by Lexi C. Foss
“I should have killed the slayer when I had the chance and not decided to torture her instead. I can’t believe this is happening. How the hell did she find him? I’ve been searching the world for centuries looking for references to him but found nothing. I bet it was those fucking witches. I bet they hid him from me. Creating a vampire out of that boy was the worst thing I ever did.”
I slam my fist into the wall crushing the flesh there. It scrapes through the skin to the blood underneath, the blood of those I feed on. It’s not enough to satisfy the anger coursing through my veins, though. I need more.
Stomping out of my bedroom with its all black decor, I tromp down the corridor of the old colonial mansion I took possession of years ago. The windows are broken and boarded up. The place is in ruin, but it’s the way I like it. It’s my palace, my seat as the King of vampires in India.
I’m not going to have some up-her-own-ass, specially trained slayer to dislodge me from power. No, the next time I see her, I’m going to instantly sink my fangs into her neck and drain all her blood, forcing her to change, like I did the boy. I’m then going to keep her in a cage and torture her for centuries to come. She’ll be my pet to do with as I wish. As for the man who supposedly has the power to kill me, he won’t get the chance. His decapitated head will be resting on a spike at the entrance to my mansion before the day is out.
On reaching the communal room where several of my guards and associates sit feeding and entertaining women, I look around for what I want. I spot it instantly, the timid little girl weeping in the corner. She’s only recently been brought here and is still chained to the wall because she hasn’t realized yet that she can’t escape. She’s naked, dirty, and covered in vampire bites, but the bite I’m about to give her will satisfy me and end her misery. I like it when they scream, and she’ll cry out for me in a few seconds.
As I storm across the room, the others watch me, but it’s the girl’s eyes I focus on. They are wide with terror when she realizes I’m coming for her. My reputation as a nasty bastard precedes me. I take and never give back. I’ll fuck you until you bleed all over my dick, and then I’ll bite you until your dead. Then maybe if I’m in the mood, I’ll fuck you again, licking the remaining blood from your pussy. If I like you, I’ll change you, use you until I’m bored, and then throw you out into the sunlight or set you alight and burn you to death.
Women are toys to me. I’m the worst of the worst. But as I wrap my hand around the girl’s hair, I can’t help but chuckle to myself. It’s not just the women I take. I’ll fuck anything. Wherever there’s a hole I’ll stick my dick into it, and as I’m the one with all the power, you’ll submit to me.
I can almost feel Mishka’s pussy already as I push inside her and rip her apart. I won’t be gentle. I’ll destroy her. God, I’m fucking hard and angry. How dare those fucking witches get involved again. They’re nothing to me, just a means to an end. A powerful food source to give my blood a magical hit. I won’t let the old woman from the cave win, eternal flame or not.
I push the girl’s head hard to the side, and she screams in pain. This won’t be gentle—this won’t be without fear and terror for her. She’ll bleed. She’ll die. She’ll probably shit herself as well—it often seems to be the way when humans are faced with me, an ancient breed with no compassion.
Allowing my fangs to descend into my mouth, I sink them into the gossamer flesh of her neck. The hit of blood is instant. It floods through my body and soothes the anger. The girl screams in agony, but I don’t stop. I suck and suck until she goes limp in my hands. A floppy doll. I drop her to the floor with a heavy thud, and lick my lips, the succulent taste of fresh blood filling my mouth.
“Feel better?” Jatin appears at my side. He’s obviously been partaking in a woman as well. His mouth is stained crimson.
“Much. Have her body taken to my room and bring me a man. I fancy playing for a bit. Anything dark and depraved, I’m going to indulge in it tonight. My mind is stressed, and the only way to stop it is to feed.”
“Of course, sir.” Jatin bows his head to me and motions for one of the nearby guards to collect the dead girl at my feet and the young man beside her, who’s already soiled himself with fear. The stench of it is filling the room. “Do you want to talk about what happened today? I might be able to help,” my deputy asks.
I use a taloned finger to pick at a piece of gristle caught in my teeth from the girl’s neck. “Walk with me,” I order.
“What happened out there today, sir? I’ve never seen you so angry.” Jatin falls into step with me, making sure to stay one pace behind to show deference to my superiority.
“I saw a face from my past. Someone I’ve searched for but believed to be dead. He’s got a powerful hold over me thanks to some witches. The cave we were in, I’ve visited it before and killed many witches there. The buzz from it when I did was more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt before. Especially the head witch. After she died, I sucked every last drop of her blood from her. I don’t think I came down for days. It came at a price, though. Before she died, she cursed me. Something about the vampire I saw today being the only one who could kill me with a special fire in the cave. If he gets hold of the fire, then I fear it will come true. The witch's magic was incredibly powerful.”
“We’ll kill the vampire then.” Jatin puts forward as a plan.
I shake my head. “He’s in the slayer’s headquarters in Delhi. We’ll get nowhere near him even if we had an army. I also suspect it won’t remove whatever curse the witch put on me. I don’t think I can kill him without me dying. No, I think the only way is to destroy the cave. I want you to get as many of the vampires from India together as you can. We’re going to go to the cave tomorrow to obliterate it and the fire. I’ll break the power of the witches, destroy him, and then I’m going after Mishka. She’s slaughtered our kind in this country for long enough. We’re the power in India now, and I think it’s about time the entire world learned just what we can do.”
