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modernbookfae · 7 years

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Illyrian Bat

This is a Vampire AU Nessian story that has been in my folder for so LONG. I kept re-writing the first chapter over and over again so this is the end result. Nesta is a recently turned vampire trying to live under the radar of other vampire courts. One day in the market she feels a pull directing her to one shop in particular. And she gets more than she bargained for.

P.S. This is going to be a short story with only a few chapters with smut mixed in. Also if you are not at ease with blood and that type of thing this is a VAMPIRE story so this is your warning!

Part 1 Here Part 2 Part 3 Here Part 4 Here

Early morning light brightened the market square. Nesta winced at the sun’s rays before wandering to the food stalls and purchasing ingredients that were on her shopping list. She made it a point to move quickly among the throng of people that were walking the busy pathways. She couldn’t afford to linger too long or else they might discover her whereabouts.

It had been months since the defeat of Hybern and society was finally starting to return at peace. Humans and vampires were forming a more stable balance compared to what it had been in the past century. The proverbial ‘wall’ had been taken down as humans and vampires began to work alongside each other. It seemed that all was well, but Nesta’s life had been forever shattered since the day Hybern kidnapped her.

Nesta clenched her fists. The war had brought much loss. The humanity of her and her two younger sisters was taken leaving them to become creatures that thrived in the night and with blood. Feyre had adjusted extremely well as did Elain eventually. Both were powerful in their own skills as Feyre controlled shadows and starlight while Elain was a healer and grower of vegetation.

Nesta on the other hand was a destroyer. Lightning bent to her will and she was able to negate powers of other vampires’ glamor and mind reading.

When the war was over Feyre, as High Lady of the Night Court, ruled beside her mate Rhysand. Elain followed her own mate back to the Spring Court where she and Lucien were living happily and adjusting to their new peaceful life. Nesta had watched her two sisters flourish in their new vampire forms. It was a struggle each day for Nesta to accept that her previous life had been stolen and she was left to pick up the shattered remains. Each shard cutting deeper wounds as she tried to piece it all back together.

The only thing that remained constant in her life was that her thoughts kept drifting back to the insufferable Army Commander. The Night Court had the best winged soldiers and followed the orders of a vampire whose main purpose in life seemed to be agitating Nesta.

Cassian’s cocky smirk was ingrained in Nesta’s mind. His deep resounding laugh and glowing hazel eyes akin to flickering embers followed her each day in memory.

But it had been months since she had last seen or heard from Cassian. In fact Nesta had fled with the rise of the dawn not long after the war ended. She couldn’t stand by in a place where she had no belonging. Her sisters moved on to better places with people who would love and protect them far better than what their human lives were. Nesta’s only main concern in life was protecting Elain and now that her younger sister had Lucien it appeared that Nesta’s role was no longer needed. The only thing that had kept Nesta in the Night Court was the promise that she would make Hybern suffer for taking away everything that Nesta had ever known.

The heat of the sun distracted Nesta from her thoughts as she stuck close to the shadows. Vampires were able to walk during the day, but it was an extremely exhausting task that left them in a vulnerable state if they remained in the sunlight. Few vampires had been known to easily withstand the burning sun and they remained in the Summer Court where light basked their territory along beaches.

Better make it home fast. No sense of staying out in the open if someone may recognize me.

Nesta walked quickly hoping that no vampire or human would recognize the eldest sister of the Night Court’s High Lady. Nesta was not inclined to be dragged into another court as a pawn or leverage. She refused to be taken advantage of and or seen as a weakling. For months now she had survived on her own in this dull city. She made sure to only drink animal blood so the blood pantry for vampires would not turn her in. Nesta was unsure if Feyre or Elain had sent out a silent search party to find her, but it was better to be safe then take chances at being discovered.

Luckily food stores had plenty of raw meat that she could use. Animal blood was described as poor in taste compared to human blood. Most of the time blood was donated to vampires in return for a Court’s protection and use of power. But some vampires still resorted to the old ways of stalking prey and killing the human afterward.

