* Trigger Warning - Some readers may find some parts upsetting *

Shards of glass crunched under Johnathan's approaching footsteps as he rushed to my aid.

Dazed and still hunched over, I saw the blur from the corner of my eye but had no time to shoot as the gun slipped from my fingers.

Sharp fingernails dug into the side of my waist, having a hold over me. The dull colours of my surroundings all emerged into one, transporting me with vampiric speed.

The damp smell of rotten fish and urine clung to the moss-covered walls. From the dark atmosphere and distant cries of the prisoners rattling the bars, the scenery was familiar. I knew I had been here before. It was the dungeon from my vision, and it was the last time I saw my father.

A rat scurried across the cobbled stones, squeaking at something that piqued its interest hidden within the shadows. An arm dropped into view as the rat nibbled at the limb and eventually attacked their fingers.

One finger—the wedding finger—was missing. The hand looked masculine from the chewed-down nails and stubby fingers.

As I kneeled across the solid, uneven floor, my dreams shattered in an instant, making my nightmare become a reality. My dad laid motionless, watching as his chest dramatically rose and fell with each unsteady breath.

"Dad?" My voice cracked, shaking him by the shoulders. "Wake up, please."

I looked around for Johnathan, desperate for his help. Time slowed as the gravity of the awful situation weighed down with the realisation that Johnathan wasn't here. I was alone.

"I think it's fair to say Richard has learnt his lesson," said a feminine, smoky voice. Her scarlet wavy locks trailed past her shoulders with the front sides pinned back with a gothic, crystal, butterfly hairpin. "It's a shame it has taken him twenty-eight years to follow my orders. I mean, is it really that hard to stay on this side of the border?"

"Maybe you should ask yourself why. I know about the missing teenagers, the dead bodies and the fact that you get the wolves to do your bidding. They cover up the evidence that vampires really do exist." An icy cold shiver washed over me as we stood at close distance, finally in the same proximity. "Even Samuel spent decades trying to expose you for what you really are, but with that comes the danger of exposing himself and his family." The newspaper articles in his drawer displayed enough evidence that Samuel was on to the vampires, but the human authorities didn't listen.

Perhaps the vampires blackmailed them, keeping their mouths shut on various occasions.

"Delightful. You know who I am," Nadine said. "And as for Samuel, I thought he would be grateful that I saved his life on many occasions. Instead, how does he repay me? He becomes infatuated with a human, a lying peasant."

My dad had done his fair share of research on vampires, and Nadine was the catalyst for ruining his life. Nadine had ruined Samuel's life, too.

"Whatever game you're playing, it stops now. You will leave my dad alone." I wiped the mixture of dirt and sweat from his forehead with the hem of my top. He had only been a prisoner for four days, but the grime soon accumulated on his skin from the lack of hygiene.

"Oh, dear Erika. I'm simply showing him the rules that if you mess with a vampire, there will be consequences." Nadine strolled past the prison cells, knocking her knuckles on the bars as she went, awakening some prisoners. "You see, if you're a Shadowbrook resident, you have to obey the rules. Richard was rebellious and a pain at the best of times. When I found out he had a daughter, things got exciting, even more so, when you're a descendant from Edwina Nicoletti's bloodline."

"What has that got to do with anything?" I asked, hating the way Nadine was speaking to me in riddles. "You brought Edwina into this mess the moment you killed her. You're the one that divided the vampires, and you're the one playing them off against one another."

She spun around, showing off her slim leg from the split in the side of her victorian gown. "I made each and every vampire stronger, giving them an advantage to the life they had before. They obey me, and in return, I give them power."

I thought Alani was bad, but Nadine was purely selfish.

Nadine continued, "Alani is trying to keep you alive. I couldn't work out why at first, but then I thought it was because you're human. Once I found out you're related to Edwina, it all made perfect sense. The spell Alani used on Edwina to conjure Akrsna can run through generations. You're a distant descendant, and thus, with you on her side, she can make Akrsna indestructible."

That was why Edwina took an interest in me, not because we were related, but because Alani needed me for something. Alani was the conductor, and Edwina was simply a musician, along for the ride to get her humanity back. Alani would do anything to get her sister back.

As I stroked my dad's ashen cheek, my heart sank with the endless torture he endured. His clothes were looser, and his sunken cheeks signalled he had lost weight. "Edwina is mortal and is struggling from her injuries, so I doubt she will live long."

If Edwina dies before I get her to transport me back, I will be stuck as a ghost, or worse—a vampire.

Alani wouldn't care if Edwina died as I was next in line as her pawn, either way, they both got what they wanted.

"I see you have a small predicament of your own." Nadine cackled, stepping her heeled shoe on one of the fast-approaching rats, catching on its tail. "Edwina has the mentality of a seventeen-year-old girl trapped in a two hundred and eighty-nine-year-old body. She has nowhere to run."

I drew in a long breath and rolled back my shoulders, closing my eyes. The dull ache across my shoulder blades was persistent, throbbing along my upper arms.

"That's the poison. Once I've got what I want, you'll get the antidote." Applying pressure on her heel, the rat scuttled off, leaving its tail under Nadine's shoe. "I'm using you to lure Alani. While she's attacking my vampires, I have something she wants."

She picked up the tail, walking towards the darkness at the end of the dungeon. A chorus of wails bounced off the walls as Nadine cooed them. "Shush, babies. Don't be greedy. There's more to come." Fluorescent golden eyes materialised from the shadows.

"You're the one that created the Igneous vampires, aren't you?" Backing away, I lifted Dad by the armpits and dragged him further from them and into the dim light. 

"No need to be afraid. They're programmed. The scratch was intended, to serve its purpose up until now. You see, I created them in a test tube, and Richard's blood is the special ingredient," she replied. "The problem is, I need to make more, and well, Richard is beyond past it. I need Alani to transfer you back as a mortal, so I can use you instead. You'd be no use to me as a ghost or a vampire."

She was using my dad as a science experiment. "That's why you needed a witch, and once Samuel burned them back in 1743, you took matters into your own hands." By using my blood, the Igneous vampires exceeded their limitations, so she wouldn't have to rely on others for protection.

Dad gasped, eyes widening as he clutched onto my hand. His breaths quickened at the sight of Nadine, kicking his legs in a feeble attempt to escape.

"It's okay, Dad. I won't let them hurt you anymore." My soothing words didn't have any effect. His clothes had rips in and were covered in grime, showing me only the physical signs of what he had been through. Mentally, I hadn't seen my father more scared as he pulled me closer, whispering in my ear. His voice was brittle and hard to distinguish as his teeth chattered from the dampness of the dungeon.

A/N

Word Count: 1,367

Will Erika be able to save her dad and get him out in time?

Have a fangtastic day!

(㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ)