Some monsters wear masks. Others wear your name. When Detective Emily Parker is called to the scene of a ritualistic murder, she expects blood. She doesn’t expect the voice of the dead whispering in her ear—or the symbols carved into the victim’s skin to match those in her sister’s unsolved case. What begins as a hunt for a serial killer becomes a descent into ancient darkness. With the help of a mysterious historian named Van Helsing, Emily unearths a hidden war waged across centuries… and finds herself at its center. But the truth is more terrifying than any myth. Dracula was real. And he was only the beginning. The Real Monster is the first novel in The Mortal Coil Multiverse, a gripping fusion of psychological horror, supernatural mystery, and cosmic dread. This is not just a story about vampires. This is about what’s waiting after them.