The African Vampire Queen

The reign of King Harsiotef, lasted from 404 B.C. to 369 B.C. The Great King, who ruled the Kush Kingdom from his hometown of Meroe, had an eventful rule. The people of Kush, among the most creative, stoic and resilient in all of Africa, once more feared the monsters that walked by night and hid during the day. The blood drinkers had been a problem for the people of Europe, Asia and Africa for eons, but no one fought against them more fiercely than the people of the Kush Kingdom. King Harsiotef created a special legion of soldiers, the Night Hunters, and tasked them with hunting and eradicating the Undead...

"The Kush Kingdom does not bow to the tyranny of the Axumites, or the ferocity of the Arabs, we will not crumble before the blood drinkers, I will protect my people and destroy the vampires," King Harsiotef vowed, as he addressed the princes and princesses of the realm from the palace at Meroe City. There were over a hundred royals in attendance, men and women from wealthy families who were loosely related to the King himself. They had come from their places of power, worried about the plague that walks by night...

The King of the Kushite people stood only five-foot-nine, and was of medium build with charcoal skin and closely cropped hair. He wore a simple red and yellow tunic, and no diadem or crown encircled his noble brow. Sashed at his waist was a three-foot-long broadsword fashioned by an Egyptian metalworker. The King never went anywhere without his personal bodyguards, and even then, he was always armed. This was to be expected of King Harsiotef, ruler of the Kush Kingdom, the most powerful kingdom in all of Africa.

"Well said, husband," said Queen Batahaliye, and the six-foot-tall, slender and regal woman, who wore a blue and white robe, and carried both a scepter and a spear, smiled at her husband. King Harsiotef surprised many when he selected Batahaliye, the daughter of one of the palace guards, to be his queen instead of a woman of royal blood. The truth is that King Harsiotef and Queen Batahaliye had known each other their whole lives, and had fallen in love long before anyone in the Kush Kingdom knew about it.

"My fellow citizens, rest assured that my soldiers know of the blood drinkers weaknesses and will not fail," King Harsiotef told the assembled royals before dismissing them. The King and Queen of the Kush Kingdom threw a great banquet for their guests. Bulls, cows and pigs were slaughtered to feed these wealthy and powerful men and women who formed the nobility of the Kush Kingdom. After the feast, the King and his royal advisers met to implement a plan of action against the Undead. It mattered not whom the enemy might be, the Kush Kingdom must be protected at all costs...

The Night Hunters success exceeded even King Harsiotef's expectations. They marched across the cities of the Kush Kingdom, and exterminated blood drinkers from Meroe City to Napata City, from the City of Kerma to the wilderness of Hagar. The vampires found themselves on the run as ordinary Kushite citizens, emboldened by the success of the Night Hunters, began to storm the Undead strongholds and drag them out into the light of day. Most of the vampires living in the cities died, of course. A few of the smart ones got out while there was still time...

"Dawn is coming," said Amaya, and she and her companions raced across the desert separating the Kingdom of Kush from Egypt proper. She made a beeline for a half-buried cavern, and made it just as the skies were turning pink, as darkness gave way to light. Amaya's companions included a tall, burly and bearded Nubian named Olmek, and a tall, slender, bronze-skinned and dark-haired woman of Kemet, the fierce Takira. After a successful hunt during which they found a caravan of merchants and fed upon them, the blood drinkers had to hide from the daylight, like all of their kind...

Amaya the vampire was as ruthless as they come, and she intended to still roam the earth long after the world forgot about King Harsiotef. She'd been born five hundred years ago, in what would one day be known as the City of Napata, and the Kush Kingdom was her home. Six feet tall, curvy, with charcoal skin and a neatly shaved head, Amaya looked beautiful according to any beauty standards. Looking at the world through golden brown eyes, Amaya surveyed the cave before finding a safe spot to lie in.

"I love the desert, but the lack of cover irks me," Olmek said, and Amaya shot the towering Nubian a look. He was new to the blood, having been turned into a vampire a mere three decades ago. Amaya liked to surround herself with younger vampires, for the older ones always sought to destroy her because they feared her power. Olmek would be kept around until he proved too old to control, or wore out his usefulness. Such is the way of things among the ranks of the Undead...

