Chapter 6 - Saving Magic [1/2]

The shadows in front of the grotto have been getting longer. With stiff limbs, he fought on his legs and set about closing the grave. Here lay buried the last remnant of his humanity.

A few months later…

Tip.

Tap.

Tip.

Tap.

Arken turned a page in his book. Next to him, the candle wax dripped to the ground. He only noticed it on the margins, as did the ever-present howling of restless souls. Immediately his gaze was again captivated by the cryptic letters of the magic book.

In the restless search for ancient, hidden spells, he had discovered it in the archives of his magic room. Arken couldn't remember how it got into his hands. He also cared very little at the moment. There were spells in it, as black as the night. First and foremost, they dealt with the creation of vampires in extraordinary circumstances, besides, there were numerous spells of curse, for which souls needed. If this book didn't help him, he knew…

Arken stopped and ran his finger over the line he had just read.

Headless. Beheaded.

Exactly what he needed. He flipped so fast that he almost tore out the page. His fingers were trembling. Could it be possible that such a spell existed? A spell that would bring him back his Maya? Not as a willless skeleton, but as a real vampire?

His gaze flashed across the page. Here, in fact, a ritual was described that made a beheaded person a vampire. And not just to some vampire – one of the first generation! Arken's gaze glued to his sides as he absorbed the words. A first-generation vampire would have immeasurable power… Normally, vampires were always a generation weaker than their creators. But not his Maya. She would be the strongest vampire of that time.

All he needed to do was sit next to the full body parts of the target… Arken sank back into his chair. Unbelieving, he stared at the tapestry in front of him, which showed the coat of arms of the previous owners of his castle.

He needed the blood of a man who had once shared a bed with a vampire.

His stomach turned and he would have vomited if his last meal had not been more than four hundred years ago. What a ridiculous idea! Never and never would he Practice sexual intercourse with a member of this abusive, inferior race! Then he could immediately share the bed with a pig, the beasts at least still followed their instincts, instead of wanting to use a mind like humans,

which they did not own. It was different with Maya.

He had never considered them a potential food, not even a human being. There was something about her that made her special. At least in this he agreed with the fat mayor: Maya had not been a normal person.

She was destined for higher things, of which Arken was sure.

But sleeping with a human… He didn't want to know how the author of the book came across this ritual. Maybe he was in a similar situation. It is possible at the time of the Crusade.

Arken shook his head. He had to focus on the essentials. There was no question that he would bring Maya back. Cost it what it wanted. Even if he did… He clenched his hands so tightly that his fingernails dug deep into the flesh of the palms. What was he expecting? He was fortunate to have found a way. The best way to do this was to find a halfway acceptable human woman. Better than spending the rest of his infinity as a lone wolf in this terrible world dominated by humans.

Sighing, he rose and set out. Maya was worth the sacrifice. As a reward, an eternity waved with her, the most wonderful being who had ever set foot on this world. Eight villages and two days later Arken disagreed. Not that there wasn't one or the other visually beautiful woman.

But they triggered in him the mere urge to want to incorporate them – by drinking their blood. He clenched his teeth as he wandered thoughtlessly through the woods to the next village. Not once had anything moved between his legs! He hasn't done that since he became a vampire. Now he was enjoying a different kind of high, a much, much better…

Maybe it wasn't just because of the lack of attractiveness. His organism was simply dead and a dead body could not reproduce – with everything that belonged to it. Anger came up in him as he descended a stone staircase that lay on his way. Fucking shit! How could he find a man who had ever slept with a vampire when vampires couldn't have sex at all?!

"Not a step further."

Arken paused reflexively and immediately resented it. Since when did he take orders? Looking, he let his gaze wander through the trees and froze when he saw them. His blood-red eyes, like his own, sparkled at him. The full, red lips pressed together, the vampire woman did not make a happy impression.

A vampire. Several steps in front of him between the trees was actually a vampire. Stunned, he stared at her. She had blonde curls that almost reached her hips, but Arken realized at first glance that they were wrong. For a human being, however, she had to look like a beautiful young woman. "What are you staring at?" With her chin raised, she approached him and stood up before him. Although he stood on the slope of a hill and thus a few steps above her, she exuded so much authority that Arken for the time being thought it better to submit to her will.