Court of the Shifter Chapter 2

The castle was more than I could have imagined.

The first thing that caught my eye was the level of symmetry in not only the castle but the grounds and surrounding hilltop in general. The only thing that seemed “out of place” was the ruined church to the right of the mansion, but even its location managed to add to the overall symmetry and evenness.

The exterior of the castle consisted of layers of pale stone and iron that supported the tall structure, and varying rounded towers as well as iron-topped stone chimneys dotted the exterior. Spires smaller than the ones on the church reached for the sky, and the iron finials and crestings sat flush with the ornate metal roof treatments. Many of the larger windows were rounded at the tops, squared at the bottom, and had carved stone trim. The windows were also latticed, and a large wrought-iron lantern hung above the main entrance. I could tell most of the exterior facade was composed of mainly decorative work, but it was breathtaking and imposing all at the same time.

Inside, the maximalist theme continued, and the walls as well as most of the woodwork and furniture were dark. Plush, woven rugs were laid throughout the halls and in the centers of different rooms, but the light from the sconces and chandeliers reflected off the polished floors underneath. In the sconces, I could see small glass orbs, but when I was able to get close to one, I noticed it wasn’t screwed in like a lightbulb.

Rather, it hovered inside the metal holders above a small saucer.

“They’re called aza orbs,” Nicolai explained when he glanced back and caught sight of my curious gaze. “They are the major light source for Marbrooke and other vampire cities.”

“How do they work?” I asked as I picked up my pace to catch up with him and Calantha.

“Blood magic,” the brunette said, but she didn’t glance back as she talked.

“Blood magic?” I raised an eyebrow in confusion “What the hell is that?”

“I believe the king and queen would be better individuals to answer that question,” Nicolai said, and then he slowed to a stop in front of a room and pushed open the door. “Here we are. Come along.”

“King and queen?” I muttered as I followed him and Calantha into the room.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

Part of me still wanted to believe I was dreaming, but then I glanced down and caught sight of my furred, clawed hands that were tipped in blood so pungent I could taste it in the air, and I knew my brain wasn’t this creative.

The interior of the chamber we’d entered followed the same theme of dark walls, light wood floors, and a mostly crimson and black detailed rug that covered the center of the room. At the back of the room, two latticed windows flanked a bay window, and a beautifully carved desk sat before them. Two large metal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and there were several tabletop candelabras and wall-mounted sconces throughout the room. Though there were a few aza orbs, most of the lighting actually came from lit white pillar candles. On the other side of the room, there was a black grand piano, and several paintings, bookshelves, and miniature statues dotted the remainder of the extra space.

There were two love seats and two chairs seated around the edges of the rug with a side table between the two individual seats, and seated in the chairs was a man and a woman. There was an open bottle of what appeared to be wine on the table between them, and one half-full glass sat next to the man.

The woman sat to the left of the man, and her eyes were the color of fresh blood in the sun. Her hair was rich and warm like mahogany, and it was parted in the middle. Her lips were painted a darker red, and she offered a small smile when her eyes fell on me. She was absolutely gorgeous, and her gaze alone told me to tread very carefully with how I looked at her.

Look, but respectfully. Got it.

Her glass hung from her fingers delicately, and there was maybe a sip left in it. Her hair fell in loose waves to right below her breasts, and her smooth legs were crossed at the knee. A beautiful crimson dress fell off her porcelain skin, and it clung to her skin and then billowed out around her like water. The V-cut of the front dipped to the bottom of her rib cage like one of those getups that Hollywood actresses would wear on the red carpet, and her full breasts strained against the fabric.

I followed the delicate layered necklace hanging from her neck back to her eyes, and then I took in the man to her right.

The man next to her was equally as elegant, and he appeared to be in his mid-forties. His hair was short, neatly slicked to the side, and black as midnight. His eyes were the same color as his wife’s, and a thin white scar of about four inches in length ran perpendicular to his right eye. His features were sharp, and he was not a short individual by any means. The majority of his well-tailored silken suit was black and white with intricate gold detailing, and his vest had an underside the same color as the man’s eyes. There wasn’t anything out of place about him, either. Every hair, every fold of clothing, and even his shoelaces were placed exactly where he intended them to be.

