Vampire Worshippers [Part 1]_Gods of our Souls Series

by Mira Crest

  PART I

  Gods of our Souls (Book 1)

  MIRA CREST

  Vampire Worshippers (Part I): Gods of our Souls Series (Book 1)

  Copyright © 2018 by Mira Crest. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design by Germancreative

  First Edition: May 2018

  Chapter 1

  -Death of Axel Night-

  Virginie looked around. It was dark but felt familiar, like she had been here before. As she waited for her eyes to adjust to the ambiance of the room, she suddenly realized that she wasn’t standing in a room but a wide hallway. She slowly made her way down the corridor as quietly as she could, afraid that she would disturb something, though, she wasn’t sure what.

  It was a cold, dark place despite the warm glow of the candles along the walls. It gave her the creeps. The entire place smelled musty and old. She felt vulnerable in this unknown place. Who else was there? Where were they? What did they want with her? Why was she even there?

  Within the walls were small cutouts and within those recesses in the walls were small candelabras that held anywhere from one to three candlesticks. She chose a small one and pulled it out with her right hand as soon as she stumbled upon it and used her left hand to shield the candle as she continued down the corridor.

  Her senses felt as though they were slowly coming back to life. With the light came the soft sound of her footsteps which echoed in the hallway. Then, she suddenly emerged into a circular hall where she could see the night sky outside the tall thin windows that lined the gray walls. The place looked like a haunted castle, lit mainly by the streams of moonlight entering from the windows between the curtains. Even the small, single candle candelabra she held in her hand did little to illuminate much in the hall, which looked as if it glowed blue in the cold moonlight.

  The candle holder in her hand shook as she moved through the room. Light from the candle was dim but gave her some comfort. If she were to continue on and find herself in the dark once again, she would be ready.

  The hall was empty and drafty. A soft breeze blew at the back of her neck causing a shiver to run up her spine. Goosebumps appeared on her arms. The damp smell that filled the corridor no longer tickled her nose. It was replaced with something else. It was a warm, woody smell. Almost creamy and sweet. Virginie recognized it as sandalwood. She turned to find the source, only to move fast enough, and against the breeze, causing the candle to blow out. The chill she felt grew stronger until she realized that it was fear that was tickling the back of her neck. She reached for a wall and tried to back up against it so that she could see the entire room.

  My mind is playing tricks on me, she thought to herself as she saw shadows dance against the walls. Phantom tree limbs from outside. The shadow of a bookcase silhouetted in the moonlight. Then a figure. It moved fast, just out of the corner of her eye. She turned to it but the shadow disappeared. Only to reappear at the other side of the room. She turned again, trying to find the shadow and the source of the shadow.

  She wasn’t alone.

  And that’s when she awoke.

  Virginie’s head popped up from its resting place on her folded arms, as she sat at her desk in her bedroom. A bolt of pain shot through her neck and shoulders. Her forehead was damp from sweat. Despite the pain, she quickly looked around her room, frightened that she might not be alone. But instead of a creepy castle, she was in familiar territory. The fear soon subsided. She stretched and tried to roll her head from side to side to stretch her neck.

  She hated falling asleep at her desk while she studied. She looked down at her textbook and notes. Calculus.

  “Ugh,” she groaned. Her head fell onto the open textbook. “Why can’t I just learn through osmosis?” she muttered to herself as she laid on her book. She rubbed one of her eyes. When it came back into focus she homed in on the clock across her room.

  “I have to get ready,” she said. A smile crept across her face. “I have to get ready for Axel!”

  * * *

  Virginie Bell pulled her dark brown hair back in a ponytail. Her long bangs fell forward and framed her porcelain face as she stared at herself. The Hollywood style LED lights around the bathroom mirror lit her up like she was a movie star but she didn’t feel like one. Internally, she chastised her nose and her cheeks. She raised her hands to her head and patted her soft skin. Her fingers traced her cheekbones, just under her baby fat.

  She leaned in and looked closely at her blue eyes and her pale skin, which was fair from the sunless months of winter. Taking a deep breath, she stood up straight again. Her brows furrowed as she straightened her black shirt and dusted off her dark jeans.

  “Tonight’s the night,” she said, her voice barely squeaking out of her throat. “Tonight’s the night that I get to meet…” Her eyes moved from her own reflection to the poster in the background. “Axel.”

  Virginie stumbled out of the bathroom - as she adjusted her black boots - and into her bedroom. The oversized poster of Axel Night hung on the wall in front of her. His dark piercing eyes seemed to stare directly at her and into her soul. A swoon slipped out from her lips.

  The doorbell chimed from downstairs. Olivia was there.

  “Crap,” Virginie said as she finished tucking her pants into her boots and rushed to her vanity to grab her keys and purse. Before she could even make it to her bedroom door, Olivia Cassidy appeared with her signature dramatic flair.

  “Hey, girly girl,” she sang, walking into Virginie’s room. Her short black hair was styled in a messy cropped do. Olivia beamed, her hazel eyes twinkling. “You ready? Oh…” She ran up to her and reached for her earrings. “No, you gotta go bigger.”

