— Abraham Grimveil, “Facing the Darkness: A Hunter’s Manual,” page 90
Emily kept her breath steady as she whirled her sword around.
She was gripping the handle too tightly and needed to loosen her grip to control her maneuverability. She stepped in sequence, slashing high before pivoting and cutting diagonally across the training dummy. Then, she pushed off the ground and raised her revolver in her other hand. The shot cracked the air as the bullet tore through dead center.
Emily paused, breathing heavily with a small smile on her face. She looked over at Mina, and when she received a proud nod, she relaxed. Her muscles were aching from the training. Mina had been drilling this sequence into her for hours now, and finally, she felt like she had gotten it right. Mina had even nodded, so that was a good sign. The exercise had been to carry the power from her momentum into a sharp redirect, then stagger the enemy and fire a kill shot while getting some distance from it. Emily couldn’t understand when or how such a sequence would be used, but she did it nonetheless.
The sun was setting, and the final golden rays of light crested over the mountaintops, casting long shadows across the training yard. The air was getting cooler, which felt nice against her sweat-covered skin.
After the last few days of recovery, she was finally feeling well enough to return to her usual routine. That unfortunately meant waking up early, exercising, breakfast, magic training, sword training, gun training, maybe meditation with Violet, and then finally, more exercise before another round of training. It was every day for Emily, and she was finally starting to settle into a comfortable rhythm with it.
“You’re still leaning too far forward,” Mina said.
Emily slumped her shoulders and nodded. The training dummy in front of her was already covered in cuts and bullet holes. Straw spilled out like blood, and the burlap sack keeping it together was barely more than threads.
“You’ll end up losing balance with that form.”
Emily adjusted her stance and swung again. A high slash, pivot, diagonal cut, then shoot as she jumped back. Her heart was pounding from the exertion. She was about ready to call it quits for the night and go to bed, but she knew Mina wouldn’t let her leave if she didn’t get this right.
She swung again, but this time, when the time came to shoot, she left her gun holstered and hurled a fireball at the dummy instead. The fire erupted, quickly consuming the dummy in a woosh. She had hit it center on, despite the clumsiness of her swing, and it brought a smile to her face.
Mina only gave her a blank stare. “You were supposed to—”
“I know, I know, but what if my gun was empty?” she said with a smirk. “Figured it was worth preparing for.” It was also worth destroying the dummy, considering it was their last one.
Mina narrowed her eyes. “I suppose. You need to work on your form when throwing fireballs.”
“I still hit it, didn’t I?”
“You got lucky this time.” Mina walked over to her. “Suppose it's improved, though.”
Emily snorted, sheathing her sword. “Yeah, but I’m not so sure. It still feels… fleeting, you know? Like I’m grabbing at smoke. One second, I’ve got it, and the next, it’s slipping away.” She flexed her hand, frowning at the healed cracks in her skin. “It’s hard to explain.”
Mina nodded. “That’s normal. Magic’s not a tool you master overnight. It took me years to get a grip on the basic spells I use, and even then, it isn’t always easy to put my focus on them in the middle of a fight.”
“I mean, spraying embers isn’t that hard,” Emily teased her, shooting sparks from her fingertips.
“Wait until you need to use that in combat. Or anything bigger, for that matter.”
Emily smiled back. “So, are we done for the day?”
“Just because you burned the last dummy down?”
“I mean… what else is there to train with?” she snickered.
“Plenty. We can’t slack on this, Emily.”
“I know, I know, I’m only joking.”
“Except you’re not. I know you’re tired.”
“What makes you think that?”
Mina only stared, and a slow grin crossed Emily’s face. “Tired is where I need you.” She paused. “I admit, I’ve been holding back in your training.”
Emily raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Your doing well, but I know you can do better. But I’ve been holding back, keeping you from reaching that potential.”
“... why?”
