*This is a sample from the prologue. Bear in mind that this is a New Adult Urban Fantasy thriller that contains graphic violence, profanity, and sexual themes. This preview is from a work-in-progress novel. The content shown here may differ from the final polished product.
***
I never imagined my final moments would be lying by my lover’s side on a cold castle floor, covered in mud, blood, and sweat while the vampires surrounded us. Nor had I imagined I’d only be able to cross two names off my list before biting the dust.
“Bloodsucker motherfuckers,” I hissed through gritted teeth.
A beautiful, broad-chested man struggled to his feet across from me and faced our enemies. Rain droplets dripped from his bushy blond locks. His smoke-colored vest and pants were ripped and torn all over. An emerald-shaded cravat poked out from underneath his collar. He swiped at the monsters with a broken rapier.
“Stay away!” he yelled in a thick Scottish accent. “Stay away, ya clarty bastards!”
Thunder boomed outside. Rain crashed against the clattering windows.
Flashes of lightning—and the warm glow of the chandeliers—illuminated the hideous creatures’ faces. Bags of flesh hung under their crimson eyes. Atrophied muscle and sinews dangled from their bones like a spider on the end of a web. If I wasn’t already in so much pain, I would’ve vomited from the foul stench of rotting meat and dried blood emanating from their bodies. One of them approached the man from behind and drew back a handful of sharp claws.
“Donovan!” I cried. “Behind you!”
But my warning came too late.
Golden, shimmering spurts splashed across the stone walls. Ichor, the blood of the “fair” breeds of Aelithians.
His pained groans were drowned out by the vampires’ gloating cheers. He tried to counterattack, but they jumped on him too fast. Bam! His body was sent careening into an ornate dining room table. Oily slabs of steak and bottles of aged wine spilled on the floor. An unlit brass candlestick rolled and bumped into my boot.
I rose, trying my best to ignore the pinpricks of pain in my legs. The vampires lept at me, thrashing with their bladed fingers. The air whistled as I ducked just under their attempts to behead me. I raised the Glock in my hand and pulled the trigger. Gunshots echoed through the room as my rounds pierced their jaundiced skin. The vampire minions shrieked and backed away, giving me an opening.
I rushed to Donovan’s side. “You okay?”
He lay on his back and stared at me with his gorgeous amethyst eyes. “Ungh…I should’ve held off on that last pint in Glasgow.”
I offered him a sardonic smile and a hand. “It’s just like you to crack jokes at a time like this.”
“Ah ken.” He wore a sly grin. “But it’s one of the things you love most about me, right?”
That smile. That damned sexy smile.
Even though I was on the verge of getting torn apart by bloodthirsty horrors of the night, it was enough to make my undead heart skip a beat. If by some incalculable miracle we survived this mess, I’d take him to bed and let him have his way with me. Again. I’d pray to the good Lord for forgiveness later…assuming he could still forgive an unholy abomination like me.
Under any other circumstance, this would’ve been the perfect romantic getaway: a gothic, X-century castle nestled in the misty mountains of Scotland. A fairy tale brought to life. What girl would say “no” to that?
But this was no fairy tale. This was a waking nightmare of blood-soaked vengeance. A hell I could never escape. Not until I slew each and every last one of them.
I pulled him to his feet. “Can you walk?”
“I dunnae. I’ve got a gammie leg.”
“Just our luck, huh?”
I examined the dining room chamber, searching for an exit. A fireplace crackled at the far end. Over it hung a portrait of the Vampire Lord who owned this place. Or at least, I think that’s who it was supposed to be. For some reason, the portrait was blurry, an indecipherable prism.
What the hell? I wondered. Do I need glasses or something?
Never mind that. The vampires were huddling together and preparing to launch another ambush. I tossed my lover’s arm over my shoulder and made a frantic dash for a wooden door at the opposite corner.
“Raven?” he said, limping along as I dragged him. “What are you doing?”
“What’s it look like? Getting us the ever-loving fuck out of here before they slice us into tiny ribbons.”
“Leave me. I’ll only slow you down.”
“Like hell I will. Now c’mon, pick up the pace.”
A swarm of vampire lackeys blocked the door. They leered at us with eyes the shade of dried blood. Pointy ears sprouted from both sides of their bony, protruding foreheads. Blackened, cavity-filled teeth jutted from their lower jaws. The creatures at the lower levels of the vampire pecking order resembled animals more than men, with this gang looking like enormous, walking cave bats.
The spoiled meat smell grew stronger as they came closer. I gripped my pistol tight, locked on one, and fired. Missed. I tried to squeeze the trigger once more, but a throbbing paw smacked it out of my hand. My weapon clacked on the stone floor, out of reach.
