Aleron: Book One of Strigoi Series (Stringoi Series)

by Kane

  “Vlad looked at him carefully. He began to walk slowly around the fledgling. His mortal age was no more than twenty-four years, which could be easily deduced by his naturally muscular stature and strong chin. His eyes were as dark as dried blood, his hair long and dark, magnificently groomed. Seth’s clothing consisted of black trousers, overshadowed by a flowing cloak covering his massive and hairless bare chest. He was truly a specimen to be envied and desired. The others were intrigued by this new male. Surely, this newfound infatuation accentuated what was to come next.

  “Vlad told Seth to stand as he continued to walk around him, examining him from head to toe. Seth was slightly shorter than Vlad, though it was difficult to tell. Sasha was concerned yet proud of her choice. Vlad’s face changed from one of inquisition to disgust. He was visibly unpleased. He was sickened and offended at the very sight of this foreign male. It was an insult to his house and coven.

  “Seth attempted to speak. But without warning, Vlad captured his words by grabbing the young vampire by the throat and lifting him into the air. Sasha tried desperately to rush to his aid, but Mynea grasped her arm, making it impossible. Seth struggled and fell to the floor as he broke free from Vlad. He quickly recovered. They began to stalk each other in circles while displaying ferocious teeth, deathly sharp talons, and beastly groans. The fledgling’s arms outstretched as did his fingers and elongated nails. His face became more menacing than that of a wild animal.

  “The skin surrounding Vlad’s eyes retreated as they grew wide and black. His face, too, became something extraordinary, resembling the monster that chased my brothers and me the night I was born to darkness. Vlad’s hands no longer were those of a graceful and elegant vampire. They had become those of a wolf man, full of tangled brown hair, fingers long and thick, nails sharp as chiseled bone. His cloak began to move on its own, much to the surprise of the rest of us, willed by a seemingly independent invisible force.

  “The fledgling lunged toward Vlad as a cheetah would pounce on prey. However, this cheetah didn’t realize his prey was a lion. Our king’s cloak wrapped Seth’s body completely as Vlad leapt over him. Before Vlad landed squarely afoot, he grabbed Seth’s head and ripped it off. Blood erupted from the neck poking out of the apex of the living cloak before the garment unraveled and released the headless body. Vlad held Seth’s torn head over his as the body remained animated, crawling in search for its head. The vampire’s eyes still moved, mouth outstretched, exposing his vampire teeth. Vlad began to drink the dripping nectar gushing from the bottom of the severed head. While doing this, Vlad’s eyes sought Sasha. The vampire concubines watched, some in disbelief. Some smiled at this night’s offerings.

  “Sasha’s rage allowed her to break free of her mother’s grip, and she appeared before Vlad. Before she could strike out or do whatever she meant to, two other immortals swiftly grabbed her and held her down to Vlad’s feet. She struggled for her freedom, and without the strength to overcome her cousins’ hold, she screamed. Mynea dared not move as Vlad looked right into her eyes. Mynea turned away, and her eyes found Natasha, who was standing next to me, smiling.

  “Seth’s body finally came to rest as Vlad tossed his head to the ground in front of Sasha, whose eyes were filled with tears of blood. She continued to struggle with the other immortals who held her.

  “‘Let her go!’ Vlad said in a monstrous voice.

  “The vampires released her and disappeared into the crowd of forty-two as swiftly as they had arrested her. She rose to her feet. Full of hatred and emotions, she raised her arm to strike her master. Vlad caught her arm and secured the other. He then bit down on her neck as the lion completed the assault on his prey. She gave out a cry, withdrew her hand, and reached for Mynea, who didn’t move. Vlad continued to crush her throat as he drained her dry. Within seconds she was immortal no more. Vlad tore her throat with his enormous and unforgiving teeth and released her bloodless body to the stone floor below. She lay next to her fledgling male, headless and lifeless.

  “The winds returned calm. The torches became candles. Vlad’s cloak rested as his hands regained their preternatural beauty. And as Vlad retreated into his throne, his eyes became a deep blue. He raised his hand to address his coven and said, ‘Continue.’ And with these calmly spoken words from his blood-filled mouth, the feast resumed.

