Beastmora- The Golden Six Read online

  “The verdict?” Florence asked an imploring expression on her face.

  “I was approved,” Demetri said and held up the paper with a grin before pressing a kiss to Florence’s cheek.

  “Congratulations,” She replied in a pleased tone before turning her gaze to Valeria who just frowned deeply at her and her mother’s expression melted into one of understanding, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” Valeria answered with a huff unable to say anything more. A small part of her wanted to scream and yell about how unfair it was. The other part just wanted to run into her mother’s arms and cry, but she was seventy-nine-cycles old, and pride wouldn’t allow her.

  “We’ll figure out something else for you to do this summer,” Florence reassured, squeezing Valeria’s arm but all she could think of was that her mom was probably disappointed in her because why wouldn’t she be? Her sister Emalia was a big shot Healer that graduated top of her class and Valeria was just an average vampire, with no idea what she was doing. Valeria didn’t have normal parents; her mother was Princess Florence Dracul, daughter of the Vampire King, The Necromancer, the savior of the species and member of the Golden Six. Her father, Derik Grey-Dracul, was the founder of the Grey Academy, a renowned writer and war veteran himself. Needless, to say she had a lot to live up to. Sometimes it really sucked being apart of a family of extremely accomplished people.

  Her mother grabbed one of the crimson spikes along Nebby’s back, gracefully swinging herself up before helping Henrik up with Demetri and Valeria following, settling between the spikes. Nebby wore no saddle or harness. No companions did, their magic would keep the riders on. Florence smoothed her hands over Nebby’s neck and with the mind bond they shared, she bent her four legs and launched them into the sky, her wings pulling them higher and higher. At ten thousand feet, they would enter the magical tunnel, otherwise known as the West Silver Tunnel or WST, that would increase their speed a hundredfold. It was for the benefit that flying creatures could get across the planet within a matter of hours, but they were not going across the planet. Their ride would only take about ten minutes.

  All over the planet, there were the tunnels, on the ground, in the air, and under the sea. The sky tunnels were all dubbed silver, the ground tunnels green and the water tunnels blue. The ascent was Valeria’s favorite part of the flight; it was the battle between Nebby and gravity. The higher they got, the more of VT she could see, the illuminated flora, the ancient architecture, and of course, the moon that hung in the sky. The aurora lights shined brightly across the sky, its kaleidoscope of colors clashing with the bright stars behind them. You could see every star in the night sky in Beastmora. The air was clean, and only natural light was used to illuminate. The plants below shined brightly, casting a warm glow along the paved street and allowing beasts to navigate through the roads. The part of her that was always thrilled during this time just grew sad and disappointed. She wouldn’t be experiencing this anytime soon, at least not on her own dragon. She wanted the connection of a companion, that’s why she had applied for the program, and she had spent the past cycle studying for it. Ever since her sister moved away, Valeria had been lonely. She was the only daughter in the house and did not have any friends at school to ease the feeling of desolation. Valeria turned her gaze up again watching as Nebby flew towards the almost transparent entrance to the tunnel, once they had passed the threshold, the lights below them blurred by and the walls of the tunnel sparkled with silver light, almost the same color of the starlight. The colors didn’t take her breath away like usual, all she could think was what the Elder’s had said. The words irresponsible, impulsive, and immature echoing in her head like a record on repeat.

  “Hold on,” Her mother called back as they dropped from the tunnel, the turbulence lasted only a few seconds, and soon they were flying over the softly glowing trees. Ahead of them, the lights of Grey Manor, their home, beckoned them. The Grey Manor looked like most vampiric buildings, figures, and designs carved into the dark stone. The manor was surrounded by a stone wall with a massive gate as an entrance with the Grey family symbol on the front of it. They flew through the wards, the familiar sensation was comforting to Valeria but also yet another reminder of how she was stuck here for the summer. Nebby landed with a thud about sixty feet from the front door, as they disembarked the door opened to reveal their father standing in the doorway with a pleasant smile. Her father, Derik Grey-Dracul, was a tall man, light blonde hair that matched Valeria’s own and white skin slightly darker than their mother’s. At his feet, was his dragon companion Thoren. Thoren was shrunken down to the size of a small dog, his white scales and softer features making him much more approachable than Nebby. Or maybe Valeria just liked Thoren better, Thoren was always happy to see them and would cuddle them by the fire.

