The Immortals of Sumer

Chapter Eleven

Radu was standing over me, snarling, and said, “Removing those cuffs before Vlad gets here to remove them for you would be a danger to your brothers health.” I sighed, sitting up more again.

I held my hands out, saying, “I’m still cuffed here, asshole, aren’t I?” Bogdan laughed, telling Radu how much he likes me. I leaned around Radu to look at Bogdan and stuck my tongue out at him. Radu caught my whole jaw in his hand and made me look up at him.

“Keep that attitude in check when Vlad is here, for your brothers sake, no?” He seemed to warn me and I didn’t say anything because he had a point maybe…

“Why is Dracula coming here?” I asked and Radu shrugged.

“He is the King, he can do whatever he pleases. However, he goes to one of the five forts for the yearly Induction Ceremony. We have soldiers we have newly promoted to a professional noncommissioned rank and turned. And Vlad, he is a gracious King that welcomes every generation of soldiers that make his ranks so he is coming here for it tomorrow.” Bogdan explained and Radu sighed.

I watched them for several hours or what felt like hours before Radu finally slammed his hand on the desk. I jumped and realized he had lifted his head to look directly at me. “You have got to be exhausted from using your magic and not sleeping since the drone which was ordered over 24 hours ago. Would you just lay down?” He asked and I scoffed.

“You think I feel safe enough to go to sleep? As a male and a vampire, you might not understand, just how vulnerable and exposed I feel right now. Try! If you can’t then let me spell it out for you. There’s no way in hell I’m sleeping!” I said and Bogdan sighed. Radu walked out of the tent and I tugged on the cuffs some more. I didn’t even hear or see Radu appear until I felt a pinch!

I gasped, tensing and clenching my arms against the cuffs, but he put his hand on my jaw to keep my head down as the pinch subsided. I gasped as my body felt a warm flush and then numbness. I looked to see Radu putting a cap on another syringe. No…please, don’t let anything happen to me while I am…

.(•).

Radu sighed as she slumped down onto the bed. Bogdan chuckled, saying, “So much like her grandmother. Wow, to think there is a whole generation between them we missed out on. It’s been what…that was in 2026? Elena turned 21 with us in 2025, ran away and must have had their mother at 22 in 2026. It’s been about 55 years since that. They seem to be in their early 20’s also so let’s say 23 years old. Meaning that her mother had them at around 30 years old.”

“Impressive that a whole generation hid from Vlad, given how much he has always searched for Elena,” Radu said as he finally turned away from her limp form, sure she was out. She had been struggling so hard to stay awake, reminding him of his first nights with Vlad at the Ottoman palace, unsure if it was safe to sleep even.

He scoffed, turning back to the map. He reloaded the newest map and a location of the Kings coordinates. He was closing in on the camp. Radu was almost sure that the King was getting the convoy to travel as fast as possible to get here to meet her before the Induction Ceremony. Unfortunately, she might be a bit groggy, Radu thought to himself as Bogdan kept chatting about her likeness to Elena.

Bogdan was excited, hoping to elicit a new spark in the King but Radu worried about her. She did have fight in her, more so than Elena, and she grew up in a war torn region that hardened her. He told Bogdan such, pointing out that she broke glass and almost cut a man’s throat before jumping out a second story window essentially. Elena never would have even thought to have to do that.

She told her brother that it wasn’t the end of their fight. Radu feared what that could possibly mean to her and therefore what it meant for his brother. There was an upper hand here though; Elena had not had a twin and Selena does. To keep her brother close meant to keep her close this time. Maybe it was time to go have a talk with the brother…

Bogdan simply watched as his nephew walked out of the tent, seeing the gears grinding in his thoughts. After looking at her small figure in the large cot, he turned back to see the Kings coordinates being tracked. T-minus 40 minutes. Unfortunately, that meant she would still be asleep at his arrival…

Radu went into the barracks to see the men relaxed, some laying on their bunks while some played cards, but once they realized who it was, everyone was on their feet in salute. He nodded to them, walking to the boy tied up to the center post of the barracks. He crouched down in front of the boy, looking him in the eyes, as he yanked the gag out of the boy’s mouth.

“You have two options here: first, you accept your current situation real quick and step up, protect your sister as a man should, and life will go on…or you meet the King with attitude and then you and your sister will never see each other again. I think…she is different than Elena…she’s rougher and yet something tells me she is even more fragile…”

The boy, Uri, flinched at that and Radu knew he was right. “If that’s the case, then she truly needs you. Let’s say, you chose smartly and pick the first option. You would be fully turned and trained to protect her better. Realize that she will most likely always be with the King, so she will need guards of her own.” Uri looked at Radu with shock.