Mina crossed her arms. “I’ve said before that my master trained me harshly. He shaped me into what I am… or was. His training gave me the skill I needed to kill other vampires. He had me embrace my power, and it turned me into something I regret. If you are ever to stand a chance against Queen Lockhart, you will need his lessons, and I can give them to you, but I worry what might happen to you if I push you as he had me.”
Emily was quiet for a moment. “You know, since the Sangrevoros, I’ve been thinking. Why me? Why was I given this power? This destiny? I know I have to do this, but… I don’t know if I’m cut out for it.”
Mina stared. “Have you already forgotten what you just accomplished?”
“I know, but it still feels like… I’m not ready.”
“Because you’re not, and that's my fault. You might have stood a chance against those Sangrevoro back at the barn. You might have been able to kill that Alpha while it was still in the town. But I was more worried about making a mistake, having you embrace your power as I had mine. Making you a monster.”
Emily went quiet for a moment. “Maybe that's what I need to be…”
Mina tilted her head. “What?”
“Back in the ruins, you let some of that monster out, right? The thing your master trained you to be. It was like you weren’t you.”
Mina’s expression shuttered. “I was exactly me. Just the part I keep locked up.”
“The bloodlust?”
Mina nodded. “It’s always there. A second heartbeat under my ribs. Most days, I ignore it. Some days I bargain with it. That day, I let it off the chain.”
“You scared me.”
“I’m sorry. But maybe it was a good thing you saw me like that.”
Emily blinked. “Good?”
“Fear keeps you sharp. Keeps you from romanticizing what I am. What I could become if I ever stopped fighting it.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Emily wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t want to fight myself like that. Every day, wondering if today’s the day I slip. That’s how we won, right? That monster inside. I barely killed any of them, but you… You even killed the Alpha.”
“You killed it.”
“Not without you… and when you were standing on top of its corpse, I… I knew that strength was what I needed. Fire to fight fire… but I don’t know if I can…”
Mina stared silently at her, and as the silence dragged on, Emily’s heart started to race. “Do you remember what I said about monsters?” she finally said.
“Fangs and claws don’t make them.”
Mina nodded. “And neither do your powers. It's how you use them that defines you. I was worried if I pushed you too far, you’d let them speak for you, rather than you for it.” She knelt to be more level with Emily. “But as I’ve gotten to know you, I know that's not something I have to worry about anymore. I know that when you reach your potential, you’ll use your powers for good.”
“But what if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll be there to remind you every step of the way. It took me a long time to balance it. Power doesn’t care about your intentions, it just amplifies what’s already there, and in me, there was a lot of rage and hatred and bitterness toward the world.”
“... and what’s inside of me?”
Mina considered her for a long moment. “Determination. Empathy. And a heart that bleeds for things that don’t bleed back. You will use your powers for good. I will train you to use them, and I will make sure you don’t end up becoming what you fear. But know that you never will, even without me.”
Emily couldn’t help but smile a little bit. Even now, she found Mina’s vampirism strange. For so long, she had had this idea of what vampires were in her head: bloodthirsty killers, and yet, in her short time knowing Mina, she had come to see that it was wrong. Maybe there was some of that still deep inside her, but she, at heart, was a caring person. She wasn’t like the others. She was a guardian, someone who still clung to a semblance of humanity. Someone who didn’t give in to the monster inside them because they knew if they did, they’d become the very thing everyone was so afraid of. But even Mina was not perfect, and neither was she. Emily wished she could be like Mina. Not to necessarily be a vampire, but to have Mina’s level of certainty about who she was. There was so much about herself she hardly understood. Beyond herself, there was the magic inside her, and how it changed her, how it influenced her. It made her into something more than just a normal girl. She was doing things no normal girl would do. She was fighting vampires, monsters, and learning to control the greatest magic Ageria had ever known. Not only that, but she had closed a rift, something hardly anyone had seen before, much less understood. But this was only the beginning. Worse dangers loomed over her like a constant shadow. Those very same things that made her life unique were plaguing her nightmares. Even if she was uncertain of who she would become, she knew one thing: she had no choice. She had to get better, stronger, and more in control. Her life, and maybe more, depended on it.
