Aleron: Book One of Strigoi Series (Stringoi Series)

by Kane

  I still didn’t know where we were or how far we had traveled. I turned around and was amazed at the vastness of the lake we crossed. The castle was but a small spot in the distance. I turned to Mynea, who was staring at me, smiling, her eyes glowing like those of a cat. She seemed even more beautiful now than before.

  “Look, my love. Look through your vampire eyes and see the world as you’ve never seen it.”

  Indeed, she was right. Everything was much more vivid. It was as if I had opened my eyes for the very first time. I was again a child. I could hear insects and tiny vermin scurry about. Mice stomping nearby sounded like elephants. The gentle breeze whispered through the trees and brush that surrounded the area in an infinite blanket of brilliant dark greens. The moonlight seemed to make inanimate objects come to life. All of these sensations and sounds filled my head at once. It became more and more difficult to distinguish one sound from the next, one scent from another. My vision blurred from the numerous objects moving. I closed my eyes for a moment when I felt a cold hand gently caress my cheek.

  “Try to open your mind and take in nature’s beauty. The vampire blood in your veins has awakened your once-human senses and made them sharp. In time they’ll guide you.”

  I tried to open my mind, but I must admit, I didn’t know what she meant at the time. Nevertheless, the noises became distinct once more. I was able to focus.

  “You, my love, now walk between life and death. We’re God’s perfect predator, and we remain children of the devil. Even though we can be as gentle as angels, we possess strength beyond measure.”

  Mynea turned and looked at me, her eyes studying me from head to toe. Then suddenly her gaze turned into a staunch stare. She was now looking at me as if she could see through me.

  The thought of being a vampire plagued my mind. “Am I dead?”

  “No, my love. We’re very much alive. But merely being alive is not why I’ve brought you here. I’ll teach you how to live. Our way of life is not what you’re accustomed to. We’re beautiful, alluring creatures who must use all of our abilities to maintain our immortal gift.”

  Abilities, I thought. Yes, abilities, she replied without moving her lips. “Let me show you.”

  We began to move swiftly through the trees, traveling like cheetahs, without making the slightest sounds, save the whistling winds. We saw candles burning in the distance, and in an instant we were upon them.

  “We move as fast as the wind, Aleron. Stealth is our cloak, for under its cover you’ll survive for millennia. Without it, you’ll surely perish. We’re stronger, faster, and smarter than mortals; however, our numbers are few and the mortals are many, thus we fear their intentions lest they ever discover us and our true natures. We don’t live among them. We do, however, interact with them, as they’re our finest and most pleasurable delicacy. You see, my love, we survive by drinking blood. We thrive by drinking blood. We replenish ourselves by consuming it. Therefore, we become better predators as our prey remains constant.”

  Delicacy implies that we can survive on the blood of other beings, I thought.

  “Yes, we can, but to deprive yourself of human blood is to be but alive. As I said before, I’m here to teach you to live. To live is to do exactly what I’m going to show you.”

  The candles were burning outside a theater. The marquee promised a performance of Ozymandias, Pharaoh of the Exodus. I knew him as Ramses II. But we were not there to see the play. We dared not attempt the front doors, for they would surely open into a great room full of people. Instead, Mynea led us to a rear door situated in the center of a dark and lifeless alleyway. The smell of unattended mildew and filth filled my nostrils, the unmistakable scent of decaying flesh nearby buried under some trash. This alleyway was only penetrated by street vermin and homeless mortals, on occasion.

  I turned my attention to the door. The rust on the hinges and the debris scattered about the base told its true history. Mynea opened the door with ease, tearing apart the rusted hinges, doorframe, and the three steel locks that kept it secure from normal entry. The sound was muffled by the sheer speed. Without uttering a word, she told me to be silent. The side door had once been an exit from the back of the staging area. I could hear the performers entertaining the crowd. There were several oohs and aahs, interrupted occasionally by applause. I began to listen to the performers, for I’m well versed in Egyptian history, especially Ramses I, II, and III.

