01

To All Readers:

The text you are about to read contains no sexual content... Yet. This is just the beginning of our adventure. I would like to state that all characters are 18 years of age or older. Welcome to my dark realm. I look forward to your feedback.

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Introduction:

It was a cool, summer's eve; the full moon rose until it reached its prime in the sky. The village, where its inhabitants retreated into the safety of their homes, soon became alive again. However the sounds you heard were not children playing, chickens clucking, and friendly vendors shouting. The sounds during this time of the year were much more morbid. Clinging chains, cracking whips, and groans of agony filled the town square.

Nightwalkers swarmed in like a dark plague.

While some of the aristocratic Nightwalkers shopped and browsed. There were some, misfits, that lingered in the alleyways. Hoping to snare an escaped slave or perhaps to lure a curious villager out of their home. The mortals in this village, or "cattle" according to the Nightwalkers, were weak-willed and succumbed to their charms quite easily.

A carriage made its robust appearance in the middle of the square. Everyone seemed a little taken aback. The Nightwalkers, which were familiar of the carriage, bolted out-of-the-way and cleared a good radius around before going back to their shopping.

The horses that drew the carriage were Night Mares, undead horses from the netherworld and gave off a putrid smell of sulphur. They possessed red eyes, exoskeleton plated backs, and steam seemed to emit strangely from their snouts. This was strange for it being midsummer. The sound of a thousand flies were heard around them but never seen. Every five minutes, a mare would snort angrily and paw at the ground as a chunk of flesh fell from its body.

The carriage appeared driven by no one, had a small creature jump off the rear. The horned little creature was called a hobgoblin and opened the door to allow the Head Mistress of Torture De'La Mañor, Deñise Visqua, to exit.

She appeared at first as nothing more than a dark, cloaked silhouette. She gave off a chilling aura, dropping the temperature around her at least ten degrees. She seemed to glide across the ground as she disappeared within the crowds. The other Nightwalkers took great care in avoiding her course. As she passed them she heard their hushed whispers of her terrifying legacies. With this, her dark lips curled into a dark grin.

As she prowled the streets, she stumbled upon an open tent displaying a variety of chained slaves. The glowing orbs of her ice blue eyes scanned the line of merchandise. She pitied the females who seemed malnourished. Although she had more of an affinity toward females, tonight she was looking for a seasoned fighter; a protector; a guardian.

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Chapter 1: The Purchase

A man stood out from all the rest of the slaves. His build was muscular, standing at 6'3. His chest was massive and rippled with muscle. Although this seemed like the perfect specimen the Mistress had been looking for, her gaze instead fell upon a younger man. He looked no older than 20 and his build was far from that of a seasoned fighter, he was short and skinny. What seemed to draw her was the smell of fear he was putting off. It was the type of innocent fear you would expect from a child, pure. She could almost hear his pounding heart in her own ears.

The young man, whose name was Elijah, sat in a barred carriage with four other slaves. All of them wore tiny loin cloths and massive shackles around their necks and wrists. The chains connected the five slaves together to one link that was bolted in the middle of the floor making escape impossible. This allowed the slaves to move about the carriage if they wanted to. Elijah sat on the floor of the carriage, trying to cover his dignity while avoiding buyers by covering his face with his long dark hair.

Denise appeared beside him giving Elijah quite a start! He nearly jumped out of his skin as soon as he realized a cold pair of ice blue eyes were looking at him through the bars. He felt her cold radius as he shivered and looked at the creature unable to discern her gender until she spoke in a cool, feminine voice.

Like a whisper she asked, "Do you fear me, little one?"

It was as though his voice had caught in his throat. Unable to speak, he just nodded his head slowly.

Then, Denise did something quite unexpected, she lowered her hood to her shoulders. The moment she did this the temperature around her suddenly changed. It was no longer cold, but rather humid as the midsummer night was supposed to be. Elijah bit his lip, he wasn't sure what exactly was going on. All he knew was that he wanted this woman to buy him now. Something about her otherworldly beauty entranced him just in that moment when time itself had frozen in place. All of the noises and distractions of the busy night seemed to fade away. He was captivated into an atmosphere where only he and this woman existed. He couldn't help but feel their meet was predetermined through fate itself. It was as though his entire being was suffering through an intense feeling of de'javu. Like perhaps he had woken up from a nightmare and stepped into a pleasant dream or a vision of enlightenment. Like this woman was the answer to his prayers, an angel of beauty to liberate him.

Denise smiled as she saw the blood rush to the young man's cheeks, "Would you like to go home with me?"

Without even thinking or hesitating in the slightest, Elijah automatically nodded his head slowly in disbelief.

Denise smiled and vanished from his view. She approached the merchant in charge. "I would like to buy this slave." He heard her say out of his sight.

" Aye, that one? Ye sure? I have better breeds available, M'lady. "

Denise casually looked down the line of slaves before speaking, "In that case I will be making two purchases this evening. I want him and I want your strongest stock build washed and delivered to my Manor no later than tomorrow."