They both exuded an energy unlike Nicolai or Calantha’s, and I felt it concentrated in the pit of my stomach. The amount of power I sensed coming off them told me this was the king and queen without a doubt.

Then I took in a deep breath and caught a whiff of something strong and biting, and I realized it was the smell of patchouli tinged with blood. I glanced around the room, but I couldn’t find anything that would cause the aroma.

Was this what the king and queen smelled like?

There was neither respect nor disgust in their eyes, and they both remained seated when we entered the room. I tried not to shift uneasily beneath their gazes, but I still felt like I’d been somehow stuffed inside the skin of a monster, and I was hyper aware of every inch of my bulging, muscled, and furred skin.

“Ah, that didn’t take very long at all,” the man said, and his accent reminded me of a mix of French and British.

“He proved to be quite efficient in the field.” Nicolai closed the door behind him, lowered his shoulders in a bow toward the man and woman, and then turned to me. “Why don’t you introduce yourself officially, now that we are inside.”

“Uh… oh, right!” I cleared my throat. “My name is Elijah Shepherd, but I go by Eli.”

To my right, I caught sight of Calantha as she hopped onto the desk, braced her hands on the edge, and crossed her ankles.

“Eli.” The seated woman nodded, and then she finished off her drink and set the glass on the table before she motioned to the loveseat closest to her. “I am Queen Seraphine Mithtari of Vosreterra, and this is my husband, King Aliester Mithtari the Third. Please, have a seat.”

So, I was right. King and queen vampires.

I really wasn’t in fucking Idaho anymore.

“Um, a pleasure to meet you,” I said with a small shoulder bow before I took a seat. “Thank you.”

“And you have already met our right hand and head of guard, Nicolai, and our daughter and Heiress, Calantha.” King Aliester motioned to the two others in the room as he addressed them. “I hope they behaved. The two of them together always seem to bring about trouble and shenanigans.”

The king let out a light laugh, and I caught a glimpse of his sharp and elongated fangs. There was something primal yet also aesthetic about them, but I didn’t allow myself to focus on them for long.

“They did, don’t worry,” I said with a smile.

“You both could have at least shown him how to transform back into his original form,” Seraphine sighed, and then she stood and walked toward the desk.

It was then I realized she was barefoot, but the fabric of her sheer dress quickly grasped my attention. It rippled behind her with every step, and it almost seemed like there was a wind underneath her with how the fabric moved along the floor.

Queen Seraphine opened a drawer, closed it, and then opened another. After she rummaged around, she pulled out something and closed the drawer once more. Then she made her way next to me on the couch, and she opened her palm to reveal a necklace.

I couldn’t help but follow the curve of her chest down to her hands.

The metal was silver, and the chain was sturdy but not too thick. A silver hexagonal pendant hung from the chain, and carved into the metal was a symbol. The geometric and symmetrical lines created a venn diagram with an hourglass going through the middle of the venn diagram vertically and a crescent moon perpendicular to that horizontally.

“Here,” the queen said as she handed the jewelry to me. “This is a shifter’s necklace. It supposedly helps with their innate abilities, including how to shift forms.”

“Uh, where did you get it?” I couldn’t help but ask.

From the way people had behaved in town, I’d gathered vampires didn’t particularly like shifters, since that was apparently what I was now, so it seemed strange for the king and queen of vamps to have some kind of special shifter medallion.

Could this be a trap?

“I know it seems odd,” the king said, like he could read my hesitation on my face. “It’s not usual for our kind to have something like this, but we have been expecting you. And we mean you no ill will, you have my word.”

His tone sounded genuine, and I reminded myself that if they wanted me dead, Nicolai and Calantha wouldn’t have saved me back in the town square.

“Expecting me?” I asked as I took the necklace in my fingers, and then I felt a small shock of energy, like touching a lightswitch after running on carpet. “What do you mean?”

“Before we answer any questions, first take a deep breath and focus on your original form while you put the necklace on,” the queen instructed. “I want you to think about your hair, your eyes, your body. Allow yourself to shift back from where it is now to where it was when you arrived.”

“Okay…” I looked down at the pendant with a raised eyebrow.

I couldn’t help but be skeptical, but there were four pairs of eyes on me in anticipation, so I followed Seraphine’s instructions and imagined my regular human body. Then I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, unhooked the clasp, and wrapped the silver chain around my neck. It was cold against my collarbones, but the moment the pendant rested against the middle of my chest, I could have sworn I heard a gust of wind.