  “About time you got home,” Her father teased in a deep raspy voice, a product of an injury that he and Thoren suffered in the war while magically connected. Making Thoren unable to breathe ice and their father to sound like he always had a sore throat. He was wearing a relaxed smile on his face before grunting as Henrik crashed into his legs, “We really must work on your speed.”

  “Sorry,” Henrik apologized, smiling sheepishly at their father.

  “About time I got home?” Her mother asked feigning indignation, “You could pick up the kids for once.”

  “Now why would I do that, when I have such a dutiful husband who can do it for me?” Derik cooed, pressing a soft kiss to Florence’s lips. At their parent’s wedding, when professing vows, he had accidentally called Florence his ‘husband,’ and in turn, she called him her ‘wife.’ It was all very charming and kind of gross, but that was just Valeria’s opinion.

  “Hmmm maybe because I did all the work getting these fledglings into the world, the little you could do is pick them up,” Florence snarked back, Nebby had shrunk down to the size of a mouse and perched on Florence’s shoulder as they all moved into the sitting room. The room was large, with a huge mantel fireplace in the center and leather bound couches surrounding. The halls held paintings and pictures, but instead of warriors like in the Hall of Old Blood, these were of their family. The frames held photographs dating back to the beginning of the Grey lineage; most were of people Valeria had never met.

  “Now, what are the results?” Derik questioned his eyes alight with curiosity.

  “Awful,” Valeria grouched and flung herself down on the couch sinking into it, just like the bitterness in her bones.

  “Come on, V. It’s not that bad,” Valeria didn’t respond to her twin as he spoke. Her earlier irritation from the meeting with the Elder’s still boiling in her gut.

  “It’s not that bad,” Demetri tried again, “You’ll get to see Emalia more often.”

  “Says the one who actually gets to go,” Valeria grumbled, her arms crossed as she stared into the crackling fire. True symbolism for how she felt right now, just sitting there. Simmering.

  “I promise I’ll bring you back a souvenir,” Demetri taunted a grin stretching across his lips, causing his fangs to peak out.

  “Shut up, Demetri,” Valeria snapped at her brother trying to hold in the urge to throw him into the marble fireplace, but she doubted her parents would be very happy about that.

  “Demetri,” Her father said in a warning tone fixing him with a look before turning his sympathetic red eyes to her, “Valeria just because you don’t go this cycle doesn’t mean you can’t go next.”

  Valeria huffed in frustration, “That’s not the point Dad. The point is that I want to go this cycle, not next when I’ve already begun specializing. It’ll be harder to fit it in, and everyone in the program will be younger than me.”

  “But only by a cycle,” Henrik said obviously trying to lift her spirits. Unfortunately, a few words of empty sentiment wouldn’t make this any better not like it usually would.

  “Be patient Valeria, The Elder’s held you back for a reason,” Her mother reassured as she handed Valeria a chalice of
blood.

  “Well, their reasons are stupid. I’m more than ready for this trip. I even learned Old Vampiric, Demetri can’t even read the language without looking at a guide,” Valeria complained.

  “They never said we couldn’t use a guide,” Demetri hummed accepting a chalice of blood from Florence, “Come on V, look at the loopholes. Maybe that’s why you did not get in.”

  “Demetri, you are not helping,” Derik stated, giving him yet another warning look this time with much more bite to it.

  “Well she started it,” Demetri defended, sipping on his blood and feigning innocence.

  “No, she didn’t. You did,” Henrik pointed out.

  “Is this betrayal I smell?” Demetri asked, placing a hand over his heart, “You cut me deep, little dude.”

