Behind the Devil's Eye (Intro)

Damp. The scent of it overwhelmed his senses as his eyes snapped open. His head ached and the room spun in a blur of dull colours as his eyes flickered, fractured and confused memories dancing across his eyelids.
  He felt resistance as he tried to move, rope digging harshly into his pale flesh, the strong interlocking fibres tightly binding his wrists and ankles, biting through his skin as his muscles strained against the bonds. He groaned.
  He should have been able to break his restraints but his muscles felt heavy and sluggish, his eyes trying to make sense of the images flooding into them. He shook his head violently, his shock of red curls glinting dully in the dark as they fell across his forehead.
  The ground felt cold and rough beneath his knees, the steady drip of water sounding not far off. His eyes roved up the steep grey walls, his sharp sight picking out each fault and scar in the pitted grey of the stone, the great blocks forming the strange prison in which he found himself. His gaze went still as it reached the roof, his eyes swimming in and out of focus as he strained to make out a set of iron bars, slowly being eaten away by thick dark rust. He froze.
  A glimmer of light pierced the darkness. Slicing through the air above him like a knife, it danced in a flickering pool of white light at his knees. He tensed, his whole body going suddenly rigid. He tried to pull back, away from the growing sunlight spilling into the cell, fear clawing at his insides and waves of panic lapping at his consciousness like waves threatening to drown him. He fought against is restraints, his muscle taught and straining, the blood vessels standing out on his biceps like red welts. He roared with frustration.
  Light ran like honey over his bowed head and over the rippling muscles on his back, trickling into each dip and curve. His skin prickled sharply and he recoiled, the scent of burning flesh; his flesh reaching his sensitive nostrils, causing his face to contort in horror as his throat filed with the sour tang of bile. He retched, his throat constricting as pain exploded across his body.
  Every nerve in his body screamed in agony as great gashes fractured his flawless skin and blood streamed from burns blossoming across the surface. He threw back his head, fangs bared, roaring in agony, light flooding his eyes and searing through his mind with an intense heat and blinding brightness, causing his whole body to convulse as he collapsed, the freezing stone making sharp contact with his cheek as he crumpled forward.
  He moaned softy; his eyes clamped tightly shut as he prepared for his whole body to be consumed. He waited. Nothing. Unable to think clearly through the pain and confusion, he gingerly stretched out his arms, the charred rope still smouldering around his mangled wrists. He clawed his way forward, his mind flooded with a manic need to find darkness. He dragged his body forward, blood smearing in a sickening trail behind him, tongue lolling from his cracked and weeping lips. He was so tired.
  But that didn’t matter now. He had to get out, had to getaway. Find her. Yes, he would find her. No matter what, he would find her. A savage grin twisted his maimed features. It would take more than sunlight to stop this vampire.