Free Crimson by Jeremy Laszlo

 
     
    Crimson
    A Blood and Brotherhood Story
     
     
    Blood and gore clung to everything in the room, dripping like melted wax from the walls. Bodies lay here and there like so many discarded dolls, each swimming in a pool of its own fluids. Steam still escaped them from time to time, the room being painfully cold in the evening hours of late fall. Tables and chairs lay overturned or broken and naught but a single candle still sputtered from a hanger upon one cobblestone wall. Here a wicked deed had been done: a deed born of evil, malice and hunger. There had been peace and happiness here once, though from this day forward none would remember it. Forever it would remain tainted, the air tasting of iron and smelling of decay. Yet before the sun broke the horizon, she lay relaxing upon the bar of the macabre tavern, enjoying the sensations that flowed through her nude body. Naught but blood was upon her skin, yet it felt as if her lover were inside her, such was the ecstasy that came from feeding.
     
    Anna awoke with a start, sitting up rapidly in the hope of banishing the nightmare that threatened to bring tears to her eyes, even now as its details faded. Looking around she assured herself she was home, within her own bed, in her own room. From across the house she heard metal upon metal and knew that Momma was already fixing breakfast. With cold sweat upon her brow, Anna brushed her long red hair out of her face with her fingers and tucked it behind an ear. Spinning upon her bottom, she placed her small bare feet upon the cold stone floor as goose pimples spread over her body. It was at this point that the day, which was starting like any other, that it took an unexpected turn.
    However hard she tried, Anna could not remember coming home the night before. She recalled working at the tavern, and could even recollect what she had served to whom. In fact, there had been some rather special guests the night previous when Lord Seth and his young bride had come to eat. Anna had served them herself. She remembered not only bringing them each a plate of lamb, but also hearing the rumors that were whispered around the room when the pair had entered. Some said Lord Seth was a demon who created monsters of men as he took their souls. Others thought him to be the hero who had defeated the black horde in the battle to the south. If the rumors were true, then the magician was of a breed above and beyond anything that had ever before been seen upon Thurr. It was said he commanded the powers of life and death and had single-handedly laid waste to thousands of men in the battle. Anna remembered his face, and that of his lover. Of this she was certain. The very last thing she could recall from the night before was taking a break from her duties to relieve herself in the privy. Having started her cycle the day before, she had taken many such breaks, but after entering the privy everything was blank.
    Shaking her head as a means to clear it, Anna rose to her feet to dress but immediately regretted it. No sooner had she stood up than her body began to tremble and the room began spinning. Bile rose into her throat. Just as her vision began to darken around the edges, Anna plopped back down onto her bed. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she breathed deeply, hoping the dizziness would pass.
    Many long moments went by before the door to her chamber opened. Still feeling nauseous, Anna opened one eye slightly to witness Momma entering the room with a steaming bowl. As she focused on her mother, the sensation of illness relented, and Anna could not help but to wonder if the feeling had been a lingering effect of her nightmare. Regardless of the reason,  Anna was happy it had gone. Cautiously sitting up, she greeted her mother.
    “G’morning Momma,” Anna said while stretching.
    “G’morning my angel, I am glad to see you up,” Momma replied with a quizzical expression. “You gave us all such a scare last night, I feared you might get lost