Vlad, doubled over. Spat blood.
Meanwhile, a heavy hand gripped his collar and a hard voice hissed in his ear; "How dare you look down on the Black Dragon Court! Do you know how insignificant you are?"
He struggled to pull himself from the other's grip and failed.
Failed!
How damned weak had he become? What useless body was this?
And the blood he spat into the mud at his feet, it was black. Why was it so black? What foul impurities filled this body.
Had the Pope's poison done this?
Vlad moaned.
He was so confused.
"I think you hit him too hard, Tibor," a light voice said from his right. "He's only just been Turned. You should be more generous."
"Generous?" Tibor snorted. "Did you hear him? He said our Court was shit."
"The walls," Vlad rasped. "I said the buildings and the walls are shitty. Are you blind?"
Tibor slapped the back of his head. "Shut the Hell up. You don't know what you're talking about."
"He's not wrong, though," the light voice said in a tone which sounded resigned. "It is a little shitty. You have to admit."
"Think what you like, Ist," Tibor growled. "But it ain't right for a newbie to say it. We're the Black Dragon Court. What's your name, fledgling?"
Vlad felt the bigger vampire give him a shake and knew he was being asked.
It was so surreal.
He was being bullied.
Had he ever been bullied before?
He couldn't remember it.
"Vlad," he said, spitting another mouthful of blood and staring down at it.
"Vlad?" Tibor scoffed, slapping the back of his head again. "You dare name yourself after our forefather? Arrogance! You should pick another name. Like, Dirt or Shit."
Fury tore through Vlad's belly and he swung without thinking.
His fist formed a tight ball as he drove it into the bigger vampire's gut.
There, he thought fiercely. That'll teach you for touching me!
Then he blinked.
His fist had barely any power. His knuckles had slammed into Tibor's stomach and felt like he was bouncing off a wooden door.
Of course, he moaned. I'm weak now.
"Insolent brat," Tibor said, not even grunting as Vlad's fist slammed into his gut. Instead, he batted the fist aside and bent down to get a good look at Vlad's face. "Looks like Galosh didn't beat the stuffing out you enough. He's useless and weak. I'm not, though. You can think of this as a lesson. We're your seniors, Dirt. You should respect us."
Tibor's meaty fist smashed into his side.
Then again into his own belly.
Each time, he felt the frozen power of the other vampire flow through him. It was like a wave of cold which snapped and bit at his insides.
This was the first of the vampire's strengths.
The ability to reinforce their strikes with ice.
The humiliating thing was he could feel Tibor's pride as he punched Vlad. The vampire had no doubt been working hard to use as much ice in his punch as this.
But, to Vlad, it was so weak.
And the fact that this weak punch was causing his kidneys to hurt was a humiliation he was sure he could never recover from.
He really could hear Ferenc's laughter in his ears now.
The Prince would be so amused.
After all those years bullying your brothers, you're being bullied by them!
It only took a few punches to drive Vlad down onto his stomach in the mud. He lay there, gasping as he tried to catch his breath.
"Take him back inside, Ist," Tibor sighed. "Hey, Dirt. You should think about this real hard. If you survive the night, you can bow in front of me and beg forgiveness. I might forget your insult then."
Insult?
Vlad's mouth drew back into a snarl as Ist reached down to drag him back to his feet.
I will never forget this insult.
Ist dragged him back inside, one arm around him to support his limping steps.
"Sorry, Vlad," Ist sighed. "You got him on a bad day. Tibor comes from a merchant family, and he got a letter demanding he return home to them before Winter. He's not happy about it. He wanted to learn more before returning. He's not usually the type to hit a junior."
I don't care, Vlad thought, unable to lose the scowl from his face.
Ist dropped Vlad back into his coffin. "I'll let you rest. If you need anything, my room is next door. We'll be training for the day, though. I'll see if someone can bring you some blood. I guess you'll need some."
Vlad moaned, and Ist took that as acknowledgement. Without more words, the light-spoken vampire left the room.
Leaving Vlad to stare up at the ceiling and contemplate his situation further.
The ceiling was black. Like smoke had been thick in the room. Come to think of it, hadn't the floors in the barracks always been made of wood? Now it was rough stone.
A fire, then.
He sighed.
A fire had consumed the castle, and the walls had been torn down. Had the towers collapsed or been attacked?
How recently?
It looked old. Old damage.
"What a mess…"
He watched a spider in the corner of the ceiling. It wasn't moving. Just sitting in its web.
What was it thinking?
It was a predator.
Waiting.
For the perfect moment to strike its prey.
It was most likely thinking about nothing as a spider's patience was immeasurable.
Vlad sighed again, heavier this time.
He liked spiders.
But he didn't have their patience. Groaning with effort, he lifted himself into a sitting position. The first thing he needed to do was fix his stupid body. To do that, he needed strength.
And strength doesn't come from laying quietly in one's coffin.
It came from within.
A vampire's core was their heart. Pierce that core, and a vampire will turn to dust. Any other damage could be recovered from.
But the core…
That's where a vampire began and ended.
Closing his eyes, he pushed his consciousness inside. There was a moment of resistance as his body flinched from him. But he gave it no thought and dove into the darkness inside.
And, as his body lit up, he resisted the urge to weep.
He was a mess. Worse even than the castle.
This can't be right, he thought. This is the body of someone who has just been Turned.
A terrifying thought slowly trickled into his mind.
What if…
What if this wasn't his body?
But that would be impossible, wouldn't it? How could he be in someone else's body?
The thought made him uncomfortable.
Horrified, he wondered how this body had survived being Turned.
By rights, it shouldn't have.
No wonder every one of Tibor's punches had hurt as much as they had. He had a suspicion the other vampire might be surprised if he found out the damage he'd done to Vlad's bones.
He could see fractures in his ribs.
The thin layer of muscle was ruptured in places Tibor's fists had landed.
Then he gulped as he studied his heart.
It was still soft. There was no protection around it. The blood flowing through it wasn't being cleansed. Nor was there any blood energy at all.
Not even a single spark of it.
His blood was running like thick sludge through his body.
If he did nothing, his heart would collapse within a day. And then?
He'd turn to ash.
No stake required.
Pursing his lips, his brows pushed together with determination. He'd need to work quickly.
Above his head, the spider's legs twitched as it started to expand its web.