“Shit!”
With my now-free hand, I reached into a pouch on my belt. The cold steel of a throwing knife glowed in the dancing light of the fireplace. I let the blade fly, aiming between the eyes. The target’s “ally” shielded him with a leathery, winged arm. The knife jammed into its wing, doing no real harm.
“Raven,” Donovan said, panting, “use my sword.”
“What’s a shattered rapier going to do?”
“Point taken, my fair lass. Are we doomed?”
I glanced at my bleeding arm. “Not quite. There’s always that.”
The monsters leaped into the air, ready to pounce and feed on us. It took everything in me to block them out—and the thought of my imminent death—and imagine a broad sword in my palm. I closed my eyes, bathed in the temporary respite of darkness. I pictured the sword with its hilt in my fingers.
I opened my eyes. My head grew dizzy and light as the blood leaked from the injuries in my arm. A strange, sickly warmth coursed through me. The blood coagulated and cooled after it left the gaping wounds, then gathered around my palm. It darkened, solidifying into the shape of a blade.
A broad sword made entirely out of blood. My blood.
This all happened in the span of a second, performed at a lightning-speed honed through years of training at the Institute. I grasped the handle and swung the weapon in an arc. My blade connected with the swarm, slicing open their chests.
The creatures screamed as their attacks failed, diving out of the way and slamming to the ground. Their bodies dissolved into a thick, sludge-like liquid. It shimmered an ethereal purple color as it seeped through the cracks in the floor.
“Whew,” Donovan sighed. “Talk about timing.”
I retrieved and holstered my pistol, then rebalanced myself with him leaning against me. “More will be on our tail. Less talking, more walking.”
With my new “sword” in hand, I shuffled to the door. I let out a cry and gave it a kick. It creaked as it swung open, leading to another hallway. Rain continued to patter on the windows lining the right wall.
I took hurried steps and made my way down the hall with Donovan by my side. Chilly drafts blew over me and gave me the shivers. But as a vampire, I was always cold.
The left wall was filled with a bizarre gallery of paintings. Some were abstract, with random buckets of splatter tossed onto them, while others depicting screaming, naked women laying bleeding and sprawled across fancy bedsheets. The latter set of “art” was distrurbingly realistic and life-like.
“This Dan McGlarson guy must be one sick bastard. Then again, if he’s part of the Vampire Lords, I shouldn’t be surprised. What with everything they did to me.”
“Guess we’ll find out soon, won’t we?” Donovan said, wheezing. “Say, Raven, I don’t suppose you could let me feed on your—”
“Absolutely not. I’m finna dust Dan McGlarson and then we’ll get you patched up.”
“Raven, please, it would heal me much faster and I could—”
“No. My memories are mine and mine alone. They’re not a bag of chicken nuggets from a late-night drive-through.”
“Very well.”
We trudged our way to the other side of the hall. My rain-drenched boots squelched as I marched along. Another wooden door lay before me.
“How much farther until we reach the throne room?” I asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine, love. And that is assuming he’s waiting for us there. He could be anywhere in here.”
I shook my head. “Before I slit her throat, Teresa Capri specifically stated that McGlarson knew I was coming and would be waiting for me in the castle throne room.”
“You know as well as I do that the Vampire Lords are the most cunning and ruthless among our kind.”
“Our kind?” The blood blade trembled in my grip as I glared at him. “I will never be like them. Do not ever lump me in with those back-stabbing monsters again. Understood?”
“My apologies.” His usual charming smirk returned. “Does that mean I’m sleeping on the couch tonight?”
I ignored him, pulling on the iron ring and opening the door. I gasped at what greeted me on the other side.
We came into a dimly-lit, open chamber. My boots dampened a mossy-green carpet that stretched onward and welcome us like we were celebrities at a Hollywood premiere. The carpet was dotted with red splotches. The walls were decorated with more grotesque “art” and the skins of animals, both earthly and Aelithian. Beyond the panorama windows lay the darkened, stormy skies of the Scottish highlands.
Lightning flashed.
From the ceiling dangled a figure. A guy my age with emaciated skin that had been drained of blood. His rib cage was visible at his sides. He was dressed in only a pair of frayed underwear. His body was contorted into impossible angles. He stared at me with eyes permanently frozen in a look of terror and agony. Hanging close to the ground on either side of him were cages filled with men and women who shared a similar fate.
“Our Father in heaven,” I whispered, offering up prayers. “Please have mercy on these poor souls.”
Donovan whistled. “He sure did a number on them.”
I held back tears. “This is no joking matter, Donovan. These people…these poor, innocent people…”
I jumped when a rattling sound filled the air.