  “Visibly shaken, Mynea left the main hall for her bedchamber. Sasha’s remains were discarded into the moat. Her fate would be the same as the fate of all the delicacies of the evening.

  “I’ve witnessed Vlad devour and dismember many mortals to quench his insatiable thirst. I’ve witnessed Vlad feed on many large horses, camels, and even bears, all of which he would leave unrecognizable to the human eye. This night, however, he seemed extraordinarily beastly. The very thought of a male immortal within his family was deeply troubling for some reason. I could sense something else in Vlad’s thoughts that didn’t involve this male. I sensed the pure contempt for this fledgling originated elsewhere, another distant and unknown event in Vlad’s long life, one he would shield from our blood kisses for all eternity. I know something else exists. Perhaps someone else existed or still exists.”

  Pandora was implying the past or present existence of another male immortal. Mynea never revealed the existence of such a rule or the notion of my becoming having been an act of treason. I was still confused as to why she had left. I continued to listen to Pandora, leaning against a moss-covered elm for support during the remainder of her account.

  “From that night forward, Vlad forbade the turning of any mortal men. We all feared ceasing to exist. Sasha’s demise was a point well made. This blasphemous act was never to be repeated. Until now.”

  Pandora turned toward me. “Your existence will spell the end of you and Mynea once Vlad comes to know of you. If you want to live, then you must stay far from the Carpathians, far from your immortal womb. Mynea must become a forgotten memory, lest your thoughts betray you to another. Be forewarned, there are many of us. Some as ancient as I. Some as young as you. I fear there may even exist other immortals who are as ancient as Vlad. All are a danger to you.”

  “And what of Eliza? What have you done with her?”

  “She’s safe, Aleron. Under the protection of one of my loyal gypsies of this region. No harm will come to her. And I’ve provided what she needs to survive.”

  “Why would you protect that which is so precious to your first enemy?”

  “Had it not been for your affection for Eliza, my mind would already be swimming in her thoughts, while her blood coursed through my veins.”

  “Why do you protect what is mine?”

  “I’ve a particular interest in you, Aleron. You see, I am ancient. Life as an immortal can become quite uneventful. I rather enjoyed the death of Sasha and her fledgling prince. I rather enjoy seeing the fire in Vlad’s eyes. I feel that fire will return once you disregard my warning and seek Mynea.”

  “How are you so sure I’ll go to her? How do you know she won’t return to me?”

  “Oh, my dear young prince. I’ve lived for centuries and have come to know the irrational reflexes regarding matters of the heart. And besides, I’ve seen it.”

  “You’ve seen it? What do you mean?”

  “What did Mynea teach you? Do you know some of us can see beyond the boundaries of time? It’s one of my gifts that has grown stronger over the decades. I only need to be in somewhat close proximity to someone, and I can see his other life as if it were my own, a story revealed to me by mortals and immortals alike. Though I can see only a few months into anyone’s path, it doesn’t take any of my powers to know your intentions.”

  “What of my intentions with you? What does the future hold for you and me? Why are you telling me these things? Why have you come to me?”

  “I’m here, Aleron, because I choose to be.”

  “There’s more?” I became more agitated and forceful with my questions. Walking toward her, I asked, “Why have you left your lover and m
aster?”

  Pandora didn’t retreat, yet she didn’t stand firm. She welcomed me. Her eyes and the smirk on her face told me. “For an eternity, we all loved Vlad. We all wanted desperately to please him. And in doing that, we all have accepted each other as his concubines and means to increase his power. But this devotion comes at a price. And I’ve well paid and endured beyond what any other has. My birthright has been stripped from me.

  “You want to know why your beloved Mynea has left you? It seems the immortal heart also desires what it cannot have.