  “Bigger?” Virginie asked. “But you’ve got studs in yours...”

  “But I don’t have long hair like you.” She reached for the small jewelry box on the vanity. “These,” she said, pulling up a pair of blue feathered earrings. “These always bring out the color of your eyes.”

  “Axel won’t be able to see the color of my eyes,” Virginie said, blushing.

  “We have tickets for the fifth row. Center.” Olivia grinned. “You’ll be able to see the sweat drip from his forehead.”

  “I can’t believe that you won these tickets,” Virginie said as she slipped the earrings in. “I’ve never even seen them in concert before and now I get to see them up close.” A schoolgirl giggle escaped from her mouth, which brought a smile to her friend’s face.

  “You’re freakin’ adorable,” she said. “And I can’t believe it either.” They both screamed and jumped up and down.

  “She loves me more than I could see…” they both sang, slightly off key. “Her love burns hot like fire. Burns through my armor. Build me up then tear me down…” they continued to croon.

  Olivia’s phone beeped.

  “Oh, that’s my signal to get moving. Let’s go. We want to beat the traffic.” She pulled a set of keys out of her pocket. “Dad let me borrow the wheels for the night.” She squealed.

  * * *

  The entire trip to the venue was a blur for Virginie. The car ride, the walk, and even the agonizingly long walk through the security lines.

  “Ugh,” Olivia
groaned. “This is like the worst Disney ride ever.” She peered toward the front, which seemed like it was miles away. “Are we there yet?”

  “We’ll get there soon enough,” Virginie said, her voice small and shy. None of it mattered. The only thing that Virginie was interested in was Axel Night, the lead singer of the rock band - Night. Tonight was the night that she’d get to see him in person. They also planned on staying behind at the back door so they could snag an autograph as the band left the venue and headed toward their tour bus.

  She imagined shaking his hand and gazing into his piercing eyes. Virginie had heard his voice a million times on interviews and behind the scenes footage but she wondered if his voice sounded the same away from a mic. As her thoughts moved further and further away, she was brought back to reality by the Olivia, who had her camera phone in Virginie’s face.

  Virginie covered her face. “What are you doing?” she said, in between her fingers.

  “You’re just so adorable. I want to capture every single moment of all of this. The before scenes, the concert, the start of your torrid love affair with Axel Night,” she said dramatically.

  “Stop, stop.” Virginie continued to hide her face. She could feel the heat from her cheeks as she blushed.

  Olivia laughed and turned her camera off. “Whatever, man. You’ll thank me when it’s your wedding day and you need pictures of when you first met.”

  The line moved slowly but as soon as they reached the front of the security line, it was like someone had pressed the fast-forward button. They rushed to their seats toward the front of the venue. While they weren’t front-row center, they were close.

  When he walked up on stage, it was like the entire world just faded away and all that she could see was his long black hair and sexy smirk.

  Even from the fifth row, Virginie could see every single detail of Axel’s outfit. From the silver buttons on his black denim pants to the tiny bird pattern on his blue button up shirt, from the sweat that dripped from his chin to the twinkle in his eye – she was close enough to witness it all.

  It was all a dream come true.

  That is…

  Until the gunshot.

  * * *

  One single gunshot rang through the air, which caused a panic among the crowd. Everyone in the band ducked or fell to the ground, trying to stay clear of any more shots. But there were none.

  It was a blur of movement.

  Where her focus was on Axel, now Virginie’s focus was on Olivia’s wild eyes. They locked onto hers. She didn’t want them to get separated in the chaos of the crowd. Looking around, she noticed that a few people around the edges of the room were trying to make a break for it as they ran toward the exits.

  They needed to get to the exit. She turned to her friend.

  “We need to go,” Virginie said but even she couldn’t hear herself in the chaos.

  Olivia tried to say something as well, but her words were drowned out by the screams from the crowd. It was then that a huge shadow appeared from out of nowhere and landed behind them in the crowd.

  Virginie tried to pinpoint what it was and what it was doing. That’s when she felt it. The warm spray of liquid splash against her face. Her hand instinctively let go of Olivia’s hand and reached for her cheek. When she pulled her fingers away all she could see was red.

  Blood?

  She turned to the source of the shadow. It was a figure - a man - who was attacking a guy two rows behind them. His mouth was firmly attached to the man’s neck. When he pulled his head back, blood spurted from the punctured artery, spraying onlookers and people standing around them with the victim’s blood.

  Olivia tugged on her arm, dragging her away from the frightening scene. It only took a second for Virginie to realize that Olivia had her arm and that they were running up the aisle to the closest exit, but the chaos of the crowd got in their way. Men and women - it was all a blur of arms and legs - pushed against them. Olivia lost her grip.

  Virginie panicked as she was pushed deeper into the crowd, alone. She tried to call out for her friend, but she couldn’t see Olivia, or hear her own voice. Her sense of hearing almost felt as though it were going out, numb from the speakers at the show and now from the screams.