“Who better than her own brother to lead up the special guards? And to join these Elite men is not without its privileges. Money, women, power, respect,” Radu listed off and then added, “Or I take you to the deepest, darkest depths of the castle dungeon and forget about you while your sister misses you and is always threatened with your death...”

Radu finally placed all the cards on the table. “Just tell me what I’m missing when it comes to her and you’re in with the Elite, Uri.”

Uri believed being a halfblood was a weakness and to be turned completely was an advantage. Radu could tell Uri was thinking it over until-

Bogdan’s random soldiers from the tent burst into the barracks and Radu growled at the intrusion. But they were already speaking, “Lord Bogdan sent us for you. The witch is having a seizure!” Uri stood up instantly and shouted to be untied. Radu had to be smart, to play this right. To go too far could kill her but maybe, just maybe, he could get the truth now…

“What’s going on, Uri?” Radu asked and Uri was incredulous.

“Don’t just stand there, take me to her!” He shouted and Radu shook his head.

“I’m ready to forget about this conversation and you, boy,” Radu said, turning away and walking not two steps when Uri growled.

The truth burst from him, telling Radu, “She has seizures…when she enters a vision for too long. If she…goes too deep into the experience, she gets lost. Our mom explained it as her body seizing as her soul looses its physical teether. Please, take me to my sister. I’ll bring her back out of it safely! If you don’t, she will die!” Uri shouted and Radu growled. s**t. No normal seizure then…

He immediately unbound the boy and, without prompting, he was racing for the middle of camp without Radu. This little s**t….Radu made it to the tent the same time Uri did and Radu noted the speed difference as they entered to see her seizing on the cot. Bogdan had uncuffed her so Radu made a split decision to hold the brother back from her. Was this just a ploy?

“I know that you explained what she’s got going on but what are you going to do?” Radu asked him and Uri sighed, giving up the struggle to push past Radu. Uri hoped Selena wouldn’t be upset with him for this.

“My sister gets lost in the pain. You have to talk her back and…” Uri panicked and then looked at Bogdan. “Bite her! Now, please!” They all hesitated at that. What? But Bogdan huffed and grabbed her wrist, holding it down against the bed so he could bite her.

Uri shouted, “Selena, it’s not real pain! Whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re seeing, it’s not real! The pain to your right wrist is real. Pinch yourself! It’s not real!” Radu noticed her seizing was slowing and he let Uri get closer to her. Uri tapped Bogdan’s shoulder and said, “When I say, you have to bite her again.”

“Hey sis, come back to the real world. I don’t care if your experiencing being burned alive again, another car accident, or maybe you’re drowning this time, but it’s not real. This bite, it’s real-” Bogdan took that as permission and bit down again-“That’s real pain, Selena, use it-follow the pain back. I’ll do my part here protecting your physical tether to this land…Now you do your part and come back to it!”

The seizure seemed to ebb and stop entirely, only her eyes fluttering back and forth like she was dreaming. But Uri seemed to know it was something else because he said, “Don’t worry about any alternate realities to this vision either. You’ve been traveling too long.” At that, she finally seemed to inhale deeply and then, as her eyes opened, she exhaled heavily.

Suddenly, she jolted upright with a start, reaching out. Uri caught her hands as she clawed at him and, ignoring a scratch to his throat, he hugged her. “It’s okay, sis, it wasn’t real! It was a vision. This is real; you’re in the here and now, I promise!”

“Promise?” She whispered and the whole tent held its breathe as he answered back that he swore it was the right reality. “It was so real though…” she cried and Uri sighed.

“What did you see?” He finally asked, the question full of dread. Bogdan and Radu shared a dark look behind the brother-sister duo.

“I was on fire! I was being burned alive…” she cried and Uri sighed up at the roof of the tent, making Radu puzzled.

“Again? Why do you keep experiencing these?” He asked and she shook her head against his shoulder.

“I don’t know. I didn’t even see who it was this time. I don’t even know how I got there this time. It was so sudden! They just screamed for me to repent and then-then th-they-” she tried to explain but Uri just quieted her, saying it didn’t matter because it didn’t really happen. At least, not to her, right? Radu knew of certain nymphs that had visions of past, present, and future…maybe she was having visions of the past, of the Witch Trials or something akin to its time.

He made note to himself to share his theories with the King. There was a commotion outside of the tent and Bogdan and Radu shared a dark look. Uri heard it seconds later and looked at the vampires in concern. She, with her human hearing, kept trying to calm her heart rate down and clung to her brother. Bogdan took a second to go outside the tent only to be-

 .(•).