“Is somebody there?” a voice called from the cage nearest to me.
My eyes widened. A survivor?
“Hang on! We’ll get you out!”
I gently pushed Donovan away. He limped behind me as I rushed to the cage. The voice belonged to a teen girl dressed in only a tattered cloth robe. She looked about as lively as the dead man hanging over us. When she spotted us, she shrieked and backed into the corner. Her sky-blue eyes betrayed her fear.
“No! Get away from me!”
I silently chastised myself for showing her my teeth. Of course any sane person would freak out seeing my fangs. Hell, it still unnerves me seeing them in the mirror.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said, smiling (with only my lips). “We’re here to help.”
“No, you’re not!” Her gaze darted back and forth between us. “Liar!”
She quivered and balled up in the corner, looking like a frightened dog at a rescue shelter. I checked the door and gave it a yank. Of course it was locked.
I heaved a defeated sigh and turned to my partner. “You work with the Shadowseeker Society, right? I don’t suppose you know how to pick a lock like this, do you?”
“You’re having a laugh, aren’t ye?” he said with a chuckle. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m the great Donovan Brand, breaker of hearts, reader of minds, and picker of locks the world over.”
The girl kept screaming as he fiddled with the cage lock. Poor thing. Who knows what unspeakable horrors she’d seen and been subjected to? I knew what that was like. I knew all too well. That’s why I came here in the first place. To kill all the Vampire Lords so they’d never terrorize anyone ever again.
Her peers weren’t so lucky. Their bodies were shriveled like raisins and in various states of dress or undress. I glanced between the corpses and the paintings on the wall. They resembled each other. Was Dan McGlarson trying to recreate his “art” in reality? A hellish nightmare the likes of which would make Dante himself blush?
Not on my watch. The sick bastard was good as dead in mind already.
“Why are you doing this?” the girl said, keeping her fear-filled eyes trained on Donovan. “I don’t understand.”
“Shhh,” I said. “It’ll be all right. I promise we’ll get you out of here. We’re the good guys.”
Are you? A voice in the back of my mind challenged. Are you really? With everything you’ve done? With all the blood you’ve spilled?
I shook my head and pushed the guilty thoughts down. I glanced at my partner again. He’d taken out a pick and started fumbling with the keyhole.
“How much longer?” I asked, my voice giving away my impatience.
“Almost there. Just give me about a—”
Something whizzed through the air. He let out a gargled, throaty gasp. My eyes widened at the sight of a long, sharp object lodged in his chest.
“Donovan!” I yelled, kneeling by his side. “Donovan, what happened?”
He coughed and smiled weakly. “Looks like…we’ve got company, love.”
Sure enough, scuttling sounds reverberated from the ceiling. I glanced at it. A stream of bat-like vampire lackeys emerged from the shadows. They snarled and sneered, their eyes shining in the darkness like rubies unearthed in a mineshaft. At the front of the swarm was a vampire who looked more human, more evolved.
“Just perfect,” I said, masking my own terror. My heart drilled into my chest like a jack-hammer. “More of them. And at least one’s got blood magic.”
I unholstered my Glock and fired into the crowd. I hit one of the monsters, who squealed and dropped to the carpet like a swatted mosquito. I pulled the trigger again.
Nothing. Only a click. My heart sank as I stared at the barrel.
“Of all the times to run out of ammo…”
“Quick, Raven!” Donovan called. He propped himself against the wall. “Let me feed! At full power, I can fend them off!”
I glanced between him and the enemies who were rapidly approaching. “Damn it. Damn it all!”
I hurried over to him and knelt. He reached out and dug his fingers into my temples. I closed my eyes, bracing myself as he began to feed on my thoughts and memories. I hated everything about it: the pain as he pushed deeper into my skin, the weird throbbing sensation in my head, and the thought of someone peering into my soul and stripping me naked of all my deepest secrets.
But what I hated most was knowing that I’d have to lose a piece of myself. Things I couldn’t forget. Painful memories like flames of torment that purified my will and forged me into the perfect, calculated weapon of vengeance I’d sworn to become.
One by one, the vivid visions played out in my mind, as clear as they were on the day they occurred. The never-ending waking nightmares and daily hells I could never escape from no matter how many drugs I took, or how much sex I had, or how desperately I prayed to God over tear-stained pillows.
Like the night the Vampire Lords destroyed my life forever, setting me on my blood-soaked, corpse-laden road to revenge…
***
Betrayed. Humiliated. Enslaved by vampires. Now it’s her turn to hunt them.
She will remember their names. And she will have her revenge.
Coming to Amazon and Kindle Unlimited this winter. Pre-order now!
Copyright © M.W. Arita and Aeonian Entertainment