It was repulsive. Nesta had only once drunk human blood when it was offered in a goblet during dinner at Rhysand’s House of Wind with the Inner Circle. It was only a few days after her transformation leaving her in a weakened state. Nesta had been incredibly thirsty and naïve to believe that the sweet smell was anything other than wine. After one heady gulp she had admitted that it was one of the most delicious drinks she had ever tasted.

Then Cassian had smirked and told her that she was drinking fresh type B blood from a lovely female donor he personally enjoyed drinking from as well. Nesta immediately spat out the second mouthful she was about to consume. It was a messy situation as blood went across the table and flecks of it splattered on Cassian’s hand. With ease he raised his hand to his mouth keeping eyes on Nesta while licking the blood.

“Didn’t your mother tell you not to waste your food?” Cassian quirked a brow.

Nesta shoved away from the table with enough force to send her chair careening to the floor. “How dare you give me that- that-!” Nesta tried to voice her disgust as she wiped her mouth smearing the blood across hand and cheek. At that moment she looked feral with hatred filled eyes that shone silver.

“Perhaps her mother didn’t teach her table manners either,” Mor eyed Nesta with caution wondering if the Archeron would go on a rampage.

“Don’t talk about my mother,” Nesta snarled with sharp canines. Azriel moved closer to Mor while Cassian rose with placating hands.

“I’ll get you a new cup-” Cassian motioned his hands to bring a server closer to the table.

“No,” Nesta stepped away from the table. “I refuse to drink that again.”

“Then you’ll become sick,” Cassian set his hazel eyes on her. “Vampires can’t live without blood.”

“I don’t want it,” Nesta reiterated refusing to back down.

“It’s not a matter of want sweetheart.” Cassian whisked a new goblet from a platter. You need it if you ever plan on being strong enough to defeat Hybern.”

“And I said no.” Nesta’s hands crackled with small energy. Lightning rushed in her veins wanting to be released from the prison that was her emotional walls.

It took time and perhaps Elain’s pleading was part of it, but Nesta finally agreed to drink animal blood after days going without any sustenance. She though for sure Cassian was going to make her forcibly drink it if push came to shove considering by the end of the fourth day she could barely stand. She had become paler with each passing hour and looked more like a skeleton than a healthy vampire.

Nesta could still recall Cassian’s frown each day she refused the drinks he offered. He forbid her to train and they fought constantly until she gave in and accepted the animal blood. It was foul, but Nesta felt better with each gulp. And Cassian had stood watching in the doorway making sure she drank each drop before she tossed the cup at him telling him to go lurk somewhere else like the bat he was. He laughed and unfurled his large wings. “Maybe when you’re strong enough I’ll take you for a ride around Velaris.”

“In my nightmares perhaps,” Nesta sneered and turned away from him. She failed to notice Cassian’s relieved expression when he saw color rush to her cheeks. A sign that she was regaining strength and perhaps a tad of embarrassment at his teasing words.

A barking dog jolted Nesta back to the present.

Her eyes paused momentarily on an area that sold live animals. Most were pets such as puppies or kittens, but a small handful of reptiles waited in cages as well.

Nesta had never stopped in this section before, but today she felt a pull toward the creatures. She made her way past a few puppies when the stall owner approached.

“Oh hello miss! Here to purchase a household companion?”

“I’m just looking,” Nesta immediately replied. No sense in making small talk with a person she would never see again.

“There is a lovely cat that I am sure will offer you warmth at the foot of your bed. Or perhaps a dog to greet you when you arrive home?”

Nesta ignored the man and followed the tug that brought her to a smaller iron cage with a tattered blanket covering it. Her heart pounded in anticipation with the mystery of what waited under the cloth. The tug she had felt earlier was pulling harder.

What is this feeling? Why do I have such a compelling urge to…what am I supposed to do?

Her hand slowly reached out to pull back the blanket. The sight revealed almost made Nesta drop the fabric in shock. A black furry body lay still as death. Lazily its head turned toward Nesta. Little pointed ears flicked forward and bright golden eyes looked at her.