"I miss the cities, and I loathe the sand, it gets everywhere," said Takira, and the Kemet-born female vampire scoffed at their accommodations. Takira had been born in a time when Egypt was still known as the Kemet Kingdom, and her father was a Kemet man while her mother was Nubian. The tall, alluring Kemet noblewoman had been a lady of prestige, wealth and influence before she became one of the Undead. Takira had gone from living in palaces and villas as a living woman, to dwelling in the desert, in dirty caverns, as a supposedly immortal Vampire. The current state of the affairs displeased Takira, to say the least...

"Hmm, Tak, if our current accommodations displease you, you can always go outside into the sunshine," Amaya said, and when Takira's furious eyes met hers in the dark, the ancient Kushite vampire flashed her a malicious smile. Amaya wasn't the one who turned Takira the Kemet noblewoman into one of the Undead, that dubious honor belonged to Harete, a Nubian soldier whom Amaya turned into a vampire after a night of passion. Harete had perished some time ago, slain by one of the Night Hunters, along with dozens of vampires which formed Amaya's coven.

"Oh no, your highness, I love caverns, where my accommodations are shared with worms, bugs, and bats, it's paradise," Takira hissed, and Amaya laughed. As a vampire who'd lived to see more than half a millennium, she laughed at the puerile mindset of newbie vampires. An immortal creature knows that discomfort is nothing, and temporary, and that survival is everything. Newbie vampires still think the way humans do, for the most part, and that's a fatal weakness for the Undead. Takira wasn't going to last long as a vampire, Amaya could see it...

"Hmm, if I were your queen, I'd rip your tongue out for your insolence," Amaya said, and as Takira blinked, she leapt across the cavern floor, closing the gap between them and grabbing her by the throat. Even though Takira didn't breathe, she felt supreme discomfort as Amaya began to choke the, well, existence out of her. Takira gasped, and Amaya grinned, flashing her pearly white fangs. Olmek stood nearby, wondering what to do...

"Mistress Amaya, please spare Takira, she's too young for you to be concerned with," Olmek said, and Amaya glanced at the Nubian vampire, and nodded. Amaya let go of Takira's throat, and the younger vampire collapsed on the cavern floor, unconscious. Olmek grabbed Takira's prone form, and cradled her in his big, gentle arms as a father would cradle his daughter. Amaya looked at the two fledgling vampires, and licked her lips.

"Never forget who has the power here," Amaya said dismissively, and Olmek nodded, while still trying to revive the unconscious Takira. Amaya slept in the dark, or, rather, she did what passed for sleep among the ancient Undead. No animal is ever foolish enough to think of itself as completely safe. Dogs for example are always lighter sleepers compared to their human owners. Amaya hasn't survived half a millennium as a vampire by being complacent, carefree or trusting. Even as Amaya slept, a sense that humans did not possess remain alert for threats, both far and near. It's how a predator avoids becoming someone else's prey...

"I'm going to kill that bitch," Takira said, shortly after she regained consciousness, and found herself in Olmek's arms. It was early in the evening, and Amaya was already out. Olmek looked at Takira, the vampire lady from Kemet, whom he'd grown to care for as one cares for a sibling. Takira had been a vampire for over a century, but she was a fledgling compared to Amaya, who was one of the oldest and most powerful vampires left on the continent of Africa.

"Tak, I care for you like a brother cares for a sister, I urge you to make peace with Amaya and accept her leadership, or you will die for good," Olmek said firmly. Takira looked at Olmek, and scoffed at the Nubian vampire's subservience toward Amaya. As far as Takira was concerned, Amaya had crossed the line by putting hands on her and she wanted to put the Undead in her grave...for good. Eternity was too long a timespan to put up with cruel, abusive behavior...

"I refuse to be Amaya's slave, and I intend to make her pay, do not get in my way," Takira said angrily, and a forlorn Olmek nodded. The two vampires ventured out of the cavern and looked for food. This deep in the desert, far away from towns and villages, they found no human prey. The wildlife of the Kush Kingdom includes lions, elephants, leopards and cheetahs, along with giraffes, rhinos and several species of monkeys found in the forested regions. They found an Aadvark, and feasted on the small, nocturnal mammal.

"If you decide to go against Amaya, I will stand with you," Olmek vowed to Takira, and the two fledgling vampires returned to the cavern well before dawn after their successful hunt. They readied their weapons and waited for Amaya, intent on betraying and destroying the ancient Kushite vampire. They were quite surprised when dawn came, and Amaya was still gone. By midday, Olmek and Takira were fast asleep, having convinced themselves that foul play had befallen their vampire mistress out in the desert. The Undead twosome were in for a nasty surprise...