We reach my room, and I lean against the wall by the door as the dead girl and the weeping man are dragged in. My dick hardens in anticipation.
“I like your plan, sir. First India and then the world. I’m sure all the other vampires are growing just as sick of the humans’ dominance as we are. It’s about time we showed them who’s boss,” my deputy says with a smirk.
“Can you imagine it? Camps full of humans readily available to feed on.”
“A glorious world.”
“If it wasn’t for E.V.I.E.,” I growl.
“And Jude Reyes.”
I can’t help but chuckle at the mention of the man who controls E.V.I.E.. He thinks he’s the ultimate power in the world when it comes to destroying vampires.
“Don’t worry about him. He has secrets—all men do. It’s what destroys them in the end.” I step into my bedroom and pick the sniveling man up off the floor. “Prepare us an army, Jatin. Tomorrow we start a war, and it’s going to be one the slayers won’t be able to win no matter how many prophecies are foretold.”
13
Howie
I roll over to stare at the beautiful woman lying in bed next to me. It still seems like a dream we were together last night. I don’t want to wake up yet. I want to stay here forever. This is a better reality than the one my future holds.
I pull Mishka into my arms, and she purrs softly in her slumber, her cat side coming out. I shut my eyes and drift back off to sleep at the beautiful sound, wishing it could last forever.
My younger self lies unconscious on the hard ground before me. He’s not moved at all in the few minutes I’ve been watching him, but I know by the clothes he’s wearing he’s come here straight from the witches. It’s the same day. He’s covered in their blood still. It only stains the leather and woolen cloth he wears, though, not his teeth. He didn’t bite them, and I know in my heart I’ve never fed on a human, only ever animals. It’s what the witch saw in me, the human part still living within me. It sto
pped me from completely surrendering to the monster I was created to be. That was never meant to be my destiny.
I take a moment to look around to workout where I am, and it dawns on me instantly when I see the outline of the Tower of London at night. I’m in the city I called home for many years. So this is how I came to live in London when I was originally changed in India.
A movement to my left pushes me back into the shadows, and a young girl, no more than six years old, runs out and leans down over the still body of my younger self. I worry about her being close, but I don’t need to because an older woman approaches a little way behind. I can't see the woman’s face as she’s wearing a hooded cloak. Her age is difficult to tell from the way she moves, but she walks confidently and not like someone who’s aged.
“Come away, Maya,” the woman orders, and the little girl steps back. I can just make out, in the dull light of night, a pout of annoyance on her face.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I only wanted to see if he was in his monster form.”
‘Mama’, gives me some idea of the woman’s age. This is the sixteen hundreds, and women are married off early. It’s likely, having a child of this age, she’s only young herself.
“He won’t be. The witches didn’t send him to us that way, but we need to be careful if he wakes and gets startled. He could change and attack on instincts alone.”
“He won’t,” the little girl looks down at my younger self, “he’s a good one. The witches said so.”
“You can’t always rely on the whispers of witches, Maya. Sometimes they get things wrong.”
“Never.” The little girl folds her arms across her chest and stamps her foot on the ground. “Witches know everything. They see everything that will happen. They know what’s needed to save the world when the special one is born. I wish I was the special one. He’s handsome.”
The little girl’s mother throws her head back and laughs. It fills me with warmth and recollection as it’s exactly the same melodic sound Mishka makes when she laughs. I adore it and lean in closer to listen.
“I think he’s a bit old for you, my little one.” The mother ruffles the hair on her daughter’s head. “We’ll find someone a couple of years older than you, not twenty plus.”
“Boring.” The little girl sulks again. I like her.
“We need to bind his memories. The witches said he can’t know about his past, or he’ll go after Adiman, and it’s not the right time.”
The mother leans over the body of my younger self, and as she starts to chant, twisting tendrils of magic flow from her and into the sleeping body.
“There, much better. It will take him a while to reacquaint himself with everything, but he’ll remember his link to Adiman only when he needs to. At least the great vampire won’t travel this far in the world to find him. Our spy will make sure of that.”
“Is that the other vampire the witches sent to him?” the little girl questions with a cock of her head.
“Yes, Jatin. I don’t envy him his job. He’s going to have to guard the monster until it’s time. He’ll be forced to do things that no vampire like him would ever want to, but I know he’ll stay loyal to our cause. We just need to make sure we protect Howie until the time is right. Someday the task will pass from me to you and then down through our descendants. He won’t know we’re protecting him. We’ll do it from the shadows rather than in direct sight. He’s special, but he’ll need his soulmate to be born before it becomes clear just how special.” The mother grips the hood of her cloak. “I may wear her face, but my heart belongs to another.”
“Daddy?”