There was a gunshot so close to the tent, I screamed. Uri moved me behind him as he stood in front of the cot. He and Radu were seemingly blocking the tent entrance from me. But where was Bogdan? There was pure silence going through the tent until I heard-wait, was that-

Devin shouted, “Back the f**k up! Not a step closer!” What in the hell is he doing?! There were thousands of the vampire soldiers around! The odds of getting out alive were astronomical. Now, if his goal was to take some of them with him that’s another story but vampires don’t just die. They heal and come back for vengeance nine out of ten times.

Uri tried to tell him as much. “Hey Devin, man, this isn’t smart. There’s a s**t ton of them and-”

“And I don’t care! I heard Hailey in the cage. Your sister is a one way ticket out of here alive!” He shouted and Uri laughed. He relaxed and stepped aside for me to see Devin pointing a shotgun at Radu.

“Go, be smart,” was all Uri said with a wink and I understood, standing up and walking over to him. As I had passed closely to my brother, he had grabbed my hand in fake concern to slipped me his knife. “Be safe, sis.” I tucked it against my wrist, even though I had my own blade, for the moment as Radu unknowingly distracted Devin.

Radu told him, “To take the Kings Witch from him is a death sentence. Not a ticket to freedom.” Suddenly, I saw Radu realize what I had as Devin began to drag me out of the tent. I grinned back at Radu with a wink. We walked out of the tent, only for me to gasp at the sheer amount of soldiers standing absolutely still, waiting and watching. Radu said from the tent, “No one move. She must live!”

Devin was grinning, thinking he had a new advantage, even though his eyes were darting back and forth at the soldiers and to something moving off in the distance. I looked quickly to realize the soldiers were parting a ways away and then looked at Devin. He had the gun pointed at me and he looked like a crazed trapped animal, knowing it was prey. Only thing was…he was worried about the wrong threat. I looked at his chest, counting approximately where his ribs would be. It’s imperative I get between them…

“Hey Devin, dude, my sister still hates you for the stunt from the manor, you f*****g i***t,” Uri was saying as he casually walked out of the tent. Devin pointed the shotgun at Uri’s face as he got closer. It was the distraction I needed to flip the knife forward and plunge it deep. Uri shoved the gun to the side with one hand as it went off. I stepped up to him, shoving the knife up to the hilt perfectly between his ribs and I looked him in the eyes.

“My brother let this mutt b***h go with you so easily because you were never a threat, you f*****g i***t,” I repeated as I twisted the knife and he gasped. Uri appeared directly in front of him inches away from his face instantly, yanking his gun away from him and snarling at him. I pulled the knife out of his body and he fell to his knees so Uri rammed his knee into Devon’s face since it was at a convenient level.

Devin fell backwards, his eyes closing, as I scrambled away. Radu was beside me instantly, holding my hand and helping me avoid the dead body. Uri looked at Devin’s body before stepping over it to take the knife from my hand. I let the bloody thing go and looked at my bloody hand. It wasn’t my first kill and it wouldn’t be my last but the act never gets lighter.

I shook the excess blood off, thankful I hadn’t used my damaged hand, when Uri swore, low and soft. I looked up at him and then followed his line of sight to see all the soldiers bowing to one man. This was the King? Dracula?

He looked so normal in black military style cargo pants with a pistol in a holster on his belt. His shirt was a plain white t-shirt. I could see striking black tattoos peeking through the t-shirt, under his sleeves, and around his neck. His dark hair was medium short length and wavy like it was trying to curl at the ends. He had a chiseled jawline and high cheekbones that gave him dimples as he smirked at me. His eyes were as grey as the storm clouds in the sky.

Uri’s hand tightened around mine before he sighed and stepped aside. I gasped up at him, betrayed, but he was glaring at Radu. Radu was beside me, smirking like Dracula.

“My Lady, allow me to introduce you to Vlad “Dracula” the Third Tepes. My Lord, meet Selena Velden,” Radu introduced and I flinched, wanting to correct him about our last name. Maybe I could rub it in a bit but something made me stop, realizing that Dracula was tense as hell right now. Everyone in the camp was. Hell, I was!

A few minutes ago, I could have sworn I was burning alive and then Bogdan got shot! One right after another and now, here he was, waiting for something. If they expected me to bow they would be waiting a while. He finally stepped forward, offering me his hand as he said, “Welcome, Selena.” I wanted to refuse, to just not be here, to not have to do this, but then my brother nudged me forward a bit with a grin.

“This is not our final fight, sister. Until then,” he said, looking to the King with a shrug. I sighed, knowing my brother was right. This is not our end. I stepped forward and took Dracula’s hand with my bloody hand, shocked at how warm his hand was. He smiled at me as he clasped my hand tight and yanked me closer to him. I stumbled a step before just accepting and stepping closer to him.

He looked down at me intently before looking at Radu. “Is Bogdan okay?” He asked and Radu nodded, saying he would be back on his feet before the Induction Ceremony. The King nodded before turning to the soldiers gathered around, saying, “As you were, men.” They instantly went back to their work or training and I looked to Uri privately for a moment.