"Get them," said Captain Tabak, leader of the Night Hunters, as he and two dozen of his men arrived at the cavern on horseback, a little after midday. They stormed the cave when the sun was still high in the sky, and stormed the cavern with swords, spears, bows and arrows, and pikes. Olmek and Takira put up a fight but the outnumbered, out-of-their-element vampire fledglings didn't stand a chance. The Night Hunters cut them down, and that was that...

When Captain Tabak and his men rode off, intent on returning to Meroe City and share their good news with King Harsiotef, they didn't notice a small mound of disturbed dirt about five hundred meters from the cavern. It was negligible, the sort of hole an underground-dwelling desert animal might dig, not something that a human or a vampire would dig. The Captain of the Night Hunters knew that the vampires of the Kush Kingdom had a female leader, and after decapitating her with his own blade, he had wonderful news to share with his King...

"Amateurs," Amaya said as she dug her way out of the hole, an hour after sundown. The tall, dark-skinned female vampire looked at the star-filled sky. She'd been around for five hundred years and would stick around for another five hundred or more if it were up to her. She'd set up Olmek and Takira deliberately, leaving breadcrumbs leading the human warriors to their lair, and then she slipped away while they got slaughtered. Ruthlessness is key to survival when one joins the ranks of the Undead. The strong survives and the weak gets slaughtered, there was no other way...

Amaya continued to prowl the night, wandering across the breadth of Africa into the Arab lands, and she also ventured into Asia and later, Eastern Europe. The queen of the Vampires created many fledglings, and became the unending terror that generations of mortal men and women feared. Amaya vanished around 230 A.D. She'd been living in the Roman Empire, disguised as a wealthy foreign merchant, and prospering during the reign of Roman Emperor Severus.

A span of over a thousand years separates 904 B.C. and 230 A.D. but Amaya's appetite for life, for sex and blood, was unending. After walking the earth for 1300 years, Amaya still craved adventure and fun. Amaya liked life in the City of Rome, where her exotic good looks and wealth made her a queen of sorts among ordinary mortals. Amaya made sure that the vampires of Rome were discreet, lest the mortals discover their presence and eradicate them as they had so many times before. Of course, Amaya underestimated one mortal, and it almost proved to be her undoing...

In the City of Rome lived a wealthy woman named Sylvia Ferus, and she was a collector of ancient artifacts who had a reputation for liking the occult and dealing with dark magic. Sylvia Ferus eccentricities were tolerated in conservative Rome due to her father Marcus Ferus wealth and power. Sylvia sensed a kindred spirit in Amaya when she met the tall, beautiful and wealthy African lady at a social event one evening. Thus, the ultimate predator met the most alluring prey item that she'd encountered in many, many centuries...

"I believe that great powers beyond mankind's comprehension rule the world and that immortals walk among us in disguise," Sylvia Ferus told Amaya as she entertained the foreign merchant at her villa one evening. The two women lounged on couches, a mere two meters from one another, talking like old friends. Amaya looked at the tall, curvaceous, bronze-skinned and dark-haired, thirty-something Roman gal and smiled at her. Sylvia Ferus reminded Amaya of the lovely ladies of Kemet-era Egypt, back in her time...

"Hmm, Sylvia, if such powers and such beings do exist, it might not be prudent for an ordinary mortal to seek them out," Amaya said, while sipping some fine Roman wine harvested by Etruscan farmers. Sylvia smiled and gently laid her arm on Amaya's then drew closer. The vampire looked at the Roman woman and licked her lips, then their faces drew closer. Sylvia looked into Amaya's lovely brown eyes, and smiled quite provocatively.

"I like to live dangerously," Sylvia Ferus said, then she kissed Amaya. The two women began to make love right then and there, exploring each other without a care in the world. Sylvia slipped out of her robe, revealing a curvaceous body that Amaya found quite appealing. Sylvia marveled at the tall, gorgeous and stark naked African woman who drew her into her arms. Amaya was eerily beautiful and simply divine, and Sylvia couldn't get enough of her...

"Danger does make life more appealing," Amaya said as she kissed Sylvia Ferus, then licked the statuesque Roman woman from her head to her toes. Sylvia groaned as Amaya sucked on her breasts, and then slipped her hand between her thighs. Amaya brought her face to Sylvia Ferus crotch and inhaled her womanly scent. Sylvia let out a happy sigh as Amaya began eating her pussy, taking her sweet time while tasting her sweet spot. The fun was just beginning for both women...