  Mynea looked just past the curtains, surveying the crowd. She then eased her head back into the darkness and smiled at me. “I’ve chosen, and she’ll make a worthy meal.”

  “What do you look for?” I asked, excited that she was hunting. “How do you come to choose? Are there any rules?” I asked.

  “I was taught to hunt the wicked. The murderers, cheats, and violators of society; however, I no longer subscribe to that lesson. I choose my meals indiscriminately, as God would choose who would live or die. I don’t care what one has done in life, nor do I concern myself with whom they may have wronged. I simply let my will and their unfortunate fate guide me to them. There’s no method. They’re all my prey. Good and perceived evil alike. The young, old, strong, weak—they all will die soon enough.”

  The thought of draining the life from a child disgusted me. “This is not what God would sanction! How could you kill an innocent child?”

  “Doesn’t God allow the perfect child to be trampled by a horse? Do you not know of doctors and priests falling victim to petty crime? Do you not hear of the church condemning non-believers to death through some horrific means? Don’t think or reason as if you’re human. You didn’t question the innocence or lifestyle of the young woman whose morbid fate you so clumsily and mercifully decided.”

  She was right. I was confused as to what I was to do. All my life I’d been a servant of God and my fellow man. Now it seemed I was supposed to be the self-appointed executioner of any poor soul I condemned to death. I’m not sure I can do this! What is the price? What have I done? What have I allowed Mynea to do?

  “Nothing, my dear,” she replied. “You haven’t allowed me to do anything. You had no choice in the matter. I chose your fate for you and for that I’m your master. You’ll learn from me. You’ll watch me as I show you how to live with your new immortal life.”

  Again she was right, I had no choice. Even if I had, I still wanted her. She was my master, my teacher, my mother, my love. She was mine.

  “Sorry, my love,” I said to her. “Forgive me.”

  “I already have, Aleron. It’s only natural that you question what I do, what you’ll do. It’s not necessary for any apologies. Kings don’t apologize for anything. And you, my dear, strong Aleron, will be king!”

  This time I took her in my arms. She looked and felt cold, though her eyes were inviting. I pressed her rigid body against mine and began to kiss her lips. Passionately and deeply we embraced each other. It was then that I realized that nothing would ever come between us. I would love her until life ceased to exist on Earth. She was indeed mine.

  Mynea lifted her head and nose into the air, then inhaled. “It’s time.” She peered through the red velvet curtains again. I followed her lead. The crowd was captivated by the performance; not a single sound broke their concentration save the voices of the actors and actresses. Suddenly a woman arose and made her way toward the exit. Various people in the crowd began to chatter and look on in amazement at this woman’s desire to leave during what seemed to be one of the most compelling parts of the play. Her decision seemed quite odd to me as well.

  “Follow swiftly,” Mynea whispered.

  And so I did, and in an instant we were through the crowd, in the lobby, and then in the stairwell leading up to the balcony. No one in the crowd even saw so much as a blur as we scurried past their eyes, defying their senses. We stood in the shadows of the stairwell next to a door, waiting for it to open.

  When it did, the lobby light shone through, outlining the woman who had left the performance. Mynea stepped i
nto the light, while I stayed hidden in the shadows. The woman looked at Mynea with a familiar calmness.

  “Hello, my dear,” Mynea said to the woman.

  She didn’t respond. She just stood there in a daze. “Come closer.”

  The woman took a few more steps toward Mynea, farther into the stairwell. Mynea took the woman into her arms and embraced her as a mother would embrace a child she hadn’t seen in ages. She then took the woman’s neck into her mouth and punctured her skin just above the clavicle. The woman sighed out of both pleasure and pain. Her eyes shifted and found mine.

  She looked at me as the life was being drawn from her body. I could see the reflection of my eyes in her dying gaze. Mynea continued to drink until the woman’s body went limp. Mynea dropped her to the floor, turned toward me, and smiled, her mouth and teeth covered in dark, dripping blood. She took me into her arms again and began to kiss me. This kiss was unlike any other we had shared; the woman’s life force was still ripe in her mouth and filled me with feelings of ecstasy.

