DARKLING

CHAPTER ONE: THE BIRTHDAY

Somewhere in a long-forgotten place, buried deep in the ground, a long dead heart began to beat.

She took her first breath.

Her screams filled the air. The room was cold and the lights were so bright. The infant girl was gently wiped and laid at her mother’s breast to soothe her.

The smell. Familiar. The voice. Full of comfort.

“Hello Geneviève Saoirse Clare. I am your mommy.” The mother whispered. “No one has ever loved anyone as I already love you.” The mother bent her head, breathing in and kissing the newborn. The nurse took the baby to clean her. The loss of her mother’s warmth caused the baby girl to cry out once more.

xoxo

Not far from the small village hospital, in a tiny pub, a young Katie Ann was celebrating her 23rd birthday with her two best girlfriends. They were dancing and singing along to the man doing Karaoke. The birthday girl slipped out of the embrace of her friends and weaved her way through the small crowd to the exit.

She pulled a cigarette and lighter from her tiny shoulder bag. The cold night air felt good on her warm cheeks. She raised her face to the sky as she exhaled the smoke. All was quiet except for the muffled beat of music coming from the pub and the distant sound of the ocean.

The area she was standing in was dimly lit. If not for the small string of holiday lights lining the roof of the pub and lanterns in the distance, lining the village streets, she could have been hidden for a moment. Her girlfriends were constantly trying to hook her up with men. The girls had invited a couple of guys from primary school.

She was already exhausted from pretending to be interested. Yet the song and dance of pretend was easier than telling the truth, she thought.

“If they knew I prefer women…” She spoke aloud, a whisper to herself.

In that moment, a sense of dread began to creep over her. Nausea flooded her body. She had been drinking but she hadn’t had THAT much. A sour, putrid smell of rot suddenly engulfed her, replacing the steady smell of wet earth and salty ocean air. She was alert. Afraid. But why? The door to the pub burst open making her jump and drop her cigarette. Two guys came stumbling out singing off key and laughing, arms flailing in the air as they walked toward the village. Her heart calmed. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled.

She still had that dreadful feeling. She tried to ignore it and bent down to pick up the cigarette. Just as her fingers were about to grasp it, it was gone. She straightened up to find herself face to face with a man. A tall, sickly thin, gray-skinned man, hovering over her. His eyes were black and sunken deep. His skin seemed too tight to fit his skull and stretched as if it would tear if touched. Something inside of her just knew without a doubt, he was pure evil. Despite being repulsed, something about his appearance gave her the impression that he might have been handsome once upon a time. The thought made no sense. Everything about him seemed to be grotesque. His smell, his stance, his appearance, his essence.

A smile crawled up his face and her heart quickened with horror. Did he hear her thoughts? His gray taut lips pulled back, revealing the blackened inside of his mouth. The black gums had receded, leaving the longest, sharpest daggers for teeth.

Flesh. How easy he could tear through her flesh. How easily he could end her life, she managed to think to herself, frozen in absolute fear. She wanted to scream, wanted to run. Her body just would not allow it. Like a deer in headlights she just stood, staring.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Katie Ann watched as he reached his skeletal hand and black claw like

nails to his hair, which was pulled tightly back with a leather tie. He smoothed his hair back, chuckling as if seeing her like this was pure entertainment. A game.

“Ah, but I haven’t time for games, child.” The words came out like a hiss. Black saliva sprayed. But she had never spoken. He glided forward, never moving any limbs. Everything in Katie Ann wanted to tear away and run. She tried. So hard. It was as if she had lost control over her own body…

“Well, we couldn’t have you running away, could we?” He said, getting closer. She tried not to look him in the eyes. Instead, she focused on things she could describe to the authorities if he chose to attack her and flea. His clothing. Flared dingy cuffs, that once were white and a dress coat that surely use to fit a larger frame. They made her think of the Shakespearean era, or… something that should be on a corpse rotting in a coffin. The clothing hung from the frail figure. He was disgusting in every way.

His breath was touching her skin now. His foul sickening breath. Glimpses of all everything he could do to her flashed in her mind. He reached up with his black nails and ran a finger down the side of her cheek, not cutting her, just scratching the surface. Katie Ann began to shake with fear and a whimper came from her throat. His eyes rolled in the back of his eyes, and he inhaled deeply. He wanted this. He wanted her fear. Needed it. Like a drug. He opened his eyes and they were blacker than before. If that was even possible.

She began to panic. Her heart picked up speed as she struggled to gain control. She was trying with all her might to move, to scream. He was nose to nose with her, breathing in her breath; his hands tracing her face, hair and lips. PLEASE GOD! She thought as she squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel him tilting his mouth to fit hers. Moist, thin lips pressing into her own full pink painted mouth. She could feel the black vile saliva moistening her lips. He held her there. She could taste decay. She could taste metal. No. Blood. Bile rose up into her throat and her body began to quiver and heave. The smell of rot and death filled every sense.

No.

Wait.

A floral, earthy smell filled her nostrils. Sent every part of her body into a longing. She began to feel control come back. Fingers, toes, arms, legs. The horror and fear instantly left her. Forgotten. She was flooded with pictures of him. Beautiful, vibrant, masculine in structure, but something angelic, perfect, elegant. His movements with her in his arms were those of a fluid dancer. Every move like a choreographed dance. There were no men like him. There was no other person for her. Her entire existence was designed to make him happy. To submit to his will.