No. It’s watching me as if it can see through me. As if this creature knows what I’m thinking past my mental walls.

Its eyes seemed to appear brighter with each passing moment it stared at Nesta. Membranous wings shifted to reveal that this was no normal mammal and Nesta took a frightened step back.

It can’t be. What are the odds that one of those things would be here?

“Ah! I see you have a penchant for rare creatures,” the vendor had followed Nesta to the cage. “Illyrian bats are not known for leaving the northern mountains, but I received this boy a couple weeks ago.”

“Why is it here?” Nesta kept her steel gaze on the bat half expecting it burst out of the cage and carry her off to one of the Courts. Although only one Court could completely control an Illyrian bat, but Nesta doubted that Rhysand and the others would let one of their precious bats be caged like this. Surely it wasn’t a trained Night Court bat, but that still left the question of how it ended this far south of the mountains.

“Well I actually purchased him from a traveller who couldn’t care for him anymore,” the vendor explained. “I had hoped to train the beastie, but he doesn’t take to well to being handled and ordered around.”

“Illyrian bats are one of the most difficult mammals to train,” Nesta sighed. Cassian had mentioned this during their combat training in the mountains. “Sorry to tell you, but you wasted money on an animal that would never accept you as its master.”

“That was what I was afraid of,” the man huffed. “Well I have to get money out of the beast somehow. He growls at any person that gets close to him and he’s snapped those fangs at me a couple times.”

Nesta almost shivered at the thought of those sharp canines. Instead she shrugged. This wasn’t her problem and she sure as hell couldn’t spend money on a bat that obviously wasn’t to keen on going to a new home. Still she felt something flutter inside her that prevented her from leaving him.

“Oi! Look at that!” A booming male voice said and Nesta was pushed to the side by two men who approached the bat’s cage.

The bat hissed menacingly as it watched the men move Nesta away. Luckily Nesta had more balance than her previous human form so she was able to right herself before tumbling into a birdcage.

“I don’t believe it! That’s a bat from the Illyrian mountains!” The smaller of the two rude men said.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Nesta said. Instincts pushing her to divert the men away from the bat. She was also half tempted to throw them outside in anger. “He’s not one to be tamed by humans.”

“Actually we were hoping to buy it for another reason,” the taller man said. He was the one who shoved Nesta and he bent down to better inspect the bat. With a feral snarl the bat lurched at the rusty steel bars. The wings flapped uselessly in the cramped space it was trapped in.

“The body looks a bit bigger than normal. Must have a lot of muscle on it,” the large man’s smile curled and showed yellowing teeth.

“The wings look a bit smaller in comparison to the body mass,” the other man noted. The bat bared its sharp canines and hissed appearing offended by the comment.

Nesta knew from her time in the Night Court that wings of vampires and their Illyrian bats were extremely important. The thin skin was sensitive to the touch, but the size was also a symbol of other portions of anatomy. Male vampires always got into a spat if someone called their wings small. Apparently bruised egos were a weakness for insufferable males.

“How much for the bat?” The larger man asked the vendor.

“Well it is a unique-” The vendor began is selling pitch.

“But it can’t be trained by anyone except a vampire from the Night Court,” the smaller man said. “Which makes it practically worthless.”

Nesta bristled at the comment. How dare this pathetic man insult that creature? Who was he to determine someone’s worth?

“We’ll give you $40.”

“Absurd!” The vendor cried out. “I paid $450 for it. That bat is worth more than your offensive offer.”

“We don’t plan to keep it for long. Just until we can fire it up and cook it.”

“What did you say,” Nesta approached the men. Surely she heard them wrong. “You plan to eat him?” Sure she had consumed her fair share of meat, but eating an Illyrian bat was unheard of. And perhaps she felt more emotionally connected with the animal considering it came from the northern mountains where she learned to defend herself.

