The Count's Dinner: Tormented, #4

By Bjorn J. P. Peeters

For some souls there is no rest

Vasilka's carriage drove furiously across the mountain roads to bring her to the castle. One mistake from her driver and they all would've fallen to their deaths. But that would be better than arriving late. Count Zigor ordered her to come and this cruel vampire lord does not suffer even his most loyal subjects to disobey.

But what reason could he have to call her so suddenly to his court?

The Count's Dinner is the fourth installment in the Bjorn J. P. Peeters Half-hour Dark Fantasy & Horror series Tormented. If you're looking for a dark story that offers you a glimpse of life at the court of a powerful vampire from a bygone age, give 'The Count's Dinner' a try!

Read it now!

---

TORMENTED is a Dark Fantasy & Horror series of standalone short stories. In each installment one or sometimes many souls, living or dead, find themselves in a tormenting and twisted situation from which they cannot easily escape, if at all. Sometimes the stories have a (relatively) happy ending where peace or at least acceptance is found. At other times, the end foretells more torment to come. You can read the stories in any order you like. Check out the bundles, too!

---

Half-hour Dark Fantasy & Horror stories are the perfect format for a break at work, a boring wait at the dentist's office, your commute, or just whenever you want to relax and have fun.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tales Of Peeters
• Release date: Aug 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781393193227

Book preview

CONTENTS

Cover (without title)

The Count’s Dinner

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

SNEAK PEEK: The Ferryman

Chapter 1

Join the author’s newsletter!

More stories by Bjorn J. P. Peeters

Thanks for reading!

Title page

THE COUNT’S DINNER

Tormented #4

Chapter 1

Her hurried footsteps echoed hollowly through the ancient castle hall.

Behind her, Vasilka heard the horses whinny and beat down their hooves. In spite of their exhaustion, they were afraid and wanted to leave right away. That said a lot about how they felt about this place, as the drive to Count Zigor’s castle at the mountaintop had been dangerous. More than once, Vasilka had feared they would not reach the castle. All it would’ve taken was for one of the wheels to bounce up from a piece of rock just as the driver was hurrying the carriage across a narrow stretch of road. It would’ve sent them and the horses over the edge, towards their death.

And yet Vasilka had constantly urged the driver to speed up.

The whole ride long she had cursed and called him the names of all the devils in hell, trying to frighten him into driving even faster. When they came near the top and she saw the torches on the walls, she had even used the whip. She had beaten that poor man until his shirt was ripped to pieces and his back was dark with blood. In turn, he had whipped the horses to run even faster. Vasilka regretted having to treat her loyal servant like that.

After all, he had already sacrificed an eye and his tongue for her.

But she had had no choice.

Count Zigor had called her to the castle.

This meant that before the sun had set, she had to be within the walls of his immense, centuries-old castle. But she had been down in the village when he called. Inspecting swords and daggers in Varvara’s dark smithy. With the sun already setting, she had had no