Cassian Legacy: The Vampire Prince
Preface

In the darkness his caninesglistened like two porcelain toothpicks, both fragile and strong. They slowlyextended down from his upper jaw as he readied himself to sink them into thewoman’s soft pliable flesh. She didn’t look frightened at all in the darkalley, but like all the others he had drunk from before, she wouldn’t be scareduntil the sharp objects punctured her femoral artery. She only knew thepleasure from her chosen man of the night.

As much as I abhorred men who usedwomen in such a way, this particular act angered me. I had been chasing thisguy for months now, and I finally had him within my grasp. He was particularabout whom he took blood from, but this night he chose one of the streetwalkers. Despite the fact this woman probably deserved what was coming, Icouldn’t turn away. She had no idea what he had in store for her.

I was their protector – the humans,the ones who were unaware of the dangers from the night. Despite my objections,I couldn’t turn my back on the girl for how she earned her living, even thoughthis act disgusted me.

The seconds ticked by as he tookhis time. I would only get myself involved if he seriously drank her blood, butas the time passed his fangs retracted. It seemed that he toyed with her skinor my thoughts, however disturbing it was. There was a possibility I had chasedthe wrong guy after all, but my intuition told me I was right. I waited for thewoman to take her cash and leave before I headed for the motel I stayed in.Just because he didn’t drink from her this night didn’t mean that he would actdifferently another night. But until I finally caught him in the abhorring act,I wouldn’t dare harm him.

It didn’t take me long to reach therented room. The place was run-down, one of the cheapest I could replace. A rustedsign outside my door was missing a few letters and had a broken light on the E.Inside I would replace a full size bed with a duvet that looked like it belongedin the 1960’s, complete with vomit green carpet and a lamp missing its shade onthe bedside table. The bathroom was worse off than the bedroom. Mold and rustcovered the tile on the floor and around the rim of the bathtub. The ivorytoilet looked nicer compared to the yellowish tint the washbasin displayed.

Normally I double checked whetheror not the cleaning staff had been by, but earlier I had placed a placard onthe doorknob, as I didn’t want anyone venturing inside by accident. I openedthe door and walked in, satisfied that my privacy had been maintained. Beforemy eyes had time to adjust to the dark, a hand reached out and latched aroundmy neck. The unknown assailant flipped me upside down and my back collided withthe rock hard mattress in a flash. The intruder crept up on top of my body,pinning me. As his face neared mine, I recognized the man. He was the same manfrom before, in the alley, the one I had been following. He must’ve known whatI was up to. He must’ve known where I stayed and came here after I failed toact. Now I was trapped.

Hedidn’t speak any words at all, but extended his fangs once more and preparedhimself for the kill. As his mouth neared my neck I only saw those porcelainwhite toothpicks, both so strong and yet so fragile.