  “Vlad showed the same interest in all of us. Thus he showed interest in none of us. We were all special to him. Thus, none of us was special. Every one of us wanted to feel he loved us more than the others. None felt this as strongly as I did. And as the years passed in Mynea’s absence, I noticed a subtle change in our master. Vlad began to miss her. For the first time since the days of Vlad and me, I saw emotion in him. No one else noticed. He longed for her as the years progressed. He began to see less of us, and he hunted more frequently. His hunts weren’t only for his lust for blood; they included scanning the minds of hundreds of mortals a night for any sign of her. To him, Mynea was lost. To me, she simply left.

  “She left to find you. Mynea left to make you. She left to love you. Mynea realized what I’ve come to know decades ago. None of us will ever truly remain in Vlad’s favor for all eternity. In time, we want what mortals want—absolute, exclusive, and unconditional love. Vlad has always given unconditional love. However, with a harem, absolute exclusivity is impossible. In her absence, Vlad began to again feel love, but this time for an immortal—at least as close to love as Vlad can get with a vampire. It’s truly a case of absence playing tricks on a longing heart.”

  Pandora’s story was a window into our origin, into my origin. She revealed to me the reason why I existed. Vampires exist to bring death in order to live. We were God’s balance, if not the bacterium or virus, or war or famine, or unforeseen chance, or the slow passing of time; the vampire was the last bringer of oblivion, the last souls to mimic those of angels in everlasting life as the chosen few. It was then that I knew Mynea never truly loved me.

  There were no lies or deception in Pandora’s words. She shared absolutely.

  As for Vlad, I wouldn’t make the mistake of my predecessor.

  CHAPTER 20

  hat sunrise, Pandora and I slept together beneath the earth. She was familiar yet foreign to me, and the urge of desire burned within me. “Take me,” her mind often said to mine. However, I didn’t. She was indeed beautiful by mortal and immortal standards alike. She was graceful and angelic in her demeanor and countenance. Any mortal man would have fallen at her feet and answered her every demand without hesitancy. Her lush eyelashes fell softly over adolescent eyes that brilliantly shone. Her well-sculpted mouth was complemented by her nose and her full and succulently blushed cheeks. A worthy replacement she was, but Mynea she was not.

  The next night would be the same as the previous ones. Pandora and I would talk, then hunt, then talk again. The coming of the sun would mark the time for our comfort. She wanted desperately to be held by my noticeably harder body. And I wanted to continue feeling her hair beneath my chin as we lay. I needed to smell her scent while I slept. I needed her blood to calm my heart. I longed for her touch to remind me of what once belonged to me, two solitary creatures living together to soothe the other.

  I knew then Pandora also sought what Vlad couldn’t provide. She needed me to love her. It would complete her betrayal of Mynea. The urge to share more than just a blood kiss grew as we continued to spend every waking moment together. Every dusk she would offer herself to me; I would refuse. As time passed, my refusals became a game to her, a challenge she welcomed.

  Her passion began to awaken long-dormant feelings. Soon the very sight of her led to arousal. My dreams would be filled with visions of our embrace, my thoughts drowned by my desires and her persistence. And after several months, my lust took over me, and I was hers and she was mine.

  Night after night we danced. And she loved with such intensity. Her lustful actions were fueled by her hatred of Mynea and magnified by the betrayal of her master. Our animalistic ritual became more and more frequent. We didn’t wait until we were in the confines of our various resting places. Often we would find dark corners just out of sight. Rooftops became a favorite. Under some moons we would dispose of an entire family and embrace each other in every room throughout the humble abodes they had resided in.

  On more than a few occasions, our lust would precede our meal, and we’d get caught by our victims. A man and his lady for the evening returned from a night on the town to his home where death danced in the shadows, dismantling the elegant furnishings within without regard. The woman screamed and interrupted our tango. We took this as a request to join us. And join us they did, victims that Charon ferried across the River Styx into Tarturus, though this pair had no coinage to pay the ferryman. And thus we delivered them both, bloodless and lifeless.

  It was a game of love, lust, hunger, and life. With every waking moon, Pandora and I grew closer. And as we did, my remaining humanity drifted further and further away. I no longer sought only the guilty; I sought the good and evildoers alike. I also thought of Mynea less and less, though she would never leave my thoughts entirely. Pandora knew this. However, it didn’t deter her lust for me. And my lust for her grew equally with hers for me.