"Oh yes, by the Goddess Aphrodite, you're something else," Sylvia Ferus cried out, as Amaya sucked on her clit and thrust two fingers into her pussy, driving her insane but in a good way. The two women continued to pleasure one another like only a woman can pleasure another woman. Sylvia moaned softly as Amaya inserted her entire fist in her vagina and began to stimulate her quite nicely. The exquisite pleasure and wicked pain drove Sylvia Ferus to sheer ecstasy, and the Roman businesswoman cried out as she came...

"Hmm, do you like how I taste?" Amaya asked Sylvia Ferus, who admired the tall, gorgeous, dark-skinned naked African lady lying before her. Sylvia nodded, and buried her face between Amaya's dark, muscular thighs. Although, as a vampire, Amaya hadn't drawn breath in many centuries, she sighed happily as Sylvia ate her pussy. Amaya closed her eyes and relaxed as Sylvia pleasured her. Some things in this existence simply make life worthwhile, and for Amaya, one of those things is the touch of a beautiful woman...

"You taste heavenly," Sylvia Ferus paused to tell Amaya, before she resumed eating her out. Sylvia had known from early on that women moved her sexually and romantically while men did not. She'd had many female lovers, often the wives of men who would never suspect that their ladies had such inclinations. Wealthy housewives, servant girls, foreigners, Sylvia has had them all in her bed, but she'd never met a woman like Amaya. The tall African beauty was truly divine, and Sylvia could not get enough of her.

"I wish you could be with me always," Amaya told Sylvia Ferus as they lay in bed together, much later. Sylvia Ferus rested with her head on Amaya's belly, and wondered why her lover's flesh felt so cold. Amaya was smart, beautiful and very loving, but she always vanished before dawn, much to Sylvia Ferus annoyance. Sylvia suspected that Amaya might have a husband or a male lover stashed away somewhere, but this wasn't the case. Still, Sylvia knew that her favorite African lady was hiding something...

"I want a life with you, Amaya, whatever secrets you're hiding, you can share them with me," Sylvia Ferus said softly, and Amaya sighed and closed her eyes. The millennium-old African vampire had wandered the world for ages and been everything from the leader of vast, powerful vampire covens to servant lady in wealthy households, and more. She'd had many lovers but never truly cared for any of them until she met Sylvia Ferus, the lovely Roman lady who liked the dark arts as much as Amaya herself did. Could someone like Sylvia Ferus embrace the life of a vampire?

"Do you want to live forever?" Amaya asked Sylvia Ferus as she took her lover's face into her hands, and looked into her eyes. Sylvia smiled at Amaya and was about to respond when the nearby doors burst open. Ten men armed with swords and spears stormed the chamber, and the two women pulled the covers over their nubile bodies. Amaya's eyes blazed with anger, and she began to calculate how to take down the human intruders...

"What is the meaning of this?" Sylvia Ferus demanded, and she was stunned to see her father Marcus Ferus stride into the room. The stocky old Roman businessman and art collector looked at his daughter with disappointment. When Sylvia rose to her feet to confront her father, the old man pushed her aside and looked at Amaya with disgust and hatred in his somber eyes. The armed men kept their weapons trained on Amaya, and seemed ready to destroy her...

"Sylvia, you are my daughter, I accept that you love women instead of men, but this woman Amaya is a monster, a blood drinker," Marcus Ferus said angrily. Sylvia placed herself between the armed men and Amaya, who'd risen to her feet at this point. The African woman glared defiantly at the armed men. In her many centuries of life, Amaya had faced worse situations. Sylvia protested, thinking that her father and his men were mistaken, but then, one man let his spear fly, and Amaya dodged it with superhuman speed.

"What the hell?" Sylvia Ferus asked, and she looked at Amaya, astonished by her speed. Not even cobras could move as fast as Amaya, and Sylvia had seen them in combat against other animals. Amaya looked at Sylvia with something akin to regret on her darkly beautiful face. That's when Amaya changed. Her eyes turned solid black, and her teeth elongated and sharpened into fangs, while her fingernails became six-inch, wicked claws...

"I won't go down easy," Amaya screamed as she launched herself at the armed men. The ancient female vampire made short work of the Roman enforcers, slaughtering them within the span of a few breaths. Amaya grabbed Marcus and struck him, then forced him on his knees. She was about to slay the unruly old Roman businessman when she sensed a presence behind her. As Amaya turned, Sylvia plunged a sword into her abdomen, and the vampire queen fell to her knees, betrayed by the one she loved...