BLOOD IN IKOYI
1667 Words
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Rain crashed against the shattered windows while cold wind swept through the Robinson mansion. Broken glass covered the marble floor like scattered ice.
Zara stood frozen.
“She is not fully vampire.”
The words echoed inside her head repeatedly.
Daniel looked between Zara and the female hunter with growing rage.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded.
The hunter ignored him.
Her eyes remained fixed on Zara.
“You’ve been lied to your entire life.”
Marcus stepped forward slowly.
Every movement carried authority.
Danger.
Ancient power.
“You entered my home uninvited,” Marcus said calmly. “Now you speak too much.”
The female hunter smiled.
“You still hide behind fear.”
Daniel snapped.
He moved instantly.
One second he stood beside Zara.
The next second he crashed into the hunter with enough force to destroy the front pillars behind her.
Stone exploded.
Rain poured harder into the hallway.
The other hunters attacked immediately.
The one carrying sacred chains swung toward Elias.
Elias barely avoided the strike.
The chains smashed into the wall behind him, burning deep marks into the marble.
Sacred ash.
Daniel grabbed the female hunter by the throat and slammed her against the broken pillar outside.
“You made a mistake coming here,” he growled.
The hunter laughed despite the pain.
“You still don’t understand.”
Daniel’s eyes glowed brighter.
“I understand enough.”
He raised his claws.
Then the hunter whispered something ancient.
Daniel froze instantly.
Pain exploded through his veins.
Dark symbols briefly appeared beneath his skin.
He staggered backward violently.
Marcus reacted immediately.
He crossed the distance faster than lightning and drove his fist directly through the chest of the second hunter.
Blood splashed across the rain soaked floor.
The hunter collapsed lifelessly.
Or so it seemed.
Seconds later the corpse burst into blue flames.
Ash scattered into the storm.
Elias grabbed the sacred chains quickly before the fire reached them.
The chains burned his palms instantly.
He hissed in pain.
“They’re enchanted,” he shouted.
The female hunter suddenly broke free from Daniel’s grip and flipped backward across the courtyard with unnatural speed.
Not human speed.
Not even vampire speed.
Marcus noticed immediately.
His expression darkened.
“Impossible,” he muttered.
The hunter smiled coldly.
“You thought only your bloodline evolved?”
Lightning flashed across the estate.
For one second everyone saw her eyes clearly.
Silver.
Not human.
Not vampire.
Something else.
Zara stepped backward slowly.
Fear spread across her face.
“What are they?” she whispered.
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
The third hunter suddenly raised his blade toward Zara.
“Take the girl!”
Daniel roared and launched himself forward.
The fight exploded instantly.
The sacred blade clashed against Daniel’s claws, releasing sparks across the courtyard. Daniel struck again and again with savage force, but the hunter moved like smoke.
Fast.
Disciplined.
Deadly.
Marcus watched carefully.
His instincts sharpened.
Something about this attack felt wrong.
Too organized.
Too confident.
Then he realized.
This was distraction.
Marcus turned sharply toward the mansion.
“Elias!”
Elias looked up immediately.
“What?”
Marcus’s eyes narrowed.
“Victoria.”
Elias’s expression changed instantly.
“She’s alone downstairs.”
Marcus vanished.
The floor cracked beneath the force of his speed.
Inside the mansion darkness swallowed the hallways.
Emergency lights flickered weakly.
Marcus moved through the corridors like a shadow, ancient instincts guiding him.
Then he smelled blood.
Fresh blood.
His face hardened.
He followed the scent toward the underground level beneath the estate.
The private chambers.
Victoria’s sanctuary.
The massive steel doors already hung open.
Marcus stepped inside slowly.
Silence greeted him.
Candles flickered across the chamber walls.
Ancient symbols covered the floor.
Then Marcus saw the blood.
Long streaks across the marble.
A body lay near the altar.
One of the guards.
Throat ripped open.
Drained completely.
Marcus crouched beside the corpse.
Still warm.
Recently killed.
Then a soft voice echoed through the darkness.
“You’re getting slow.”
Marcus rose immediately.
Victoria Robinson emerged from the shadows wearing a black silk dress stained with blood.
Not her blood.
Someone else’s.
Her golden eyes glowed faintly.
Marcus stared at her carefully.
“You were attacked.”
Victoria smiled slightly.
“He tried.”
Marcus noticed another body near the corner.
A hunter.
Dead.
Half his face missing.
Victoria walked toward Marcus calmly.
“They came for Zara.”
“I know.”
Victoria’s expression darkened.
“So it begins.”
Marcus grabbed her arm.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Before Victoria answered, an explosion shook the entire estate.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Marcus released her instantly.
Outside, Daniel crashed through one of the garden statues after taking a direct hit from the sacred blade.
Pain tore through his chest.
The wound refused to heal.
That frightened him.
The female hunter approached slowly through the rain.
“You feel it now, don’t you?”
