The Chambers Beneath the Castle
The Earth of Eldridge, Chapter 5
Prince Alec and Aeress, after indulging rare fairy wine, found themselves in the depths of the castle hidden pathways—senses unnaturally heighted. They can hear every skittering mouse, every drip of water echoing through the stone, and see through the darkened tunnels with razor-sharp clarity.
They begin to hear a few voices that intrigue them. Kasmin, an Andrasian. A race that mages had rid the world of. Their kind was recently brought back to the realm to do the kings bidding, tethered to a mage vessel strong enough to withstand the creature inside of them—the gerulus.
But one voice in particular captures the attention of Alec.
His older brother.
Draven.
And it can only begs the question: What is Draven doing in the depths of the castle's prison, with the ruler of the Andrasians, Kasmin, and her comrade Lamia?
Kasmin stalked down the chambers beneath the castle. Cell after cell, Oskian prisoners recoiled into the corners, clutching their skeletal arms and bowing their heads—shrinking themselves as they avoided the passing demon’s gaze.
Even the smell of them made Draven scrunch his nose as he trailed behind the Andrasians’, Lamia and Kasmin.
Lamia leaned toward him. “Disgusting creatures,” she murmured. “They decay so quickly. Their will breaks with the slightest pressure. It’s almost as easy as snapping their brittle bones. Hard to believe something so fragile rose so high in this world.”
Draven gritted his teeth. “Humans did manage to push the Andrasians’ from this realm.”
“Oh, don’t be offended, my prince.” Lamia smiled. “You misunderstand me. I can tell your soul is more akin to ours—even if your body is breakable. Your soul… your soul is tortured. It’s been tampered with. And I can taste that it lusts for power, no matter the cost.”
“Where are we headed?” Draven asked. He lowered his head to meet her gaze; she was nearly a foot shorter, yet somehow more terrifying than any soldier he’d faced. The human body she wore was barely five feet tall, but she could inflict agony far beyond her size.
The corners of her mouth curled into an insidious grin. “You’ll see soon enough, my prince. Your place isn’t among mortals. Our relationship will be… mutually beneficial.”
A smirk tugged at Draven’s lips. “If it grants me Andrasian power—and puts me on the winning side of history—you know I’m sold.”
Power. It was always power he lusted for. And power he intended to claim.
They quickened their pace to keep up with Kasmin.
Kasmin slowed, a smile creeping over her face as she savored the prisoners’ suffering—the descendants of the humans who had forced her kind from Earth.
Her gaze slid across each cell, assessing the meat behind each pair of eyes. Prisoners shrank back, but one stood out—a shackled mage whose awareness had not yet been beaten out of her. Her head didn’t sag like the others’. A spark of life still clung to her.
Kasmin halted. “A healthy one. For you, Lamia.”
Without looking away, she drew the ring of keys from her belt and unlocked the cell.
The girl’s head snapped up. “No. No—please, not me.” Her whisper cracked into a cry. Tears carved clean paths through the dirt on her skin, though nothing could wash away the terror.
“What are you going to do to her?” Draven asked as the slight, trembling girl was dragged forward.
“You’ll see.” Lamia giggled.
She tilted her head, studying the girl like prey—like a lion sizing up a defenseless fawn.
Draven stepped back beside Kasmin as Lamia approached. She flashed them a devilish grin before pouncing.
The girl’s scream tore through the chamber as Lamia seized her by the arms. Her mouth opened unnaturally wide, and the girl’s essence poured into her—feeding Lamia’s hunger, quenching her thirst.
Before long, the girl lay limp, her head hanging in defeat.
“Is she dead?” Draven asked.
Lamia whipped around, ravenously licking the blood from her mouth. The sight was feral.
A smile crept across Draven’s face—an untapped hunger flickering in his eyes.
“She only passed out,” Lamia said, waltzing toward them as Kasmin shut and locked the cell. “She’ll regain her strength eventually. And then… we’ll be back.”
“She looks older…” Draven muttered.
“I took about five years from her.” Lamia said it with giddy pride, delighted by the suffering she had imposed.
Draven dropped his jaw.
“What? Girls gotta eat.” Lamia pouted. “These human bodies are itchy, we have to sustain them with life somehow if we want to stay tethered to this world.”
Despite his rising status among the Andrasians, he could not deny the depth of their power—far beyond anything he commanded.
They continued walking, passing more human mages—old, young, lifeless. Draven could no longer tell who they had been when they first arrived. Nor how long any of them had been trapped here. He suspected the oldest ones had endured the longest, their dwindling life-force the only reason they were left untouched.
