Blu Rain

By Rachel E. Croxton

Most well-known for his role as King Nar's Royal Adviser, Blu Coloure puts on the facade of a cool, calm and calculated individual. He's neat, articulate and proper, like a noble should be. But his orderly world is shattered one night when he finds himself dying on the street, bathed in blood.

Things become more complicated whe

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rachel Croxton
• Release date: Apr 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798218182748

Book preview

Prologue

I tasted rain. The tangy scent of salt and blood overflowed my nostrils. I felt sick. The stench was overwhelming. Bile rose in the back of my throat. My breath shuddered out of me through ragged, short pants. My chest heaved, I wheezed, trying to suck in air through my failing lungs. My hair hung in wet clumps around my face. Droplets of water dribbled down my cheeks.

The hot pain was too much, the searing, throbbing ache rendering me useless, hopeless. I choked out a strangled gasp as the heavy rain pelted down upon my body, soaking through my clothes, drenching my back. Weak and stagnant, I laid my head against the hard, cool concrete, hoping to give myself some sort of solace, some comfort before I died.

The cool, wetness of the concrete relieved me from the hot pain even if only just for a moment. My wet, blue hair hung limply in strands in my face, covering it from view. I lie there, panting, awaiting death, each breath becoming more and more difficult to suck in. I felt my own blood seeping out of me, pooling around my body.

Even still, as I stared death straight in the face, I allowed myself a smile. This is what it comes to. This is my fate. It was decided the moment I laid eyes upon her, the moment I met her. My fate was already decided. She truly would be the death of me. I closed my eyes and gave myself over to death.

My body shuddered violently, convulsing as my body started to shut down. But no, my death would not come today, though I was ready for it, yearning for it. I opened my eyes up to the sound of scuttling footsteps and a pained whimper. The smell of sweet perfume hit my nose.

Someone leaned down and swept a wet clump of hair from my face. It was a woman, no one other than Colleen. A cool, gentle hand caressed my face.

Oh Blu, she cried, pain in her words. I groaned in response, unable to form words. She brushed her fingers through my hair.

Don't worry, Blu. I'll save you, Colleen whimpered. She removed my hair from my neck, exposing it. Before she even said it, I knew what she was going to do. Some kind of panic filled me and I suddenly found my words.

No...no Colleen...don't...don't do it... I rasped. I coughed. Colleen shushed me.

Please Blu, don't talk. I have to save you. Her voice became desperate. I watched her fangs elongate and her tongue started to fork. She noticed my blood pooling around her and dipped a finger in it. Colleen licked her finger.

I can't let this go to waste. Colleen licked her lips, savoring the taste of my blood. I tried to shake my head, but I didn't have the strength.

I...I want...to die... I wheezed. My vision started going black at the edges. Colleen shook her head again, tears welling in her eyes.

I can't let you die. I love you too much, she answered. I coughed.

Let me go, Colleen. My ragged breathing heaved out of me.

I love you too much, Blu! I can't! she screamed, voice cracking. Without a moment's hesitation, Colleen grew out her fangs and sunk her teeth into my neck. I gasped at the sting of pain I felt. My whole body tensed, and I was paralyzed. I felt Colleen inject her vampire venom inside of me. I yelled in pain, gasping for breath, feeling a terrible ache in my chest.

No...Colleen... I rasped. After what felt like hours but was only seconds, she pulled away, hissing, my blood dripping from her lips, venom leaking from her fangs. Immediately she retracted them, and her tongue turned back to normal.

Fury filled my body as I felt a stinging pain lace throughout my veins. At that moment, my love for Colleen ebbed away and was soon replaced by hate. I knew the monster I would become and it would be her fault. I reached a hand towards her.

Colleen... I growled. Shouting ensued from behind me then and Colleen stood, alert.

There she is! Get her! Get the traitor! a man shouted. A mob of angry vampires charged past me, towards Colleen, and she took off. My vision started to fade as I watched Colleen's receding back.

I...I'll hate you eternally for this... I vowed. Soon, the pain took over and the stinging was too much for my body to take. I passed out.

Chapter One

Blu awoke on the side of the street in the middle of a cloudy morning. Grogginess fogged his senses. The first thing he noticed was his breathing. It was normal. The second thing he noticed was the nonexistent pain he should have felt. The third was the pool of his own blood congealing around him where he laid.