Daniel rose painfully.
“What are you?”
The hunter tilted her head slightly.
“The future.”
Daniel attacked again.
This time faster.
More brutal.
His fist connected directly with her face, sending her flying across the courtyard.
Stone shattered beneath her body.
But she stood almost immediately.
Healing.
Fast healing.
Too fast.
Elias watched in disbelief.
“They heal like us.”
“No,” Zara whispered from behind him.
“They heal faster.”
The female hunter wiped blood from her mouth slowly.
Then she smiled.
“Original blood.”
Marcus and Victoria emerged from the mansion together.
The moment Victoria appeared, the hunters stepped backward cautiously.
Even Daniel noticed.
They feared her more.
Interesting.
Victoria’s gaze locked onto the female hunter instantly.
Recognition flashed across her face.
“You.”
The hunter smiled wider.
“It’s been a long time.”
Daniel looked confused.
“You know her?”
Victoria ignored him.
The storm intensified violently around the estate.
Thunder rolled across Lagos.
The female hunter removed a necklace from beneath her cloak.
An ancient symbol hung from it.
Marcus froze.
Victoria’s face lost color.
Elias whispered quietly.
“The Blood Crown.”
The hunter raised it slowly.
Dark energy spread instantly across the courtyard.
Every vampire present felt it.
Pain.
Power.
Hunger.
Daniel dropped to one knee immediately.
Zara gasped as black veins briefly spread across her skin.
Marcus stepped protectively in front of the family.
“You have no idea what that artifact does.”
The hunter’s expression darkened.
“Oh, I know exactly what it does.”
Suddenly every light across the estate exploded.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then the screaming began.
Not human screams.
Something worse.
Deep beneath the mansion.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Zara covered her ears immediately.
“What is that?”
Elias looked terrified.
“The vault.”
Marcus turned sharply toward him.
“No.”
Elias swallowed hard.
“The Crown awakened something.”
Victoria grabbed Marcus’s arm tightly.
“We need to leave.”
Marcus stared toward the underground chambers.
For the first time in centuries, uncertainty entered his eyes.
Then the ground beneath the courtyard cracked open.
A massive shockwave erupted upward.
Everyone was thrown backward violently.
Daniel smashed into a wall.
Elias crashed across the marble stairs.
Zara screamed as the earth split beneath her feet.
Marcus caught her seconds before she fell into the darkness below.
From beneath the estate came another sound.
Breathing.
Slow.
Ancient.
Alive.
The hunters immediately retreated several steps.
Even they looked afraid now.
The female hunter stared into the darkness beneath the cracked ground.
“No,” she whispered.
Marcus heard the fear in her voice.
“You fools,” he said quietly.
The female hunter looked at him sharply.
“What did you bury here?”
Marcus answered softly.
“Our beginning.”
Then something moved below.
Fast.
A dark figure launched upward from the shadows beneath the estate and grabbed one of the hunters instantly.
The man screamed.
Everyone watched in horror as the creature ripped him apart in seconds.
Blood sprayed across the rain soaked courtyard.
The female hunter backed away quickly.
Daniel slowly rose to his feet despite the pain burning through his chest.
Then he saw the creature clearly.
Tall.
Thin.
Its skin looked pale gray.
Its eyes completely black.
Its mouth stretched unnaturally wide with rows of sharp teeth.
Not vampire.
Something older.
Something wrong.
The creature sniffed the air slowly.
Then its head turned toward Zara.
Marcus immediately stepped in front of her.
The creature smiled.
A horrible humanlike smile.
Then it spoke.
“One of my blood still lives.”
Silence crushed the courtyard.
Zara stared in confusion.
“What?”
The creature moved closer.
Marcus’s voice thundered violently.
“Do not touch her.”
The creature ignored him completely.
Its black eyes remained locked onto Zara.
“I remember your mother.”
Victoria’s expression changed instantly.
Fear.
Real fear.
Daniel noticed immediately.
“You know this thing?”
Victoria stepped backward slowly.
“No,” she whispered.
But Marcus looked at her sharply.
“Yes, you do.”
The creature inhaled deeply.
Then it smiled wider.
“The Blood Queen finally returns.”
Zara’s heartbeat accelerated.
“What is it talking about?”
Nobody answered.
Because suddenly the truth felt more dangerous than the hunters.
The female hunter slowly raised the sacred blade again.
“We need to kill it now.”
Marcus looked at her coldly.
“You awakened it.”
“And you hid it beneath Lagos.”
The creature laughed softly.
A terrible sound.
Ancient madness filled every word.
“You still blame each other after all these centuries.”
Daniel stepped closer to Marcus.
“What exactly is that thing?”
Marcus stayed silent too long.
Then Elias finally understood.
His face turned pale.
“No…”
Daniel looked at him sharply.
“What?”
Elias stared directly at the creature.
“It’s the First Blood.”
Lightning exploded across the sky.
And the creature smiled.
- Writer
