Chapter One
Talon spread his wings and took flight. Out of sheer curiosity, he’d crossed into forbidden territory to check out the castle on the bluff, but did not expect to encounter danger during the light of day. Panic engulfed him as the winged creature closed in from behind. In his eagle form, Talon had always been faster than any predator, yet this beast had supernatural speed as if unleashed from hell. He glanced back to see the monster spread its lips to reveal long fangs. Talon knew then what was chasing him.
A vampire! He’d been warned of them, known they lurked in the caverns beneath the bluff that overlooked a great river, but he had never seen one. He dove between the rocks, tilting his wings sideways to fly through a narrow ravine in an attempt to lose the beast bearing down on him. Talon thought that once the creature had seen him shift from human to eagle, that it would’ve lost interest and moved on to a tastier meal. Not so.
He fled for his life. The maneuver through the ravine didn’t slow the beast’s pace. It swooped overhead now, somehow gaining an edge though Talon was flying as fast as he could go. A shadow fell over him as the vampire dropped down. Talon flailed in frantic attempt to escape. Powerful hands grabbed his long wings, pulling them down, curling them around his feathered body. Whether he shifted back to human now did not matter. Hope faded.
Suddenly, a sharp sting pierced his neck. He grew weaker by the minute until—blackness.
One hundred years later.
Kohl knelt at the excavation site, meticulously sweeping dirt away from rocks and shale the drilling crew had unearthed the day before. Breaks such as these were an archaeologist’s dream. Alaric, his longtime friend and owner of a drilling company, had phoned him just after midnight, telling him to hightail it up to the site before treasure seeking vultures swept onto the scene at dawn.
“You look pretty intense there.” Alaric approached from behind. “You’ve been searching all night. Did you find anything?”
“I think so.” Kohl hunched over the wide hole in the ground, the light attached to his forehead jiggling as he nodded.
“Ya know, as much as you love digging in the dirt, you could have stayed on my crew. The pay is top dollar.”
“I’ve no complaints about the pay, mate. I’m just not cut out for those round-the-clock shifts and all the travel. Besides, I couldn’t see wasting four years of college.”
“Well, at least we ended up on the same side of the fence, we both love digging.” Alaric laughed. “Speaking of digging, you should pick up the pace before anyone shows up here.”
“Just need a few more minutes.”
“Better make it quick. I got a call from the museum that their team of experts is on the way and my drilling crew will be back onsite real soon. Apparently this area used to be inhabited by mythical creatures.” Alaric pointed to a grassy area several feet away. “According to ancient maps, that huge flat area had a castle on it a century ago. We were not permitted to drill there. Historians already secured permits from the government to explore the grounds.”
Kohl glanced at the vacant lot, now overgrown with tall weeds and thick grass. “Hm. I can imagine the treasures buried there. But thanks for getting me in. I’ll be happy to find a relic of any kind to study.”
“No problem. As soon as I heard the buzz about this place, I thought of you. I had to call in favors with politicians just to drill here. Those historical nuts are a tenacious lot. You better make it quick though. I’ll receive a hefty fine if they discover I let an outsider into the area.”
As the dirt fell away, a streak of early morning light glinted off the object of his attention. Ever so carefully, he dug around the find until it was completely freed from the rocky ground.
“What the hell is that?” Alaric asked as Kohl lifted a chain and pendant from the hole.
Kohl stared in
Talon spread his wings and took flight. Out of sheer curiosity, he’d crossed into forbidden territory to check out the castle on the bluff, but did not expect to encounter danger during the light of day. Panic engulfed him as the winged creature closed in from behind. In his eagle form, Talon had always been faster than any predator, yet this beast had supernatural speed as if unleashed from hell. He glanced back to see the monster spread its lips to reveal long fangs. Talon knew then what was chasing him.
A vampire! He’d been warned of them, known they lurked in the caverns beneath the bluff that overlooked a great river, but he had never seen one. He dove between the rocks, tilting his wings sideways to fly through a narrow ravine in an attempt to lose the beast bearing down on him. Talon thought that once the creature had seen him shift from human to eagle, that it would’ve lost interest and moved on to a tastier meal. Not so.
He fled for his life. The maneuver through the ravine didn’t slow the beast’s pace. It swooped overhead now, somehow gaining an edge though Talon was flying as fast as he could go. A shadow fell over him as the vampire dropped down. Talon flailed in frantic attempt to escape. Powerful hands grabbed his long wings, pulling them down, curling them around his feathered body. Whether he shifted back to human now did not matter. Hope faded.
Suddenly, a sharp sting pierced his neck. He grew weaker by the minute until—blackness.
One hundred years later.
Kohl knelt at the excavation site, meticulously sweeping dirt away from rocks and shale the drilling crew had unearthed the day before. Breaks such as these were an archaeologist’s dream. Alaric, his longtime friend and owner of a drilling company, had phoned him just after midnight, telling him to hightail it up to the site before treasure seeking vultures swept onto the scene at dawn.
“You look pretty intense there.” Alaric approached from behind. “You’ve been searching all night. Did you find anything?”
“I think so.” Kohl hunched over the wide hole in the ground, the light attached to his forehead jiggling as he nodded.
“Ya know, as much as you love digging in the dirt, you could have stayed on my crew. The pay is top dollar.”
“I’ve no complaints about the pay, mate. I’m just not cut out for those round-the-clock shifts and all the travel. Besides, I couldn’t see wasting four years of college.”
“Well, at least we ended up on the same side of the fence, we both love digging.” Alaric laughed. “Speaking of digging, you should pick up the pace before anyone shows up here.”
“Just need a few more minutes.”
“Better make it quick. I got a call from the museum that their team of experts is on the way and my drilling crew will be back onsite real soon. Apparently this area used to be inhabited by mythical creatures.” Alaric pointed to a grassy area several feet away. “According to ancient maps, that huge flat area had a castle on it a century ago. We were not permitted to drill there. Historians already secured permits from the government to explore the grounds.”
Kohl glanced at the vacant lot, now overgrown with tall weeds and thick grass. “Hm. I can imagine the treasures buried there. But thanks for getting me in. I’ll be happy to find a relic of any kind to study.”
“No problem. As soon as I heard the buzz about this place, I thought of you. I had to call in favors with politicians just to drill here. Those historical nuts are a tenacious lot. You better make it quick though. I’ll receive a hefty fine if they discover I let an outsider into the area.”
As the dirt fell away, a streak of early morning light glinted off the object of his attention. Ever so carefully, he dug around the find until it was completely freed from the rocky ground.
“What the hell is that?” Alaric asked as Kohl lifted a chain and pendant from the hole.
Kohl stared in
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