Viktor's
Prologue
Hope is an unfounded, baseless belief in good. It gives life, not just literally, but life to the soul and to the mind. Hope is opalescent – like a flit of butterfly wings. Yet there is a cosmic rule in life called tendency, where the things you fear the most happen, thrusting you into a deep chasm of hopelessness, where you find yourself trapped, suffocated and ultimately wishing for Death to come along and take you away.
That was exactly how Viktor felt as he froze, stunned, as he walked though the gates of North Window, greeted by deadly silence and the malignant aura of death ubiquitous on the street. A lifeless body was strewn on the lane, hands reaching out as if clutching on to the last shreds of life. He could almost see it – the village as it should have been – unbearably noisy, given that it was noon, and his sister skipping along the crowded lane with a basket swinging on her arms, an ebullient smile on her cherubic face…
But…it was all gone…
Viktor stumbled, dumbfounded, as he stepped toward the body, swept away the all-too-familiar auburn brown hair covering the girls' face and froze, once again, in horror. An unnatural chill suffocated his heart as he recognized his sister, evidently murdered, a look of terror still etched in her widely open eyes. Gently, he closed her horrorstruck eyes and caressed her cold cheeks, promising himself not to cry and forcing himself to keep this memory of his last moments with his sister forever.
All too suddenly, a murderous, bloodthirsty laughter echoed behind Viktor who jumped to his feet with sudden agility. He saw a pallid man in the distance, covered by a black cloak, grinning manically at him with pointed teeth stained red…by blood.
A surge of anger rippled through his veins and exploded from his mouth with a cry. He reached for his sword, which had until this moment kept silent.
"Onward!" The moon rune screeched in fury, and it was all Viktor could think of as he charged toward the vampire.
Hatred is a strong emotion. It burns with fire and anger and destroys everything in its path, leaving behind a mess of conflagration and despair. But that's exactly how your heart feels when you are truly engulfed in hatred – empty, fuelled by a need for revenge.
End prologue