The Man In The Mountain (The Vampire Series - Book 1)

Chapter 1 - A Foreign Land

December 21st, 2019

Kit wasn't sure how long he'd been trapped in the dark before the rumbling started. His time cycle had become the times he'd claw at the stones until his fingers bled and the time it took for them to heal. He was starting to feel like maybe he was going insane if that was possible. He had run out of room in his journal long ago now and his ramblings were something he said aloud now. He'd read his own writings so many times he could recite them.

Suddenly there was a small rumble in the cave he was in. He watched the wall warily as the dust began to shake loose from the boulders that had blocked the exit. A shift, some light peeking through, and the most wonderful thing he'd felt in eons, the gentle flutter of fresh air on his skin.

"You sure there's amethyst in here? Because I'm not putting all this effort in for nothing," Kit blinked at the curious accent, and the voice of a woman. Lady laborers were a thing, he wasn't a fool, but heavy lifting such as this? The rocks shifted more, and a scent that made Kit's throat burn filled the tunnel. He lunged for one of the gaps with a feral snarl, clawing for anything.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?" Someone screamed. Kit felt a hand on his arm, and suddenly he was frozen in place, unable to move a single muscle. The boulder moved out of the way fully, revealing four people staring at him in various stages of shock.

"This mineshaft collapsed like, 200 years ago, how is that thing alive!?" One of the girls walked over fearlessly and opened his mouth.

"Vampire," she said with a bored tone. Not the reaction Kit usually got, but they weren't trying to set him on fire or stake him at least.

"Shit, never thought I'd live to see one," said the girl holding his arm.

"We almost didn't. We better call Persephone, they'll know what to do," there were a few nods of agreement. A pair of twins walked up to him, one a boy and the other a girl and they were staring at him curiously.

"Fashion disaster. We gotta get him cleaned up," the boy said, his sister nodded in agreement.

"Thirsty," he managed to say through his frozen jaw.

"We know big boy, we have blood at the cabin. It's about a twenty-minute walk this way," the one holding his arm said.

"Please," the only good part of his entrapment was there was no blood to tempt him, and now there were four living creatures with racing hearts surrounding him. They started dragging him away, still frozen, and for the first time in two centuries, Kit saw the stars.

It took four bags of blood before the burning receded, Kit gasping as he looked at the group around him. They were strangely dressed, the girls wearing pants and boots and strange button-ups, thick layers of kohl around their eyes, and wax on their lips.

"I am indubitably in your debts, sir and madams, and I apologize quite truthfully for my lapse in decorum," he said, wiping his face of the spilled blood. "You were the first people I had seen in quite a long period of time, and it was uncouth of me to attempt to molest you so," he rose to his feet, realizing he was quite larger than them. "Forgive me, my manners have atrophied. Christopher Beaumont, at your service, though most do call me Kit."

"Can anyone understand what he's saying?" The girl who was holding his arm asked the rest of them. She was wearing leather black boots, black pants, and a buttoned-up shirt with a black, sleeved shawl that went down to her knees. "Sorry, Dillion," she stuck out her hand. He took it and bowed slightly.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Dillion, was it? Curious name for a lady," he looked around the cabin at the strange buzzing candles and music makers. The inside was rather luxurious as well. It was a well-kept wooden cabin, with these plush large couches and a few chairs. He turned around to see a large table that had about eight chairs around it. There was something that he thought was a kitchen, but he couldn't be sure. "Though I suppose this is all curious."