The Dancing Crow: The Kingdoms of Blood, #1

By Des M. Astor

Hey, I'm Ares. Big, bad, scary vampire that your kind is supposed to be afraid of. And I'm here to help save you!

 

They call me the "Dancing Crow". Don't ask me who 'they' is. No idea. Anyway, my kind has emerged from the shadows and ripped the mantle of 'dominant species', or whatever, right from your hands. Shame, really. If only you didn't erase magic from your history.

 

Anyway-z, I used to prowl the streets, ripping to shreds the evils of your society. Like some twisted superhero, or something. Everything changed when other vampires had enough, and well, here we are. Now my gang and I are trying to establish harmony in this city, at least. Not many would expect a gang, of all things, to be heroes. But here we are.

 

Our job is to help you widdle humans by getting rid of an evil tyrant, Ash, in this unnamed city. Well, that's hard to do, so we got allies. A half-dragon, a Tasmanian Devil shapeshifter, you know, cool stuff like that. Now, if only I could get this vampire hunter to leave me alone. No idea what her deal is, but she clearly can't kill me despite 'trying' her hardest. Ah well, I know my job, and it's to continue doing SOMETHING to help out here.

 

CONTENT WARNING: Heavy gore, sexual assault and rescue from it, extreme religious indoctrination/manipulation, and heavy profanity.

 

This is Book 1, version 2 of "The Kingdoms of Blood" series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Des M. Astor
• Release date: Dec 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393915867

Des M. Astor

Des M. Astor is a writer in the Urban Fantasy & Vampire Horror genre. She twists things in a unique way and brings a new flavour to the mythical creatures you know and love. In her works, she tries to tell important lessons through her characters, and in that way, her stories are typically character driven. She often delves into very heavy topics and tries to add nuance to various common tropes or themes. Des graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology in May of 2019. She has a deep fascination in many animals, especially reptiles.Often, she will blend in her knowledge of biology to enhance her writing, which brings about elements of sci-fi.  One very fun fact about Des: She's advancing as an audiobook narrator, some of which include the works of which she's written. She adores bringing a voice to characters people are passionate about.

Book preview

Prologue

May 7, 2003

Some say blood runs thicker than water, and family means everything; I’d sooner gut my entire damn bloodline than buy into that shit.

Blood is good for two things. Spilling, and guzzling right on down.

She was dead. Harlow was dead. She was limp in the arms of the fucker that ripped her throat out. I stared Jasper down. He wasn’t covered in her blood, nah. He’d drank her until she’d stopped moving. Right before she died, she said six words. They echoed in my mind over and over as I stared into my brother’s eyes. "Stay strong, Ares. I love you."

Everything was frozen for just a moment. I glared at my brother as if seeing him for the first time. Jasper’s shoulder-length hair was dyed a blood red, and he wore a stupid black T-shirt that said ‘I Bite’ on the front with bright red lettering. It was skin tight, which allowed him to show his football-player-like build every time he moved any muscle. He was an egotistical bastard. That crooked smile of his, one very similar to what plastered upon my own face from time to time, haunted every ticking second that passed right now.

Power hummed through my veins as my deep red eyes shifted to a pure black. I was overcome with sheer rage, lost in it, so far gone that I couldn’t think straight any longer. Metallic clanking rang out as from the ground of this wretched courtroom burst crimson chains adorned with spines. Onlooking vampires let out screams of fear, but it was too late for them.

This place had pristine wooden flooring and walls of a deep azure, neither area of which remained their typical color for long. The chandelier above shook as my power burst out, commanding the chains to wrap around any vampire in sight. I clenched my fist, ensuring any victim in range was wrapped up so that the spines embedded into their flesh, ripping it and causing a significant amount of bleeding and damage. That’s when I struck.

My sharp teeth sank into my first target. Warm blood flowed down my throat as I tore off a chunk of flesh, chewing it lovingly like a human would to a fresh, rare steak. No one could react fast enough, and before they could make any counter, I’d downed four in that fashion, feeling the raw power only grow faster and faster.

Royal vampires gain power from what they drink. Well, I’ve been a fucking cannibal for more than a few months now. Time to show them what brutality really means.

Despite this, I was a big fucking failure. Jasper somehow got away in the process of me losing my mind. Why couldn’t I have kept it under control for one second? I could have avenged Harlow! But damn it, he was gone. My mother, however, was not. Corpses of her followers littered the floor as I whipped around to stare her down, just for a second.