The merchant chuckled and scratched his head nervously, "Deliveries and hygiene cost extra, M'lady.."

She passed him a rather hefty pouch of gold coin, "I'm sure this will be enough to cover all my expenses."

The merchant opened up the pouch and tossed around the gold coins inside, breathing in the scent of money.

"Have we got a deal?" Denise asked rather impatiently.

The merchant gave her a toothless grin, "The strong stock will be there tomorrow, m'lady. Fully clothed and washed! Let me get the little urchin for ya."

"Do be careful, will you? I don't want my property to get damaged before he gets home," she persisted, her eyes were cold and threatening to the merchant.

The merchant nodded then went to retrieve Elijah from the barred carriage. He fished him out then started to hand the chains off to Denise. The Mistress stared at him coldly, "I will not be needing those filthy things. He will not run from me lest he wishes to fall prey to my people," she said the last part to Elijah as a final warning.

Truth be told, Elijah was happy to be with her and finally away from that place. Away from the long, bumpy dirt roads, the unforgiving seas, the ruthless, fish-smelling merchants, the crammed sense of living space he had to endure. Now he had a beautiful Mistress that was perhaps the most fairest in the land. He was willing to be her slave and Denise knew this.

Once his chains and shackles were removed, Denise led Elijah back to her carriage. When Elijah looked upon the Night Mares, fear flooded him again. He looked at his new Mistress with uncertainty. Would this be his last night to live? Had he signed his soul over to a true she-devil?

Before he could utter a word, a small, ugly, horned creature approached from behind the carriage. He opened the little door, bowing before them. "After you, little one," Denise said with a kind smile.

Elijah felt himself swoon on the spot as he saw her smile. Entranced once again by her beauty, he ducked inside the carriage and slid in on the seat. The Mistress followed him in shortly after. Once the door was closed, the tiny space filled with the Mistress' scent and the temperature became quite warm. But Elijah just could not stop staring at her as he licked his lips. Something about her porcelain skin, her dark blue eyes, and her dark full lips made him feel a hunger he had never felt with any woman.

It did not take long before the carriage began to trot off through the square heading for the sloping forest path. The path that would lead them up towards the manor on top of the mountain. It seemed like hours went by before the Mistress finally looked up at the young man and spoke to him, "What is your name, little one?"

Elijah seemed a little taken aback! No one in the slave trade had ever asked what his name was! What did it matter? Was she planning on keeping him? Why would a lowly slave interest her so? Thousands of questions and possibilities seemed to open up just from her one question. But he knew none of these would be answered if he didn't obey his first command. "E-Elijah."

"Elijah... What a beautiful name for a handsome young man," she smiled at him as he blushed. But Denise pressed on, "And, how old are you, Elijah?"

"18, Miss. I turn 19 tomorrow."

Her arched brow raised mildly, "Really now? How very interesting.."

Was she playing with him now? Or was she being sincere? Elijah couldn't really tell. But his nerves was getting the better of him as he felt his mouth go dry. Why did she make him feel this way? What kind of Nightwalker was she? Could she be a vampire? Elijah heard tales of vampires being able to seduce their victims from the other slaves. Was that what she was doing? Or maybe she was a hag.. Hags were the embodiment of magical, witch-like creatures. Perhaps she had placed him under a spell or delusion.

"How did you find yourself in the slave trade, Elijah?"

Elijah caught himself day dreaming and was quickly swept from his thoughts as her voice brought him plummeting back down from the clouds. He wet his lips to keep his mouth from going dry to answer her next question, "They picked me up last year when I was 17. They raided my town and took all the women and children. My mom went in another caravan and I never saw her again." Elijah hung his head, the memory still fresh in his mind.

It was awhile before Denise spoke again. As though she felt pity for him and allowed him to reminisce his last moments with his mother. But in reality she could see inside his head and she could see this memory as though she was standing right there with him. The agony he felt that day, she fed on it.

"Do you have any questions for me, Elijah?"

The way his name rolled off her tongue was erotic. Elijah couldn't deny that he loved hearing her say it. But this new question seemed to stump him. Just a bit ago he had a whole line of questions but now he couldn't seem to recall any of them. Her beauty was a bit of a distraction. Finally after thinking carefully how best to answer he asked, "What are you planning on doing with me?"

She smiled, "I don't want to spoil the surprise! Besides.. I only discuss my personal business in the comforts of my chamber. However... if you are concerned on your general safety I can tell you that I do intend on keeping you for the rest of your life. And I do think you will be quite happy in my servitude. Now, why don't we just sit tight and enjoy the rest of the ride.

Once we get to the Manor, you will remain silent and look at the floor. Do not look into any Mistress or Master in the eye. My people believe that if a slave makes eye contact with another master or mistress than that slave is to be punished by the other party. I cannot protect you at that point. This is your final warning. Do as I say and move quickly. The sooner we get to my chamber the sooner you will have answers and safety. Do you understand, Elijah?"

Elijah had no idea what type of world he was going into but knew his new Mistress was being sincere this time about his protection.

He nodded.