Chapter 75: City of Ghosts
Carter returned to the City of Ghosts. Its outside had become magnificent. No longer the crude walls made by Undead and a flimsy steel gate. It had a proper white stonewall running around the valley and a huge wooden bridge acted as both the gate and the defensive entrance.
The steel gate inside had been changed as well. It was now more glamorous with the sigil of Dracula in the middle of the gate.
As Carter approached, the vampire saw him and lowered the bridge down.
Delilah had made many of her lieutenants into vampires. Only the loyalest and strongest were picked. The rest still suffered the ugliness of the Pale Undead.
The Guard Commander, a vampire, came to greet Carter with his forces.
"Your Highness!" The Commander and his Undead bowed down at him.
"Louis! How is the territory lately?"
"I guard it with my life, Your Highness. The construction of the White Castle is being carried out flawlessly. Princess Delilah is currently in the Garden of Tombstones. Do you want me to notify her?"
"No need. I have a surprise for her."
Carter wagged his fingers. A horde of wolves rushed inside the gate.
"These are?" Louis widened his eyes.
"A courtesy from a friend of ours. He found out those Wolf Blood were intending to attack us. So he attacked them and turned some of them into Undead. These are his gifts."
"He really is a good friend. What is his name, Your Highness? So I can properly welcome him if he arrived."
"Name, huh? He doesn’t really have a name. But you will know if he shows up. I am the Prince of Blood. And he is the Prince of Bones. He is an Undead Skeleton with a purple cloak always on him."
"Prince of Bones?" Louis thought he was learning about some secrets. He looked around to make sure no one else was eavesdropping.
Carter patted Louis’s shoulder. "That guy is no weaker than me. If you meet him, treat him with grace."
"Of course, Your Highness!"
Carter led the Undead Wolves inside the Garden of Tombstones. This place was where most of the graves inside the Field of Ghosts were.
He left all the graves alone because they made a perfect thematic scenery for the City of Ghosts. A few contractors that Thomas and Eleanor found turned it into a proper Royal Garden for Delilah.
Delilah was drinking a cup of blood when Carter arrived. She wore a flimsy white gown, royal and seductive at the same time. Another courtesy from the Willis.
They contributed a large part in Carter’s wealth and influence at the moment. He was proud of picking them whenever he thought back.
Delilah’s face brightened up when she saw Carter. "My love! You have returned."
"I am, my bride. And I bring gifts for you."
The Undead Wolfmen surrounded them. After being turned by the Skeleton Knight, they lost all their flesh. The wolves only had their skeletons left. But they were larger and looked much more menacing than before.
"Oh, they are so cute!" Delilah petted one of them. "Where did you find them?"
"It’s a long story. Why don’t we sit down so I can tell you more about it?"
Carter was blatantly telling lies again. He constructed more lore into Dracula and also into the Skeleton Knight. He told her about the different Princes of Darkness, each one governed a unique power of their own.
"Princes of Darkness?" Delilah widened her eyes. "So you’re the Prince of Blood. He’s the Prince of Bones. Are there any other princes?"
"Not at the moment. Either they aren’t born yet. Or they don’t show themselves."
"I’ve never even heard about these things before I met you. This world really is deeper than I could ever realize."
"It certainly is." Carter nodded.
’Perfect. More lore have gone into my skins. Now I just need to wait for their legends to become fruitful.’
Delilah sat on Carter’s thigh. She slipped her hand inside his shirt and drew circles like a shy maiden.
"Are you staying long, my love?"
"Enough to keep your bed warm at night, princess."
Carter picked her up and walked to the White Castle. They were still building it but their bedroom was already finished.
The vampires bowed to them as they walked by. Delilah hid her face inside Carter’s chest like a shy little bird.
They disappeared into the hallway of the castle.
The architect that Thomas hired looked over to them. He was also a vampire.
"So those are our princes and princesses." Theodore said.
Philip was helping him controlling the Undead workers. So he was also present.
"Yes, that is Father and Mother. They are the rulers of this city."
Theodore looked around the City of Ghosts. The place was still very vacant at the moment. Only Vampires and Undead of the courts were present. It couldn’t technically be called a city yet.
"May I ask... Does Your Highness plan on allowing more Undead in?"
"Of course, he plans to turn this valley into a proper society for the Undead. We won’t need to hide within the human society anymore."
Theodore smiled, "If that’s the case, maybe I should move here permanently. After all, I bet many Undead would want to build houses here."
Carter and Delilah rocked the bed so hard its noise echoed throughout the White Castle. Everyone knew how furious the Prince could be.
At midnight, Carter played with Delilah’s hair as he looked out to the dark sky in the window.
"I have some business to attend to. I might disappear for a while." Carter said.
"You do what you need to do, my love. I will watch over this place when you’re gone." Delilah moaned gently while resting her head on his chest.
"Good girl. What do you think about me having more brides?"
Delilah stuck out a tongue in a mischievous way. "You are the Prince of Blood, my love. Who am I to have an opinion?"
Carter chuckled. He touched her nose gently, "This is why I like you. You’re a very intelligent girl. That is why. You will always remain my First Bride, governing over my lower concubines."
"If that’s a task you entrust in me, I will certainly do that, my love. I will make sure your brides are obedient little wives for you."
Carter got on top of her. "This amount of wisdom needs reward."
"No, wait..."
Delilah grabbed the bed sheet as Carter rocked her once more. Her back arched beautifully.