  She didn’t lie in her desire to share all that she knew with me. “Aleron, you’ve yet to inquire about an important vampire ability. You’ve learned the basics of survival as an immortal and have come to respect your weaknesses while exploring your gifts. You’ve grown much stronger than I or Mynea could have imagined.”

  I already knew what she was going to say next. There was only one blatant vampire ability I hadn’t inquired about. Until that moment, I had never cared about what she was referring to. I’d been perfectly fine with living with Mynea, then Eliza, and now Pandora. I felt no need to make another.

  “My love, it’s your inherent nature. You won’t be truly fulfilled unless you make another, one with complete devotion to your life, one that will praise and protect you from all others. We vampires can be solitary creatures. However, we learn that survival calls for devoted companionship and protection from other immortals who may want to harm us. You know I won’t be here forever, Aleron. Just as well, our passion and desire to be together won’t be strong enough for an eternity. You know there’ll be a time when you’ll leave and claim what is yours. Before this can be done, you must embrace all of what you are. And you are a king! You are sovereign! Why else would you grow more powerful with every cycle of the moon? You have undeniable purpose, and to achieve its totality, you must protect yourself. You alone will not survive a millennium.”

  Pandora spoke with sincerity. She spoke what she knew and understood to be true. She was grooming me for a future I couldn’t see at the time but one that she could see.

  “There exists one such mortal who is already devoted to you, Aleron. You’ve already poisoned her thoughts and filled them with overwhelming feelings of lust and desire for you. You left her and promised to return to her. She still waits for you. Each day is agony for her. Every night she longs for her immortal prince to appear. You see, she was completely under Mynea’s spell, but it was never love. You, my dear, didn’t cast a spell over her. She simply fell deeply in love on first sight of you, despite being within the arms of her powerful and beautiful mistress. When you shared your blood with her, you filled a void created by your presence. You knew this when you let her suck your blood and couldn’t stop the flow on your own. She did. She’s proven her strength, and now you must go to her and complete her transformation.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I’ll take you to her. Let us go now.”

  Swiftly we left the wooded area and proceeded toward the Suez Canal. Pandora and I traveled so expeditiously that even the wind was undisturbed by our assaul
t. People were but a blur. Voices were meshed sounds that resembled music. The water of the Suez felt cool beneath our feet, which barely grazed the surface of the majestic gulf.

  I knew soon after our departure where we were going, to the Sinai Peninsula, the city of Sharm el-Sheikh. We closed in on a large home, which suffered from the passing of time and abandonment. The road leading to it had been overgrown with greenery, making it nearly impossible for humans to travel. It stood alone atop a badly eroded hill, a fitting place for a vampire. There was no need to use the front- or lower-level doors. Instead, we entered through one of the open windows on the second level. It wasn’t long before I could feel her presence. She slept in the room adjacent to the one we entered. Her thoughts and dreams reflected visions of me. Her sweet, inviting, yet silent voice called out to me. Did she know I was near? Could she sense my return to her, even in slumber? Or was this her nightly ritual and daily desire?

  Pandora took my face in both of her palms. On tiptoe, she lifted her lips to mine and took comfort in stealing a kiss.

  “Go to her, Aleron. She’s waited long enough.”

  Before I entered her room, I could sense the essence of another woman. She was no longer in the home, but it wasn’t long ago that she had been standing in that very room.

  “Pay no attention to your thoughts, Aleron. The one you sense is far away and was here under my command.”

  I could tell no malice or falsities escaped her lips. The mortal was to watch over Eliza for the weeks Pandora and I danced.

  I thought the door to open, and it happened. I walked in. Eliza was still asleep, moaning in full captivity of her surrealistic dream. Her body moved as if being caressed by some invisible specter. I drew closer to her bedside and spoke to her mind. Eliza.

  Her eyes slowly opened, and I came into focus. They grew wide and twinkled with reserved excitement. Her smile began to replace the expression of disbelief.