Free Aleron: Book One of Strigoi Series (Stringoi Series) by Kane

coerced the girl into following him with something he stole from his last conquest, a silver necklace. He motioned for the girl to turn around so he could affix it to her neck and, as she complied, he grabbed her! The girl’s screams were muffled by his filthy, wet, hairy paw of a hand covering her mouth. Her feet struggled to gain ground but only futilely splashed in the puddles that accumulated from the steady rain. He lifted her off her feet, and her legs churned the empty air. But, alas, her feet found nothing to connect to. Hopelessness filled her heart.
    I surveyed the other corners and finally the main road. No one was around. She would indeed be his next trophy. Soon her body would be discovered by a passerby and reported. Her memory would be added to the fear already spreading through the region, her family grief-stricken, her future stolen by this fiend.
    I turned my attention back to Eli and the girl. He had completely subdued her. She lay flat on her back, and he held her head to the ground. He tore off her shirt with his other hand, exposing her underdeveloped breasts. It was disgusting to watch him fondle and grope her to his liking and to her dismay. Realizing he was simply too strong for her, she finally gave up her struggle. Her eyes went blank as her tears mixed in with theraindrops falling upon her face. She looked up and whispered a prayer, and in that moment, she saw me.
    Please help me! Please! Please! Help me!
Her thoughts screamed out to me. Usually I would not be so sentimental, but she reminded me of someone important in my mortal life, my sister. I obliged her.
    I leapt down from the rooftop and landed purposefully louder than usual. This startled Eli. After noticeably flinching at the announcement of my presence, he turned his attention away from the girl and onto me. He leaned back down within an inch of her face and snarled, “I’ll be back to finish once I show our guest out.”
    Eli looked directly at me and ran a paw over his face. Just before he began to speak, I did something I hadn’t done in years, since that night at the pond. I spoke to my dinner.
    “Hello, Eli,” I said in the manner of an old, long-lost friend. His well-rehearsed battle face that no doubt struck fear to the hearts of his opponents was instantly replaced by a look of bewilderment.
    “Who are you and how do you know my name?” he stammered.
    “It’s of no consequence, but if you must know, I am Aleron. But for tonight, for you, I shall be called Death.”
    “Is that so?” he replied. “Well, we’ll see about that.”
    I turned my gaze to the girl. “You’re free to go now, young one.”
    Unsteadily she scrambled to her feet and ran away. Her steps quickened the farther she got from Eli, until she was in full stride out of the dark alley and into the night.
    Eli, watching her flee, reclaimed his battle face. His eyes focused. His nostrils flared. His mouth dropped open, exposing rotten and missing teeth. He pulled out his knife, no doubt the very one he used on the old woman weeks prior.
    “I guess tonight Aleron is on the menu,” he gravely spat out, shifting the knife from hand to hand.
    Hearing him say my name was queer and unfamiliar to me. For decades I’d only heard my name spoken by my beautiful Mynea, who made it sound like music, the sweetest symphony. Eli demonstrated how my name sounded when spoken by anyone else.
    I swiftly closed the gap between us and grabbed his neck. I scaledthe building with him in tow, and in his astonishment, he dropped the knife. I heard the tiny splash it made as it landed in one of the puddles. I landed firmly on the rooftop with him still in my grasp. I squeezed his neck, careful not to crush it, while I forced him to the edge of the building. With each step closer to the edge, he gasped for air. I held him over the building. He struggled to look down from the corners of his eyes. Completely satisfied, I closed my eyes, lifted my face, and allowed the rain to tease