Enthralled

Enthralled (Coming Soon)

It was dark.

Silent.

Unnerving.

The harsh night air chilled me to the bone, biting my cheeks as I walked through the darkness towards the hut I shared with my father. I'd never had a problem with the darkness but tonight felt different, an air of foreboding hanging over my head.

The wooden door of the creaked loudly, making me cringe as I prayed to the lord that my father would not wake. As I took a step forward, I knew that something was wrong.

A wet, sucking noise, much like the slurp of a newborn babe at its mother's breast, met my ears as I peered into the darkness, my only aid the light of the moon that spilt through the cracks of the thatched roof.

A dark figure sat hunched over my father's bedding. I stifled a scream, stumbling backwards as the figure turned around. Black, red rimmed, soulless eyes stared at me with hunger, red and purple veins creeping down his high cheek bones, marring the pale skin as he advanced. The most terrifying thing was the sharp... fangs- yes, fangs, jutting from his open maw. Blood dripped down his chin as I scuttled backwards, eyes wide with terror as my gaze was fixed on those sharp, deadly teeth.

I had only seen the man standing before me once; he was the thane, the one we paid rent and our taxes to- the man that was meant to protect our village from heathens and predators. It was known throughout our village that he had a mean temper and over the years, many men and women had disappeared from his keep; he was a monster.

With sweating palms and a pounding heart I turned and fled. My breath escaped in harsh pants, chilling my face in frigid puffs as I ran.

I risked a glance backwards to see nothing, nothing but the hut and the endless fields that stretched out behind it. A scream escaped me when I turned and ran smack into a hard chest. A large hand clasped over my mouth as his thin lips curved up into a cruel smirk. "My, my, something's frightened you little lamb?" He ran his nose down the column of my throat and inhaled deeply. "The scent of your fear is delicious and your blood, I'm sure that it shall taste like the sweetest ambrosia." He practically purred.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I struggled against the monster. His hand covered my mouth, muffling the screams escaping my lips and his other hand kept me pressed tight against his body. Utter revolution crept down my spine as his hand tightened and his breath hit my neck. When I felt his lips on my neck, the tips of those fearsome fangs pricking my skin, it was as if time slowed down. A shrill scream escaped my lips as I felt him bite down, those fangs sliding into my flesh like butter.

Slurping sounds reached my ears as I felt warm liquid, my blood, trickle down my neck. As a last desperate attempt I opened my mouth and bit down on his hand as hard as I could. I expected that he'd curse, slap me or at least stop... drinking, but nothing happened. I coughed as his blood ran down my throat, wanting to wretch.

My head spun and if he hadn't held me, I'm sure I would have swooned. I felt very weak, lethargic; sounds, touches and sights were dulled and when I heard the screaming, I thought I was imagining it. Hell I could've been imagining it all.

My head lulled to the side as his hand dropped away, my body falling to the ground as he released me. I lay on my back, glaring up at the thane as those black eyes searched the darkness, blood dripping down his chin- from his fangs, covering his mouth in a crimson smudge. I watched as the purple veins under those eyes pulse as another scream echoed through the night.

Slowly I managed to sit up, wiping a hand across my mouth that was stained with his blood. I watched as the blackness faded and his eyes began to turn to a blue that reminded me of the daytime sky. I felt lightheaded but as I glared up at the thane, I found strength, fuelled by my hatred.