When I opened my eyes, the clasped was hooked once more, and the necklace hung on its own around my neck.

Then I realized my hands were back to normal.

“Holy shit…” I whispered, and I studied my fingers before I met the queen’s gaze. “Thank you.”

“I’m afraid that is the extent of shifter tips I have,” she chuckled before she made her way over to her husband, sat in her chair, poured herself another glass, and sipped at the dark liquid.

“This is more than enough. Seriously.” I grinned toward the woman with gratitude before I backtracked a little and cleared my throat. “But I still have other questions I need answers to.”

“Like what, Eli Shepherd?” King Aliester asked as he studied me with his crimson eyes.

A deluge of questions flooded my mind again, but I took a deep breath and decided to start with the basics before I worked my way up.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“You are in Marbrooke, the royal city of Vosreterra, the Kingdom of the Vampires,” Nicolai said as he made his way to the loveseat across from me and sat down. Then he flashed me a subtle smile. “Is that all? I seem to remember you had quite a few more questions earlier.”

“It would be unnatural if he didn’t,” King Aliester said, and then he opened the cabinet to the table between him and the queen, produced another glass, closed the cabinet, and poured Nicolai a drink. “Please, go ahead.”

“Actually, I remember some of the questions you had,” Calantha said from behind Nicolai, and then she hopped off the desk and sat next to the older male vampire. “We’ve already addressed the shifting part. We know you’re from a different realm but no, we have no idea what a ‘human’ is. Zolas had a vision that you’d appear any day now, and then today there was a bright flash of light in the shopping district, which is where we found you.”

“Wait, who’s Zolas?” I asked as I tried to wrap my brain around this information. “Someone… had a vision about me? Did they bring me here? How did I get here anyway? I was in a damn cave back on Earth.”

“Simply put, you came here through a portal.” Nicolai nodded and took a sip of his drink. “You just mentioned being in a cave. Natural formations are always conduits for supernatural energy, especially if you interact with it in some way.”

“What do you mean by ‘interact?’” I asked as I looked up at him as well as Seraphine, Aliester, and Calantha. “I was pulled into the water in the cave by this… this white, creepy arm. And no matter how much I fought it, I couldn’t escape. It dragged me down into a white light, and then I fell out into an alley.”

“So, the Circle got involved…” Aliester muttered, but his lips barely moved.

I was surprised I was able to hear him, but then I remembered I’d apparently just leveled up to shifter, and my senses were expected to be better than before.

I still had so many questions about my shifterness specifically. Did I just turn into a freaky half-man, half-animal monster? Or could I shift into a full animal? And which animal? All I’d seen were claws and fur, so I could have been anything.

Also, what the fuck was this ‘Circle’ the king mentioned?

This was all so goddamn insane.

I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but suddenly the door to the office opened, and I turned around to see another man walk in the room. He wasted no time as he walked over to me, hopped over the back of the loveseat, and plopped down next to me.

“Zolas, please, the furniture--” Seraphine sighed and sucked in a breath.

“Hello, I’m Zolas Ebreus, and you must be our shifter,” he said with a wild smirk, and he held out his hand for me to shake.

Zolas had a similar complexion as the royal family, but the hair that fell off his shoulders was such a pale blond it was nearly white, and his eyes were the color of blue labradorite. There was a beauty mark beneath his mouth on the right, and he wore loose-fitting white tunic and dark trousers. A thin gold chain hung from his neck, and there was a small circular pendant with a white crystal that hung from the chain. His nails were long and manicured, much like the royal family’s, and there was a fearless look in his eyes.

That, or he’d seen way too much in his lifetime.

“Uhhh, nice to meet you,” I said slowly as I took his hand in mine and shook it.

“By the way, Cal, you owe me a few rounds.” The white-haired vampire turned to the beautiful brunette and grinned. “I told you we’d get him.”

“Shut it, Zolas.” Calantha rolled her eyes and crossed her arms and legs.

“Okay, time-out,” I said as I held my hands up. “I’m still a little lost. So, you’re the one who had a vision about me or something?”

