Prologue

I watched in horror, as my mother fell to the floor. I looked at my father, as he was about to hit her again, but then he noticed that she wasn’t moving anymore. Was she dead? I tried crawling closer to mother, even though my body hurt, from all the beatings. Luckily, father didn’t stop me. I tried shaking mother, but she didn’t respond. She was, as still as a corpse. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain, as father kicked me back to the other side of the room. “Argh!” I spat, as a bit of blood started flowing out of my mouth.

In a menacing tone he said "Listen brat, don't ever speak of this, you hear me!" I looked up at my father, as i tried to stagger back up, using the wall to support me. I took a deep breath, as I looked at my presumably dead mother, then turned tail, without a word. I rushed out the door, using every ounce of my strength, to get away. I was horrified, my only thought was to get away from there, as quickly as possible!

‘H-he k-k-killed her! He killed her! Father killed mother! I need to get away. Quickly!’ I thought to myself, as I ran. I heard father scream at me, as he started chasing. Unluckily for me, it was dark outside, so there weren’t any civilians around. People never went outside at night, as they feared demons possess them.

I looked behind my back, to see father catching up quickly. He was part of the City Guard, so he was physically fit. For fifteen year old me, this was very bad. I quickly turned a corner, in hope of losing him. “Get back here, you brat!” I heard my father yell. In panic, I looked around still gasping for air, as I kept running, trying to find a place to hide. But alas, there were only empty alleys.

For the next few minutes, I turned as many corners as I could, and ran for my life. Luckily for me, the city was very closely packed, but there was a shortage of guards, and to top it off, father knew all the patrol routes, so they were easy to avoid. I also wore light brown clothing, which matched the colour of the mudbrick walls, making me a bit harder to see in the dark. But if he did run into the guards, it wouldn’t be hard for him to convince them that I ran away or something.

All he had to do, was make sure they didn’t find out about mother’s death. Soon, I finally made my way out of another alley, and arrived at the river, which went straight through the city. I looked around, then made up my mind.

‘I have to jump!’ I thought. Without hesitation, I jumped into the water, and went as deep as I could. The river was quite deep, so father shouldn’t be able to see me in the water. As soon as I got deep enough, I began to rapidly swim out of the city. At the end of the river, there was a metal grate, but I might just be able to get through, but father certainly wouldn’t. I was a fast swimmer, and would get there way before father could get out of the city. And even then, the city gates were closed at night, so he couldn’t get out either way.

“Where did you go?! Did you jump in river?” Father questioned, as he arrived at the river, but I was oblivious to this, as I only heard some muffled noises. After a quick swim, I finally made it to the metal grate. I swam up to the surface, but when I got up, I faced an unpleasant surprise.

“So you really did decide to leave through this spot” Father said, as he leaned against the wall, apparently waiting for me. Immediately, he jumped into the river. I quickly tried to rush through the metal grate. I got an arm and a leg in, then the other arm, but father also had already got there, and grabbed my leg.

“Let go!” I screamed, and started kicking. “Stop it kid! If you don’t come back right now, I swear to the Gods above, I’ll kill you on the spot!” He said, the threat in his voice clearly apparent. I started kicking more wildly, but then he took a knife out. In panic, I turned around, and reach for his eyes trying to stab them, but not before he got a knife into my side.

“Glargh!” I spit out a mouthful of blood, as I floated backwards. “You bastard!” He yelled at me while holding his eye. As I floated away from the metal grate, in blood coloured water, I looked as father held his enraged and madden glare. But then, my gaze shifted to the right, as I noticed a person, wrapped in the shadows, looking at us. Somehow, I could see his mouth form into a smirk, as if he noticed me stare back at him.

Despite the pain in my side, I turned around, and tried to swim away. I swam for what felt like an hour, before I finally made my way back up to the shore. Back on land, I was hunched over, as I looked towards the city. I had already somehow managed to cover a large distance, as the city seemed to be a few kilometres away. Suddenly, I felt my legs waver, as I fell down to the ground, my last bit of energy finally leaving my body. Not before my vision darkened, I looked at the beautiful starry sky, between the many trees that surrounded me. I believed that this would be the last thing I ever saw, as my vision faded away, the knife still lodged into my side.

As my vision had faded, I saw several memories flash through my mind. I saw many of the days I had spent training with father. Father had always been adamant on teaching me swordsman ship, even though I always hated his lessons. They would always end up in me getting a bad beating. Then the scene shifted, to one where I was watching on the side as my mother got beaten. It was the usual for me, i had tried to intervene before, but it would turn only get worse for both of us if i did. Father would beat mother, then he would beat me, or vice versa, but there was nothing we could do. We could only stand down and accept it. It was his right as the head of the house.

Then it shifted to happier scenes, where father was out on a country patrol. Those days, we would be spared of the beatings, as he wouldn’t come for at least a week.

