Chapter One

The town was silent as the shrouded figure approached. Not even the dead stirred, for fear they would incur the traveller’s wrath.
The people were terrified of him, though there were few who knew why. An aura so evil hung off him like a poisonous creeper to an abandoned manor.
“And so we meet again Tyshän...” the man whispered to himself. As his whisper travelled, a fine sheet of frost formed on the windows around him.
On the horizon, a dark cloud loomed; a rare sight for a desert oasis. He walked down the length of the main street in the town. The once colourful gardens standing proudly outside withered in his wake, as if they had lost the will to live.
He passed through the town without pausing to rest or purchase food or water, though he was worn, ravaged by travel. The only thing that lingered from his presence in the town was a mysterious curse. The life and joy of the people were sapped away and evil creatures attacked relentlessly until Tyshän’s situation became no less than dire.

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Terra turned into the street, ever weary and painfully aware she was being followed. She didn’t dare look at him, but kept walking. He was getting closer. Her long fingers twitched, itching to touch the hilt of her knife, if not to use, mainly for comfort.
She made her decision. Her fingers crept to her hip and brushed against the hilt, when a hand came in contact with her shoulder.
“Nice night for a walk, isn’t it?” the shadowed man said. He had an accent she couldn’t place.
“What do you want?” Terra asked, barely keeping the fear from her voice. She sensed a smirk behind her.
“Just a nibble, love,”
Vampire... The word reverberated in her head as she snatched her knife from the her hip and jabbed at the man’s throat.
“Close, but not quite,” he responded, catching hold of her fist just inches from him. A smile played on his lips, and Terra caught a glimpse of long white fangs before he descended, sinking his teeth into her neck.
Not a moment later, he pulled away. A burning sensation had filled his mouth, and he retched.
“Garlic,” he spluttered. “Clever.”
Terra couldn’t answer. The vampire had put his teeth straight through an artery and blood was now streaming freely from the wound, quickly staining the front of her shirt a dark red.
Her head was spinning dangerously. She eased herself to the ground, and leaned against the wall of a house. A small, white cat was the last thing she saw before blacking out.

When Terra came to, she was in total darkness. A little weak, she didn’t move as she tried to work out where she was.
“Let’s see...” she said to herself. “I went to see Father... went to the tavern with brothers... was bitten by-“
Terra shot bolt upright. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it would start echoing in... wherever she was.
“No... no, this can’t be happening...” Terra muttered to herself. “NO!”
“Bloody hell, will you shut up!?” an all too familiar voice said through the echo. “Even my kind need sleep you know.”
“W-where am I?” Terra’s voice shook. She swept a hand through her long, thick, knotted chestnut hair as she looked around, attempting vainly to see through the dark.
“A crypt,” the vampire sighed. “Mine, in fact.”
“Why did you bring me here?”
“I couldn’t very well leave you on the street,” was the reply. “You’re too pretty to be buried.”
Terra blinked. “Er... thanks... I think,” she said, not sure whether she should be flattered or frightened.
“When you passed out, I gave you some herbs to stop you turning,” the vampire continued. “But I would wait until morning before attempting to leave.”
“Why’s that?”
“The treatment sometimes doesn’t work. In that case, you’ll suffer an extremely painful death - or so I’ve heard. The sun and vampires doesn’t mix very well, you know.”
Terra snorted and lay back down. Her eyes closed and she found herself in a dream.

A large cavern. At the far end, a king’s throne. But there was something sinister. It was covered in something... yellow? Pink? It had the texture of leather. Terra was sitting on the throne, facing the tunnel that led to freedom. It was blocked with a boulder. At Terra’s feet, a woman was lying, saturated in her own blood.

Terra’s eyes snapped open. Outside, the muffled twitter of birds indicated it was daylight. Groggy, and confused by the dream, she sat up and looked around.
“Walk in the direction your head was facing,” came a sleepy voice. “About five steps should get you to the door. Stick your arm out first before you leave. If it’s burning, shut the door quick; I’m not going to save you. If not, you’re free to go.”
“Um... thanks...” Terra said, following the vampire’s directions. A snort of laughter was her only reply.
She thrust her arm out the door. Golden sunlight fell on her pale skin, and left no mark.
Taking this as a good sign, Terra stepped out from the crypt and shut the door behind her.

“Where have you been?” were the first words Terra heard as she stepped through the front door of her manor.
Terra sighed, just before her mother’s second husband stormed into the room.
“You didn’t come home all night! You’re lucky you weren’t killed!” Terra suppressed a laugh, but Jekhar didn’t notice.
“What were you doing? You were with your mongrel father, weren’t you!?”
“You can talk, bloody half-breed,” Terra muttered, just loud enough for Jekhar to hear.
She knew it was coming, and had braced herself, but the force of her being thrown against the wall still winded Terra.
Jekhar raised a hand and punched her in the jaw, where a bruise from the last beating had just healed.
Terra had become used to the beatings now. When Terra’s mother left her father five years ago, it was for another man; Jekhar. The man had always considered Terra a spoilt brat and had attempted to beat it out of her.
She approached her mother many times, but the woman was too terrified to be much help. So, Terra frequently sought shelter at her father’s house in the depths of the city.
“Beat me again,” Terra muttered to herself. “Kill me even. Better yet, kill yourself. You’re a useless attempt at a father anyway. You’re insane.”
Jekhar held Terra by the throat and repeatedly punched her. The painful crunch of her nose breaking was heard over Jekhar’s heavy panting.
“Come on, dear stepfather,” Terra said hoarsely, as she carefully reached down, her fingers brushing against the hilt of her blade. “You can do better than that.”
Her fingers closed over the hilt and slashed at Jekhar’s eye. The man clapped a hand to his eye, at the same time releasing Terra.
His wide, stubby hand was glittering with scarlet blood as he took his hand away. The knife hand cut just under the eye.
Jekhar, now in a terrible rage, threw Terra to the ground and kicked at her ribs. The steel-capped boots he wore did their job; Terra gasped as two or three ribs buckled under the force.
With each kick, Jekhar’s strength was drained steadily. Each kick grew weaker, but Terra still flinched at each; her ribs were digging further into the fragile membrane of her lung, and soon they would pierce through.
“Go clean yourself up,” Jekhar finally spat as he relented tiredly and made his way up a flight of stairs to his bedroom.
Terra lay on the floor, her breathing short, erratic. She slowly eased herself to her feet and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she stumbled outside.
Her throat was red and was developing a bruise, as was her left eye, which was almost swollen shut. Blood streamed from her nose, mingling with the dried blood already on her shirt from the previous night. Her jaw was swelling. Underneath her clothes, there would be many more bruises, as well as a couple of cracked ribs.
Terra slammed the door behind her as she started the trek to her father’s home.

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A/N: I originally wrote three chapters of this book with a friend of mine a few years back. Then the other day I suddenly felt the urge to rewrite it and continue it. I also changed some of the names, because a few of them were cliched and/or didn't sound right. Enjoy.