'Help!' Only a thread from afar, making its way through the haziness on my slumber. 'God, it's too much!' A whisper, barely there, anguished, tormented, then pain. Horrible and excruciating pain ripping through my insides, tearing everything in its path.
There was only one time I felt this kind of ache, and it was when I lost my heart and the remnants of my soul. I was so consumed by guilt and hatred, the devil in me rose to the surface and I spared nothing or anyone on my path.
I snapped my eyes opened as one more jolt of electricity coursed through me, frying my flesh as I bared my fangs and hissed, my body heating to a searing point and convulsed. What was wrong with me? Late punishment for my evil deeds?
'Please… Stop!' The yell was stronger this time on my mind. Someone cried for help. Another heat wave washed over my skin. Each of my muscles cramped in such a terrible way I swore they were being ripped apart or something, the agony too much! When I thought death would welcome me, my body relaxed, leaving me painting and gasping for air. 'You're a walking corpse.' It was an angry promise, and the last I heard of the voice.
"Liz!" I whispered and dragged air into my burning lungs. I knew it was my Liz. She was in trouble. But how? Power surged, overrunning me, and in one swift movement I exploded from my resting place. Rocks, stones, and dust erupting all around. I fell to the ground on my knees, breathing large amounts of fresh cold air, coughing and vomiting. I felt so disoriented, and after so long, I looked to the sky so full of stars, and it spun out of control, making me even dizzier.
"Alizandra!" I looked at the chilly night sky and her name came out in a low growl. Animals scurried and flew away as they felt the disturbing power from the monster who had risen once more. I was back again…
******
Dark Ages, 1457. Wallachia, Romania.
We had just left Bucharest towards the north, my contingent of about five hundred men and I, and Târgovişte was up ahead, so it should be one of our resting stops. My enemies were all around me, and every single day I had to fight to be alive.
I forced myself to build my reputation as a ruthless, cold—blooded bastard, because one thing my short existence taught me, it was much better to be feared than to be loved, and believe me everyone feared me to the core, but that, didn't stop my blood—thirsty enemies to hunt me down and try to overpower me, yet I was not about to let my beloved land and my people fall into their hands.
I didn't come through this route for pleasure as I had a purpose in mind, and some people would regret being alive. My foes had assassinated my eldest brother Mircea, and according to my informants, the boyars of Târgovişte were the ones to account for such a crime against my family.
I didn't want to believe in such treason, much less, they had buried him alive, but I traveled to his resting place, I dug him up, and I saw with my own eyes, the awfully scratched casket and his body laid on his stomach. They had stolen my childhood, my family, and my life from me. For years, I blamed my father for my abandonment, and a few years back the gruesome truth came to light, and I swore to my father's dying breath that I would avenge them all.
The peasants scurried away and looked for shelter once they saw me riding inside town. I'm not proud that my people behave like that towards me, but if I needed to enforce order and obedience, sometimes I also had to punish them as an example for others.
"Anton, tell the men to find a place to camp and settle for the night, then meet me back by the castle's entrance with fifty of the men." Anton was my best and loyal man, he also had charge of this contingent. I had several ones like this throughout the land, always reporting back to me, and we'd reunited them all when hard times came to make a powerful army.
"Yes, sire. We have a party to attend…" His sarcastic smirk told everything. I knew he couldn't wait to grab his sword and make some heads roll. He was a brilliant strategist and fighter, two of the reasons that made me choose him to fight beside me. We were both forged by the fires of hate and terror. We were the same, and he had his own battles and vengeance to deal with. Those made him merciless to the bone, as he loved the smell of fear and blood on his fallen enemies.
The town was quiet, and the only telltale of a party going on was the noise of music and loud orgies coming from the castle. Wherever I went with my horse, my peasants bowed their heads and never met my eyes. They knew who was in town that night and knew something bad was about to happen.
Female screams and men laughing out loud got my attention. I made my horse come to a halt and hid in the shadows. A door from a house burst open and a woman with a rare beauty ran to the yard, her dress torn and ragged, long, light chestnut hair flying all around her body like a halo, and her face a mask of terror.
Right there, I felt my heart skip a beat. I've never felt such a thing for a woman before. Yes, I've had my share of them, but I've only used them to assuage my sexual needs, nothing more. I blinked several times to dissipate the feeling rising in me. Why was I thinking about this when I needed to pay attention to what was unfolding in front of me and not wasting time analyzing this foreign emotion?
Two men followed her out and didn't take too long for them to have her in their hold. Fury took me by surprise. How dare they touch her? A low growl escaped my throat calling to their attention, but they only saw darkness. Rage sizzled through my nerves like lightning, and my blood boiled in my veins.
"NO! Let me go, you won't have me!"
"Your stepfather lost you in a bet, you're ours now, we'll do to you whatever we pleased!" She got slapped a few times, and the only thing I could hear was the angry roar inside my head.
"No. You won't touch me, I die first!" She scratched his face like an angry cat.
I could see which was the leader of the two. The smaller one was there, just waiting for a bone, and I had to act soon as he shoved her against the wall. I reached for my bow and arrow and I aimed for the one eagerly waiting for his turn; I let go of my fingers and my arrow got in the middle of his guts.
Oh, no, I didn't miss it, I just couldn't kill them straight away. I was going to have some fun with these two perverts later. He tumbled to the ground screaming in pain and his friend looked at me, but not seeing anyone. He grabbed the girl and threw her to the ground, running for his dear life. I heard a loud thud, and she was out like a candle. The man was down when my next arrow flew through his insides. Then I left the shadows.
"The devil… the devil…" he said to me with wide eyes, howling in pain.