“I’ll catch you up, my friend,” Zolas chuckled as he turned his attention to me. “I’m a psychic, mystic, work with the otherworldly, friends on the other side, yada-yada. The fun part is where you come in. See, you’re a shifter. But you have an original form, which here we call Nulmancers.”

“Nulmancers?” I repeated and mulled the word over in my head. “What’s that?”

“What’s it sound like?” Zolas shot back.

“Sounds like… someone who has no magic?” I guessed. I knew null meant nothing, and I’d played enough video games to know a “mancer” or some kind usually had magic.

“By Azurantha, I was worried you’d be an idiot,” Zolas said with a sigh and laugh of relief, and I could tell he was being more lighthearted and comical than anything. “Precisely. But here, you are a shifter.”

“How does that work?” I asked. “Like, the portal changed my DNA?”

“There are still some mysteries I do not even know the answer to.” The white-haired vampire shrugged.

Of course.

“Well… what kind of shifter am I?” I followed up.

“If you were anyone else, there would only be one answer to that,” Zolas said, and a mischievous grin twitched at the corners of his mouth. “But you, my friend, can pick your poison.”

“There are six shifter species, to be exact,” Aliester chimed in. “We know there are wolves, those are the most common, and big cats, but the others are less well-known. But that doesn’t matter because you are an Ulvant.”

“Andddd what does that mean?” I asked.

“A shifter who has the ability to achieve all six forms,” Seraphine said.

“So the legend says,” Calantha muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Thanks for the segway, Cal.” Zolas winked playfully at the princess, and I could tell although they weren’t related, they were practically siblings. “The legend of the Ulvant is one the Circle of Azurantha predicted almost one hundred and fifty years ago. Azurantha is the goddess we worship, the mother of vampires, and the Circle is a group of thirteen of our matron elders of the coven who use high levels of blood magic to commune with our goddess.”

“Okay…” I said. “I think I’m with you so far. So, you think I’m supposed to be this legendary multi-shifter?”

“The prophecy is that a Nulmancer turned shifter from another realm would bring peace and restore balance to vampires and shifters alike,” Aliester continued. “The members of the Circle practice their craft daily, and one of them must have been able to open the right portal for you to come through.”

“You said this Ulvant is supposed to bring peace and balance to both vampires and shifters,” I said as I tried not to think about the Jedi and Sith from Star Wars. “But from my limited experience here, your, uh, kind don’t particularly like shifters.”

“Yes, vampires and shifters have had issues since the dawn of time, it seems,” Seraphine said with a sigh, and then she took a few sips of her drink. “Unfortunately, it is now past the point of being dismissed. At first, it merely affected our governments, but now our people are being affected.”

“And that is where the rogue vampires come into play,” Nicolai jumped in. “The people of Vosreterra are being taken and turned into blood-hungry monsters. Vampires consuming the blood of other vampires for food is not only illegal but highly frowned upon in our society, and now we are finding men, women, and children alike either dead or doing the killing.”

“We highly doubt the shifters are behind the kidnappings,” Seraphine clarified, “but they started soon after we had to renegotiate imports and exports with our allies, and the renegotiation did include changes with them as well.”

“And we can’t ignore the coincidence,” Cal muttered as she picked at her nails, but then her red eyes snapped up and narrowed on me.

I decided not to say anything to Calantha for now. I couldn’t help but wonder why she was so put off by me, but despite the princess’ apprehension, there was a genuine look of desperation in everyone’s eyes. I could tell they needed help, regardless of the fact that I kept anticipating to wake up in the base at Bitterroot.

I still hadn’t wrapped my head around all of this.

One moment, I’d been a regular park ranger, and now I was some kind of legendary monster shifter?

Suddenly, a headache started to form in the center of my forehead, and my stomach grumbled quietly. I needed to fucking eat, and the headache was getting worse by the moment.

“I know this has been a lot for you,” Seraphine said as she set her glass on the table. “You probably have many more questions, but why don’t you retire for the evening, and we can pick this back up in the morning?”

Her voice was calm and gentle, and despite her unnerving red eyes and fangs, I could sense the maternal instinct in her coming out.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” I said with a nod.

“I’ll show him to his room!” Zolas said as he hopped up from his seat. “You can follow me, my friend.”

“No, you will not. You will remain here with Aliester and I. There are things we need to go over.” Seraphine stood, and then she went to the desk and rang a bell.

