Chapter 1

The light of the tavern spilt over the cobblestone street, the laughter and merriment drifting out along with it. The night was fresh, and no one thought anything of going home just yet. The people laughed and shouted, the jovial air a beacon in the dark night for a weary traveler.

The noise hardly paused just because the door opened. No, it wasn’t simply that someone had walked in. Plenty of people had walked in already, some even fairly rough looking. It was the oddity of the man who stepped in that gave the folks their hesitation.

His steel gray eye scanned the room, resting on each person for just a heartbeat. A single, ugly scar bisected his otherwise handsome face, running from the line of dark brown hair on the left, through the eye and ended at the bridge of his nose. It was that eye that drew all the attention in the room. It gleamed in the light of the chandelier overhead, swirling a molten silver in eternal motion.

Roan was used to this. It no longer bothered him. All things were drawn to his eye, whether they wanted to be or not. Anything with magic. It was the creatures that couldn’t look away that he was after.

Calmly striding to the bar, his leather boots thudded softly on the floor boards, but only because he wished it. He was not stalking right now. There was no need. His thick black cloak did little to hide the fact that he had a sword at his hip despite being held closed at the front.

He sat and ordered a meal. The barmaid did her best not to stare at his other eye, quickly turning away to obey. He ate his food slowly; almost, one could say, carefully.

When his hand reached far enough to take his drink, a tattoo was visible on the inside of his wrist. A rat, though with a silver eye instead of a black one. On his other wrist in the same area was another, larger tattoo; an emblem that struck fear into the hearts of men and monsters alike.

No one sat near him. In fact, people moved away from him, eyeing him warily. Whispers moved through the crowd, and the sounds of enjoyment hushed a little. Roan was used to this, too.

The sound of heavy boots thumping up to him did not change the way he ate. He did not bother to acknowledge the burly trio that had gathered behind him until one of them boomed angrily.

“Hey! Seeker!”

The tavern went quiet. People put their heads down.

Tilting his head, he did not look back at them. “Can I help you, gentlemen?”

“Yeah,” replied the same one. “You can get the fuck outta town.”

“I will leave when I am ready.”

“You should leave now,” the man insisted, fists clenching. “We don’t like your people around here. You always bring the monsters with you!”

Roan smirked a little with a chuckle under his breath. “I believe you have it the other way around. Why else would we be called ‘Seekers’?”

“Well, they weren’t here until you showed up!”

Nodding slowly, Roan did not bother to correct him further. “Very well. I will let him feast.” A little smirk curled his mouth. “After all, he’s given me the same courtesy.”

A dark, inhuman chuckle caused a collective shudder through all but the Seeker. An older, unassuming man in the corner grinned wider than a human ought to, exposing teeth that had become sharp. His once blue eyes turned black and shiny, while the healthy glow of his flesh grew ashen and leathery before becoming covered in wiry black fur. Standing, the creature continued to grow and change until it had to hunch over a bit in the small space so that its horns did not get caught in the ceiling. Spreading immense, leathery wings, it chuckled again as it strode forward, its ugly upturned nose flaring with the scent of human terror that had filled the place.

“Alright, Seeker,” its deep, raspy voice rumbled wickedly. “I shall do your dirty work. And then, I shall kill you, too.”

Taking another bite of his food, Roan was unconcerned. He did not turn to witness the chaos that erupted once the vampire had snagged its screaming prey, blood exploding from a gaping wound in the man’s neck. People fled the tavern in a frenzy, screaming down the streets.