“Alright,” Emily said after a long pause. “We’ll train harder than…”
Mina nodded with pride in her eyes. “Yes.”
“... tomorrow?”
Mina couldn’t hold back a smirk. “Tonight.”
Emily let out a teasing groan. “But I’m already tired.”
“And what did I just say?”
“Are you going to carry me home if my legs give out?”
“If you keep making excuses, I’ll make you crawl.”
Emily rolled her eyes, grinning. “Okay, okay.”
She ran through exercise after exercise until the sky was dark, and the moon was shining upon her. Tomorrow would bring a new day, and with it, a step closer to her destiny. She would reach it one day, but for now, that was all she could do. Get closer. One day at a time.
Arthur was never very fond of Outer Peccatum. Neither was Clara. The nightlife in particular was an abhorrent display every time they stepped outside. Nothing ever changed in this city, where whores were as common as gunshots. The air always reeked of piss, cheap incense, smog, coal, copper, and blood. There was never one scent to overpower their senses, just a rotten bunch that left a bad taste in their mouth.
Arthur and Clara both kept their hoods low as they weaved through the crowds hand in hand. It helped that, at this hour, especially in the district of Crimson Row, they needn’t worry about standing out. They needed to be quick, though. They couldn’t be away from the asylum for too long.
They entered an apartment tower that stank of mold and ascended to the roof. On the far side of it, an elven woman rode a man. She was naked, with the moonlight reflecting off her smooth, pale skin. Her vibrantly golden hair spilled down her back and over their conjoined faces. The sounds coming from them were all too familiar. The loud, brittle crunch of bone, and the wet slurp of thick juices. The elven woman sat up, moaning. Blood painted her breasts and ran over the deep ridges of her ribcage. Her mouth was impossibly wide and filled with jutted fangs. The man’s face was nothing more than red soup, with bits of brain and skull floating in the thick, creamy liquid.
“I was starting to think you two would never show,” the elven woman said in a singsongy voice. “I was getting bored.”
Arthur glared at her. “You looked like you were managing.”
The elf licked a strip of skin from her teeth and smiled wider. Blood and other fluids dripped from her as she lifted herself off the dead man’s softening cock. “Bored wanderers must entertain themselves somehow.” Her body rippled, the bones shifting under her skin. Blackened horns ripped from her forehead as a spade-tipped tail unfurled behind her.
Clara snarled. “You deceptive cunt!”
Xeliara laughed as she put her hands on her hips. Her pupils became slitted like a serpent's. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Clara. Though I understand it completely.” Her gaze slid to Arthur, slow and predatory. “He’s charming when he wants to be. And gods, the things he can do in bed. That thick, perfect cock, curved a little upward so it drags against every sweet spot inside you. The way it throbs when he’s close, how he stretches you until you forget your own name—”
“Shut your fucking mouth!” Clara lunged, swiping her claws.
Arthur caught her wrist before she could close the distance. “That’s enough,” he said to Xeliara.
The succubus tilted her head, amused. “Admit it, Arthur. You loved every second. Loved pinning me down, loved how tight I was around you, how I screamed when you fucked me raw. You came so hard I felt it hit my womb.”
“Go to hell,” he growled.
“Oh, darling. I crawled out of it.” She stepped over the corpse, her bare feet squelching in the widening pool of blood. “And there’s nothing either of you can do to me. Not halfbloods like yourselves.”
“What do you want, Xeliara?” Arthur asked.
“Straight to business. Good boy.” Her tail curled, mockingly brushing Clara’s cheek. “You’re both sheep in wolves’ clothing. Draven’s personal little dogs. If you survive a year in his service, you’ll be the luckiest meat he’s ever owned. But I can make sure no one ever learns what you really are. That your secret stays buried.”