My entire life flashed before me, all the way until Father stabbed his knife into my side. From that moment on, it had all been hazy. This was it, wasn’t it? The life flashing before your eyes, as you die? Father had truly killed both me, and mother. I wonder how he would get out of this one. It wasn’t illegal to beat your wife or child, but it certainly was to kill them. Would he dispose of mother’s corpse, or would he bury her somewhere? Many thoughts sped through my mind, as I was certain I had died, but then my eyes opened, only to see a ceiling. Abruptly, I sat up, and looked around me in confusion. I was in a nicely decorated bedroom, but there were no windows in it.

Then I noticed him. The man sitting on a chair, staring at me. I hadn’t noticed him at all, until now, but he seemed vaguely familiar. Like I had seen him somewhere before.

“Where am I? Didn’t I die?” I asked him. I was a bit nervous, as I had no idea what was going on, but I still waited patiently for an answer. “You’re in a hotel, and I guess you could say you died.” The man finally answered. The man himself was handsome, and seemed to be in his thirties. He had dark brown hair, with misty grey eyes. It was a very unusual colour. I had never seen anything like it before, that’s for certain.

“I-I d-died?” I stammered out, as the words finally registered. The man nodded his head as he said, “You did, but I took the liberty to turn you into one of my own.” I looked at him strangely, as his words ran circles around me. “O-one of your own?” I questioned. Once more, the man nodded and stated “I made you into a vampire.” There was a moment of silence, as my eyes widened bafflingly. A vampire? Was he joking? There’s no such thing as vampires! “What are you talking about, vampires don’t exist!” I almost yelled at him. The man looked at me, slightly annoyed.

“They do exist, and they have existed for far longer than you can imagine. Don’t tell me that you can’t feel it; the impending hunger, flaring up inside of you? As you crave for human blood?” He questioned me. His voice was weirdly calm, yet surprisingly sharp.

Now that I thought about it, I could indeed feel a weird sense of hunger, a weird thirst rising up inside me. It was as if my throat was as dry as parchment, as if there was void in my stomach, one that needed to be filled, and quickly! Slowly, I raised my head to look back at him, as the realization hit me.

“Why?” I asked, as I couldn’t understand why in the world, he would make me into a vampire. What reason had he to do such a thing? He looked back at me, as a smile crept onto his face.

“I’ve been living in that town for a few years. I saw you many times, and you sparked my interest. Many times I’ve heard your pleas for help, while getting beaten. It sort of reminded me of myself, when I was your age. My father, too, was an abusive man. He would beat me until I couldn’t stand, and then would beat me some more, as my mother would see this she’d try and stop this, but she too would get beaten. Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore, and fled away with some man leaving me behind.

And this is where it gets interesting. Your mother was about to do the same thing. I saw her with another man, heard their conversations. In a few days, she too was preparing to leave, but unluckily for her, she died before it could happen. That is why I saw myself in you. We have shared a similar destiny growing up, so I thought I would take you with me, before your father killed you. And it seems like I made it by a hanging hair.” The man said. I understood now. He saw himself in me, and he felt pity. But then, his words really struck me.

“Mother was going to leave me?” I questioned, as a tear slowly escaped my eye. I didn’t know why, but I felt like I could believe his words. The man didn’t answer, just looked me in the eyes. As another tear escaped, I soon realized, mother was dead. I couldn’t hold it anymore, and I started crying. The man, whose name I still did not know, took me into his arms, and comforted me.

After a while, I finally calmed down, as I felt the flaring hunger in me. “Ehm, mister, can I please have some food and water? I’m starving” i said. The man replied me with a pitiful look in his eyes.

“Oh, I’m afraid food and water won’t do you anything anymore” he said. I gave him a puzzled look, as I didn’t know what he meant. “You’re no longer human anymore. You’re a vampire now, and your internal organs don’t work as they used to. I’m afraid, the only thing that will satisfy your hunger, is blood,” He said. It took a while for his words to register in my mind.

“What? Blood? I need to drink blood?” I questioned. The man nodded. “I can’t drink blood, that’s disgusting!” I yelled at him, very much against the idea. “If you don’t drink blood, then you’ll die. And don’t worry, after you see it, you won’t find it disgusting anymore. You might even become addicted to it, but that would be a bad thing” he said. “Just accept it, as you won’t be able to stop yourself anyway.”

“No way! I can’t drink blood! I can’t kill anyone!” I shouted. “No one says you have to kill anyone. There’s no need to deprive the victim of their life, although, most vampires end up killing quite a bit of people in their lifetimes. After all, we are hunters trying to live like anyone else, we kill, we feed, we live; we live eternally. My appearance might deceive you, but I’ve lived for a very, very long time.” The man said. He looked no more than a man in his mid-thirties, so just how old could he be? But then again, the vampires from the stories were immortals who feasted on blood. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that until now.