The pictures he was constructing in her mind was mind-bending art. She needed more. He was all she had dreamed of. Breathtaking. She opened her eyes and looked at him again, her body relaxing. The vulgar corpse that was preparing to attack had been wiped from her mind and the man she was looking at was the most amazing creature she had ever laid eyes upon. How can something so perfect exist? She thought to herself, eyes heavy and head tilted as she looked into his perfect black eyes. He smiled. A little chuckle may have escaped. He was perfect.

Reaching up to touch his mouth, still being flooded with erotic thoughts, he pulled her closer, bending his mouth to her neck. Her body began to reject him at first, but another powerful blast of the scent of him made her placid. She looked into his eyes as his mouth opened, teeth exposed, like a shark; sending absolute fear bursting within her once more! But it was too late. She was like a rag doll in his hands. Holding her to him, his giant skeletal form shimmered as his teeth, even more gruesome up close, sank deep into her neck. She could feel a warm, large drop of blood roll down her neck to her top. Her life was pouring into his mouth as if directed to do so, no effort on his part. No sloppy sucking like a vampire in a movie. Vampire. She thought. He shifted, opening his eyes to look into hers.

Together they glided into the dark shadow of the pub. This caused her to realize her feet were no longer touching the ground.

“Vampire?” He hissed. This time, black spit and her own blood spewed from the grotesque mouth. She could see something in his teeth.

Her own flesh?

He took a single fingernail to his teeth to pluck it out, then closed his mouth over his finger, sucking the meat off the nail. “Vampire?” His voice shrilled, like nails on a chalk board. “No child. I am a Darkling but not Vamp. I am a Nephilim Shifter. Though others like to call me ‘turned’. I simply choose to be as the Creator intended. My clan would have me bow to you, transfix you so that you aren’t panicked while I feed. I have found the true Darkling manner in which to feast. At my age, I have to feed more often, sure. It is not always pretty." He grinned a terrifying grin while sucking in the air. Katie Ann could see his tongue dance behind his teeth as if he were tasting something. "But I will be renewed soon. I have sensed my mate. She and I will devour your realm and breed more of your kind to feast upon. You humans. You are but cattle. We will rule over a new world. A world that the Dark Fathers intended. She is but an infant. You will have the honor and duty of being her mother while she needs one. Do you understand pig? You have been chosen! You should thank me.” He was almost elated, yet his voice was shrill and made her feel sick.

He is truly insane, she thought.

“You are being saved from the slaughter, child. If you please me, I may let you live or," his smile widened even more, stretching to an impossible length. Though no sound came out, the horror etched deeper still in her face. "I may consider changing you!" His eyes looked almost comically at her. As if he had made a grand joke and he was waiting for her to get the punchline. His eyes darted above her head. He inhaled the air, slowly this time. " I thought this hunt would take so much longer. The Creator smiles on me.” He looked deep into her eyes this time. He was searching for something. But she would never know what. She feared he could read her mind. "Oh the terrible things, terrible. terrible things, we will do..." His voice trailed off as he bent his head down once more.

He licked up the blood dripping from the tear in her throat. His tongue was pointy, long and black. It burned so badly when he licked the wound. Still hovering over the ground, he held his wrist over her mouth and, with his thumb on the opposite hand, he punctured his own wrist with a sharp black nail. He filled her mouth with the thick, black, sludge seeming to crawl from his veins. She held her mouth closed and closed her eyes. It did no good. Her mouth opened against her will, and the black blood danced its way down onto her tongue. “This is a gift I am giving you freely. You can still be a happy child, but disappoint me, and I will replace you. I thought to enslave you completely, but I cannot risk you feeding on the baby. I have been a gentleman so far. You do not want to anger me. Any woman would be happy to take your place, girl. You will thank me for this gift, for saving you when the Dark Fathers have their way. You will see true horror.” He looked at her as she swallowed the poisoned blood and started gagging.

“KATIE ANN!” Two voices called out into the night in a singsong tune. It was her friends. They were looking for her. Hope filled her soul. Then, as the creature leaned into her ear whispering strange words, she lost it all.

Katie Ann walked out of the darkness smoking a cigarette.

“Why were you back there, Kats? Kissin’ in the dark? Where’s the lad?” teased one of the girls.

“Yeah, what were you doing in the dark?” The other sang, followed by kissy sounds.

“I need to show you guys something amazing. Come on! I’ve been waiting for you guys!” Katie Ann said. Her face was bright with excitement, but something of fear and sadness flickered in her eyes for a moment. She threw her cigarette down and reached her two hands out to the girls. Both girls looked at one another, almost hesitant. “Seriously guys? You are acting weird. Come oooon! What do you think? I’m gonna kill ya off?” Katie Ann laughed. “Let’s go before some creep comes out and tries to follow us.” She smiled her best smile, already stepping backward.

With that, the two girls grabbed her hands and they stepped into the darkness. After a few moments, muffled screams rang out into the night. But no one was around to hear them.

(To be continued...)