“In the next battle against Oksye, you’ll be stationed with the Chief General,” Kasmin said to Draven. “Make sure the strongest young mages are brought back for feeding.”
“That sounds like an easy task,” Draven replied, pride threading through his voice.
“Easy,” Kasmin snapped, “but essential—if you want my trust.”
“Oh, you can trust him, Kasmin.” Lamia’s smile twisted as she drifted closer. Her fingers slid through Draven’s hair, trailing down his spine like a promise. Lust glimmered in his eyes—and in hers.
“We have a deal,” Draven said, still staring at Lamia instead of Kasmin. “I wouldn’t dare betray you.”
Kasmin scoffed at their theatrics. She strode down the row of cells and unlocked one. Inside, a blond-haired boy glared up at her—clean, unbroken, newly captured.
“Eat,” Kasmin commanded, shoving a bowl of meat and rice toward him. “Drink.”
He didn’t move. The food remained untouched. His silence was defiance.
“This one has courage,” Lamia purred, appearing behind Kasmin. “Can I eat him?” she asked, almost playfully.
“That vessel,” Kasmin said, gesturing to the boy, “is for my little brother, Amon. Tanix and Xaria brought him back from the battle.”
“You’re bringing him back?” Lamia’s eyes widened.
“Who’s Amon?” Draven asked.
“Kasmin’s brother,” Lamia answered before Kasmin could. “Ruthless. Back in the old days on earth, he ruled lands your world now calls Grenendale. Not someone you’d want to cross. They call him the Beast Killer. Dragons, demonic beasts—kraken, demogorgon—he wears their skins like leather.”
Draven felt the faintest shiver. Even Lamia sounded wary, which said everything.
Though the high and lesser demons had been expelled from earth, their beast-born cousins had not. Draven understood how powerful such creatures were—and what it meant that Amon killed them for sport.
Kasmin lifted her chin. “He may be strong, but he still answers to me.” She glanced back at them, eyes glinting. “We’ll bring him through tonight. And with each of us crossing into this realm, the tear between the worlds widens.”
She locked the cell with a sharp click—protecting her precious merchandise. “But it’s the next gerulous we should prepare for.”
“The next gerulus?” Lamia pressed, brow lifting.
Kasmin’s voice thinned into something sharp. “Yes. The vessel for Vespara.”
“Amon was enough,” Lamia gasped. “You think she will obey you? She’s far more powerful than—”
She didn’t finish. Kasmin’s hand cracked across her face, the sound echoing down the stone corridor. Blood gathered at the corner of Lamia’s mouth—an impressive sight, given how difficult she was to hurt. But Kasmin, a high demon, could.
“I am a Princess of Shadow,” Kasmin hissed. “My bloodline rules the Andrasians. Your essence comes from my family. You will not address your ruler with anything less than obedience. Are you loyal to me and me alone, Lamia?”
“Yes, my beloved.” Lamia bowed her head at once, fear rippling through her.
Kasmin’s expression softened into something terrifyingly pleased. “Good. With my brother and sister here, our family will be complete. Even bound in human flesh, we’ll tear the barrier between worlds wide enough.”
A smile unfurled across Lamia’s lips as blood continued to drip from the corner of her mouth.
“And I’ll get my—” Lamia began, hope brightening her eyes.
“Yes, Lamia.” Kasmin’s grin went cruel. “We’ll all get our true bodies back.”
Kasmin reached into her coat and pulled out a thin black leather pouch. “For you.”
Lamia took it with reverence, almost childlike, and opened it slowly.
“A necklace…” she breathed. “It’s beautiful.”
“It was not easy to craft,” Kasmin said. “Do not lose it. It’s spelled to lead you to a gerulus compatible with my sister, Vespara. I want you and Amon to retrieve her.”
Lamia smiled, tucking the necklace back into its pouch and sliding it into her coat. “You have my word, Kasmin. May the Andrasians roam once more.”
“May the Andrasians roam once more,” Kasmin and Draven echoed.
Subscribe to hear what happens next! I also post other fictional short stories and fantasy :)
Chapter 5 You Are Here
This is delightful. Admittedly I am getting lost within the list of names, but then I have a subhuman IQ. As time allows I may return to the very beginning and "stick-man" each known character so I can tell them (and their respective agenda) apart throughout the novel. The females will either have "bumps" or longer hair. Subhuman, after all . . .