My name is Natasha? Why didn’t it feel right?
She continued in an angelic voice, “What you are experiencing right now is normal.”
I cocked my head sideways and regarded her, my incredible eyesight drinking in her features. Her soft, pale skin mesmerized me. She was uncommonly beautiful, but danger emanated from her.
“Who’s Natasha?” The thought escaped my lips and my own voice stunned me. It sounded sweet, like a song, like a lie. It didn’t feel natural. What the hell had happened to me?
The woman stepped a couple of paces forward with her hand reached out toward me, gentle, as if approaching a spooked farm animal. “You don’t remember who you are?”
I stared at her, silent.
The corner of her mouth raised slightly, but not so much that the others could see. I cocked my head again and the curves disappeared.
“My name is Cassandra. I’m your creator.”
“Creator?” I frowned. What did she mean by that?
“Yes. Do you not remember what happened earlier tonight?”
“Cassandra, what is this?” the man leaning against the wall in the corner asked. “Why doesn’t she remember?”
“Shh, Darius,” she ordered without taking her eyes off mine. To my surprise, the man subsided.
The woman spoke to me again. “You are safe, Natasha. You can come down from there. I promise no one will hurt you.” Something in her voice, her entire being, told me she wasn’t a threat, that I could trust this crimson-eyed beauty.
I swallowed hard. The dryness of my throat had formed a nauseating lump. My left foot moved first, then my right arm. Getting up had been a lot easier than getting down.
I lost my grip and landed on all fours like a cat. My balance was out-of-this-world perfect. I turned around, searching my backside for a tail, but of course there was nothing.
I looked up at the four of them. The men all stood in front of Cassandra, nearly forming a wall before her, as if they were protecting her. I glanced around the room, and it all started to make sense. They were protecting her from me.
I got up slowly. The dryness in my throat was now unbearable, and I needed to ease it. A vase with wilted flowers caught my eye, and with a swift movement, I grabbed it. I dumped the flowers on the ground and gulped down the stale water. When the last droplet of water slid down my throat, I groaned in frustration. The thirst was more insistent than ever. Nausea twisted and turned in my stomach, and I doubled over as water and bile made its way up my esophagus. I heaved and heaved until my guts seemed satisfied that the vile liquid was completely gone.
“What’s wrong with me?” I moaned through a coughing fit, spitting on the floor.
“Water won’t quench your thirst.” Cassandra crouched down in front of me. “Bring in her first meal.”
“Cassandra!”
“She needs to feed, Darius.”
“She doesn’t even know what she is,” Darius’s voice was hostile, but his tone didn’t seem to bother Cassandra.
She seemed unfazed as she stared at me with pure admiration. Her friendly smile told me that I had no need to worry, that everything would be okay. “She’ll soon discover that by herself.”
A deliciously sweet aroma filled my nostrils. It came with a beating drum. I’d never smelled anything so heavenly before. My stomach growled and my lips became dryer. I turned my gaze in the direction of the beautiful smell.
It was a girl. She seemed terrified. Some sort of clear, salty-smelling liquid rolled from her eyes down her cheeks. Somehow, I knew liquid wasn’t the right word, but my memory offered no other words. It was strange, but my mind seemed to be selective when it came to what I needed to know.
The scent of the girl was so enticing that I was nearly salivating—or would have been if I had any saliva to spare.
The drumming beat louder and louder. I covered my ears with my hands, hoping it would tamp down the sound.
Cassandra, having come out from behind her wall of protectors without my noticing, touched my hands and eased them to my sides. “Don’t try to silence the sound. It’s who you are. Use it. When the beating stops, you stop.”
I squinted, not understanding a word. Something sharp pricked my lips from the inside. A shot of hot liquid ran down my throat. Blood, my blood, coating my throat.
I had to get more. My tongue glided over my teeth and stopped when it met a deadly sharp fang.
Realization struck, sudden and complete. What I was jolted through me. Instinct took over.
A horrible shriek left the fragile little creature in front of me as I took two swift leaps and connected with her body. Her bones shattered under my grip, but the sound didn’t stop me from sinking my teeth into her neck. When my fangs pierced her flesh, warm blood filled my mouth. I moaned with satisfaction as it flowed down my throat, easing the scorching pain. I bit harder and sucked thirstily. The drumming beat slowed, growing fainter and fainter before completely fading away.
“Natasha,” Cassandra yelled as I kept drinking. An ache formed in the pit of my stomach, but I couldn’t stop my feast.
“Natasha,” she yelled again. Something slammed into my body. My fangs were wrenched from the girl’s neck. I flew through the air and crashed against the wall.
I was immediately on my feet. My mind was clouded. A flicker on my hand caught my eye. It was captivating. I lifted my hand and admired the hot flame dancing in my palm, watching it flick over my hand and up my wrist. For some reason, it didn’t hurt me, almost as if it was part of me. An amazing sense of power settled in my core and I forgot about the lifeless girl, about being wrenched from my meal.
Whatever this flame was… it was making me powerful.
Cassandra approached me with small, tentative steps. I shifted my gaze from the flame to the corpse behind Cassandra, before looking at Cassandra. My flame disappeared as she neared me, and her lips spread into a smile.
She touched my cheek gently. I flinched away, but she touched me again and my body seemed to melt into her touch. Her hand was warm and soft; it sent a tingle all over my body.
I loved her touch.
“She’s dead,” Cassandra whispered in my ear. “First rule: we don’t drink from the dead. You’re still thirsty.”
I nodded.
“Good,” she said. She gestured at the door and it opened again. That drumming beat sounded in my ears again.
A male voice protested. “Cassandra, what—?”
“Darius, she needs to feed!” Cassandra glared at Darius.
He quickly shut his mouth and turned his eyes down to the ground.
My next meal was waiting. I didn’t wait for instructions this time. I pounced on my meal, crushing weak bones in my grip and piercing the warm flesh. The taste was different this time, not as sweet, but still delicious. I listened to the heartbeat growing fainter. I withdrew my fangs when it faded away. I heard footsteps and the creak of leather shoes as Darius quickly walked away.
When I looked up, he was framed in the doorway. He turned and pierced Cassandra with his gaze, a warning glint in his eyes. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You never should’ve changed her.”
Our eyes met for a fraction of a second, and I saw a flash of fear in his eyes. Fear of what, me?
He disappeared through the door.
“Dig in, my little firebird,” Cassandra whispered in my ear.
My gaze fell on five other helpless figures being brought into the room.
Before the first one had a chance to blink, my teeth sank into his flesh.
Continue the Guardian of Monster Saga with book 1 of the Varcolac series, Immortal
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About the Author
Adrienne has been writing for the past decade, but only published her debut novel, Firebolt, in 2014. It followed with the rest of the Dragonian series titles and a new series called Dream Casters.
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nbsp; She just started with Dragonian Series spin-of novels called the Beam Series. Book 1, Moonbeam and Darkbeam part one, the Rubicon's story is available. The second and third part of Darkbeam will come in 2018/19
When she isn’t writing she spends time with her family, teaching her two children the power behind a great book.
For more information on Adrienne and her books please visit
www.adriennewoodsbooks.com
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