Raven hair fell into her face, her gaut features lit up with a combination of wonder and curiosity. Her dress, the color of dusk, was absent of blood despite the fact that I’d splattered her men all over this courtroom. I knew the truth. She was a tyrant, and the entire reason she ordered the death of Harlow was because she believed I was showing far too much mercy to the humans. Blood slaves, she and my brother called them. Livestock. Disgusting.

She looked upon me, her son, as if she was meeting me for the first time. I could tell she was very impressed with my power, as I’d never shown it off before. She drummed her claws upon the table as I lunged at her, effortlessly backhanding me into the wall and forcing me to crumble to the ground. Her calm, albeit annoyed, voice rang out. I thought better of you, Ares. Your brother has grown into someone that doesn’t sympathize with livestock. I didn’t believe you were cannibalizing your own kind at first, but now I do. What a pity that I have to sentence my son to dea— she began, but she was cut off.

She didn’t notice as my chains writhed like snakes, lunging and wrapping around her body. They encircled her neck, one part of them jerking one way, one part jerking the other.

SNAP!

My mother fell limp like a ragdoll. That was... almost too easy. But I didn’t think much of it at the time. High on adrenaline and sheer agony, I wasn’t the most reasonable of pissed off vampires.

I needed to get the fuck out of here, but first... Harlow. I darted over to her, taking her limp corpse into my arms and sniffling. Hot tears crawled down my cheeks as her deep grey eyes, normally full of life and wonder, gazed up at me with no spark in them. Her obsidian hair spilled over my lap, and her copper skin was dulled, no life within it at all. Her heart was entirely still. There was nothing I could do.

I didn’t want to leave her there, a corpse in rags, to rot on the floor of this wretched courtroom, where she’d been sentenced to death simply because I was trying to figure out a way to get her away from this wretched kingdom.

But I knew what she’d want me to do, and so I stood up, rolled my shoulders back, and turned toward the window. My horrible brother was to be back very soon. Bunching up my muscles, I burst through the glass window of the castle-like structure, tumbling down and landing in a crouching position. I had to leave her corpse behind.

Melting into the shadows, I gathered my composure...watched... and waited. I was going to make this kingdom’s life hell.

TWO YEARS PASSED, AND my body count was ever-on-the-rise.

Leaning against a smoke-stained medieval building, I sank my fangs into the arm of a vampire slave owner I’d just slaughtered, eating it like one would devour a chicken leg. This was good. I’d not eaten this frequently before, but tonight I was in a damn frenzy. Gods, this bloodshed was so addicting. My attention was grabbed by a whimpering from the shadows. Giving an annoyed snarl, I glanced right on over, my bloody crimson gleam falling upon a person in rags.

I could scent his fear; he was a human blood slave, most likely owned by the vampire I’d ripped to shreds moments before. His ribs jutted out, and there were closed lash marks all over his rag-covered body, fresh. Likely from just yesterday. His matted brown hair was caked with blood and dirt. His scent was that of garbage. Pretty typical of how ‘misbehaved’ slaves were treated here. The abalastor of his skin only showed in patches between the stains of many other things covering him.

I shook my head and approached, my nostrils flaring to scent for any possible onlookers. Finding none, I kneeled before him, causing him to shudder and whimper. His voice, dripping with fear and agitation, gasped out, Please make it fast. I beg of you. Have mercy.

I merely grinned, flashing my serrated teeth in a crooked smile toward him. Likely not helping the situation, but I couldn’t help it. I was elated, covered in the blood of his ‘master’. Rather than rip the poor widdle human to shreds, however, I shook my head and held out a clawed hand. Mercy? Fuck that. You need way more than that right now.

He stared at my hand in worry, at which point the scent of more vampires on their way hit my senses. The human wasn’t budging, and I didn’t have time for his bullshit. And so, I snatched him right up, taking him into my arms and darting off into the shadows. He yelped and buried his face into his hands, breaking into sobs as I rushed through the streets.

There were no streetlights, as my kind were nocturnal monsters. I heard that human cities lit everything up though. There were cars roaring along on the roads, and those did have lights. Extra precaution. I had to avoid their line of sight, and soon arrived at an old, abandoned hut. I slammed the door open, rushing over to an old but comfortable couch and placing him right down on it.

Emerging from the shadows of this small place were three humans, each armed with a gleaming, silver knife. They were prepared—silver was poisonous to vampires. It messed with our biology, and could even kill royals like me. I straightened up, shooting the humans a wide grin.