Suddenly, a doorway opened from the bookshelves, and a staff member stepped into the room. The younger girl had vibrant orange hair and eyes the color of flames, and her petite body reminded me of a fairy.

“This isn’t any fun,” Zolas sighed. “But alas, I understand.”

“Lor, please show Eli to his room and bring some dinner to him,” Seraphine said to the younger lady.

The staff girl gave a nod, and then she rounded the shelf door and closed it. On her back were wings that looked like autumn leaves, and she hovered over to me before she tilted her head to motion toward the exit.

I glanced at the king and queen, and Aliester gave me a nod of approval. I offered a small bow to the royal family and Nicolai as I said a thank you, and then I turned on my heel and followed the fairy out of the office.

I definitely needed some food and rest.

“Oh, this is wonderful. I love it when I get it right.” I heard Zolas chuckle to himself as Lor closed the door behind her.

The walk was quiet, and I didn’t mind one bit because by the time we reached my room, the headache had become an acute migraine. The fairy flitted around the chamber and showed me where everything was with nothing more than the tingle of a bell or a small nod. The room very much fit the overall aesthetic of the castle, and there was a king size bed as well as a wardrobe, a bookshelf, and a desk in the space. In the back left corner was the attached bathroom, and once Lor was done, she left the room.

I will be back with your dinner shortly, Master Eli. I heard in my head along with the chime of Lor’s bell before she left, and though I knew I seemed crazy, part of me knew that was her way of communicating.

I could also definitely get used to being called ‘Master Eli.’

A sudden and eerie quiet filled the room, and I went to one of the windows to see outside. The window faced the back of the grounds, and beneath me a Gothic-inspired garden stretched throughout the rest of my view. Statues surrounded by foliage and well-manicured flowers dotted the scenery, and if I squinted, I could see the city wall in the distance.

I sighed and went to the bed, and then I sat on the plush comforter and sank into the mattress like it was a cloud. Though I was exhausted, I couldn’t sit still. I bounced my leg as I sat on the bed, and then I stood and went into the bathroom and looked around. The only thing of interest there was my reflection in the mirror, and I studied my bloodied staind clothes. My pants and shirt had ripped along some of the seams, presumably when I shifted, but they were still mostly in one piece. I shook my head at my tattered image before I went back out into the bedroom, scanned over the bookshelf, and turned back to the window.

“Fuck this…” I whispered as I decided to go on an adventure of my own.

I was going to go crazy if I stayed cooped up in this room. Besides, maybe the more I walked around and studied my surroundings, the more real this whole insane situation would feel.

I opened the door to my room and peered my head through the crack. Then I glanced down the hallway to my left and right, and once the coast was clear, I stepped out into the corridor and closed the door behind me.

I walked with no real direction in mind, but I kept in mind the way to get back to my room. I studied the pieces of art that hung on the walls, and I maintained a slow but steady pace.

As I walked, I came across several rooms, and I decided to take a peek in a few of them. The first I looked in was in the same hallway as mine, and it was another guest room very similar to the layout of mine. The second room I went into was on the same floor but a hallway over, and it was a storage closet filled with mostly linens and cleaning products.

I hadn’t come across a single soul, so I went up a flight of stairs and took a look around. On each of the walls of the landing was a door, and through the one to the right, I could see a receiving area of sorts that led to other areas. The one in front of me looked like the door to the storage room on the floor below, so I left it alone.

The door to the left was in a small alcove, and the massive wooden French doors called to my curiosity. Gold decor was embellished in the wood, and I could smell a sweet scent coming from inside.

It didn’t take me long to make a decision on where to go, and I closed the distance between me and the doors. Then I took the handle in my hand, and the metal was warm to the touch.

What could be on the other side? More magic like the aza orbs?

When I pushed open the door, a beautiful and elegant bedchamber spilled out before me. Lush furniture, warm lighting, and more shelves filled to the brim with books filled my view.

But what really caught my attention made my heart skip a beat.

Through a white, sheer curtain that covered the entryway to the bathroom, Calantha’s naked body was in full view. From her long, thick hair to her full breasts and pert nipples, her smooth navel, her thick thighs and round ass, she was there in all her alluring and mysterious glory.

And I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her.

Then she glanced over and saw me watching her.