A storm rages outside my bedroom window as rain whips harshly against the window sill. The only light in the room is my desk lamp shining down on a textbook that burns my eyes. The clock ticks over to 11:34. Almost midnight.
I yawn loudly and rub my eyes to keep them awake but it's no use. The call of sleep is strong and I feel myself nodding off over my desk, my pen edging out of my fingertips. Suddenly there's a smack against glass and it alerts me awake. I squint my eyes around the room and they land on the window. What was that?
I keep staring and it's not until I see two beady, red eyes gleaming back at me that I squeal and knock my chair backwards as I stand up. My hands smack against my mouth. I can't wake my roommate up. I gulp and inch closer and notice that it's a tiny bat. A scared one. It inches away from the rain and presses itself as much as possible onto the window.
"Oh, you poor thing."
I lift the window up and the small bat rushes in and onto the ground in a puddle. It uses its wings to crawl away from me and hide its face.
"It's okay. I don't want to hurt you." I kneel on the ground and stretch my arm out. The bat is breathing harshly and one eye watches me anxiously. It lets me pat the top of its head with a finger, slowly keening into it like a cat. I beam at the interaction and wonder where it travelled from. I don't usually see bats in this area…
A small drop of ink comes from the bat. Did it just poop?
I pull my arm back and watch cautiously. The poop…or ink…or whatever is it, is wet and mist begins to rise from it.
"Uh…" The bat no longer seems to be scared. Its face transitions from cute and shy to…evil?
More ink begins to leak from the bat as if it's melting and the mist begins to sweep more widely. I stand up and take several steps away as the obsidian cloud grows and grows and grows until it's taller than me and the bat has completely disappeared.
"O-oh my god…" I panicked. Maybe it was not the best decision to dress in a unicorn onesie if I had a good chance of dying tonight.
The strange medium swirls into the shape of something and it starts to contour as a body. It's not until it completely evaporates that a man takes view. His face is hidden by a wide-brimmed top hat that he tilts with a leather-gloved hand. The other holds a silver cane with a tiger head handle that accentuates his navy pin-striped suit. Grey hair peeks out from his hat and falls airily around his shoulders.
"Apologies for startling you, my dear." A deep and charismatic voice rings throughout the room and it sounds otherworldly.
"W-who are you?" I cautiously ask and I frantically search near me for an item to use as a weapon.
He scoffs. "Impotent human." A blast of air crowds me and all the potential weapons in my vicinity blow away and I squeak loudly.
"No manners. None of you have any manners." He clicks his tongue.
The strange man takes his time stalking towards me, his lanky and bony figure inhumane. He continues to keep his head bowed.
"You are Azaleigh Sinclair, correct?" He slyly questions.
I shakily nod my head, not wanting to get on this guy's bad side any more than I have.
"Perfect. Just perfect." I swear I hear the wet smack of his tongue against his lips. What the heck is going on!?
He stops short of me and from my short stature, I see the shadow of a long chin and thin, stale lips along with sunken cheeks. He reeks of old perfume and I have to force myself not to outwardly gag.
"Your bargain has expired, Azaleigh Sinclair. It's time that you return to your husband."
I blink at him.
"Husband!?"
An icy hand grips my shoulder and time begins to warp. All I can hear is cold dead silence in my ears as the world around me loses its meaning. Reality starts to glitch and I see the stranger's cruel smile spread wide with razor sharp teeth. A Nosferatu.
"You fucking asshole!" I screech as my memories start to return in fragments that piece back together to form the world that I truly belonged to.
My knees and hands suddenly smack down onto hard carpet and I focus on catching my breath. I feel dizzy, sick, and tears well in my eyes. I rapidly blink to not let the tears fall and a crimson carpet comes into view. I take my time lifting my head and hatred burns in my stomach as I meet my match sitting on a throne chair.
Ryker Blackwood. My vampire husband.