One of them was a woman with curly charcoal hair, several bits of which fell into her deep sepia cheeks. Next to her was another woman, one with brown eyes shimmering behind glasses and short-cut blonde hair that framed the ashen flesh of her shoulders. Finally, the third of the trio was a man with hair cut short and slightly spiked up, with skin at a medium-tanned color. His eyes were a light, disapproving green. All three were in simple black clothing, very far from the malnourished slaves and with fading scars upon their flesh.

The woman with the curled hair lunged for me first, and I made no move as her arms wrapped around me tightly. Her voice held a relieved tone as it rang out strongly, Ares. Thank goodness you’re alright, we were worried! What’s the matter with you making us wait like that! A half hour more and we woulda gone after you!

I rolled my eyes at Maya’s words, shaking my head. Listen, it takes a lot more to fuck over a badass like me, alright?

You’re a royal, but merely a teenager. You kids think you’re invincible, Danny muttered, once again using my age against me now. I just snorted at him and then glanced over to the blonde woman, waiting on a lecture from her as well.

Snow just shook her head at me in disapproval. Dan is right, you know, she agreed softly, making her way toward the slave I’d just rescued. For possibly the third time in a minute, I rolled my eyes. I stepped away, watching them tend to his wounds and trying to learn something again. I was a killer, not a medic.

Maya, Dan, and Snow were the first slaves I’d ever rescued two years ago. I hadn’t the faintest idea what I was doing. I killed their masters, and they’d been in much better shape than a few others I’d run into. I was only eighteen right now—at some point in my twenties or thirties, I’d stop aging entirely. My lifespan, unlike theirs, was much longer.

Anyway, they had their faculties enough to realize I was trying to help them. I brought them to this building and told them about my real feelings toward this wretched place. How humans deserved to be free and treated way better, and how I was gonna kill as many vampires I could get my claws on here, and in the same vein, rescue as many humans as I could.

The trio decided that they were going to help little ol’ me. They were adults in their late thirties and had decades above me in terms of life experience. They also liked to remind me of that damn fact. All the time.They were like annoying ass parents and that’d not changed over these two years at all. Something about owing me their life or some shit, but much more annoying.

The new slave I rescued was no doubt confused, but at least he was being calmed down by Snow. Meanwhile, I collapsed into a ruddy loveseat, glaring up as Maya approached me with her hands on her hips. She wasn’t afraid of me—none of them were. I could snap their necks in an instant if I wanted, and they knew I never would.

"So tough guy, I get that you’re a rebel, but what has you taking so long, huh? Are you running into more trouble? Maybe it’s time for us to leave. I know you want to save every single person here, but maybe you can find allies beyond this place. We were snatched from the outside world. I promise there’s some out there that will hear you out," she said pointedly.

I bared my fangs at her, prompting her to bare her teeth right back. She snapped, "Oh don’t you start you pompous prince. I don’t want to see those fangs, and I don’t want your attitude. Do you hear me? Are you hungry?"

No, I lied, and she scoffed.

Bullshit, she muttered. She turned away, heading to our fridge and pulling out some bagged blood. They took turns harvesting it so that I could survive with them, much as I insisted I got plenty of food from the vampires I slaughtered. They knew the truth, though. My kind only got nutrition from humans, and my little habit of cannibalism wasn’t sustainable as a true food source.

I pouted, sulking from the fact that I couldn’t bring more tonight. Seeing my expression upon arriving with the blood, Maya furrowed her brow. "Boy, are you being angsty again? Fix that face of yours, do you hear me?!" I avoided her stare, finally letting out a long sigh.

Damn it Maya, I wanted to save more of ‘em! I couldn’t, got overwhelmed tonight. The Kingdom is growing stronger and stronger. But we can’t leave yet! There’s so much to do! I exclaimed.

Dan walked up next to Maya, staring me down with a harsh gaze. He was the oldest of the group, and had been a businessman prior to his capture. I stand by what I said before. You teenagers think you know everything. This is a difficult decision, Ares, but there’s little else you can do. I suggest we begin making plans to leave.

DOWN WITH THE TRAITOR! screeched a voice from outside, causing me to widen my eyes. I shot out of my chair, darting around Maya and allowing my jaw to drop.

Surrounding our hut were several noble guards, displaying the sigils of my kingdom, Arachnida. They were no doubt out for blood. Dan was right—but I’d waited too late. Go, I said softly. I was prepared to go down so they could get the fuck out of here. We were on the edge of the Kingdom and always had a plan for their escape should it ever come to this.