Slowly, Blu moved to sit up, bringing a hand to his head. Other than feeling slightly achy, he didn't really feel any pain. Remembering last night, he immediately looked down at himself, where he had previously been wounded. The only thing he saw was the blood staining his blue shirt.

Blu lifted up the hem of his shirt to inspect his wound, but only to realize that he didn't have a wound. Blu stared, mouth agape at his perfectly healed gut. He looked all over himself for a wound, but found none.

Slowly, Blu got to his feet. He could stand alright. His legs were sturdy, they were good and strong. Blu bent his legs, stretching them, moving them this way and that. He flexed his arms, opening and closing his hands into fists, flexing each of his ten fingers. Yes, he felt alright. He felt...normal. But something felt wrong about it. Yes, he felt normal, but also not normal at the same time. This sense of normalcy just didn't feel...natural. At least not to Blu. He wasn't used to his body feeling this way.

As Blu got his bearings, it took him a while to realize that people were staring at him as they walked by him on the street. They gave him odd, peculiar stares. Some were worried, others looked scared. Blu eyed each of them in turn, assessing their body movements, the flow about them, their fluidity. He soon realized they had no fluidity. All of them looked rather...clumsy. Blu cocked his head to the side. He'd never noticed that before.

Blu rolled his shoulders and tilted his neck from side to side, rolling his head around. His neck felt fine. He gazed all around. Blu didn't know where he was. He couldn't remember. What he did remember was last night. Blu pursed his lips at the memory of Colleen and what she did. Anger coursed through him once more, but he reeled it back in. He'd wanted to die.

With his left hand, Blu reached up and touched the spot on his neck where Colleen had bit him. Sure enough, it was there. Two round holes. He grimaced at the thought of what he'd become. Blu's first thought was to track her down and kill her, but he had no idea where she'd gone. He shook that thought away and decided on getting out of the public eye and changing his blood stained shirt.

Blu took his first step forward. With strangely swift strides, he started to walk, his legs feeling unlike his own. Walking before never felt this smooth. As he walked, people gave him stares, strange stares, and many avoided him. But Blu couldn't care less. His mind was flowing wild with many, many thoughts. He noticed every little fine detail about everything, like his sight had tripled.

He tried to keep his mind focused and not let little things distract him. First things first, Blu needed to figure out where he was. As he walked down the street, he saw a man dressed in a white buttoned shirt walking in the opposite direction of him. This was the only person not staring at him. Blu eyed the man.

Excuse me, sir, Blu said politely to him, getting his attention. The man in the white shirt turned to him, a pleasant look on his face. That pleasant look was soon replaced by a look of horror as he took in Blu's appearance. His jaw hung open, trying to get his mouth to form words. He stared at the blood on his shirt.

Y-yes? Finally the man managed to stammer.

Where am I? Blu felt slightly disgruntled. The man didn't answer. He was too horrified to speak. And the smell of Blu didn't sit well with the man. He smelled of blood and iron, and something sour. The man fouled up his nose. Irritated that the man wouldn't answer him, Blu grabbed a fistful of the man's white shirt and yanked him off his feet. The man gasped. Blu shook him.

Hey! I asked you a question! Where am I? Blu repeated himself, suddenly angry. The man sputtered, forcing himself to spit out the words.

S-Summerville. You're in Summerville, sir, he answered quickly. Blu let go of him, dropping the man. As soon as he was free, the man took off at a run. Blu looked all around him. Summerville, eh? Hm, yes, I remember now. Too many people were staring, he needed to change his clothes. He needed to get out of the streets.

Blu turned into a dark, back alley where there weren't many people. He found himself in the more slummier part of Summerville, the back streets, away from the main hustle and bustle of town. He kept walking, feeling slightly more comfortable since there were less people staring. The streets down here were slimmer, more narrow and much more crowded. Houses were closer together and bits of trash littered the sidewalks. Some walls were covered in graffiti.

Blu didn't really know where he was going. He only knew that he needed to ditch his shirt. Luckily, he found a trash can nearby in another alley. Quickly, Blu ripped it off and threw it into the dumpster. His skin was sticky with dried blood and his hair was messy and damp. Blu now walked down the street shirtless, sticky dried blood on his skin.

