Page 110 of Hurts So Good

ASHES TO ASHES

A Dracula Retelling

T.L. Hodel

PROLOGUE

‘The strength of a vampire is that people will not believe in him’

Garrett Fort

In 1776, a great war was won. The heroes of said tale were a hunter, a gypsy, and a farmer. All three of them battled a monster unlike any had seen before. The story of their victory spread from village to village, until eventually it fell into the hands of a writer who recorded the grand endeavour of man versus monster for all the world to read.

As with many things passed down through the years, things changed. The hunter became a businessman, the gypsy a doctor, and the farmer a lawyer with a fiancé. While the addition of a fiancé was an interesting choice, the only women involved in this tale besides for the one’s the beast fed on and murdered, was the one uttered in a curse of vengeance.

For the beast called Dracula did not perish that night. He simply went to sleep, with one dream in his mind. The day when the three bloodlines of his enemies would combine, and he could truly become a god.

That day came two hundred and twenty-six years later, in a small town in the United States of America where the teenage daughter of a mechanic gave birth to a baby girl. The Nuns who raised this child would ironically name her Dawn.

CHAPTER ONE

Dracula

There was something about a beautiful woman that drew attention. It didn’t take much, a flick of the hair, or eyelash flutter and people would flock their way. It was an unbeatable law of attraction. Like steel balls being pulled towards a magnet. Everyone wanted to bask in the light of something beautiful.

Take Janice, for example. She had that perfect hourglass figure and a nice firm ass that swayed when she walked down the street. She wasn’t the smartest–otherwise she wouldn’t have talked to me online–but she was gorgeous.

Her long blonde hair with the right amount of curl and big bright almost innocent blue eyes were all people saw. It was also all she had going for her. She didn’t really need anything else. With a body like that, Janice could get a man to do just about anything. And she knew it.

Well, most men.

I pointed my fork at Janice’s untouched plate. “Is there a problem with the fish?”

“Please let me go.” She blubbered.

See, now that was just rude. I went through a lot of trouble to prepare this meal for her. I cooked her favorite bluefin tuna, with a side Spanish rice, and I spent an hour setting up the romantic ambiance. A trail of rose petals from the door leading to a nice candle-lit table. I even had David Kushner’s ‘Daylight ‘playing in the background, which was her favorite song.

And how did she repay me? With streams of tears and choked out pleas.

No matter how many eons I walked this earth, humanity’s lack of appreciation never failed to amaze me.

I suppose that was just how people like Janice were. It was all about them. She was beautiful and therefore the world should bow down at her feet. Until someone like me came along. The only thing that trumped a woman like her was a man like me.

Why did people find this new age full of gadgets and wonders so difficult to survive in? In the 32 years I’d been awake, I had accumulated various business and patens that made me one of the richest men in the world. Yet men spent their lives in mediocre trades making barely enough to make ends meet. Perhaps technology dulled human’s intelligence?

“Please, let me make you happy.” Janice sniffed back a sob and made a horrid attempt at batting her eyelashes. “I know you like me.”

No, I did not like her. In fact I found her vapid and incredibly annoying. She, however was entranced with me. All women were. Not only did I have a supernatural allure, but I had the dark hair, light eyes, and cut abs that so many of the fairer sex fantasized about. Plus I knew how to fuck. Nothing tasted quite as sweet as the ecstasy of a beautiful woman. Except for maybe her fear and blood.

So, no, Janice could not make me happy. I was a God. She was just pretty.

“Please Mark, just let me go.”

The fact that she was still calling me by the name I gave her online was a testament to her stupidity? My face was plastered all over the news. Crane Corp was the leading tech company in the world. I couldn’t walk into a store without someone whispering my name.

I sighed and shook my head. “You’re ruining dinner, Janice.”

Look at her. Mascara was running down her face, and her eyes were red and puffy. It was fucking pathetic.

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