Maya gasped from behind me. But Ares, you—

I said GO. Help Snow in rehabilitating the new guy, when you get to a city, of course. Do NOT wait for me. I’ll see you again. I promise. Ok? I snapped at her. She shoved in my face how adult she was, well, now was the time to act like one.

Not waiting to see what the hell they decided to do, I turned to the door and burst from it. Giving a lopsided grin, I shot them the finger and shouted, You want me, come get me bastards. I’ll make sure you fuckers are GUTTED, you hear me?!

From the ground burst out chains writhing about like hungered serpents. Tonight was a night for bloodshed. Though I felt tears streaming down my cheeks despite that. I could take ‘em. But the sinking feeling that this was my last time seeing the family I made here over the past two years shattered my heart. No time to worry about that now, though. It was time to prove my point.

Chapter 1

September 16, 2005

The humans built their society in such a different way from my people. First, vampires were old fashioned as fuck. Buildings like castles and old villages littered our kingdoms, and yet some apparently added human tech to the mix as well. Why we couldn’t adapt entirely, I didn’t know. Why did I keep saying ‘we’? I wasn’t a part of their shit any longer. I was a loner, on my own, and could no longer think that way.

Which also meant, if I was to adapt well, I needed to hide my powers. Ares from kingdom Arachnida was dead. But... I didn’t want to change my name. An alibi was annoying, and besides, I liked the name I was born with. So I’d just drop the last name and keep my first one. There was nothing that could go wrong with that, right?

Anyway, I was heading to a city in the Northeast United States directly after escaping the shithole of my old vampire kingdom. I was beaten to the brink of death by followers of my mother while trying to escape, and it’d taken me quite a bit to recover enough to actually get a move on. I got away and was still kickin’, but I still had many wounds dotting my flesh.

Managing to shapeshift into a crow shortly after I exited the kingdom, I flew for a few hours until I’d located myself to the slums of an average human city, with  a name that I honestly didn’t pay attention to at the moment. Didn’t matter. What mattered was getting my feet on the ground.

The run-down old mansion I’d found to settle into had no running water, which was just great. The damn utilities were currently turned off—hopefully temporarily, if I had any say in that. I needed to gather my bearings.

So, I went off and found myself a temporarily abandoned public bathroom after the sunset, since I could move much more easily during the night. While I didn’t know much about humans yet, I knew enough that I could figure out this was a pool used during the summer. Besides! Vampires went swimming too, even in the ruddy old fashioned kingdoms, indoor plumbing included.

Since it was autumn, there was no such activity here, though. And so, into the area did I break, and to my luck, the place did have running water. Perfect. I flicked on the lights, thanking the gods that there was no security system here. Alarms were yet another thing I knew about what humans used to deter dangers, from the trio that had taught me a bit about society prior to having to leave, of course.

I walked toward a mirror in the men’s room, my tired crimson gaze taking in my appearance. I was decently muscular, lithe, no doubt someone that focuses more on agility than strength. Lacerations and stab wounds were freshly closed on my flesh, not healing entirely from my natural abilities due to the wretched silver. My deep black hair was slightly messy, but still styled in a half-mohawk, with the other half shaved. I had a bit of stubble on my chin, something I didn’t ever bother shaving entirely, really. What? The 5 o'clock shadow thing looked damn good, apparently. I brought my hand up to my, as some would say, chiseled jawline, running a blade-like claw against it and letting out a sigh. Where was that blood coming from?

Drip... drip... drip.... Grunting, I reached behind my pointed ear, one that many rings going down the cartilage. Sharp ears... right, shit. That wasn’t a normal human look, yet another reason why I needed to be hidden. The former blood slaves I’d saved in my kingdom had told me as such, instructing me to be careful and stay hidden for a long list of reasons if I ever found myself in a situation like this.

Whatever, I found the source of the bleeding, pulling out a shard of silver from behind my ear with a grunt. Good, that would close soon. I continued to inspect my face in the mirror, noting how my ivory skin was just stained with crimson, here, there, everywhere. Maybe some patches of normal, but not many. Not that I minded. While some of the caked blood was mine, I’d massacred so many of those kingdom vampire bastards that surely over 75% was theirs.