Somehow, Blu found solace in the darkness and shadows when he usually didn't. He just somehow found a sort of peace and comfort. Feeling tired and weary, Blu sat down on the side of a dark street. People walked by him, gave him a glance, and then kept walking. Unlike the others in the main part of Summerville, these people didn't stare. And Blu was glad for it. He didn't need a bunch of staring, wandering eyes.

Blu glanced up at the sky. It was just about mid-morning. It had gotten significantly brighter and the temperature had risen. He didn't know why, he just wanted to keep out of the sun for some reason. It didn't hurt him, or it wouldn't yet, but he just didn't like a lot of sun now. Everything felt brighter to him, too bright. Staying in the shadows of the dark streets and alleys helped.

He felt so tired he could just sit there and fall asleep. But Blu didn't want to sleep. Nonetheless, he couldn't help nodding off. He was dozing when he heard a soft psst sound. It came from the left. Blu's head shot up, and he looked all around, turning his head this way and that. Then again:

"Psst." Blu didn't know where it was coming from.

"Psst. Hey you, little boy blue. Come here," Blu heard a soft, young male's voice whisper. He looked to the left and saw the face of a black haired young man with glasses peeking around the corner. Blu looked around, looking for someone else, but realized he was looking at him. Blu pointed at himself.

Me? he mouthed. The youngster nodded.

Yeah. You. Pretty boy. Come here. He crooked a finger at him, motioning Blu to come. Blu warily got to his feet, legs shaking. He walked slowly over to the boy, curious. The boy blinked at him, adjusted his glasses, squinted, then smiled at him.

You shouldn't be walking around out in the daylight like this, you know. It's dangerous, he said. This statement confused Blu. What was dangerous about being out in the daylight? The boy gestured his head in the opposite direction.

Come on. Come with me. Blu followed the young boy into the street, past some houses. He looked Blu up and down.

Gee, you're a real mess, aren't ya? Blu gave him an annoyed glare.

I'm StickyFingers, by the way. He held out a hand. Blu shook it, but then pulled away immediately as he felt the odd stickiness clinging to his skin.

What kind of name is that? Blu wondered, making a strange face. He tried to wipe the sticky stuff off his hand, but to no avail.

StickyFingers shrugged. Uh-uh. I dunno. It's not my real name.

Then what is your real name? Blu asked him. Sticky looked at him and smirked.

That's confidential, was all he said. Blu just shook his head, and instead decided to change the subject. He clearly wasn't going to tell him anymore about his identity, so it seemed pointless to keep pressing it.

What did you mean by, it's dangerous to walk in the daylight?"'

You should already know what I mean. You're transitioning. I'm sure you know what that means, don't you? You know what you're turning into? the young man prompted Blu.

Blu frowned distastefully. Unfortunately.

StickyFingers slapped him on the arm playfully. Come on, it won't be so bad.

Blu didn't answer, he just shook his head. StickyFingers sighed.

Well, come on. You really shouldn't be walking around the streets like that, especially in your condition. Let's go get you cleaned up, StickyFingers said, eagerly skipping down the street. Blu reluctantly followed, wondering how this boy could've known what he was to become. But he decided not to ask him anymore questions right now. That would come later, after he'd washed.

Sticky led him all the way to the back streets, until he finally stopped in front of a sturdy but shabby looking house. Humming, StickyFingers went up to the front door, unlocked it with a pair of dirty looking keys, and pushed the door open. He went in and Blu followed after him.

Much to Blu's liking, it was dark inside. All the curtains to all of the windows were drawn, keeping out any light. He looked down around his feet. Papers and boxes were all over the floor, along with multiple books, magazines, newspapers and clothes. To the left was an old slanted desk, and the top was piled up with lots of papers, books, and pictures. It was open and overflowing with more books and other objects. It was hard to step anywhere without stepping on something.

StickyFingers stood in the middle of the room with his arms out and twirled around.

Welcome to my lair! he exclaimed, grinning big. His foot caught on a pile of books and he stumbled back, almost tripping up, but he caught himself.

Whoa-ho. Heh heh, he chuckled, smirking. He balanced himself, and put his hands on his hips, staring at Blu. Observing the place, Blu felt a slight pang of disapproval, but somehow, he liked it.

You have strange lodgings, Blu commented, removing his shoes. StickyFingers shrugged.