  “I don’t care who started it. I’m ending it,” Florence interrupted in a no-nonsense tone, “Demetri, your sister is very vulnerable right now. If you’re going to continue to act like that, you can enjoy your bedroom alone until dusk.”

  “No, Mom. I’ll go upstairs. I think I want to be alone anyway,” Valeria said with a huff, taking the blood and making her way up the marble staircase to her room before her mother could object. She noted with grim satisfaction that she could hear her parents chastising Demetri as she went.

  ◆◆◆

  It didn’t take long for Valeria to get antsy. She didn’t want to just sit here in self-pity, but she also didn’t wanna go back downstairs and listen to her family discuss the upcoming trip. She looked around her bedroom, searching for a distraction among her things. The walls of her room were covered in the same wallpaper that had been there since the manor was built many millenniums ago, only their families magic keeping it standing upright. It wasn’t terribly ugly, the wallpaper in Henrik’s room being the most atrocious yellow Valeria had ever seen in her life. Her wallpaper depicted the forests that surrounded the manor, showing little dragons hiding in the treetops all of them in varying shades of blue; Valeria’s favorite color and also why she had picked this bedroom to be hers when she was a child. Maybe it also had to do with the fact that Emalia resided in the room next to it. At the thought of her older sister, she looked up at the painting gifted to her by her sister last Creation night. It was a portrait of Valeria, and she’d kept it not only because it was from her favorite sibling but also because it was the prettiest rendition of herself that she’d ever seen. Emalia was always able to make her feel better, make everything more beautiful than it actually was. As she stared at the portrait, Valeria came up with a horrible idea. One she was definitely going to get grounded for the rest of her life for. She was going to see Emalia in Kalissa, in Neutral Territory, if she took the South Silver Tunnel flying on Thoren she could get there before the sun rose and subsequently turned into dust. Her sister and her mate lived just on the outskirts of the city, which made it even easier to land there unnoticed.

  “I can make it,” Valeria whispered, grabbing a bag and stuffing some clothes into it. She leaned against her door, listening to the voices of her family downstairs, hoping they were still in the sitting room. Valeria would have to use the secret passageways in the walls to get past them, but that wasn’t the hard part. The hard part would be getting Thoren away from her father because there was no way that Nebby would even consider helping Valeria sneak out. Thoren, however, could be so persuaded for just a handful of dragon treats. Valeria moved to the bookshelf by the window and pushed the third knob down, causing it to swing open to reveal the hidden passageways. Which had been formed from the old part of the Manor that had been sealed off during the wars as a pseudo-safe house for the Grey family long before her father married her mother and became a Dracul. She crept down the tunnels passing through hidden passages of the house until she reached a lever that opens into the pantry. Being vampires they didn’t really need a kitchen but when her parents adopted Emalia, a wolf orphaned in the Demon War, they built one just for her. As silently as she could, Valeria opened the pantry with the tin of treats held tightly to her chest. With a prayer to the Creator that this would work, she opened the tin and hoped it would bring Thoren to her with just the smell of the treats. Sure enough, the sound of little clicks echoed in the hallway, and before she knew it, Thoren was sitting on the counter his head cocked to the side, his black eyes gleaming at her in interest.

  “Thoren,” Valeria whispered, picking up a treat and holding it in front of her, luring him back inside the passageway. Thoren seemed to deliberate for a second before following her; she led him all the way to the exit, the one leading to the backyard. The white-scaled dragon sat down and awaited his reward for following the vampire outside and sat on the ground tilting his head in the way that always acquired him with treats.

  “Thoren, I need you to take me to Emalia. Can you do that?” Valeria asked in a hushed voice as she gave the dragon a treat. Thoren’s eyes widened at the mention of her sister, looking back at the house with a questioning gaze.