More inspecting—I had all of my piercings intact. Good! My two eyebrow piercings, the spider bites on my lip, and my nipple piercings too. Owch, that would have hurt like hell should those in particular had been messed with. Luckily that’s not what’s typically aimed for in a vampire versus vampire fight. Usually the neck. I ran my claws over the tattoo on my pec muscle, sneering softly. The Dancing Crow. It was hilarious as fuck, a crow with a cane in its wing and a hat on its head, with a drop of blood crawling down its beak and into its feathers. Looked like it was dancing too. It was my nickname, duh.

The humans had given it to me when I shifted to crow form and performed some goofy dances for them in order to help them feel better. Needless to say, rescuing people from the trauma of being a blood slave was tough. So I learned to adapt, using the brighter, less violent side of my personality to try and cheer them up. Usually, it worked.

My claws drew over the tattoo on my shoulder, one of a spider—the symbol of my kingdom, Arachnida. It was a horrible reminder, but I’d wear it as the nickname given to me by my victims. I had no mercy cannibalising other vampires, I did it for a long while now. Though, now that I was away from it, I’d need to halt such activity. No one could know I was the ‘Black Recluse’. Hopefully, everyone just assumed I was dead.

My clothing was intact too, aside from a few rips in my leather pants. And the fact that I needed a new shirt and jacket, but you know, one thing at a time. I had my spiked cuffs and choker, which was good, because I hated being seen without looking badass as fuck. Giving myself a sneer in the mirror and admiring my shark-like grin for just a moment, I nodded.

This was the start of something new. And I was ready.

IT’D BEEN A FEW MONTHS since my arrival to this city, of which was nameless to me. Still. Prolly would remain that way, too.

In that time, I’d learned a lot. Sometimes money was helpful, and I had a shit ton of it from butchering other vampires. Like I cared about the wellbeing of slave masters in my old kingdom, especially dead ones—corpses had no use for money.

The kingdom used the US dollar and not some old-fashion gold coins. That was a swap they made a while ago to better blend in and manipulate the human economy from a distance. In my case, I was able to properly set up a bank and store my money.

The widdle humans probably thought I was a drug dealer or something with how they looked at me. I didn’t care. I strolled right into that bank with a dazzling smile, my delightfully shark-like grin not present due to the illusions. My rounded ears still had all of their piercings upon them, which chimed as I walked. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a woman draw her purse closer to her.

Bewildered, the teller stared me down, tense as a rod when I placed my hands upon the desk-like ledge where transactions took place. I didn’t have claws either, they just looked like fingernails painted black. I’d like to open an account please! The expressions only grew more surprised when they discovered just how much money I had on me. Yep, definitely thought I was a drug dealer. I had quite a bit of money in that bag of stuff I brought with me from the kingdom, namely solid hundred-dollar-bills. I think they were too offput to ask questions.

With that money stored and all set up, I could get some shit done.

The decrepit mansion in the slums was mine now, done up on the inside, courtesy of me hiring some help. Here is where I’d start my own kingdom. Or, as humans liked to call it, a gang. How exciting! I could go with the word ‘coven’, but that would be boring as hell. And so, ‘gang’ it was. Now my place had running water, too, which was no doubt essential.

I learned early on that illusion magic, as little access to it that I had, was essential after my little bank adventure. Vampires couldn’t tap into magic as easily as humans, likely due to our natural powers winning out. Still, such a subject fascinated me even when I lived in the kingdom, so I knew just enough to get by looking human. But...how boring it was to be human even for a little while. Luckily, I rarely needed to invoke the spell and sneak about.

So, here’s what I learned. After reading some of their ‘mythology’, I learned about what humans thought they knew about my kind. To them, we were monsters that didn’t exist, hence my need to remain hidden in the shadows. Sort of like a masquerade vibe, I’m sure you know what I mean. Anyway, they thought we had two petty fangs. TWO FANGS! HAH! My mouth was lined with an entire array of sharp teeth, with slightly longer canines. We were carnivores with no need for flat teeth like the widdle humans.

Alright, but get this. Humans also thought we were undead. Undead! No no no, we were very much alive, a humanoid species quite like them. Too bad they thought us myth, otherwise they would learn we were sister species in their fun little Biology classes. Also, something about holy water and crucifixes being effective. Unless the crucifix was silver and pointy at one end, it wouldn’t be doing much. Monsters from the pits of hell? We weren’t even from the underworld realm. We developed as a species on Earth, from a common ancestor. Like shifters too! The Earthen humanoid trio.

Why silver is poisonous to us, I don’t know. Something about a severe allergic