  Then everything went black.

  At first, Virginie thought she might have passed out but the continued screams made her realize that someone had actually cut off the power to the lights. The venue was pitch black. There was a brief lull in the incessant screaming, only for it to come back with a vengeance.

  “I’m going to get trampled,” she said to herself. She needed to get out of here. The crowd pushed her backward, then spit her out of the aisle. She found herself among chairs as she was in one of the nearby rows of seats. Helpless and scared in the dark, she tried to curl herself into a ball.

  Virginie hid there for, what felt like, hours. As time passed, the noise of the crowd slowly died out until - no more screams. Then, silence. Was everyone gone?

  The silence was deafening and more frightening than the chaos. It made her feel more vulnerable, like at any moment, that shadow was going hover over her and envelop her in darkness or worse yet, she might end up like the corpses in the concert hall.

  Her hand reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Enabling the flashlight, she tried to use it to find her way to the exit. She kept her hand low to her side, illuminating only the first few feet in front of her. She wanted to call for Olivia but was too afraid to arouse whatever it was that was killing people and… Biting their necks? The vision of the man, two rows back, flooded back to her memory. What was that?

  She knew what it was. The word was on the tip of her tongue. If I don’t say it, it won’t be true, she thought to herself. Her foot stumbled, kicking a large heap on the ground. She tried to focus her phone on it.

  A dead body.

  A man…

  His neck was basically eviscerated, and the rest of his skin (what she could see past his disheveled clothes) look pale and ashen. Virginie’s free hand moved to her mouth to keep her from throwing up. Is this really what I think it is? Is this the work of… a vampire? The word popped into her head. “No,” she whispered to herself. “That’s not right. Vampires don’t exist. This just has to be some sort of…, crazy person.” She hopped over the seats to try and make it down an aisle without a dead body. Somehow, stepping over a dead person just seemed so cold. With her flashlight shining the way, she quickly moved up the aisle, keeping her steps as silent as possible.

  The hall was dark and suddenly felt huge. With only the shadows to make her feel as though she wasn’t alone, she couldn’t help her hands from shaking. She moved past the shapes of seats until something – someone – at the stage caught her eye. She ducked down low and tried to hide the light from her phone. The faint form of a figure on stage walked around, moving smoothly and swiftly.

  The touch of another human being startled her, nearly causing her to scream in surprise, but the stranger put her hands over Virginie’s mouth to silence her. It was a girl, about her age. She let go of Virginie and pressed her finger against her lips, signaling her to be quiet. Virginie nodded. They crouched down. Virginie covered the flashlight with her finger, dulling the light, and hiding it as best as she could.

  Just then a large shadow flew past them, bathing the darkness in an even darker ominous shape. The stranger tapped Virginie on the knee to get her attention, pointed to the corner of the hall, then motioned for Virginie to follow her.

  She looked to where the girl was pointing and found an exit sign glowing in red on the wall. It was the closest exit to where they were stationed. It was their only chance.

  She followed the girl as they ran up the corner aisle. Virginie kept one eye on the girl and the other on the shadow that flew overhead. It was the darkest, emptiest shadow she had ever seen. Her eyes followed it as it flew in the opposite direction and stop before turning completely around and making a beeline for them. Virginie tried to cry out
but her voice stopped in her throat. Her hand reached out for the girl running in front of her but the shadow was too fast. It charged her and collided with the girl. It looked like she was enveloped in a black hole, only to be thrown against the wall.

  The girl slumped into a heap at Virginie’s feet. Her neck looked as it was still bleeding, the blood glistening in the light of Virginie’s phone.

  She wanted to mourn but Virginie knew better. She turned and dashed down the stairs in the opposite direction. The dimly lit stage loomed in front of her. The shoes on her feet clunked against the steps as she took them two at a time. Falling to her knees, she hid in the closest available spot: a speaker that was positioned on the side of the stage.

  Her eyes searched the room, looking for the shadow, but rested on Axel Night’s motionless body in the center of the stage, under the faint multicolored lights which were suspended from the ceiling.

  The sound of rustling caught her attention and brought her back to reality. She shined her light in the direction of the noise: above her. The flashlight illuminated a black winged form which was latched onto the theatrical rigging that wound up and over the stage.

  “No,” she said, her voice barely audible. Up on her feet, she bolted toward the center of the stage but the instrument chords. She tripped over them and landed hard on the floor. She could feel nails and fingers against the skin of her back as the shadow landed on top of her. Crawling on her stomach, she tried to move to safety, but the shadow pressed hard, putting all of its weight on her. A cough escaped her lips as she gasped for air.

  Then, before she could fall to the same fate as the teenage stranger that just tried to save her life, a bright flash of light exploded from the middle of the stage. Virginie tried to shield her eyes. Blocking out most of the light with her hands, she saw that the light was coming from Axel’s outstretched hand. The shadow flew across the stage, landing against a mic stand – the only one that was still upright amongst the bloodied mess of the concert.