The taller man cocked his head as if he finally noticed Nesta standing nearby. “Of course we plan on eating it. I doubt anyone has tasted Illyrian bat meat before and I wouldn’t mind trying it. Meat is meat.”

“That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Nesta scoffed. Sure she ate meat herself, but the idea of eating the bat had an unsettling weight in her stomach.

“Why don’t you mind your business little girl,” the smaller man said. “It’s not like you were planning to buy it. What would a little lamb like you do with an untamable bat?”

Nesta wouldn’t allow these men to take the bat. She would be damned if they walked out of here with that creature in their clutches.

“Actually,” Nesta said sweetly. “I’m in the market for an Illyrian bat so it’s my lucky day that this vendor happened to have one.” She didn’t know what she was going to do with the bat, but so long as it didn’t leave with these brutes then she would figure out the details later.

“Then how much are you willing to pay lamb?” The taller one stood to his full height and looked Nesta up and down as if she was something to be purchased. His leer didn’t deter the scathing glare she gave him in return. “I doubt you have much money on you.”

That was true. Nesta hadn’t thought she would be in this situation before she left her apartment and only had $100 after her previous purchases today. She would have to bluff her way through this and make a deal that would ensure the safety of the bat.

“I have enough,” Nesta said easily. “I’ll pay 80.”

“90.” The tall man said. His eyes set on her hers in a stare off that crackled with tension. Nesta made sure to reign in her magic of lightning. She couldn’t afford to let her power slip in the busy market lest she be discovered by any vampires lurking around.

“100,” Nesta kept straight faced hoping the men wouldn’t raise the stakes.

“130.” The tall man said and grinned when Nesta’s jaw ticked in frustration. “Of course if you can’t afford it with money I’m sure we can come to a compromise.” The man stepped closer to her and Nesta almost gagged at the horrid scent that wafted from his body.

“Compromise? I doubt I would be interested in anything you would offer.” Nesta said.

“Oh no. It would be what you offered lamb.” The man leered at her body making his intention clear. “I’m sure you could give me something in return for that scraggly flying rat in the cage. I think I would love to have a taste of you over the bat.”

A growl erupted viciously from inside the cage. Glowing eyes shot daggers of hatred toward the man that faced off against Nesta.

The man reached his hand to touch Nesta’s golden brown hair that was tied in a braid. She swiftly slapped his hand away. “If you touch me I assure you that the only thing you’ll be tasting is your balls when I rip them off and shove them down your throat.”

“A feisty little lamb,” the man and his friend laughed. “What’s it going to be then? Do you want the bat that badly to give me a taste of you instead?”

Nesta’s fists shook with restraint. She could kill these two men, but where would that leave her then? She would be on the run yet again. But she couldn’t leave the bat to its horrible fate either.

With a start Nesta realized the solution to her predicament rested on her wrist. Her mother’s bracelet was the only she item had left from her time as a human. She wore it the day Hybern’s forces kidnapped her and she had barely taken it off since. The bracelet had to be worth $500 with the precious gem inlaid into the shining metal.

“I’ll give you this,” Nesta removed her bracelet. “It’s worth $500 with the ruby stone.”

The vendor approached Nesta and examined the jewelry for authenticity. “I imagine it is worth $700 now since rubies cost more since the Summer Court vampires have raised the taxes on their gems.”

“Then you will accept my bracelet as payment for the bat?”

“Of course!” The vendor said. “That is if these men don’t have a counter offer.”

The tall man’s face turned beat red with anger. “That filthy animal isn’t worth our money,” he spat and shoved past the vendor who gripped the bracelet tightly. The smaller man followed his friend leaving the space quiet save for the animal noises that filled the atmosphere.

“I suppose that settles it,” Nesta said giving her bracelet one last parting glance before turning to the bat. The creature stood still as she neared the cage.

“Would you like some food for it?” The vendor asked. “I can give you my last two bags that I’ve been feeding it from.”

“Sure,” Nesta dismissed the man and bent down so she was on eye-level with the bat. Golden eyes looked up at her innocently and Nesta almost considered it cute. Almost.

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