What was he up to? I would listen but I didn’t like not knowing. There had been few times Uri hadn’t let me in on the plan. But maybe he simply hasn’t had the time to, I thought to myself as Dracula looked down at me again. I felt my cheeks flush but didn’t look him in the eyes yet. I didn’t have the guts. He simply strode forward into the tent, respectfully around Bogdan’s body, dragging me beside him.

My brother and Radu walked in after us. Once inside the tent, Dracula looked at the computer screen over the desk before turning to Radu, all business. “You did good, brother. Report?”

“This is Elena’s granddaughter,” Radu introduced me and Dracula was blatantly shocked. “The boy,” Radu nodded to my brother freely standing by the door of the tent, “and her are twins. Selena here got her grandmothers’ witch magic and Uri got his grandfathers’ vampire strength. A full dose of sedatives only knocked him out for four hours so he has a quick immune response. Her magic drains her half as quickly as normal nymphs and her visions are…something else. Oh and she is very stubborn; she spit in my face.”

“Come closer so I can do it again,” I hissed and he snarled down at me. I didn’t flinched until Dracula yanked me closer to him, glaring down at me with a quiet growl. Radu carried on regardless.

“A human male-the male she just killed actually-was going to r**e her at the Velden Manor. Before I could intervene, she had shattered something glass, wrecked her hand as she cut him a couple times. I believe she did his jaw then too. She threw herself over the balcony to get away from him and we acted immediately afterwards to ensure no more harm came to her. Then we learned the hard way not to make her sleep more than necessary, huh, hun?”

He asked me snarky and I stuck my tongue out at him. Dracula chuckled very darkly as Radu finally said the words I dreaded hearing out loud. “She has intense visions when she is asleep. She relives the past lives of her witch ancestors. She sees alternate realities too. The brother brings her back from them through pain…” I sighed and my brother looked awkwardly at his boots, scratching the back of his neck. “The brother is an ally. I swore he would be fully turned if he told me of any and all secrets she has.” I gaped at my brother and he sighed.

“Okay, no, hold on,” Uri began, “You weren’t going to let me even see her if I didn’t. And…see when you say ‘any and all’ that’s very gen-”

“Sounds like there’s more to that then, boy,” Radu pointedly muttered.

“Okay, firstly, my sister has more secrets in her head than an official hall of records! Good f*****g luck there because witches, man, see some things. More importantly, I say the whole secrets thing because of s**t like our grandmas’ predictions-you should probably hear a few of them-and, because of them, we both need to be turned fully.” He said and I stilled, shocked.

“What?” I asked. “No! f**k no!”

“I sense there is more I wasn’t told. Speak or I’ll beat it from you,” Radu muttered darkly to my brother, I glared at Radu for his threat, and Uri shook his head.

“Not quite. She doesn’t agree with me so it’s more of a-”

“A bullshit excuse!” I said point blank and Dracula suddenly covered my mouth. I glared up at him finally and he looked down at me. I was startled at the hatred in his eyes! I actually felt real fear raise the hairs on the back of my neck and I stilled again.

“A personal theory,” my brother said heavily towards me as he continued, “That halfbreeds shouldn’t exist. You guys are gonna get me punched like right in the f*****g face by her by the way.” Damn straight.

“Continue, boy,” Dracula said and my brother looked at him holding me to him and sighed again.

“She has seizures and I have a rare blood disorder. Our mom had it worse than us-” I shrugged back, turning my mouth away from his callused monstrous hand, and shouted at my brother.

“Uri! Stop-”

Dracula suddenly had my mouth covered again but also had me repositioned to where I was pressed against him, my back to his chest, so he could hold my mouth tightly enough to press my head into his chest so I couldn’t do that again. Uri didn’t like it one bit, I was raging inside at being manhandled, but he kept on spilling our family secrets anyway. “I bring her back from those visions any way I can because she will die like our mom did if I don’t.”

“By the time they are 27, their brains won’t handle the visions. Elena predicted my sister would die of a brain aneurysm during a vision. Our mom, Lanie, had a brain hemorrhage during a seizure during a vision at 27 too. And yes, those are somehow two different things…And, at least once a month, my sister gives me blood transfusions and IV rehydration because I have a severe form of Sickle Cell Anemia. Our bodies just don’t work right.”

“And finally, since I guess I’m an ally, I think I should warn you that my sister is armed and will stab you soon,” he told Dracula directly and I flipped my brother off silently. “Sorry, sis, you can worry about breaking my nose later.” Dracula finally let me go and turned me roughly towards him. The urge to spit in his face was there but I bit my lip to contain myself at his glare.