CHAPTER 1

Alucard's POV

We found him lying bloodied at our doorstep. Or, rather, Walter found him lying bloodied at our doorstep. According to the butler, when he was found his lip was split and swollen, his nails ragged and broken, his neck scratched and bleeding. Taking him into a spare room in the estate he set about tending to his visible wounds with a rag and a washbasin filled with warm water.

Integra, the police girl, and I stood before the door of the room where the boy was being kept as Walter finished recounting his tale.

"So, you've been caring for him for how long now?" Integra asked the butler.

"About an hour, I should say; however, I do believe he lay at our doorstep for quite a while before I found him. He was nearly frozen when I brought him inside."

"What do you intend to do with him after he is well?"

"That depends on what you wish, sir," Walter answered politely.

My master fiddled with her cigar while coming up with a solution.

"We can't have him revealing our headquarters' location," she muttered. "But we can't just leave him out in the cold streets of London, either."

"Might I suggest training him to be a member of the organization?" Walter said. "As I carried him in I couldn't help but feel that his arms were quite firm. Possibly muscular."

Integra hummed in recognition.

"I'll think about it," she said definitively. "Thank you, Walter."

"No trouble at all, Sir Integra." The butler bowed slightly to my master and left, back upright in his signature impeccable posture. Once he had disappeared around the corner my master turned to me.

"I don't know what to do," she said, slightly surprising me. "Normally we're taking in a vampire like Seras. But this…" She took a puff of her cigar.

"We are always in need of guards," the police girl piped.

"That is true…" Integra said. "I'll have to give you the same answer I gave Walter. I'll think about it."

My master grasped the doorknob and turned it clockwise. Pushing forward, the door swung noiselessly open into the dark room. With my enhanced vision I could see the boy, dressed in dark colors and lying on his back, covered by pale blue bedsheets. Integra walked into the room and lit a candle, lifting it beside the boy's head and letting the light flow down onto his face. The light revealed the boy's face to be covered with a black hood connected to the back of his shirt. My master reached a hand to remove the hood when the boy rolled over in his sleep, facing his back towards her. I strode to the boy's head and knelt down before removing his hood. The boy was a mere child, perhaps eighteen, with pale skin and eyelashes that cast shadows down his hollow cheekbones. I released the hood and let it settle back into its place, only receiving a soft snore from the child.

"He's just a child," I said quietly to my master.

"So there's no danger of you killing him if I were to leave." I shook my head.

"He's far too young to drink from. I do have morals."

Integra chuckled and brought her cigar to her lips once more.

"I have a meeting to attend," she said. "I want you to keep an eye on him while I'm gone, and don't let him leave the room. Tell Walter if he wakes." She stood and straightened her jacket.

"Of course, my master," I said with a deferential bow of my head.

"Seras, you come with me," she commanded.

"Yes, sir," the police girl answered, and followed Integra out of the room. The door closed and I was left alone with the child.

The moment the door clicked shut the boy tossed his head to the right and let out a pitiful whimper. Not knowing exactly what to do, I placed my hand on his head in an effort to be of some comfort.

It didn't work.

Instead of comforting the child I provoked another pained whimper from his throat. His eyes flew open with a start and he flung himself over the edge of the bed. I stood up to look over the edge, but the boy jumped up before I could even glance down. He grabbed the candlestick from his bedside and thrust it out before him, violently tearing out the candle and extinguishing it in the process. The windowless room was plunged into near darkness; being a vampire I could still see.

"I know you're in here," I said to the boy. "I can see you."

He opened his mouth to speak, but then thought better of it and remained silent. If he were to have spoken he would have given away his position. Instead of speaking he nearly noiselessly stepped towards the door; I countered by taking a step in the same direction. The boy's eyes widened in surprise, then turned to slits in concentration as he took another silent step. I stepped again and his gaze darted to my eyes.

"Back off," the boy warned, brandishing the metal candlestick like a weapon.

"Foolish child," I chuckled. "Though I do admire your bravery."

"It's not bravery if I'm about to piss myself."

"Bravery isn't the lack of fear; it's being terrified and carrying on anyway."

"As much as I'm enjoying this philosophical discussion I really must be going," he snapped, taking a tentative step towards the door. I lightly grabbed his wrist and he whirled on me, swinging the candlestick at my head at a surprising velocity. I ducked my head to avoid the weapon and gripped his other wrist.

"I'm not here to hurt you," I explained. "Our butler found you-"

"Don't give me that bullshit," he viciously spat.

He jumped and planted his feet firmly against my chest in an effort to knock me over, but his attempt was futile; I was made of iron. He smacked against my chest and ricocheted, nearly popping his arms from his sockets in the process. I held onto the child more firmly – he wasn't giving up so easily.

"If you would just let me explain," I continued a little too harshly. "Our butler found you on our doorstep, bleeding and unconscious. So we took you in to clean you up."

He looked like a cornered animal, breathing heavily and wide-eyed as I pinned him to the wall. He swallowed and looked up at me.

"I don't believe you," he growled. I had to laugh at the fire in his eyes. "Stop laughing, creep!"

"I don't think you're in a position to call the shots here," I said. The fire in his eyes seemed to grow in intensity until it threatened to spill over his waterline.

"Don't think I can't hurt you," he warned lowly. "Don't think I won't hurt you." I laughed again. His threats might have actually frightened me had I been human, but as a vampire they were merely amusing. "Let me go."

"Only if you promise to get back in the bed and rest up," I said. "I'm not letting you leave this room until your wounds are fully healed, as per my master's orders."

"Let me go!" he repeated, attempting to knee me in the groin. But once he brought his leg up he nearly doubled over, the only things keeping him from collapsing onto the floor being my hands on his wrists.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. Against my better judgement I released his arms. He fell to the floor, flinging his arms over his stomach.

"Don't come any closer!" he panted feebly. "I'll rip your fucking arms off."

"Sure you will," I said, lifting under his knees and shoulders and depositing him back on the bed. His arms still clung tightly to his stomach. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I'm stuck in this fucking room."

"What's wrong with your body?"

"It's stuck in this fucking room."

I placed a hand on my forehead to quell a headache.

"If you don't tell me what's wrong I'll have to examine you myself."

"No! No, no!"

After several more minutes of coaxing and cringing he still hadn't told me what was wrong, so I took it upon myself to remove his arms from his stomach and peel off his sweatshirt.

"Don't! Don't!" the boy cried. "Please don't do this!" He was nearly sobbing at this point.

"If you're not going to calm down and tell me what is wrong, you leave me no other choice, boy."

"Boy?"

Ah.

Though the child had short hair and a sharp jaw, upon lifting its shirt I found it also possessed a wide flare to its hips and a slight roundness to its chest.

The child hit me hard with the candlestick and knocked me to the ground.

"That's what you fucking get, creep," she said.