  “No, Thoren. Just me,” She said, hoping the dragon would hurry up and just transform to his full size so they could go. They only had two hours till dawn, and once they took off, they couldn’t just land anywhere. Thoren seemed to consider Valeria for a moment before he bobbed his head and sat up. He stretched out his wings as his body grew in size. Once he had reached his maximum size, he turned to look at Valeria, and she grinned climbing into the spot her father usually sat. Without any warning, Thoren launched them into the air, the ride seemed bumpy, and it was hard to hang on. The usual rush of magic she felt, was absent, she had never ridden Thoren or Nebby without her parents. Her brain then supplied the passage in the book she had read, preparing her for the journey,

  ‘Dragon riders and their companions share a special bond, allowing them to regulate flight. Unbound riders will likely fall off unless the bound rider is present..’

  “Thoren! Slow down!” Valeria shouted at the dragon, her knuckles white as she held onto his spike, Thoren either ignored her or couldn’t hear her because he maintained his speed. All Valeria could do was hold on for dear life and hope her hands would not slip, but as they entered the SST, the turbulence was too much, and the next thing she knew she was falling.

  * * *

  Chapter Two

  Trick or Treat

  As quickly as Valeria was plummeting to her death, she wasn’t. Thoren had caught her in his claws. Ripples of pain began coursing through her as his claws dug into her sides, adding on to the bruise that she sure was forming as a result of the force of him catching her. The communicator strapped to her wrist had fallen off and was most likely smashed on the ground. She gasped in pain as his grip tightened, and he sped up. Oh, her mother was going to kill her. Valeria knew her family would be aware of what happened by now. Part of the communicators’ functions was to alert the others in her family circle when damage was done to them, or they were taken off. It was a safety feature their mother had insisted on installing when they’d bought them. So, as far as her family knew, Valeria had fallen to the ground, dead just like her communicator. The rest of the ride was a blur to her, the wetness on her clothes told her that she was bleeding through her blouse. It had been hours since Valeria had a full cup of blood, feeling too sorry for herself earlier to finish the cup her mother had given her. Now she just prayed that they made it to her sister’s apartment before she lost all the blood in her body. All she had to do was make it there, Emalia could patch her up. Looking at the only place she could, she saw the scar that had adorned Thoren’s neck for as long as she’d known him, put there by phoenix fire. It had healed over, but the scar itself was ugly and looked painful. Valeria felt guilty for what her parents were thinking right now; she could almost see her father pacing the room, his fingers running through his hair and a worried expression that pinched his face. She imagined her mother sitting on the sofa, picking at her fingernails and shooting glances at her communicator for news. All she could hope was that her mother had not moved yet and that Thoren would hurry,
she could see the beams of orange indicating the beginning of dawn. She was drawn out of her thoughts by the soft sound Thoren made, Valeria twisted her head around to see that they had arrived in Kalissa, the city that stood in the center of Beastmora, it harbored all different types of species. The city lights were slowly dimming as the sky grew lighter, and all the beasts went to their beds.

  “Valeria!” Emalia shouted, running onto the balcony with Callan trailing behind her. Valeria meant to reply to her sister, tell her that she was okay. Tell her that she was sorry, but no words came out as her vision blurred and faded to black.

  ◆◆◆

  When Valeria came to, it was to fingers combing through her hair. The scent of antiseptic caused her to scrunch up her nose and open her eyes. Emalia was standing over her, the wolf’s expression wrought with concern. Her orange hair, typically kept in a high ponytail, was hanging loose, framing her chubby cheeks. The usual milky color of her skin was the palest Valeria had ever seen them.

  “V, are you okay? Can you hear me?” Her sister asked in a soft voice the fingers stroking her head coming to a halt.

  “I think so,” Valeria murmured sitting up with the help of her sister. She looked around the room to see Thoren sitting beside her and Emalia kneeling in front of her. Her sister’s apartment was the same as it had always been — light blue walls decorated with paintings done by Emalia herself and pictures of their family. Emalia and her mate didn’t have a big apartment. It was about the size of the Grey Manor family room with two bedrooms and a single bathroom. It has an open concept with the kitchen, living, and dining room, all being in the same space. It had an overall comfy vibe about it that made her instantly relax.