Clara growled, and Arthur tightened his grip to keep her calm. “And that secret would be?”
“That the Conduit, the one Draven has spent seventeen years hunting, crawled out from your very womb.
I could see it all when my tongue was lashing his, and his cock was battering my cervix like he wanted to brand me from the inside.”
Clara flexed her claws. “I told you to shut the fuck up!”
Arthur stepped in front of her. “Why not just tell Draven and be done with us?”
Xeliara rolled her eyes. “Because I’m bored of playing guard dog. My sisters and I made a deal with Draven. Sanctuary for protection. But we’ve grown. The nest is fat with new daughters. We’re ready to spread, to take Outer Peccatum street by street, soul by soul. Draven refuses. Says it risks ‘the Hunt.’” She sneered. “As if one brat matters when there’s an entire district ripe for hollowing out.”
“You want us to help you betray Draven?” Arthur said. “Help you eat the whole outer city.”
“Refuse, and tomorrow morning, Draven learns everything. He’ll turn you over to me and my sisters, and from there we’ll get to have our fun with you anyway. Or… you help me. And Emily stays safe. Your secret stays safe.”
Arthur and Clara looked at each other. The wind whipped their cloaks. There was no real choice; they both knew it. If Draven learned who they were, he could use them to capture Emily, to lure her in, or worse. They didn’t know the full extent of what he was capable of.
“Fine,” Arthur said.
“Bitch,” Clara snarled.
Xeliara smiled, flashing her fangs. “Wise. But pretty words are cheap. So… kneel.”
Arthur and Clara hesitated, looking at each other before glaring at the succubus. They sank to their knees in the congealing blood.
Xeliara pointed one clawed finger at the corpse. Where the man’s face had been was now just shredded meat and oozing like spoiled custard into the cavity. “Drink.”
Arthur’s stomach lurched. “No.”
Clara bared her fangs in refusal.
Xeliara stepped closer. “You’ve been sipping sheep’s blood like civilized pets. Time to embrace what you are. Monsters.”
Arthur’s hands shook. They had managed for so long without the taste of human blood. They had been strong enough to resist the temptation, the intoxicating smell of it. They could both attack Xeliara right now, but they didn’t stand a chance, even together. Succubi were stronger than most expect, even for half-blooded vampires, and especially against a succubi like Xeliara.
Arthur gulped and lowered his face to the ruined skull. His tongue touched the warm, sticky mess. The taste exploded across his senses. He gagged but forced himself to lap, lips sinking into pulped flesh. Beside him, Clara whimpered, then buried her muzzle and drank in great, desperate gulps, blood smearing her cheeks, dripping from her chin.
Chunks of scalp slid down Arthur’s throat. A piece of eye clung to his lip; he sucked it in and chewed, the jelly bursting between his teeth. Clara’s claws dug into the dead man’s shoulders for purchase as she shoved her face deeper, snuffling and swallowing. Xeliara watched, tail lashing in delight, one hand idly circling a nipple stiff with arousal. “Good pets,” she cooed, crouching to stroke Arthur’s hair, smearing blood through it like war paint. Her other hand cupped Clara’s chin. “You’re mine now.”
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED VOLUME 1 OF THE MONSTER'S APPRENTICE!
I'd love for you to leave me a rating or review and tell me what you thought!
- What did you enjoy most about this volume?
- What didn't you enjoy?
- What was your favorite moment or who was your favorite character?
- What are you excited to see happen next?
VOLUME 2 IS STARTING NEXT WEEK!
Follow the story to stay updated.
Favorite it if you enjoy the journey.
Craving more right now? Join my and help support the story!
- Read 8 chapters ahead!
- Bonus & cut content!
- Behind-the-scenes stuff ;)
VOLUME 2 IS NOW LIVE ON PATREON!
Who was your favorite character this volume?