The Palace Beast

"That thing down there is no father of mine. That's a vampire," said Leon.

"What is he talking about?" the king asked glancing at Gerald. He was totally lost. How can someone they just buried be a vampire? Or perhaps they are mistaken what they saw with another thing. "My king, the healer has come back to life. His eyes are red and he now has fangs. He moved faster than the eye can see," Gerald laments.

The king can't just dismiss the case without getting to the root of it. He expresses curiosity and then switched his attention towards Gerald. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"My father has turned into a vampire." Leon cuts in.

He was really certain of what they have seen down there. Although Gerald knew nothing about vampires or how they appear to be.

"That's impossible."

King Afa switched his attention to Leon. One thing is certain, they have seen something and another thing is certain, whatever it is they have seen, must be a thing to be looked for and killed. "My King, I don't know what vampires look like but if what I saw down there is what Leon said it is, we must not feel reluctant about it," Gerald said with his hands placed on his sword belt. Switching his focus on Leon again, the king asked, "Are you certain he's a vampire?"

"I am certain. My grandfather has killed lots of them and he often shares the stories with me. Even the story of the first vampire." Clearing his throat, Leon continued. "Only a vampire can create another vampire, so my grandfather tells me that the history of vampires begins with a single vampire who created the others. We had little insight into how the first vampire came about until recently." ...Long Time Ago....

Originally named Ambrogio, the first vampire was actually a human man before becoming a vampire. He was an adventurer who came to Delphi, Greece, by fate. He was born in a far away land. To put it briefly, though, a string of misfortunes turned this young man into the first vampire in recorded history.

In particular, it started when the sun god Apollo, in a fit of wrath, cursed Ambrogio, making his skin burn if it ever came into contact with sunlight again. Ambrogio's misfortune ensued when he ultimately gambled away his soul to the underworld deity, Hades. The goddess of the moon and hunting, Artemis, the sister of Apollo, bestowed the second curse, causing Ambrogio's skin to burn whenever he came into contact with silver.

Soon after, Artemis bestowed upon the young man the gift of immortality out of compassion for his plight. He would always be in this form, carrying his curses that would cause his skin to burn in the sun or in silver. In addition, Artemis bestowed upon him the strength and speed necessary to develop into a hunter whose prowess surpassed only her own.

Present Time "So what happened to this Ambrogio of a person?" King Afa asked paying close attention to Leon.

"What happened to Ambrogio and those who stayed with him is largely unknown, though many believe that he still resides somewhere in Florence," Leon replied.

"When I was a child, my father often tells me stories about Dracula. So how do we compare these two to know what we are dealing with here?" Gerald asked with curiosity.

"Of course, the most well-known vampire is Bram Stoker's Dracula. However, fans of the horror literature frequently point to Romanian prince Vlad Tepes as the inspiration for some of Stoker's Dracula's traits. However, Tepes's portrayal as a vampire is very different in Romania, where he is revered as a national hero for saving his empire from the Ottoman Turks rather than as a bloodthirsty sadist," Leon narrates.

"If the healer has turned into a vampire, we need to find out what really happened and how it happened. My kingdom is not for monsters, I have enough enemies already," said the king.

Returning his focus to Leon, the king questioned sharply. "How do we get rid of vampires?"

"The best way to deal with vampires, of course, is to prevent them from coming back in the first place. Traditional methods of killing vampires include decapitation and stuffing the severed head's mouth with garlic or a brick. Some traditions hold that vampires cannot enter a home unless formally invited in," Leon narrates.

The king gave Leon a wide-eyed gaze. "You know so much. I wonder why you never took the path of your ancestors."

Later that Same Day In the night sky, the pale crescent moon gleamed like a silvery claw. Gerald and the king patiently awaited the arrival of night before making their way back to find Leon's father. King Afa is not interested in instilling needless fear in the populace. Though a lot has been going on in Maxis, the king never anticipated the healer's strange transformation into a vampire. He never told Eva or Bonnie about it, preferring to keep the whole thing to himself. He doesn't want the knowledge that there is a vampire nearby to frighten them.

Gerald walks into the throne hall. He slowly bowed before the king. "It's time, my king."

"Where is Leon?" the king asked sternly.

"He is waiting for us outside."

The king stood to his feet. "Okay then, lead the way."

Just a heads up: FindNovel.net is the only place to read the complete version of this book for free. Don't miss out on the next chapter-visit us now and continue your journey!

He has been seated alone in the throne hall waiting for everyone to be fast asleep before they make their way back to the tomb. The night was calm and quiet until faraway dogs broke the silence of the night with their barking. "This is new my king," said Gerald. "The dogs hardly bark," he added.

"Then something must be up." The king replied rushing out from the throne hall.

On stepping outside the palace he saw Leon running towards him. "What's the matter?" asked the king with a wide-eyes gaze on Leon.

"My father is gone?"

Leon was never waiting for the king and Gerald. He went back alone to the tomb in search of his father. He was so desperate for answers and never wanted any delay in getting them.

"How did you know of this?" the king asked.

Just as Leon was about to answer, a loud panicked scream was heard. The screams were coming from the maidens' quarters.

At this time, Gerald quickly pulled out a flaming torch affixed to the wall. "My king, stay here let me go see what it's."

The king pulled out a flaming torch from the wall. "This is my kingdom and I am coming with you."

"And so am I," Leon said.

The barking of the dogs never stopped and the screaming coming from the maidens' quarters. Gerald leads the way to the maidens' quarters with their swords positioned in the other hand.

Walking closer to the entrance of the maidens' quarters, they caught a glimpse of two guards who were meant to watch over the quarters lying dead beside the wooden entrance door of the quarters. The hearts were ripped out. "What's going on here?" the king asked as he glances at Leon and Gerald.

"This must be the healers doing," Gerald replied.

As they walked through the wooden door that leads to the maidens' quarters, they saw bodies lying everywhere in the pool of their blood. It was the maidens' bodies.

"This is the healer's doing," Gerald mumble as they moved around the quarters.

Suddenly, the littered bodies of the maidens rose up with a deep exhale. Swiftly they turned with their swords and flaming torch. The maidens dragged themselves up as they turned to face the king, Gerald, and Leon. The maidens' body is now pale in appearance from grotesque to preternatural beauty.

"I thought there were lying dead in the pool of their own blood?" the king cried out.

"This can only mean one thing my Lord," Leon said with a glance at the king. "They have turned into vampires," Leon added.

"This is not happening in Maxis," said the king.

"Only wooden stake through their heart will kill them," Leon said.

The chief maiden's eyes turned red as she fixes her eyes on the king. She looks thirsty as one that has been dehydrated. She's thirsty for blood. "What do we do now?" Gerald asked with his eyes fixed on the maidens.

The maidens got their eyes fixed on them calculating their move. They have been turned into vampires and need to feed on blood lest they die.

"We won't let them get out of here. I don't want to see anyone get turned into one of them. We will kill them all and torch the quarters to the ground."

When the king attempted to advance, the chief maiden barked and approached him more quickly than anyone could have imagined. She traveled 1.5 times the theoretical maximum speed that a human could achieve. She grabbed the king by the throat and opened her mouth wide, drawing her mouth near the king's neck.