“Of course, Father,” Brother Lacus said, hurrying after him, casting one last anxious glance at the coffin.
***
Alexander Blanc the 3rd, King of Vampires
The moon called to him. He lifted his face toward it, eyes slipping shut as he drew in a slow breath. His skin prickled as though the soft gray light were stroking across his flesh. And it felt… so good.
Suddenly, everything changed.
The darkness faded into a wide, open meadow. Wildflowers covered the ground, and far ahead, he could see the start of a forest. Something inside him pushed him to go there.
But before he could move, a scent reached him.
It curled into his lungs, freezing him mid-step. He turned, trying to find the source, staggering forward as if the scent was pulling him along.
Then he saw her.
She sat up among the flowers. The setting sun lit up her brown hair, making it glow. Small flowers were woven into it, giving her a soft, almost magical look. She was beautiful in a way that didn’t feel real.
A sudden taste hit Alexander’s tongue like nothing he’d ever tasted before.
He tried to chase it with his tongue, but it faded fast. Still, it stayed in his mind… and so did she. Her scent. Her face. The warmth she brought with her. She pushed the darkness away and left him wanting more. Needing more. Needing her.
Then it all vanished.
The meadow broke apart and the darkness rushed back, swallowing him whole. The instinct to survive kicked in, demanding the same thing over and over.
Feed.Survive.
He tried to sit up. Pain exploded across his chest, robbing him of breath.
Something sharp pressed deep into his heart, pinning him flat against cold iron. Alexander’s eyes snapped open. Then, he squeezed them shut as blinding light hit him. After a moment, he forced them open again, blinking hard against the glare. Slowly, painfully, his vision focused on a small square opening above him.
Did they seriously put me in a display coffin?
The coffin was cramped and suffocating, its metal walls pressing tightly against his body, trapping his arms uselessly at his sides.
He pushed harder against the coffin walls, straining with what little strength remained in his body. A thin curl of smoke passed slowly in front of his face.
Alexander froze.
Movement stirred outside the coffin, and the metal beneath him began to heat. Someone was setting the coffin on fire. They were burning him alive.
Alexander thrashed, anger boiling inside him as the iron prison held him tight. He couldn’t even lift his damn hands.
Fuck. He wasn’t dying like this. He refused.
He bucked and twisted, forcing his body to move even a few precious inches until the whole coffin tipped off whatever platform it had been resting on. It crashed hard against the ground, the lid snapping open on impact.
Alexander shot upright and ripped the wooden stake from his chest, flinging it across the courtyard.
“Fuck!” He screamed as pain tore through him, but he pushed past it. In a blink he was on his feet, following the thick, scent of human blood nearby. Hunger twisted through him, driving him mad.
A scream tore through the field.
Alexander savored it. The fear rolling off the human hit him like a rush. He lunged and bit down, but the moment the human’s blood hit his tongue, Alexander gagged. He shoved the human away so hard the body slammed against the ground with a sickening thud.
“What the fuck…” Alexander cringed as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The human’s blood tasted rotten. Wrong. But the human wasn’t diseased. He would’ve smelled it.