Chapter. 1
"There's a vampire!" I whisper-shout. "The candle!" I whip away from the c***k in the barn wall and lunge for the light that's about to give away our position. After walking for the entire day, this old abandoned barn seemed like the perfect place to take shelter for the night. Now that candle is acting as a beacon, shining through the cracks in the wall and drawing in the very creatures we are trying to escape.
A large figure blocks my path to the candle, bouncing me back as I crash into his hard chest. I lose my balance and fall back onto the dirt and straw that covers the barn floor.
"Not so fast, girl," Neil says, blocking the candle. "Is he alone?"
"Are you crazy? That light will be the death of us," I say.
"Is he alone?" he repeats, slower. My heart is beating through my chest. It’s dark outside, and the vampire will spot the light at any second. Does he want us all to die?
"It's just him and his horse. Now put it out, quick."
He glances at the other two men, and his lips curl up into a grin. He gives a small nod. The one unsheathes his sword, and the other picks up his bow.
My face goes pale. "No. It's suicide. We need to stay hidden and wait for him to pass. This shoddy barn looks abandoned. He won't know we're here."
Neil steps around me, and the three men gather by the large barn door. "We will not lie down and let those vile monsters take our country," he says.
"What are you talking about? They've already taken it. We've lost. Escaping to Faria is our only chance now."
Neil tries to get a glimpse of the vampire through a c***k in the wall. "Listen, farmhand, if we want your advice on matters of war, we'll ask."
I get back on my feet and dust the hay off my pants. "My name's not farmhand, it's Julia, and you're stonemasons, not soldiers."
The men look at each other and give one last nod. The blond man kicks open the door, and they burst out the barn while shouting their battle cry. I run to the door and slam it closed, then I bolt back to the candle and smother it in the dirt.
A blood chilling scream sends a shiver down my spine. I hurry back to the wall and look through a c***k between two wooden planks. Another agonizing wail follows. I can't see them. I jerk my head around the c***k, trying to find an angle. In my heart, I want to scream for them to run, to just escape. The vampire may have mercy on injured men running in fear, but my breath sticks in my throat. If I scream, if I draw attention to this barn, then the vampire will come for me.
"No, no, no, please!" a man begs. It's Neil. My stomach flips. Ever since we fled from our village, he’s been the leader of our little group of four. His unwavering confidence that we would all make it to Faria is what kept my fear at bay. This can’t be happening. Neil never panics.
Another wail follows, but it's cut short. I stumble backwards and struggle to keep my footing. He's dead. They're dead. They're all dead.
We were meant to run from the foreign vampire army, not fight them. I fled my village, leaving the only home I’ve ever known, leaving every person I grew up with to escape the violence, and now my traveling companions lie dead on the other side of the barn wall, with their murderer still lurking.
Why did he come for us? Why couldn't he leave us alone? What did Neil and the others even die for? We abandoned everything we had, lost everything we’d built up over our whole lives just to escape these creatures. There are no houses left for them to ransack, no treasures to be stolen or land to be taken. Yet the vampire came all this way just to kill us? We are nobodies.
I hear his footsteps. He's coming. My eyes dart around the barn. Hay, feeding troughs, buckets, blankets, lanterns, candles, everything but weapons, which are now all sprawled out outside. There's nothing left to defend myself. He's going to kill me.
