meticulously polished, it gleams like obsidian.
The altar is on the same spatial plane as the floor so as to offer up the perfect view of what takes place on top of it for those watching from a distance, and at seven feet long and three feet wide, it’s impressive.
On either side of the altar are dozens of candelabras. Three women are lighting them now, but there are so many candles, it will probably take another ten minutes before they’re all ablaze.
Behind the altar—where one might find a crucifix if this were that kind of holy place—there is a font of the baptismal variety. Though it’s genuine, it’s not used for baptism. Which makes it more of a crucible, I suppose.
On this end, where Kael and I are standing, is the wall of cutlery where every kind of knife you can dream up has been arranged on the wall for easy access so anyone who wants to can use the altar for an impromptu ritual or whatever. Though they don’t carve up scions, obviously. Mostly likely rabbits or… I dunno, perhaps a goat?
The middle of the room is where all the fun happens. A massive patchwork of feather beds covers the floor from edge to edge. The duvets are light blue, or off-white, or mustard yellow, or peach linen, just like the dresses of the women outside. The pillows that line the edges of the feather beds are the same color, and this whole scene gives off a vibe of whimsy.
It’s lovely. Absolutely lovely. Much, much nicer than the clearing in the woods where we used to do these ceremonies in the early days.
Kael is studying the beds as I watch him. Then he turns to me with eyebrows raised. “How many people are you expecting?”
As if on cue, the double doors behind us open and every grown man under the age of thirty enters, already unbuttoning shirts or loosening trousers. They don’t say anything as we watch them undress.
Once they are naked, they go to the center of the room and start touching each other. Caressing each other. Kissing. And there’s a little bit of grinding as they work themselves up.
This time when Kael looks at me, he’s grinning. “You’re sick.”
I shrug. “It’s why you like me, Kael. It’s why you agreed to be my blood bitch in the first place.”
He actually laughs. “Let’s go then.” He turns to the woman, eyes narrowed, giving her the first glimpse of his deranged madness. “Undress me, whore. And lick me while you do it.”
This woman, she’s gonna get a big reward from me later. Because she doesn’t even blink. Just curtseys, like he’s her lord now, and eases his jacket off his shoulders, then pulls his shirt up over his head. She pauses for a moment, maybe admiring the lust in his eyes, then drops to her knees as her fingers begin unbuttoning his jeans. She looks up at him as she wriggles them down his hips and dutifully licks his stomach while staring him in the eyes.
I let out a breath, very, very satisfied with what I have built up here with the coven and the kitchen witches who populate it. This is gonna be fun. And I have to be honest, it’s been all work and no play for months now and I’m looking forward to the respite.