“Yes,” the woman confirms as she lowers her hood, and I stumble backward straight into a shallow trench used for collecting urine and feces. The woman is the spitting image of Mishka. She turns her head to face me like she knows I’m there and smiles. “This young man’s heart will heal when he finds her.”
“Howie,” the soft voice permeates into my dream, and this time, I know it’s the real life Mishka. I allow her to bring me back to the present and away from the dream world I was caught in. She sits beside me on the bed, worry etched all over her face. “You were restless, talking in your sleep. What happened?”
“Another vision.” I say sleepily as I continue to come around with the face of what can only be Mishka’s ancestor still heavily imprinted on my mind. “Where did your family originate from?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Your family? Are they all Indian in origin?”
She shakes her head. “As far as we know, my father’s is, but my mother’s side isn't. Her ancestors came from farther afield and kept a detailed history. I always thought it was strange, but it’s actually lovely to have. It started with a numerous times great-grandmother of mine, Maya. Her mother was one of the first women in our line to go into slaying. Maya was born in England and followed in her mother’s footsteps. It’s been a family tradition ever since. Not every generation, though, my mother didn’t as she met my father, but when they had me, my father consented to let me start training young. Why are you asking this?” Mishka places her hand on my chest, her soft touch comforting.
“After the witch sent me out of the cave, it was Maya and her mother who found me in London. They were the ones who bound my magic. They knew I was special, but they couldn’t let me search for Adiman. I had to wait for my soulmate to be born first.”
“Oh.” Mishka slumps down and bites her lip. “We better help you find her then. Maybe that's the reason you couldn’t control the fire.”
She starts to move off the bed, but I grab her and push her back down so she’s lying on her back. My dick is hard instantly at the closeness of her. We’re both still naked from our love making during the night, and positioning myself at the opening of her sex, I push into her without waiting for permission. I don’t need it. Her wetness is all the consent I need. It shows her love for me, and it tells me she’s my soulmate. It’s what Maya’s mother was telling me when she looked at me.
“Howie.” Mishka shuts her eyes, and I can see the tears dripping from them. “We can’t.”
“Open your eyes, Mishka,” I order.
She refuses.
“Mishka.” I repeat, and eventually, she opens them. “You didn’t let me finish telling you what I saw in the vision. Maya’s mother looked exactly like you. She stared straight at me in the dream. She knew I was there, and it sent chills down my spine. She told me she wore the face of the woman I’m destined to be with, but because her heart belonged to another, Maya’s father, it wasn’t her. I had to wait until I learned about myself again before I would find my soulmate, and now I have. It’s you. You’re my soulmate, Mishka. I had to rediscover all this to allow me to wield the power of the eternal flame and destroy Adiman.”
We don’t talk anymore. Mishka wraps her legs around my waist, and I start to move my hips, back and forth, buried within her. We move as one on the bed, our bodies twisted together as we bring each other to orgasm. Mishka tumbles over the zenith first, and I follow quickly after her.
“I love you, Mishka. I was destined for you, and I’ll always exist only for you. It took you many centuries to come back to me, but you did, and I’m not going to let you go this time.”
“I love you, Howie. I’m sorry I wasn’t the right person then. She may have loved another, but my heart is yours completely. I’m scared. I don’t want to move from this moment, because I know I’ll lose you, and I don’t think I can go on if I do. Why is fate so cruel?”
“I don’t know. I want to curse it myself, but we have our lives mapped out. If all we ever have is this moment, it will be the part that stays with me always.”
“The same.” Tears flow freely down Mishka’s cheeks.
I reluctantly pull out of her, and when there’s a knock at the door, I collapse back down onto the bed and bring her into my arms.
“Mishka?”
“It’s my mother.” Mishka whispers. “Yes?” she calls out in reply.
14
Mishka
I’m trying to temper down the rage burning inside me as Howie and I use magic to get to the cave. This is a bold move from Adiman, and it means this morning was the first and last time I’ll wake with Howie at my side. I’ve fallen head over heels in love with him, and by the end of the day, he’ll be dead. I will live my life as Howie has asked me because I made a promise to him, but I won’t rest until every vampire on this earth is destroyed.
When we land in the cave, I make my way instantly to the flame. It’s still there burning brightly. Howie appears at my side and wraps his arms around me.
“I could stare at fire for hours.” He nuzzles into my neck and kisses the soft flesh there.
“How much of your life have you spent staring at flames?”
“Years, but none of it was wasted time. I see many shapes in the flames, and I dance with them. Sounds corny—but knowing it should kill me and doesn’t, has drawn me to it even more.”
I turn in Howie’s arms and look up into his brown eyes. I can see the sadness in them. He knows today will be his last.
“I need more time with you,” my voice breaks.
“We don’t have it, and I think even if we did, it would never be enough. This is my destiny, Mishka. I’m just glad I found you and know what love is before I die.”
I bury my head in Howie’s chest, taking in the earthy smell of him, committing it to memory in case it’s the last time I hold him.
“Destiny sucks.” I sulk, and Howie laughs.
“Without it, I never would have known you.”
I pull back and roll my eyes at him. “Semantics.” I wipe away the tears from my eyes and press my lips to his. “I love you.”