Oh well. Home sweet home. He gestured around. Make yourself comfortable. Blu stepped away from the door and attempted to walk around, stepping over things.

How do you know what I am becoming? Blu asked, suspicious. He didn't know if he should trust this StickyFingers. But with a name like that, who will trust you? StickyFingers blinked at him.

It's obvious. I can smell it, he stated simply. This puzzled Blu. Smell him? Only vampires had keen sense of smell, like Colleen, but this boy didn't seem or look like one. Then again, neither did Colleen. And if this boy was a vampire, how was he able to walk in the sun? He should have exploded. Blu never saw Colleen go out into the sun. Blu cocked his head to the side.

Are you a vampire? Blu asked curiously. He couldn't just be a normal Zormonian. Normal Zormonians couldn't smell transitioning vampires. StickyFingers smirked, and shook his head.

Not quite, he simpered in a sly voice. His eyes twinkled. Blu became even more confused.

Then what are you? He narrowed his eyes at StickyFingers. His smirk was plastered on his face.

That's confidential dude, he said again while ruffling through some papers on the floor. Irritation sprouted inside of Blu. This boy was mysterious, very mysterious. So far, the only thing Blu knew about him was that his name was StickyFingers. And that wasn't even his real name! He had some secrets, that was for sure.

I'm not answering anymore questions until you've cleaned yourself, StickyFingers told Blu, ruffling through more papers.

I have one more question, Blu stated, holding up a finger. Sticky rolled his eyes.

What? He was annoyed.

Where's your shower?

Come this way. He led Blu down a narrow hall and into a messy bedroom. He opened a drawer and pulled out a white button up shirt and blue jeans. StickyFingers shoved them into Blu's arms and dragged him into a bathroom.

Here. He waved his arms around, gesturing to the whole bathroom. Then he left, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Blu got out of the shower, blue hair dripping wet. He ran a hand through it. Standing in front of the slightly blurred mirror, he observed himself. His skin looked paler than usual. Somehow, his blue eyes had deepened in color. Blu was of a fine, muscular build with broad, sculpted shoulders and thick, muscled arms. This was because he'd spent years vigorously training to become the King's Royal Adviser. Starting at the age of ten, he'd been taught every kind of martial arts there were, how to duel with a sword, etc. It was all in preparation for when he'd become the Royal Adviser someday.

Blu used his fingers to brush through his hair, raking through the wet strands. He dressed quickly, after thoroughly brushing and drying his hair, then stepped out of the bathroom. He walked back to where StickyFingers was. He was sitting on the floor, reading some papers when Blu entered. Sticky looked up. He looked Blu up and down and smirked.

You're quite a looker ain't ya? he said to Blu. Blu scowled at him. StickyFingers shrugged.

Just saying, he mumbled. And now I will answer any questions that you have. Blu flicked his hair.

What's happening to me? Blu knew what was happening to him, but he just wanted someone else to say it out loud because he didn't want to believe it himself.

You're turning into a vampire, StickyFingers pointed out bluntly. Hearing it just set it in stone for Blu. He didn't want to be a vampire, but knew it was going to happen.

Will it hurt? Blu looked at his hands. They hadn't changed. Yet.

At first it will, when your fangs start to grow in. But I think it's best that you stay out of the sun from now on, he suggested. Blu knew that much. If he was turning into a vampire, he couldn't go out in the sun.

Oh, and uh, the blood cravings. You're going to have to learn how to control those, he added. Blu bristled.

I don't want to be a vampire! Blu spat. Sticky sighed.

Can't be helped. He placed his hands on his knees. Blu cursed and kicked a box in frustration. StickyFingers frowned.

Don't do that. You might break something, he scolded. Blu sank to the floor and sat. He sighed.

Anyways, once you fully transition, it won't be so bad. You'll get used to it, he said reassuringly. Blu scowled. He didn't want to get used to it. He didn't want to be a vampire at all.

Just to clarify, you aren't really...you know...alive, he explained. Blu's scowl deepened. He felt everything inside of him tighten and coil. By all rights, he should be dead. But because of Colleen...Blu grit his teeth in anger and punched the floor. The wooden floor splintered and a hole the size of Blu's fist formed.

Hey! StickyFingers exclaimed. Don't punch my floor! he shouted.