  She pressed her body against mine, and for the first time I felt warmth emanating from her. She felt softer than normal, though still too hard for human skin. I felt lost in her grasp. I began to see dynamic visions that weren’t mine, memories and excerpts from a story unknown to me. I didn’t let them distract me. I never wanted this embrace to end. But it did.

  “You must learn to lure your prey. Avoid detection by allowing them to seek you while silently persuading them mentally. We’re superior to them in every way. Know this and know it well, for once you forget who you are, it will be the end of you.”

  We left the stairwell as swiftly as we had arrived, returning to the shadows of the alleyway. We walked into the moonlight, and Mynea looked more radiant than ever.

  “Aleron, our appearance changes slightly after each meal. I look and feel a little more human, though I’m more powerful than I was before I drank. This allows us to mingle among them for a short period of time without drawing too much attention to ourselves. Make no mistake, the mortals both see us and don’t see us. Their ignorance also allows us to remain with them for centuries.

  “Now the time has come for you to feed again.”

  “So we must take more than one a night to survive?”

  “No. You must now because you’re but a fledgling. I myself won’t need another meal for months. However, I enjoy the hunt and thus will hunt again tomorrow and every day thereafter.”

  Where do I begin? Whom should I choose? Should I choose a male or female? Is there a difference? All of these questions could have been answered by Mynea, but she chose to act as though she could not read my thoughts. She wanted me to learn this basic step on my own, and so I did.

  I took Mynea’s hand, and we stepped out of the alleyway and began walking down the cobblestone road toward the distant roar of people conversing. The night air was refreshing in my lungs. I purposely led Mynea with a slower, more humanly pace in an effort to mimic the motions and movements I’d known all of my life. We passed several groups of people chatting about various insignificant topics until we came upon a local watering hole called the Peasant’s Dungeon. I’d heard of this place, yet I couldn’t recall from whom and where. The exterior was familiar to me, and I had a sense of the interior as well: broken wooden doors, the smell of leather, mold covering the seats. I could remember the barkeep and his daughter, who served the gentlemen more than just drinks. We approached the door, and a tall, burly man stood in our way.

  “Strangers aren’t welcome. Find another tap,” he said.

  Until now I made sure no one we passed saw my eyes or my face. I looked at him and grinned. We’ll enter and you will show us a clean seat, I said to his thoughts. He did so. The place was exactly how I’d envisioned it, even though I was sure I had never been there. How could this be? I noticed the familiar scent of the woman Mynea had fed upon emanating from the barkeep. They were acquainted in some manner; I didn’t know how.

  “What you’re remembering are not your memories, Aleron. They’re the memories of the woman.”

  Of course, once we kissed, the blood had transferred from Mynea to me, and thus the memories from the woman in the theater had passed on to me. How fascinating! This was indeed how I found this place. I didn’t realize until then that I was coming here with a definite purpose.

  There were several small groups of people scattered about. The groups were made up mostly of men, though a few contained one or two women, who were there for entertainment purposes only. I began to observe. I could easily take any one of the lot. Was there a method or logic to this skill? Did I kill as Mynea described, like God, indiscriminately and without remorse? Or was there some grand scheme that was not to be realized until the last soul was separated from his body? As I looked around the room, I realized that all chatter had ceased and that everyone was watching us. I could sense the heavy breathing coming from some of the men as they undoubtedly noticed the way Mynea was dressed. The lust in their thoughts and intentions made her smile. She, of course, had noticed long before I had.

  I’m going to get that bitch and make her my personal slave, one man thought. He seemed to command respect from the other lesser men in his group, for they immediately moved out of his way when he stood and approached us near the entrance of the bar. He stood between us and stared at me, thinking Mynea belonged to me.

