The Heart of a Monster: Book 1, Chapter 1: "Strangers in a Strange Land"
I thought I mgiht do something different today. Rather than a snippet post about releasing the latest chapter of THoaM, I thought I'd post the first chapter of the first book in its entirety. I might need to change my upload schedule due to change in my work schedule. But, for now, please enjoy!
If you want to read the full fanfic, you can do so here : https://archiveofourown.org/series/5975771
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Warm. He felt… warm. A warm that his skin hadn’t felt in centuries and yet its gentle kiss on his cheek was instantly recognizable. His eyelids, though closed for the moment, began to wince as the sunbeam crawled up his face and spread across his brow. The light could no longer be ignored. Slowly his eyes began to open, vibrant blood red orbs floating in a sea of black. The more his eyes opened, the more his conscious mind returned and it was only for a moment longer that he stayed groggy. As his pupils constricted from the light he gave a gasp and instinctively clamored his way back into the protective shade of the archway. Panic set in as he inspected his arm, which had been lying in the light for who knows how long; it seemed perfectly normal. No burns, pock marks, or lesions. His fingertips gently patted his own face, searching for signs of damage; perfectly intact.
“Strange,” he turned his hands over and back but still could find no damage beyond that which he sustained while fighting his way off of the sinking ship as it plummeted from the sky. His gazed slowly turned to the sunlit ground beside him.
Tentatively he reached one hand out, its clawed fingers gently extending towards the light. Every muscle in his arm tensed as he prepared to jerk his arm away. The light slowly engulfed his hand, his pale skin gleaming. Nothing. No blisters, boils, or tears just a gentle warmth that he had forsaken long ago. He turned his head to look around, this small arch was the only patch of shade for a while; he could either tempt fate now or plan to spend and entire day huddled in this thin strip of darkness like a wounded animal. He rose to his feet in one clean, agile motion; as if he had levitated upright. He turned to face the light, his face stoic despite the inner turmoil he felt. One leg stretched forward and then….
Here he was, a full blood vampire, somehow standing in the sunlight. He marveled at each finger as it stretched and curled in the light, but he didn’t get long to take in the miracle. A small shuffling noise came from behind him, he wheeled around with inhuman speed. There, in the shadow of the same arch but tucked tightly against one side, was a strange woman. Her flaming green eyes were locked firmly on him, she looked like a frightened animal. He must not have noticed her in his enthrallment over his missing sunlight sensitivity. He did not know her, but he did recognize her; she had been on the nautiloid. He had seen her stumbling around when he awoke from his own pod. They had fought together to escape, but that was an alliance of necessity; he had no intentions of continuing it. His muscles relaxed a little as he regained his composure; his long cloak wrapping around him. He walked away. Passed by her as if she were not there, in his mind she wasn’t. He had but one thought in his mind; get to Moonrise Towers. As he walked up the beach he could feel her piercing eyes continue to stare; he didn’t really care. She was of no consequence to him unless she tried to attack; then he would simply kill her. One scared mortal woman was not a threat, he would barely have to lift a finger to end her.
As he approached a section of wreckage from the ship, he felt a presence. All around him he could hear the skittering. He did not bother to change his stance, he felt no threat. From the burning piles of rubble emerged a small cluster of living brains with clawed feet, their screeches and clicks echoed in his brain. He remained still, but ready. The vile creatures rushed towards him, the screeching growing louder in his mind. He countered as one of the beasts lounged at him; his claws ripping through it. But something was wrong. Though the beast lay dying on the ground, he felt… pain. Pain as if he had received a blow from another vampire lord or a consecrated blade. He looked down at his arm, three long scratches had been etched into it where the brain beast had hit him with its claws; he was bleeding.
How? How can such a weak creature wound me this badly?
He was still lost in his thoughts when the next intellect devourer charged; it leapt through the air, aiming for his head.
A bolt of fire soared through the air and slammed into the creature’s side, sending it hurtling to the ground in a charred pile; the flame had almost grazed his nose. He turned his head towards the source of the incantation and saw the same woman from before; her eyes looked less frightened and more wild now. There was more than just adrenaline behind her gaze. No matter. He would take advantage of her alliance once again. With the two of them together, they made quick work of the rest of the creatures. When the last brain fell, he regained his poise and turned to leave; his injured arm tucking into the safety of his cloak. He began to walk away, but heard the timid shuffle of footsteps behind him. He stopped. The footsteps stopped.
He did not bother to turn around as he spoke.
“I have but one goal, get in my way and I will not hesitate to slay you as I did these beasts. That being said, you may follow me for now if you so choose. You have proven… adequate, in battle.”
He resumed walking, the sounds of footsteps resumed as well. He hadn’t intended to ally himself with anyone, but he could not ignore the aching in his arm. Something was wrong. He had sensed something being off when he was still aboard the ship, but he had been too busy escaping to really look into it; it might be prudent to have someone watching his back. This wouldn’t be the first time he had taken in a stray, but the last one was a very long time ago.
And so it continued like that for the rest of the day; danger seemed to lurk around every corner but they conquered each threat together with nary a word between them besides the witch’s incantations and a few sounds of exertion from himself. Somehow, more strays had joined throughout the course of the day; they seemed to mostly be the doing of the witch, but considering how exhausted he currently felt he couldn’t really turn down the help. Now the day was drawing to a close, purple and orange hues filled the sky as twilight broke. The mortals around him all seemed to gather their things and lay claim to their own spots in this makeshift campsite they had thrown together. It had been so long since the last time he had slept at night, he stopped doing so after Lisa had passed. The rest of his band seemed to largely ignore him as they talked amongst themselves, granted he intentionally exuded an aura that made him appear cold and unapproachable. All of them kept away, except for one; the witch. As he sat silently at the small camp fire she too sat silently and stared, but not at him; her gaze was affixed on the flickering flame, an unsettling hollowness sat behind her eyes. There was definitely something wrong with her, but as long as she didn’t get in his way he did not care.
“Striga,” a quiet but resolute voice trickled from her mouth.
He turned his head to look at her.
“My name… is Striga,” she seemed to struggle through her sentence, as if she was clawing at the depths of her own mind to recall the information. As she grew quiet again, he turned his attention back to the fire. He gave a sigh.
“Vlad Dracula Tepeş,” he gently rose to his feet and turned to leave, “But you shall refer to me as Lord Dracula.”
Even after all this time, he could hear Lisa’s voice chastising him for having no manners. It’s funny how one person can leave such a lasting impression on someone, even if that person died over a century ago; he still missed her. Beneath the branches of a small tree he sat down and closed his eyes. He didn’t really need to sleep, being undead, but entering a sleep-like state would likely help his arm heal; he gripped it with his other hand, it still hurt. He leaned against the bark of the tree and let out a slow breath, one eye opened to look back at the campfire; everyone else had gone to bed but there she was, still staring at the dying flames.