“So I don’t have to kill anyone?” I asked. Once more the man nodded as he stated “I won’t force you to kill anyone.” Then his eyes widened a bit, as he seemed to remember something important.

“I just remembered that I never got your name. My name is Palazar. What about you, kid?” he asked. I stared for a while, not having thought about his name at all, until now. Palazar? It sounded very unusual, not something I’ve ever heard of before. Just like his eyes. I wondered where he was from. Well, he did say he was very old. Maybe he was from times untold.

“My name is Parmasus” I finally answered. “Alright Parmasus, I’ll go out and get you some food. Just wait here, and be a nice kid” he said, as he turned around and left the room. After he left the room, I got off the bed. I was still wearing the same clothes as before, but they had dried by now. There was a really obvious, bloodstained hole on my side. I looked at my side, only to find that the wound was completely gone. There wasn’t a trace left of it.

As I began moving around, I found that I felt a lot more energized. I felt like I was stronger, that I could lift heavier things. Everything was also clearer than ever. I could see the minute detail in the mudbrick walls. Before, everything had been slightly blurry, as I didn’t have the best eyes, but now, now everything was extremely clear! So this was it, what it meant to be a vampire. I felt superior! I felt that if I met father now, I could down him in one quick swoop. I felt like i was at the peak of my life! This probably also explained the healed wound.

But then there was the hunger. It was growing bigger, at a fast pace. I was growing impatient, even though I knew I had to drink blood. I was afraid of it, but I wanted it! It was the worst feeling I’ve ever had, it was dreadful.

A few minutes later, Palazar finally returned. I knew it had only been a few minutes, though they felt like hours! By his side, there was a young woman. She seemed to be around twenty years old, and wore the cloth of a commoner, just like myself. Palazar was wearing some more extravagant clothing, though. He patted the woman on her back, and looked her in the eyes.

“Go sit next to him” he said in a slight monotone voice. “Yes” The woman replied, and calmly walked over to me. Soon, she sat next to me, on the bed.

“Bite into her neck, and drink her blood” Palazar commanded. Strangely enough, the young woman wasn’t bothered by his words. It was like she was in a trance, not even aware of her own surroundings. Slowly, I neared closer to her neck. I opened my mouth, but I froze. I was about to bite into her neck, but I couldn’t do it! There was something stopping me, at the back of my mind. Something screaming at me, not to do it.

I was about to pull away when,“Do it!” Palazar commanded again. I closed my eyes, clenched my fists unto her dress, and bit into her neck. As soon as her blood flowed into my mouth, as soon as it touched my tongue, I fell into a trance. The taste was exquisite, it was like the most extravagant meal I ever tasted, as if this was the nectar used to make the wine the gods drank. It was as if i arrived paradise, as her blood flowed down my throat. I couldn’t stop, and hugged her tighter and tighter, as I drank her blood. I lost all control, as I drank, and drank, gulp after gulp. I lost awareness of everything going on around me, only the taste of blood in my mind. I was in complete ecstasy, as all other senses were overridden. But just as I got satisfied, i-it stopped why? No more blood was coming out of her body, and as I let go, she fell limp on floor, her skin pale.

I looked at her body, my mind not registering what I just did. I stared at her, for what felt like minutes. I crouched down, and touched her cheek with my finger, only to the feel coldness i felt on mother’s cheek.

“I, I killed her?” I asked. It hit me that I had killed someone. I had bit into her neck, and drank her blood until there was none left. I had killed her, and drained her of her blood! My eyes wandered over to Palazar, my eyes begging him for help.

“It’s fine, it couldn’t be helped. It’s in our nature to kill. We kill to live, that’s how we are. You were thirsty, and you never fed before. You lost control, it happens to all of us, you don’t need to feel bad. Just accept it, you will only lose control a few times at most. And if it makes you feel better, she was a murderer. She would seduce men, then kill them for their money. Now, the sun will rise in an hour, so just go to sleep. I will take care of her body. Oh, and just so you know, you can never go out into sunlight. If it so much as touches you, you will burst into flames and die as you turn to ash. That is the curse of us vampires. We are destined to never gaze upon the sun ever again.” He said, a distant look in his eyes. I was surprised at his words, but I was in no mood to question him, so I took his advice, and went to bed.

I felt like I should be more sad, but somehow, his words comforted me. I somehow felt that he only had good intentions, so I went to bed, feeling secure. I had never slept in such a comfortable bed, with such a full stomach, so I quickly fell asleep.

End of prologue.

Thanks for reading guys, and I hope you enjoyed this little prologue. Please do rate and review, as it makes my day.

RagNarok ~ Please do point out any errors, it makes my job easier.