  Stay calm, my love, she whispered to my mind. Men, it seemed, didn’t need to be lured using any unnatural persuasion, for they’re creatures of habit and, alas, predictable.

  Before the man opened his mouth, I could smell his rotting teeth swimming in a sea of ale. A drunken fool he was. “Hello, my lady,” he murmured. “I’m Rathmon, and I would like to employ your services.”

  “Of course, my dear Rathmon,” Mynea replied. “Many men have wanted me, and no matter how much they have offered, they must first seek the approval of my keep.”

  “Your keep?” he bellowed.

  “Yes, my handsome brute. He stands behind you.” The man turned around and looked me up and down, finally locking his eyes on mine. “How much?” he inquired.

  “Let us walk and discuss this business in private quarters, shall we?” I goaded. Relying on the woman’s blood memories, I led the man out of the bar, down a corridor, and into a room. I could almost taste his anticipation for pleasure, for this room was the very room in which he had employed or stolen the services of many. I opened the door and he entered the room behind me. Mynea followed us in and closed the door without touching it. Fascinating, I thought, after witnessing yet another power that our kind possessed.

  “Now that you have me here, how much for the woman?”

  “Make me a fair offer, my good man, and don’t insult the one you desire.” He turned around and considered Mynea from head to toe once more. She made this glance unforgettable by allowing one of her breasts to be slightly exposed by a flutter of her silk gown.

  “I’ll give you three pieces of gold for the pleasure of knowing her,” he said, completely bewitched by the allure of her exposed nipple.

  “Surely you can do better than that, for she’s young and unspoiled.”

  “Five pieces!” he retorted as saliva flew from the sewage of his mouth.

  “That’s more like it, my good man.” The man approached Mynea with a bestial lust.

  “Gold before the girl’s intimate touch,” I said.

  “I’ll pay you once I’m done with your wench. Now leave us lest I have you once I finish with her!”

  She allowed him to grab both of her arms, and in an instant, and to my surprise, fueled by possessiveness and spite, my hand penetrated his back with ferocious fury, and I ripped out his heart! He turned around in shock and stared at his heart, still beating in my bloody grasp. The sight of the blood was too much for me to resist. Had this occurred but a day earlier, I would have surely quivered as I fought back the urge to expel my lunch and breakfast.

  I marveled at it! His body collapsed to the floor, e
yes wide open as he witnessed me drinking his life’s nectar directly from the source. Mynea said nothing. She watched in amazement. Indeed, I didn’t realize my new strength.

  I began to hear hurried and clumsy footsteps coming closer. I was astonished by my ability to isolate the sounds of the footsteps entirely, allowing me to determine there were three men and a woman. Obsessed with bloodlust, my once-human desire for life was utterly devoured by a new compulsion for death. For a moment, I began to imagine myself killing them all and draining them to the point of oblivion. Yes! This was what I wanted. I must have more!

  We must go now, Aleron, Mynea said to my thoughts. You weren’t quiet in your attack, and others will come if he doesn’t return.

  “Then let them come and face his fate!” I retorted aloud. I felt invincible, a feeling that would prove to be an illusion.

  “No, my love, remember, they’re many, and though we’re strong, we’re few. To jeopardize yourself is to expose us all. That must never happen if we’re to continue living.” Mynea grabbed my blood-soaked hand. “Now make haste, for I can sense curiosity from his comrades.”

  Just as the door flew open, we were off into the night.

  We returned to the castle swiftly. We entered the great room, and Mynea took my hand into hers and kissed it. Her kisses became tiny licks and suckles. I looked down and noticed some of the brute’s blood still smeared between my fingers. Even though I wanted to imagine that Mynea was kissing my hand from her sheer attraction and desire for me, I knew it was her lust for the freshly squeezed ambrosia that called out to her. I kissed her lips, for I, too, needed her succulent taste once more. We embraced each other as only unnatural beings could, an inseparable and impenetrable embrace that defied even air’s request for passage. She looked at me with a mother’s concern coupled with a lover’s desire.