Outcast (Book 1 in the Blood Trilogy)

Alecto Elfatore is a 12th century Italian knight accompanying King Richards’s army on his crusade in the holy lands. After being left to die on the battlefield, Alecto is saved by an outlaw vampire, Vamire, and turned into an underling. When hunters from Vamire’s covern find them both they take Vamire away and leave Alecto in the desert to die by sunlight. Before the dawn however Alecto is saved by the archangel Uriel, and is changed into a new breed of vampire; Alecto can now walk about in the sunlight, eat and drink normal food and liquids, he can sleep and dream, and has flashing blue eyes instead of red. When the Italian covern learns of his existence they classify him as an “outcast” and send hunters to eliminate him. Alecto evades them however and runs away from Arabia. On his journeys Alecto meets Corall, and ex-monster slayer, who helps Alecto by teaching him all about the Horde and how to fight the different coverns. Corall is later killed by hunters sent after Alecto, and so his run continues and forces him to change his name to Alex Fortune.